Care Security Research Articles

Detecting spatio-temporal mortality clusters of European countries by sex and age

BackgroundMortality decreased in European Union (EU) countries during the last century. Despite these similar trends, there are still considerable differences in the levels of mortality between Eastern and Western European countries. Sub-group analysis of mortality in Europe for different age and sex groups is common, however to our knowledge a spatio-temporal methodology as in this study has not been applied to detect significant spatial dependence and interaction with time. Thus, the objective of this paper is to quantify the dynamics of mortality in Europe and detect significant clusters of mortality between European countries, applying spatio-temporal methodology. In addition, the joint evolution between the mortality of European countries and their neighbours over time was studied.MethodsThe spatio-temporal methodology used in this study takes into account two factors: time and the geographical location of countries and, consequently, the neighbourhood relationships between them. This methodology was applied to 26 European countries for the period 1990-2012.ResultsPrincipally, for people older than 64 years two significant clusters were obtained: one of high mortality formed by Eastern European countries and the other of low mortality composed of Western countries. In contrast, for ages below or equal to 64 years only the significant cluster of high mortality formed by Eastern European countries was observed. In addition, the joint evolution between the 26 European countries and their neighbours during the period 1990-2012 was confirmed. For this reason, it can be said that mortality in EU not only depends on differences in the health systems, which are a subject to national discretion, but also on supra-national developments.ConclusionsThis paper proposes statistical tools which provide a clear framework for the successful implementation of development public policies to help the UE meet the challenge of rethinking its social model (Social Security and health care) and make it sustainable in the medium term.

Logrolling under fragmented authoritarianism: theory and evidence from China

This paper provides a rigorous theoretical and empirical analysis of the effect of logrolling between interest groups on social welfare in a non-democratic political system. In particular, we focus on China, where bureaucratic interest groups are separate vertical organizations reaching down from Beijing to the provinces and cities. The key question in this paper is: what are the effects of the logrolling of parochial interest groups on state policies and social welfare in autocracies? We address this question both theoretically and empirically. The theory predicts a specific distortion in resource allocation because of logrolling, while the empirical results confirm the theoretical prediction. We find policy outcomes under logrolling are characterized by excessive spending on all the interest groups’ preferred goods and insufficient spending on public goods. We test the existence of logrolling between the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Ministry of Health in China. Our result shows logrolling between the two ministries lead to inefficiencies in social security and health care policies.

The Rise and Fall of "Universal Health Coverage" as a Goal of International Health Politics, 1925-1952.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals of 2015 have restored universal health coverage (UHC) to prominence in the international health agenda. Can understanding the past illuminate the prospects for UHC in the present? This article traces an earlier history of UHC as an objective of international health politics. Its focus is the efforts of the International Labor Organization (ILO), whose Philadelphia Declaration (1944) announced the goal of universal social security, including medical coverage and care. After World War II, the ILO attempted to enshrine this in an international convention, which nation states would ratify. However, by 1952 these efforts had failed, and the final convention was so diluted that universalism was unobtainable. Our analysis first explains the consolidation of ideas about social security and health care, tracing transnational policy linkages among experts whose world view transcended narrow loyalties. We then show how UHC goals became marginalized, through the opposition of employers and organized medicine, and of certain nation states, both rich and poor. We conclude with reflections on how these findings might help us in thinking about the challenges of advancing UHC today.

Forensic psychiatry in Rwanda

ABSTRACTForensic psychiatry has often been neglected in nonwestern countries, including the African continent. Our aim was to assess the practices and needs for improvement in the field of forensic psychiatry in Rwanda. During a one-week visit conducted in October 2017, we interviewed key-informants working at decisional levels in the domains of health, justice and security. Two clinical workshops involving psychiatrists, psychologists and nurses were held in psychiatric facilities, including at Ndera, the main psychiatric hospital of the country. Three axes of development and improvement were identified: First there is a need for a clearer, more coherent and updated legislative framework. Second, the absence of a forensic secured unit, which compromises both quality of care for forensic patients and security of the other patients and staff, should be remediated. Third, the supervision and training in this specialized domain should be provided through international collaborations. Hopefully, Rwanda could become in the next few years a driving force for other African countries in the field of forensic psychiatry.

