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Targeted Programs (targeted + program)
Selected AbstractsWelfare, Work and Banking: The Use of Consumer Credit by Current and Former TANF Recipients in Charlotte, North CarolinaJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2005Michael A. Stegman Using data from a 2001 North Carolina household survey of low-income households, we analyze banking and credit behavior of current and recent welfare recipients in Charlotte, North Carolina. Other things equal, TANF families are 70% less likely than other low-income families to have a bank account and much more likely to have participated in a credit counseling program. Except for more frequent contact with bill collectors and credit counselors, leavers are no different from other low income families struggling to make ends meet. Race also matters when it comes to accessing mainstream banking and credit systems. Targeted programs help TANF families gain greater access to the financial mainstream. When it comes to specialization programs, however, those involved in the welfare system are not very different from other poor families. However, by virtue of their formal involvement with TANF, this population can be more efficiently served than other low-income populations. For this reason and the desire to keep families from recycling back onto welfare rolls, TANF programs should address banking and credit issues. [source] Social Welfare Reform Since the 1997 Economic Crisis in Korea: Achievement, Limits, and Future ProspectsASIAN SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2007Inhoe Ku Social welfare reform has been implemented in Korea since the 1997 financial crisis. A dominant concern of the reform was on equality and social solidarity. A major means to this end was establishing universalistic social insurance programs like those in developed welfare states. The reform efforts produced some positive results but were not greatly successful. Income polarization and the deteriorating economic status of low-income families have become big social issues. Many low-income families have not gained many benefits from the reformed social security system. The rapid aging of the population is creating an exploding demand for social spending, risking the fiscal sustainability of major social insurance programs. The reform experience suggests that a social welfare system based on western-style universal social insurance may be too expensive to sustain and not very effective in protecting disadvantaged families in Korea. More attention is being paid to expenditure control and efficiency. Social insurance programs may need to be leaner than those in traditional welfare states. Targeted programs, such as the "making work pay" policy, are likely to be expanded more broadly to low-income families. The future of the Korean welfare state may hinge on successful employment support for working families and extensive investment in their human capital. [source] Identifying Children with Dental Care Needs: Evaluation of a Targeted School-based Dental Screening ProgramJOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 2 2004David Locker BDS Abstract Objectives: It has been suggested that changes in the distribution of dental caries mean that targeting high-risk groups can maximize the cost effectiveness of dental health programs. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a targeted school-based dental screening program in terms of the proportion of children with dental care needs it identified. Methods: The target population was all children in junior and senior kindergarten and grades 2, 4, 6, and 8 who attended schools in four Ontario communities. The study was conducted in a random sample of 38 schools stratified according to caries risk. Universal screening was implemented in these schools. The parents of all children identified as having dental care needs were sent a short questionnaire to document the sociodemographic and family characteristics of these children. Children with needs were divided into two groups: those who would and who would not have been identified had the targeted program been implemented. The characteristics of the two groups were compared. Results: Overall, 21.0 percent of the target population were identified as needing dental care, with 7.4 percent needing urgent care. The targeted program would have identified 43.5 percent of those with dental care needs and 58.0 percent of those with urgent needs. There were substantial differences across the four communities in the proportions identified by the targeted program. Identification rates were lowest when the difference in prevalence of need between the high- and low-risk groups was small and where the low-risk group was large in relation to the high-risk group. The targeted program was more effective at identifying children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Of those with needs who lived in households receiving government income support, 59.0 percent of those with needs and 80.1 percent of those with urgent needs would be identified. Conclusions: The targeted program was most effective at identifying children with dental care needs from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, any improvements in cost effectiveness achieved by targeting must be balanced against inequities in access to public health care resources. [source] On the Determinants of Mortality Reductions in the Developing WorldPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 2 2007Rodrigo R. Soares This article presents and critically discusses evidence on the determinants of mortality reductions in developing countries. It argues that increases in life expectancy between 1960 and 2000 were largely independent of improvements in income. The author characterizes the age and cause-of-death profile of changes in mortality and assesses what can be learned about the determinants of these changes from the international evidence and from country-specific studies. Public health infrastructure, immunization, targeted programs, and the spread of less palpable forms of knowledge all seem to have been important factors. Finally, the article suggests that the evolution of health inequality across and within countries is intrinsically related to the process of diffusion of new technologies and to the nature of these new technologies, public or private. [source] Hepatitis C virus infection rates and risk factors in an Australian hospital endoscopy cohortAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 5 2009Karen Vickery Abstract Objective: To determine the reservoir and risk factors of HCV infection in a hospital population. Methods: The presence of anti-HCV in 2,119 endoscopy patients was related to putative risk factors for exposure using the SAS statistical package. Results: Most of the 4.7% of anti-HCV positive patients had multiple risk factors for HCV exposure. The risk was significantly increased in patients; with a previous history of hepatitis (36.4 fold), past history of injecting drugs (IDU) (32.1 fold), those born in North Africa, Middle East and Mediterranean countries (4.3 fold), had been tattooed before 1980s (3.3 fold), from 1980s-1990s (5.9 fold), had acupuncture before 1980s (3.8 fold), had a blood transfusion (3.6 fold), had clotting factors or growth hormone (4 fold), had contact with someone diagnosed with hepatitis in 1990s (4.1 fold). Of the anti-HCV patients 38 had a history of IDU, 43 were migrants and 10 were both. Conclusion: Anti-HCV prevalence was five times higher than predicted by the passive surveillance scheme and 20% of patients were unaware of their infection. Only one of these patients reported IDU. The evidence of HCV intersecting epidemics between developing and developed countries in Australia was strongly supported. Implications: The study provides a rational basis for targeted programs to identify asymptomatic HCV carriers who might benefit from the new antiviral treatment. [source] | |||||||||||||