Health Capital Theory Research Articles

Effects of Health Investment on Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries like Brazil

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the effects of health investment on poverty reduction in Developing Countries. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Health investment in developing countries has been shown to effectively reduce poverty. Improved healthcare access leads to better health outcomes, boosting productivity and household incomes while mitigating healthcare expenses. Quality healthcare services, including preventive measures, break the poverty cycle by enhancing overall well-being and productivity. Strengthening healthcare infrastructure enhances resilience to health crises, crucial for sustainable poverty reduction and socio-economic development in these regions. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Health capital theory, social determinants of health theory & health capability approach may be used to anchor future studies on effects of health investment on poverty reduction in Developing Prioritization of investments in health systems strengthening, focusing on expanding access to essential healthcare services, improving healthcare quality, and promoting health equity. Recognition of health investment as a fundamental component of poverty reduction strategies, leading to increased government prioritization and allocation of resources to healthcare systems.

Why did this happen to me? Causal attributions of illness and cultural health capital

This study examines how conversations between patients and clinicians about the causes of their health conditions relate to patient engagement in care. Leveraging cultural health capital (CHC) theory, we find that patient-physician discussions of health attributions are one mechanism to build patient understanding and activate engagement. We present a qualitative interpretive analysis of data collected in three phases with adult home health care patients: phone interviews (n = 28), field observations (n = 61), and semi-structured field interviews (n = 38). We find that engaging in discussions of causal health attributions with clinicians enables patients to overcome uncertainty, envision preventive actions, and engage in setting future goals. Such discussions must be supported by acknowledgement of the co-responsibility of individual factors and structural factors such as social determinants of health. These discussions are not easy to navigate but they can potentially help patients transition from a mindset of treating the disease (pathogenic approach) to an awareness of their available capabilities to improve health (salutogenic approach). This study contributes to research on attribution theory and cultural health capital theory by demonstrating how discussing causes for poor health can enable patients resolve doubts and accrue instrumental and symbolic resources that facilitate healing.

ИНВЕСТИЦИИ В КАПИТАЛ ЗДОРОВЬЯ КАК ФАКТОР ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ПРОИЗВОДИТЕЛЬНОСТИ ТРУДА (НА ПРИМЕРЕ КЕЙС-СТАДИ ПАО «ЛУКОЙЛ»)

The article examines how investment in health capital affects labor productivity using the example of a specific enterprise. The authors analyzed a case study of a corporate program to prevent injuries at an enterprise, studied the basis of the health capital theory, and developed strategies to increase health capital and labor productivity. The author’s approach is unique because of the case study analysis, which provides a more detailed study of a specific case in practice. The findings of the study show that investing in the health capital of an enterprise’s employees can significantly increase labor productivity, reduce illness and injury rates, and mprove employee-employer relations. The authors’ conclusions confirm the need to invest in health capital as a means of enhancing labor productivity in an enterprise. Other companies can adopt the developed strategies to improve working conditions and an employee’s well-being.

HIV/AIDS treatment funding system to support the people affected by HIV/AIDS in Surakarta, Indonesia