A Review on Scream Classification for Situation Understanding

In our living environment, a non-speech audio signal provides a significant evidence for situation awareness. It also compliments the information obtained from a video signal. In non-speech audio signals, screaming is one of the events in which the people like security guard, care taker and family members are particularly interested in terms of care and surveillance because screams are atomically considered as a sign of danger. Contrary to this concept, this review is particularly targeting automated acoustic systems using non-speech class of scream believing that the screams can further be classified into various classes like happiness, sadness, fear, danger, etc. Inspired by the prevalent scream audio detection and classification field, a taxonomy has been projected to highlight the target applications, significant sound features, classification techniques, and their impact on classification problems in last few decades. This review will assist the researchers for retrieving the most appropriate scream detection and classification technique and acoustic parameters for scream classification that can assist in understanding the vocalization condition of the speaker.

Height and Weight Estimation From Anthropometric Measurements Using Machine Learning Regressions.

Height and weight are measurements explored to tracking nutritional diseases, energy expenditure, clinical conditions, drug dosages, and infusion rates. Many patients are not ambulant or may be unable to communicate, and a sequence of these factors may not allow accurate estimation or measurements; in those cases, it can be estimated approximately by anthropometric means. Different groups have proposed different linear or non-linear equations which coefficients are obtained by using single or multiple linear regressions. In this paper, we present a complete study of the application of different learning models to estimate height and weight from anthropometric measurements: support vector regression, Gaussian process, and artificial neural networks. The predicted values are significantly more accurate than that obtained with conventional linear regressions. In all the cases, the predictions are non-sensitive to ethnicity, and to gender, if more than two anthropometric parameters are analyzed. The learning model analysis creates new opportunities for anthropometric applications in industry, textile technology, security, and health care.

Improving undergraduate labs

The April 2017 issue of Physics Today included a report by Toni Feder on the current poor state of student advanced physics labs and efforts by the Advanced Laboratory Physics Association to improve the situation. But a few aspects need discussion to complete our understanding of the situation.Some colleges advertise that all their undergraduates have the opportunity to participate in faculty research projects. I wonder whether such arrangements are an attempt to compensate for poor or nonexistent advanced labs.As the US population ages, an increasing share of federal revenue will go for Social Security and health care benefits. Less money will be available for discretionary federal spending, such as for student lab equipment, so petitioning NSF for funds is not promising. Physics teachers should be petitioning their own universities to make some tuition money available for that purpose.The typical department budget for lab equipment and supplies is approximately $1000, according to the report. If the college charges $30 000 annual tuition, why not use $1000 of that to upgrade lab equipment? If 20 students took the lab each year, that lab would receive $20 000, which should be enough to pay for one new or refurbished experiment set-up. If we assume student pairs rotated through 10 experiments and that each required only one apparatus set, after 10 years all experiments would be upgraded or refurbished!The article reports complaints about century-old lab experiments. Yet there is nothing wrong with letting students perform a few classic experiments such as the Millikan oil drop, the Michelson interferometer, or the Franck–Hertz tube. Recent Physics Today pieces (July 2016, pages 8 and 38; March 2017, page 11) have suggested that students should learn the history of physics. Doing classic experiments allows students to experience using simpler equipment and getting meaningful results without using computerized black boxes. I never appreciated how hard it is to measure the universal constant of gravitation G until I used a Cavendish balance.Feder reports that new professors are reluctant to get involved with maintaining student lab equipment because such activity does not contribute to obtaining tenure. Perhaps we need a reform of the tenure process so that ratings include those activities that directly help undergraduate students. For their tuition dollars, students should be getting good laboratory training.In a separate editorial (Physics Today, June 2016, page 8), Charles Day commented that the student labs he took did not inspire him to become an experimental physicist. I think his complaint is invalid. Student labs are not recruiting events for the field but training sessions that should Teach some laboratory techniques and practices. Give experience in analyzing real-world data whose error distribution does not follow a Gaussian distribution. Observe physics phenomena firsthand. Verify firsthand that some textbook theory is borne out by experiment. Allow one to learn some physics topics not covered in other courses. As demonstrated by the effort required to become proficient at playing a musical instrument, learning a craft is hard work, and not all of it is inspiring.[Editors’ note: Some of the issues Victor Slabinski mentions are also discussed in the feature article “Introductory physics labs: We can do better” by Natasha Holmes and Carl Wieman on page 38 of this issue.] Section:ChooseTop of page <<© 2018 American Institute of Physics.

