Health Equity: 05/05/10

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

[EQ] International Migration of Health Workers: improving international co-operation to address the global health workforce crisis

International Migration of Health Workers:
improving international co-operation to address the global health workforce crisis

Joint OECD/WHO Policy Brief

PDF [8p.] available online at OECD web site: www.oecd.org/health/workforce

PDF [8p.] available online at WHO web site: http://www.who.int/hrh/resources/joint/en/index.html

"…In most OECD countries, the share of foreign-trained doctors has been increasing in recent years. In 2008 (or the latest year available), the percentage of foreign-trained doctors ranged from below 1% in Poland to 39% in New Zealand. High percentages are also recorded in the United Kingdom and Ireland where around a third of all doctors were trained abroad. In Australia and the United States, this percentage was respectively 23% and 26% in 2007.

The share of foreign-trained nurses tends to be lower than for doctors. In Sweden, for example, less than 3% of nurses were foreign-trained in 2008 compared with over 18% for doctors. Similar findings apply to most OECD countries but not in Ireland which has the second highest nurses-to-doctor ratio in the OECD (5 to 1) and where about 47% of the nurses were foreign-trained in 2008 compared with almost 36% for doctors…"

This joint OECD/WHO Policy Brief provides new insights on recent migration trends for doctors and nurses up to 2008 and discusses the main causes and consequences for destination and origin countries. It also presents possible policy responses stressing the importance of international co-operation to address the worldwide scarcity of health workers. ….”

Content:

1. What are the main trends in the international migration of health workers?

2. What are the main drivers of international mobility of doctors and nurses?

3. What is the impact of migration on less developed countries?

4. How can countries respond?

5. How to strengthen international co-operation?

6. For further information

7. For further reading

8. Where to contact us?

* * *
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/ KMC 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
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho





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 dispose of and delete this transmission. 

Thank you.

[EQ] Association of Maternal Stature With Offspring Mortality, Underweight, and Stunting in Low- to Middle-Income Countries

Association of Maternal Stature With Offspring Mortality,
Underweight, and Stunting in Low- to Middle-Income Countries

Emre Özaltin, Kenneth Hill, S. V. Subramanian
Departments of Global Health and Population (Dr Hill and Mr Özaltin) and Society, Human Development, and Health (Dr Subramanian), Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

JAMA. 2010;303(15):1507-1516.- Vol. 303 No. 15, April 21, 2010

URL: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/303/15/1507

Context
Although maternal stature has been associated with offspring mortality and health, the extent to which this association is universal across developing countries is unclear.

Objective
To examine the association between maternal stature and offspring mortality, underweight, stunting, and wasting in infancy and early childhood in 54 low- to middle-income countries.

Design, Setting, and Participants
Analysis of 109 Demographic and Health Surveys in 54 countries conducted between 1991 and 2008. Study population consisted of a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of children aged 0 to 59 months born to mothers aged 15 to 49 years. Sample sizes were 2 661 519 (mortality), 587 096 (underweight), 558 347 (stunting), and 568 609 (wasting) children.

Main Outcome Measures
Likelihood of mortality, underweight, stunting, or wasting in children younger than 5 years.

Results
The mean response rate across surveys in the mortality data set was 92.8%. In adjusted models, a 1-cm increase in maternal height was associated with a decreased risk of child mortality (absolute risk difference [ARD], 0.0014; relative risk [RR], 0.988; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.987-0.988), underweight (ARD, 0.0068; RR, 0.968; 95% CI, 0.968-0.969), stunting (ARD, 0.0126; RR, 0.968; 95% CI, 0.967-0.968), and wasting (ARD, 0.0005; RR, 0.994; 95% CI, 0.993-0.995). Absolute risk of dying among children born to the tallest mothers (≥160 cm) was 0.073 (95% CI, 0.072-0.074) and to those born to the shortest mothers (<145 cm) was 0.128 (95% CI, 0.126-0.130). Country-specific decrease in the risk for child mortality associated with a 1-cm increase in maternal height varied between 0.978 and 1.011, with the decreased risk being statistically significant in 46 of 54 countries (85%) ({alpha} = .05).

Conclusion
Among 54 low- to middle-income countries, maternal stature was inversely associated with offspring mortality, underweight, and stunting in infancy and childhood.

"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
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho





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 dispose of and delete this transmission. 

Thank you.

[EQ] Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Development

Indigenous Peoples Still Among Poorest in World, but Progress Reported in Some Countries

New study documents poverty statistics for Indigenous Peoples in Asia, Latin America

UN New York city, April 26, 2010 –

Available online as PDF file [339p.] at: http://bit.ly/cGnnyc

“….Indigenous Peoples worldwide continue to be among the poorest of the poor and continue to suffer from higher poverty, lower education, and a greater incidence of disease and discrimination than other groups, according to a new World Bank study: Indigenous Peoples, Poverty, and Development.

