Population changes and the cost of health care for the elderly in Poland

"The author...has attempted to measure the effects of population changes upon the costs of health care [in Poland] by applying a simulation model. In this model the total cost of health care is a function of the per capita cost of health care by age, sex, and place of residence (urban, rural) and population structure.... The paper includes...the results concerning population 60 years of age and over." Data are from several official health-related surveys carried out in 1989.     

Subjective Welfare, Well-Being, and Self-Reported Food Hypersensitivity in Four European Countries: Implications for European Policy

This study estimates the effects of food hypersensitivity on individuals?? perceived welfare and well-being compared to non-food hypersensitive individuals. Study respondents were recruited in the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and UK. The difference in welfare between food hypersensitive respondents and those asymptomatic to foods was estimated using a subjective welfare approach, including income evaluation. Well-being was measured using the Cantril Ladder-of-Life Scale, and health status using the Self-Perceived Health Scale. The difference in well-being, welfare and health status between participant groups was explained further using a number of background variables. No significant within-country differences in welfare between food hypersensitive respondents and respondents asymptomatic to foods were found. In terms of well-being, adult food hypersensitive respondents and their spouses reported significantly less happiness than respondents and their spouses asymptomatic to foods in the Netherlands and Poland. In Spain, the spouses of the food hypersensitive respondents were significantly less happy than respondents aymptomatic to foods. The well-being of children did not significantly differ between groups. The degree of severity of food hypersensitivity was negatively related to overall health status. In Poland, food hypersensitive respondents reported worse health status compared to asymptomatic respondents. In Spain, the converse was true. Food hypersensitive respondents were generally less happy with their life as a whole than respondents asymptomatic to foods, presumably because they experienced more negative effects, which were not related to perceived health status.     

World fertility and the women's situation]

In 1981, total number of childbearing women in the world reached 9.8 hundred million. Their socioeconomic status and fertility level are very important data for the study of women's liberation and population control. Facing limited natural resources and a constant growing demand, many nations are studying how to control the population growth and achieve a "zero population growth." In nations with a high GNP, such as Switzerland, West Germany, and France, fertility is low. On the contrary, countries in central and south Asia and most parts of Africa are the poorest economically, and their fertility rate has remained very high. Another factor which is related to the fertility level is the degree of women's participation in the labor market. In Europe and North America, the percentage of women's participation in economic activities is high, and fertility is low. In Latin America and Africa, fertility is high, and the percentage of women's participation in economic labor is low. From the above, we may conclude that promotion of women's participation in the labor market and better employment conditions will reduce fertility. Another 2 factors related to fertility are marriage age and birth control rate. Late marriage and the extensive use of birth control measures are effective methods for reducing fertility. All the above mentioned factors are closely related to the woman's educational background. If women receive a better education and find better employment opportunities, delay their marriage age, and take birth control measures, fertility will be reduced and the population growth will be under control.     

Status and Socioeconomic Determinants of Farming Households’ Food Security in Ngaka Modiri Molema District,South Africa

The global relevance of food security has attracted a plethora of research, because it is a determinant of either the prosperity or poverty of any nation. Accordingly, food security is directly associated with the poverty in many developing countries of the world today. Rural people around the world continue to struggle with food insecurity, persistent poverty and inequality, and environmental degradation. This necessitated a research study on food security in the North West province of South Africa, with a view to evaluate the food security status and its determinants in the area, as well as to compare the impact of gender on the food security status of households. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, where 346 maize farmers in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality of the North West, South Africa, were interviewed. A logically structured questionnaire was used to collect data where household expenditure survey was used to evaluate the food security status of these farmers, after which a logistics regression model was used to determine the factors responsible for food security. The findings reveal that, with more farming experience, the probability of household food security decreased. Also, an increase in the household size, by one member, decreases the probability of a household achieving food security. Similarly, a unit increase in the age of the head of household decreases the probability or likelihood of being food secured in the study area. The result also revealed that more than half of the farming households were food secure, while the female-headed households were more food secure, proportionately, compared to male-headed households.

