Amount Of Financial Support Research Articles

The Role of State in Managing the Wind Energy Projects: Risk Assessment and Justification of the Economic Efficiency

Our paper focuses on assessing the role of state funding in supporting wind energy projects with a focus on economic efficiency and risk assessment. In particular, we analyze the new program aimed at supporting Russian renewable energy (RE) projects envisaged for the period from 2024–2035 that involves a reduction in investments in such projects and the introduction of large fines for non-compliance with regulatory requirements for localization and export. These strict rules imposed by the regulatory authorities, as well as the withdrawal by foreign manufacturers of equipment for renewable energy from the domestic energy market, put into doubt the economic feasibility of the participation of sector players in state-supported programs. Our paper assesses the economic justification for the practicality of the Russian energy market to implement renewable energy projects under the influence of negative environmental factors and the reduction of state support programs. We employ a case study of wind energy projects carried out in 2018–2020 as a part of the first sector support program. Our methodology is based on the calculations of the classical indicators of economic efficiency of projects (NPV, IRR, and DPP). Our own approach reveals that these indicators are supplemented by taking into account the cost of specific political, environmental, and economic risks of wind energy projects. Our results reveal that, at the moment, Russian wind energy projects in various scenarios retain a sufficient margin of financial strength and are able to withstand a reduction in the amount of financial support from the state. Our findings allow the formulation of some practical recommendations for reducing the share of governmental support for wind energy projects on the local energy market as a measure of cutting costs and increasing overall economic efficiency.

Економічне оцінювання ефективності використання людського капіталу авіаремонтними підприємствами

The article examines the peculiarities of the economic evaluation of the effectiveness of the use of human capital on the example of the leading aircraft repair enterprises of Ukraine. Indicators for evaluating the economic efficiency of human capital of aircraft repair enterprises are proposed. Calculations of indicators of the effectiveness of the financial provision of human capital, indicators of the economic efficiency of the construction of the structure of human capital, and indicators of the effectiveness of financing the social development of human capital were carried out. Performance indicators of five leading Ukrainian aircraft repair companies specializing in the restoration and modernization of military aviation equipment were used for calculations. Conducting an economic evaluation of financial support for the social development of human capital of aircraft repair enterprises allowed to reveal positive changes in the amount of financial support (increase in 2021 by 9.12%), which the studied enterprises allocate per unit of human capital. It was also established that the values of the indicators of financial provision of human capital and the efficiency of social financing almost do not differ at existing aircraft repair enterprises, mainly responding to the financial results of activity. The conducted studies showed that indicators of the economic efficiency of financing the social development of human capital of aircraft repair enterprises have a tendency to change mainly under the influence of generalized factors of economic influence, which are complexly formed on the basis of factors of direct and indirect action in the activity of aircraft repair enterprises. It is proposed to divide the calculation results of each integral indicator into three ranges. This approach will make it possible to compare the efficiency of the researched aircraft repair enterprises in different years. The results of the study showed that the total inefficiency of human capital development occurs in 70.6%. It was established that aircraft repair enterprises pay little attention to financing the development of human capital, which became the reason for low efficiency.

Cash support for employees of the National Police of Ukraine as an important legal guarantee of their activities