Released at the Ninth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the study offers a "global snapshot” of a set of indicators for Indigenous Peoples vis-à-vis national demographic averages. It also considers in detail how social conditions have evolved in seven countries around the world (Central African Republic, China, Congo, Gabon, India, Laos and Vietnam).

The study shows how success in some Asian countries at achieving sustained growth and poverty reduction has helped their Indigenous Peoples to achieve better poverty, health, and education outcomes. A poverty gap still persists, however, between indigenous and non-indigenous populations, and while the gap is narrowing in China, it is stable or widening in most other countries.

The report provides both a grand overview of basic statistics across indigenous groups, and a series of in-depth country chapters. Large scale household surveys or census data were used to document poverty and other socio-economic trends (health, education) among Indigenous Peoples in the countries analyzed.

Combined with earlier case studies for five Latin American countries – “Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Human Development in Latin America,” (Hall and Patrinos 2006) – the new study offers a set of detailed results for almost 80 percent of the world’s indigenous population.

Turning the situation around will require widespread and sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction, along with well designed programs that target Indigenous Peoples….”

Table of Contents

1. Introduction - Gillette Hall and Harry Anthony Patrinos (eds.)

2. Becoming indigenous -Jerome Levi and Biorn Maybury-Lewis

3. Indigenous peoples and development goals: a global snapshot - Kevin Macdonald

4. Central Africa: the case of the pygmies - Prospere Backiny-Yetna, Mohamed Arbi Ben-Achour and Quentin Wodon

5. China: a case study in rapid poverty reduction - Emily Hannum and Meiyan Wang

6. India: the scheduled tribes - Maitreyi Bordia Das, Gillette Hall, Soumya Kapoor, Denis Nikitin

7. Laos: ethno-linguistic diversity and disadvantage - Elizabeth M. King and Dominique van de Walle

8. Vietnam: a widening poverty gap for ethnic minorities - Hai-Anh Dang

9. Towards a better future for the world’s indigenous peoples - Gillette Hall and Harry Anthony Patrinos

Authors:

Gillette Hall Visiting Associate Professor Georgetown University

Harry Patrinos Lead Education Economist World Bank
Source:

http://www.worldbank.org/indigenouspeoples





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 dispose of and delete this transmission. 

Thank you.

[EQ] Health Equity and Prevention Primer

Health Equity and Prevention Primer

Created as part of Prevention Institute's project: Advancing Public Health Advocacy to Eliminate Health Disparities
Support from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Website: http://www.preventioninstitute.org/tools/focus-area-tools/health-equity-toolkit.html

Health inequities are more than disparities or differences in health and safety outcomes. Inequity describes unfairness and the systematic nature of disparities. The Health Equity and Prevention Primer (HEPP) serves as a web-based training series for public health practitioners and advocates interested in policy advocacy, community change, and multi-sector engagement to achieve health equity. The Primer helps practitioners integrate a health equity lens into their initiatives in pursuit of overall health and safety.

· Tools

About the Learning Modules

Module 1 Achieving Equity in Health and Safety through Primary Prevention describes how Primary Prevention is a key strategy for eliminating inequities in health and safety. It provides an overview of Primary Prevention and previews material that will be covered later in the series. Duration: 14 minutes

Module 2 Take Two Steps to Prevention describes the Two Steps to Prevention Framework and the Trajectory of Health Inequities. These tools can be used to describe why a focus on the environment is essential for health equity efforts. Duration: 16 minutes

Module 3 Community Factors & How They Influence Health Equity explores eighteen community factors. These eighteen factors are linked to health equity. Each factor is part of a community and provides tangible opportunities for achieving equitable health and safety outcomes. Duration: 12 minutes

Module 4 The Spectrum of Prevention: A Framework for Addressing Health Equity, introduces the Spectrum of Prevention. It provides a step by step explanation of how the Spectrum can be used to develop a mutually supportive set of actions as part of a comprehensive primary prevention strategy to change environments for equity. Duration: 14 minutes

Module 5 Enhancing Effective Partnerships for Health Equity explores the power of partnerships for improving equity. It introduces the Eight Steps to Coalition Building, which can be used to launch and stabilize effective equity-focused coalitions.

Module 6 The Importance of Local Policy for Achieving Equitable Outcomes looks at why policy--at the city and county levels, in particular-is important to health equity efforts. It provides an overview of key strategies in the policy development process. Duration: 21 minutes

Module 7 Good Health Counts: Measurement and Evaluation for Health Equity describes how community health indicators can be used to assess and monitor conditions that influence health and safety. It highlight a number of indicator reports that have been used to advance health equity efforts. Duration: 19 minutes





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 dispose of and delete this transmission. 

Thank you.