Search results for "DISPARITIES"

Effects of the Blair/Brown NHS Reforms on Socioeconomic Equity in Health Care

2012

The central objectives of the ‘Blair/Brown’ reforms of the English NHS in the 2000s were to reduce hospital waiting times and improve the quality of care. However, critics raised concerns that the choice and competition elements of reform might undermine socioeconomic equity in health care. By contrast, the architects of reform predicted that accelerated growth in NHS spending combined with increased patient choice of hospital would enhance equity for poorer patients. This paper draws together and discusses the findings of three large-scale national studies designed to shed empirical light on this issue. Study one developed methods for monitoring change in neighbourhood level socioeconomic…

Patterns of inter- and intra-regional differences in human capital and earnings : Evidence from Finland and Sweden 1987–2015

2021

In this paper, we examine the long-term patterns of geographical disparities in human capital and income in Finland and Sweden over the period 1987–2015. Using nationwide longitudinal population register data, we analyze disparities at different spatial scales, between and within functional labor market regions determined by observed travel-to-work patterns. Contrary to the findings from many other developed economies indicating inter-regional divergence in per capita income, we find indications of inter-regional convergence in per capita earnings among the functional labor market regions in both countries after 2000. However, small, and peripheral regions have not recovered from the macroe…

Does health literacy explain regional health disparities among adolescents in Finland?

2021

Health literacy (HL)—as a broad range of health-related competencies—has been proposed to be a promising construct in understanding health disparities better, also among adolescents. Several factors have been found to explain differences in adolescents’ HL levels; however, not much is known about how different regions of a country or majority/minority status is associated with HL, or whether HL is associated with regional health disparities. The aim of this study was to examine and compare HL and health levels among majority- and minority-language-speaking adolescents living in different regions of Finland, and to explore if HL explains regional health disparities, taking into account other…

Mapping routine measles vaccination in low- and middle-income countries

2021

The safe, highly effective measles vaccine has been recommended globally since 1974, yet in 2017 there were more than 17 million cases of measles and 83,400 deaths in children under 5 years old, and more than 99% of both occurred in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)1–4. Globally comparable, annual, local estimates of routine first-dose measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) coverage are critical for understanding geographically precise immunity patterns, progress towards the targets of the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), and high-risk areas amid disruptions to vaccination programmes caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)5–8. Here we generated annual estimates of routine childhoo…

Caries Severity, Decayed First Permanent Molars and Associated Factors in 6-7 Years Old Schoolchildren Living in Palermo (Southern Italy).

2023

To date, there are very few epidemiologic studies on caries disease in 6–7 year old children living in Sicily (Southern Italy). The first permanent molar (FPM) is the most commonly affected tooth in this target population, and a one-unit increase in the number of decayed FPMs is predictive of caries in other teeth and in adulthood. The primary aim of this research is to estimate the prevalence of caries in 6–7 year old schoolchildren living in Palermo and, as a secondary aim, to estimate the prevalence of affected FPMs. It was designed as a cluster cross-sectional survey on 995 children from 16 schools, selected based on their geographical location, in one of the eight city districts. Carie…

Considerations on the Advantages and Disadvantages of Romania's Accession to the European Union

2015

Abstract After nine years from Romania's accession to the European Union, the advantages are sustained with specific statistical markers, which could have been more positive if the effect of certain identified causes (reduced administrative ability, political instability, extended corruption, high tax evasion etc.) would have been diminished. Counterbalancing the benefits of the accession the opinion polls show the disadvantages. If a poll conducted four years prior to the accession showed that 66% of Romania's population considered that the accession to the European Union would produce positive effects, after six years from the accession things have reversed and 58% of Romanians considered…

Disparités géographiques et convergence des régions européennes : une approche par l'économétrie spatiale

2002

The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the convergence process between European regions by taking into account spatial patterns of economic activities. First, with the help of literature reviews on theoretical and empirical analyses of growth and convergence and on economic geography models, we show in chapter 1 why geographic disparities should be introduced in the study of convergence between economies. Next, the spatial statistic and econometric tools allowing to reach this goal are detailed in chapter 2. Finally, three empirical studies of the convergence process in presence of geographic disparities are carried out. They are based on a sample for per capita GDP of 138 regions, belo…

Les inégalités environnementales en Bourgogne

2016

Inequality in Healthcare Utilization in Italy: How Important Are Barriers to Access?

2022

With the ageing population, equitable access to medical care has proven to be paramount for the effective and efficient management of all diseases. Healthcare access can be hindered by cost barriers for drugs or exams, long waiting lists or difficult access to the place where the needed healthcare service is provided. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the probability of facing one of these barriers varies among individuals with different socio-economic status and care needs, controlling for geographical variability. Methods. The sample for this study included 9629 interviews with Italian individuals, aged 15 and over, from the second wave (2015) of the European Health Intervie…

Economic convergence vs. socio-economic convergence in space

2006

This paper aims to present a new analysis framework for assessing disparities among regions (or countries). It combines both economic and social variables, where the economic attributes refer in particular to marked differences in consumption variables. This analysis is also appealing for spatial convergence analyses over time. In our paper, both economic and social variables are included as the basis of a logical operational scheme that is suitable for comparative research. In this scheme the economic aspects of living standards are represented by different categories of consumption expenditures, while the social aspects are represented by indicators of health, education, labour market con…