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Youssef T, Bitar F, Alogla H, El Khoury M, Moukhaiber J, Alamin F, AlHareth B, Gabriel CC, Youssef R, Abouzahr L, Abdul Sater Z, Bitar F. Establishing a High-Quality Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Program in Post-Conflict Regions: A Model for Limited Resource Countries. Pediatr Cardiol 2024:10.1007/s00246-023-03384-7. [PMID: 38242971 DOI: 10.1007/s00246-023-03384-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Congenital Heart Disease stands as a prominent cause of infant mortality, with notable disparities in surgical outcomes evident between high-income and low- to middle-income countries. OBJECTIVE This study presents a collaborative partnership between a local governmental entity and an international private organization to establish a high-quality Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Program in a post-conflict limited resource country, Iraq. METHODS A descriptive retrospective study analyzed pediatric cardiac surgery procedures performed by a visiting pediatric heart surgery team from October 2021 to October 2022, funded by the Ministry of Health (MOH). We used the STS-EACTS complexity scoring model (STAT) to assess mortality risks associated with surgical procedures. RESULTS A total of 144 patients underwent 148 procedures. Infants comprised 58.3% of the patients. The most common anomalies included tetralogy of Fallot, ventricular septal defect, and various single ventricle categories, constituting 76% of the patient cohort. The overall surgical mortality rate was 4.1%, with an observed/expected surgical mortality rate of 1.1 (95% CI 0.5, 2.3). There was no significant difference between our observed surgical mortality in Category 2, 3, and 4 and those expected/reported by the STS-EACTS Database (p = 0.07, p = 0.72, and p = 0.12, respectively). The expenses incurred by the MOH for conducting surgeries in Iraq were lower than the alternative of sending patients abroad for the same procedures. CONCLUSION The partnership model between a local public entity committed to infrastructure development and funding and an international private organization delivering clinical and training services can provide the foundation for building sustainable, high-quality in situ programs in upper-middle-income countries.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fouad Bitar
- Children's Heart Center, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Hassanain Alogla
- Cardiac Surgery Program at Imam Al Hassan Hospital, Karbala, Iraq
| | - Maya El Khoury
- Children's Heart Center, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Jihan Moukhaiber
- Children's Heart Center, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Farah Alamin
- Children's Heart Center, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Bassam AlHareth
- Marie Curie Children's Hospital Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | | | | | | | - Zahi Abdul Sater
- College of Public Health, Phoenicia University, Mazraat El Daoudiyeh, Lebanon
| | - Fadi Bitar
- Children's Heart Center, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Beirut Global Foundation for Congenital Heart Disease, Beirut, Lebanon.
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Li Y, Guan H, Fu H. Understanding financial risk protection in China's health system: a descriptive analysis using data from multiple national household surveys. BMC Public Health 2023; 23:1820. [PMID: 37726730 PMCID: PMC10508013 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-16679-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Providing financial risk protection is one of the fundamental goals of health systems. Catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and medical impoverishment (MI) are two common indicators in evaluating financial risk protection in health. As China continues its health system reform to provide accessible and affordable health care, it is important to have a clear understanding of China's progress in financial risk protection. However, past research showed discrepancies in the incidence of CHE and MI. In this article, using data from four national household surveys, we analyzed levels and characteristics of CHE and MI in China under different definitions. METHODS We used multiple conventional thresholds for CHE and MI to comprehensively describe the levels of financial risk protection in China. We used data from four national household surveys to measure the incidence of CHE and MI, and their inequalities by urban/rural status and by income quartiles. The Probit regression model was used to explore influencing factors of CHE and MI. RESULTS We found that the incidences of CHE and MI were largely consistent across four national household surveys, despite different sampling methods and questionnaire designs. At the 40% nonfood expenditure threshold, the incidence of CHE in China was 14.95%-17.73% across four surveys during the period of 2016-2017. Meanwhile, at the 1.9 US dollars poverty line, the incidence of MI was 2.01%-5.63%. Moreover, rural residents, lower-income subgroups, and smaller households were faced with higher financial risks from healthcare expenditures. Although positive progress in financial risk protection has been achieved in recent years, China has disproportionately high incidences of CHE and MI, compared to other countries. CONCLUSION China has large margins for improvements in risk financial protection, with large inequalities across subgroups. Providing better financial protection for low-income groups in rural areas is the key to improve financial protection in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Li
- School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China
| | - Hongcai Guan
- School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China
| | - Hongqiao Fu
- School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
