Supply Of Health Care Professionals Research Articles

COVID-19 School Closures Were Associated With A Decline In Employment For Female Nurses With Young Children.

COVID-19-related school closures may have had unintended consequences affecting the ability of health professionals with school-age children to work-particularly female professionals, who often have disproportionate child care responsibilities. We combined labor-force participation data from the Current Population Survey with measures of school closures based on cell phone mobility data to examine the association between local school closures and labor supply among female nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the six months after large-scale closure of schools at the end of the 2019-20 school year (March-August2020), among counties with above-median school closure rates, the employment rate of female nurses with young children declined by 12.5percentage points versus the rate during the prior four months (November2019-February2020); the change in the employment rate in below-median counties was not statistically significant. No statistically significant changes were observed among female nurses who had only older children or among male nurses. During public health emergencies, policies should consider how disruptions to schooling may affect the labor supply of health care professionals. Strategies might include direct provision of child care by health care facilities, subsidies and other aid to child care centers, or subsidies to health care workers for affordable child care.

INSURANCE WITH SPECIALIST DOCTORS AND HEALTH CARE PECIALISTS IN REGIONAL CITIES WITH MEDICAL UNIVERSITIES IN BULGARIA

People are the most important resource for any organization, including healthcare. The analysis of the geographical distribution of human resources in the “Healthcare” sector in the Republic of Bulgaria shows that there are certain disproportions. The lack or insufficiency of specialists can lead to a deficit in the diagnostic-treatment-rehabilitation activity in certain medical specialties, or to non-use of certain available medical equipment. The purpose of the present study is to examine the number and relative share of doctors with a specialty and health care specialists, where they are most numerous - in the cities where there are medical universities in Bulgaria and their adjacent areas for 2021. The following methods were used to carry out the research: documentary method - based on official data from the National Statistical Institute, comparative analysis, economic analysis, mathematical-statistical method, tabular analysis. Based on the obtained results, it is clear that in Bulgaria the number of general practitioners is the highest - 3,945, and the number of “Infectious Diseases” specialists is the lowest. Per 10,000 people of the population, the highest share of doctors and medical specialists in health care is in Pleven district, 67.3 and 95.0, respectively, and the lowest in Varna district, respectively – 50.7 and 63.8. The number of doctors in Bulgaria is above the average for the European Union, but despite this there is a serious shortage of doctors in certain specialties, which had its impact on the treatment of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our country is one of the countries in the EU with the lowest provision of nurses. Their shortage is due to several factors, among them the emigration of trained nurses, the aging of the workforce - with the average age of this type of specialist being over 50, dissatisfaction with wages and working conditions. The human factor is a significant element in any healthcare organization at all levels. The provision and use of other types of resources depends on human resources. A higher supply of doctors implies a stronger health sector, and a higher supply of health care professionals, and above all nurses, is a guarantee of more economical and better health care.

Trump, Biden Differ on Approach to MH Policies

Trump, Biden Differ on Approach to MH Policies

The multi-tiered medical education system and its influence on the health care market\u2014China\u2019s Flexner Report

BackgroundMedical education is critical and the first step to foster the competence of a physician. Unlike developed countries, China has been adopting a system of multi-tiered medical education to training physicians, which is featured by the provision of an alternative lower level of medical practitioners, or known as a feldsher system since the 1950s. This study aimed to illustrate the impact of multi-tiered medical education on both the equity in the delivery of health care services and the efficiency of the health care market.MethodsBased on both theoretical reasoning and empirical analysis, this paper documented evidence upon those impacts of the medical education system.ResultsFirst, the geographic distribution of physicians in China is not uniform across physicians with different educational training. Second, we also find the evidence that high-educated doctors are more likely to be hired by larger hospitals, which in turn add the fuel to foster the hospital-center health care system in China as patients choose large hospitals to chase good doctors. Third, through the channels of adverse selection and moral hazard, the heterogeneity in medical education also imposes costs to the health care market in China.DiscussionOverall, the three-tiered medical education system in China is a standard policy trade-off between quantity and quality in training health care professionals. On the one hand, China gains the benefit of increasing the supply of health care professionals at lower costs. On the other hand, China pays the price for keeping a multi-tiered medical education in terms of increasing inequality and efficiency loss in the health care sector. Finally, we discuss the potential policy options for China to mitigate the negative impact of keeping a multi-tiered medical education on the performance of health care market.

Telehealth and Telemedicine: Using Technology to Extend the Reach and Offset the Insufficient Supply of Health Care Professionals

No abstract available.
 Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles by Dr. Nigam on the use of digital information and communication technologies, commonly referred to as telehealth and telemedicine. In this article the author distinguished between these terms and identifies the potential contributions of digital information and communication in meeting healthcare challenges facing society today. 
 In future articles, Dr. Nigam will address regulatory issues and the future of telemedicine. The series concludes with a comparison of the use of telemedicine in North America and the international community.

Associations of government health expenditures, the supply of health care professionals, and country literacy with prenatal care use in ten West African countries

ABSTRACTSocial and health care context may influence prenatal care use. We studied associations of government health expenditures, supply of health care professionals, and country literacy rates with prenatal care use in ten West African countries, controlling for individual factors. We used data from Demographic and Health Surveys (n = 58,512) and random effect logistic regression models to estimate the likelihood of having any prenatal care and adequate prenatal care. Each percentage increase in the literacy rate was associated with 4% higher odds of having adequate prenatal care (p = .029). Higher literacy rates among women may help to promote adequate prenatal care.

Associations of Provider-to-Population Ratios and Population Health by County-Level Rurality.

