Social Security Benefits Research Articles

(322) The COVID-19 Pandemic and Outpatient Follow-up of Victims of Sexual Violence in a Public Health Service in Northeast Brazil

Abstract Introduction Before the pandemic context, domestic violence was already considered a violation of human rights with high visibility worldwide. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the adoption of preventive measures such as social distancing and prioritization of care for cases of the disease in health units, there was a lack of care for other health issues, such as assistance to women victims of violence. Objective To analyze how the repercussions of the pandemic context and the measures to combat SARS-CoV-2 affected the follow-up of women victims of sexual violence assisted in a reference service in Northeast Brazil. Methods Qualitative analysis with a descriptive character. A semi-structured interview and simple observation were used. To complement the data, bibliographic and documental research were carried out. Bardin's content analysis was adopted. A convenience sample was used, which resulted in 14 women, and data saturation. As inclusion criteria, they were older than 18 years old, attended by the service between March and November 2020, attended at least one appointment and who freely agreed to participate. Male and under 18 years old patients were excluded. Results In 2020, there was a reduction in appointment bookings (24%) and outpatient visits (27%) compared to the same period in 2019. Regarding the sample, 64.28% were between 19-39 years old, the majority declared themselves brown /black (50%) and being single (71%). About 36% had completed high school, the same percentage that was unemployed. Half (50%) of the interviewees did not receive social or social security benefits and lived in a rented house (50%). Most did not know about the service offered and found out from the referral of friends or a public safety or health agency that they sought as a result of the episode of sexual violence. Regarding the pandemic context and outpatient follow-up, it was noted that many mentioned the decrease in the supply of transport and also made reference to the fear of leaving home and being contaminated. A factor greatly reinforced by the interviewees was the economic risk that the pandemic brought to the routine, whether due to formal unemployment or the impediment to carrying out their autonomous activities. In this context, economic insecurity was cited as one of the recurring reasons for not attending appointments. Questions were also asked about the understanding and evaluation of multidisciplinary care and a positive response was received, validating the intersectoral work developed in the service. Conclusions Violence is a dynamic that is constantly being reformulated, due to the historical context. The decrease in demand and increase in absenteeism were linked to fear of contamination, financial difficulties and lack of knowledge about the service. Actions to improve surveillance and management of sexual violence must be an essential part of the fight against COVID-19. Disclosure No

Cancer per Economic Activity at Brazil’s Southeast Region: Benefits Granted by the Brazilian Social Security System

Introduction: Despite the economic importance of the Region, there are still few studies in the literature about occupational cancer in Brazil’s Southeast Region. Objective: Compare the distribution of cancer-related benefits granted by the Brazilian Social Security System (RGPS) by economic activity of the insured individual, between 2008 and 2014, at Brazil’s Southeast Region. Method: The proportions of cancer-related accidental (work-related) and social security (general) benefits granted, according to the economic activity of the insured individual (bank cashier, salesperson, transport and freight worker, railway worker, industrial worker, sailor, public servant, rural worker, and blank) were calculated. Results: Cancer represented 3.07% (271,086) of the benefits granted for all causes. Commercial and rural activities showed the largest proportions of cancer-related benefits granted in all States. For both activities, breast and prostate cancers were the main locations that justified the approval of social security benefits, and other malignant skin neoplasms were the main locations for accidental benefits. Conclusion: The disproportionality between the number of cancer-related social security and accidental benefits granted suggests an error in many benefits, disfavoring accidental benefits. The improvement of the anamneses of the worker by the medical expert, with the use of additional documents, can aid the establishment of the causal link between the professional activity and the cancer developed, granting accidental benefits when this link exists. Moreover, surveillance strategies to boost the implementation of actions to prevent occupational cancer are still necessary at that Region.

