World Scientific Series in Global Health Economics and Public Policy – serie

Social Capital and Health builds on the existing literature in establishing the effect of social capital on health. With contributions from scholars in the field, this book covers different aspects of social capital, including ethnicity, gender and religion, and how these impact on an individual's well-being. The book also takes on an international lens by examining the phenomenon in different parts of the world. Given the changing human interaction patterns amid the Fourth Industrial Revolution, this timely publication captures the evolving term of "social capital" and its nuances.

This book provides updated coverage on the mental health systems in Eastern and Central Europe. Based on up-to-date data, field visits and case studies, the chapters present the financing, organization and public policy issues of Eastern and Central European countries. Solutions are also proposed to tackle major mental health problems facing the region. Mental Health in Central and Eastern Europe is a valuable reference for stakeholders in the mental health communities.

The global health community is broadly in agreement that achievement of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) hinges upon both an escalation of the financial resources dedicated to primary health care (PHC) and a more effective use of those resources: more money, better spent. This book introduces and explicates the end-to-end resource tracking and management (RTM) framework, which includes five components that determine effective and efficient financing for PHC: resource mobilization, allocation, utilization, productivity, and targeting.In addition, this book compiles detailed results from the most recent RTM-based resource tracking efforts for PHC in selected countries. This is to demonstrate how the RTM framework can be used to bring a set of separate resource tracking efforts at different stages of flow of funds into a comprehensive process with an end-to-end "storyline". In order to build a functional PHC system that addresses access, quality, and equity issues, this book highlights the key (public) financing issues that researchers, technical advisors, and policy makers would need to address in addition to more resources.

On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic and life as we knew it paused indefinitely. Confusion, doubts and uncertainty became daily companions as the world watched the pandemic consume country after country.At the University of British Columbia, Canada, a class of aspiring epidemiologists partnered with the professionals working at the frontline of COVID-19 healthcare and research, to examine key questions which would capture a snapshot of the historical pandemic.What caused this outbreak? How does a virus spread? What are the best potential treatments; how did we achieve the development of vaccines, and how do they work? What are the strategies to tackle a two-front war against the virus and the spread of dangerous misinformation and pseudoscience? These questions and more are examined throughout this volume.

This volume challenges current thinking on post-pandemic public health reform, which assumes that public health systems will naturally be strengthened in light of the shortcomings exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, this volume asks why public health is such an intractable and difficult area for effective public policy initiatives and suggests two kinds of answers. The first is 'because of the very nature of public health', which is difficult to clearly define and conceptualize. The second answer is 'because of the specific contextual features of each discrete healthcare system within which public health is situated.'This comparative analysis examines how the public health systems of eight major jurisdictions are structured, the key public health challenges exposed by the pandemic, and the kinds of political constraints or policy directions informing public health reforms. The analyses interrogate the extent to which public health reform is constrained or facilitated by the larger international context, the key policy tensions or trade-offs in pursuing public health reform, and the way in which public health reforms fit into wider social and political priorities or narratives.

This multi-volume reference set contributes new thinking and evidence to a critical global issue: How can we better understand, prepare for, and respond to global health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic which shocked the whole planet in recent years? This is foundationally relevant to a global infectious disease crisis, but there are other pandemics — non-communicable diseases, mental health, climate change, commercial impacts on health — that also require effective responses.This set uniquely combines the evidence and perspectives from diverse disciplines ranging from public health sciences such as epidemiology, medical and clinical sciences, and social sciences including political science, economics, and organizational science. These views are brought together through an innovative new framework linking evolving disease-focused science with analysis of the interaction of Institutions, Politics, Public Health Systems Organization, and Governance processes (IPOG) to address crises. More is needed than the technical perspectives on preparedness and response from public health and medical science to be ready for current and future crises in population health.Volume 1 focuses on the gathering of intelligence and evidence and its use for population-focused and clinical intervention through the crisis evolution and resolution. Volume 2 introduces institutions, politics, organization of public health systems and governance (IPOG) as key "upstream" determinants of pandemic response with insights from social science and its applications in pandemic response. It describes the framework and methodology for using the IPOG approach. Volume 3 collects a wide range of jurisdiction-based analyses of how IPOG factors influenced different experiences in pandemic preparedness and response in case studies of national and sub-national experiences in North America, South America, Africa, Northern and Central Europe, and South Asia.What emerges are imperatives for future investment in preparedness and response for population health, for researchers working together across disciplines, and for the education and training of future leaders, practitioners, and researchers. All of these efforts should be enhanced and coordinated to recognize the impact of IPOG processes and be prepared to respond to them in future crisis and expand our knowledge to support this preparation.

Nearly 370 million people in China smoke; about one-third of all smokers in the world are in China; and about 1.2 million deaths in China are attributable to smoking. The death toll is expected to reach 2.2 million in 2030 if no smoking intervention programs are implemented. Taxation on tobacco products is one of the most effective tobacco control programs. This book addresses not only why China should raise cigarette tax, but also how to raise the tobacco tax, by providing decision makers with relevant research findings and quantitative estimate about the impact of raising the tobacco tax. It documents how these research findings were communicated to the Chinese government officials, and how, finally, tobacco tax was raised 10 years after China's ratification of the WHO Frame Work Convention on Tobacco Control Treaty.The purposes of this book are (1) to inform economists, public health professionals, and policymakers about the economic consequences of smoking, (2) to provide the essential economics (particularly related to taxation) and public health information upon which to build the specifics of the taxation policy that is adopted, (3) to identify barriers, challenges, and recommendations for the Chinese government, and (4) to describe how research findings can be disseminated and communicated successfully to Chinese government policy makers. It is a must read for researchers who are interested in China's tobacco control efforts and in how to communicating their findings to the policy makers. It could also be useful for tobacco control professionals, researchers and policy makers in other countries.