To explore the relationship between provider-to-population ratios, rurality and population health in the United States using counties as the unit of analysis. Population ratios for registered nurses (RNs), primary care physicians, and dentists were included in multivariable regression analyses. Population health indices assessed were premature death rate, self-rated health, teen birth rate, and mammography screening rate. County levels of health and health care providers per capita declined as rurality increased. In adjusted regression models, the highest RN-to-population ratio was associated with significantly better health measures in most urban/rural categories, with the magnitude of these associations generally increasing as rurality increased. In the smallest rural counties, the highest RN-to-population quartile was associated with 1,655 fewer years of potential life lost (YPLL), 2% lower rates of poor or fair health, 11/1,000 fewer teen births, and 6% more mammography screening relative to the lowest quartile. For primary care physicians, more significant associations were found in medium and small rural counties where the highest quartile was associated with 1,482 fewer YPLL, 3% lower rates of poor or fair health, 7/1,000 fewer teen births, and 4% more mammography screening. The highest quartile of dentist-to-population ratio was generally associated with lower rates of premature death and poor or fair health in urban, large-, and medium-sized rural counties, but not in small rural counties. The consistency of the results by provider type suggests that the supply of health care professionals, particularly in rural areas, positively impacts the health of the population.

A Change in the Supply of Professionals in the Health Care Sector and Assessment of the Demand for Physicians and Opportunities for their Integration into the Labour Market

The article paper analyses the supply of health care professionals in health care sector in Lithuania in terms of demographic change. On the basis of data from different studies and of the analysis carried out in this work by the author, particular attention is given to the problem of the assessment of the demand for health care professionals (physicians) in health care sector in Lithuania. When analysing the integration of health care professionals into the labour market, in addition to sociological surveys, the data of Lithuanian Statistics Lithuania Department on labour force (employment) was were used. This paper investigates explores the possibility of using different data sources for the analysis of the demand for health care professionals (physicians), as well as analyses their situation in the labour market on the basis of the scientific literature review.

Too few doctors or too low wages? Labor supply of health care professionals in China

This paper estimates the labor supply functions for health care professionals in China using Census-based data in 2005. The rapid economic growth and population aging in China led to a substantial increase in the demand for health care services and the derived demand for health care professionals in recent years. However, the increase in the supply of doctors and nurses lags behind the growth in demand, raising the question of whether the excess demand should be met by expanding the health care manpower or by inducing the existing personnel to work more hours through wage increase. Our findings indicate that wage rate adjustment has a significant impact on the length of working time among the self-employed practitioners (with an estimated short-run elasticity of 0.575), while the labor supply of hospital employees is inelastic due to their fixed payment scheme. Instead, hours worked in the employee group are related to non-wage factors such as asset holdings and the hospital ownership type. An important policy implication of our study is that adjustments of labor compensation methods and hospital ownership structure are potentially effective approaches for coping with the excess demand for health care professionals and improving the quality of health care in China.

Internationally Educated Health Professionals: Workforce Integration and Retention

It is essential that internationally educated healthcare professionals (IEHPs) residing in Canada re-enter and remain in their profession. To make the most of this important supply of healthcare professionals, it is vital to understand who IEHPs are, the challenges they face and how to facilitate their entry and integration into the workforce. In this article, after a summary of what is known of IEHPs who migrate to Canada, common problems of entry and integration into the workforce are discussed. Profession-specific challenges are considered, including how roles in certain professions vary globally and the importance of cultural and communication competencies. Resources to assist physicians and nurses are described and compared with those available for other professions. Finally, future possibilities and strategies for workforce integration are considered. Although the focus in this paper is on one province, the issues and strategies discussed are relevant to other provincial and international jurisdictions that are struggling with shortages and trying to capitalize on potential sources of workforce supply.

Issues facing the future health care workforce: the importance of demand modelling.

This article examines issues facing the future health care workforce in Australia in light of factors such as population ageing. It has been argued that population ageing in Australia is affecting the supply of health care professionals as the health workforce ages and at the same time increasing the demand for health care services and the health care workforce.However, the picture is not that simple. The health workforce market in Australia is influenced by a wide range of factors; on the demand side by increasing levels of income and wealth, emergence of new technologies, changing disease profiles, changing public health priorities and a focus on the prevention of chronic disease. While a strong correlation is observed between age and use of health care services (and thus health care workforce), this is mediated through illness, as typified by the consistent finding of higher health care costs in the months preceding death.On the supply side, the health workforce is highly influenced by policy drivers; both national policies (eg funded education and training places) and local policies (eg work place-based retention policies). Population ageing and ageing of the health workforce is not a dominant influence. In recent years, the Australian health care workforce has grown in excess of overall workforce growth, despite an ageing health workforce. We also note that current levels of workforce supply compare favourably with many OECD countries. The future of the health workforce will be shaped by a number of complex interacting factors.Market failure, a key feature of the market for health care services which is also observed in the health care labour market – means that imbalances between demand and supply can develop and persist, and suggests a role for health workforce planning to improve efficiency in the health services sector. Current approaches to health workforce planning, especially on the demand side, tend to be highly simplistic. These include historical allocation methods, such as the personnel-to-population ratios which are essentially circular in their rationale rather than evidence-based. This article highlights the importance of evidence-based demand modelling for those seeking to plan for the future Australian health care workforce. A model based on population health status and best practice protocols for health care is briefly outlined.

Work Force Planning in the 90s, Part I: Efficiency, Economy and Political Will – the Need for a New Approach

Critical to health services management in today's economic climate is efficient utilization of our costly and sometimes limited supply of health care professionals. This two-part article gives an overview of current issues in health care work force planning in Canada. In Part I, the problems of estimating current supply are discussed. Needs-based and demand-based forecasting are contrasted. Comprehensive needs-based planning is recommended and changes needed in order to move toward this type of planning are discussed. In Part II, the maldistribution of health care professionals and various corrective measures within the context of needs-based comprehensive planning are discussed.