Integration Policy Research Articles

Integrating interventions supported by development assistance for health into local health system: evidence from a China–World Bank–UK rural health system strengthening project (1998–2007)

IntroductionTo empirically investigate sustainability of development assistance for health (DAH), we conducted a retrospective case study on the Basic Health Services Project (BHSP) for rural health system strengthening, supported by...

Care for the caregiver: an exploration of caregiver burden of children with chronic medical conditions at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan – a mixed-methods study

ObjectivesCaregiver burden often goes unrecognised and can substantially affect caregivers’ physical, psychological and financial well-being, thereby impacting quality of care. This study investigates burden among caregivers of children with chronic...

Integrating climate change, food safety, nutrition, and health outcomes in food systems policies and programs in Africa

AbstractIntegrating climate change, food safety, nutrition, and health outcomes in food systems policies and programs is crucial for addressing the multifaceted challenges African countries encounter. Climate change significantly impacts food production, food safety, and the provision of nutritious and healthy diets. Existing interventionist policies in Africa have not taken a comprehensive approach to addressing the bidirectional relationships among climate change, food safety, nutrition, and health outcomes. This hinders the formulation of comprehensive policies and programs that effectively address these interconnected issues. Also, limited evidence supports understanding the interplay among climate change, food safety, nutrition, and health outcomes within the African context. Thus, the study explores the pathways of interlinkages and complementarities among these factors and identifies the barriers to their effective implementation. In achieving its objective, this study adopts a food systems approach to examine the interrelaionships among climate change, food safety, nutrition, and health programs and policies. The study uses a comprehensive analysis of existing literature and empirical data to better understand these interrelationships within the food system. By identifying the interdependencies, the study is relevant for the development of integrative policies and programs that address these interconnected issues.Á

China’s distinctive civil–military integration policy and firm innovation

Abstract Despite the widespread implementation of civil–military integration (CMI) policies in various countries, there remains a significant debate surrounding their impact on innovation. Taking the set of the National Civil–Military Integration Strategy in China in 2015 as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper uses the Propensity Score Matching and Difference in Difference (PSM-DID) method to systematically examine the impact of CMI policy on firm innovation. The results demonstrate that the CMI policy has notably increased the intensity of firms’ Research and Development (R&D) investment, but does not exert a significant influence on their innovation output and efficiency. Notably, the policy effect is primarily observed among incumbent military firms and large-scale firms. Moreover, the CMI policy exhibits a considerable effect on fostering new cooperation links, but does not yield a significant impact on deepening cooperation or promoting network agglomeration. The results imply that the policy has not yet deeply affected firms’ innovation processes and patterns. These findings provide manifold implications for policy understanding and decision-making.

UKRAINIAN FORCED MIGRANTS’ INTEGRATION IN EUROPEAN LABOUR MARKET: GERMAN VS POLISH CASE

The tsunami of forced migration caused by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 poses a significant challenge to the socio-economic systems of host European countries, in particular Germany and Poland, which are the two main destination countries for displaced Ukrainians. Despite relatively similar statistics on the number and demographic structure of Ukrainian forced immigrants, the two countries differ significantly in terms of the level of labour market integration of refugees, which is a key factor determining their social integration and economic outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to study the peculiarities and common features of the integration of Ukrainian forced migrants in the labour markets of Germany and Poland, taking into account the pre-war experience of these countries in attracting Ukrainian economic migrants. Methodology. The study is a comparative analysis of the pre-war and forced migration trajectories of the two countries based on data from the German and Polish statistical services and Eurostat in 2010-2022. Results. The article discusses the redistribution of the main demographic characteristics in the profile of Ukrainian migrants in the post-war period, which led to an increase in the share of women with higher education in the demographic structure of migrants. These demographic differences, coupled with the peculiarities of European labour markets, have affected the employment prospects of Ukrainian refugees in European countries of destination. The pre-war experience of temporary labour migration from Ukraine and social ties between refugees and members of the diaspora were recognised as factors that facilitated the integration of Ukrainian refugees. The analysis showed that in addition to the geographical and cultural proximity between Ukraine and Poland, the circular labour migration model that dominated relations between Ukraine and Poland contributed to the rapid integration of Ukrainian refugees into the labour market after the outbreak of full-scale war. The lack of German language skills is the most common reason for the lower participation of Ukrainians in the German labour market compared to the Polish one. In Germany, favourable labour market conditions combined with integration policies facilitate access to the labour market for Ukrainian refugees in the long term. Practical implications. By examining the previous circular seasonal migration of Ukrainians over the past decade and their labour market integration in specific destination countries after the outbreak of war, this paper provides a broader perspective for the study of the transition from forced to permanent migration. Value/Originality. Given the global growth of both seasonal labour migrants and forms of movement, the key findings of the study provide a better understanding of these changing categories of mobility and their implications.

