健康公平性概述

健康公平性在国际上得到广泛关注,各国把消除健康不公平作为卫生改革与发展的主要目标。本文就健康公平性的内涵进行梳理,为我国健康公平性内涵和测量研究提供参考。     

The Communication Infrastructure as a Social Determinant of Health: Implications for Health Policymaking and Practice

Policy Points

• Persistent communication inequalities limit racial/ethnic minority access to life‐saving health information and make them more vulnerable to the effects of misinformation.
•  Establishing data collection systems that detect and track acute gaps in the supply and/or access of racial/ethnic minority groups to credible health information is long overdue.
• Public investments and support for minority‐serving media and community outlets are needed to close persistent gaps in access to credible health information.

     

Policy Commercializing Nonprofits in Health: The History of a Paradox From the 19th Century to the ACA

Policy Points:

• Health policy in the United States has, for more than a century, simultaneously and paradoxically incentivized the growth as well as the commercialization of nonprofit organizations in the health sector.
• This policy paradox persists during the implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Context

For more than a century, policy in the United States has incentivized both expansion in the number and size of tax-exempt nonprofit organizations in the health sector and their commercialization. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) began yet another chapter in the history of this policy paradox.

Methods

This article explores the origin and persistence of the paradox using what many scholars call “interpretive social science.” This methodology prioritizes history and contingency over formal theory and methods in order to present coherent and plausible narratives of events and explanations for them. These narratives are grounded in documents generated by participants in particular events, as well as conversations with them, observing them in action, and analysis of pertinent secondary sources. The methodology achieves validity and reliability by gathering information from multiple sources and making disciplined judgments about its coherence and correspondence with reality.

Findings

A paradox with deep historical roots persists as a result of consensus about its value for both population health and the revenue of individuals and organizations in the health sector. Participants in this consensus include leaders of governance who have disagreed about many other issues. The paradox persists because of assumptions about the burden of disease and how to address it, as well as about the effects of biomedical science that is translated into professional education, practice, and the organization of services for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of illness.

Conclusions

The policy paradox that has incentivized the growth and commercialization of nonprofits in the health sector since the late 19th century remains influential in health policy, especially for the allocation of resources. However, aspects of the implementation of the ACA may constrain some of the effects of the paradox.     

The Impact of Medical Home on Selected Children's Health Outcome

Medical Home practice has been shown to deliver effective health care to children. This practice model calls for providing patient-centered care that is compassionate, culturally effective, coordinated, integrated, safe, of high quality, and accessible. This study shows that children in the states with a higher amount of Medical Home received childhood vaccinations at a higher rate than others. However, Medical Home had a limited effect on the rate of children receiving dental/medical services, mental health services, or number of overweight children.     

Understanding population health terminology

Population health is a relatively new term, with no agreement about whether it refers to a concept of health or a field of study of health determinants. There is debate, sometimes heated, about whether population health and public health are identical or different. Discussions of population health involve many terms, such as outcomes, disparities, determinants, and risk factors, which may be used imprecisely, particularly across different disciplines, such as medicine, epidemiology, economics, and sociology. Nonetheless, thinking and communicating clearly about population health concepts are essential for public and private policymakers to improve the population's health and reduce disparities. This article defines and discusses many of the terms and concepts characterizing this emerging field.     

Adolescent Health: Priorities for the Next Millennium

There have been dramatic changes in adolescent health status over the past decade that have resulted from successful interventions. Overall mortality rates are down 14%, and many morbidities have declined. Today we know many of the elements that reduce risk: parental caring and connectedness, parental expectations for school and parent availability all outweigh family structure, ethnicity, and income. Likewise, schools can be extremely protective when young people feel connectedness. Factors associated with successful interventions include: strengthening families; strengthening educational involvement; expanding economic opportunities; and supporting youth development, not just problem reduction. Priorities for the next decade include: establishing resiliency-building interventions; developing positive correlates of negative behaviors; establishing broader multisectorial interdisciplinary teams; and formulating a new, more inclusive framework for adolescent health and development.     