The paper examines the financial support of the National Police of Ukraine as an important legal guarantee of their activities in today's conditions, identifies existing problems and suggests ways to solve them. It is noted that the guarantees of the protection of the right of the police officer to monetary support are a special manifestation of the guarantees of the protection of the employee's right to remuneration. Studying the normative legal acts, it was noted that the legislation in the field of providing monetary support to the employees of the National Police of Ukraine is constantly developing and improving, although many issues still remain unresolved, especially in today's conditions. Attention was drawn to the fact that reforms in law enforcement agencies should, first of all, be coordinated and integrated with departmental plans and programs, since the task of reforming is to ensure that there is a correspondence between tasks and functions, structure and people and resource provision. One of the important issues that needs to be solved immediately is the decent remuneration of Ukrainian police officers, because the safety of citizens and the level of crime detection directly depend on their motivation. And therefore, their salary must correspond to modern risks and realities, ensure stability, and only the law can guarantee this. Since a decent financial provision of police officers is impossible without fundamental normative and legal provision, which not only contains relevant social rights, but also provides social guarantees for their implementation. It was concluded that the amount of financial support should reflect the level of physical and moral stress for the police officer, take into account the risks that the official activity carries and create appropriate material conditions for the life of police officers and their family members. In this regard, it is proposed that the main components of monetary support (position salary, salary for a special rank, bonus for years of service) should make up at least 70 % of monetary support, additional types of monetary support intended to stimulate official activity – 30 %, which should be fixed at the legislative level.

МЕХАНІЗМ СТРАТЕГІЧНОГО УПРАВЛІННЯ РОЗВИТКОМ ФІНАНСОВОГО ПОТЕНЦІАЛУ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ ТУРИСТИЧНОЇ ІНДУСТРІЇ ТА СФЕРИ ГОСТИННОСТІ

Defined the composition and summarized key characteristics of the most common main theoretical approaches to establishing the nature of the financial potential of the enterprise (resource, perspective, indicator, competence approaches). Determined the essence of the determined financial potential as a generalizing integral characteristic of the capacity and ability of the economic entity to accumulate the appropriate amounts of financial support, optimization the distribution and financial resources use within the perspective implementing of the functioning and development processes to achieve an internally coordinated set of strategic and operational goals, which necessarily provide for maintaining a stable financial condition, limiting financial risks, harmonizing stakeholder relations, increasing value. Presented generalization of the specific factors composition for the formation of the enterprises financial potential in the tourism industry and the field of hospitality: the variability and uncertainty of changes in the conditions for the formation of demand for tourism and hospitality services; increased financial flows mobility, actualization of requirements for operational redistribution of finances; the extensive integration nature of the inter-industry interaction of the participants in the process of creating a tourist product; the contradictory nature of the competitive and cooperative interaction of large enterprises and small businesses in the tourism industry and in the field of hospitality; the high level of business and financial risks inherent in both the service industry in general and the tourism and hospitality industry in particular. The conceptual basis for organizing the structural and functional content and the instrumental and methodological content of the financial potential formation process formed. The structure justification and strategic management mechanism development of the enterprise financial potential in the tourism industry and the field of hospitality given. The separate strategy forming necessity for the enterprise financial potential development in the tourism industry and the field of hospitality proved.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF STATE SUPPORT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY

The article highlights the theoretical essence of state support for entrepreneurship and reveals the views of domestic scientists regarding this term. The forms and methods of state support that contribute to the effective development of production are reflected. The dynamics of changes in the volume of receipts of financial state support to the agricultural sector of the economy in Ukraine over the past five years have been analyzed, which indicates a decrease in the amount of financial support. The rating of the regions of Ukraine that received financial state support in the field of animal husbandry for 2021 and spent the compensation provided to them to increase the competitiveness of their economic activities is shown. An overview of the components of the state support program in 2022 is presented and the amounts of their compensation, which will be provided for the purchase of equipment, agricultural machinery, materials, certification of organic production, lending, etc., are indicated. The work also mentions measures of state support in Ukraine during the period of martial law during the sowing campaign. The international experience of countries that consider agriculture as a strategically important industry for their country’s economy is taken into account. Agricultural crops for the cultivation of which subsidies are given to farmers in the United States and the states that received the most farm subsidies in the last five years are considered. The conditions under which people engaged in farming can receive government subsidies in Austria have been analyzed. It was concluded that the state support of the federal government of Germany is the most influential in the development of agricultural production compared to the experience of other European countries, in terms of timely bringing agricultural land to a high-quality state, preserving flora and fauna, complying with requirements for the identification and registration of livestock, bringing production to standards, hygiene and food safety, etc.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OPERATIONAL PROGRAMS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PRODUCERS ORGANIZATIONS IN POLAND

