Current Situation of Home Oxygen Therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients in Korea

The Equity in Health Care Utilization of One-Person Households: By Comparison with Multi-Person Households / 보건행정학회지

BACKGROUND: The one-person households (OPH) are rapidly increasing and vulnerable to socioeconomic and health problems. Because it is predicted to be inequitable to health care utilization, we would like to find out about the equity of health care utilization of the OPH by comparison with the multi-person households (MPH). METHODS: This study followed the theoretical framework of Wagstaff and van Doorslaer (2000), O'Donnell and his colleagues (2008), where the horizontal inequity index is the difference between the concentration indices of actual health care utilization and health care needs. This study employed the 9th Korea Health Panel survey, and a total of 10,807 cases were analyzed. Health care needs were measured by age, sex, subjective health status, chronic disease count, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, limitation of activities, and disability. RESULTS: Compared with the MPH, there were pro-poor inequities in hospitalization, emergency utilization, hospitalization out-of-pocket payments, and pro-rich inequities in outpatient out-of-pocket payments for the OPH. The decomposition of the concentration index revealed that chronic disease count made the largest contribution to socioeconomic inequality in outpatient utilization. Age, health insurance, economic activities, and subjective health status also proved more important contributors to inequality. The variables contributing to the hospitalization and emergency utilization inequity were age, education, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, marital status, and income. CONCLUSION: Because the OPH was more vulnerable to health problems than the MPH and there were pro-poor inequities in medical utilization, hospitalization, and emergency costs, it is necessary to develop a policy that can correct and improve the portion of high contribution to medical utilization of the OPH.

What are the Barriers to Antenatal Care Utilization in Rufisque District, Senegal?: a Bottleneck Analysis

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyze the barriers affecting the utilization of antenatal care (ANC) among Senegalese mothers. METHODS: Health facility staffs were surveyed to examine the availability coverage of ANC (infrastructural capacity of health posts to handle maternal and newborn healthcare). A total of 113 women of childbearing age were surveyed to identify factors associated with the accessibility coverage (physical, economic, and information accessibility factors), acceptability coverage (socio-cultural features, social acceptance, and language), and effectiveness coverage (ratio of mothers having completed 4 visits) of ANC. Further, to identify the socio-cultural factors and the specific characteristics of the barriers, 5 focus group discussions were conducted with women of childbearing age, their husbands and mothers-in-law, community health workers, and health facility staff. The effectiveness coverage of ANC was analyzed by reviewing materials from the District Health Information System 2 of Senegal. RESULTS: Key barriers of ANC utilization were associated with acceptability coverage. ANC during early pregnancy was avoided owing to the negative social stigma surrounding miscarriage. The survey results indicated an extremely high miscarriage rate of 30.9% among the participants. The social stigma towards unmarried mothers caused them to hide their pregnancy, which deterred ANC utilization. The husband was the final decision maker and social supporter on ANC utilization. CONCLUSION: To promote the utilization of ANC services among pregnant women in Senegal, it is important to alleviate the social stigma towards miscarriages and unmarried mothers, and to provide greater social support for pregnancies and newborn deliveries within family.

Factores de precariedad laboral y su relación con la salud de trabajadores en Bolivia / Factors involved in job insecurity and their relationship with the health of salaried workers and contract workers in Bolivia / Relação entre condições precárias de trabalho e a saúde dos trabalhadores assalariados e contratados na Bolívia

RESUMEN Objetivo Investigar la asociación de los factores de precariedad laboral con el uso de servicios de salud, consumo de tabaco y de alcohol entre trabajadores asalariados y con contrato en Bolivia. Métodos Estudio transversal con una muestra de trabajadores de entre 14 y 65 años, 1 203 mujeres y de 1 780 hombres, con datos de la Encuesta de Hogares 2015 de Bolivia. Las variables dependientes fueron el uso de servicios de salud, el consumo de tabaco y el consumo de alcohol. Las variables independientes fueron el salario, el tipo de contrato, las horas de trabajo y el ejercicio de derechos laborales. Se calcularon prevalencias y la asociación de los factores de precariedad laboral con las variables dependientes mediante modelos de regresiones binomiales multivariadas ajustadas por variables sociodemográficas. Los análisis fueron estratificados por sexo. Resultados Los modelos ajustados mostraron asociaciones significativas entre tener un contrato temporal y un menor uso de servicios de salud (USS) en hombres (razón de probabilidades [OR por sus siglas en inglés]: 0,70; intervalo de confianza de 95% [IC95%]: 0,56-0,87) y mujeres (OR: 0,62; IC95%: 0,46-0,82). El bajo ejercicio de derechos estuvo también asociado a un menor USS (OR: 0,61; IC95%: 0,45-0,83) en hombres. Las horas de trabajo prolongadas se asociaron al mayor consumo de alcohol en mujeres (OR: 1,75; IC95%: 1,34-2,29). El salario bajo estuvo asociado al menor consumo de tabaco tanto en hombres (OR: 0,75; IC95%: 0,57-0,99) como en mujeres (OR; 0,57; IC95%: 0,33-0,99). Sin embargo, ser trabajador manual se asoció al consumo de tabaco (OR: 1,36; IC95%: 1,09-1,70) entre los hombres. Conclusiones Tener un contrato temporal y pertenecer al quintil I (inferior) de ingresos se asocia a la menor utilización de servicios de salud y menor probabilidad de fumar en personas de uno y otro sexo. El horario prolongado de trabajo se asocia a mayor consumo de alcohol entre las mujeres. El bajo ejercicio de derechos estuvo asociado a un menor USS en hombres.

