Connie Musolino, Fran Baum, Joanne Flavel, Toby Freeman, Martin McKee, Chunhuei Chi, Camila Giugliani, Matheus Zuliane Falcão, Wim De Ceukelaire, Philippa Howden-Chapman, Nguyen Thanh Huong, Hani Serag, Sun Kim, Carlos Alvarez Dardet, Hailay Abrha Gesesew, Leslie London, Jennie Popay, Lauren Paremoer, Viroj Tangcharoensathien, T Sundararaman, Sulakshana Nandi, Eugenio Villar
{"title":"Caring During COVID-19: A Study of Intersectionality and Inequities in the Care Economy in 16 Countries.","authors":"Connie Musolino, Fran Baum, Joanne Flavel, Toby Freeman, Martin McKee, Chunhuei Chi, Camila Giugliani, Matheus Zuliane Falcão, Wim De Ceukelaire, Philippa Howden-Chapman, Nguyen Thanh Huong, Hani Serag, Sun Kim, Carlos Alvarez Dardet, Hailay Abrha Gesesew, Leslie London, Jennie Popay, Lauren Paremoer, Viroj Tangcharoensathien, T Sundararaman, Sulakshana Nandi, Eugenio Villar","doi":"10.1177/27551938241269198","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241269198","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Carers were disproportionately harmed in the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite facing an increased risk of contracting the virus, they continued in frontline roles in care services and acted as \"shock absorbers\" for their families and communities. In this article, we apply an intersectional lens to examine care work and the structural factors disadvantaging carers during COVID-19 through a comparative case study analysis of 16 low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Data on each country was collected through a qualitative framework during 2021-2022. We found that while carers everywhere were predominantly women with low incomes and precarious employment, other factors were at play in shaping their experiences. Moreover, government responses to mitigate the direct impact of the pandemic have created local and global disparities affecting those working in this sector. Our findings reveal how oppressive social structures such as race, class, caste, and migration status converged in contextually specific ways to shape the gendered nature of care within and between different countries. We call for a better understanding of the multiple axes of inequalities experienced by carers to inform crisis mitigations, coupled with long-term strategies to address social inequities in the care economy and to promote gender equality.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"16-32"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141918244","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}
Austin Henderson, Richard F MacLehose, Spero M Manson, Dedra Buchwald
{"title":"Social Determinants of Health, Tribal Payments, and Probability of Contracting COVID-19 in American Indian and Alaska Native Peoples.","authors":"Austin Henderson, Richard F MacLehose, Spero M Manson, Dedra Buchwald","doi":"10.1177/27551938241277130","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241277130","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Little is known about the relationships between demographic and economic social determinants of health and the probability of contracting COVID-19 in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) peoples. In addition, we do not know if and how tribal payments, unique to AI/AN peoples, are associated with the probability of contracting COVID-19. We surveyed 767 AI/AN patients of five geographically disparate health organizations that primarily served AI/AN peoples in urban settings between January and May of 2021. We used univariate modified Poisson regressions to estimate the influence of age, gender, household composition, education, household income, and tribal payments on risk of contracting COVID-19, with results presented as both risk and risk difference. Fifteen percent of the sample contracted COVID-19, and individuals who lived in households with two or more generations had an 11-percentage point elevated risk of contracting COVID-19 compared to those who lived alone. Twenty-seven percent of participants received tribal payments; receipt was associated with seven percentage points (change from 18% probability to 11% probability) lower risk of contracting COVID-19. Our findings showed interventions specifically designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in multigenerational households, and regular tribal payments may help improve health outcomes in urban AI/AN populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"46-54"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142001494","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 Sociology of Plasma Proteins - A Technocrat's Perspective.","authors":"Albert Farrugia","doi":"10.1177/27551938241264764","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241264764","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This commentary addresses the article \"Toward a Sociology of Plasma Products\" by Holloway and Grundy in this issue of the <i>International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services</i>. The program of research proposed by the authors positioning the medico-industrial field of plasma products within a sociological context is supported, this being an endeavor which has not been attempted previously. I seek to augment Holloway and Grundy's proposed approach through some additional insights which are the result of over forty years of personal commitment in the field. Holloway and Grundy's proposed areas of engagement involving the products, the recipients, the donors and the governance of the systems binding these together is widened through an examination of additional technological factors that have shaped the field. These factors include the influence of the medical industry, the role of patient groups, the continuing controversy on the sourcing of plasma raw material, and the roles of different governance models. Converging these factors with Holloway and Grundy's proposed program should enhance its capacity to develop a framework for understanding the dynamics within this complex and unique sector. The concepts developed in both articles will assist stakeholders to develop a societal framework for the provision of these essential medicines.