Health Services Use (health + services_use)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Progressive segmented health insurance: Colombian health reform and access to health services

HEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2007
Fernando Ruiz
Abstract Equal access for poor populations to health services is a comprehensive objective for any health reform. The Colombian health reform addressed this issue through a segmented progressive social health insurance approach. The strategy was to assure universal coverage expanding the population covered through payroll linked insurance, and implementing a subsidized insurance program for the poorest populations, those not affiliated through formal employment. A prospective study was performed to follow-up health service utilization and out-of-pocket expenses using a cohort design. It was representative of four Colombian cities (Cendex Health Services Use and Expenditure Study, 2001). A four part econometric model was applied. The model related medical service utilization and medication with different socioeconomic, geographic, and risk associated variables. Results showed that subsidized health insurance improves health service utilization and reduces the financial burden for the poorest, as compared to those non-insured. Other social health insurance schemes preserved high utilization with variable out-of-pocket expenditures. Family and age conditions have significant effect on medical service utilization. Geographic variables play a significant role in hospital inpatient service utilization. Both, geographic and income variables also have significant impact on out-of-pocket expenses. Projected utilization rates and a simulation favor a dual policy for two-stage income segmented insurance to progress towards the universal insurance goal. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The Impact of HIV on Oral Health and Subsequent Use of Dental Services

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 2 2003
Aram Dobalian PhD
Abstract Objective: This study examined differences in health and access to dental services among a nationally representative sample of patients with HIV using Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. Methods: This investigation is a longitudinal study that used structural equation modeling to analyze data from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study, a probability sample of 2,864 adults under treatment for HIV infection. Key predisposing variables included sex, drug use, race/ethnicity, education, and age. Enabling factors included income, insurance, and regular source of care. Need factors included mental, physical, and oral health. Dependent variables included whether a respondent utilized dental services and number of visits. Results: More education, dental insurance, usual source of dental care, and poor oral health predicted a higher probability of having a dental visit. African Americans, Hispanics, those exposed to HIV through drug use or heterosexual contact, and those in poor physical health were less likely to have a dental visit. Of those who visited dental professionals, older persons, those with dental insurance, and those in worse oral health had more visits. African Americans and persons in poor mental health had fewer visits. Conclusions: Persons with more HIV-related symptoms and a diagnosis of AIDS have a greater need for dental care than those with fewer symptoms and without AIDS, but more pressing needs for physical and mental health services limit their access to dental services. Providers should better attend to the oral health needs of persons with HIV who are in poor physical and mental health. [source]


Health services use in women with a history of bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 1 2005
Ruth H. Striegel-Moore PhD
Abstract Objective The current study examined health services use during the past 12 months in a sample of young women with a history of an adolescent eating disorder (bulimia nervosa [BN] or binge eating disorder [BED]). Method A community sample of 1,582 young women (mean age = 21.5 years) was classified, based on a screening interview (and, for eating disorder diagnosis, confirmatory diagnostic interview), into one of three groups: BN or BED (n = 67), other psychiatric disorder (n = 443), and no adolescent psychiatric disorder (n = 1,072). Results A history of BN/BED in adolescence was associated with elevated health services use, but this was a general effect associated with having a psychiatric disorder, not an effect specific to the diagnosis of an eating disorder. Total service days, outpatient psychotherapy visits, and emergency department visits were elevated in the combined group of BN/BED and other psychiatric disorder participants relative to the healthy comparison group. The women with BN/BED did not differ significantly from the women with a non,eating-related psychiatric disorder in the use of these services. Discussion The similarity of health services use in young women with BN or BED and those with other psychiatric disorders underscores the clinical and economic impact of these eating disorders. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Pain interference impacts response to treatment for anxiety disorders

