| 1. |
- Löfgren, Curt, et al.
(författare)
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People's willingness to pay for health insurance in rural Vietnam
- 2008
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Ingår i: Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1478-7547. ; 6, s. 16-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The inequity caused by health financing in Vietnam, which mainly relies on out-of-pocket payments, has put pre-payment reform high on the political agenda. This paper reports on a study of the willingness to pay for health insurance among a rural population in northern Vietnam, exploring whether the Vietnamese are willing to pay enough to sufficiently finance a health insurance system.METHODS: Using the Epidemiological Field Laboratory for Health Systems Research in the Bavi district (FilaBavi), 2070 households were randomly selected for the study. Existing FilaBavi interviewers were trained especially for this study. The interview questionnaire was developed through a pilot study followed by focus group discussions among interviewers. Determinants of households' willingness to pay were studied through interval regression by which problems such as zero answers, skewness, outliers and the heaping effect may be solved.RESULTS: Households' average willingness to pay (WTP) is higher than their costs for public health care and self-treatment. For 70-80% of the respondents, average WTP is also sufficient to pay the lower range of premiums in existing health insurance programmes. However, the average WTP would only be sufficient to finance about half of total household public, as well as private, health care costs. Variables that reflect income, health care need, age and educational level were significant determinants of households' willingness to pay. Contrary to expectations, age was negatively related to willingness to pay.CONCLUSION: Since WTP is sufficient to cover household costs for public health care, it depends to what extent households would substitute private for public care and increase utilization as to whether WTP would also be sufficient enough to finance health insurance. This study highlights potential for public information schemes that may change the negative attitude towards health insurance, which this study has uncovered. A key task for policy makers is to win the trust of the population in relation to a health insurance system, particularly among the old and those with relatively low education.
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| 2. |
- Nguyen, Anh Mai, et al.
(författare)
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Sizeable Macroporous Monolithic Polyamide Entities Prepared in Closed Molds by Thermally Mediated Dissolution and Phase Segregation
- 2008
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Ingår i: Chemistry of Materials. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0897-4756 .- 1520-5002. ; 20:19, s. 6244-6247
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A simple method is presented for the preparation of macroporous monoliths from an aliphatic polyamide in closed molds, based on swelling/dissolution in benzyl alcohol at elevated temperature, followed by precipitation into a continuous monolithic structure by cooling the solution below the upper critical solution temperature. Subsequent removal of the solvent led to the formation of rigid macroporous nylon monoliths with a continuous and evenly spaced macropore system. The intended use is as supports for flow-through systems, where efficient mass transport at low flow resistance is the key optimization criterion.
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| 3. |
- Nguyen Xuan, Thanh, 1971-
(författare)
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The injury poverty trap in rural Vietnam : causes, consequences and possible solutions
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The focus of this study is the vicious circle of poverty and ill-health. The case is injuries but it could have been any lasting and severe disease. Poverty and health have very close links to economic development and to how health care is financed. Out-of-pocket payment seems to increase the risk of poverty while prepaid health care reduces it. The overall objective is to investigate the “injury poverty trap” and suggest possible solutions for it. A cohort of 23,807 people living in 5,801 households in Bavi district of Vietnam was followed from 1999 to 2003 to investigate income losses caused by non-fatal unintentional injuries in 2000 as well as the relationships between social position in 1999 and those injuries. For the possible solutions, a survey in 2064 household was performed to elicit people’s preferences and willingness to pay for different health care financing options. The results showed that unintentional injuries imposed a large economic burden on society, especially on the victims. By two pathways – treatment costs and income losses – unintentional injury increased the risk of being poor. The losses for non-poor and poor injured households were about 15 and 11 months of income of an average person in the non-poor and poor group, respectively. Furthermore, poverty was shown to be a probable cause of non-fatal unintentional injuries. Specifically, poverty led to home injuries among children and the elderly, and adults 15 – 49 years of age were particularly at risk in the workplace. The middle-income group was at greatest risk for traffic injuries, probably due to the unsafe use of bicycles or motorbikes. About half of the population preferred to keep an out-of-pocket system and the other half preferred health insurance. People’s willingness to pay suggested that a community-based health insurance scheme would be feasible. However, improvements in the existing health insurance systems are imperative to attract people to participate in these or any alternative health insurance schemes, since the limitations of the existing systems were generalized to health insurance as a whole. A successful solution should follow two tracks: prepayment of health care and some insurance based compensation of income losses during the illness period. If the risk of catastrophic illness is more evenly spread across the society, it would increase the general welfare even if no more resources are provided.