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"88-91"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11583512/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141977361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advancing Equity in Health Care Among Dalits and Tribal People in India: The Progress, Current Realities, and the Way Forward.","authors":"Vijesh Sreedhar Kuttiatt, Arya Rahul, Anoop Choolayil, Ashwani Kumar","doi":"10.1177/27551938241268179","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241268179","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The caste system and resulting social exclusion are important social determinants of health inequity in India. This article critically analyzes the influence of the caste system on health inequity in India, starting with a historical perspective and moving to the current status. The article argues that the caste system has deprived Dalits and tribal people in India of achieving health equity. The programs to promote health are often disease-specific and not culturally informed, leading to poor attention at the policy level to the intersecting disadvantages that make Dalits and tribal communities vulnerable, resulting in poor health. The authors suggest strengthening and promoting primary care, improving health access for Dalit and tribal populations, and the need for pivotal changes in the medical education system, shifting the emphasis from specialized care to training family physicians to be oriented toward community health needs, keeping health equity in perspective.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"33-45"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141899102","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":"Global Health Indicators and Child Mortality Trends: Insights from a Global Panel Data Analysis of 200 Countries.","authors":"Myung-Bae Park, Young-Joo Won","doi":"10.1177/27551938241284250","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241284250","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this study was to explore how medical resources and vaccine coverage relate to infant mortality rate (IMR) and under-five mortality rate (U-5MR), which are both key national health indicators. This longitudinal study was based on panel data from the national level of 200 countries. Data from 1990 to 2021 were grouped into seven regions based on geographic and epidemiological similarities. Regarding correlation, the high-income region showed a different trend from that shown by other regions. Health expenditure was positively associated with IMR and U-5MR globally. Number of medical doctors per 1,000 people was negatively associated with IMR and U-5MR globally. Hepatitis type B (HBV) and measles, first dose (MCV) were negatively associated with IMR and HBV, MCV, and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin were negatively associated with U-5MR globally. In quadratic regression, the correlation between the number of doctors and mortality stabilizes or plateaus at approximately four individuals. Overall vaccine coverage was positively correlated with mortality up to a certain threshold, beyond which it became negatively correlated. A higher number of doctors was consistently associated with decreased mortality, regardless of location, while other factors varied by region. Our study findings highlight the importance of implementing global strategies that are specific to each region's characteristics to reduce IMR and U-5MR.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"92-106"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142333880","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}
Adam Gaffney, Danny McCormick, Gracie Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler, David U Himmelstein
{"title":"Demand and Supply Drivers of Medicare and Non-Medicare Health Spending: An Analysis of U.S. States, 1991-2019.","authors":"Adam Gaffney, Danny McCormick, Gracie Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler, David U Himmelstein","doi":"10.1177/27551938241258399","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241258399","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For the last four decades, policymakers have attempted to control the United States's high health care costs by reducing patients' <i>demand</i> for care (e.g., by imposing managed-care restrictions or high costs on patients at the time of use). Yet studies based mostly on data from the public Medicare program, which covers mostly elderly Americans, suggest that <i>supply</i> (e.g., number of physicians or hospital beds) rather than demand drives aggregate service use and, hence, costs. Using variation between U.S. states in per enrollee Medicare spending versus per capita spending of all other (non-Medicare) individuals, we find that greater supply boosts costs for the entire population. Furthermore, we find that factors that suppress demand in the non-Medicare population do reduce non-Medicare health care spending, but simultaneously increase Medicare spending. This suggests that for a given supply of medical resources, suppressing demand for one group of patients may produce a compensatory increase in provision of care to those whose demand has not been suppressed. Health planning to assure adequate medical resources where they are needed while preventing excess supply where it is duplicative and wasteful is likely a more effective cost control strategy than the imposition of managed-care restrictions or imposing higher costs onto patients seeking care.