Self-rated health and barriers to healthcare in Ukraine: The pivotal role of gender and its intersections

The ongoing health crisis in the Ukraine has persisted for 48 years with a clear division of gender-based outcomes as seen in the decline of male life expectancy and stagnation of female longevity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences in self-rated health and system barriers to health care applicable to gender and its intersections because of the differing negative health outcomes for men and women. Intersectionality theory provides an analytic framework for interpreting our results. Utilizing a nationwide sample of the Ukrainian population (N = 1908), we found that low socioeconomic status (SES) women rate their health worse than men generally and any other socioeconomic group. Yet women also face the greatest barriers to health care until older ages when the ailments of men cause them to likewise face the obstacles. In reviewing the barrier to health care scale, one barrier—that of health care services being too expensive—dominated the responses with some 52.5 percent of the sample reporting it. Consequently, the greatest problem in Ukraine with respect to health reform reported by the population is the out-of-pocket costs for care in a system that is officially free. These costs, constituting some 40 percent of all national health expenditures, affect women and the aged the most.     

South European Healthcare Systems under Harsh Austerity: A Progress–Regression Mix?

This article addresses the question of whether the economic crisis provides a politically opportune time to drastically curtail public healthcare in South Europe or whether, instead, there are signs of longer-term reform strategies for potentially balancing fiscal targets with the quest for enhanced value and health outcomes, when eventually growth resumes. After a brief examination of the profile of healthcare systems in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain prior to the crisis, we comparatively assess the mix of retrenchment, restructuring and recalibration strategies. The effects of the austerity-driven reforms on current (and expected) health outcomes are also briefly analysed. We conclude with reflections on the future of public healthcare in South Europe.     

Socio-economic determinants of the family history of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Pakistan

This article aims to assess the role of important socio-economic factors in the family history of tuberculosis patients in Pakistan. Data were collected from 269 patients, and a logistic regression was used to determine the association between risk factors and the vicious circle of TB. Results of the logistic model show that significant risk factors associated with TB history in patients were education, household size, house structure, rooms in the home, room ventilation, monthly income, income food sufficiency, smoking, diabetes, and heart disease. The current TB control programme needs to formulate strategies to target specific risk factors and poverty reduction simultaneously to break the vicious circle of tuberculosis.     

Reproductive health services: “Business-in-a-Box” as a model social innovation

Access to reproductive health services and products in remote and rural communities is a critical area of concern for developing countries. This article considers a pilot intervention in three districts of Pakistan where “Business-in-a-Box” as a model of place-based social innovation is used to improve the socio-economic conditions of women in remote rural settings through socially responsible micro-franchising. It finds that such programmes help build a sense of community, ownership and grassroots capabilities and skills. The article also discusses the impacts of such actions on the individual and community life, and the need to upscale and sustain these initiatives.     

运用卡特尔16PF对边疆少数民族大学生心理健康状况调查

本文采用问卷调查和田野调查相结合的方法。首先从边疆9省中随机抽取了1000名生源地在边疆的少数民族在校大学生,运用卡特尔16PF对他们进行心理测验,结果发现边疆少数民族大学生心理健康水平显著低于全国一般水平,男生与女生之间的健康水平也存在显著差异。在影响心理健康水平的4个因素中,忧虑性对男女生的心理健康都有显著影响,而紧张性因素只对女生的心理健康有显著影响。同时,通过田野调查探讨了影响少数民族大学生心理健康的原因。     

浅谈体育游戏在中学体育与健康课教学中的运用

体育游戏对于促进学生智力的发展,促进学生身体的生长发育,培养运动兴趣具有重要意义,对于提高中学体育与健康课的教学质量,顺利完成教学任务,具有积极的作用,体育游戏是进行中学体育与健康课教学的手段之一,是体育与健康课教育的重要方法。根据游戏的特点和价值,结合中学教材内容,正确科学选择游戏并合理组织实施,既能充分调动学生的情趣,又能很好地辅助教学任务的完成。     

论环境健康与政府环境责任

通过分析自然环境对人体健康的影响,指出环境健康问题的严重性,而在环境健康问题越来越严重的今天,根据法律规定,政府负有不可推卸的环境责任,根据政府对环境责任的错误认识提出了要狠抓落实环境民主,改进现有政府环境理念,达到环境善治的观点。     

关于公安监管场所加强对被羁押人员健康权保障的思考

公安监管场所保障被羁押人员健康权是法律赋予监管场所最基本的任务之一。近年来,社会与媒体不断加强了对被羁押人员健康权保障的关注度,此项工作亦引起了各级政府部门与领导的高度重视。因此,公安监管场所要不断从基础保障与制度建设上加强对被羁押人员健康权保障的实践与思考,切实履行维护监管场所安全与稳定的重要职责。     

浅谈民警心理健康与民警培训

面对错综复杂的执法环境、面对繁重的公安保卫任务、面对执法过程中遇到的各类意外事件,基层公安民警心理上承受的压力越来越大。因此,心理健康对公安民警特别重要。重视心理健康调适,加强对民警的心理健康教育和培训,是各级公安机关必须重视的问题,也是民警培训工作的一项长期目标。     

IS Success and Failure—The Problem of Scale

In the midst of Implementing Electronic Government (IEG), the almost knee-jerk reaction of our political elite seems to be to embrace hugely ambitious Information Systems (IS) solutions to public-sector operations. Problem after problem has been viewed as solvable by throwing some big IT at it. However hindsight and a wealth of evidence and examples shows that overly large-scale public-sector IT projects do not work and persistently end in failure and costly waste. In this article we consider IT projects 'failures' and the combination of social and technical factors that contribute. We illustrate our argument with more detailed reference to the Connecting for Health agenda, part of the NHS National Programme for IT. We suggest 'think local, think modular' to build on good practice and advocate use of the government's own 2004 eGovernment Interoperability Framework (eGIF) to learn lessons from past IT project catastrophes.