During the past three decades, health care systems in the East Asian regions of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have undergone major changes. Each system has its unique achievements and challenges. Global health care policymakers are increasingly interested in understanding the changes that have taken place in these four systems. This four-volume reference set is designed to help health care professionals, academics, policymakers, and general readers gain a good grasp of the background and latest developments in the health care systems of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. This reference set provides an in-depth comparative health policy analysis and discussion of health care reform strategies in each of these systems. One unique feature of this set is that each volume has been edited by a leading scholar who has been deeply involved in the development of the health care system in that particular region. Each of these editors also has invited both scholars and practitioners to provide a first-hand description and analysis of key health care reform issues in that system. The many examples provided in each volume demonstrate how findings of evidence-based policy research can be implemented into policy practice.Volume 1 describes and discusses China's ambitious and complex journey of health care reform since 2009. The Chinese government has achieved universal health insurance coverage and has embarked on reforms of the service delivery system and provider payment methods that are aimed at controlling health expenditure growth and improving efficiency. This volume includes pilot and social experiments initiated by the government and researchers and their evaluations that have guided the formulation of health reform policies. It provides information on how to make reforms work at the local and provincial levels. The findings detailed in this volume will contribute to a global knowledge base in health care reforms.Volume 2 provides a comprehensive review and evaluation of the Japanese health care system. Japan has a long history of health care system development and provision of universal health coverage, with a mature and well-developed health care system among East Asian countries. However, due to increases in health care costs, economic stagnation and the country's rapidly aging population, Japan has undergone significant health care reform during the last two decades, both in the delivery as well as financing of health services in its hospital sector, medical technology sector and long-term care insurance. Despite these challenges and reforms, health outcomes among the Japanese population have been progressively among the best in the world. This volume shows how policy research can lead to policy analysis, implementation and assessment. It also provides valuable lessons learnt for mutual learning among other health care systems.Volume 3 offers a comprehensive review of the developments in South Korea's national health insurance system since 1989 in terms of financing, delivery systems, and outcomes. The volume analyzes the efficiency of cost and service delivery by public sectors versus private sectors. It points out areas of challenge to future Korean health care reform. Chapter authors in this volume are leading experts involved in Korean health care policy implementation.Volume 4 reviews the development and achievements of Taiwan Health Insurance since 1995. Because of its continuous reform in payment, services delivery, and pharmaceutical technology, Taiwan has been considered a model example of universal health insurance among global health systems. This volume shows the processes used to translate policy research findings into policy changes. While the health care reform in Taiwan is ongoing, the Taiwan example provides a real-world and practical understanding of health care system changes.In summary, this four-volume set makes an outstanding contribution to health care system reform and policy research, based on solid scholarly work. It also introduces policy researchers and academic communities to current debates about health systems, health financing, and universal health coverage. This reference volume is a must for anyone keen on East Asia's health care system reform dynamics and changing scene.

This book contains a collection of works showcasing the latest research into global health economics conducted by leading experts in the field from the Centre for Health Economics (CHE) at the University of York and other partner research institutions. Each chapter focuses upon an important topic in global health economics and a number of separate research projects. The discussion delves into health care policy evaluation; economic evaluation; econometric and other analytic methods; health equity and universal health coverage; consideration of cost-effectiveness thresholds and opportunity costs in the health sector; health system challenges and possible solutions; and others. Case study examples from a variety of low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) settings are also showcased in the final part of this volume.The research presented seeks to contribute toward increasing understanding on how health policy can be enhanced to improve the welfare of LMIC populations. It is strongly recommended for public health policymakers and analysts in low- and middle-income country settings and those affiliated to international health organizations and donor organizations.

This book defines the field of social capital and health. Over the last two decades, there has been a recognition of the importance of social capital (usually defined as ties in the community, attachment to the community, and participation in community activities) and its impact on the health of those in that community. The purpose of this book is to show the growth in the field of social capital and health and to expose readers to a variety of approaches in order to think about and model the question of how health can be improved by investments in community social capital as well as by individual social capital.An outstanding set of papers will be presented by authors from the United States, as well as from Europe and Asia. These papers are cutting-edge and explore the mechanisms through which social capital affects health. The papers also present the most recent empirical work and discuss the policy implications of their findings. Without a doubt, this will be a landmark book which will make the study of social capital and its impact on health a major area of research in the coming decade.

Serious scholarly analyses of the types and roles of accountability in health care first appeared in the late 1980s. That issue, along with the related issue of responsibility in health care, has continued to interest policymakers, analysts and scholars ever since. Indeed, there has been a renewed surge of interest in recent years, with growing attention to the notion of accountable care organizations in the US, clinical audits in the UK, and governance as stewardship in many other countries. Accountability and responsibility in health care was also the theme of a major international conference organized by the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research, which was held in Jerusalem in 2009.This book is a collection of scholarly articles on the themes of accountability and responsibility in health care and seeks to be the premier book in that field. It includes selected papers from the 2009 Jerusalem Conference, analytic essays on how accountability and responsibility are playing out in eight different countries, and reprints of some of the classic articles in the field.The book will interest policymakers, managers, researchers and students, and many of the ideas presented here will help shape the development of this field in the years ahead. Some of these ideas have appeared in other forums; the unique contribution of this volume is that it is the first to bring together so many different perspectives on accountability and responsibility in health care. This volume will both acquaint readers with some of the latest thinking on accountability and responsibility in health care, and will serve as a catalyst for future reflection, research and writing in this area.