Student disciplinary policies at a distance and online university in South Africa

Academic integrity is at the core of the academic project and is threatened if universities and the academics and students in them, do not take the quest of achieving academic integrity seriously. If other universities, businesses, and the general public lose trust in a specific university due to a perceived lack of academic integrity in the institution and its qualifications, this creates a threat to the sustainability of the university. In this paper I evaluate the student disciplinary policies and codes of a distance education university against the core elements of an exemplary academic integrity policy (Bretag, Mahmud, Wallace, Walker, James, Green et al., 2011). The five core elements identified by Bretag et al. (2011) are access, approach, responsibility, detail, and support. The university’s policies were evaluated against these elements and rated on whether each one has been achieved or not. This analysis is done at the policy level and also encompasses the policy experiences of this university during COVID-19, by unpacking how these policies played out when a major challenge was applied to them. Apart from the policy analysis, this paper is based on 10 months of fieldwork undertaken during 2021 when 28 people were interviewed; an analysis of policies; and an analysis of five years’ worth of records from student disciplinary procedures. I argue that the five elements for effective student disciplinary policies need to be present for the institutionalisation of academic integrity to occur.

Inbound learning: revolutionizing educational paradigms

This paper explores the transformative potential of Inbound Learning in educational settings, integrating principles from inbound marketing to foster personalized, engaging, and effective learning experiences. Through a comprehensive literature review, the study examines the application of Inbound Learning strategies across diverse educational levels and contexts, highlighting significant improvements in student engagement, academic performance, and educator satisfaction. The methodology employed combines quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess the impact of these strategies, revealing a positive correlation between personalized educational content and improved learning outcomes. Challenges such as technological access, resource allocation, and teacher training are discussed, alongside future perspectives that suggest the integration of advanced educational technologies and policy support to overcome these barriers. The findings underscore the efficacy of Inbound Learning in meeting the contemporary needs of learners and educators, advocating for its broader adoption to revolutionize educational practices.

Corporate privileges and the formation of Cabildos in the rise of two New Granada Villas: Guasimal de Cúcuta and San José de la Marinilla, 1790-1795

Abstract. Objective/context: In the context of the installation of cabildos in the viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada, this article studies the transition of two towns inhabited by «free people» to the status of villas: the parroquia of Guasimal de Cúcuta and the sitio of San José de La Marinilla. This process shows how the fact that the Catholic monarchy gave the jurisdictional quality of villa to specific towns fostered a virtuous circle in which various local and metropolitan agencies became intertwined and promoted a policy of negotiated integration, which ceded autonomy in local government. Methodology: Based on primary documentary sources detailing the establishment and functioning of chapter governments, we analyze the process of administrative cession in jurisdictional terms and, in general, the establishment of provincial governments in towns in the viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada. Originality: The examination of the documentation allows us to reveal the materialization of a historical process of generalized integration in Hispanic America, induced by the ministers of Charles III, which gave jurisdictional qualities to mestizo population groups, seeking to benefit the royal rents of the economic growth that these populations were experiencing and to determine the new municipal political architecture in the time of the Bourbons. Conclusions: In the cases analyzed, we can see how, in search of administrative rationality, the crown negotiated the granting of autonomy to parroquias and towns of «free people» as a policy of integration that should strengthen centralization and increase productivity to achieve income and economic growth. It can also be seen how the patricians were diligent in giving institutionality to the new republics, guided by royal regulations that even embraced strengthening the branches of propios y arbitrios (such as health and coercion, among others).