Examining the Welfare System Expenses in Vietnam: Analysis of Total Expenses and Population Trends in 2011-2018

The welfare system is a critical aspect of any society, aimed at providing assistance and support to individuals and families in need. The main objective is to examine Vietnam's welfare system expenses and population trends between 2011 and 2018 to understand the challenges and opportunities of providing effective welfare programs. The Ratio Indicator is analysed using averages, means, growths, coefficients, and other means. The results show that the total welfare system expenses have been increasing from 2012 to 2013, with the most significant increase between 2012 and 2013 when the total Welfare System expenses increased by 10,864,663 mil. VND. The average welfare system expense growth on one citizen per year in the monitored period was 15,371 VND per year with an average growth coefficient of 1.055 per year. The analysis has limitations since it does not consider those without social security benefits; therefore, this study should be taken as a mean value. Also, Vietnam's geographical location makes it challenging to account for natural catastrophes and other factors that affect the welfare system.

Analysing the Social Security Issue of Unorganised Sector in India

As we all aware that India is swiftly transferring or selling their ownership in public enterprise to private players to increase efficiency, foster economic growth, enable competitiveness and for other reasons. But in storm of this privatisation state should be not allow to forget its social, constitutional and international obligation which is sine qua non for democratic setup. In India, total 50 crore workers are employed in organised and unorganised sector, out of which 45 crore workers employed in the unorganised sectors and 50-70 lakhs of workers join labour market annually. Probably this digit will increase in future due to mass privatisation and overpopulation. According to National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (2007), unorganised workers are “those working in the unorganised enterprises or households, excluding regular workers with social security benefits, and the workers in the formal sector without any employer/social security benefits provided by the employers.” Often unorganised sector work considers as precarious work because its offer insecure, unprotected, short-term and poorly paid jobs with no social security. Protection and promotion of rights of these workers has become more unfeasible when we study that top 10% of the Indian population holds 77% of the total national wealth and only a 1% wealth has been increased of 67 million people in year 2017. Mostly, workers employed in this sector belongs to underprivileged section of society having low level of skills and education which make situation worse. In this paper, author seeks to identify the rights of unorganised workers under national as well international law and issues affecting their working and living condition and responsibility of government to maintain the minimum standard of living of these workers and save them from exploitation.

An Analysis of Medical Malpractice Litigation due to Intravenous Steroid Treatment for Acute Spinal Cord Injury.

Retrospective cohort study. To evaluate the incidence of litigation due to using or foregoing methylprednisolone (MP), naloxone, or tirilazad for treatment of acute spinal cord injury (ASCI) through querying the Westlaw and VerdictSearch databases. There is historic controversy regarding the use of intravenous steroids for treatment of ASCI. Many highlight that MP continues to be used for ASCI treatment mainly as a defensive medicine tactic due to the fear of malpractice litigation. Westlaw and VerdictSearch were queried for cases involving steroid treatment for ASCI between the years 1998 and 2021. Collected data for each case included year of case hearing, verdict ruling, location of filed claim, and the plaintiff's basis of litigation. Cases were reviewed and categorized by two independent reviewers based on the grievance(s) levied by the plaintiff. Inclusion criteria for topic relevance was defined as a plaintiff's basis of litigation resting on a claim of medical malpractice due to the use, or lack thereof, of MP, naloxone, or tirilazad for treatment of ASCI. Upon review of 238 cases, case claims were grouped into five categories based on reason for litigation: Social Security benefits (171), lawsuit due to vaccination (25), medical malpractice unrelated to steroid use (16), fungal infections due to MP injections (4), and other (22). Zero cases were found to be related to lawsuits filed due to steroid use or lack thereof for ASCI treatment. Our findings suggest there is limited risk of malpractice litigation due to steroid use or lack thereof in the treatment of ASCI. As such, steroid-related treatment decisions for ASCI should be informed by evidence-based approaches to care not influenced by medicolegal concerns.

INTEGRATED APPROACH AS A METHODOLOGICAL BASIS BUILDING A SOCIAL PACKAGE IN A BUSINESS COMPANY

The article defines the essence of the social package, its structure, approaches to its formation and importance for strengthening the motivation of employees. The theoretical and methodological foundations of the organizational and economic mechanism for determining the integrated approach to building a social package were substantiated, and scientific and applied recommendations for the introduction of an effective employee motivation tool were developed. The social package is defined as a set of financial, material and non-material benefits that raise the standard of living and are provided by the enterprise to the employee in addition to the basic salary in order to encourage labor activity. Four stages of the formation of the social package are distinguished, which replaced each other. Approaches to the definition of the term “social package” in modern literature are defined. A critical analysis of approaches to determining the essence and components of the social package made it possible to single out the commonality of positions regarding the composition of the social package, namely: it should include both the basic social guarantees provided for by the legislation on labor and social security (basic component) and additional material benefits, providing which are carried out by the employer on his own initiative (motivational). The components of the social package are highlighted: mandatory, competitive and compensatory. The most expedient approach to the formation of a social package has been designed.