1994年全国学校卫生现状抽样调查──2000年学校卫生发展战略目标与对策研究之一

全国抽样调查561所城乡中小学校的学校卫生现状。结果表明,我国城乡中小学校的学校卫生现状具有两大特点:其一,学校卫生发展呈现出以经济发达地区城市中学领先、经济欠发达地区乡村小学明显滞后的总态势。其二,学校卫生三个维度发展不平衡,健康环境明显落后于健康服务和健康教育。     

“新医改”应致力于公众健康管理

医药卫生体制改革已进入＂深水区＂,在取得一定成果的基础上更应该看到慢性病＂井喷＂、人口老龄化加速等亟待解决的问题,以此入手,合理配置医疗卫生资源、转变卫生服务模式、调整卫生服务重心来保障公众健康,通过走中国特色的健康管理之路来实现人人享有基本医疗卫生服务的目标。     

Tobacco control and the inequitable socio-economic distribution of smoking: smokers’ discourses and implications for tobacco control

Warning: this article contains strong language.

This paper focuses on the ways in which social context structures smokers’ views of, and reactions to, tobacco control. This exploratory study examined the interactions between tobacco control and smokers’ social contexts and how this may be contributing to inequalities in smoking. We found in our sample that higher socio-economic status (SES) smokers are more likely to positively respond and adapt to tobacco control messages and policies, viewing them for their future health betterment. Lower SES smokers in our study, on the other hand, are in conflict with tobacco control and feel intransigent with regard to the effects that tobacco control is having on their smoking. A better understanding of how social context structures people's perceptions of tobacco control may help us to understand why social inequalities in smoking are deepening, and potentially what can be done better in tobacco control to decrease them.     

Improving health literacy in a Japanese community population—A pilot study to develop an educational programme

Objective

Although a growing number of interventional studies on health literacy have been conducted recently, the majority were designed in clinical settings, focusing mainly on functional health literacy. This study evaluated a programme designed to improve health literacy in a community population, with a scope of going beyond functional health literacy.

Methods

In collaboration with an Approved Specified Nonprofit organization (NPO), we evaluated a five‐session programme designed to provide basic knowledge on health‐care policy and systems, current issues in health care in Japan, patient roles and relationships with health‐care providers and interpersonal skills. In total, 67 of 81 programme participants agreed to participate in the study, and 54 returned the completed questionnaires at baseline and at follow‐up. Health literacy and trust in the medical profession were measured at baseline and at follow‐up. Participants’ learning through the programme was qualitatively analysed by thematic analysis.

Results

Quantitative examinations of the changes in health literacy and degree of trust in medical professionals between the baseline and follow‐up suggested that health literacy significantly improved after implementing the programme. The thematic analysis of participants’ learning throughout the programme suggested that they not only acquired knowledge and skills but also experienced a shift in their beliefs and behaviours.

Discussion

Providing individuals who are motivated to learn about health‐care systems and collaborate with health‐care providers with the necessary knowledge and skills may improve their health literacy, which could enable them to maintain and promote their health and that of their family and other people around them.     

I’m a young student,I’m a girl … and for some reason they are hard on me for smoking: The role of gender and social context for smoking behaviour

Despite considerable population declines, smoking has become increasingly socially stratified, a trend that emerges as salient when examining smoking according to gender. However, there is a dearth of comparative research with regard to smoking inequalities among men and women. The goal of this exploratory study was to examine how three elements of the social context (identity, body, agency) are gendered and the way in which they differentially shape men's and women's smoking practices. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 adult smokers living in Toronto and Montréal, Canada stratified by socio-economic position and gender. Our results show that: (1) women express considerable dissonance between gender identities and smoking behaviour, whereas men's gender identities seem to reinforce smoking behaviour; (2) women's smoking was tied to gendered representations of the body, with the fear of weight gain factoring into their smoking maintenance, whereas concern about the body was absent among men; (3) women suggested wanting, but not having agency over their smoking behaviour while men suggested having agency but little urgency to quit smoking. Our exploratory study points to the possibility that gender remains important for shaping smoking practices among adult smokers and that smoking among some women may be characterised by a greater sense of dissonance and tension than among some men. Addressing gender inequalities in the health discourse surrounding smoking may help reduce the current gender disparities in smoking patterns.     

