• Title/Summary/Keyword: Health Benefits

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The Paradox of the Ugandan Health Insurance System: Challenges and Opportunities for Health Reform

  • Emmanuel Otieno;Josephine Namyalo
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.57 no.1
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    • pp.91-94
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    • 2024
  • For nearly four decades, Ugandans have experienced a period marked by hope, conflict, and resilience across various aspects of healthcare reform. The health insurance system in Uganda lacks a legal framework and does not extend benefits to the entire population. In Uganda, community-based health insurance is common among those in the informal sector, while private medical insurance is typically provided to employees by their workplaces and agencies. The National Health Insurance Scheme Bill, introduced in 2019, was passed in 2021. If the President of Uganda gives his assent to the National Health Insurance Bill, it will become a significant policy driving health and universal health coverage. However, this bill is not without its shortcomings. In this perspective, we aim to explore the complex interplay of challenges and opportunities facing Uganda's health sector.

A Study on the Policy Decision Making Process of Seoul-Type Paid Sick Leave: Applying Kingdon's Multiple Streams Model (다중흐름모형을 적용한 서울형 유급병가 정책 도입과정에 관한 연구)

  • Jung, Hyun Woo;Park, So Hyeon;Sohn, Minsung;Chung, Haejoo
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.286-300
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    • 2020
  • In 2019, the Seoul metropolitan government established its own 'Seoul-type paid sick leave project'. Although the central government had to introduce such a system, which is also called sickness benefits, it was not implemented. In order to understand the process by which the Seoul government has implemented such a policy, this study used Kingdon's multiple streams framework. As a result, in the problem stream, it was found that the economic burden of sickness has been considered only in terms of medical expenses in the past of Korea. Then Songpa's three women and Middle East respiratory syndrome incidents raised awareness of the necessity of the sickness benefit system in 2014 and 2015. In the political stream, several social affairs such as national health insurance huge surpluses and the 2017 presidential election opened policy window. At that time, Seoul Mayor actively promoted sickness benefits as a policy entrepreneur. In the policy stream, the sickness benefit system has gained new attention through political events. To summary, these three streams flowed separately and then they assembled around huge political affairs. As a result, it was confirmed that Kingdon's model is the most effective theory than any other models in analyzing the health care policy decision process in Korea.

Promoting Attendance at Cervical Cancer Screening: Understanding the Relationship with Turkish Womens' Health Beliefs

  • Demirtas, Basak;Acikgoz, Inci
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.333-340
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    • 2013
  • Background: The aim of the study was to identify the relationship between 'Health Belief Model Scale for Cervical Cancer and the Pap Smear Test' subscale scores and demographic/gyneco-obstetric characteristics. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 256 women. Data were obtained using the 'Demographic and Gyneco-Obstetric Identification Form' and the 'Health Belief Model Scale for Cervical Cancer and the Pap Smear Test. Results: The percentage of women who had heard about the Pap test was 77.7 whereas only 32.4% had actually undergone the test. Some 45.7% of the women stated that they did not know the reason for having a Pap test. Women who had obtained a Pap smear test had statistically significantly fewer perceived barriers than those who had never had (p<0.05). Scores with regard to the subscales including 'Benefits of Pap Smear Tests and Health Motivation', 'Perceived Seriousness of Cervical Cancer', 'Susceptibility to Cervical Cancer' and 'Cervical Cancer Health Motivation' did not differ with demographic/gyneco-obstetric characteristics such as womens' educational level, whether or not young age at first marriage, whether or not having family history of female cancer, and whether or not having had a Pap test (p>0.05). Conclusions: Increasing knowledge about benefits of Pap smear tests, increasing motivation to obtain Pap Smear Test and increasing perceived seriousness of cervical cancer could promote attendance at cervical cancer screening. Different strategies are needed for behavioural change. Implementation of educational programmes by nurses in a busy environment could result in a major clinical change, based on the findings of this study.