ABSTRACT Objective To examine the association between factors involved in job insecurity and: health service use, tobacco use, and alcohol use among salaried workers and contract workers in Bolivia. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed with a sample of workers composed of 1203 women and 1780 men between the ages of 14 and 65 years using data from Bolivia's 2015 Household Survey. The dependent variables were health service use, tobacco use, and alcohol use; the independent variables were wages, type of contract, work hours, and exercise of workers' rights. Prevalence rates were calculated and the association between factors involved in job insecurity and the dependent variables was assessed using multivariate binomial regression models with adjustment for sociodemographic variables. The analyses were stratified by sex. Results The adjusted models showed a significant association between working under a temporary contract and lower use of health services among men (odds ratio [OR]: 0.70; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.56-0.87) and women (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.46-0.82). Poor exercise of workers' rights was also associated with lower use of health services (OR: 0.61; IC 95%: 0.45-0.83) among men. Long work hours showed an association with greater use of alcohol among women (OR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.34-2.29). Low wages were associated with lower tobacco use among men (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.57-0.99) and women (OR; 0.57; 95% CI: 0.33-0.99). However, being a manual worker was associated with tobacco use (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.09-1.70) among men. Conclusions Having a temporary contract and belonging to income quintile I (the poorest) are both associated with lower use of health services and lower probability of smoking in individuals of either sex. Long work hours are associated with greater alcohol use among women. Poor exercise of workers' rights is associated with lower use of health services among men.

RESUMO Objetivo Investigar a associação entre fatores relativos a condições precárias de trabalho e a utilização de serviços de saúde, tabagismo e uso de álcool em trabalhadores assalariados e contratados na Bolívia. Métodos Estudo transversal realizado em uma amostra de trabalhadores, 1.203 do sexo feminino e 1.780 do sexo masculino, com idade de 14 a 65 anos, a partir de dados obtidos da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios de 2015 na Bolívia. As variáveis dependentes foram utilização dos serviços de saúde, tabagismo e uso de álcool. As variáveis independentes foram salário, tipo do contrato de trabalho, horas da jornada de trabalho e exercício dos direitos trabalhistas. Foram calculadas prevalências e a associação dos fatores relativos às condições de trabalho com as variáveis dependentes com o uso de modelos de regressão binomial multivariada ajustados segundo variáveis sociodemográficas. As análises foram estratificadas por sexo. Resultados Os modelos ajustados demonstraram uma associação significativa entre ter um contrato de trabalho temporário e menor utilização dos serviços de saúde entre os trabalhadores do sexo masculino (razão de chances [OR] 0,70; intervalo de confiança de 95% [IC95%] 0,56-0,87) e do sexo feminino (OR 0,62; IC95% 0,46-0,82). O pouco exercício dos direitos também foi associado a menor utilização dos serviços de saúde (OR 0,61; IC95% 0,45-0,83) no sexo masculino. Longas jornadas de trabalho foram associadas a um maior uso de álcool no sexo feminino (OR 1,75; IC95% 1,34-2,29). O salário baixo foi associado a uma proporção menor de tabagismo tanto no sexo masculino (OR 0,75; IC95% 0,57-0,99) como no sexo feminino (OR 0,57; IC95% 0,33-0,99). Porém, ser trabalhador braçal foi associado ao tabagismo (OR 1,36; IC95% 1,09-1,70) no sexo masculino. Conclusões Ter contrato de trabalho temporário e pertencer ao quintil I (inferior) de renda estão associados a menor utilização dos serviços de saúde e menor probabilidade de ser tabagista em trabalhadores de ambos os sexos. Longas jornadas de trabalho estão associadas a um maior uso de álcool no sexo feminino. O pouco exercício dos direitos trabalhistas foi associado a menor utilização dos serviços de saúde no sexo masculino.

