Global Health Economics and Sustainability最新文献

{"title":"Disposition of health-care workers toward hospital patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria","authors":"Christain C. Iyiani, Henry T. Ajibo, Jacinta C. Ene","doi":"10.36922/ghes.2743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2743","url":null,"abstract":"During the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization declared health-care workers “the last line of defense against the COVID-19 pandemic.” Against this backdrop, this study investigated the state, responses, and attitudes of health-care workers toward hospital patients during the pandemic in Nigeria, alongside the attitudes of patients and the responsibilities of Nigerian social workers in ensuring adequate patient care. Employing a descriptive research design, the study sampled 17 respondents from Enugu State and utilized a qualitative research approach with an in-depth interview guide for data collection. The findings revealed that Nigerian healthcare workers exhibited a negative attitude toward hospital patients during the pandemic. Factors contributing to this negative attitude include fear of contracting the virus due to inadequate personal protective equipment, lack of incentives, insufficient hazard allowances, and inadequate hospital facilities. The death rate of patients with complications unrelated to COVID-19 was high because patients avoided hospital care even when critically ill due to fear of contracting the virus. Consequently, there was an increase in self-medication and reliance on alternative medicine among patients. Social workers played a significant role by advocating for improved hospital care and welfare for patients. They engaged in dialogue with hospital management to secure better attention and treatment for patients and advocated for adequate welfare provision for health-care workers. Social workers undertook educational initiatives to raise awareness among patients about the dangers of alternative medicine, self-medication, and the imperativeness of complying with the stipulated COVID-19 preventive protocol. In conclusion, this study recommends policy reforms aimed at enhancing budgetary allocations to the health-care sector and institutionalizing the social work profession in Nigeria through constitutional provisions.","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":"75 22","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141812873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Medical oxygen production, supply, and infrastructure augmentation during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: A narrative review","authors":"Anjori Agrawal, Kapil Singh, Ashwani Verma","doi":"10.36922/ghes.2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2023","url":null,"abstract":"According to the World Health Organization, the primary symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, and fatigue, while more serious cases present with dyspnea (difficulty breathing) and chest pain. The medical use of oxygen therapy is a common life support treatment for numerous diseases at multiple levels of health care in India. An abrupt spike in medical oxygen demand (nearly 100 – 200 fold) has been observed in regions such as South America, Africa, and Asia, including India. Governments of the respective countries have implemented policy decisions to tackle medical oxygen shortage during the pandemic. In this narrative review, we describe and summarize the actions taken by the Indian government to manage the medical oxygen requirement during the deadly COVID-19 waves in India. Searches were conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar databases, and websites of various ministries and departments of the Government of India, covering the period from January 2020 to January 31, 2023. Qualitative data were extracted using pre-defined themes from published documents related to medical oxygen supply during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indian context. This narrative review summarizes the state of medical oxygen during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on medical oxygen production, supply, infrastructure augmentation, pressure swing adsorption plants, capacity building, web application, and monitoring mechanisms. The 76th World Health Assembly has also adopted the Access to Medical Oxygen Resolution to prevent deaths and ensure that no country faces an oxygen shortage, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":"48 S236","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141835428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of the 2009 cancer coverage expansion policy in Korea","authors":"Changwoo Lee","doi":"10.36922/ghes.2001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2001","url":null,"abstract":"This study focuses on the effect of coverage expansion policy on medical expenditures at each initial medical expenditure level. More specifically, how each structural change, such as the enforcement of coverage expansion policy and other observable factors, influences the spending on medical care using the relatively recently developed decomposition technique was investigated in the study. The results showed that those at the lowest or highest medical cost level benefited most from the policy change. The observable variables seemed to affect the overall differences in the cancer inpatient cost for those at the middle medical cost level, and the structural changes seemed to account for the overall change in the cancer inpatient cost for those at the lowest or the highest medical cost level. The findings of this study offer an explanation for why the coverage expansion policy could not affect the equity in health utilization and financial burden reported in previous literature.","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":"14 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141266247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Path modeling of socioeconomic, behavioral, and environmental attributes of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa","authors":"Laurasona Leigh, Colleen Taylor, J. Sheu","doi":"10.36922/ghes.2107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2107","url":null,"abstract":"The 2014 Ebola outbreak stands as one of the most severe outbreaks of the virus, resulting in approximately 15,227 confirmed cases and 11,310 deaths. Despite substantial research conducted on the biological and epidemiological features of the virus, limited attention has been given to how an individual’s health behavior contributes to its spread. This study aimed to identify socioeconomic, behavioral, and environmental factors associated with Ebola infection. Guided by the Socioecological Model of Health, a correlational analysis was conducted using data from three