Structural health monitoring of a newly built high-piled wharf in a harbor with fiber Bragg grating sensor technology: design and deployment

  • Liu, Hong-biao;Zhang, Qiang;Zhang, Bao-hua
    • Smart Structures and Systems
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    • v.20 no.2
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    • pp.163-173
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    • 2017
  • Structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructure using fiber Bragg grating sensor networks (FBGSNs) has received significant public attention in recent years. However, there is currently little research on the health-monitoring technology of high-piled wharfs in coastal ports using the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor technique. The benefits of FBG sensors are their small size, light weight, lack of conductivity, resistance corrosion, multiplexing ability and immunity to electromagnetic interference. Based on the properties of high-piled wharfs in coastal ports and servicing seawater environment and the benefits of FBG sensors, the SHM system for a high-piled wharf in the Tianjin Port of China is devised and deployed partly using the FBG sensor technique. In addition, the health-monitoring parameters are proposed. The system can monitor the structural mechanical properties and durability, which provides a state-of-the-art mean to monitor the health conditions of the wharf and display the monitored data with the BIM technique. In total, 289 FBG stain sensors, 87 FBG temperature sensors, 20 FBG obliquity sensors, 16 FBG pressure sensors, 8 FBG acceleration sensors and 4 anode ladders are installed in the components of the back platform and front platform. After the installation of some components in the wharf construction site, the good signal that each sensor measures demonstrates the suitability of the sensor setup methods, and it is proper for the full-scale, continuous, autonomous SHM deployment for the high-piled wharf in the costal port. The South 27# Wharf SHM system constitutes the largest deployment of FBG sensors for wharf structures in costal ports to date. This deployment demonstrates the strong potential of FBGSNs to monitor the health of large-scale coastal wharf structures. This study can provide a reference to the long-term health-monitoring system deployment for high-piled wharf structures in coastal ports.

Breast Cancer Knowledge, Perception and Breast Self-Examination Practices among Yemeni Women: an Application of the Health Belief Model

  • Al-Sakkaf, Khaled Abdulla;Basaleem, Huda Omer
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.17 no.3
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    • pp.1463-1467
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    • 2016
  • Background: The incidence of breast cancer is rapidly increasing in Yemen with recent indications of constituting one-third of female cancers. The main problem in Yemen remains very late presentation of breast cancer, most of which should have been easily recognisable. Since stage of disease at diagnosis is the most important prognostic variable, early diagnosis is an important option to be considered for control of breast cancer in low resourced settings like Yemen. In the present study, we aimed at describing breast cancer knowledge, perceptions and breast self-examination (BSE) practices among a sample of Yemeni women. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study covered 400 women attending four reproductive health centres in Aden, Yemen through face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire during April - July 2014. We collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge about breast cancer, and screening practices as well as respondents' perceptions based on the five sub scales of the Health Belief Model (HBM): perceived susceptibility; perceived severity; perceived barriers; perceived benefits; and self-efficacy. The response format was a five-point Likert scale. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20) was used for statistical analysis. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Logistic regression analysis was conducted with BSE as a dependent variable. Results: The mean age of women was 26.5 (S.D=5.6) years. The majority (89.0%) had never ever performed any screening. Two-thirds of respondents had poor knowledge. Perceived BSE benefits and self-efficacy and lower BSE barriers perception were significant independent predictors of BSE practice. Conclusions: Poor knowledge and inadequate BSE practices are prevailing in Yemen. The need for implementing culturally sensitive targeted education measures is mandatory in the effort to improve early detection and reduce the burden of breast cancer.

A Research of the Residents' Availability and Health Effectiveness Based upon the Types of Green Roof (옥상녹화 유형별 거주자 이용행태와 건강효과)

  • Kim, Soo-Bong
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.40 no.3
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    • pp.60-68
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    • 2012
  • The purpose of this research is to identify green roofs based on how to utilize the diverse space. This research also aims to discover the correlation between the use of the green roof and the overall level of the public's health condition, through which it is intended to grasp the health effects by means of the space of the green roof. The current use patterns of the green roof have been identified generally to have more than 60% accessibility, less than 30 minutes of short-tenn use, relaxation or removing stress, enjoy the view of the surrounding, smoking, walking and exercise. It will be highly effective to furnish facilities and plants for tree planting, and to get financial maintenance & management subsidy for the purpose of revitalizing the green roof. It is expected that if the green roof is created in educational institutes, hospitals and shopping centers, where the current level of health conditions is generally low, it will contribute in promoting the city dwellers' health benefits. In addition, the physical environmental renovation through establishing the green roof will bring about producing a healthy city because the emotional health benefits also will make a positive impact upon physical health.