Connecting place and multilevel governance for urban river restoration

ABSTRACT River restoration in urbanising contexts faces multiple pressures and increased governance complexities. The aspiration for basin-scale policy integration has been widely promoted but is not well tested in urbanising rivers and implementation success remains disjointed across jurisdictions. We link the multi-level governance lens with the notion of place to facilitate a deeper examination of the unique assemblages of socio-material configurations that embed restoration practices across locations. Employing an embedded qualitative case study of the Citarum revitalisation in Indonesia, where a territorialised military operation co-existed with multi-level arrangements, we show that variability, rather than consistency, of governance approaches persisted across geographies. The variabilities were shaped by different place-based conditions – critical in influencing restoration practices and governance processes – such as place leadership, attachment to river, neighbourhood stewardships, issue-based networks and a sense of legitimacy. Thus, our study challenges the normative primacy of the basin-scale integration in existing water governance research and policy, while offering a more robust and critical approach towards gathering place-based insights and in situ evidence of governance complementarity and inconsistency.

Bibliometric analysis of publications trends in Indonesian research institutions: A comparison of pre-integration (2015–2021) and post-integration (2022–2023) periods

Background: Institutional transformation – integrating many disparate research insti-tutes into the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN, for Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional) – was the most significant reform in the history of institutional gov-ernance in Indonesia. This integration policy aims to enable the state to strengthen the national research and innovation ecosystem and improve the performance of research institutions, one indicator of which is their output of publications reporting the results of research. Objectives: To compare the published output of research institutes before and after the integration of research institutions into BRIN. Methods: Relevant data retrieved through Scopus on 24 December 2023 and span-ning the period between 2015 and 2023 were analysed using Microsoft Excel, and col-laboration networks of authors and of countries were constructed using VOSviewer and examined for co-authors in different countries collaborating with first authors in Indonesia. Results: The number of publications increased annually over the period 2015–2023. However, the annual rate of growth after (2021–2023) the integration of research institutions was higher (36%) than that before (2015–2021) the integration (30%). Conference papers (51%) dominated the pre-integration era, whereas articles (57%) dominated the post-integration era, and the number of reputable journals in which the research was published was greater after the integration. Conclusions: The period after the integration of research institutions saw enhanced research output in terms of the number of research publications, annual rate of growth in that number, and the number of reputable journals in which the publica-tions appeared.

The Yangtze River Delta market integration and farmers ' income increase

Market integration is of great significance to increase farmers' income. Taking 27 core cities in the Yangtze River Delta from 2011 to 2021 as an example, an evaluation index system of market integration including 8 indicators is constructed from three perspectives: regional connection, scientific and technological innovation and environmental regulation, and the entropy method is used to comprehensively evaluate the level of market integration. The measurement results show that the level of market integration in the Yangtze River Delta is still severe, and the internal differences are large. Using two-way fixed effects, it is found that the level of market integration can significantly and positively affect the per capita disposable income of rural residents, and pass the robustness test; heterogeneity analysis found that the level of market integration can significantly positively affect high-level income rural residents, but not significantly affect low-and middle-income rural residents. Suggestions are put forward from the perspectives of optimizing market integration policy, paying attention to middle and low income farmers, and coordinating regional development, so as to provide reference for policy implementation path.

The Effects of Admission Policies on Rates of Family Migration in European States, 2008–2019

This study investigates whether and how much family migration policies have influenced patterns of family migration in European states. Family migration has been the largest category of entry in many Western countries in recent decades, and it has been the subject of increasing contestation in political debates. While research on family migration policies has advanced in recent years, no comprehensive cross-country comparisons have been done of the impact of different policies on the size and composition of family migrant inflows. This study addresses this gap by analysing the connection between admission policies and rates of family migration in 31 European states during the 2008 to 2019 period. Combining data from Eurostat and the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), this study uses a time-series regression analysis to assess the effects of admission policies on different types of family related immigration. While restrictive admission policies have led to falling overall levels of family migration, the analysis here reveals stratifying implications, whereby the effect has been greater where the sponsor is a non-EU citizen than where he/she is an EU citizen. By providing evidence on the differential impacts of admission policies on family related immigration, this study contributes new insights on the effects of restrictive migration policies.