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| 4. |
- Thanh, Nguyen Xuan, et al.
(författare)
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Does poverty lead to non-fatal unintentional injuries in rural Vietnam?
- 2005
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Ingår i: International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1745-7300 .- 1745-7319. ; 12:1, s. 31-37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to identify associations between poverty at the household level and unintentional injury morbidity. A cohort consisting of 24,874 person-time episodes, representing 24,776 people living in 5,801 households (classified into rich, middle income and poor by local authorities in 1999) was followed during 2000, in order to identify and assess non-fatal unintentional injuries. Incidence rate ratios were calculated using a Poisson regression model. The results showed that poverty was a risk factor for unintentional injuries generally. When looking at different types of injury, poverty was a risk for home, work and "other" injuries, protective for school injuries, while the risk of traffic injuries was not affected. The results also showed that communes in mountainous areas were at higher risk for home, work and other injuries. Overall, poverty was associated with unintentional injury morbidity. However, the relationship varied by sex, age and type of injury. Specifically, poverty increased the risk for children and elderly people being injured at home, and for adults (15-59 years) being affected by work injuries.
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| 5. |
- Thanh, Nguyen Xuan, et al.
(författare)
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Does "the injury poverty trap" exist? A longitudinal study in Bavi, Vietnam.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Health Policy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-8510 .- 1872-6054. ; 78:2-3, s. 249-257
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study we concentrate on injuries and affected households' capacities to earn incomes. A longitudinal study was performed in Bavi district, Vietnam, with the specific objectives to investigate: (1) the affects of injuries on incomes by comparing income changes in injured and non-injured individuals; (2) the affect of injuries on social mobility by estimating households' relative risk of dropping into poverty for households with and without injuries and estimating the relative risk of escaping from poverty for households without and with injuries. The propensity score matching method using a logit model was used for data analysis. The results show that on average, the loss per household is estimated at VND 1,084,000 (USD 72) for poor and VND 2,598,000 (USD 173) for non-poor, equivalent to 11 (9) and 15 (13) working months of an average person in the poor and non-poor group, respectively, during 1999 (2001). The relative risk of dropping into poverty for non-poor households with and without injuries equal to 1.21 (p=0.08) and the relative risk of escaping from poverty between poor households without and with injuries equal to 0.96 (p=0.39). In conclusion, it has been argued that the introduction of user fees created a poverty trap and thus their removal may be a solution. However, user fees are only a part of the burden on households. Loss of income during the illness period is likely to be a problem of the same magnitude. A successful solution must thus follow two tracks: prepayment of health care and some insurance based compensation of income losses during the illness period. Both reforms, if they are persistent, must be done within the resource limits of the local society. If the risk of catastrophic illness is more evenly spread across the society, it would increase the general welfare even if no more resources are provided.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Brauckhoff, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term results and functional outcome after cervical evisceration in patients with thyroid cancer.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Surgery. - : Elsevier BV. - 0039-6060 .- 1532-7361. ; 140:6, s. 953-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Surgical strategy in patients with thyroid cancer (TC) infiltrating the aerodigestive system is controversial. This study was undertaken to examine the long-term results of cervical evisceration (CE).PATIENTS AND METHODS: Since 1995, 14 consecutive patients with advanced TC underwent total laryngectomy (LE, n = 6) or esophagolaryngectomy (ELR, n = 8). Patients with unusual thyroid neoplasms or metastases to the thyroid (n = 3) were excluded. For esophageal reconstruction, free jejunal grafts (n = 6) and gastric tubes (n = 2) were used.RESULTS: Procedure-related morbidity and mortality were 42% and 14%, respectively. ELR was associated with a significant higher frequency of complications and reoperations compared with LE. Twelve-month and 30-month survival rates were 73% and 55%, respectively; 85% of the patients were satisfied with the surgical results. There were no long-term problems concerning food intake in the ELR patients. Two ELR patients were able to learn a substitutive voice.CONCLUSIONS: Cervical evisceration in patients with TC is associated with significant perioperative morbidity and mortality requiring careful patient selection. Regarding long-term survival, local tumor control, and patient's satisfaction, however, CE should be taken into account in suitable patients with advanced TC.
