This paper analyses the main policy documents of Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance System (UEBMIS) over the past two decades and the institutional environment, experiences, and problems in the process of reform. The authors state that in the future, UEBMIS should proceed according to the guideline of ensuring basic demands, establishing a multi-level security system, and ensuring sustainability. It should also proceed according to the guideline of gradual advancement and piloting first. Top-level design and linkage reform should be improved, national data should be unified, and a data-evaluation system should be established.
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Through summarizing the new situation and new problems since the pilot implementation development of urban and rural medical insurance for catastrophic diseases in China, this article analyzes the nature of medical insurance for catastrophic diseases and the relationship among New Rural Cooperative Medical System and Basic Medical Insurance for urban residents, puts forward the main difficulties and the faced challenges in the development of medical insurance for catastrophic diseases.
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This journal article aims to evaluate the impact of the global budget on health care costs of one pilot hospital by comparatively analyzing the data before and after the policy implementation, and then put forward proposals and suggestion for the improvement of the policy.
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Hafizur Rahman, M, Agarwal, S, Tuddenham, S, Iqbal, M, Bhuiya, A, and Peters, DH (2014) What do they do? Interactions between village doctors and medical representatives in Chakaria, Bangladesh International Health doi:10.1093/inthealth/ihu077
Informally trained village doctors supply the majority of health care services to the rural poor in many developing countries. This study describes the demographic and socioeconomic differences between medical representatives, hired by pharmaceutical companies to provide their products to health providers, and village doctors in rural Bangladesh, and explores the nature of their interactions. The research team used focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and a quantitative survey to understand practice perceptions. They found that medical representatives have a higher average per capita monthly expenditure compared to village doctors, and that the former are better educated with 98% having bachelor's degrees whereas 84% of village doctors have twelfth grade education or less. Medical representatives are the principal information source about new medications for the village doctors. Furthermore, incentives offered by medical representatives and credit availability might influence the prescription practices of village doctors. Findings suggests that improvements in the quality of health care delivered to the rural poor in informal provider-based health markets require stricter regulations and educational initiatives for providers and medical representatives.
In this paper ex ante inequality measure is used to estimate inequality in childhood chronic under-nutrition among different vulnerable subgroups. Results found that vulnerability to consumption poverty aggravated chronic under-nutrition among less vulnerable groups mainly among those who perceived that unqualified providers provided quality service and were very effective during crisis.The paper finally suggests several policy suggestions for different vulnerable segments.
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This paper explores the question of what systems thinking adds to the field of global health. Observing that elements of systems thinking are already common in public health research, the article discusses which of the large body of theories, methods, and tools associated with systems thinking are more useful.
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This paper explores the evolution of schemes for rural finance in China as a case study of the long and complex process of health system development. It argues that the evolution of these schemes has been the outcome of the response of a large number of agents to a rapidly changing context and of efforts by the government to influence this adaptation process and achieve public health goals.
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Welcome to the first edition of Showcase, which is débuting at the third Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Cape Town, South Africa. Showcase is published by the Maternal and Neonatal Implementation for Equitable Systems (MANIFEST) study to share news and lessons from the study
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Following a range of trainings – on how to use digital cameras, how to approach a picture subject, and getting people’s consent – study participants used the cameras provided to them to capture aspects and situations in their community where youth can contribute to improving maternal health for a period of five months. Monthly meetings were held between the youth and research team to discuss the photos and to identify collectively emerging themes and areas for action.
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Working with several women’s groups in the Sundarbans, FHS provided a range of trainings – on how to use digital cameras, how to approach a picture subject, and getting people’s consent – to study participants. In turn, the participants used the cameras provided to them to capture images that explain how a changing climate affects their daily livelihoods, barriers that exist to accessing health services, and ways that locals are adapting to these challenges.
