Government health expenditures and health outcome nexus: a study on OECD countries.

Introduction: The consistent increase in health expenditures is an integral part of health policy. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of health expenditures on health outcomes in the OECD countries. Method: We used the system generalized method of moments (GMM) for thirty eight OECD countries using panel data from 1996 to 2020. Results and discussion: The findings show that health expenditures have a negative impact on infant mortality while positive on life expectancy. The results further verify that the income measured as GDP, number of doctors, and air pollution has a negative effect on infant mortality, while these variables have a positive effect on life expectancy in the studied countries. The outcome of the study suggests that health expenditures need to be properly utilized and improvements can be made in the health policies to increase the investment in health technology. The government should also focus on measures like economic and environmental to have long-lasting health outcomes.

Impact of Environmental Quality on Healthcare Expenditures in Developing Countries: A Panel Data Approach.

OBJECTIVE: The deterioration in environmental quality has an economic and social cost. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of environmental factors on health expenditures in developing countries. METHOD: To analyze the relationship between environmental quality (air pollution and temperature) and health expenditure in thirty-three developing countries, the study uses system generalized method of moments (GMM) using data from 2000 to 2017. RESULTS: The results suggest a positive effect of both air pollution and temperature on health expenditure. However, the effect is highest for government health expenditure, followed by private and total health expenditure in the studied countries. The results further suggest that the impact of environmental factors is greater in higher-income countries when we divide the studied countries into two groups, i.e., higher- and lower-income countries. CONCLUSION: Our results are interesting and informative for the policy makers to design such policies to attain better environmental quality and social well-being. The increased healthcare expenditures due to increased air pollution and climate change necessitate for an efficient, reliable, affordable and modern energy policy by emphasizing the use of clean and renewable energy in these countries that ensure better health for the masses. Furthermore, a smart and sustainable environmentally friendly economic growth policy is necessary to ensure better health for the masses.

Impact of Air Pollution (PM2.5) on Child Mortality: Evidence from Sixteen Asian Countries.

Air pollution in Asian countries represents one of the biggest health threats given the varied levels of economic and population growth in the recent past. The quantification of air pollution (PM2.5) vis à vis health problems has important policy implications in tackling its health effects. This paper investigates the relationship between air pollution (PM2.5) and child mortality in sixteen Asian countries using panel data from 2000 to 2017. We adopt a two-stage least squares approach that exploits variations in PM2.5 attributable to economic growth in estimating the effect on child mortality. We find that a one-unit annual increase in PM2.5 leads to a nearly 14.5% increase in the number of children dying before the age of five, suggesting the severity of the effects of particulate matter (PM2.5) on health outcomes in sixteen Asian countries considered in this study. The results of this study suggest the need for strict policy interventions by governments in Asian countries to reduce PM2.5 concentration alongside environment-friendly policies for economic growth.

Impact of Urbanization and Economic Growth on CO2 Emission: A Case of Far East Asian Countries.

Rising CO2 emission constitute a great threat to the world environment and public health. This study examines the major determinants of CO2 emissions in Far East countries in the period of 1980 to 2017. We adopt a panel data-fixed effect model that accounts for time-invariant country-specific characteristics that may create omitted-variable bias. We also additionally take care of the time trend by applying an annual fixed effect into our model. The study finds that urbanization, economic growth and trade openness significantly determine CO2 emission in the selected countries. Thus, the main policy suggestions are (a) to encourage green and sustainable urbanization, as it helps in economic progress but not at the expense of environmental deterioration; (b) to strategically regulate and improve industrial structure; and (c) enhance sharing of renewable energy in total energy consumption.

Nexus between Air Pollution and Neonatal Deaths: A Case of Asian Countries.

The rapid economic growth in Asian countries has witnessed a persistent increase in air pollution complementing adverse health challenges for children in these countries. Quantification of health effects attributable to air pollution (PM2.5) is important in policy implications to tackle air pollution and associated health problems. This study aims to explore the nexus between air pollution and neonates' deaths embedded in acute respiratory infection. We collected panel data from the 12 most vulnerable Asian countries over the period of 2000-2017 and analyzed through the fixed-effect model. Empirical results show a positive relation between air pollution, temperature, and neonates' deaths in the studied Asian countries. The results have attested negative impacts of income and education while positive effect of population density on neonates' deaths due to acute respiratory infection. Diagnostic and prognostic measures have checked the pace of the respiratory diseases caused by PM2.5 and resultant deaths in Asian countries; yet alarming factors, like mounting industrial air pollution and rapid expansion of industrial zones in urban areas, need to be addressed in policy implications for long term sustainable solutions.

Modeling and Predicting Dengue Incidence in Highly Vulnerable Countries using Panel Data Approach.