The aim of this study is to indicate the tasks carried out by Polish organizations of fruit and vegetables producers as part of the operational programs and the amount of financial support resulting from the European Union (EU) agricultural policy. The goal was achieved based on a library query and data from the European Commission, Eurostat, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and data obtained from the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture. As a result of the research, it was observed that in the EU countries the level of integration of fruit and vegetable producers is diversified (in Poland the degree of market organization is decreasing). There was a disproportionate absorption of funds (relatively very low in Poland), which constitute co-financing of operational programs of fruit and vegetable producers’ organizations in individual countries. It was emphasized that activities most often carried out as part of operational programs, were the ones related to production volume planning and product quality improvement. The level of support for withdrawing products from the market is worrying, as it may indicate an overproduction of fruit and vegetables.

PRIVATE LANDOWNERS AS SAFEGUARDS FOR THE CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND THE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL HERITAGE IN NATURA 2000

INTRODUCTION
 Of all Natura 2000 sites that form the basis of the national nature conservation system in Latvia, 43% are owned privately. Therefore, the owners and managers of private lands are strategically important stakeholders, and the achievement of nature conservation goals depends to a large extent on their motivation, environmental awareness, and involvement. The forest is an important and indispensable custodian of natural values, but natural and semi-natural grasslands are recognised globally for their high biodiversity, social and cultural values and provided ecosystem services. The aim of the research is to obtain data on how private land owners and managers treat natural values and their conservation not only in Natura 2000 areas, but also outside them. This decision was made because a large part of grasslands and forest micro-reserves are also located outside Natura 2000.
 METHODS
 To collect data on private landowners’ opinions about their motivation for being involved in nature conservation, the value of nature among other values and existing compensating mechanisms for unearned economic value, both online (ArcGIS123) and paper (in seminars organised by Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre) questionnaires were used to reach a representative sample of respondents. Data were collected between July and December 2021. Altogether, 604 forest landowners and 442 grassland landowners’ responses were used for further analysis.
 RESULTS
 Research shows that 42% of all respondents have lands in specially protected areas – Natura 2000, national parks, biosphere reserves and micro-reserves. 39% of forest landowners know what actions should be taken to preserve these natural values in their forests, but only 29% consider that before carrying out economic activities in the forest, its owner should ascertain the specially protected natural values found in the forest. Only 19% of forest owners, with restrictions on economic activities in order to meet nature conservation objectives, have received compensation, of which less than half (48%) were satisfied with the amount of financial support. 3% applied, but did not receive financial support, because their forest was too small.
 The continuity of nature-friendly perennial grassland management will be ensured, with 93% of landowners showing rather high motivation for this. Of all respondents, 78% consider that grasslands provide wild plant diversity; improve the quality of the landscape while preserving the traditional rural landscape - 87%; provide a place for the continuation of cultural traditions, annual rituals - 57%; and provide business opportunities - 47%. Although 41% think that other land uses are more profitable, 29% admit that they have a lack of knowledge about grassland management.
 DISCUSSION
 Forest owners are less motivated than natural grassland owners regarding nature conservation activities, as the price of the economic value of the forest is likely to far exceed the number of compensatory mechanisms. Integrated solutions for ensuring nature protection on private land must continue to be sought. The opinions of the respondents will provide an opportunity to create a clear and reasonable motivation system for private landowners, which balances the interests of conservation of natural values and economic development, is understandable to everyone and will serve not only this, but also future generations.

