Poverty affects access to regular source of primary care among the general population in Hong Kong

A territory‐wide two‐stage stratified random sample of 2,282 community‐dwelling Hong Kong adults were surveyed between 2014 and 2015 to investigate the association between poverty and regular source of primary care utilization. Poverty was operationalized by income‐poverty and deprivation. About 94% of our sample reported having regular source of primary care (Western and/or Chinese medical practitioner) and about 69% among them were in private sector. Multivariable logistic regression showed that people who were income‐poor and deprived were less likely to have regular source of primary care (income‐poor: OR = 0.523, p = .027; deprived: OR = 0.488, p = .007) and visit private primary care doctors (income‐poor: OR = 0.445, deprived: OR = 0.222, both p < .0001). Those who had chronic diseases were more likely to have regular source of primary care (multimorbid: OR = 10.709, p < .0001), but less likely to access care in the private sector (one chronic disease: OR = 0.690, p = .019; multimorbid: OR = 0.374, p < .0001) than those without. Further, being older and less skilled were significantly associated with less likelihood of visiting a private doctor. Path analysis showed that the number of chronic diseases had significant indirect effect on having regular source of primary care with being income‐poor and deprived as the mediators (β = ?.0183, p = .0016). Therefore, despite a public health‐care system that aims to deny no one from adequate health care for lack of means, regular source of primary care in Hong Kong is found to be pro‐rich. Future policies should tackle the problem of health‐care inequalities to meet the needs of the underprivileged.     

How Effective are Helpers to Older Adults’ Life Satisfaction?

The effectiveness of help received from home care workers and volunteers to the life satisfaction of community-dwelling older adults is vital but uncharted. To address the effectiveness, this study aims to optimize the use of social resources for the older adults’ life quality. The study thus surveyed 398 community-dwelling older adults in a city of China about the help and life satisfaction. Results showed a significant positive effect of help from home care workers, but not that from volunteers, on the older adult’s life satisfaction. Moreover, the effect of help from volunteers was significantly greater when the older adult had higher education or lower family income. These effects are explicable with resource theory and need fulfillment theory. They imply the worth of promoting help from home care workers generally and volunteers conditionally to champion older adults’ life satisfaction.     

Home Care Services for Indigenous Population in Taiwan: Cultural and Socio-Structural Implications for Long-Term Care Policy

Taiwan faces the world’s top aging rate over the next 8 years, making long-term care a priority for all populations, including the 16 indigenous groups who live primarily in the mountains and have different cultural practices than mainstream Taiwanese people. To examine how home care services are coordinated, managed, and delivered to the indigenous populations, we interviewed 10 public care managers and analyzed the interview content to assess their work experiences with home care workers and indigenous users in 2016. The research revealed four findings: (1) Home care utilization patterns and attitudes were different between the rural indigenous and non-indigenous populations; (2) home care utilization was limited by cultural, economic, and language challenges; (3) home care workers faced cultural and socio-structural challenges; and (4) policy and service provisions were rigid, without the socio-structural flexibility needed to accommodate the indigenous culture. A more efficient model will require the collaboration of public care managers, home care workers, and indigenous families to create a fair-coordinated plan. As Taiwan launches the Ten-year Long-Term Care Plan 2.0, a one-stop service delivery center to integrate care options and provide services for people of indigenous backgrounds is a must.     

新民主主义革命时期毛泽东医疗卫生思想探析

毛泽东医疗卫生思想是毛泽东思想的重要组成部分。新民主主义革命时期,毛泽东高度重视发展医疗卫生工作,确立了"全心全意为人民健康服务""预防为主,开展群众性的爱国卫生运动""中西医结合"的工作方针;强调加强对医疗卫生人才的培养和思想政治道德教育。这些思想在当今仍具有重要的理论借鉴和实践指导意义。     

Older Parents Providing Child Care for Adult Children: Does It Pay Off?