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 3 2009
Carrie Farmer Teh PhD
Abstract Background: Anxiety disorders and pain are commonly comorbid, though little is known about the effect of pain on the course and treatment of anxiety. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial for anxiety treatment in primary care. Participants with panic disorder (PD) and/or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) (N=191; 81% female, mean age 44) were randomized to either their primary-care physician's usual care or a 12-month course of telephone-based collaborative care. Anxiety severity, pain interference, health-related quality of life, health services use, and employment status were assessed at baseline, and at 2-, 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow-up. We defined response to anxiety treatment as a 40% or greater improvement from baseline on anxiety severity scales at 12-month follow-up. Results: The 39% who reported high pain interference at baseline had more severe anxiety (mean SIGH-A score: 21.8 versus 18.0, P<.001), greater limitations in activities of daily living, and more work days missed in the previous month (5.8 versus 4.0 days, P=.01) than those with low pain interference. At 12-month follow-up, high pain interference was associated with a lower likelihood of responding to anxiety treatment (OR=.28; 95% CI=.12,.63) and higher health services use (26.1% with ,1 hospitalization versus 12.0%, P<.001). Conclusions: Pain that interferes with daily activities is prevalent among primary care patients with PD/GAD and associated with more severe anxiety, worse daily functioning, higher health services use, and a lower likelihood of responding to treatment for PD/GAD. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


America's Health Care Safety Net Intact or Unraveling?

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2001
Lynne D. Richardson MD
Abstract In virtually every community in this nation, the emergency department (ED) is an integral part of the health care safety net, often serving as the only available point of access to the health care system for many vulnerable and disenfranchised individuals. The authors present a brief overview of the March 2000 report released by the Institute of Medicine that described and assessed the current status of the nation's health care safety net. The authors discuss the role of the ED as a safety net provider and as a window onto the status of the rest of the health care system. The authors describe the Andersen behavioral model of health services use and suggest it as a useful theoretical framework for emergency medicine researchers who are interested in studying these issues. [source]


Expanding the Andersen Model: The Role of Psychosocial Factors in Long-Term Care Use

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 5 2002
Elizabeth H Bradley
Objective. To examine a prevailing conceptual model of health services use (Andersen 1995) and to suggest modifications that may enhance its explanatory power when applied to empirical studies of race/ethnicity and long-term care. Study Setting. Twelve focus groups of African-American (five groups) and white (seven groups) individuals, aged 65 and older, residing in Connecticut during 2000. Study Design. Using qualitative analysis, data were coded and analyzed in NUD-IST 4 software to facilitate the reporting of recurrent themes, supporting quotations, and links among the themes for developing the conceptual framework. Specific analysis was conducted to assess distinctions in common themes between African-American and white focus groups. Data Collection. Data were collected using a standardized discussion guide, augmented by prompts for clarification. Audio taped sessions were transcribed and independently coded by investigators and crosschecked to enhance coding validity. An audit trail was maintained to document analytic decisions during data analysis and interpretation. Principal Findings. Psychosocial factors (e.g., attitudes and knowledge, social norms, and perceived control) are identified as determinants of service use, thereby expanding the Andersen model (1995). African-American and white focus group members differed in their reported accessibility of information about long-term care, social norms concerning caregiving expectations and burden, and concerns of privacy and self-determination. Conclusions. More comprehensive identification of psychosocial factors may enhance our understanding of the complex role of race/ethnicity in long-term care use as well as the effectiveness of policies and programs designed to address disparities in long-term care service use among minority and nonminority groups. [source]


Health services use in women with a history of bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 1 2005
Ruth H. Striegel-Moore PhD
Abstract Objective The current study examined health services use during the past 12 months in a sample of young women with a history of an adolescent eating disorder (bulimia nervosa [BN] or binge eating disorder [BED]). Method A community sample of 1,582 young women (mean age = 21.5 years) was classified, based on a screening interview (and, for eating disorder diagnosis, confirmatory diagnostic interview), into one of three groups: BN or BED (n = 67), other psychiatric disorder (n = 443), and no adolescent psychiatric disorder (n = 1,072). Results A history of BN/BED in adolescence was associated with elevated health services use, but this was a general effect associated with having a psychiatric disorder, not an effect specific to the diagnosis of an eating disorder. Total service days, outpatient psychotherapy visits, and emergency department visits were elevated in the combined group of BN/BED and other psychiatric disorder participants relative to the healthy comparison group. The women with BN/BED did not differ significantly from the women with a non,eating-related psychiatric disorder in the use of these services. Discussion The similarity of health services use in young women with BN or BED and those with other psychiatric disorders underscores the clinical and economic impact of these eating disorders. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Considering context, place and culture: the National Latino and Asian American Study