Global Population Aging from a Human Rights Perspective: The Need for a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons

Global population aging constitutes one of the greatest challenges societies face today. Projected demographic shifts will have far-reaching consequences on social security and health care systems around the globe. Not surprisingly, aging has therefore long been approached from a development perspective. In recent years, however, an international human rights approach to aging has emerged as well. It is increasingly recognized that the well-being and inclusion of older persons in society depends on the promotion and protection of their fundamental rights. While great efforts have been made towards a new UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, many states remain critical when it comes to the adoption of category-specific rights for older adults, especially in the form of legally binding instruments. This contribution thus aims to clarify why a rights-based approach to aging remains crucial and why it is important to clarify how fundamental rights apply to older persons in an international human rights treaty.

Primary care in an unstable security, humanitarian, economic and political context: the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

BackgroundThis study presents a descriptive synthesis of Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s (KRI) primary care system, which is undergoing comprehensive primary care reforms within the context of a cross-cutting structural economic adjustment program and protracted security, humanitarian, economic and political crises.MethodsThe descriptive analysis used a framework operationalizing Starfield’s classic primary care model for health services research. A scoping review was performed using relevant sources, and expert consultations were conducted for completing and validating data.ResultsThe descriptive analysis presents a complex narrative of a primary care system undergoing classical developmental processes of transitioning middle-income countries. The system is simultaneously under tremendous pressure to adapt to the continuously changing, complex and resource-intensive needs of sub-populations exhibiting varying morbidity patterns, within the context of protracted security, humanitarian, economic, and political crises. Despite exhibiting significant resilience in the face of the ongoing crises, the continued influx of IDPs and Syrian refugees, coupled with extremely limited resources and weak governance at policy, organizational and clinical levels threaten the sustainability of KRI’s public primary care system. Diverse trajectories to the strengthening and development of primary care are underway by local and international actors, notably the World Bank, RAND Corporation, UN organizations and USAID, focusing on varying imperatives related to the protracted humanitarian and economic crises.ConclusionsThe convergence, interaction and outcomes of the diverse initiatives and policy approaches in relation to the development of KRI’s primary care system are complex and highly uncertain. A common vision of primary care is required to align resources, initiatives and policies, and to enable synergy between all local and international actors involved in the developmental and humanitarian response. Further research that integrates the knowledge synthesized in this article, and enables actors in KRI to learn from their own experiences and efforts, along with those of other jurisdictions, would be invaluable towards the ongoing development of primary care.

HEALTH INVESTMENT OVER THE LIFE-CYCLE

We quantify what drives the rise in medical expenditures over the life-cycle using a stochastic dynamic overlapping generations model of health investment. Three motives for health investment are considered. First, health delivers a flow of utility each period (the consumption motive). Second, better health enables people to allocate more time to productive or pleasurable activities (the investment motive). Third, better health improves survival prospects (the survival motive). We find that, overall, the consumption motive plays a dominant role, whereas the investment motive is more important than the consumption and survival motives until the forties. The survival motive is quantitatively less important when compared to the other two motives. We also conduct a series of counter-factual policy experiments to investigate how government policies impacting health insurance coverage, Social Security, and health care technological progress affect the behavior of medical expenditures, and social welfare.