Analysis on the Hospital Beds and Related Resources Supply: The Supply Side Reform of Health Field in China Based on the Comparative Analysis between China and the United States / 中国卫生经济

Objective:To compare the changing trends and differences of bed numbers,doctor numbers and medical service utilization in the US.and China so as to provide polity implication for the health care reform in China from the supply side.Methods:The data of beds,doctors,hospitalization and outpatient service utilization from the website of OECD and CDC of the United States as well as Chinese Statistical Yearbook of Health and Family Planning were used to describe the trends.Results:The beds per 1000 people in China had exceeded that of the US,while the doctors per 1 000 people in China was less than the US.Both the two countries had yearly increasing trend of outpatient visits.However,the hospitalization was decreasing in the US,while the growth rate of hospitalization was even higher than the outpatient visits in China.Conclusion:The decrease of bed amount and the increase of outpatient amount were the main changing trend of medical resources and service utilization in the US.The imbalanced structure of medical resource supply in China resulted the overuse of hospitalization services.In the supply side reform of medical reform in China,it suggested to promote the cooperation of medical insurance,drug and health care,adjusted the reform thought from resource amount into the promotion of service quality,changed the health management system from disease centered into health centered.

Health Care Utilization and Expenditures of Patients with Diabetes Comorbid with Depression Disorder: A National Population-Based Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: The study investigated to compare health care utilization and expenditures between diabetic patients with and without depression in Taiwan. METHODS: Health care utilization and expenditure among diabetic patients with and without depression disorder during 2000 and 2004 were examined using Taiwan's population-based National Health Insurance claims database. Health care utilization included outpatient visits and the use of inpatient services, and health expenditures were outpatient, inpatient, and total medical expenditures. Moreover, general estimation equation models were used for analyzing the factors associated with outpatient visits and expenditures. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied for identifying the factors associated with hospitalization. RESULTS: The average annual outpatient visits and annual total medical expenditures in the study period were 44.23–52.20; NT$87,496–133,077 and 30.75–32.92; NT$64,411–80,955 for diabetic patients with and without depression. After adjustment for covariates, our results revealed that gender and complication were associated with out-patient visits. Moreover, the time factor was associated with the total medical expenditure, and residential urbanization and complication factors were associated with hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Health care utilization and expenditures for diabetic patients with depression were significantly higher than those without depression. Sex, complications, time, and urbanization are the factors associated with health care utilization and expenditures.

Prediction of Health Care Cost Using the Hierarchical Condition Category Risk Adjustment Model / 보건행정학회지

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) model, identify potentially high-cost patients, and examine the effects of adding prior utilization to the risk model using Korean claims data. METHODS: We incorporated 2 years of data from the National Health Insurance Services-National Sample Cohort. Five risk models were used to predict health expenditures: model 1 (age/sex groups), model 2 (the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services-HCC with age/sex groups), model 3 (selected 54 HCCs with age/sex groups), model 4 (bed-days of care plus model 3), and model 5 (medication- days plus model 3). We evaluated model performance using R² at individual level, predictive positive value (PPV) of the top 5% of high-cost patients, and predictive ratio (PR) within subgroups. RESULTS: The suitability of the model, including prior use, bed-days, and medication-days, was better than other models. R² values were 8%, 39%, 37%, 43%, and 57% with model 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. After being removed the extreme values, the corresponding R² values were slightly improved in all models. PPVs were 16.4%, 25.2%, 25.1%, 33.8%, and 53.8%. Total expenditure was underpredicted for the highest expenditure group and overpredicted for the four other groups. PR had a tendency to decrease from younger group to older group in both female and male. CONCLUSION: The risk adjustment models are important in plan payment, reimbursement, profiling, and research. Combined prior use and diagnostic data are more powerful to predict health costs and to identify high-cost patients.

