OBJECTIVE Although several studies have examined the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and mortality in the general population, few have investigated this relationship among people with diabetes. This study sought to determine how risk of mortality associated with measures of SES among adults with diagnosed diabetes is mitigated by association with demographics, comorbidities, diab...

This study examined whether middle-aged adults exposed to poverty in childhood or current financial hardship have detectable brain differences from those who have not experienced such adversity. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was conducted as one aspect of the Personality and Total Health (PATH) through life study: a large longitudinal community survey measuring the health and well...

BACKGROUND Africa is in an orphan-care crisis. In Zimbabwe, where one-fourth of adults are HIV-positive and one-fifth of children are orphans, AIDS and economic decline are straining society's ability to care for orphans within their extended families. Lack of stable care is putting thousands of children at heightened risk of malnourishment, emotional underdevelopment, illiteracy, poverty, sexu...

PURPOSE This paper aims to analyze the household financial burden and poverty impacts of cancer treatment in Vietnam. METHODS Under the "ASEAN CosTs in ONcology" study design, three major specialized cancer hospitals were employed to assemble the Vietnamese data. Factors of socioeconomic, direct, and indirect costs of healthcare were collected prospectively through both individual interviews ...

Microfinance has been developed as alternative solution for global poverty alleviation effort in the last 30 years. Microfinance institution (MFI) has unique characteristic wherein they face double bottom line objectives of outreach to the poor and financial sustainability. This study proposes a two-stage analysis to measure Islamic Microfinance institutions (IMFIs) performance by comparing the...

Food commodity price fluctuations have an important impact on poverty and food insecurity across the world. Conventional models have not provided a complete picture of recent price spikes in agricultural commodity markets, while there is an urgent need for appropriate policy responses. Perhaps new approaches are needed in order to better understand international spill-overs, the feedback betwee...

This paper examined the role of microcredit in women empowerment though financial inclusion. A survey was conducted among the low profile unprivileged rural women living in southwestern part of Bangladesh. Data were collected on the usage and effectiveness of microcredit and analyzed using STATA 11. Multiple regression and descriptive statistics were used to interpret data. The study found that...

BACKGROUND The way in which a government chooses to finance a health intervention can affect the uptake of health interventions and consequently the extent of health gains. In addition to health gains, some policies such as public finance can insure against catastrophic health expenditures. We aimed to evaluate the health and financial risk protection benefits of selected interventions that cou...

Some major “game changers” beyond the recent economic crisis and food/fuel crisis will have an impact on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to 2015 and afterwards. “Futureproofing” the MDGs is about thinking how future(s) might impact the Goals, MDG gains, costs, strategies and opportunities for faster progress on poverty reduction. Scenarios—multiple coherent and plausible futures—are a v...