Practical Applications of Optimal Claiming of Social Security Benefits

In <ext-link><bold><italic>Optimal Claiming of Social Security Benefits</italic></bold></ext-link>, from the Winter 2023 issue of <bold><italic>The Journal of Retirement</italic></bold>, authors <bold>Steven Diamond</bold> of <bold>Gridmatic</bold>, <bold>Stephen Boyd</bold> and <bold>Mykel Kochenderfer</bold> of <bold>Stanford University</bold>, <bold>Andrew Ang</bold> of <bold>BlackRock</bold> and <bold>David Greenberg</bold> show that when an individual’s wealth is above a certain threshold, they should defer claiming Social Security. Using a life-cycle framework, the authors compute wealth to primary insurance amount (PIA) ratios and provide thresholds to aid in this decision-making process (the PIA is the monthly benefit one would receive at full retirement age). The authors explain how an individual’s monthly Social Security benefit payment amount is based, in part, on the age at which they elect to begin their benefit payments. This decision of when to begin claiming benefits is both highly complex and important because it determines income for the rest of a claimant’s life. One can begin collecting benefits as early as age 62 and as late as age 70, and the longer one waits, the larger the monthly benefit payment will be.

Young adults with depression: A registry-based longitudinal study of work-life marginalisation. The Norwegian GP-DEP study.

To explore the association between a depression diagnosis in young adulthood and risk of marginalisation at age 29 years, among those who had completed upper secondary school and those who had not completed at age 21. In a longitudinal cohort study based on nationwide registers we followed 111,558 people from age 22-29 years. Outcomes were risk of marginalisation and educational achievement at age 29. Exposure was a diagnosed depression at ages 22-26 years. Comorbid mental and somatic health conditions, gender and country of origin were covariates. Relative risks were estimated with Poisson regression models, stratified by educational level at age 21. For people who had not completed upper secondary school at age 21 years, a depression diagnosis at age 22-26 increased the risk of low income (relative risk = 1.33; 95% confidence interval = 1.25-1.40), prolonged unemployment benefit (1.46; 1.38-1.55) and social security benefit (1.56; 1.41-1.74) at age 29 compared with those with no depression. Among those who had completed upper secondary school at age 21 years, depression increased the risk of low income (1.71; 1.60-1.83), prolonged unemployment benefit (2.17; 2.03-2.31), social security benefit (3.62; 2.91-4.51) and disability pension (4.43; 3.26-6.01) compared with those with no depression. Mental comorbidity had a significant impact on risk of marginalisation in both groups. Depression in one's mid-20s significantly increases the risk of marginalisation at age 29 years, and comorbid mental health conditions reinforce this association. Functional ability should be given priority in depression care in early adulthood to counteract marginalisation.

