The quality of primary care in a country with universal health care coverage

Standard indicators of quality of care have been developed in the United States. Limited information exists about quality of care in countries with universal health care coverage.

Impact of Various Insurance Types on Level and Appropriateness of Health Care Consumption

The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which insurance type, or method of care management, impact the appropriate delivery of health care. Previous studies indicate a relationship between insurance type and patterns of consumption but do not directly link the incentives or disincentives inherent in each plan with trends inconsumption of health care. This study explores how different types of health insurance coverage affect the location, the degree, and the frequency of health care consumption in order to gain insight into which plans promote appropriate delivery and consumption ofcare.

Comparative Study of Informal Health Care Networks and Elderly Health Status in Argentina and Cuba

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of informal care support networks on the health status, life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety of elderly individuals in Argentina and Cuba. Recent economic changes, demographic changes, the structure of families and changes in women?s labor participation have affected the availability of informal care. Additionally, the growing number of elderly as a percentage of total population has significant implications for both formal and informal care in Argentina and Cuba. Methods: The SABE - Survey on Health, Well-Being, and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2000 was used as the data source. The survey has a sample of 10,656 individuals aged 60 years and older residing in private households occupied by permanent dwellers in 7 cities in the Latin American and Caribbean region. My study will focus on the Buenos Aires and Havana samples in which there were 1043 individuals and 1905 individuals respectively. General sampling design was used to establish comparability between countries. Individuals requiring assistance are surveyed on their source of help and the relative impact of informal versus paid help is measured for this group. Other measures of social support (number of living children, companionship and number of individuals living in the same dwelling) are used to measure networks for the full sample. Multivariate probit regression analyses were run separately for Cuba and for Argentina to evaluate the marginal impacts of the types of social support on health status, life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety. Results: For Argentina, almost all of the family help variables positively impact good health. Getting help from most other members of the family negatively impacts satisfaction with life. Happiness is affected differently by each of the family help variables but community support increases the likelihood of being happy. Although none of the family or community help variables show statistical significance, most negatively affect anxiety levels. In Cuba, all of the social support variables have a positive marginal impact on the health status of the elderly. In this case, some of the family and community help variables have a negative marginal impact on life satisfaction; however, it appears that having those closest to the elderly, children, spouse, or other family, positively impacts life satisfaction. Most of the support variables negatively impact happiness. Receiving help from a child, spouse or parent is associated with a marginal increase in anxiety, whereas receiving help from a grandchild, another family member or a friend actually reduces anxiety. Discussion: The study highlights the necessity for enhancing the coordination of various care networks in order to provide adequate care and reduce the burdens of old age on the individual, family and society and the need for consistent support for the caregivers. More qualitative work should be done to identify how support is given and what comprises the support. The constant change and advancement of the world, and the growth of the Latin American and Caribbean region, suggests that more updates studies need to be done.

How valuable are multiple treatment comparison methods in evidence-based health-care evaluation?

Objectives To compare the use of pair-wise meta-analysis methods to multiple treatment comparison (MTC) methods for evidence-based health-care evaluation to estimate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative health-care interventions based on the available evidence. Methods Pair-wise meta-analysis and more complex evidence syntheses, incorporating an MTC component, are applied to three examples: 1) clinical effectiveness of interventions for preventing strokes in people with atrial fibrillation; 2) clinical and cost-effectiveness of using drug-eluting stents in percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with coronary artery disease; and 3) clinical and cost-effectiveness of using neuraminidase inhibitors in the treatment of influenza. We compare the two synthesis approaches with respect to the assumptions made, empirical estimates produced, and conclusions drawn. Results The difference between point estimates of effectiveness produced by the pair-wise and MTC approaches was generally unpredictable—sometimes agreeing closely whereas in other instances differing considerably. In all three examples, the MTC approach allowed the inclusion of randomized controlled trial evidence ignored in the pair-wise meta-analysis approach. This generally increased the precision of the effectiveness estimates from the MTC model. Conclusions The MTC approach to synthesis allows the evidence base on clinical effectiveness to be treated as a coherent whole, include more data, and sometimes relax the assumptions made in the pair-wise approaches. However, MTC models are necessarily more complex than those developed for pair-wise meta-analysis and thus could be seen as less transparent. Therefore, it is important that model details and the assumptions made are carefully reported alongside the results.

Health care use of long-term survivors of childhood cancer: the British Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

Purpose Survivors of childhood cancer are at high risk of chronic conditions, but few studies investigated whether this translates into increased health care utilization. We compared health care service utilization between childhood cancer survivors and the general British population and investigated potential risk factors. Methods We used data from the British Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a population-based cohort of 17,981 individuals diagnosed with childhood cancer (1940-1991) and surviving ≥ 5 years. Frequency of talks to a doctor, hospital outpatient visits, and day-patient and inpatient hospitalizations were ascertained by questionnaire in 10,483 survivors and were compared with the General Household Survey 2002 data by using logistic regression. Results Among survivors, 16.5% had talked to a doctor in the last 2 weeks, 25.5% had attended the outpatient department of a hospital in the last 3 months, 11.9% had been hospitalized as a day patient in the last 12 months, and 9.8% had been hospitalized as an inpatient in the last 12 months. Survivors had talked slightly more often to a doctor than the general population (odds ratio [OR], 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.3) and experienced increased hospital outpatient visits (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 2.3 to 2.8), day-patient hospitalizations (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.3 to 1.6) and inpatient hospitalizations (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.7 to 2.2). Survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and Wilms tumor had the highest ORs for day-patient care, whereas survivors of CNS tumors and bone sarcomas had the highest OR for outpatient and inpatient care. The OR of health care use did not vary significantly with age of survivor. Conclusion We have quantified how excess morbidity experienced by survivors of childhood cancer translates into increased use of health care facilities.