Offline: Medicines leadership—Britain's loss, Europe's gain

The shadow of Brexit continues to darken. One consequence is the loss of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from London to continental Europe. The EMA, together with the European Banking Authority (EBA), is one of the prized institutions of the European Union. It is responsible for evaluating medicines use across 28 member states. It provides a single route for the authorisation of new medicines, avoiding the duplication of separate member-state approvals. Since its inception in 1995, the EMA has authorised over 1000 products. It employs 900 staff, and attracts 36 000 experts each year, including 4000 non-EU visitors. It holds more than 500 meetings annually. The concentration of medicines expertise in the UK brings many additional benefits. The EMA enhances Britain's reputation as a scientific centre for drug discovery. It expands the nation's capacity in medicines research—from the epidemiology of drug safety to randomised trials to assess the efficacy of new medicines. And it strengthens the country's global leadership role in medicines regulation. All that will now be lost to Britain. The deadline for applications to host the EMA is July 31, 2017. An early leader was Milan. Italy has a distinguished reputation in basic science (consider, for example, the international standing of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research). It has built formidable clinical trial networks (eg, the GISSI studies into survival after myocardial infarction). And Italy has produced some of the most creative life scientists of modern times, from Rita Levi-Montalcini (who discovered nerve growth factor; Nobel laureate, 1986) to Mario Capecchi (who pioneered the use of knockout mice; Nobel laureate, 2007). Italian clinical scientists have made important contributions to medicines regulation. Silvio Garattini, who co-founded the Mario Negri Institute, was one of the most radically engaged members of the EMA's Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products. But the prospect of attracting such a jewel in the European crown has inevitably led to a rush of competitors. 16 countries have declared an interest in hosting the EMA. The slew of cities in the running is a compendium of European urban chic—Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dublin, Lille, Lisbon, and Stockholm. But there is a contender that could beat all of these candidates: Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. In February, Slovakia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs indicated that his country had “ambitions to host the EMA”. In April, Prime Minister Fico wrote to the Presidents of the European Council (Donald Tusk) and European Commission (Jean-Claude Juncker) to notify them formally of Bratislava's application. Slovakia is the only country from central Europe not to host a European institution. But how will this decision be made? The new EMA has to be up and running by April 1, 2019. On June 22, the EU published its “Procedure leading up to a decision on the relocation of the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority.” It set out six criteria. First, “The assurance that the agency can be set up on site and take up its functions at the date of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the Union”. Second, “The accessibility of the location”. Third, “The existence of adequate education facilities for the children of agency staff”. Fourth, “Appropriate access to the labour market, social security, and medical care for both children and spouses”. Fifth, “Business continuity”. And finally, “Geographical spread”. The European Commission will publish an analysis of candidate cities in September. A debate will follow in October, with a vote in November. But the decision will not be technical. It will be political. There is already strong suspicion that a deal has been struck. Could it be true, for example, that Angela Merkel has agreed to support Bratislava in return for the EBA being housed in Frankfurt? There is, perhaps, one further consideration. Italy has been on the front-line of humanitarian efforts to help the tens of thousands of refugees flowing into Europe. It has done so with compassion and commitment, while many EU nations have refused to offer comparable assistance. Prime Minister Fico has said that, “Islam has no place in Slovakia”. The Slovakian Government has taken legal action to block the EU's refugee quotas for the country. It would be scandalous for the EU to reward Slovakia with the EMA given its racist immigration policies. Italy deserves more serious consideration, on moral as well as medical grounds.

Evaluación clínica objetiva y estructurada (ECOE) en la maestría de Enfermería Ginecobstétrica y Perinatal: una sistematización de la experiencia

En busca de la excelencia profesional, la maestría en Enfermería Ginecológica, Obstétrica y Perinatal de la Universidad de Costa Rica, se mantiene a la vanguardia respecto de los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje. La inclusión de la simulación clínica forma parte de estas innovaciones educativas desde el año 2012; sin embargo esta es la primera vez que se incluye los procesos evaluativos de tipo ECOES los cuales, en experiencias internacionales, han demostrado pertinencia en el cumplimiento de los objetivos de enseñanza. Esta experiencia se sistematiza, según los cinco tiempos que Óscar Jara establece en su libro Para sistematizar experiencias, con el objetivo de definir la pertinencia del ECOE en cuanto a cumplir los objetivos de aprendizaje del curso. La profesora del curso y la autora recopilaron la experiencia en un diario de registro que incluye la elaboración de los escenarios, y la creación de las rubricas de evaluación. Además las estaciones fueron grabadas. La evaluación se llevó a cabo con la totalidad de estudiantes matriculados, en el curso de Enfermería Ginecoobstétrica y Perinatal I. Se estableció tres estaciones que permitirían evaluar aspectos teóricos, habilidades técnicas y sociales en la atención de las personas. Además, se creó rúbricas de evaluación, basadas en guías clínicas procedimentales y en protocolos de atención de la seguridad social costarricense. Se concluye que la experiencia demuestra clara pertinencia de los ECOEs, para evaluar la aplicación de conocimientos teóricos y habilidades psicomotoras, sociales y de comunicación en estudiantes que cursan la maestría y evidencia su preparación para continuar con los niveles más complejos de la carrera.