A STUDY ON CUSTOMER’S SATISFACTION ON E-BANKING SERVICES

When each day may be a race against time in our frenzied lives, we search for ways to spare time as much as ready to. E-Banking is one of the innovation headways that offer assistance customers to perform their monetary exchanges on a secured stage from a retail or computerized bank, credit union, or any monetary institution. E-Banking, moreover known as electronic keeping money, is the computerized dispersion of modern managing an account administrations and products to customers specifically through electronic, intuitively contact systems. When restricted to customary keeping money, it offers numerous focal points and qualities to clients. E-Banking could be a straightforward and helpful way to get 24-hour get to to your bank employing a smartphone. E-Banking makes use of the web as a dissemination instrument for banking transfers. E-Banking administrations have made bank exchanges a thing of the past when it comes to ordinary errands. Since online banking is one of the foremost well known administrations given by banks, it is additionally an awfully steady stage. Encryption frameworks are frequently utilized by banks to guarantee that all client data is secure which no information breaches happen. It secures you from online extortion and account control within the end. Electronic keeping money, too known as electronic reserves exchange (EFT), is essentially the utilize of electronic International Scientific Journal of Engineering and Management ISSN: 2583-6129 Volume: 02 Issue: 04 | April – 2023 DOI: 10.55041/ISJEM00232 www.isjem.com An International Scholarly || Multidisciplinary || Open Access || Indexing in all major Database &amp; Metadata © 2023, ISJEM (All Rights Reserved) | www.isjem.com | Page 2 means to exchange stores specifically from one account to another, instead of by cheque or cash. You can utilize electronic stores exchange to: • Have your paycheck kept specifically into your bank or credit union checking account. • Pull back cash from your checking account from an ATM machine with a personal identification number (Stick), at your comfort, day or night. • Educated your bank or credit union to naturally pay certain month to month bills from your account, such as your auto credit or your contract payment. • Have the bank or credit union exchange stores each month from your checking account to your shared support account. • Have your government social security benefits check or your charge discount deposited directly into your checking account. • Purchase basic supplies, gasoline and other buys at the point-of deal, employing a check card rather than cash, credit or a individual check.

Why Multi-Phase Withdrawal Strategies Beat Proportional Withdrawal Strategies

Fidelity and Schwab recommend proportional withdrawal strategies in retirement. Proportional withdrawal strategies ignore the rising and falling pattern of marginal tax rates due to the taxation of Social Security benefits and income-based Medicare premiums. We present several cases that demonstrate that multi-phase withdrawal strategies that navigate this marginal-tax-rates pattern can add substantial additional value to retirees’ portfolios compared to proportional withdrawal strategies.

ELDERLY ABUSE IN INDIA AND USA: COMPARATIVE STUDY

According to estimates, there are over 5.5 million reports of elder abuse in the United States each year, making it a significant social and public health problem. Due to inconsistent methods and identification guidelines, as well as a lack of public awareness of the issue, it is challenging to identify and treat elders who have been abused. For the assessment and care of elderly people who have been mistreated, an interdisciplinary approach in cooperation with Adult Protective Services investigation is essential. Through social media, local news, and community education, healthcare practitioners, other professionals, and the general public can be more aware of this frequently ignored issue. Generally, persons who have attained the age of 65 or older are considered “elderly.” Aging is influenced by genetics, lifestyle, and overall health, although it differs for each individual. Indian law allows “elderly people” over 60 who cannot take care of themselves to receive social security benefits. In the modern world, it has been observed or reported that many elderly people are mistreated by their family members. This paper will explore the nuances of Elderly abuse in India and the USA.

Increasing the (female) labor supply

In the United States, women's labor force participation has been persistently below that of men's for decades. This Commentary describes three contributors to this divide -- the way in which the United States taxes opposite-sex married couples, how social security benefits are allocated, and the cost of childcare -- and reviews the economic literature quantifying their impact on the labor force participation of women.

Abuse of the Social System in the Czech Republic

Abstract The aim of the paper was to identify areas of possible abuse of social security support in the Czech Republic, with a specific focus on the Ústí nad Labem Region and the Litoměřice district, and to estimate the volume of social security support drawn in conflict with the legal regulations of the Czech Republic. In the Ústí nad Labem Region, spending on social security increased by 34.9% in the years 2016–2020. Upon a detailed focus on the Litoměřice district in the monitored period of 2018–2020, there were 69 fraud cases in the Litoměřice district within the scope of the social security system and illness benefit. Over 60% of this fraud and loss was deferred. The biggest shortcoming of the Czech Republic’s social system is the fact that individual institutions have little or no chance of finding out whether applicants are entering truthful information in the forms. A change of legal regulations and mandatory checks on applicants is the path towards reducing the amount of fraud and loss in social security and illness benefit.

How well do area-based deprivation indices identify income- and employment-deprived individuals across Great Britain today?