English-speaking West African countries with the highest Ebola caseloads and fatalities: Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Each country’s Ministry of Health compiled daily reports on Ebola infections, including confirmed cases and deaths within each district. Possible health behavior determinants were gathered from surveys conducted by each country with the assistance of credible international agencies. Path analysis was then conducted to identify the size and direction of direct and indirect effects associated with an Ebola infection. The results revealed that female unemployment men with some secondary education, availability of hand washing soap, female literacy, and total health expenditure significantly predict initial confirmed cases with an R2 of 0.41. Along with the predictors of initial confirmed cases, the main source of drinking water accounted for 59% (R2) of the variance in the latest confirmed deaths. Officials in high-prevalence countries are suggested to address the availability of soap for hand washing, male secondary education proportion, female literacy and unemployment, health expenditure, and main sources of drinking water to reduce the transmission of the Ebola virus.","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":"26 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140975513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"International scientific cooperation in public health: A performance measurement framework based on the “Syphilis No!” Project in Brazil","authors":"Thaisa Gois Farias de Moura Santos Lima, Karilany Dantas Coutinho, Natalia Araújo do Nascimento Batista, Ruana Evangelista Galvão, Bruna Fernandes de Araújo, Iasmin Moreira Alves Martins, Luca Pareja Credidio Freire Alves, Manoel H. Romão, Juciano de Sousa Lacerda, Carlos Alberto Pereira de Oliveira, Aline de Pinho Dias, Priscila Sanara da Cunha, Aliete Cunha Oliveira, António Manuel Rochette Cordeiro, Almudena Muñoz Gallego, Maria Natália Pereira Ramos, Carla Maria Bispo Padrel de Oliveira, Rodrigo Pires de Campos, Ricardo Alexsandro de Medeiros Valentim","doi":"10.36922/ghes.3037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3037","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we aim to propose indicators to evaluate the performance of international scientific cooperation in public health, based on the operation experience in Brazil’s “Syphilis No!” Project. This is an action research project, based upon Kaplan and Norton’s Balanced Scorecard Method, developed in five stages: (i) Reorganization of the indicators, (ii) validation of the new indicators, (iii) construction of the dimensions of the indicators, (iv) data collection for the indicators, (v) development of the framework for the “Syphilis No!” Project. The metrics and 34 indicators are presented and grouped into four dimensions: technical-scientific, investment, products, and impact. The cooperation that emerged from the project has built an international research network that has the potential to transcend syphilis research. The framework demonstrated that international scientific cooperations, focused on research and product development, have contributed to the promotion of public health policies and have enabled the exchange of knowledge, techniques, experiences, and technologies, fundamental to the international scientific cooperation of Brazilian universities. This contribution will have implications for studies in the field of international relations in health and education.","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":"109 25","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140985986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Decolonization of health care in Tanzania","authors":"Sanaa Said, Nateiya M. Yongolo, S. Biswaro, Richard Walker, Clive Kelly","doi":"10.36922/ghes.2299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2299","url":null,"abstract":"Geographical location of residence and socioeconomic status are two primary factors determining one’s access to health care, which often derail the common goal of affording equal accessibility of health-care resources to all individuals. The authors, comprising three physicians from Tanzania and two from the United Kingdom (UK), share a common commitment to understanding and addressing the consequences of colonization on health-care provision. Drawing on extensive experience in both clinical and academic capacities in East Africa, we define decolonization from the perspective of building sustainable and independent clinical and academic services in Tanzania, supported by experienced UK clinicians. In this opinion piece, we describe and discuss workforce and political issues that have shaped the historical and present influences of the UK in Tanzanian health care. In addition, we highlight certain successful initiatives that are already improving outcomes in Africa and offer further examples of practices that might improve clinical and academic outcomes for marginalized populations in the future.","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":"49 22","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140662299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From digital to quantum epidemiology: The Quantum Data Lake concept for big data related to viral infectious diseases","authors":"Olga Kolesnichenko, Igor Nakonechniy, Yuriy Kolesnichenko","doi":"10.36922/ghes.2148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2148","url":null,"abstract":"The development of quantum epidemiology represents the next anticipated phase in epidemiology transformation, driven by the emergence of new quantum technologies. Epidemiology is currently transitioning into the digital era and undergoing a paradigm shift from a data-driven to a value-driven strategy. Epidemiology data are characterized by uncertainty, multidimensionality, and disconnection, thereby correlating with the preferential quantum approach for data exposition, value creation, and modeling. Examples of such complex epidemiology data include the data on DNA viruses with associated symptoms and diseases. The Quantum Data Lake concept is proposed and consists of several layers and quantum tools, including Robson semantic triples, Quantum Universal Exchange Language, Hyperbolic Dirac Net, “quantum ribosome” structure, quantum random access memory, teleportation, Quantum Query Language, non-Hermitian gates, and tensor networks (e.g., matrix product state, projected entangled pair state, and multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz [MERA]), alongside PT-symmetry properties. PT-symmetry can serve as an intuitive modeling tool, and PT-symmetry breaking can detect the hidden shift in the information that is permanently updated in the Data Lake. The computational output is presented as PT-symmetry gain/loss equilibrium