РОЛЬ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЙ ДИПЛОМАТИИ ВО ВНЕШНЕЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЙ СТРАТЕГИИ ТУРЦИИ

Nowadays the Republic of Turkey implements an active foreign policy with active using of institutions and instruments of economic diplomacy. The purpose of the article is to determine the most effective institutions of eco- nomic diplomacy in Turkey using rating methods, as well as their ranking in proportion to the impact of the activities of the institutions on the formation and regulation of economic relations of the republic with various subjects of the world economy. As a sampling frame the authors took, both the state or- ganizations and private associations differing in their fields of activity (from organizations that ensure the implementation of state programs and support measures, to sectoral business unions, from ministries to credit and financial organizations), in order to analyse the actors of economic diplomacy in this country as detailed as possible. They provide brief background information for each institute. A range of factors is used to assess the effectiveness of all chosen institutes. It consists of eight main and three additional ones: the number of ne- gotiations with foreign partners, agreements signed, international events held, representation abroad, participation in the work of international organizations, the number of existing initiatives, the amount of financial support, the number of publications; in addition, event analysis mentions in the media (according to information from the largest news resources – Hürriyet, HaberTurk, Anadolu Ajansı). Among those factors there are both quantitative and qualitative factors determined by the author. Based on the assessments, the final rating of the ef- fectiveness of the studied actors will be compiled and the characteristic features of economic diplomacy in the Republic of Turkey are also to be highlighted.

Strategic parameters for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the agricultural sector

The article contains proposals for the development of state regulation of the functioning of small and medium-sized businesses in the most problematic and risky sector of the economy – the agricultural one. The necessity of developing a system of concession agreements with the aim of leveling the specific problems of small and medium-sized agricultural businesses has been substantiated. The directions of public-private partnership (logistics centers for storage and processing of agricultural products, etc.) are proposed. The authors present a methodology for calculating the cost of a tax patent for the potential basic yield of 1 hectare of agricultural land used by households in order to generate regular income, contributing to the transformation of such households into the category of small businesses. Three strategic scenarios for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Lipetsk region have been developed: baseline – maintaining the existing measures of state regulation and the amount of financial support provided for by the Strategy for the Development of the Region until 2024; optimistic, providing for the development of small and medium-sized agricultural businesses with the activation of public-private partnership in the form of concession agreements; target, based on the parameters of an optimistic scenario with the introduction of a tax patenting system on the territory of the region of the potential basic profitability of 1 hectare of land. When determining the strategic parameters for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the agricultural sector in the Lipetsk region until 2024, the negative trends in the country's economy due to the coronavirus pandemic were taken into account. We have proved that the implementation of the proposed measures to improve the system of state regulation of the functioning of small and medium-sized businesses in the agricultural sector will have a positive effect on the dynamics of the development of this sector of the economy in the region.

Characteristics of Patients Sponsored by the Internet Platforms of Medical Mutual Aid

The morbidity and mortality of life-threatening diseases such as cancers are increasing year by year in China. Although the national medical insurance has been improved a lot, it still falls short of expecting “universal medical insurance”. To help the families of patients with cancer and other serious diseases to resolve the unaffordable medical cost, several internet platforms of “Peer to Peer Medical Mutual Aid” have gradually emerged recently. In the form of low threshold insurance combined with public support, these platforms provide subsidies to families of patients suffering from serious financial burden and then partly compensate them for the limit of national medical insurance. This article summarized the characteristics of declared patients sponsored by several medical mutual aid internet platforms. The results showed that the sponsored patients were mostly cancer patients (90.1%), aged 21 - 60 (88.4%), and the average amounts of financial support had a trend to decrease with the increase of age. In particular, the reported cases of thyroid cancer were increased dramatically recently, however, with a lowest average mutual aid fund. Given these data, it is urgent to list out a detailed rule for the use of national medical insurance on the treatment of cancer, to heighten the healthcare system for the occupational population, age from 21 to 60, and to establish the credit system for Medicare and Medicaid services.