Implementación de atención multidisciplinaria del paciente con fibrosis quística / Implementation of multidisciplinary care for patients with cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common recessive genetic disease in the Caucasian population. Unanimously, all CF care guidelines in developed countries require that management be provided by a network of specialized CF care centers that cover the entire population of patients, pediatric and adult. The establishment of such centers of excellence requires a level of experience that is achieved only by the conformation of a multidisciplinary team of trained and experienced health professionals, caring for a sufficient number (critical mass) of patients to achieve the best clinical outcomes and survival rates at a lower cost which is achieved by distributing health resources to this small network of centers of excellence. The experience of the health team of the Hospital San Borja Arriaran participating in the project promoted by the COA/UAB CF Center in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States shows that it is possible to transfer knowledge and quality management know-how, creating a cutting-edge, world-class, “CF Center” which performs a multidisciplinary care management of high quality, that is finally reflected in significant improvements in nutritional parameters and lung function of the patients.

La fibrosis quística (FQ) es la enfermedad genética recesiva más común en la población caucásica. De manera unánime todas las normativas de cuidado de FQ de países desarrollados requieren que el manejo sea dado por una red de centros especializados de cuidado en FQ que cubra toda la población de pacientes, pediátricos y adultos. El establecimiento de dichos centros de excelencia requiere de un nivel de experiencia que se logra solo por la constitución de un equipo multidisciplinario entrenado y experimentado de profesionales de la salud, a cargo de un número suficiente (masa crítica) de pacientes para lograr los mejores resultados de sobrevida, a un costo menor, lo cual se logra al distribuir los recursos de salud a un número reducido de centros de excelencia. La experiencia del equipo de salud del Hospital San Borja Arriarán en el proyecto impulsado por el COA/UAB CF Center de Birmingham, Alabama de Estados Unidos, demuestra que es posible la transferencia de conocimientos y de gestión de calidad, formando un “Centro FQ” de vanguardia y de categoría mundial, que realiza un manejo multidisciplinario de primera calidad, reflejado en la mejoría nutricional y de función pulmonar.

Organizational Capacity and Performance of Local Public Health in Korea / 農村醫學 地域保健

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of capacity of local health organization to regional characteristics and the influence of organizational capacity on organizational performance. METHODS: The study used the secondary data for 160 local public health organizations from 5th Community Health Plans and 2009 Community Health Survey. The collected data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Work force and budget showed differences in regional size and elderly population rate. And consumer satisfaction and health care utilization showed differenced in work force and budget. The regression model with total number of employee, number of registered nurses, number of doctors and budget against consumer satisfaction was statistically significant (F=14.70, p=<.001), and number of registered nurses was identified as a factor influencing consumer satisfaction. This model also explained 20.5% of service satisfaction. The regression model for consumer satisfaction was statistically significant (F=45.98, p=<.001), and total number of employee nurses was identified as a factor influencing health care utilization. This model also explained 53.1% of utilization. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study imply that organizational capacity as work force and budget should be increased to improve the organizational performance as consumer satisfaction and health care utilization.

Healthcare utilization and costs in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia: A population-based study / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

This study aimed to investigate differences in healthcare service utilization between patients with and those without benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) using Taiwan′s National Health Insurance population-based database. A total of 7413 patients with BPH and 7413 age-matched patients without BPH were included. The outcome variable was 1-year utilization of healthcare services including the number of outpatient visits, inpatient days, and the costs of outpatient and inpatient treatments. In addition, we separated healthcare services into urology services and nonurology services for analysis. We found that as to the utilization of outpatient urological services, patients with BPH had more outpatient services (7.84 vs 0.52, P< 0.001), higher outpatient costs (US$372 vs US$34, P< 0.001), a longer length of inpatient stay (0.55 vs 0.11, P< 0.001), higher in-patients costs (US$149 vs US$32, P< 0.001), and higher total costs (US$521 vs US$67, P< 0.001) than the comparison group. As for nonurological services, patients with BPH also had more outpatient services (49.11 vs 24.79, P< 0.001), higher outpatient costs (US$1794 vs US$1014, P< 0.001), a longer length of in-patient stay (3.72 vs 2.04, P< 0.001), higher inpatient costs (US$874 vs US$486, P< 0.001), and higher total costs (US$2668 vs US$1500, P< 0.001) compared to comparison patients. We also found that the average total cost was about 2-fold greater for patients with BPH than comparison patients. We concluded that patients with BPH had higher healthcare utilization than comparison patients without BPH.

The Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension and its Effects on Healthcare Demand among Elderly in Malaysia

​The Prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Malaysia shows a rising trend that influences the society in many respects. Country specific evidence is vital for effective intervention. The aims of this study were to identify the role of gender and urbanisation status on NCDs prevalence and its effect on health care demand, specifically doctor visits among elderly in Malaysia. We focused on two of the highest occurrence NCDs in the country – diabetes mellitus and hypertension. A total of 1,414 respondents aged 60 years and above were selected using a multistage sampling for face-to-face interview. We started the analysis with descriptive analysis of the prevalence, taking the effect of gender and urbanisation status of residing area. We extended the study with parametric analysis to find the effect of these health problems on the likelihood of doctor visits as it reflects the equity for access and utilisation issues. Results showed that there were no significant difference of prevalence by gender and urbanisation for hypertension and diabetes mellitus. By utilising probit model, we found that those with diabetes mellitus or hypertension, controlling for other variables, were more likely to utilise doctor services. This result implies that the prevalence of NCDs may further increase demand for health care, especially in the state with a high proportion of older age groups. ​

The Associated Factors with Utilization of Tests for Diabetes Complication and Hemoglobin A1c among Some Diabetes Patients / 보건행정학회지

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to identify factors associated with the utilization of tests for diabetes complication and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among diabetes patients in Jeollanam-do, Korea. METHODS: The study subjects were 2,310 diabetes patients participated in 2014 community health survey in Jeollanam-do, Korea. Dependent variables were the utilizations of fundus examination, microalbuminuria test, and HbA1c test. The used statistical analysis methods were chi-square test and hierarchical regression analysis with weight in consideration of complex sample design. RESULTS: The utilization rates of fundus examination, microalbuminuria test, and HbA1c test were 25.8%, 27.4%, and 12.3%, respectively. In the results of hierarchical regression, fundus examination was significantly related to age, education level in predisposing factors, residential area in enabling factors and recognition of blood sugar, drug therapy, and subjective health status in need factors. Microalbuminuria examination was significantly related to monthly income, residential area in predisposing and health screening, recognition of blood sugar, drug therapy, diabetic education, number of chronic disease, and subjective health status in need factors. HbA1c examination was significantly related to age, education level, marital status in predisposing factors, residential area in enabling factors and drinking, recognition of blood sugar, drug therapy, and diabetic education in need factors. CONCLUSION: The results of this study were shown that perception of their disease seriousness, education about diabetes management, and accessibility of tests were important to utilization of test for diabetes complication and HbA1c. It might be necessary to the develop and strength strategies for enhancing the utilization of tests for diabetes complication and management in diabetes patients.

Hospital Admission Rates for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions in South Korea: Could It Be Used as an Indicator for Measuring Efficiency of Healthcare Utilization? / 보건행정학회지

BACKGROUND: Hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), which are widely used as an indicator of poor access to primary care, can be used as an efficiency indicator of healthcare use in countries providing good access to health care. Korea, which has a national health insurance (NHI) system and a good supply of health care resources, is one such country. To quantify admission rates of ACSC and identify characteristics influencing variation in Korean health care institutions. METHODS: By using NHI claims data, we computed the mean ACSC admission rate for all institutions with ACSC admissions. RESULTS: The average ACSC admission rate for 4,461 institutions was 1.45%. Hospitals and clinics with inpatient beds showed larger variations in the ACSC admission rate (0%-87.9% and 0-99.6%, respectively) and a higher coefficient of variation (7.96 and 2.29) than general/tertiary care hospitals (0%-19.1%, 0.85). The regression analysis results indicate that the ACSC admission rate was significantly higher for hospitals than for clinics (β=0.986, p<0.05), and for private corporate institutions than public institutions (β=0.271, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Substantial variations in ACSC admission rates could suggest the potential problem of inefficient use of healthcare resources. Since hospitals and private corporate institutions tend to increase ACSC admission rates, future health policy should focus on these types of institutions.

The Effects of the Designated Doctor System on Health Care Utilization of Medical Aid Beneficiaries with Chronic Diseases

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine differences in health care utilization and related costs between before and after the introduction of the designated doctor system, and to find out factors making the differences. METHODS: Data were collected from 200 medical aid beneficiaries having one or more chronic diseases, registered in the designated doctor system during the year of 2012, and the relationship between the use of health services and claimed medical expenses was analyzed through paired t-test and multiple regression analysis using the SPSS 18.0 program. RESULTS: There was a decrease in the number of total benefit days and the number of outpatient and medication days, but some cases showed an increase after the designation of medical institution. In general, hospital stay increased after the introduction of the system. However, the number of medical institutions utilized was reduced in most cases after designation. Conversely, medical expenses increased in most cases after the designation of medical institution. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a detailed scheme to designate medical institutions should be made in consideration of the seriousness of illness and classification of medical institutions not only for the beneficiaries' enhanced health but for the effective management of medical aid fund.