     

Population Policy Dilemmas in Europe at the Dawn of the Twenty‐First Century

The article discusses issues raised by persistent below‐replacement fertility in Europe. The continent's demographic predicament is highlighted by comparing age structures and relative population sizes between populations in and outside Europe—such as those of Russia and Yemen and those of an enlarged 25‐country European Union and a 25‐country hinterland to the EU in North Africa and West Asia—during the past 50 years and prospectively up to 2050, based on United Nations estimates and projections. Potential geopolitical aspects of the population shifts are considered. European policy responses to them are found largely wanting. With respect to the key demographic variable, fertility, explicit pronatalism is rejected by most European governments. A set of policy measures that commands wide support, with the hoped‐for side effect of raising birth rates, seeks to make women's participation in the formal labor force compatible with childrearing. The effectiveness of such measures, however, is likely to be limited. Continued below‐replacement fertility, higher immigration from outside Europe, negative population growth, and loss of demographic weight within the global population are safe predictions for the Europe of the twenty‐first century.     

珠江三角洲经济区人口与经济发展问题研究

本文以广东珠江三角洲经济区人口和经济的发展现状为基础,从多方面、多角度、多层次对该区人口与经济发展的关系问题进行了深入探讨,从总体上讲,人口与经济发展协调性较强,但存在产业结构尚需调整,人力素质有待提高。文章从可持续发展和率先实现现代化的要求方面,提出具有针对性的对策和措施。     

淮海经济区人口城市化区划研究

利用我国2000年第五次人口普查数据及2001年《中国城市统计年鉴》的统计资料,运用SPSS软件中的主成分分析功能分析淮海经济区人口城市化的影响要素:人口城市化水平与经济增长要素、社会发展要素相关显著,与投资要素、基础设施环境要素相关不显著;运用G IS技术,对淮海经济区人口城市化的区域划分进行研究,结果表明:淮海经济区大部分市县的人口城市化水平偏低,区内无高人口城市化水平地区,并存在较明显的"五区"空间格局,即东部区、南部区、西部区、北部区和中部区。     

A norm-referenced population health status index based on life expectancy and disability

This paper describes a population health status index for health services research and planning purposes. The H-index uses data on average life expectancy at birth and percent of the population free from disability, however defined. It is useful in comparing the health status of health services areas relative to that of the more healthy areas selected to serve as the norm. The statistical procedure used in deriving the H-index is centour analysis, by means of which the Euclidian distances of the service areas in the study sample in two-dimensional space to the centroid of the normative areas are reflected in the H values computed. The farther away from the centroid, the less resemblance the service area has to the norm and the lower its health status. A computational example with seven normative states and 10 states in the study sample is given.     

Multiseason transmission for Rift Valley fever in North America

ABSTRACT

Rift Valley fever is a vector-borne disease, primarly found in West Africa, that is transmitted to humans and domestic livestock. Its similarities to the West Nile virus suggest that establishment in the developed world may be possible. Rift Valley fever has the potential to invade North America, where seasons play a role in disease persistence. The values for the basic reproductive number show that, in order to eradicate the disease, the survival time of mosquitoes must decrease below 8.67 days. Mechanisms such as aggressive spraying that decreases the mosquito population can contain an outbreak. Otherwise, Rift Valley fever is likely to establish itself as a recurring seasonal outbreak. Rift Valley fever poses a potential threat to North America that would require aggressive interventions in order to prevent a recurring seasonal outbreak.     

Polish education in the crisis decade--the testimony of population census

"The purpose of this essay is to offer information on the links that exist between...demographic growth, education and the [labor force] in Poland, as revealed in past population censuses...taken in 1978 and 1988...." The effect of education on occupational status is discussed, and some projections for Poland's educational and employment sectors are made.     

A note on mortality in Jamaica

This article analyses briefly various aspects of mortality in Jamaica. After an appraisal of available vital statistics, the mortality trend, as revealed in several measures, is traced and brief comparison with other West Indian colonies made. A discussion of the marked differential between legitimate and illegitimate infant mortality leads to the conclusion that the higher rate of the latter is associated with lower socio-economic status of the parents. Mortality from a few causes of death is also analysed and the possibility of improvement stressed. The probable consequences of declining mortality are illustrated by examining the probable growth of the population to 1951 in three broad age groups.     