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Jashni YK, Emari F, Morris M, Allison P. Indicators of integrating oral health care within universal health coverage and general health care in low-, middle-, and high-income countries: a scoping review. BMC Oral Health 2023; 23:251. [PMID: 37120527 PMCID: PMC10149008 DOI: 10.1186/s12903-023-02906-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently devoted special attention to oral health and oral health care recommending the latter becoming part of universal health coverage (UHC) so as to reduce oral health inequalities across the globe. In this context, as countries consider acting on this recommendation, it is essential to develop a monitoring framework to measure the progress of integrating oral health/health care into UHC. This study aimed to identify existing measures in the literature that could be used to indicate oral health/health care integration within UHC across a range of low-, middle- and high-income countries. METHODS A scoping review was conducted by searching MEDLINE via Ovid, CINAHL, and Ovid Global Health databases. There were no quality or publication date restrictions in the search strategy. An initial search by an academic librarian was followed by the independent reviewing of all identified articles by two authors for inclusion or exclusion based on the relevance of the work in the articles to the review topic. The included articles were all published in English. Articles concerning which the reviewers disagreed on inclusion or exclusion were reviewed by a third author, and subsequent discussion resulted in agreement on which articles were to be included and excluded. The included articles were reviewed to identify relevant indicators and the results were descriptively mapped using a simple frequency count of the indicators. RESULTS The 83 included articles included work from a wide range of 32 countries and were published between 1995 and 2021. The review identified 54 indicators divided into 15 categories. The most frequently reported indicators were in the following categories: dental service utilization, oral health status, cost/service/population coverage, finances, health facility access, and workforce and human resources. This study was limited by the databases searched and the use of English-language publications only. CONCLUSIONS This scoping review identified 54 indicators in a wide range of 15 categories of indicators that have the potential to be used to evaluate the integration of oral health/health care into UHC across a wide range of countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yassaman Karimi Jashni
- Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
| | - Fatemeh Emari
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
| | - Martin Morris
- Schulich Library of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Engineering, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
| | - Paul Allison
- Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Canada.
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Li Y, Zhang C, Zhan P, Fu H, Yip W. Trends and projections of universal health coverage indicators in China, 1993–2030: An analysis of data from four nationwide household surveys. THE LANCET REGIONAL HEALTH - WESTERN PACIFIC 2023; 31:100646. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Revised: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Rahman T, Gasbarro D, Alam K. Financial risk protection from out-of-pocket health spending in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review of the literature. Health Res Policy Syst 2022; 20:83. [PMID: 35906591 PMCID: PMC9336110 DOI: 10.1186/s12961-022-00886-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Financial risk protection (FRP), defined as households’ access to needed healthcare services without experiencing undue financial hardship, is a critical health systems target, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Given the remarkable growth in FRP literature in recent times, we conducted a scoping review of the literature on FRP from out-of-pocket (OOP) health spending in LMICs. The objective was to review current knowledge, identify evidence gaps and propose future research directions. Methods We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines to conduct this scoping review. We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest and Web of Science in July 2021 for literature published since 1 January 2015. We included empirical studies that used nationally representative data from household surveys to measure the incidence of at least one of the following indicators: catastrophic health expenditure (CHE), impoverishment, adoption of strategies to cope with OOP expenses, and forgone care for financial reasons. Our review covered 155 studies and analysed the geographical focus, data sources, methods and analytical rigour of the studies. We also examined the level of FRP by disease categories (all diseases, chronic illnesses, communicable diseases) and the effect of health insurance on FRP. Results The extant literature primarily focused on India and China as research settings. Notably, no FRP study was available on chronic illness in any low-income country (LIC) or on communicable diseases in an upper-middle-income country (UMIC). Only one study comprehensively measured FRP by examining all four indicators. Most studies assessed (lack of) FRP as CHE incidence alone (37.4%) or as CHE and impoverishment incidence (39.4%). However, the LMIC literature did not incorporate the recent methodological advances to measure CHE and impoverishment that address the limitations of conventional methods. There were also gaps in utilizing available panel data to determine the length of the lack of FRP (e.g. duration of poverty caused by OOP expenses). The current estimates of FRP varied substantially among the LMICs, with some of the poorest countries in the world experiencing similar or even lower rates of CHE and impoverishment compared with the UMICs. Also, health insurance in LMICs did not consistently offer a higher degree of FRP. Conclusion The literature to date is unable to provide a reliable representation of the actual level of protection enjoyed by the LMIC population because of the lack of comprehensive measurement of FRP indicators coupled with the use of dated methodologies. Future research in LMICs should address the shortcomings identified in this review. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12961-022-00886-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taslima Rahman