Temporomandibular disorders/myoarthropathy of the masticatory system. Costs of dental treatment and reimbursement by Swiss federal insurance agencies according to the Health Care Benefits Ordinance (KLV)

The goal of the study was to calculate the direct costs of therapy for patients with MAP. This retrospective study included 242 MAP patients treated at the Department of Prosthodontics of the University of Bern between 2003 and 2006. The following parameters were collected from the clinical charts: chief complaint, diagnosis, treatment modalities, total costs, costs of the dental technician, number of appointments, average cost per appointment, length of treatment, and services reimbursed by health insurance agencies. The average age of the patients was 40.4 ± 17.3 years (76.4% women, 23.6% men). The chief complaint was pain in 91.3% of the cases, TMJ noises (61.2%) or limitation of mandibular mobility (53.3%). Tendomyopathy (22.3%), disc displacement (22.4%), or a combination of the two (37.6%) were more often diagnosed than arthropathy alone (7.4%). Furthermore, 10.3% of the MAP patients had another primary diagnosis (tumor, trauma, etc.). Patients were treated with counseling and exercises (36.0%), physiotherapy (23.6%), or occlusal splints (32.6%). The cost of treatment reached 644 Swiss francs for four appointments spread over an average of 21 weeks. In the great majority of cases, patients can be treated with inexpensive modalities. 99.9% of the MAP cases submitted to the insurance agencies were reimbursed by them, in accordance with Article 17d1-3 of the Swiss Health Care Benefits Ordinance (KLV) and Article 25 of the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG). The costs of treatment performed by dentists remain modest. The more time-consuming services, such as providing information, counseling and instructions, are poorly remunerated. This aspect should be re-evaluated in a future revision of the tariff schedule.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INFORMAL HEALTH CARE NETWORKS AND ELDERLY HEALTH STATUS IN ARGENTINA AND CUBA

This study will explore familial and friend support networks and living arrangements among elderly individuals in Latin America and the impact that this type of support has on the health of the elderly individuals in the countries of interest. Using data from the Survey on Health and Well-Being of Elders (SABE) from 1999-2000, I will explore which type of support has a larger impact on overall health. I will also measure differences in unmet needs for certain health services. This topic is particularly interesting because it will help to uncover what policies are best for aiding in the healthcare of the elderly in aging population. Lastly, the investigation of this topic will allow me to draw conclusions about the most effective means of social and public policy for the elderly community and provide me with information about the role of both informal provisions of support from family and friends, and formal provisions of support from the government. My primary focus will be on Argentina, using Buenos Aires as the sample city, and Cuba, using Havana as the sample city. These two countries have increasingly aging populations, poorer resources and vast inequalities, but, extremely different political, economic and cultural situations. Comparing the two countries will further allow me to determine correlations between health and the existence of support networks, as well as provide me with information to make more general claims that may be of use in the United States. Argentina is particularly interesting to me because of my abroad experience and homestay experience with an older Argentine woman who lived alone but depended upon her family for many healthcare needs, doctors’ visits and general well-being. In Argentina, I experienced a different form of living than I am used to in the United States, where many older individuals or couples live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities rather than alone or with family. The changing economic climate of the two countries coupled with labor patterns of women returning to work at rapid rates indicates that policies cannot just rely on either the formal or informal sector but require a combination of the two sectors working together.This paper will first give background on the difference in the economies and the health care systems in Argentina and Cuba and will show why it interesting to study and compare these two countries. I will then discuss the health status of the elderly in each population as well as discuss the informal care networks and the role of family in each country. This section will then be followed by a description of the data and methods used. I will end by drawing conclusions about the study and the outcomes, and then I will attempt to make suggestions about effective health care policies for the elderly.

Use of human embryonic stem cells and umbilical cord blood stem cells for research and therapy: a prospective survey among health care professionals and patients in Switzerland

BACKGROUND: Scientific progress in the biology of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) provides opportunities for advances in therapy for different diseases. While stem cell sources such as umbilical cord blood (UCB) are unproblematic, other sources such as human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) raise ethical concerns. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In a prospective survey we established the ethical acceptability of collection, research, and therapy with UCB HSCs versus hESCs among health care professionals, pregnant women, patients undergoing in vitro fertilization therapy, parents, and HSC donors and recipients in Switzerland. RESULTS: There was overall agreement about an ethical justification for the collection of UCB for research and therapy in the majority of participants (82%). In contrast, research and therapy with hESCs was acceptable only by a minority (38% of all responders). The collection of hESCs solely created for HSC collection purposes met overall with the lowest approval rates. Hematologists displayed among the participants the highest acceptance rates for the use of hESCs with 55% for collection, 63% for research, and 73% for therapy. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study assessing the perception of hESCs for research and therapy in comparison with UCB HSCs in different target groups that are exposed directly, indirectly, or not at all to stem cell-based medicine. Our study shows that the debate over the legitimacy of embryo-destructive transplantation medicine is far from over as particularly hESC research continues to present an ethical problem to an overwhelming majority among laypersons and even among health care professionals.