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF METHODS IN PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH, Issue 4 2004
Margarita Alegria
Abstract This paper provides a rationale for, and overview of, procedures used to develop the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS). The NLAAS is nationally representative community household survey that estimates the prevalence of mental disorders and rates of mental health service utilization by Latinos and Asian Americans in the US. The central aims of the NLAAS are to: 1) describe the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of psychiatric disorders and the rates of mental health services use for Latino and Asian American populations using nationwide representative samples of Latinos and Asian Americans, 2) assess the associations among social position, environmental context, and psychosocial factors with the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and utilization rates of mental health services, and 3) compare the lifetime and 12-month prevalence of psychiatric disorders, and utilization of mental health services of Latinos and Asian Americans with national representative samples of non-Latino whites (from the National Comorbidity Study-Replication) (NCS-R) and African Americans (from the National Survey of American Life) (NSAL). This paper presents new concepts and methods utilized in the development of the NLAAS to capture and investigate ethnic, cultural and environmental considerations that are often ignored in mental health research. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]


Health care utilization and expenditures for privately and publicly insured children with sickle cell disease in the United States,,

PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER, Issue 4 2009
Mercy Mvundura PhD
Abstract Background There are no current national estimates on health care utilization and expenditures for US children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Procedure We used the MarketScan® Medicaid Database and the MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters Database for 2005 to estimate health services use and expenditures. The final samples consisted of 2,428 Medicaid-enrolled and 621 privately insured children with SCD. Results The percentage of children with SCD enrolled in Medicaid with an inpatient admission was higher compared to those privately insured (43% vs. 38%), yet mean expenditures per admission were 35% lower ($6,469 vs. $10,013). The mean number of emergency department (ED) visits was 49% higher for Medicaid-enrolled children compared to those with private insurance (1.36 vs. 0.91), but mean expenditures per ED visit were 28% lower. The mean number of non-ED outpatient visits was similar (12.6 vs. 11.5) but mean expenditures were 40% lower for the Medicaid-enrolled children ($3,557 vs. $5,908). The mean expenditures on drug claims were higher among those with Medicaid than private insurance ($1,049 vs. $531). Mean total expenditures for children with SCD enrolled in Medicaid were 25% lower than for privately insured children ($11,075 vs. $14,722). The samples were comparable with respect to SCD-related inpatient discharge diagnoses and use of outpatient blood transfusions. Conclusions Children with SCD enrolled in Medicaid had lower expenditures than privately insured children, despite higher utilization of medical care, which indicates lower average reimbursements. Research is needed to assess the quality of care delivered to Medicaid-enrolled children with SCD and its relation to health outcomes. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;53:642,646. Published 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The comparison of health status and health services utilisation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous infants in Australia

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 1 2010
Lixin Ou
Abstract Objective: To examine the differences in health services utilisation and the associated risk factors between Indigenous and non-Indigenous infants at a national level in Australia. Methods: We analysed data from a national representative longitudinal study, the Longitudinal Study for Australian Children (LSAC) starting in 2004. We used survey logistic regression and survey multiple linear regression to examine the factors associated with health services utilisation. Results: Health status of Indigenous infants was poorer than that of non-Indigenous. In comparison to non-Indigenous infants, in the previous 12-month period, the Indigenous infants were significantly less likely to use the following health services: maternal and child health centre or help lines (OR=0.35, 95%CI: 0.24-0.49); maternal and child health nurse visits (OR=0.45, 95%CI: 0.32-0.63); general practitioners (GPs) (OR=0.45, 95%CI: 0.31-0.64); and paediatrician (OR=0.52, 95%CI: 0.35-0.77). In contrast, they were more likely to visit a hospital outpatient clinic (OR=1.82, 95%CI: 1.16-2.85). Mothers' age, education and marital status were associated with certain health services use. Financial status and residential location were the important predictors of the use of health services. Conclusion: The rates of health services utilisation by Indigenous infants were lower and were associated with mothers' characteristics and socio-economic status. Implications: The gaps in health services utilisation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous infant requires immediate policy initiatives. Further research is needed to explore the causal pathways between health status, health services utilisation and multiple risk factors at different levels. [source]