This paper studies the effects of introducing a Risk Adjustment Scheme (RAS) and allowing consumers to switch health plans across employers in the German public health insurance market. German legislature introduced a simple RAS based on age, gender and disability status in 1994. Effective 1996, consumers could switch to hundreds of existing health plans, across employers and state-borders. Our...

The objective of this study was to assess whether living in proximity to a roofing fiber cement factory in southern Thailand was associated with physical, mental, social, and spiritual health domains measured in a self-reported health risk assessment (HRA) questionnaire. A cross-sectional study was conducted among community members divided into two groups: near population (living within 0-2km o...

The environment in which the project schedule will be executed is far from being static. Projects are subject to various uncertainties that have negative effect on activity durations. This is most apparent in the case of construction projects. The frequency and impact of risks depend on project-specific, contractor-specific and location-specific conditions. Identifying critical sources of risk ...

Introduction All nations are striving for development. Economic development is one of the main parts of development process, but not all of it. Populations health is one of the main factors of economic development, and child’s mortality is one of the main factors of population health status. The aim of this study is investigating the role of socioeconomic disparties in under 5 mortality in East...

Despite advances in reproductive health law, many Filipino women experience unintended pregnancies, and because abortion is highly stigmatized in the country, many who seek abortion undergo unsafe procedures. This report provides a summary of reproductive health indicators in the Philippines—in particular, levels of contraceptive use, unplanned pregnancy and unsafe abortion—and describes the so...

PURPOSE Unprecedented efforts are underway across the United States to electronically capture and exchange health information to improve health care and population health, and reduce costs. This increased collection and sharing of electronic patient data raises several governance issues, including privacy, security, liability, and market competition. Those engaged in such efforts have had to de...

Background: The area of contaminated lands exposed to the health risk of environmental pollutants is a matter of argument. In this study, a new method was developed to estimate the amount of area that is exposed to higher than normal levels of Cr, Mn, and V. Methods: Overall, 170 soil samples were collected from the upper 10 cm of soil in an arid area in central part of Iran in Semnan Provin...

Abstract Purpose of this paper: The objectives of this paper are two folds: (1) utilizing hierarchical fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach to evaluate the most suitable RFID-based systems decision, and (2) to highlight key risks and benefits of radio frequency identification technology in healthcare industry. Design/methodology/approach: R...