Scandinavian journal of public health
-
Scand J Public Health · Jan 2003
Cost of dementia: impact of disease progression estimated in longitudinal data.
Several studies have shown that health care costs are higher for demented than for non-demented persons and that health care costs are higher for more severe demented persons than less severe demented persons. However, most studies report on cross-sectional study designs, and thus fail to examine the influence of disease progression on changes in health care costs to individual persons. The objective of this study was, using longitudinal data, to examine changes in total health care costs with disease progression in demented persons. ⋯ The results of this longitudinal study confirmed that health care costs increased over time for non-demented as well as for demented persons and that health care costs increased with disease progression. In particular, the health care costs increased when the disease had progressed into the severe state of the dementia. Also, decline in functional abilities was an important factor for explaining changes in health care costs.
-
Scand J Public Health · Jan 2003
Duration of employment is not a predictor of disability of cleaners: a longitudinal study.
Cleaning is a high-risk occupation for developing musculoskeletal disorders. Sickness absence is twice as high as in other occupations. Disability pensions for musculoskeletal disorders are twice as high in cleaners as in other employed women. However, a result from Norwegian and Danish studies shows that female cleaners do not report higher morbidity of musculoskeletal disorders than other women. The objective was to analyse whether female cleaners have a higher risk of obtaining a disability pension than women in other unskilled occupations and whether the length of employment influences the risk. ⋯ The cleaning occupation has high disability rates compared with other unskilled occupations. A contribution factor to these high rates is a selection of women with poor health into the occupation.
-
Scand J Public Health · Jan 2003
Comparative StudyViolence against women and consequent health problems: a register-based study.
This study set out to examine whether women victimized by domestic violence in a given year subsequently have more health problems measured by amount of hospital contacts due to disease than non-victimized women. ⋯ Registration practice of all hospital contacts in Denmark facilitates nationally representative analyses of associations between violence and health problems. The observed differences among women victimized by domestic violence and controls point to violence against women as a major public health problem. Proper registration of hospital contacts due to intentional injury may both guarantee adequate follow-up of the individual victim, and serve as a useful tool in the monitoring of general violence prevention.
-
"Avoidable" mortality, that is mortality from conditions amenable to healthcare intervention, is commonly studied as an indicator of the outcome of healthcare. The objective of this study was to analyse gender equity in avoidable mortality trends in Sweden from 1971 to 1996. ⋯ The avoidable mortality method seems to be useful in continuous epidemiological surveillance of the equity in healthcare. The comparatively low gender differences for avoidable death indicators as well as the decrease in these differences indicate decreasing gender inequity in health.
-
Scand J Public Health · Jan 2003
Do changes in the psychosocial school environment influence pupils' health development? Results from a three-year follow-up study.
This study analysed the effects of psychosocial factors at school on pupils' health and self-worth from a longitudinal perspective. ⋯ The negative development in pupils' health and self-worth could partly be explained by the more unfavourable psychosocial environment that prevails at school at the senior level. The public health implications of our study can be summarized as the need for schools to improve pupils' social situation at school in relation to their work situation as well as to pay special attention to the school situation of girls at senior level.