ABSTRACT People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA's) quality of life (QoL) is determined by the lifetime treatment sustainability. Republic of Indonesia Minister of Health's Decree Number 328 of 2003 stated that government subsidies the PLWHA's medication and treatment, despite not covering entire medication and treatment cost. The objective of research was to analyse the cost assumed by PLWHA in accessing HIV/AIDS treatment service in Surakarta, Indonesia. The target group in this case study was PLWHAs, and related stakeholders of medical treatment in one of Public Health Centers and a Public Hospital in Surakarta; AIDS Commission of Surakarta City; Solo Plus Peer Support Group and AIDS-Care NGO selected purposively. Data collection was carried out using observation, in-depth interview, and documentation. Method and data source triangulations were used to validate data that was then analysed using Grossman's Demand for Health Capital theory. The result of research showed that the sources of HIV/AIDS treatment cost were self-income, Social Insurance Administration Organization (BPJS) fund and Local Government subsidy. Admission and physican services are given for free to PLWHA because it has been paid by BPJS Fund or has been subsidied by Local Government. Otherwise, they should pay registration cost of IDR 50,000, in Public Hospital and IDR 75,000 in Private Hospital. Physician service costs IDR 50,000–IDR 200,000. VCT Counsellor costs IDR 35,000-IDR 150,000. Non-Subsidy ARV costs IDR 687,000. 1 bottle containing 60 TB meningitis drug capsules costs IDR 145,000 for 10–20 d use and maximally IDR 210,000, while herpes drug costs IDR 295,000. CD4 examination costs IDR 126,000-IDR 297,000, RNA Viral load IDR 1,275,000–IDR 1,471,000, Haematology IDR 60,000-IRD 90,000, Cholesterol and triglyceride IDR 100,000-IDR 250,000, and SGOT/SGPT IDR 100,000–IDR 200,000. There is monthly non-medical cost the patient should spend, including transportation cost to go to health centre, and food, beverage, and newspaper cost while waiting for the service. BPJS fund and local government subsidy relieved health economic burden of PLWHAs, so that the average HIV/AIDS treatment cost in PLWHAs was relatively low, less than 10% of expense. National Insurance System including BPJS fund and local government subsidy as the answer to the integration of HIV/AIDS treatment funding management into national insurance system had provided PLWHA a funding access involving prevention, care, support, and treatment, and mitigated the effect despite less optimum.

Women's status and experiences of mistreatment during childbirth in Uttar Pradesh: a mixed methods study using cultural health capital theory.

BackgroundMistreatment of women in healthcare settings during childbirth has been gaining attention globally. Mistreatment during childbirth directly and indirectly affects health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and the likelihood of delivering in a facility currently or in the future. It is important that we study patients’ reports of mistreatment and abuse to develop a deeper understanding of how it is perpetrated, its consequences, and to identify potential points of intervention. Patients’ perception of the quality of care is dependent, not only on the content of care, but importantly, on women’s expectations of care.MethodsThis study uses rich, mixed-methods data to explore women’s characteristics and experiences of mistreatment during childbirth among slum-resident women in Uttar Pradesh, India. To understand the ways in which women’s social and cultural factors influence their expectations of care and consequently their perceptions of respectful care, we adopt a Cultural Health Capital (CHC) framework. The quantitative sample includes 392 women, and the qualitative sample includes 26 women.ResultsQuantitative results suggest high levels of mistreatment (over 57 % of women reported any form of mistreatment). Qualitative findings suggest that lack of cultural health capital disadvantages patients in their patient-provider relationships, and that women use resources to improve care they receive. Participants articulated how providers set expectations and norms regarding behaviors in facilities; patients with lower social standing may not always understand standard practices and are likely to suffer poor health outcomes as a result. Of importance, however, patients also blame themselves for their own lack of knowledge.ConclusionsLack of cultural health capital disadvantages women during delivery care in India. Providers set expectations and norms around behaviors during delivery, while women are often misinformed and may have low expectations of care.

A Contribution to Health-Capital Theory

This paper presents a theory of the demand for health, health investment and longevity, building on the human capital framework for health and addressing limitations of existing models. It predicts a negative correlation between health investment and health, that the health of wealthy and educated individuals declines more slowly and that they live longer, that current health status is a function of the initial level of health and the histories of prior health investments made, that health investment rapidly increases near the end of life and that length of life is finite as a result of limited life-time resources (the budget constraint). It derives a structural relation between health and health investment (e.g., medical care) that is suitable for empirical testing.

Reconsidering inequalities in preventive health care: an application of cultural health capital theory and the life-course perspective to the take-up of mammography screening.

While there are abundant descriptions of socioeconomic inequalities in preventive health care, knowledge about the true mechanisms is still lacking. Recently, the role of cultural health capital in preventive health-care inequalities has been discussed theoretically. Given substantial analogies, we explore how our understanding of cultural health capital and preventive health-care inequalities can be advanced by applying the theoretical principles and methodology of the life-course perspective. By means of event history analysis and retrospective data from the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement, we examine the role of cultural capital and cultural health capital during childhood on the timely initiation of mammography screening in Belgium (N=1348). In line with cumulative disadvantage theory, the results show that childhood cultural conditions are independently associated with mammography screening, even after childhood and adulthood socioeconomic position and health are controlled for. Lingering effects from childhood are suggested by the accumulation of cultural health capital that starts early in life. Inequalities in the take-up of screening are manifested as a lower probability of ever having a mammogram, rather than in the late initiation of screening.