The Effects of Hospital Resources on the Service Uses: Hospital Service Area Approach / 보건행정학회지

BACKGROUND: This study explored the relationship between hospital resources and services uses in outpatient/inpatient-based hospital service area (HSA) in Korea. METHODS: Study hospitals included all acute care hospitals except tertiary hospitals. Inpatient and outpatient hospital claims from the Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) program in 2010 were used to identify the service uses. Hospital resources and the degree of insurance premium in study areas were identified with the NHI corporation data. Study variables were computed by summing the service uses or hospital resources of study hospitals in each HSA. Service uses were represented by the total medical charges and number of visits/inpatient days. Hospital resources were measured by number of beds, number of doctors, and number of computed tomography (CT). The economic status of NHI enrollees in each HSA was controlled by the average monthly premium of NHI program per household in each HSA. The degree of using local hospitals was controlled with the localization index. RESULTS: Analysis results showed that hospital resources such as beds, CT were statistically related to the service uses. And also localization index was found to have positive significant relationships with service uses. CONCLUSION: Hospital resources such as beds, CT had not only positive impacts on inpatient service uses, but also influences on the outpatient setting. Health policy makers will require monitoring and assessing the hospital resources in Korea.

Transexualidad y servicios de salud utilizados para transitar por los sexos-géneros / Transsexualism and health care services used to transit by the sexes-genders

Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo comprender las experiencias de la transexualidad en Bogotá con relación a los servicios de salud utilizados para transitar por los sexos-géneros. Para ello se utilizó como herramienta analítica el Análisis Crítico del Discurso, dentro del marco del método cualitativo y se contó con la participación de cuatro personas trans -dos hombres y dos mujeres- y cuatro profesionales de la salud mental -tres psicólogos y un psiquiatra-. Como técnica de recolección se hizo uso de entrevistas en profundidad. Como hallazgos visibles se destacan la relación tensa y en ocasiones conflictiva entre las personas trans y los servicios de salud, y el rol paradójico y estratégico de la patologización en Colombia.

This research aimed to understand the experiences of transgender people in Bogota in relation to the health care services providers. The critical discourse analysis approach within the framework of the qualitative method was applied. Four transgender people: two men and two women, and four mental health professionals-three psychologists and one psychiatrist participated in the analysis. Two types of in-depth interviews were used as instruments for collecting data. As results of the research, it was found a tense and conflicting relationship between transsexuals and health care services and the paradoxical and strategic role of pathologization in Colombia.

Elders Health Empowerment Scale. Spanish adaptation and psychometric analysis / Escala de Empoderamiento sobre la Salud para Adultos Mayores. Adaptación al español y análisis psicométrico

Introduction: Empowerment refers to patient skills that allow them to become primary decision-makers in control of daily self-management of health problems. As important the concept as it is, particularly for elders with chronic diseases, few available instruments have been validated for use with Spanish speaking people. Objective: Translate and adapt the Health Empowerment Scale (HES) for a Spanish-speaking older adults sample and perform its psychometric validation. Methods: The HES was adapted based on the Diabetes Empowerment Scale-Short Form. Where "diabetes" was mentioned in the original tool, it was replaced with "health" terms to cover all kinds of conditions that could affect health empowerment. Statistical and Psychometric Analyses were conducted on 648 urban-dwelling seniors. Results: The HES had an acceptable internal consistency with a Cronbach's α of 0.89. The convergent validity was supported by significant Pearson's Coefficient correlations between the HES total and item scores and the General Self Efficacy Scale (r= 0.77), Swedish Rheumatic Disease Empowerment Scale (r= 0.69) and Making Decisions Empowerment Scale (r= 0.70). Construct validity was evaluated using item analysis, half-split test and corrected item to total correlation coefficients; with good internal consistency (α> 0.8). The content validity was supported by Scale and Item Content Validity Index of 0.98 and 1.0, respectively. Conclusions: HES had acceptable face validity and reliability coefficients; which added to its ease administration and users' unbiased comprehension, could set it as a suitable tool in evaluating elder's outpatient empowerment-based medical education programs.

