Lessons learned from developing a national NCD programme in low- and middle-income countries (Seychelles)

This paper identifies selected issues and lessons learned from the implementation of a national program of prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCD) during the past 20 years in the Seychelles, a small island state in the African region. As early as in 1989, population-based surveys demonstrated high levels of several cardiovascular risk factors, which prompted an organized response by the government. The early creation of a NCD unit within the Ministry of Health, coupled with cooperation with international partners, enabled incremental capacity building and coherent development of NCD programs and policy. Information campaigns and screening for hypertension and diabetes in work/public places raised awareness and rallied increasingly broad awareness and support to NCD prevention and control. A variety of interventions were organized for tobacco control and comprehensive tobacco control legislation was enacted in 2009 (including total bans on tobacco advertising and on smoking in all enclosed public and work places). A recent School Nutrition Policy prohibits the sale of soft drinks in schools. At primary health care level, guidelines were developed for the management of hypertension and diabetes (these conditions are managed in all health centers within a national health system); regular interactive education sessions were organized for groups of high risk patients ("heart health club"); and specialized "NCD nurses" were trained. Decreasing prevalence of smoking is evidence of success, but the raising "diabesity epidemic" calls for strengthened health care to high-risk patients and broader multisectoral policy to mould an environment conducive to healthy behaviors. Key components of NCD prevention and control in Seychelles include effective surveillance mechanisms supplemented by focused research; generating broad interest and consensus on the need for prevention and control of NCD; mobilizing leadership and commitment at all levels; involving local and international expertise; building on existing efforts; and seeking integrated, multi-disciplinary and multisectoral approaches.

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program, 2005

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2001. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2001 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel.

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program, 2001

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2001. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2001 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel.

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program, 2002

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2001. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2001 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel.

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program, 2003

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2001. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2001 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel.

Report on Impacts and Costs of the Iowa Low-Income Weatherization Program, 2004

This report summarizes state and utility low-income weatherization program activity for households weatherized to completion during calendar year 2001. The report includes state, utility, and agency summaries of calendar year 2001 spending and impacts by measure, end-use, and fuel.

A-1A Supplemental Security Income Program, February 2007

A-1A - SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME PROGRAM - February 2007

A-1A Supplemental Security Income Program, March 2007

A-1A - SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME PROGRAM - March 2007

High-resolution 3D whole-heart coronary MRA: a study on the combination of data acquisition in multiple breath-holds and 1D residual respiratory motion compensation.

OBJECT: To study a scan protocol for coronary magnetic resonance angiography based on multiple breath-holds featuring 1D motion compensation and to compare the resulting image quality to a navigator-gated free-breathing acquisition. Image reconstruction was performed using L1 regularized iterative SENSE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of respiratory motion on the Cartesian sampling scheme were minimized by performing data acquisition in multiple breath-holds. During the scan, repetitive readouts through a k-space center were used to detect and correct the respiratory displacement of the heart by exploiting the self-navigation principle in image reconstruction. In vivo experiments were performed in nine healthy volunteers and the resulting image quality was compared to a navigator-gated reference in terms of vessel length and sharpness. RESULTS: Acquisition in breath-hold is an effective method to reduce the scan time by more than 30 % compared to the navigator-gated reference. Although an equivalent mean image quality with respect to the reference was achieved with the proposed method, the 1D motion compensation did not work equally well in all cases. CONCLUSION: In general, the image quality scaled with the robustness of the motion compensation. Nevertheless, the featured setup provides a positive basis for future extension with more advanced motion compensation methods.

A-1A Supplemental Security Income Program, April 2007

A-1A - Supplemental Security Income Program, April 2007

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Weatherization Program Interim Study Committee, 2007

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Weatherization Program Interim Study Committee was created by the Legislative Council and charged to review issues involving the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Weatherization Program including financial assistance, the application and intake processes, the community action agencies' assessment and resolution proposal, and whether to involve the Department of Human Services in the administration of the programs to enable low-income persons to access additional assistance programs through a single location.

Healthy, wealthy, wise, and happy? An exploratory analysis of the interplay between aging and subjective well-being in low and middle income countries

In this paper, we address the relationship between age and several dimension of subjective well-being. Whilst literature generally finds a U-shaped age-profile in subjective well-being, this age-pattern might only hold after controlling for objective life circumstances. The observed U-shaped age-profile might further not generalize to other dimensions of well-being and might vary across countries and cultures. Our study examines the relationship between age and several dimensions of well-being as well as the effect of objective life circumstances using the WHO Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE). Our results suggest a decreasing age profile in the raw data associated with evaluative well-being, while experienced well-being shows a rather flat or slightly increasing pattern. However, age per se is not a cause of a decline in evaluative well-being. The negative age-profile in evaluative well-being is mainly explained by changes in life circumstances associated with aging. Controlling for socio-demographic factors, we find higher levels of well-being for older persons relative to their middle-aged counterparts. In contrast, we find that changes in life circumstances have a much smaller effect on experienced well-being.

A-1A Supplemental Security Income Program, May 2007

A-1A Supplemental Security Income Program, May 2007

The world distribution of income (estimated from individual country distributions)

We estimate the world distribution of income by integrating individualincome distributions for 125 countries between 1970 and 1998. Weestimate poverty rates and headcounts by integrating the density functionbelow the $1/day and $2/day poverty lines. We find that poverty ratesdecline substantially over the last twenty years. We compute povertyheadcounts and find that the number of one-dollar poor declined by 235million between 1976 and 1998. The number of $2/day poor declined by 450million over the same period. We analyze poverty across different regionsand countries. Asia is a great success, especially after 1980. LatinAmerica reduced poverty substantially in the 1970s but progress stoppedin the 1980s and 1990s. The worst performer was Africa, where povertyrates increased substantially over the last thirty years: the number of$1/day poor in Africa increased by 175 million between 1970 and 1998,and the number of $2/day poor increased by 227. Africa hosted 11% ofthe world s poor in 1960. It hosted 66% of them in 1998. We estimatenine indexes of income inequality implied by our world distribution ofincome. All of them show substantial reductions in global incomeinequality during the 1980s and 1990s.

A-1A Supplemental Security Income Program, June 2007

A-1A Supplemental Security Income Program, June 2007