西部大开发中的人口与环境问题

西部地区是相对贫困、生态环境脆弱的地区 ,实施西部大开发战略必将遇到贫困、人口压力和生态环境恶化之间的矛盾 ,以及开发、发展与环境破坏之间的矛盾 ,如何解决这类两难问题 ,是西部大开发的关键问题。本文就此作了探讨并提出了对策和建议。     

Evaluation of estimates of underenumeration in the census and the age pattern of mortality,philadelphia, 1880

The schedule of mortality by age for Philadelphia's 1880 population classified by sex and race showed aberrations from Coale and Demeny West, South, and North model life tables. Deviations from standard age patterns of mortality were especially pronounced for the black population. The question addressed in this paper is whether the alternative age patterns of mortality are produced by underenumeration in the 1880 census or by actual variations in the age-specific mortality experience. The conclusion was reached that the underenumeration of the urban population, especially the blacks, exceeds estimates for the national population. In addition, the results indicated that the black population faced risks of dying that genuinely differed from standard age patterns. An attempt to use a Brass logit model to generalize the black mortality experience met with success for females but not for males.     

Social Participation in Poland: Links to Emotional Well-Being and Risky Alcohol Consumption

Social participation has been hypothesised to have both positive and negative impact on health outcomes via a variety of pathways, but previous studies have found few significant effects of social participation, and there is a lack of research from post-communist societies, which are known to be low on social capital. Using cross-sectional data from Poland on 2,970 individuals surveyed in 2009, we investigated the individual-level relationships between formal and informal social participation, emotional well-being, and risky alcohol consumption while controlling for demographic variables, socioeconomic status, employment and partnership status, health, religiosity, and generalised trust. Frequent joint activities with friends and neighbours were related to higher positive affect but also to more risky alcohol consumption. Membership in voluntary organisations was associated with more risky alcohol consumption, especially among younger males and for certain types of organisations. In contrast, volunteer work was related to higher positive affect and fewer depressive symptoms in the whole sample and to less risky alcohol consumption among the younger participants. The findings illustrate that some types of social participation, even if they are not typical of a given context (e.g., volunteering in Poland), may be more beneficial than others.     

Demographic trends and the pension system in Poland--a model approach

This "article presents the results of projections of the population of Poland by age, sex and marital status till 2050 under different scenarios of fertility, mortality and nuptiality. These results are used for the analysis of future pension expenditures, the number of retirees, the labour force, and the relation between contributions and benefits. Past demographic trends and the development of social security in the post-war period in Poland are discussed as well."     

The Characteristics Approach to the Measurement of Population Aging

Conventional measures of population aging, such as proportions over age 65, can present a misleading picture of the aging process by not taking account of changes in people's characteristics beyond their chronological age—for example, changes in remaining life expectancy, health and morbidity, disability rates, and cognitive functioning. The “characteristics approach” set out in this article encompasses multiple features of population aging, yielding new measures that can better inform both demographic analysis and public policy debate. We relate the brief history of this approach, examine its basic mathematical structure, and give empirical examples of the insights it offers, drawing on data from West Germany, Japan, Russia, and the United States.     

Comparative Examination of Self-Perceived Health and Other Measures of the Quality of Life Across the EU-27

In various fields of research self-perceived health has been defined and analysed as a significant measure of the health-related quality of life, and also as a predictor of health status. This paper examines the determinants of self-perceived health in the EU-27 area in order to find whether a common set of governmental policies could improve the self-perceived health and whether this positive effect would remain positive and significant on other measures of the quality of life as well as across the quintiles of income distribution. A number of panel regression models using the first-difference GMM estimator are applied to comparatively examine self-perceived health together with other measures of health status and quality of life, based on Eurostat data from 2003 to 2012. The empirical results of the paper could provide useful insights for the European health policy and other common actions and policies in the field of the quality of life.     

Demographic situation in Poland on the background of changes in the European countries--in relation to forecast assumptions

The author discusses demographic trends in Poland and compares these trends with those in other European countries. Aspects considered include family formation and dissolution; fertility; mortality, life expectancy, and health status; demographic resources and changes in the age structure; and demographic aging.