Dementia Problem Behavior and the Production of Informal Caregiving Services

Informal caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease spend a considerable amount of time providing care. In this paper, we use Grossman's health production and Becker's time allocation models to develop a model of informal care provision to elderly dementia patients. In our model, time inputs produce caregiving services, which provides utility to the caregiver, but reduces leisure. We assume that time is less productive of services on the margin as the disease progresses. In this framework, an increase in patients' disease severity does not necessarily increase informal caregiver time input. The cost of formal care establishes a reservation price for informal caregiving. When the costs of informal caregiving rise above this reservation level, the patient is institutionalized. We test empirically the effect of deterioration in the patients' condition, proxied by both disease severity and dementia problem behavior, on informal caregiving time. We find that dementia-related problem behaviors and functional limitations significantly increase inputs of informal caregiving time. Patients' problem behavior exerts a modifying effect on functional limitations, and patients' comorbidities have no effect on informal caregiving time.     

Effects of Medicaid managed care policies on mental health service use among a national probability sample of children in the child welfare system

Children in the child welfare system are dependent upon Medicaid to finance services for their considerable mental health needs. This study examines the effects of Medicaid policies on mental health service use among a national probability sample of children in the child welfare system. Data for this study came from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, the Caring for Children in Child Welfare study, and the Area Resource File. Weighted multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate effects of policy variables on children's use of mental health services, controlling for child-level covariates and county-level health resources. Children in counties with behavioral carve-outs under Medicaid managed care had lower odds of inpatient mental health service use. Medicaid managed care enrollment and variations in type of provider reimbursement did not affect use of mental health services. Older age, greater need for mental health services, and higher levels of caregiver education were associated with increased odds of service use. Restrictions on use of inpatient mental healthcare caused by behavioral carve-outs may disproportionately affect children in the child welfare system who have high rates of such use. Careful adoption of carve-outs is necessary to assure appropriate care for these children.     

基于广义第二价格拍卖的多级带宽定价模型

在差异化服务机制的基础上，研究了互联网的多级带宽定价问题．通过导入广义第二价格拍卖，构造了基于差异化服务的互联网多级带宽定价模型．该模型能够有效地解决Internet拥塞问题，促进网络资源的合理利用．     

Trade-Offs Between Formal Home Health Care and Informal Family CareGiving

Using 1994 National Long Term Care Survey data, we estimated logistic regressions of formal and informal home health care use and hours. Home health care use and intensity were differentially impacted by chronic conditions, are higher for Medicaid enrollees and rural or small town residents, but lower for HMO enrollees. Decreases in the probability of home health care use increased informal instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) support four hours and decreased informal activities of daily living (ADL) support eight hours weekly. IADL caregiving substituted for formal care, but ADL caregiving declined with reductions in formal care. Public policy reducing formal home health care access may reduce informal ADL caregiving and increase informal IADL caregiving, producing net declines in support.     

城市公共空间与大众健康--19世纪英国城市公园发展的启示

在城市发展和改造过程中,英国近代城市先后着手进行城市公共空间———公园建设,从而掀起了一场造园运动。这场运动既是英国城市发展的必然结果,同时也是解决城市环境问题、提高大众健康水平的需要。而公园等公共空间的建设,为居民提供了一个锻炼与休闲的空间,有利于提高居民的健康水平。健康的人居环境,为各阶层民众提供了聚会的场所,体现了社会成员和谐相处的精神,成为英国资本主义成熟的重要表现之一。     

大学生自我表露的比较研究

目的:考察主动到心理咨询中心求助的大学生自我表露和孤独状况并与普通大学生的资料进行比较;考察来访者对咨询员的自我表露与其他目标人的表露之差异。结果发现:求询大学生与普通大学生的自我表露相比显著地低;求询大学生对咨询员的表露比其他目标人的表露显著地高;求询大学生的孤独感明显地高于普通大学生;心理咨询在大学生发展过程中起着重要的作用。     

Improving the contributions of technology assessment to the health care system of the U.S.A.

Summary Based on 14 case studies of highly effective therapies and the reasons they succeeded less frequently than they could, we propose a variety of steps to improve the health care system of the U.S.A. Whatever proposal emerges from current national debates until innovations are shown to be safe and effective, they should not be supported; when slightly better technologies are much more expensive than other good ones we need to consider appropriate choices carefully; simplified billing and bookkeping would reduce our costs; when a technology is rapidly introduced cautionnary measures may be needed; tracking immunization and repairing their omissions requires a new system; educational programs such as seen effective in hypertension should be applied in other areas such as vaccination; in organ transplantation the nation should consider “presumed consent”; our payment system sometimes creates perverse incentives and therefore needs review; and the preferences of the public in allocation of health resources need to be discovered once the public is informed about the issues. Research supported by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.     

Do You Speak English? Language Barriers in Child Protection Social Work with Minority Ethnic Families

This paper critically evaluates research and literature on childprotection social work practice with minority ethnic familieswho speak little or no English. Though the focus is on childprotection, many of the themes raised should be transferableacross to other areas and disciplines. Specifically, the paperfocuses on the limitations and difficulties of using professionalinterpreters in child protection work and covers themes likethe availability of interpreters, the role of interpreters,suitability of interpreters, the interpretation of particularwords and phrases, and manipulating the interpreting process.The paper then moves on to address the important but often neglectedarea of using children as interpreters, and ends by consideringthe broader issue of how language barriers can exacerbate discriminationagainst minority ethnic families.     

社区卫生服务中心与医院手术费用的比较研究

目的:比较社区卫生服务中心及各级医院常见手术费用;社区卫生服务中心手术是否便捷、低耗,有无保留的必要。方法:调研南京市社区卫生服务中心及各级医院常见手术的单病种费用,社区卫生服务中心与各级医院的费用做统计分析比较。结果:社区卫生服务中心单病种手术平均住院费用明显低于与各级医院。结论:从经济学的角度分析,各级医院手术费用差别很大,在规范和安全的前提下,社区卫生服务中心保留基本的手术功能是符合社区居民需求和社区卫生服务自身发展需要的。     

福州市社区空巢老年人健康状况调查

目的了解空巢老年人的健康现状及其影响因素,为老龄工作提供科学依据。方法2002年4~5月进行入户调查,采用分层整群抽取福州市鼓楼、台江、仓山三个区60岁及以上的社区老年人,共得到有效样本1767例,其中空巢老人696名。空巢老人躯体健康、生活自理能力(ADL)、经济状况、精神健康、社会健康5个维度的健康状况及其影响因素的调查是本次研究的主要内容。结果福州市社区空巢老年人占老年人总体比例的39%,其中男性多于女性;由logistic检验得出空巢老年人健康状况受年龄、性别、原职业、是否赞成非家庭养老方式、锻炼程度等因素的影响。结论倡导空巢老年人形成良好的生活饮食习惯与自我保健意识,加强对空巢老年人慢性病的防治,丰富老年人的精神生活、社会生活,提高对空巢老年人经济支持,完善社区为老服务,从而改善空巢老年人的健康状况。