The spread of dengue has become a major public health concern in recent times due to alarming climate change. Using country level panel data over the 2000-2017 period, this paper examines the effects of climate change and socio-economic variables on the incidence of dengue-borne diseases in some of the most highly vulnerable countries. Empirical analysis shows a positive association between climate change and socio-economic conditions in the advent of dengue-borne diseases. We find that climate change, as measured by temperature, is proactively contributing to the spread of dengue-borne diseases. However, redressing the contributive factor behind climate change, via better awareness through education and improved public health facilitation, can assist in managing the occurrences and spread of dengue-borne diseases.

Climate Change and Infectious Diseases: Evidence from Highly Vulnerable Countries.

BACKGROUND: Climate change is an alarming challenge for humanity at large due to its mediating role in emergence and spread of infectious diseases like cholera and malaria. This study was conducted to examine the effect of climate change and some socio-economic factors on incidence of infectious diseases. METHODS: We used country level panel data over the 1990-2017 period using panel ARDL-PMG technique on highly affected countries from climate change. RESULTS: There is a long run co-integrating relationship among climate change, socio-economic factors and prevalence of infectious diseases. Climate change, as measured by the temperature, is contributing to the spread of infectious diseases. CONCLUSION: This is the first study giving evidence of the impact of climate change on incidence of infectious diseases as can be seen from highly vulnerable countries to climate change. It is recommended to improve the level of education along with public health and town planning to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases.

Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access for Ubiquitous Wireless Sensor Networks.

Ubiquitous wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) have become a critical technology for enabling smart cities and other ubiquitous monitoring applications. Their deployment, however, can be seriously hampered by the spectrum available to the sheer number of sensors for communication. To support the communication needs of UWSNs without requiring more spectrum resources, the power-domain non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) technique originally proposed for 5th Generation (5G) cellular networks is investigated for UWSNs for the first time in this paper. However, unlike 5G networks that operate in the licensed spectrum, UWSNs mostly operate in unlicensed spectrum where sensors also experience cross-technology interferences from other devices sharing the same spectrum. In this paper, we model the interferences from various sources at the sensors using stochastic geometry framework. To evaluate the performance, we derive a theorem and present new closed form expression for the outage probability of the sensors in a downlink scenario under interference limited environment. In addition, diversity analysis for the ordered NOMA users is performed. Based on the derived outage probability, we evaluate the average link throughput and energy consumption efficiency of NOMA against conventional orthogonal multiple access (OMA) technique in UWSNs. Further, the required computational complexity for the NOMA users is presented.

Evaluation of Temporal Virological Responses to Interferon-α-2b plus Ribavirin among Genotype 3a Hepatitis C Virus-Infected Patients.

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to examine the impact of rapid virological response (RVR) and early virological response (EVR) on sustained virological response (SVR) in chronic hepatitis C genotype 3a individuals. METHODS: The patients were given antiviral therapy with IFN-α-2b, 3 million units 3 times a week and 800-1,200 mg of ribavirin daily adjusted to the patient's body weight (<60 kg 800 mg day-1, and >60 kg 1,200 day-1). The patients received this combination therapy for 24 weeks. The patients were evaluated for their viral load at week 4, 12, and 24 using RT-PCR. RESULTS: Out of 1,471 patients, 43.3% showed a negative viral load in week 4, demonstrating RVR, whereas 56.6% maintained a high viral load. These were further separated based on viral reduction in their plasma: either negative for HCV-RNA at week 12 (n = 575), manifesting EVR, or showing a 2-log reduction in HCV viral load classified as partial EVR (PEVR; n = 259). The PEVR response was less (29.7%) compared with RVR (85.9%) and EVR (69.0%), although nonresponders were found in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals incompliant with their treatment who have a higher RVR significantly influence their SVR towards a better remission that can be treated within a short duration with standard treatment.

Comparison of the plaque-removing efficacy of toothpaste and toothpowder.

BACKGROUND: Removing dental plaque may play a key role in maintaining oral health. Methods for oral hygiene vary from country to country and from culture to culture. Chewing sticks (miswak) and toothpowders are popular oral hygiene tools in Pakistan. OBJECTIVE: To compare the plaque-removing efficacy of toothpaste and toothpowder with and without manual toothbrushes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was designed as an examiner-blind crossover study. The Silness and Löe plaque index was used to evaluate the plaque distribution. Thirty-six volunteer dental students were recruited for the experiment. After scoring, the subjects were randomly divided into two groups. The first group was asked to brush with toothpaste or toothpowder according to a split mouth protocol. The second group was asked to follow the same protocol except they were asked to use their finger instead of the brush. The remaining plaque was scored again. RESULTS: Plaque-removing efficacy of the toothpowder was higher whether it was used with brush or with finger. There was a significant difference between paste and powder users (p = 0.009). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that toothpowder is an effective means to remove plaque with a brush.