Cost-Benefit Analysis on the Economic Effectiveness of Safety and Health Ledger (비용편익분석을 통한 안전보건대장의 경제적 효과성 분석)

  • Lim, Se-Jong;Won, Jeong-Hun;Shin, Seung-Hyeon;Seo, Jae-Min
    • Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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    • v.21 no.5
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    • pp.409-420
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    • 2021
  • The safety and health ledger system, which gives the responsibility of safety and health management for construction site workers to the construction project owner, was introduced as part of the overall revision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. There is a need to explain the system's effectiveness in terms of economic feasibility to solve the execution problem of the system caused by low awareness and implementation rate. In this study, the economic effect of implementing the safety and health ledger system was analyzed using cost-benefit analysis based on the data discussed at the time of the introduction of the system. Results show that creating and managing the design safety and health ledger caused additional costs in implementing the system. As a result of comparing the cost of preparation and the direct and indirect benefits caused by the reduction of industrial accidents, the benefits were evaluated higher than the costs. Thus, it is thought that the safety and health ledger system reduces construction work accidents and generates economic effects.

The Effect of Long-Term Care Ratings and Benefit Utilization Characteristics on Healthcare Use (노인장기요양 등급 및 급여 특성이 의료이용에 미치는 영향)

  • Kang Ju Son;Seung-Jin Oh;Jong-Min Yoon
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.295-310
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    • 2023
  • Background: The long-term care (LTC) group has higher rates of chronic disease and disability registration compared to the general older people population. There is a need to provide integrated medical services and care for LTC group. Consequently, this study aimed to identify medical usage patterns based on the ratings of LTC and the characteristics of benefits usage in the LTC group. Methods: This study employed the National Health Insurance Service Database to analyze the effects of demographic and LTC-related characteristics on medical usage from 2015 to 2019 using a repeated measures analysis. A longitudinal logit model was applied to binary data, while a linear mixed model was utilized for continuous data. Results: In the case of LTC ratings, a positive correlation was observed with overall medical usage. In terms of LTC benefit usage characteristics, a higher overall level of medical usage was found in the group using home care benefits. Detailed analysis by medical institution classification revealed a maintained correlation between care ratings and the volume of medical usage. However, medical usage by classification varied based on the characteristics of LTC benefit usage. Conclusion: This study identified a complex interaction between LTC characteristics and medical usage. Predicting the requisite medical services based on the LTC rating presented a challenge. Consequently, it becomes essential for the LTC group to continuously monitor medical and care needs, even after admission into the LTC system. To facilitate this, it is crucial to devise an LTC rating system that accurately reflects medical needs and to broaden the implementation of integrated medical-care policies.

Exercise Performance and Exercise-related Factors of Korean and Korean-Chinese Nursing Students: A comparative Study (한국과 중국 조선족 간호대학생의 운동수행 정도 및 영향요인 비교)

  • Lee, Young-Ran;Park, Sun-Nam;Yu, Sook-Ja;Moon, Jung-Soon
    • Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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    • v.22 no.3
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    • pp.234-240
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    • 2011
  • Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare exercise performance with related factors between Korean and Korean-Chinese nursing students. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional comparative survey method. One hundred sixty five Korean nursing students in Seoul, South Korea and 161 Korean-Chinese nursing students in Yanbian, China were recruited through convenience sampling. They were at the age of 19-26. Exercise performance and exercise-related factors were measured using the exercise performance degree scale and the scales of self-efficacy, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, and affection related to exercise. Results: No significant difference in exercise performance was seen between the two groups. Self-efficacy and perceived benefits related to exercise performance were significantly higher in the Korean nursing students than in the Korean-Chinese nursing students. However, there were no significant differences in affection and perceived barriers related to exercise. Conclusion: We suggest that the reasons for the differences in self-efficacy and in perceived benefits between these two groups need to be explored though future studies. We suggest more studies comparing different groups having the same ethnicity as Korean but who were born into different societies to give answers regarding the influence of immigrated transition on health.