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এফ.এইচ.এস.- ইন্ডিয়া ২০০৯ সাল থেকেই সুন্দরবনের মানুষের স্বাস্থ্যের ওপর গবেষণার কাজ চালাচ্ছে। বর্তমানে (২০১০ সাল থেকে) এফ.এইচ.এস. শিশু স্বাস্থ্যের ওপর বেশি গুরুত্ব দিয়ে কাজ করছে। সম্প্রতি সুন্দরবনের পাথরপ্রতিমা ব্লকে শিশু -স্বাস্থ্যের ওপর একটি সমীক্ষা করা হয়েছে। বর্তমান রিপোর্টটিতে এলাকার শিশু স্বাস্থ্যের বিভিন্ন দিক ও তার বর্তমান অবস্থা, স্বাস্থ্য পরিষেবার ক্ষেত্রে ফাঁকফোকর গুলি ও সম্ভাব্য সমাধানসূত্র তুলে ধরার চেষ্টা করা হয়েছে। এফ.এইচ.এস.- ইন্ডিয়ার এই গবেষণাটি আরও বেশি করে সুন্দরবনের মানুষের মাঝে পৌঁছে দেওয়ার জন্য এই বাংলা সংস্করণটি প্রকাশিত হল।
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This presentation is from a workshop in Baltimore in June 2014 on complex adaptive systems (CAS) research methods held at Johns Hopkins University. In this presentation, Ligia Paina from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows how to use the computer program Vensim to develop Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs).
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This presentation is from a workshop in Baltimore in June 2014 on complex adaptive systems (CAS) research methods held at Johns Hopkins University. In this presentation, Agnes Rwashana Semwanga gives an overview of two case studies where the Causal Loop Diagram methodology has been applied to health systems research.
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This presentation is from workshop in Baltimore in June 2014 on complex adaptive systems (CAS) research methods held at Johns Hopkins University. Agnes Rwashana Semwanga from the Makerere University School for Public Health (MakSPH) introduces the basic concepts of how to create causal loop diagrams (CLDs) as a tool for modelling complex health systems.
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This presentation kicked off a workshop in Baltimore in June 2014 on complex adaptive systems (CAS) research methods held at Johns Hopkins University. In the presentation, Ben Ramalingam, author of Aid on the Edge of Chaos, and Taghreed Adam from the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems research introduce concepts of CAS and situate the methods in the context of understanding health systems strengthening.
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Based on a household survey in Indian Sundarbans hit by tropical cyclone Aila in May 2009, this study tests for evidence and argues that health and climatic shocks are essentially linked forming a continuum and with exposure to a marginal one, coping mechanisms and welfare outcomes triggered in the response is significantly affected.
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In this presentation, Jeff Knezovich, FHS Policy Influence and Research Uptake Manager, discusses some of the challenges associated with communicating complexity research. He then suggests some techniques and tools to get around these challenges
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In Eastern Uganda, FHS works on two related research interventions, MANEST and MANIFEST. Both interventions are targeted at improving maternal and newborn health. This video, produced by FHS. describes these interventions in more detail.
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This is a video from the DC Health Systems Board event, Can systems tools deliver for the 'science of delivery'?, which was organised by Future Health Systems as part of its workshop on complex adaptive systems and held at Results for Development in June 2014.
At the event, panellists discussed and debated how systems thinking tools that are designed to tackle issues of complexity can contribute the successful implementation of health system strengthening interventions. The panel showcased some tools and examples, explaining how they had helped them to understand better health systems fluctuations and to anticipate unintended consequences to create more sustainable large-scale interventions.
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Every year, the ministry of Health (MoH) commemorates the Safe Motherhood week in October. The national commemoration this year (October 2013) was held in Apac district in Northern Uganda. As part of the events for the week, MoH and its partners held a symposium on the theme: “Teenage pregnancy an obstacle to maternal health; let us stop it now!”. This report therefore contains proceedings of this symposium that attracted safe motherhood partners from across the country.
Teenage pregnancy is a major issue for maternal health and partners in the area of reproductive health came together in this symposium to share their experiences and most importantly to discuss how they could individually and collectively make better progress in addressing the challenge of teenage pregnancy.
In this report you will find discussions and useful insight on the problem of teenage pregnancy, its magnitude in Uganda, as well as the interventions that are being undertaken. You will also find challenges to its control as well as recommendations by different stakeholders on what needs to be done to tackle the problem in a more effective way.