Introducción: Empoderamiento se refiere a las habilidades que le permiten al paciente convertirse en responsable de tomar las decisiones para el control diario de sus problemas de salud. A pesar de ser un concepto tan importante, particularmente para adultos mayores con problemas crónicos de salud, hay pocos instrumentos accesibles que hayan sido validados para su uso en hispano-hablantes. Objetivo: Traducir y adaptar la Escala de Empoderamiento sobre la Salud (EES) para una muestra de adultos mayores hispano-hablantes y llevar a cabo su validación psicométrica. Métodos: La EES se adaptó basándose en la Escala de Empoderamiento de la Diabetes versión corta. Donde se mencionaba "diabetes" en el instrumento original, se reemplazó con el término "salud" para cubrir todos los tipos de condiciones que podrían afectar el Empoderamiento sobre la salud. Se realizaron análisis estadísticos y psicométricos sobre 648 adultos mayores residentes urbanos. Resultados: La EES tuvo una consistencia interna aceptable con un α de Cronbach de 0.89. la validez convergente se apoyó en un coeficiente de correlación de Pearson significativo entre la EES total y por ítems y la Escala General de Auto-eficacia (r= 0.77), la Escala de Empoderamiento para la Enfermedad Reumática versión Sueca (r= 0.69) y la Escala de Empoderamiento Tomando Decisiones (r= 0.70). La validez de Constructo se evaluó mediante análisis de ítem, test de las dos mitades y coeficiente de correlación ítem corregido total (α >0.8). La validez de contenido se apoyó por los Índices de Validez de Contenido para la Escala y para los ítems de 0.98 y 1.0, respectivamente. Conclusiones: La EES tuvo una validez y confiabilidad aceptables, que sumados a su facilidad de administración y comprensión simple y sin sesgos podría constituirse en una herramienta confiable para evaluar programas educativos médicos basados en el Empoderamiento de pacientes mayores ambulatorios.

Health care utilization and medical expenditures of type 2 diabetes patients treated with oral anti-diabetic drugs / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To understand health care utilization and medical expenditures of type 2 diabetes patients poorly-controlled with oral anti-diabetic drugs (OADs) in China.

Avaliacao da confiabilidade e validade do Indice de Qualidade da Dieta Revisado / Confiabilidad y validez del Indice de Calidad de la Dieta Revisado / Evaluation of the reliability and validity of the Brazilian Healthy Eating Index Revised

OBJETIVO Avaliar a confiabilidade e a validade do Índice de Qualidade da Dieta Revisado de acordo com as propriedades psicométricas. MÉTODOS Estudo transversal em amostra probabilística do município de São Paulo, SP, com 2.375 indivíduos com idade maior ou igual a 12 anos, de ambos os sexos, incluídos no Inquérito de Saúde, realizado em 2003. As informações sobre características da população foram obtidas por meio de questionário. Dados do consumo alimentar foram obtidos pela aplicação do Recordatório de 24 horas, utilizado para calcular o Índice de Qualidade da Dieta Revisado (IQD-R). Foram avaliados (1) validade de conteúdo, comparando os componentes com as recomendações do Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira; (2) validade de constructo, por meio da análise fatorial pelo método dos componentes principais e verificando se o índice consegue mensurar a qualidade da dieta independente da energia ingerida; (3) validade discriminante; e (4) a confiabilidade do IQD-R pela análise da consistência interna dos itens utilizando o coeficiente alfa de Cronbach. RESULTADOS As correlações entre os escores dos componentes e a energia consumida foram fracas (r #< 0,30). A análise de componentes principais indicou a presença de quatro fatores com autovalores #> 1 que representaram 67% da variância do índice. A validade discriminante do IQD-R foi observada comparando os indivíduos por sexo e hábito de fumar, identificando diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre as médias dos componentes do IQD-R e o escore final. O valor do alfa de Cronbach (α = 0,7) indicou a presença de consistência interna entre os componentes do IQD-R. O componente Gord_AA, seguido dos componentes frutas totais e frutas integrais, apresentaram ...