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| 8. |
- Ekman, Björn, et al.
(författare)
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Health insurance reform in Vietnam: a review of recent developments and future challenges.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Health Policy and Planning. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0268-1080 .- 1460-2237. ; 23, s. 252-263
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vietnam is undertaking health financing reform with a view to achieve universal coverage of health insurance within the coming years. To date, around half of the population is covered with some type of health insurance or prepayment. This review applies a conceptual framework of health financing to provide a coherent assessment of the reforms to date with respect to a set of key policy objectives of health financing, including financial sustainability, efficiency in service provision, and equity in health financing. Based on the assessment, the review discusses the main implications of the reforms focusing on achievements and remaining challenges, the nature of the Vietnamese reforms in an international perspective, and the role of the government. The main lessons from the Vietnamese experiences, from which other reforming countries may draw, are the need for sustained resource mobilization, comprehensive reform involving all functions of the health financing system, and to adopt a long-term view of health insurance reform. Future analysis should include continued evaluation of the reforms in terms of impacts on key outcomes and the political dimensions of health reform.
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| 9. |
- Gimm, Oliver, et al.
(författare)
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Intra-operative quick insulin assay to confirm complete resection of insulinomas guided by selective arterial calcium injection (SACI).
- 2007
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Ingår i: Langenbeck's archives of surgery (Print). - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1435-2443 .- 1435-2451. ; 392:6, s. 679-84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Insulinomas are rare endocrine disorders. Pre-operatively, conventional imaging techniques often fail to localise the tumor. In addition, due to the lack of quick insulin assays, intra-operative confirmation of complete resection was impossible until recently.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six patients with biochemical evidence of an insulinoma underwent pre-operative localisation studies and selective arterial calcium injection (SACI). In addition, insulin was measured before surgery and every 10-15 min after resection of the tumor using a quick insulin assay.RESULTS: Pre-operative localisation studies identified the tumor correctly as follows: endosonography: three of four, magnetic resonance imaging: two of four and SACI: six of six. Tumors in the head and body were enucleated while those in the tail were resected (n = 2, each). Those three patients, in whom magnetic resonance imaging and/or endosonography could localise the tumors pre-operatively, underwent laparoscopic surgery while the remaining three patients underwent open surgery. Intra-operatively, insulin dropped to normal levels within 20 min in all cases. After a follow-up of 0.8-3 years, all patients remained biochemically cured.CONCLUSIONS: Pre-operatively, SACI appears to be a very sensitive localisation technique and may be most helpful in guiding the surgeon if conventional imaging techniques fail to localise the tumor. Complete removal of an insulinoma can be reliably predicted using a quick insulin assay.
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| 10. |
- Gimm, O, et al.
(författare)
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[Prophylactic parathyroidectomy for familial parathyroid carcinoma].
- 2006
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Ingår i: Der Chirurg. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0009-4722 .- 1433-0385. ; 77:1, s. 15-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In contrast to primary hyperparathyroidism, parathyroid carcinoma is a rare disease. In patients with hyperparathyroidism jaw tumor (HPT-JT) syndrome, caused by germline mutations in HRPT2, the development of parathyroid carcinoma is estimated to be 10-15%. This review summarizes the clinical and molecular genetic data of about 100 patients in the literature and three of our own cases. Unfortunately, osteofibromas, which might enable timely diagnosis of HPT-JT syndrome, occur in only about 30% of patients; about 80% have uniglandular disease. Based on the current data, a general recommendation to perform prophylactic parathyroidectomy cannot be given. However, thorough screening of patients at risk is mandatory. Of note in patients thought to have sporadic parathyroid carcinoma, germline HRPT2 mutations are found in up to 20%. Hence, any patient with parathyroid carcinoma should undergo HRPT2 mutation analysis.
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