This paper investigates the interplay of socioeconomic and medical determinants of health care utilization among elderly Europeans from ten countries. Using novel strictly comparable cross-national data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the study exploits recent semiand nonparametric estimation methods to illustrate how individual socioeconomic status and healt...

BACKGROUND Guidelines from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program stipulate that multicomponent self-management interventions for asthma should include a written action plan (WAP). However the specific, independent effect of WAPs in improving outcomes remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To measure the association between WAP use during the previous year and improved asthma outcomes. ME...

Even the most socially aware countries in the World have noticed the gap increase between the poorest and the richest population groups. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of inequity and to identify main barriers for equitable health care utilization by economic status, region and area of living, controlled for health needs in the Croatian adult population. The data from...

This study investigates whether new enrollees in the Alabama Children's Health Insurance Program have different claims experience from renewing enrollees who do not have a lapse in coverage and from continuing enrollees. The analysis compared health services utilization in the first month of enrollment for new enrollees (who had not been in the program for at least 12 months) with utilization a...

OBJECTIVE This study examines the effect of taking a health risk assessment (HRA) on health care costs, utilization, and member health risks over a 3-year period. METHODS This retrospective cohort study examined changes utilization, costs, and health risks among a random sample of 500 employees completing an HRA compared with a matched group of 500 employees who did not complete an HRA. RES...

BACKGROUND Inequities in health are a major challenge for health care planners and policymakers globally. In Vietnam, rapid societal development presents a considerable risk for disadvantaged populations to be left behind. The aim of this review is to map the known causes and determinants of inequity in maternal and child health in Vietnam in order to promote policy action. METHODS A review w...

BACKGROUND Maternal health care utilization is at the core of global public health provision and an area of focus in the now-concluded Millennium Development Goal agenda. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine trends in maternal health care utilization over the last 15 years in Nepal, focusing on coverage and equity. METHODS This paper used data from the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) 2001, ...

BACKGROUND Information is scarce concerning the perceived needs and the amount of health-care utilization of persons with suicidal ideation (SI) compared to those without SI. AIMS To describe the needs and health care use of persons with and without SI and to investigate whether these differences are associated with the severity of the axis-I symptomatology. METHOD Data were obtained from 1...

One of the most extensive Chilean health care reforms occurred in July 2005, when the Regime of Explicit Health Guarantees (AUGE) became effective. This reform guarantees coverage for a specific set of health conditions. Thus, the purpose of this study is to provide timely evidence for policy makers to understand the current distribution and equity of health care utilization in Chile.The author...

BACKGROUND Secure messaging with health care providers offers the promise of improved patient-provider relationships, potentially facilitating outcome improvements. But, will patients use messaging technology in the manner envisioned by policy-makers if their providers do not actively use it? OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that the level and type of secure messaging usage by providers might be ass...