Health care for older persons in Switzerland: a country profile

Switzerland has the second-most-expensive healthcare system worldwide, with 11.5% of gross domestic product spent on health care in 2003. Switzerland has a healthcare system with universal insurance coverage and a social insurance system, ensuring an adequate financial situation for 96% of the 1.1 million older inhabitants. Key concerns related to the care of older persons are topics such as increasing healthcare costs, growing public awareness of patient autonomy, and challenges related to assisted suicide. In 2004, the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences issued guidelines for the care of disabled older persons. Since 2000, geriatrics has been a board-certified discipline with a 3-year training program in addition to 5 years of training in internal or family medicine. There are approximately 125 certified geriatricians in Switzerland, working primarily in geriatric centers in urban areas. Switzerland has an excellent research environment, ranking second of all countries worldwide in life sciences research-but only 13th in aging research. This is in part due to a lack of specific training programs promoting research on aging and inadequate funding. In addition, there is a shortage of academic geriatricians in Switzerland, in part due to the fact that two of five Swiss universities had no academic geriatric departments in 2005. With more-adequate financial resources for academic geriatrics, Switzerland would have the opportunity to contribute more to aging research internationally and to improved care for older patients.

Health status and health care utilisation of patients in complementary and conventional primary care in Switzerland--an observational study

BACKGROUND: The study is part of a nationwide evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in primary care in Switzerland. OBJECTIVES: Patient health status with respect to demographic attributes such as gender, age, and health care utilisation pattern was studied and compared with conventional primary care. METHODS: The study was performed as a cross-sectional survey including 11932 adult patients seeking complementary or conventional primary care. Patients were asked to document their self-perceived health status by completing a questionnaire in the waiting room. Physicians were performing conventional medicine and/or various forms of complementary primary care such as homeopathy, anthroposophic medicine, neural therapy, herbal medicine, or traditional Chinese medicine. Additional information on patient demographics and yearly consultation rates for participating physicians was obtained from the data pool of all Swiss health insurers. These data were used to confirm the survey results. RESULTS: We observed considerable and significant differences in demographic attributes of patients seeking complementary and conventional care. Patients seeking complementary care documented longer lasting and more severe main health problems than patients in conventional care. The number of previous physician visits differed between patient groups, which indicates higher consumption of medical resources by CAM patients. CONCLUSIONS: The study supports the hypothesis of differences in socio-demographic and behavioural attributes of patients seeking conventional medicine or CAM in primary care. The study provides empirical evidence that CAM users are requiring more physician-based medical services in primary care than users of conventional medicine.

Grey literature in meta-analyses of randomized trials of health care interventions

BACKGROUND: The inclusion of grey literature (i.e. literature that has not been formally published) in systematic reviews may help to overcome some of the problems of publication bias, which can arise due to the selective availability of data. OBJECTIVES: To review systematically research studies, which have investigated the impact of grey literature in meta-analyses of randomized trials of health care interventions. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Methodology Register (The Cochrane Library Issue 3, 2005), MEDLINE (1966 to 20 May 2005), the Science Citation Index (June 2005) and contacted researchers who may have carried out relevant studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: A study was considered eligible for this review if it compared the effect of the inclusion and exclusion of grey literature on the results of a cohort of meta-analyses of randomized trials. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data were extracted from each report independently by two reviewers. The main outcome measure was an estimate of the impact of trials from the grey literature on the pooled effect estimates of the meta-analyses. Information was also collected on the area of health care, the number of meta-analyses, the number of trials, the number of trial participants, the year of publication of the trials, the language and country of publication of the trials, the number and type of grey and published literature, and methodological quality. MAIN RESULTS: Five studies met the inclusion criteria. All five studies showed that published trials showed an overall greater treatment effect than grey trials. This difference was statistically significant in one of the five studies. Data could be combined for three of the five studies. This showed that, on average, published trials showed a 9% greater treatment effect than grey trials (ratio of odds ratios for grey versus published trials 1.09; 95% CI 1.03-1.16). Overall there were more published trials included in the meta-analyses than grey trials (median 224 (IQR 108-365) versus 45(IQR 40-102)). Published trials had more participants on average. The most common types of grey literature were abstracts (55%) and unpublished data (30%). There is limited evidence to show whether grey trials are of poorer methodological quality than published trials. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: This review shows that published trials tend to be larger and show an overall greater treatment effect than grey trials. This has important implications for reviewers who need to ensure they identify grey trials, in order to minimise the risk of introducing bias into their review.