Exploring Employment Trend and Relationship With Individual and Family-Related Factors in 65 or Older Koreans

The purpose of this study is to identify the trend of the employment status in 65 years or older adults who reside in South Korea and to explore the relationship between the status of employment and individual and family-related factors. This study utilized 10-year and 6-wave secondary data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA). The original panel sample is a random sample of 10,254 adults who are 45 or older, but for the aim of this study, the participants younger than 65 years were excluded. The number of samples in each wave is different, ranging from 4,013 to 4,335 due to the death of the participant, the rejection of additional interviews, and the refreshment participant collected in Wave 5. The findings indicate that the absolute employment of the people aged 65 or older and the proportion of working people among those have increased over the past decade. In this study, it is also found that there is a close relationship between employment status and individual factors such as gender, educational background, health condition, region, etc. Moreover, the results suggest that there are various facets of the relationship between employment status and family-related factors including whether living with children, the number of the member whom I help with daily activities, the total amount of financial support from/to children/parents/other family or whether participating social activities, etc. The implications of the need for employing the older population and the consideration family-related factors in the policy-making process in Korea are discussed.

PRINCIPLES OF CASH SUPPLY FOR MILITARY SERVANTS

The goal of the article is to formulate an urgent scientific thought regarding the system of modern principles of financial support for military personnel in Ukraine. It is substantiated that the ideological basis of the principles system under study is laid by general legal principles, namely, the principles of the rule of law, human-centrism, justice and legal equality, legality. Among the principles of financial support for military personnel, a special place is also occupied by the sectoral principles of labor law of Ukraine, mainly: the principle of unity and differentiation of military personnel financial support legal regulation; the principle of a moderate combination of the financial security centralized and local legal regulation; the principle of ensuring the protection of the serviceman’s rights to financial security. The group of special principles of financial support for servicemen is the principle of a guaranteed payment of decent financial support for servicemen; the principle of the influence of the soldier’s performance and the conditions of his service on the amount of financial support; the principle of servicemen material interest in financial support; the principle of simplicity (accessibility) at understanding the systems for forming the amount of financial support for military personnel; the principle of the relative inalienability of the servicemen’s right to financial provision. The conclusions of the article summarize the results of the research.

Influence of Public Financial Support on the Process of Roof Covering Replacement and Safety of Civil Structures

Abstract This article constitutes an analysis of the influence of public financial support on the process of replacement of the asbestos-cement sheets used as a roof covering for materials safe for the environment. Commonly used asbestos-cement sheets, known under the commercial name of „Eternit”, should be removed of civil structures by 2032 following a program established by the Polish state. However, the carried-out analysis indicates that until present times the products containing asbestos have been properly identified in all municipalities across Poland, and also the amount of financial support that a property owner may obtain for removal of products containing asbestos is relatively low comparing to the costs of the roofing replacement. The cost of roof covering replacement falls within the range. 18.417 – 41.232 PLN/m2, so for the roof area of 100 m2 and considering the simplest roof structure (gable roof) the cost would total between 18.417 and 41.232 PLN. Therefore the existing system of public financial support providing funds for asbestos removal only will not affect the investor’s decision regarding replacement of roof covering and increase of civil structures safety. The replacement process of dangerous Eternit roof covering is slow and most probably the established programmed will not be completed on time.

Current problems of the program on state guarantees to deliver free medical care to the citizens