Regional crises and European fiscal preferences: how regional Covid-19, economic downturn, and migration shape support for EU risk sharing

ABSTRACT Economic suffering prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, coming on the heels of earlier 2008 global-financial and 2015 migration crises, revived debate on citizen support for European fiscal integration policies. Such support can be expected to reflect not only individual-level characteristics but also the extent of crisis exposure in subnational regional contexts where individuals live and work. Unfortunately, existing studies of public support have said little about such regional contexts. This study hence explores how regional-level experience with ‘polycrisis’ affects support for EU fiscal capacities, combining regional-level crisis measures with a 2020 survey experiment on European citizens’ preferences towards fiscal capacity instruments in 5 European countries (DE, ES, FR, IT, NL). This allows tests of whether individual support for various European fiscal capacities reflect regional differences in covid suffering, growth losses after the 2008 global financial crisis, and migration spikes from the 2015 migration crisis. We expect and find that citizens in regions more heavily impacted by the pandemic, financial crisis, and (albeit less so) migration crisis – measured separately and as a composite – tend to more readily support European fiscal integration capacity that is redistributive between countries, financed through progressive taxation, refrains from budgetary conditionality, and is lenient towards reform non-compliance.

Health insurance and subjective well-being: evidence from integrating medical insurance across urban and rural areas in China.

Health insurance coverage and the risk protection it provides may improve enrollees' subjective well-being (SWB), as demonstrated, e.g. by Oregon Medicaid's randomized expansion significantly improving enrollees' mental health and happiness. Yet little evidence from low- and middle-income countries documents the link between insurance coverage and SWB. We analyse individual-level data on a large natural experiment in China: the integration of the rural and urban resident health insurance programmes. This reform, expanded nationally since 2016, is recognized as a vital step towards attaining the goal of providing affordable and equitable basic healthcare in China, because integration raises the level of healthcare coverage for rural residents to that enjoyed by their urban counterparts. This study is the first to investigate the impact of urban-rural health insurance integration on the SWB of the Chinese population. Analysing 2011-18 data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in a difference-in-difference framework with variation in the treatment timing, we find that the integration policy significantly improved the life satisfaction of rural residents, especially among low-income and elderly individuals. The positive impact of the integration on SWB appears to stem from the improvement of rural residents' mental health (decrease in depressive symptoms) and associated increases in some health behaviours, as well as a mild increase in outpatient care utilization and financial risk protection. There was no discernible impact of the integration on SWB among urban residents, suggesting that the reform reduced inequality in healthcare access and health outcomes for poorer rural residents without negative spillovers on their urban counterparts.

International Students and Generative Artificial Intelligence

An exploratory analysis of tertiary education GenAI academic integrity policies has been undertaken, to examine provision for international students, having been identified as vulnerable to bias and integrity challenges associated with these technologies. A qualitative document analysis of 131 HE institutions (HEI) policies across 11 countries reveals mostly scant consideration of international students' needs, with the majority lacking any explicit provision. A subsequent SWOT analysis of exceptions to this generally indicates strengths in acknowledging diverse learner assumptions but weaknesses regarding specificity in articulating tailored expectations and support. These novel findings suggest international students have been largely overlooked by HEIs here despite generally significant economic contributions, reflecting the tenets of the commodification of HE. Results also highlight an urgent need to address gaps by incorporating international student voices in policy development,. Not addressing these issues risks exacerbating frictions, undermining academic integrity, and further disadvantaging this group in policy responses to GenAI.