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"55-63"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141763036","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":"Accessibility to Health Care Services and Treatment for People with Noncommunicable Diseases in Northwest Syria.","authors":"Kassem Ballout, Nimetcan Mehmet Orhun","doi":"10.1177/27551938241269144","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241269144","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We assessed the accessibility to health care services and treatment for people with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Northwest Syria after more than eleven years of the worst humanitarian crisis in Syria. Included in this cross-sectional study were people with one or more of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, or chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases; people from both Aleppo and Idleb governorates; and residents from both inside and outside the camp. Data were collected in November 2022 via face-to-face interviews. The findings were obtained from 674 respondents (52.8% female). Respondents in Idleb were 6.5 times more likely to access health care services than Aleppo (<i>p </i>= 0000). In-camp residents were 1.5 times more likely to access outreach health services (<i>p </i>= 0.020). Respondents with higher income were three times more likely to access health care services compared to respondents with lower income (<i>p </i>= 0.000). Having any of the surveyed NCDs made the respondents less likely to get the required services. The study findings added more evidence about the inequity in terms of accessing health care services in Northwest Syria and identified the barriers. It was clear that a perceived group of people with NCDs do not have access to the health care services, including outreach health services and free medications.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"441-453"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141876891","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":"Social Determinants of Health Under Capitalism's Violent Answer to Climate and Geopolitical Crises.","authors":"Carles Muntaner, Joan Benach","doi":"10.1177/27551938241280377","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241280377","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"329-330"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142156848","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}
Philip Broadbent, David Walsh, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, Christine Gallagher, Ruth Dundas, Gerry McCartney
{"title":"Is Austerity Responsible for the Stalled Mortality Trends Across Many High-Income Countries? A Systematic Review.","authors":"Philip Broadbent, David Walsh, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, Christine Gallagher, Ruth Dundas, Gerry McCartney","doi":"10.1177/27551938241255041","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241255041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article systematically reviews evidence evaluating whether macroeconomic austerity policies impact mortality, reviewing high-income country data compiled through systematic searches of nine databases and gray literature using pre-specified methods (PROSPERO registration: CRD42020226609). Eligible studies were quantitatively assessed to determine austerity's impact on mortality. Two reviewers independently assessed eligibility and risk of bias using ROBINS-I. Synthesis without meta-analysis was conducted due to heterogeneity. Certainty of evidence was assessed using the GRADE framework. Of 5,720 studies screened, seven were included, with harmful effects of austerity policies demonstrated in six, and no effect in one. Consistent harmful impacts of austerity were demonstrated for all-cause mortality, life expectancy, and cause-specific mortality across studies and different austerity measures. Excess mortality was higher in countries with greater exposure to austerity. Certainty of evidence was low. Risk of bias was moderate to critical. A typical austerity dose was associated with 74,090 [-40,632, 188,792] and 115,385 [26,324, 204,446] additional deaths per year. Austerity policies are consistently associated with adverse mortality outcomes, but the magnitude of this effect remains uncertain and may depend on how austerity is implemented (e.g., balance between public spending reductions or tax rises, and distributional consequences). Policymakers should be aware of potential harmful health effects of austerity policies.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"362-379"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11437704/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141066263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Locations of Palestine and the U.S. in the Global Map of Homelessness: Part I.","authors":"Osama Tanous, Amy Hagopian","doi":"10.1177/27551938241261051","DOIUrl":"10.1177/27551938241261051","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>It's now well appreciated that social determinants of health are the strongest predictors of our health and well-being. A good argument could be made that housing is at the top of the pyramid of these determinants. And, surprisingly, housing is also the social determinant that could rapidly turn on a dime-that is, with sufficient political will, creating access to housing could be radically expanded in short order. (Unfortunately, of course, it's true one can also become suddenly homeless, since few protections exist in policy or capitalist economies to prevent it). That alone sets it apart from social factors such as education and racism-conditions that take a long time to change. In contrast to long-term interventions (education) or culturally stubborn and historically rooted problems (racism), housing is rapidly malleable. In this article, we describe the social condition of homelessness in two settings, comparing and contrasting the concepts, causes, and consequences, along with how people are mobilizing to challenge the conditions that create their housing insecurity. As we review the factors that create housing conditions in each setting, we propose some universal international principles for a new approach to the human right of decent and secure housing.</p>","PeriodicalId":73479,"journal":{"name":"International journal of social determinants of health and health services","volume":" ","pages":"352-361"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141319088","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}