Entry into Consensual Unions and Marriages Among Finnish Women Born Between 1938 and 1967

This study, based on a survey undertaken in 1989, clearly illustrates the dramatic changes in family formation behaviour that have occurred in Finland. Whereas only about one-tenth of the first unions of women born between 1938 and 1942 began as consensual unions, after the cohort of 1962 only one-tenth were formal marriages. These changes lagged some ten years behind the corresponding ones in Sweden, but were about five years ahead of Norway. In Finland, up to the present, most consensual unions have constituted a temporary state which precedes proper family life. Most couples married in connection with the birth of the first child. Consensual union as a permanent lifestyle is generally connected with a low level of education of women.     

The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Movement and Young People with Serious Physical Illnesses Who Support Building Communities of Care

In 2011–2012, a qualitative exploratory pilot study was conducted to examine the experiences of immigrant Mexican women using a culturally specific domestic violence intervention model curriculum in a Midwestern state. Using a psychoeducational group format, 20 immigrant Mexican women participated in two 11-week groups over a 9-month period at a community-based health clinic. Findings indicated immigrant Mexican women examined current relationships, dating, and domestic violence dynamics in group settings and reported changes in self-esteem within their own culture. Implications for social workers include learning how they can use culturally competent curriculums and programs in group formats.     

The Probable Impact of Proposed Legislative and Budgetary Changes on the Lives of the Elderly and Their Families

The decade of the 1980s is characterized by economic uncertainty and political ambiguity regarding the direction of American public policy for the elderly. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) review demographic trends that particularly affect older adults; (2) summarize theReagan Administration's proposed cutbacks in programs and policies for the elderly; and (3) address the effects of these cuts on older individuals as well as on family systems across generations. It is our contention that the proposed budget cuts will seriously reduce a number of federal programs which have been developed to meet the needs of older adults. The impact of these cuts will be felt by all of the elderly and to a considerable extent, their families. However, the effects will be most severe for people who have poverty or near-poverty incomes, single women, and the "frail" elderly. The discussion suggests that these proposed budget cuts seem to reflect a lack of appreciation and recognition of both needs of the older individuals and those of their families. In addition, suggestions for program and policy directions, as well as further research are addressed.     

When Everyone Is an Orphan: Against Adopting a U.S.-Styled Orphan Drug Policy in Canada

Putting aside whether diseases that affect only small numbers of people (“rare diseases”) should be prioritized over diseases that are otherwise orphaned, in this article I argue that a new approach to rare, orphan diseases is needed. The current model, first signaled by the United States' Orphan Drug Act and subsequently emulated by several other jurisdictions, relies on a set of open-ended criteria and market-based incentives in order to define and encourage drug therapies for rare, orphan diseases. Given a) the biopharmaceutical industries' growing interest in orphan diseases, b) progress in the sphere of personalized medicines enabling more and more common diseases to be reclassified as rare, and c) empirical evidence suggesting that the most orphan drugs target only a limited, lucrative subset of rare diseases, I argue that Canada, which recently announced plans to develop its own “orphan drug framework” should not follow the United States' orphan drug model.     

试论德国的医疗保险体制改革

德国是世界上最早实施社会医疗保障的国家。德国的医疗保险体系以社会医疗保险为主,商业医疗保险为辅。德国的医疗保险体系具有优质、高效、公平、覆盖面广等优点,但近年来也难以摆脱资源浪费,经费入不敷出等问题的困扰。德国于20世纪90年代和21世纪初持续进行医疗保险体制改革,采取了取消部分医疗补贴,提高某些医疗服务的自费比例,扩大有偿医疗服务范围,并组建了由政府机构,保险公司和医保医院共同构成的独立机构,对疾病认证,治疗程序和医疗服务质量进行统一规定和管理。本文对德国医疗保险体制改革进行了系统介绍和评估,对构建和完善具有中国特色的医疗保险体制具有参考借鉴价值。     

基于ARIMA模型的2009年山东省手足口病疫情分析及预测

对山东省2009年第13周至第35周(3月30日至8月30日)手足口病发病数作时间序列分析,应用 SPSS软件建立 ARIMA模型,并对预测效果进行评价.结果表明ARIMA (0,2,1)模型很好地拟合了既往时间段上的手足口病发病率序列,发病率的预测值符合实际发病率变动趋势.     

