Wednesday, March 19, 2008

[EQ] Research to action to address inequities: the experience of Equity Gauge

Research to action to address inequities: the experience of the Cape Town Equity Gauge

 

Vera Scott*, Ruth Stern*, David Sanders, Gavin Reagon, Verona Mathews - School of Public Health, University of Western Cape, South Africa

International Journal for Equity in Health – February 2008, 7:6 doi:10.1186/1475-9276-7-6

 

            Available online PDF file [41p.] at: http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/pdf/1475-9276-7-6.pdf

 

“…..While the importance of promoting equity to achieve health is now recognised, the health gap continues to increase globally between and within countries. The description that follows looks at how the Cape Town Equity Gauge initiative, part of the Global Equity Gauge Alliance (GEGA) is endeavouring to tackle this problem.

 

We give an overview of the first phase of our research in which we did an initial assessment of health status and the socio-economic determinants of health across the subdistrict health structures of Cape Town. We then describe two projects from the second phase of our research in which we move from research to action.

 

The first project, the Equity Tools for Managers Project, engages with health managers to develop two tools to address inequity: an Equity Measurement Tool which quantifies inequity in health service provision in financial terms, and a Equity Resource Allocation Tool which advocates for and guides action to rectify inequity in health service provision.

 

The second project, the Water and Sanitation Project, engages with community structures and other sectors to address the problem of diarrhoea in one of the poorest areas in Cape Town through the establishment of a community forum and a pilot study into the acceptability of dry sanitation toilets.

 

Methods

A participatory approach was adopted. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The first phase, the collection of measurements across the health  subdistricts of Cape Town, used quantitative secondary data to demonstrate the inequities. In the Equity Tools for Managers Project further quantitative work was done, supplemented by qualitative policy analysis to study the constraints to implementing equity. The Water and Sanitation Project was primarily qualitative, using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. These were used to gain an understanding of the impact of the inequities, in this instance, inadequate sanitation provision.

 

Results

The studies both demonstrate the value of adopting the GEGA approach of research to action, adopting three pillars of assessment and monitoring; advocacy; and community empowerment. In the Equity Tools for Managers Project study, the participation of managers meant that their support for implementation was increased, although the failure to include nurses and communities in the study was noted as a limitation. The development of a community Water and Sanitation Forum to support the Project had some notable successes, but also experienced some difficulties due to lack of capacity in both the community and the municipality.

 

Conclusion

The two very different, but connected projects, demonstrate the value of adopting the GEGA approach, and the importance of involvement of all stakeholders at all stages. The studies also illustrate the potential of a research institution as informed ‘outsiders’, in influencing policy and practice….”

 

 

 *      *      *     * 

This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMS Area] 

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is".Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.

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    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.  

[EQ] Inequalities in health by social class dimensions in European countries of different political traditions

Inequalities in health by social class dimensions in European countries of different political traditions

 

Albert Espelt1,2, Carme Borrell 1,3,4,*, Maica Rodríguez-Sanz 1,3, Carles Muntaner 5, M Isabel Pasarín 1,3,4, Joan Benach 3,7,
Maartje Schaap
6, Anton E Kunst 6 and Vicente Navarro 4,8


1 Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

2 Consorci de Serveis Socials de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

3 CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain.

4 Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.

5 Social Equity and Health Section, Center for Addictions and Mental Health and Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

6 Department of Public Health, University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

7 Health Inequalities Research Group, Occupational Health Research Unit, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.

8 Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University, USA.

 

International Journal of Epidemiology - March 13, 2008

 

Website:

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/dyn051v1?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=1&author1=borrell&andorexacttitle=and&andorexacttitleabs=and&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&fdate=1/1/2008&resourcetype=HWCIT

 

Objective To compare inequalities in self-perceived health in the population older than 50 years, in 2004, using Wright's social class dimensions, in nine European countries grouped in three political traditions (Social democracy, Christian democracy and Late democracies).

 

Methods Cross-sectional design, including data of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (Sweden, Denmark, Austria, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Greece). The population aged from 50 to 74 years was included. Absolute and relative social class dimension inequalities in poor self-reported health and long-term illness were determined for each sex and political tradition. Relative inequalities were assessed by fitting Poisson regression models with robust variance estimators.

 

Results Absolute and relative health inequalities by social class dimensions are found in the three political traditions, but these differences are more marked in Late democracies and mainly among women. For example the prevalence ratio of poor self-perceived health comparing poorly educated women with highly educated women, was 1.75 (95% CI: 1.39–2.21) in Late democracies and 1.36 (95% CI: 1.21–1.52) in Social democracies. The prevalence differences were 24.2 and 13.7%, respectively.

 

Conclusion This study is one of the first to show the impact of different political traditions on social class inequalities in health. These results emphasize the need to evaluate the impact of the implementation of public policies.

 

Abstract

 

 *      *      *     * 

This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMS Area] 

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is".Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO Website: http://www.paho.org/
EQUITY List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html

 

 

 

    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.  

[EQ] Funding for primary health care in developing countries

Funding for primary health care in developing countries

BMJ  2008;336:518-519 - 8 March 2008- doi:10.1136/bmj.39496.444271.80

Available online at: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/336/7643/518

“………The World Health Organization’s World Health Report 2007 deals with access to primary health care as an essential prerequisite for health.1 It acknowledges the importance of the Alma-Ata declaration of 1978, which called for integrated primary health care as a way to deal with major health problems in communities and for access to care as part of a comprehensive national health system.

 

Yet the mission of Alma-Ata—to provide accessible, affordable, and sustainable primary health care for all—has been implemented only partially in developing countries.2 We have therefore instigated the "15by2015" campaign (www.15by2015.org ), which proposes a funding mechanism for strengthening primary health care in developing countries…………”

 

Jan De Maeseneer, professor of family medicine1, Chris van Weel, professor of family medicine2, David Egilman, clinical associate professor3, Khaya Mfenyana, professor of family medicine4, Arthur Kaufman, professor of community health5, Nelson Sewankambo, professor of medicine6, Maaike Flinkenflögel, researcher1

 

1 Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Ghent University, Belgium, 2 Department of Family Medicine, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 3 Brown University, Providence, RI, USA, 4 Department of Family Medicine, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa, 5 Department of Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, USA, 6 Faculty of Medicine, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

 

Is the declaration of Alma Ata still relevant to primary health care?

Stephen Gillam, consultant in public health - Institute of Public Health, Cambridge
BMJ  2008;336:536-538 - 8 March, 2008

Thirty years after WHO highlighted the importance of primary health care in tackling health inequality in every country, the author reflects on the reasons for slow progress and the implications for today’s health systems

Available online at:. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/336/7643/536

 

“…..After years of relative neglect, the World Health Organization has recently given strategic prominence to the development of primary health care. This year sees the 30th anniversary of the declaration of Alma Ata (box 1). Convened by WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), the Alma Ata conference drew representatives from 134 countries, 67 international organisations, and many non-governmental organisations. (China was notably absent.) Primary health care "based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible through people’s full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford" was to be the key to delivering health for all by the year 2000.1 Primary health care in this context includes both primary medical care and activities tackling determinants of ill health ….”

 

 

 *      *      *     * 

This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMS Area] 

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is".Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO Website: http://www.paho.org/
EQUITY List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html

 

 

 

    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.