- Murdoch Business School, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, 6150, Australia. .,Institute of Health Economics, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
| | - Dominic Gasbarro
- Murdoch Business School, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Khurshid Alam
- Murdoch Business School, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, 6150, Australia
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Kumar K. A public-private partnership based model for regulating out-of-pocket expenditures to strengthen primary care system. Int J Health Plann Manage 2022; 37:2964-2991. [PMID: 35819356 DOI: 10.1002/hpm.3535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
In developing countries like India, the cost of health care is largely borne by patient out-of-pocket payments. Recent studies have reported that patients skip public-funded clinics providing free consultation for distant private care providers. Some of the reasons identified for such behaviour include longer waiting times, perception regarding quality of care, etc. Therefore, optimal allocation of existing and new capacity is critical for a greater public interest. This article presents a decision-making framework towards this intent for strengthening the existing government primary healthcare network. In this article, a mixed-integer linear programing (MILP) model is developed for optimal reconfiguration of the existing government primary healthcare network to minimise patient out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE). The model involves three types of facilities: Primary Health Centre (PHC), Community Health Centre (CHC), and Private OPD (outpatient department). Implementation of the proposed model can help in reducing out-of-pocket expenditures. The optimization model proposed in the article is unique as it incorporates for the first time, patient out-of-pocket expenditure, capacity reconfiguration, and public-private partnership decisions in the primary healthcare system. A solution algorithm is also proposed for the optimization model. The model would be useful for theory development and also in policy-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaushal Kumar
- Department of Operational Research, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
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Taniguchi H, Rahman MM, Swe KT, Islam MR, Rahman MS, Parsell N, Hussain A, Shibuya K, Hashizume M. Equity and determinants in universal health coverage indicators in Iraq, 2000-2030: a national and subnational study. Int J Equity Health 2021; 20:196. [PMID: 34461904 PMCID: PMC8404248 DOI: 10.1186/s12939-021-01532-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Equity is one of three dimensions of universal health coverage (UHC). However, Iraq has had capital-focused health services and successive conflicts and political turmoil have hampered health services around the country. Iraq has embarked on a new reconstruction process since 2018 and it could be time to aim for equitable healthcare access to realise UHC. We aimed to examine inequality and determinants associated with Iraq’s progress towards UHC targets. Methods We assessed the progress toward UHC in the context of equity using six nationally representative population-based household surveys in Iraq in 2000–2018. We included 14 health service indicators and two financial risk protection indicators in our UHC progress assessment. Bayesian hierarchical regression model was used to estimate the trend, projection, and determinant analyses. Slope and relative index of inequality were used to assess wealth-based inequality. Results In the national-level health service indicators, inequality indices decreased substantially from 2000 to 2030. However, the wide inequalities are projected to remain in DTP3, measles, full immunisations, and antenatal care in 2030. The pro-rich inequality gap in catastrophic health expenditure increased significantly in all governorates except Sulaimaniya from 2007 to 2012. The higher increases in pro-rich inequality were found in Missan, Karbala, Erbil, and Diala. Mothers’ higher education and more antenatal care visits were possible factors for increased coverage of health service indicators. The higher number of children and elderly population in the households were potential risk factors for an increased risk of catastrophic and impoverishing health payment in Iraq. Conclusions To reduce inequality in Iraq, urgent health-system reform is needed, with consideration for vulnerable households having female-heads, less educated mothers, and more children and/or elderly people. Considering varying inequity between and within governorates in Iraq, reconstruction of primary healthcare across the country and cross-sectoral targeted interventions for women should be prioritised. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12939-021-01532-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroko Taniguchi
- Department of Global Health Policy, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Md Mizanur Rahman
- Department of Global Health Policy, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.,Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS), Hitotsubashi University, 2-1, Naka, Kunitachi, Tokyo, 186-8601, Japan
| | - Khin Thet Swe
- Department of Global Health Policy, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.,Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS), Hitotsubashi University, 2-1, Naka, Kunitachi, Tokyo, 186-8601, Japan
| | - Md Rashedul Islam
- Department of Global Health Policy, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Md Shafiur Rahman
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1, Handayama, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 431-3192, Japan.,United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Osaka, Japan
| | - Nadia Parsell
- Department of Global Health Policy, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Ashraf Hussain
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Babylon, Babil, Iraq
| | - Kenji Shibuya
- Soma COVID Vaccination Medical Center, Soma City Hall, 63-3, Kitamachi, Nakamura, Soma, Fukushima, 976-8601, Japan
| | - Masahiro Hashizume
- Department of Global Health Policy, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
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