Characterization of between-group inequality of longevity in European Union countries

Comparisons of differential survival by country are useful in many domains. In the area of public policy, they help policymakers and analysts assess how much various groups benefit from public programs, such as social security and health care. In financial markets and especially for actuaries, they are important for designing annuities and life insurance products. This paper presents a method for clustering information about differential mortality by country. The approach is then used to group mortality surfaces for European Union (EU) countries. The aim of this paper is to measure between-group inequality in mortality experience in EU countries through a range of mortality indicators. Additionally, the indicators permit the characterization of each group. It is important to take into account characteristics such as sex; therefore, this study differentiates between males and females in order to detect whether their patterns and characterizations are different. It is concluded that there are clear differences in mortality between the east and west of the EU that are more important than the traditional south–north division, with a significant disadvantage for Eastern Europe, and especially for males in Baltic countries. We find that the mortality indicators have evolved in all countries in such a way that the gap between groups has been maintained, both in terms of the differences in mortality levels and variability.

Perceptions of Successful Aging among Older Adults in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Study.

To analyze older adults' definitions of successful aging in Bangladesh. The purposively selected study sample comprised twelve participants who were aged over 60. Interviews using in-depth semi-structured questionnaires were conducted based on participants' chosen mode, either face-to-face, or by phone. Findings of this study support that successful aging is multidimensional - that is - for Bangladeshis successful aging encompasses dimensions such as adaptation to an aging body, financial security, family and intergenerational care, and social participation. Older adults' emphases on all these dimensions were qualitatively different from those relevant in western societies. Bangladeshis see disease and disability as a normal part of aging and do not emphasize freedom from disease or longevity as much as North Americans and the US-focused successful aging discourses do. Family care is a key component of successful aging in Bangladesh. While in western models functional independence has been emphasized, for Bangladeshi older adults' adaptations to changing body, co-residing with children, being financially, physically, and emotionally dependent on family and receiving their care are viewed as normal and appropriate. Cross-cultural comparisons in this study suggest that what it means and entails to age well differ across cultures. This study highlights the need among health professionals to understand Bangladeshi culture, with its specific beliefs and values, as it relates to the views of aging well.

Smart Cities, Livable Cities

Abstract Urbanization is a truly global trend, affecting populations in developed and emerging regions across all continents. To keep up with the rapid influx of new city dwellers, city leaders are turning to technology. One of the key challenges in many cities is providing safe drinking water. Other major issues in many cities across the developing world are traffic, parking, waste management, lighting, security, education and health care. The Internet of Things increasingly offers new ways to make our lives as citizens smarter, more efficient and more informed. For example, city governments can charge appropriate fees, deliver tailored services and manage public infrastructure while considering interdependencies. In order to successfully seize the opportunities associated with the current shifts and to anticipate what’s coming, city leaders need to recognize and address the interrelationship of all city challenges and their impact across all constituent groups in seeking solutions.

The role of ceramic and glass science research in meeting societal challenges: Report from an NSF‐sponsored workshop

AbstractUnder the sponsorship of the U.S. National Science Foundation, a workshop on emerging research opportunities in ceramic and glass science was held in September 2016. Reported here are proceedings of the workshop. The report details eight challenges identified through workshop discussions: Ceramic processing: Programmable design and assembly; The defect genome: Understanding, characterizing, and predicting defects across time and length scales; Functionalizing defects for unprecedented properties; Ceramic flatlands: Defining structure‐property relations in free‐standing, supported, and confined two‐dimensional ceramics; Ceramics in the extreme: Discovery and design strategies; Ceramics in the extreme: Behavior of multimaterial systems; Understanding and exploiting glasses and melts under extreme conditions; and Rational design of functional glasses guided by predictive modeling. It is anticipated that these challenges, once met, will promote basic understanding and ultimately enable advancements within multiple sectors, including energy, environment, manufacturing, security, and health care.

Ronald R. Rindfuss and Minja Kim Choe (Eds.) Low and Lower Fertility: Variations across Developed Countries Springer, 2015. 196 p. $129.00; $122.55 (pbk).Ronald R. Rindfuss and Minja Kim Choe (Eds.) Low Fertility, Institutions, and their Policies: Variati

