The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care
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Evidence from previous recessions suggests that at times of economic deterioration, suicides increase. Spain has been one of the European countries hardest hit by the financial crisis that started in 2008. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the double-dip recession in Spain on the most recent trends in suicide. ⋯ These results suggest that the Spanish economic crisis has been associated with suicide rates in 2008, 2009, and 2012. These findings are consistent with the double-dip recession that Spain experienced.
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Same-day surgery is common for foot surgery. Continuous regional anesthesia for outpatients has been shown effective but the economic impact on the perioperative process-related healthcare costs remains unclear. ⋯ Day-care continuous regional analgesia leads to an overall positive impact on costs by decreasing the incidence of unplanned ambulatory visits and unscheduled readmissions, without compromising on the quality of analgesia, patients' satisfaction, and safety.
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Adolescent vaccination coverage under a system of non school-based vaccination is likely to be suboptimal, but might be increased by targeted encouragement campaigns. We analysed the effect on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiation by girls aged 12-18 of two campaigns set up in Flanders (Belgium) in 2007 and 2009: a personal information campaign and a combined personal information and financial incentive campaign. ⋯ Under a non school-based vaccination system, personal information and removing out-of-pocket costs had a significant positive effect on HPV vaccination initiation, although the effect substantially varied in magnitude. Overall, the obtained vaccination rates remained far below those realised under school-based HPV vaccination.
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In 2014 an Ebola epidemic emerged in Western Africa (particularly in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone), which with regard to incidence and prevalence exceeded any previous Ebola epidemic [1]. According to estimates of the World Health Organization more than 26,000 people (including suspected cases) suffered from Ebola until April 2015. About 40% of them died from this infectious disease [2]. ⋯ From a health economic perspective, especially, the complete dysfunctionality of local health care services is not surprising. The Ebola fever epidemic in Western Africa rather reveals fundamental failures in establishing health policies within those countries as well as in development policies of industrialized nations. In the following, some of these structural defects are outlined and conclusions from the Ebola epidemic are drawn.
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In addition to its high frequency and relevant individual and social impact, chronic pain (CP) has been shown to be a major contributor to increased healthcare utilisation, reduced labour productivity, and consequently large direct and indirect costs. In the context of a larger nationwide study, we aimed to assess the total annual direct and indirect costs associated with CP in Portugal. A population-based study was conducted in a representative sample of the Portuguese adult population. ⋯ Only socio-demographic variables were significantly and independently associated with CP costs, and not CP severity, raising the possibility of existing inequalities in the distribution of healthcare in Portugal. The high economic impact of CP in Portugal was comprehensively demonstrated. Given the high indirect costs observed, restricting healthcare services is not a rational response to these high societal costs; instead improving the quality of CP prevention and management is recommended.