breaking in the form of a complex number, i.e., two possible variants of epidemic modeling. For MERA, non-Hermiticity with spontaneous PT-symmetry breaking can theoretically appear as a violation of the entanglement monotonicity and local entanglement gain, leading to a non-reversible character of the coarse-graining transformation. The duality of PT-symmetry equilibrium breaking can be compared to, for example, the estimation of the best and worst scenarios simultaneously, or the gain of entanglement can display a significant correlation between some studied parameters embedded into the data. The fundamental difference between digital and quantum epidemiology is the implementation of quantum logic and reliance on a quantum theory.","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":" 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140388379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Income-related inequality in health outcomes among older individuals in China: A measurement and decomposition analysis","authors":"Yixiao Wang","doi":"10.36922/ghes.2243","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.2243","url":null,"abstract":"Population aging in China presents a significant challenge, with projections indicating that individuals aged 65 and above will exceed 30% of the total population by 2050, thereby increasing health-care and long-term care (LTC) demands. Therefore, this study aimed to examine income-related inequality in self-rated health (SRH) and functional ability among older individuals in China while also examining the contribution of socioeconomic factors to health inequality. Data were drawn from the 2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Well-established tools, such as concentration curves, the Erreygers concentration index (EI), and decomposition analysis, were employed to elucidate income-related inequality in health within the sample. The results revealed that for SRH, both unstandardized and standardized concentration curves were observed below the 45° line, with unstandardized EI at 0.068 and standardized EI at 0.033. For functional ability, both unstandardized and standardized concentration curves were observed above the 45° line, with unstandardized EI at −0.016 and standardized EI at −0.003. These results suggest that, after controlling for demographic factors, the better-off group is more likely to report better SRH and less likely to experience functional limitations compared to the worse-off group. Furthermore, this inequality in health outcomes is predominantly driven by socioeconomic factors rather than demographic factors. For SRH, income emerges as the primary contributor to total inequality. Similarly, for functional ability, income emerges as the key factor driving inequality, disproportionately affecting the less affluent population. Consequently, it is crucial for the government to protect older individuals with lower socioeconomic status to mitigate income-related inequality in health by directly providing cash aids and formal LTC, which could contribute to promoting healthy aging in the context of global aging.","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":" 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140389197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Examining the relationship between urban household food insecurity and under-five mortality in Lideta Sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia","authors":"Ephrem Tadesse Goda, Terefe Degefa Boshera, Mengistu Ketema Aredo","doi":"10.36922/ghes.1682","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1682","url":null,"abstract":"Household food insecurity increases the risk of morbidity and mortality in children. Improved reproductive health in women enhances the nutrition status of children, while better food security helps children survive. This study aims to examine the relationship between food insecurity and under-five mortality. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2023 in Lideta Sub-City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A total of 605 women of reproductive age were selected using multistage sampling. A Pearson Chi-square test (χ2) and logistic regression were used to assess the association between food insecurity and under-five mortality after adjusting for other covariates. The result of the study shows that food security status was a significant predictor of under-five mortality at p < 0.05. According to the findings, women from food-insecure households were 3.89 times more likely to experience under-five mortality compared to women from food-secure households. Similarly, women’s education, age at first birth, initiation of breastfeeding, child’s age and sex, birth order, and the number of children ever born were significant predictors of under-five mortality at p < 0.05. These outcomes reinforce the notion that food insecurity is a significant public health concern. Consequently, national and regional considerations should prioritize addressing household food insecurity and cases of acute malnutrition to achieve sustainable development goals.","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":" 20","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140391608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A descriptive model featuring expansive clinical microbiology approaches and antimicrobial stewardship to control antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries","authors":"Emmanuel O Irek, O. Olugbade, A. C. Anuforo","doi":"10.36922/ghes.1783","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1783","url":null,"abstract":"The upsurge and escalation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a major worry on the global scene. Effective antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs are critical to combat this challenge, and applied knowledge in clinical microbiology serves as the cornerstone for the successful implementation. Despite technological advances, many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) still adopt traditional phenotypic techniques in clinical microbiology laboratories. An expansive implementation of clinical microbiology approaches can bridge this apparent gap. Good laboratory assessment, hospital epidemiology, and infection prevention and control, which are the sub-divisions of the expansive clinical microbiology approaches, can be deployed to implement AMS appropriately in LMICs. In this paper, we describe a model featuring a functional AMS equipped with expansive clinical microbiology approaches to control AMR in LMICs.\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":193088,"journal":{"name":"Global Health Economics and Sustainability","volume":" 72","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140391784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}