Aim. The study aimed to provide the specialists with information on the dynamics of regulations of the program on state guarantees to deliver free medical care to the citizens and to facilitate managerial decision-making in increasing health care efficiency. Information sources. Data from the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, data on medical care regulatory requirements contained in the State Guarantee Programs approved by relevant resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation, expert assessments, and international databases were used in this study. Results. The study showed that the cost of providing different types of medical care according to the state guarantees of free medical care to the citizens in 2019 increased insignificantly in comparison with the previous year. At the same time, the amount of financial support for the free provision of types of medical care at the expense of public funding sources was 1.98 trillion rubles in 2019. In contrast, the planned consolidated healthcare budget should be no less than 3.12 trillion rubles in 2019. Therefore, despite the widespread opinion about the scarcity of the program, the calculations indicate that there is no funding shortage for the program at the macro level, including the basic program of compulsory health insurance (CHI). The materials presented in the article indicate the need for changes in the system, character, and methods of public administration and authority activities in the field of healthcare. The program on state guarantees to deliver free medical care to the citizens in the current form disorients the population and medical workers and causes a negative assessment of the quality and effectiveness of healthcare management. The authors argue that it is necessary to cultivate such an approach to the organization of medical care, in which the main object is the patient. Meanwhile, the purpose of the activity and the main economic criterion is the adoption or approval of changes by the patient considering his/her health as a direct result of the medical care received. This approach implies the fullest enjoyment of human rights concerning health, clinical and economic feasibility, and the safety of diagnostic and treatment processes. Conclusions. The absence of scarcity in the funding of the program in Russia is combined with private health expenditure of comparable volume with public spending as well as with the aggravation of health care quality problems.

Sex differences in employment and supports for adults with autism spectrum disorder.

This study explored sex differences in employment, reasons for unemployment, benefits, and supports among a large, international sample of adults with autism spectrum disorder. The sample included 443 adults with autism spectrum disorder (60% female; 74% residing in the United States) who consented to be part of an autism research registry and completed an Internet survey. Outcome variables included current employment status, number of hours working, number of jobs in the past 5 years, reasons for unemployment, as well as the number of benefits received and the amount of financial support currently being received from families of origin. Using multiple regression models, we found that males and females were working at similar rates. Females were more likely than males to say that their unemployment was a result of choosing to withdraw from the labor market. Similar percentages of males and females reported receiving some form of benefits or family support, but of those receiving benefits/family support, males received more than females. These results are consistent with other studies finding subtle, but potentially important sex differences in life-course outcomes of individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

The dairy farming support system: Do the direct payments cause economic inefficiency?

Economic distortions created by the dairy farming support system in Iceland are examined in this paper. Specifically, the impact of the direct payments component of this system is analyzed. The analysis lead to the conclusion that the form of direct payments that has been used is in many ways well-suited to improve dairy farmers' living standards without creating additional social costs in terms of resource misallocation. It follows that it would be socially wasteful, as well as economically detrimental to dairy farmers, to replace this system with an economically less efficient way of providing them with the same amount of financial support.

Quality of LiFe (QOL) Assessment Among Advance Cancer Patient Undergoing Palliative Treatment in Malaysia


 
 
 The community's stigma towards advanced cancer patients at the final stages of cancer ending up with this death, has deny their need and right to receive the best service and treatment at the end of their lives. Although there was abundant research on cancer patient issues, but there was still lack of research that focusing on final stage of cancer patients in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study is done to gives overall picture of quality of life (QOL) among final stage of cancer patient and to identify the factor that differentiate the score of QOL for the final stage of cancer patients that receiving palliative treatment at the one medical centres in Kuala Lumpur. The cross-sectional study that has been done with 120 of cancer patients that receiving palliative treatment using convenience sampling. The SF-36 questionnaire has been used to measures Quality of Life (QOL) across eight domains based on physically and emotionally component summary. Results showed that the highest score of QOL were observed in the Mental Component Summary (44.93±6.84) compared with Physical Component Summary at (42.24± 7.91). There is a difference in QOL based on mental and physical component especially from patient social demography. Mental component score have difference in term of age (t = - 0.38; p <0.001), type of cancer (F = 5.522: p <0.001), duration of treatment (t = 5.15; p < 0.001), type of treatment (F = 3.11; p = 0.029) and amount of financial support (F = 7.16; p <0.001). Meanwhile, score for physical component composite has shown difference of score based on level of education (F = 6.21; p <0.001), type of cancer (F = 5.96; p <0.001) and also amount of financial support (F = 3.00; p = 0.033). Further study should be conducted in social work perspective to identify other factors that contribute to the patient QoL and identify problems that prevent them from getting social service, so that the service given by social worker can be improved.
 
