Health Insurance for All Long-Term Care Workers: Estimated Costs and Coverage Impacts in Minnesota and Recommendations for States

A major barrier to building a strong workforce to meet the growing need for long-care is lack of affordable health benefits. This study projects impacts of funding health coverage for all long-term care workers in Minnesota. Under the most cost effective model plan design, enrollment in employer-sponsored coverage would increase 73% to 100% for individual coverage and 26% to 42% for family coverage. Total monthly costs would be $698/worker in the commercial market or $634/worker through a new dedicated risk pool. Based on our findings and past research, the authors present recommendations for structuring and implementing a long-term care worker health insurance initiative.     

Postnatal gestational diabetes mellitus follow-up: Perspectives of Australian hospital clinicians and general practitioners

Problem

The reasons for low postnatal screening rates for women with gestational diabetes mellitus are not well understood. Multiple care providers, settings and changes to diagnostic criteria, may contribute to confusion over postnatal care. Quality of communication between clinicians may be an important influence for the completion of postnatal gestational diabetes mellitus follow-up.

Women's Perception of the Divorce Experience: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

Divorce is a personal experience, often negative, and each couple experiences it differently. However, the divorce experience may provide opportunities for personal growth. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the challenges and growth opportunities women who have divorced experience from their own perspective. Ten women with similar backgrounds participated in personal interviews. Individual interviews revealed the following themes: (a) dating reflections, (b) married life, (c) self-perceptions, (d) support or lack of support, (e) family, (f) personal emotions, (g) personal growth, and (h) the future. Mezirow's (2000) Mezirow, J. 2000. Learning as transformation: Critical perspective on a theory in progress, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  [Google Scholar] theory of transformational learning was the framework used to organize the findings to understand growth through transitional phases. This article presents the findings of this study and implications for women going through divorce.     

A taste of trade justice: marketing global social responsibility via Fair Trade coffee

The movement to certify and promote fairly traded coffee is one of many efforts aimed at linking social responsibility and free market capitalism. In the wake of a worldwide crisis in which coffee prices have fallen to levels that do not support small-scale production, non-profit Fair Trade certifying and labeling organizations are working to develop a market situation that is sustainable for workers and the environment. The Fair Trade system promotes living wages for farmers, access to affordable credit, and the adoption and maintenance of environmentally sound practices. Fair Traders' marketing efforts seek to influence cultural and political values in such a way that consumers and corporations will have to respond to them by incorporating the welfare of Southern workers into their purchasing decisions. This article discusses and evaluates current strategies for creating and expanding the market for Fair Trade-certified coffee and their outcomes in the United States and Europe. We argue that, while Fair Traders have achieved some laudable goals, they must now address the limits to supply-driven marketing efforts.     

Did monetary policy fuel the housing bubble? An application to Ireland

This paper provides empirical evidence of the role of the euro in the genesis of the recent Irish financial-economic crisis. By using a Taylor rule we measure the appropriateness of the ECB’s one-size-fits-all policy rate for the Irish economy. A counterfactual analysis suggests that the Irish interest rate should have been on average 6.5% higher. Using a BVAR and multivariate housing model, we provide econometric evidence that under an alternative sovereign monetary policy, the average house price would have been 25–30% lower just before the housing bust. In addition, it shows that a monetary policy tailored to the needs of the member state prevents housing prices from dramatically increasing.     

Treating Serious Emotional and Behavioural Problems Using Multisystemic Therapy

Multisystemic therapy (MST) is a family‐ and community‐based treatment of serious emotional and behavioural problems presented by adolescents. The development of this model began in the late 1970s, and today MST is a leading evidence‐based treatment of serious antisocial behaviour in youths, with programs transported to more than 30 states in the United States and 12 nations, including Australia and New Zealand. This article rerviews the theoretical rationale that underlies MST and presents the central clinical features of the intervention model. In addition, the training and quality assurance protocols used to promote MST program fidelity and treatment adherence are described. Finally, findings from approximately 15 published randomised and two quasi‐experimental clinical trials with youths presenting serious clinical problems (e.g., violence, substance abuse, serious emotional disturbance, sexual offending, and chronic illness) are summarised.     

Priming and source credibility effects on individual responses to AMBER and other mediated missing child alerts

This study examined the effects of the AMBER Alert system, which has become a staple on broadcast outlets throughout the United States. Using an experimental design, researchers examined priming effects (labeling the alert as “AMBER” or generically “missing child”) and source credibility (from a branded media outlet or a social networking post) on citizen responses to alerts. Regardless of source, the AMBER label prompted higher participant involvement with a case and higher ratings of message importance. The source cue affected ratings of message quality only.