BackgroundArea-based deprivation indices are used in many countries to target interventions and policies to populations with the greatest needs. Analyses of the Carstairs deprivation index applied to postcode sectors in 2001 identified that less than half of all deprived individuals lived in the most deprived areas. ObjectiveThis article examines the specificity and sensitivity of deprivation indices across Great Britain in identifying individuals claiming income- and employment-related social security benefits. Study designThis was a descriptive analysis of cross-sectional administrative data. MethodsThe data sets for the 2020 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, Scottish Income and Employment Index, the 2019 English Index of Multiple Deprivation and the 2019 Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation were obtained. For each data set, small areas were ranked by increasing overall deprivation, and the cumulative proportions of individuals who were income and employment deprived were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted to show the sensitivity and specificity of each index, and the percentages of income- and employment-deprived individuals captured at different overall deprivation thresholds were calculated. ResultsAcross all indices, the sensitivity and specificity for detecting income- and employment-deprived individuals were low, with less than half living in the most deprived 20% of areas. Between 55% and 62% of income-deprived people and between 56% and 63% of employment-deprived people were missed across the indices at the 20% deprivation threshold. The sensitivity and specificity were slightly higher for income deprivation than employment deprivation across indices and slightly higher for the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and Scottish Income and Employment Index than for the English Index of Multiple Deprivation and Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. ConclusionArea-based deprivation measures in Great Britain have limited sensitivity and specificity for identifying individuals who are income or employment deprived. Place-based policies and interventions are unlikely to be effective at reducing inequalities as a result. Creation of individually linked data sets and interventions that recognise the social and economic relationships between social groups are likely to be more effective.

Why is Lived Experience Absent from Social Security Policymaking?

Abstract Processes of public engagement in decision-making and research are increasingly discussed as ways of addressing democratic deficits in high-income countries. In this paper, we explore why these processes of engagement and involvement in the UK have been less successfully incorporated into social security policymaking aimed at the out-of-work by drawing a comparison with health policy, a sphere in which these processes have now become orthodox (albeit imperfect). There is, for example, no formal or institutionalised imperative to involve people with lived experience of out-of-work social security benefits in processes of policy development. Government departments might focus group new policies with members of the public or hold periodic discussions with beneficiaries but in recent years there have been a number of major reforms to out-of-work social security which have been developed almost entirely without involving those affected. This would have been unacceptable in the health policy arena. We argue that this difference is rooted in structural differences in how the field of power for this form of social policy is organised, in the different social imaginaries which construct patients and out-of-work beneficiaries, and in the limited scope for solidarity and collective action around resisting the stigmatisation of out-of-work beneficiaries.

An Empirical Study of the Reasons for Client Dropouts from Contributory Pension Schemes of Sri Lanka Social Security Board

The study attempts to explore the causes of client dropouts of the said pension schemes in the Sri Lanka Social Security Board (SLSSB) to identify the mechanisms to overcome the weaknesses in providing a successful pension scheme. The study employed the embedded mixed method from nine Grama Niladhari Divisions in Gampaha, Badulla, and Matale Districts. A purposive sampling method was used and primary data were gathered using simple observation, key-informant interviews, survey with questionnaires and in-depth interview methods; secondary data, using government reports and relevant literature; SPSS package, used in analyzing quantitative data; content analysis, used in analyzing qualitative data. The findings revealed that socio-economic factors such as gender, occupation, income, expenditure and the number of dependents significantly affect the client dropping out of the pension schemes. Furthermore, lack of proper awareness among both active and inactive members regarding the contributory pension and social security benefit schemes of SLSSB was also a key contributory factor to client dropouts; in terms of institutional inefficiency of SLSSB, lack of a proper follow-up process, incompetent record-keeping, misinformed recruitments, having inadequate staff also seen as contributing factors. The lack of proper awareness and information dissemination about the institution and its program to the general public has created a distance between the SLSSB and the contributors. Enhancing the quality of customer service and taking proper measures will reduce this distance minimizing dropouts and developing an effective pension scheme.

Rural Land Transfer and Urban Settlement Intentions of Rural Migrants: Evidence from a Rural Land System Reform in China.