 

A new approach on occupational health and safety: financial state support for employer

Purpose- Thanks to the Law on Occupational Health and Safety No.6331, which came into force on 30.06.2012, it has become compulsory to employ occupational safety professionals and health professionals in the workplaces in order to carry out the services of occupational health and safety. Within this framework, the purpose of this study is to analyse the principles of financial State support designed for the purpose of refunding from the Social Security Institution (SSI) budget some amount of the money that was paid by employers for the services of occupational health and safety to the employers of the private enterprises which are classified as very dangerous and dangerous and which have workers less than 10 people. Methodology - We conducted our research by making use of existing literature, and we also examined the financial support provided for employers in terms of legal aspects by considering regulations and notices. Findings- It was observed that the financial support in question did not become widespread. The reasons for this can be listed as: (i) the bulk of unregistered employers, (ii) the amount of financial support’s being lower, and (iii) the employers’ not having enough information regarding the issue. Conclusion - In order to make the financial support in question, it is necessary to (i) increase the amount of the so-called financial support, (ii) terminate the authorized Community Health Center (CHCs) responsibilities for providing occupational health and safety services, and (iii) eliminate the contradiction between the Law numbered 6331 and by-laws in determining the companies that will benefit from the support.

Training the next generation of Canadian Clinician-Scientists: charting a path to success.

Clinician-scientists are physicians with training in both clinical medicine and research that enables them to occupy a unique niche as specialists in basic and translational biomedical research. While there is widespread acknowledgement of the importance of clinician-scientists in today's landscape of evidence-based medical practice, training of clinician-scientists in Canada has been on the decline, with fewer opportunities to obtain funding. With the increasing length of training and lower financial compensation, fewer medical graduates are choosing to pursue such a career. MD-PhD programs, in which trainees receive both medical and research training, have the potential to be an important tool in training the next generation of clinician-scientists; however, MD-PhD trainees in Canada face barriers that include an increase in medical school tuition and a decrease in the amount of financial support. We examined the available data on MD-PhD training in Canada and identified a lack of oversight, a lack of funding and poor mentorship as barriers experienced by MD-PhD trainees. Specific recommendations are provided to begin the process of addressing these challenges, starting with the establishment of an overseeing national body that would track long-term outcome data for MD-PhD trainees. This national body could then function to implement best practices from individual programs across the country and to provide further mentorship and support for early-career physician-scientists. MD-PhD programs have the potential to address Canada's growing shortage of clinician-scientists, and strengthening MD-PhD programs will help to effect positive change.

Caregiver burden and influencing factors of primary caregivers of disabled elders in Guangzhou

Objective To investigate the caregiver burden of primary caregivers of disabled elders in Guangzhou, and analyze its influencing factors. Methods Totally 221 primary caregivers of disabled elders in Guangzhou were investigated by the general information questionnaire, activities of daily living scale (ADL) , the Conner-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC) , Zarit burden interview (ZBI) and perceived social support scale (PSSS) . Results The burden score of primary caregivers was (34.81±15.51) , which was significantly higher than other caregivers (21.12±10.32) in China (t=13.048, P<0.01) . Multiple linear regression showed that, the burden of primary caregivers were mainly affected by their resilience level, social support level, marital status, the amount of financial support that patients provided, and the disabled level of elders (β '=-0.219, -0.155, -0.157, 0.218, 0.202; P<0.05) . All factors above explained 19.4% variance of the burden of caregivers. Conclusions The burdens of primary caregivers of disabled elders are in different level. Multiple factors directly influence the level of burden of caregivers and may indirectly reduce their quality of life. Hence, attention should be paid by the society and government. Key words: Disabled elders; Caregivers; Caregiver burden; Influencing factors