Over recent decades fertility throughout the developed world has declined to below the replacement level, with fertility in some countries falling to one birth per woman. This trend has become a concern for policymakers primarily because low fertility is resulting in rapid aging of populations. Aging in turn threatens the viability of social security and health care systems, which for the most part rely on pay-as-you-go financing, i.e., the contributions of the working-age population. These two volumes contain the revised papers from two workshops conducted in December 2013 and August 2014 and organized by the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs and the East-West Center. The first volume includes chapters on Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Singapore, and the United States. The second covers Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Spain, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. While this set of countries is representative of the developed world, a few large countries—in particular Germany and Russia—are excluded. Each chapter is written by a country expert who presents recent fertility trends and discusses the social, economic, institutional, historical, and cultural factors affecting fertility as well as policies. In addition to the country chapters, each volume contains an introductory chapter by the editors that summarizes the key themes that run through the volume, including labor market factors, child care availability, parental leave, gender equity, education system, availability of housing, and government subsidies. A final chapter provides a cross-country comparison of individual perceptions about obstacles to having children, based on survey data, and government support for families. The central puzzle the authors address is the lack of a simple explanation for the diversity of fertility levels (ranging from 2.1 to 1). The main message is that a wide range of factors affect fertility positively or negatively and that this multiplicity of factors differs from country to country, yielding a unique net outcome. Any given level of fertility can be reached through different pathways. Additional complexity results from variation in causes over time. Government policy can affect fertility levels through a wide range of subsidies and regulations, although effects of specific interventions tend to be small. The role of government as measured by the percent of GDP devoted to family benefits ranges from 3.5 percent in Nordic countries to less than 1.5 percent in Southern Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. It is not surprising that the level of public investments in families correlates positively with the level of fertility. The two volumes are an invaluable resource for students, researchers, and policymakers, providing comprehensive and highly informative expositions of the causes of low fertility in high-income countries.

A Survey of Big Data Analytics in Healthcare

Debate on big data analytics has earned a remarkable interest in industry as well as academia due to knowledge, information and wisdom extraction from big data. Big data and cloud computing are two most important trends that are defining the new emerging analytical tools. Big data has various applications in different fields like traffic control, weather forecasting, fraud detection, security, education enhancement and health care. Extraction of knowledge from large amount of data has become a challenging task. Similarly, big data analysis can be used for effective decision making in healthcare by some modification in existing machine learning algorithms. In this paper, rawbacks of existing machine learning algorithms are summarized for big data analysis in healthcare.

Social safety and medical maintenance of the labour pool in surveillance areas of the nuclear power plants

To study the contentment of population of NPP surveillance areas i.e. monitoring zones with specific components of quality of life, namely the social security, medical care, and socio economic compensation of risk. A sociological study of public opinion about the specific components of quality of life has been conducted in population of the NPP monitoring zone. A questionnaire with independent question blocks was developed. A non repeatable probabilistic selection was applied in population opinion poll. The sampled population was calculated on the basis of the total population living in the NPP monitoring zone. Sample error not exceeded 7.0%. A comparative assessment of the responses of various groups of the able bodied population on issues of social security, medical care, socio economic compensation of risk and analysis of statistical data for 2011-2015 on the resource potential of medical facility of the nuclear power plant overspill town has been conducted. The safety and security status is rated at below the average. Documents regulating the life safety of pop ulation of NPP monitoring zone provide them no confidence in their security. Probability estimates of man made accidents are higher in urban population and depend on education level. The socialized health care is assessed on low and average levels according to the studied parameters. Among the types of medical care the providing of nec essary medical goods, preventive examinations, scheduled medical examination service, ambulance activity, and medical psychological aid need to be improved. There was no significant change in resource potential of special ized healthcare infirmary of NPP overspill town for the last 5 years. Low rating by the monitoring zone population of work efficiency of health facilities is determined by a set of factors, some of which lies in the plane of state socio economic problems. Choice priority of the direct sub ventions in population of monitoring zone depends on the place of residence and occupation. Provisions on social security, protection and medical care of population of the NPP monitoring zones in Ukraine do not correspond to European standards and require a revision.

Demagnetisation of Social Security and Health Care for Migrants to the UK

Over the past two decades, starting with the social security ‘habitual residence’ test, UK governments have maintained a consistent policy of restricting the access of migrants to welfare benefits and public health care. It has represented a response to increased levels of inward migration flow, including anticipated increases arising from enlarged European Union (EU) membership, and the supposed ‘magnetic pull’ of UK welfare and health care systems to migrants. Adjustment of the benefit rules affecting EU migrants, which has at times come very close to crossing lines of legality under EU law, has lately featured prominently in the UK's proposals to the EU over the terms of its Union membership. The article focuses on the policy changes and legal developments, including case law, across the areas of social assistance benefits, state retirement pensions and health care, and assesses their impact, seeking to analyse the changing position of residence as an issue in entitlement and its implications.