Health education–the case for rehabilitation

The emergence of health promotion in the 1980s was a direct response to critiques of health education which centred on its victim-blaming orientation and a growing appreciation of the need to address the wider determinants of health and health-related behaviour. This paper argues a priori that such critiques centre on a preventive model of health education and overlook its broader potential. It reviews a number of alternative models of health education and locates these within the core values of equity and empowerment which underpin the Ottawa Charter and subsequent WHO documents. It suggests that, despite the rhetoric of health promotion, practice frequently remained focused on individual behaviour change and the use of persuasive health education. The move to health promotion effectively stifled further debate about the broader role of health education in achieving individual empowerment and social change. This paper calls for a broader conceptualisation of health education–the New Health Education–and concludes that this should be the driving force behind health promotion.     

瑞安市不同人群健康教育效果调查分析

目的了解瑞安市现阶段的健康教育与健康促进的总体情况,探索适宜的健康教育工作模式。方法采用分层随机抽样的方法以问卷的形式进行调查。分别对瑞安市小学生、中学生和国家工作人员等6大类2 800人的健康知识、健康行为、健康状况及健康信息需求4大方面的内容做调查研究。结果健康知识知晓率和健康行为形成率:最高的是国家工作人员,分别为82.77%和81.11%。健康状况:53.60%的企业员工感觉睡眠质量好或很好,22.00%的老年人睡眠质量差或很差;46.47%的小学生感觉心情好或很好;24.05%的中学生表示不能应付压力;60.00%的国家工作人员体重正常;38.57%的育龄妇女超重或肥胖。健康信息需求方面:71.96%的人通过电视获取卫生保健信息;小学生最想拥有食品安全与传染病防治知识;中学生最想拥有心理卫生与青春期保健知识;企业员工最想拥有急救与预防意外伤害知识;老年人最想拥有慢性病防治知识。讨论被调查人群的健康知识知晓率与健康行为形成率都低于国家卫生部《疾病预防控制工作绩效考核》的指标要求。调查人群健康状况总体良好,但仍有很多问题值得关注。电视、报刊仍是各类人群获取健康信息的主要途径。6类人群对健康信息内容的需求各不相同,食品安全、传染病防治、急救预防、意外伤害及心理健康等内容普遍受关注。     

SCHIP Directors' Perception of Schools Assisting Students in Obtaining Public Health Insurance

Background:  Health insurance coverage increases access to health care. There has been an erosion of employer-based health insurance and a concomitant rise in children covered by public health insurance programs, yet more than 8 million children are still without health insurance coverage.
Methods:  This study was a national survey to assess the perceptions of State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) directors (N = 51) regarding schools assisting students in obtaining public health insurance. This study examined the perceived benefits of and barriers to working with school systems and the perceived benefits to schools in assisting students to enroll in SCHIPs and what SCHIP activities were actually being conducted with school systems.
Results:  The majority (78%) of SCHIPs had been working with school systems for more than a year. Perceived benefits of working with schools were greater access to SCHIP-eligible children (75%), assistance with meeting mandates to cover all SCHIP-eligible children (65%), and greater ability of state agencies to identify SCHIP-eligible children (58%). A majority of the directors did not identify any of the potential barrier items. The directors cited the following benefits to schools in helping enroll students in public health insurance programs: reduces the number of students with untreated health problems (80%), reduces student absenteeism rates (68%), improves student attention and concentration during school (58%), and reduces the number of students being held back in school because of health problems (53%).
Discussion:  The perceived benefits derived from schools assisting in enrolling eligible students into SCHIPs are congruent with the mission of schools. Schools need to become proactive in helping to establish a healthy student body, which is more likely to be an academically successful body.