RESUMEN OBJETIVO Evaluar la confiabilidad y la validez del Índice de la Calidad de la Dieta Revisado. MÉTODOS Estudio transversal en muestra probabilística del municipio de Sao Paulo, SP, con 2.375 individuos con edad mayor o igual a 12 años, de ambos sexos, incluidos en la Pesquisa de Salud, realizado en 2003. Las informaciones sobre características de la población fueron obtenidas por medio de cuestionario. Datos del consumo alimenticio fueron obtenidos por la aplicación del Recordatorio de 24 horas, utilizado para calcular el Índice de Calidad de la dieta Revisado (IQD-R). Se evaluaron validez del contenido, comparando los componentes con las recomendaciones de la Guía Alimenticia para la Población Brasileña; validez del constructo, por medio del análisis de componentes principales y de la capacidad discriminante; verificar si el índice logra medir la calidad de la dieta independientemente de la energía ingerida; y verificar la confiabilidad del IQD-R por el análisis de la consistencia interna de los ítems utilizando el coeficiente alfa de Cronbach. RESULTADOS Las correlaciones entre los escores de los componentes y la energía consumida fueron débiles (r#<0,30). La capacidad discriminante del IQD-R fue observada comparando los individuos por sexo y hábito de fumar, identificando diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los promedios de los componentes del IQD-R y el escore final. El análisis de componentes principales indicó la presencia de cuatro factores con autovalores #> 1 que representaron 67% de la varianza del índice. El valor del alfa de Cronbach (α = 0,7) indicó la presencia de consistencia interna entre los componentes del IQD-R. El componente Gord_AA, seguido de las frutas totales e integrales, presentaron mayor correlación con la puntuación final del índice. ...

OBJECTIVE : Evaluate validity and reliability of the Brazilian Healthy Eating Index Revised according to the psychometric properties. METHODS : Cross-sectional study of a random sample of 2,375 individuals of both sexes, aged 12 or older from the city of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, drawn from the Health Survey carried out in 2003. Information on the population characteristics was acquired using a questionnaire. Food intake was obtained using 24h Recall, used to calculate the Brazilian Healthy Eating Index Revised (BHEI-R). The following aspects were evaluated: (1) content validity, by comparing the components with the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population; (2) construct validity, factor analysis using principal components method and verifying whether the index can measure diet quality regardless of energy intake; (3) discriminating validity; and (4) the reliability of the BHEI-R by analyzing the internal consistency of the items using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. RESULTS : The correlations between the component scores and energy intake were weak (r < 0.30). Principal component analysis indicated the presence of four factors with eigenvalues > 1 that represented 67% of the index variance. The discriminating validity of the BHEI-R was observed by comparing the individuals by sex and smoking habit, and identifying statistically significant differences between the means of the components of the BHEI-R and the final score. The Cronbach’s alpha value (α = 0.7) indicated the presence of internal consistency between the components of the BHEI-R. The SoFAAS component followed by the total fruit component and whole fruit component presented greater correlation with the final index scores. CONCLUSIONS : The Brazilian Healthy Eating Index Revised showed itself to be reliable and structurally valid when used to evaluate and monitor the diet quality of Brazilians. .

Informing public policy toward binational health insurance: Empirical evidence from California / Información para las políticas públicas sobre seguros binacionales de salud: evidencia empírica de California

Objective. To estimate reimbursement rate differences between Mexico and US based physicians reimbursed by a binational health insurance (BHI) plan and US payers, respectively; and show the relationship between plan benefit designs and health care utilization in Mexico. Materials and methods. Data include 33 841 and 53 909 HMO enrollees in California from Sistemas Médicos Nacionales (SIMNSA) and Salud con Health Net, respectively. We use descriptive statistical methods. Results. SIMNSA's physician reimbursement rates averaged 50.7% (95% CI: 34.5%-67.0%) of Medi-Cal's, 28.3% (95% CI: 19.6%-37.0%) of Medicare's, and 22% of US private plans'. Each year, 99.4% of SIMNSA enrollees but only 0.1% of Salud con Health Net enrollees obtained care in Mexico. Conclusion. SIMNSA only covers emergency and urgent care in the US, while Salud con Health Net covers comprehensive care with higher patient cost sharing than in Mexico. To realize potential savings, plans need strong incentives to increase utilization in Mexico.

Objetivo. Estimar diferencias en tasas de reembolso y utilización de servicios médicos cubiertos por seguros binacionales de salud (SBS) y aquellos de planes públicos y privados de EUA. Material y métodos. Con métodos estadísticos descriptivos se analizan datos de 33 841 afiliados a Sistemas Médicos Nacionales (SIMNSA) y 53 909 de Salud con Health Net en California. Resultados. Las tasas de reembolso de SIMNSA son en promedio 50.7% (95% IC: 34.5%-67.0%) de aquellas de Medi-Cal, 28.3% (95% IC: 19.6%-37.0%) de Medicare, y 22% de los planes privados de EUA. Cada año, 99.4% de afiliados a SIMNSA, pero sólo 0.1% de Salud con Health Net obtienen atención en México. Conclusión. SIMNSA sólo cubre gastos de emergencia y atención urgente en EUA, mientras que Salud con Health Net cubre servicios de atención integrales. Los planes de SBS pueden lograr ahorros importantes con más incentivos para que la atención ocurra en México.