Using data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey, this paper provides new evidence on the impact of rural land transfer on urban settlement intentions of rural migrants. There was a rural land system reform in rural China that provided increased compensation for rural land expropriation and allowed the transaction of collective construction land for business purposes. We determine an increase in urban settlement intentions of rural migrants following the reform as an exogenous change in rural land transfer of rural migrants. We examine two mechanisms that may explain how the reform increased the settlement intentions of rural migrants, and our empirical evidence suggests that the reform increased social integration and reduced rural place attachment of rural migrants. Furthermore, we determine variations in the effect of the reform across migrants of various ages, social security benefits, and migration distances. Overall, this study extends the implications of the market-oriented rural land reform to sustainable and inclusive urbanization and highlights the role of social integration and rural place attachment in migration decisions.

Predicting high health-cost users among people with cardiovascular disease using machine learning and nationwide linked social administrative datasets

ObjectivesTo optimise planning of public health services, the impact of high-cost users needs to be considered. However, most of the existing statistical models for costs do not include many clinical and social variables from administrative data that are associated with elevated health care resource use, and are increasingly available. This study aimed to use machine learning approaches and big data to predict high-cost users among people with cardiovascular disease (CVD).MethodsWe used nationally representative linked datasets in New Zealand to predict CVD prevalent cases with the most expensive cost belonging to the top quintiles by cost. We compared the performance of four popular machine learning models (L1-regularised logistic regression, classification trees, k-nearest neighbourhood (KNN) and random forest) with the traditional regression models.ResultsThe machine learning models had far better accuracy in predicting high health-cost users compared with the logistic models. The harmony score F1 (combining sensitivity and positive predictive value) of the machine learning models ranged from 30.6% to 41.2% (compared with 8.6–9.1% for the logistic models). Previous health costs, income, age, chronic health conditions, deprivation, and receiving a social security benefit were among the most important predictors of the CVD high-cost users.ConclusionsThis study provides additional evidence that machine learning can be used as a tool together with big data in health economics for identification of new risk factors and prediction of high-cost users with CVD. As such, machine learning may potentially assist with health services planning and preventive measures to improve population health while potentially saving healthcare costs.

Accident and social security benefits granted to cancer patients in Brazil, 2008-2014

This article aims to describe the distribution of cancer among the benefits granted by the General Social Security Registry, from 2008 to 2014, in Brazil. Ecological study using data given by the National Social Security Institute. The proportion of accidental (work-related) and social security (general) benefits granted by cancer in Brazil was determined, among the benefits granted for all causes, and a spatial analysis was conducted to assess the geographical distribution of these proportions, with the states Brazilians as a unit of analysis. Cancer was the reason for granting 533,438 benefits (2.9% of the total benefits granted for all causes), with a predominance of females in social security benefits (53.7%) and males in accidental benefits (71.6 %). The highest proportions of social security benefits for cancer occurred in North and Midwest regions. In 19 of the 26 Brazilian states (including all states in the southern region) and in the Federal District, there was no granting of accident benefits for cancer. The analysis of the occurrences of cancer that generated benefit concessions suggests a disproportionality in granting of social security benefits in relation to accident workers, mainly in North, Northeast and South regions of Brazil.

Benefícios acidentários e previdenciários concedidos a portadores de câncer no Brasil, 2008-2014

Abstract This article aims to describe the distribution of cancer among the benefits granted by the General Social Security Registry, from 2008 to 2014, in Brazil. Ecological study using data given by the National Social Security Institute. The proportion of accidental (work-related) and social security (general) benefits granted by cancer in Brazil was determined, among the benefits granted for all causes, and a spatial analysis was conducted to assess the geographical distribution of these proportions, with the states Brazilians as a unit of analysis. Cancer was the reason for granting 533,438 benefits (2.9% of the total benefits granted for all causes), with a predominance of females in social security benefits (53.7%) and males in accidental benefits (71.6 %). The highest proportions of social security benefits for cancer occurred in North and Midwest regions. In 19 of the 26 Brazilian states (including all states in the southern region) and in the Federal District, there was no granting of accident benefits for cancer. The analysis of the occurrences of cancer that generated benefit concessions suggests a disproportionality in granting of social security benefits in relation to accident workers, mainly in North, Northeast and South regions of Brazil.