Health Inequalities through the Lens of Health Capital Theory: Issues, Solutions, and Future Directions.

We explore what health-capital theory has to offer in terms of informing and directing research into health inequality. We argue that economic theory can help in identifying mechanisms through which specific socioeconomic indicators and health interact. Our reading of the literature, and our own work, leads us to conclude that non-degenerate versions of the Grossman model (1972a;b) and its extensions can explain many salient stylized facts on health inequalities. Yet, further development is required in at least two directions. First, a childhood phase needs to be incorporated, in recognition of the importance of childhood endowments and investments in the determination of later-life socioeconomic and health outcomes. Second, a unified theory of joint investment in skill (or human) capital and in health capital could provide a basis for a theory of the relationship between education and health.

Health and Household Income in Vietnam

This study provides empirical evidence regarding to the relationship between household income and individual health, as well as the correlation between health and education at provincial level. We apply the concept of human health capital theory into models which treat health as a form of human capital in income process and education progress. We employ two datasets, one is Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey wave in 2002, 2004 and 2006, and the other is the dataset for provincial level in the year 1999, 2002 and 2004, in order to make two panels. Constructing panels allow us to exploit “within” variation in health, income and education to figure out the possible unobservable biased estimates of the impact of health on income and education on health in a short period of panel data. Household income is significantly affected by individual health and life expectancy is considerably influenced by education. These findings could be seen as evidence for policy makers in health and education policy in the context of development planning.

Health Inequalities through the Lens of Health Capital Theory: Issues, Solutions, and Future Directions

Health Inequalities through the Lens of Health Capital Theory: Issues, Solutions, and Future Directions

Health Inequalities Through the Lens of Health Capital Theory: Issues, Solutions, and Future Directions

We explore what health-capital theory has to offer in terms of informing and directing research into health inequality. We argue that economic theory can help in identifying mechanisms through which specific socioeconomic indicators and health interact. Our reading of the literature, and our own work, leads us to conclude that non-degenerate versions of the Grossman model and its extensions can explain many salient stylized facts on health inequalities. Yet, further development is required in at least two directions. First, a childhood phase needs to be incorporated, in recognition of the importance of childhood endowments and investments in the determination of later-life socioeconomic and health outcomes. Second, a unified theory of joint investment in skill (or human) capital and in health capital could provide a basis for a theory of the relationship between education and health.

Health Inequalities Through the Lens of Health Capital Theory: Issues, Solutions, and Future Directions

Health Inequalities Through the Lens of Health Capital Theory: Issues, Solutions, and Future Directions

A Contribution to Health Capital Theory

A Contribution to Health Capital Theory

Economic approaches to smoking

In order to assess regulator's legitimacy in discouraging people from smoking, economists model tobacco addiction. In this paper, we review the extent economic literature about tobacco consumption and tobacco addiction. Two main approaches are singled out. In the first section, we detail the main characteristics of the two main theoretical models : rational addiction on one hand, which stylises individual choosing now to give up their future liberty to choose whether or not to smoke; and health capital on the other hand, following which individuals trade off between current pleasure and life expectancy. Second section gives account of the empirical tests of these two theories, before a last section briefly discusses and concludes. We show that the health capital theory seems to pass the test better than the rational addiction model. It is important to discriminate between these two models, from a political economy point of view. Were rational addiction true, a constant and strong increase of taxes on tobacco would be the soundest policy to curb consumption. On the contrary, if smokers are trapped into addiction and can't stop without pain, then tax increase is imposing too much strain on them, for no result. An efficient policy would be to subsidise quitting programmes, or to help smokers reducing their consumption through partial prohibition (in public transports for instance).

A Model of Declining Health and Retirement

The declining U.S. average retirement age has been difficult to reconcile with cross-section evidence that poor health is a primary cause of early retirement. This paper reconciles those observations by building a Grossman-type model of investment in health, distinguished from its predecessor by a more formal treatment of initial conditions. A discontinuous mid-life increase in health investment (retirement) is shown, in general, to be part of the optimal investment strategy. Time-series productivity increases are shown to lower the optimal retirement age, while varying health endowments and depreciation rates are shown to be able to account for cross-section retirement age variations.