Integration of immigrant women in Europe: a multifaceted approach

PurposeThis work analyzes female immigrants’ integration in the dimensions of education, labor market participation and fertility in 15 European countries, considering individual characteristics, including cultural background, host countries’ attitudes towards immigrants, the role of women in the family and country-specific integration policy. All these aspects taken together are crucial to understand the main patterns of integration focusing on gender differences.Design/methodology/approachWe focus on second- and first-generation male and female immigrants between the age of 25 and 41, with a length of stay of at least ten years. Enrollment ratios for tertiary education in parents’ countries, the total fertility rate and the female labor force in the mother’s country represent ethnic background. Diversity in the destination regions is captured by local attitudes towards immigrants, the perceived role of women and national policies to integrate migrants [Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX)]. The data are drawn from the European Social Survey (ESS) for 2010–2018. Our results are based on ordinary least squares (OLS) and logit estimates; multilevel analysis was conducted.FindingsWe find significant evidence of gender role transmission from mother to daughter; age at immigration seems to be crucial to examine the importance of the culture of origin among immigrants. However, females are responsive to attitudes toward immigrants and gender equality in receiving societies, while integration policies, by defining the set of opportunities, may contribute to both genders’ tertiary education and women’s probability of being in the labor force.Social implicationsThis work underlines that integration policies favoring equal rights as nationals may contribute to both women’s tertiary education and their probability of being in the labor force.Originality/valueWe explore female integration in Europe in the dimensions of education, labor market, fertility and the role of both immigrants’ cultural heritage and specific aspects of destination countries. Previous research, particularly in the USA, has generally focused on some of these features at the expense of a more comprehensive approach. This study builds upon the existing literature and contributes to it by taking a multifaceted approach to female integration in Western Europe, which presents not only an institutional context different from the USA but also some heterogeneity with respect to integration policies and socioeconomic factors.

Supplemental Material for Dueling Effects: How Integration Policies and Economic Downturns Affect the (Uncertain) Host Population’s Behavioral Intentions Toward Immigrants

Supplemental Material for Dueling Effects: How Integration Policies and Economic Downturns Affect the (Uncertain) Host Population’s Behavioral Intentions Toward Immigrants

Building Family Interventions for Scalability and Impact.

Family nursing researchers are charged with addressing the conceptual and methodological underpinnings of family research when developing family-focused interventions. Step-by-step guidance is needed that integrates current science of intervention development with family science and helps researchers progress from foundational work to experimental work with policy integration. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide pragmatic, evidence-based guidance for advancing family intervention research from foundational work through efficacy testing. Guidance regarding the development of family interventions is presented using the first three of Sidani's five-stage method: (a) foundational work to understand the problem targeted for change; (b) intervention development and assessment of acceptability and feasibility; and (c) efficacy testing. Each stage of family intervention development is described in terms of process, design considerations, and policy and practice implications. Examples are included to emphasize the family lens. This manuscript provides guidance to family scientists for intervention development and implementation to advance family nursing science and inform policy.

Саамский вопрос в современной политике Финляндии

The Sami are the only recognised small indigenous people in Europe. In Finland, the Sami face systematic barriers to education, employment and access to cultural resources. Discrimination against the Sami also manifests itself in the form of negative stereotypes and prejudices, which creates social and economic inequalities. This article is devoted to the study of the problem of preserving the national identity of the Sami against the background of the global practice of integration policies. Aim – to characterise the violations of the fundamental rights of the Sami indigenous people and to identify opportunities for overcoming their discrimination in the Finnish community. Results: the paper presents the criteria for the definition of indigenous people, and also outlines the rights enshrined in the world’s recognised institutions: the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as ILO Convention No. 169. The work studies the problems of ensuring equal provision of services in the Sami language, violation of the right to vote in the Sami Parliament, the right of ownership of land, and others. Conclusions: discrimination against the Sami in Finland is a serious problem that includes denial of access to land and resources, as well as insufficient protection and recognition of their rights.

Health Literacy, Migration Traumas, Narrative Medicine and the Language Desk. New practices in translingualism and educational processes

Health literacy (HL) is a complex field encompassing a range of public health education and communication activities that are crucial for interacting with the health care system. In a sustainable world, future healthcare must be accessible to all, and we must ensure that people from migrant backgrounds have got the resources to manage their health. Inequalities in immigrants’ health profiles, a sign of ineffective integration policies, could be mitigated by improving HL levels. The aim of the study was to investigate the space given to HL within formal immigrant learning contexts; the study featured a questionnaire that was intended as a probe into some specific needs and discomforts connected with the condition of translingualism and with the related trauma, which may have a negative impact on language learning. Such interweaving offers a different perspective that generates new teaching practices and the creation of a Language Desk that through language, health literacy and narrative medicine promotes equitable, safe and sustainable learning contexts that enhance the experience of translingualism in all its forms.