体重指数和慢性阻塞性肺疾病患者肺功能及呼吸困难的研究

目的研究慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD)患者肺功能及呼吸困难程度与体重指数的关系。方法 76例COPD稳定期患者按体重指数(BMI)分为2组,BMI<21kg/m2为低体重组,BMI23kg/m2～25kg/m2为正常体重组,每组各为38例,比较两组肺功能障碍和呼吸困难的发生率,分析BMI和肺功能及呼吸困难的相关性。结果低体重患者比正常体重患者呼吸困难发生率高,两者统计学有差异(P<0.05);两组肺功能FEV1(%)Pred,FEV1/FVC(%),MVV差异有显著性(P<0.05),正常体重组明显高于低体重组。结论 COPD患者的体重指数和肺功能及呼吸困难有一定的相关性,改善COPD患者的营养状况,有利于COPD患者改善肺功能和呼吸困难,提高生活质量。     

城市轨道交通超大客流网络拥挤传播研究

为研究城市轨道交通超大客流传播的时间规律以及不同数量拥堵站点对整体轨道交通网络的影响,通过定义超大客流,引用疾病传播理论,建立了基于网络拥挤模型的超大客流拥堵网络疾病传播模型,并运用Adams微分方程数值进行模型求解。对反演参数得到的SIR传染病模型的传播特性拟合运用于轨道交通网络,并通过不同的初始拥堵站点数量进行仿真。研究表明:轨道交通超大客流的病态传播受传染概率、恢复概率、初始拥堵站点数影响,该联系为超大客流网络拥挤传播提供一种新的研究思路。     

民族地区公共卫生服务体系的完善

突如其来的新冠肺炎疫情让我们继2003年非典之后再次与传染性疾病正面遭遇,也让我们反思当下的公共卫生体系,尤其是公共卫生服务相对薄弱却面临更大的境外输入风险的民族地区,需要如何提升才能应对此次疫情和日后可能出现的其他公共卫生突发事件的冲击。少数民族地区的经济发展状况、地处边境或边疆地区等独特的自然地理环境和社会景观、恶劣的气候和不方便的交通运输,给大流行防控带来了较大的压力,也在一定程度上影响了公共卫生服务的可及性。少数民族地区的公共卫生体系与其他地区相比仍然相对薄弱,城乡不平衡仍然存在。回顾1949年中华人民共和国成立以来公共卫生体系的发展历程,我们会发现,我们积累了预防为主的政策等宝贵经验,也走过了过度市场化的弯路。因此,总结经验,吸取教训,结合少数民族地区的实际,明确政府、社会和公民在公共卫生服务体系中各自的定位、作用和责任,坚持预防为主的原则,加强国际合作,都是完善少数民族地区公共卫生体系的重要内容。     

A Bayesian latent spatial model for mapping the cortical signature of progression to Alzheimer's disease

Prior studies have shown that atrophy in vulnerable cortical regions is associated with an increased risk of progression to clinical dementia. In this work, we utilize the longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) to investigate the relationship between the temporally changing spatial topography of cortical thickness and conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease (AD). We develop a novel Bayesian latent spatial model that employs the spatial information underlying the thickness effects across the cortical surface. The proposed method facilitates the development of imaging markers by reliably quantifying and mapping the regional vulnerability to AD progression across the cortical surface. Simulation results showed substantial gains in statistical power and estimation performance by accounting for the spatial structure of the association. Using MRI data from ADNI, we examined the topographic patterns of anatomic regions where cortical thinning is associated with an increased risk of developing AD.