This study examined whether past grandparental child care is related to present support from adult children. On the basis of social exchange theory, the authors expected that grandparental child care creates a debt that is repaid in the form of receiving support later in life. Using data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (N = 349 parents, N = 812 adult children), the authors found that grandparents who frequently provided child care for sons in the past more often received instrumental and emotional support from these sons approximately 13 years later than grandparents who less frequently provided child care. Investments in daughters did not pay off. Instrumental support other than child‐care provision did not predict receiving support from either sons or daughters, but emotional support did. These results support the notion of long‐term reciprocity in parent–child relationships, but its importance depends on the child's gender and the type of earlier investment.     

Evaluation of the Neurodegenerative Conditions Coordinated Care Program (NCCCP) in Western Australia: barriers to better service provision

This paper details a 2009-2010 evaluation of the Neurodegenerative Conditions Coordinated Care Program (NCCCP) commissioned by the Disability Services Commission (DSC) in Western Australia (WA). The program, run by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of WA (Inc.) provides in-home care and supports and respite for people who are under the age of sixty-five and diagnosed with a rapidly degenerative neurological condition. In 2009, the identified barriers to the better provision of services included: shortage of quality out-of-home respite providers, and convoluted paperwork requirements to qualify for the program. Some service providers were unaware of the program and so were not referring them into the NCCCP, a number of service providers were unwilling to refer their clients into the program, neurologists were unwilling to give a final diagnosis for a client, that would enable them to qualify for the service, there was a general lack of knowledge about what services were available in the general community, and existing equipment pools were under-resourced. In 2010, the study found that most of the issues had been addressed however, out-of-home respite services were still very limited especially in rural areas, and the eligibility criteria for entry to the program is confined to those 65 years and under. This paper discusses the issues that still remain with the program as examples of barriers to better provision of services.     

Using GIS to enhance programs serving emancipated youth leaving foster care

This article describes a GIS prototype designed to assist with the identification and evaluation of housing that is affordable, safe, and effective in supporting the educational goals and parental status of youth transitioning from foster care following emancipation. Spatial analysis was used to identify rental properties based on three inclusion criteria (affordability, proximity to public transportation, and proximity to grocery stores), three exclusion criteria (areas of high crime, prostitution, and sexual predator residence), and three suitability criteria (proximity to health care, mental health care, and youth serving organizations). The results were applied to four different scenarios to test the utility of the model. Of the 145 affordable rental properties, 27 met the criteria for safe and effective housing. Of these, 19 were located near bus routes with direct service to post-secondary education or vocational training programs. Only 6 were considered appropriate to meet the needs of youth who had children of their own. These outcomes highlight the complexities faced by youth when they attempt to find affordable and suitable housing following emancipation. The LEASE prototype demonstrates that spatial analysis can be a useful tool to assist with planning services for youth making the transition to independent living.     

欠发达地区新型农村合作医疗筹资问题研究——以甘肃为例

在调研和梳理国内文献的基础上,对目前甘肃省新农舍筹资出现的问题进行分析,研究结论：制度设计上存在中央、地方政府和农民在筹资过程中博弈关系,导致筹资机制的可操作性低,存在地方财政压力大、农民工游离在新型农村合作医疗制度之外、筹资成本太高和农民对合作医疗制度的公平性缺乏信心等现实性问题。提出筹资标准合理化、筹资模式高效化和以立法形式来保障筹资,提高新农合筹资的能力。     

华北抗日根据地的医疗卫生事业

抗战时期,华北根据地遭受了严重的天灾敌祸。疾疫的流行,不但给根据地人民带来了肉体上的痛苦,也给他们造成了重大的财产损失。根据地党组织和人民政权大力普及医药卫生知识,充分利用可支配的医疗卫生机构,积极组织民间医生并发挥他们的医疗能力,尽可能地减轻了人民群众的伤病痛苦,为华北根据地的发展壮大做出了重要贡献。     

我国老龄照料服务体系面临的挑战

我国已经进入老龄社会,老年人的照料需求日益增长,由于目前老龄照料体系的不尽完善,诱发了许多社会问题,为了使老年群体能在居家养老国策下安享晚年,我国的老龄照料体系亟待完善。我们应学习国际社会经验、整合各种社会资源,不断进行体制创新,以应对人口老龄化。