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Healthcare Policy = Politiques de Sante Nov 2020Excluding capital projects, spending on hospitals, physicians and drugs makes up more than two thirds of provincial and territorial governments' healthcare spending...
Excluding capital projects, spending on hospitals, physicians and drugs makes up more than two thirds of provincial and territorial governments' healthcare spending (CIHI 2019). One expects that health services and policy research would be aligned with where the money flows and yet, there is a misalignment. For example, research as published by Healthcare Policy, is not so neatly aligned with provincial and territorial governments' healthcare spending patterns. In this issue, for instance, there are only two such articles - one related to medication adherence and cost, and another related to payment policy associated with a hospital's alternative level of care utilization. The previous issue of Healthcare Policy was similarly focused, with only two articles the study settings of which were primary care.
Topics: Delivery of Health Care; Financing, Government; Government; Health Care Costs; Health Policy; Health Priorities; Health Services; Health Services Research; Humans; Public Expenditures
PubMed: 33337309
DOI: 10.12927/hcpol.2020.26358 -
Journal of Public Health Policy Jun 2022The COVID-19 pandemic-with its wide-reaching social, political, and economic implications-showcases the importance of public health governance. Governmental... (Review)
Review
The COVID-19 pandemic-with its wide-reaching social, political, and economic implications-showcases the importance of public health governance. Governmental accountability is at the forefront of societal preoccupations, as state actors attempt to manage the pandemic by using sweeping emergency powers which grant them significant discretion. Though emergency measures have tremendous impacts on citizens' lives, elected officials and civil society have little input in how governments wield these powers. We reviewed available mechanisms in Canadian private, constitutional, and criminal law and found them to be unlikely sources of much-needed accountability. Therefore, we propose that provincial and territorial legislatures modify public health legislation to expand mechanisms to foster public confidence in decision-makers, and bolster accountability to parliaments and citizens.
Topics: COVID-19; Canada; Government; Humans; Pandemics; Social Responsibility
PubMed: 35414692
DOI: 10.1057/s41271-022-00350-0 -
Health Research Policy and Systems Nov 2023Place-based approaches are increasingly applied to address the determinants of health, many of which are complex problems, to ultimately improve population health...
BACKGROUND
Place-based approaches are increasingly applied to address the determinants of health, many of which are complex problems, to ultimately improve population health outcomes. Through public policy, government actions can affect the effectiveness of place-based approaches by influencing the conceptualisation, development, implementation, governance, and/or evaluation of place-based approaches. Despite the important role of public policy, there has been limited examination of public policy related to place-based approaches. We add to the limited knowledge base by analysing Australian national public policy, to explore: (1) the definitions, conceptualisations, and characteristics of place-based approaches in public policy; (2) the government's perception and communication of its role in place-based approaches; and (3) the extent to which government policy reflects the necessary conditions for successful place-based governance developed by Marsh and colleagues, namely localised context, embedded learning, and reciprocal accountability.
METHODS
This research was underpinned by the Theory of Systems Change and methodologically informed by the READ approach to document analysis. Ritchie and Spencer's framework method was utilised to analyse the data.
RESULTS
We identified and reviewed 67 policy documents. In terms of conceptualisation, common characteristics of place-based approaches related to collaboration, including community in decision-making, responsiveness to community needs, and suitability of place-based approaches to address complex problems and socio-economic determinants of health. Three roles of government were identified: funder, partner, and creator of a supportive policy environment. From the three criteria for successful place-based governance, localised context was the most dominant across the documents and reciprocal accountability the least.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on our findings, we drew key implications for public policy and research. There was a disproportionate emphasis on the bottom-up approach across the documents, which presents the risk of diminishing government interest in place-based approaches, potentially burdening communities experiencing disadvantage beyond their capacities. Governments engaged in place-based approaches should work towards a more balanced hybrid approach to place-based approaches that maintain the central functions of government while allowing for successful place-based governance. This could be achieved by promoting consistency in conceptualisations of 'place-based', employing an active role in trust building, advancing the creation of a supportive policy environment, and embedding 'learning' across place-based approaches.
Topics: Humans; Australia; Government; Public Policy; Health Policy
PubMed: 38031069
DOI: 10.1186/s12961-023-01074-7 -
BMC Public Health Nov 2023Nearly all countries have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and, therefore, support children having access to their rights. However, only...
BACKGROUND
Nearly all countries have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and, therefore, support children having access to their rights. However, only a small minority of children worldwide have access to their environmental, economic, and social rights. The most recent global effort to address these deficits came in 2015, when the United Nations General Assembly agreed to a plan for a fairer and more sustainable future by 2030 and outlined the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One remediable cause is the lack of revenue in many countries, which affects all SDGs. However, illicit financial flows from low-income to high-income countries, including international tax abuse, continue unabated.
METHODS
Using the most recent estimates of tax abuse perpetuated by multinational companies and tax evasion through offshore wealth, and precise econometric modelling, we illustrate the potential regarding child rights (or progress towards the SDGs) if there was an increase in revenue equivalent to tax abuse in Malawi, a low-income country particularly vulnerable to climate change. The Government Revenue and Development Estimations model provides realistic estimates of government revenue changes in developmental outcomes. Using panel data on government revenue per capita, it models the impact of increased revenue on governance and SDG progress.
RESULTS
If cross-border tax abuse and tax evasion were curtailed, the equivalent increase in government revenue in one country, Malawi, would be associated with 12,000 and 20,000 people having access to basic water and sanitation respectively each year. Each year, an additional 5000 children would attend school, 150 additional children would survive, and 10 mothers would survive childbirth.
CONCLUSIONS
More children would access their economic and social rights if actions were taken to close the gap in global governance regarding taxation. We discuss the responsibility of duty bearers, the need for a global body to arbitrate and monitor international tax matters, and how the Government of Malawi could take further domestic action to mitigate the gaps in global governance and protect itself against illicit financial flows, including tax abuse.
Topics: Humans; Child; Malawi; Income; Poverty; United Nations; Government; Taxes
PubMed: 37974100
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-16319-x -
EMBO Reports Apr 2021Public funding for basic research rests on a delicate balance between scientists, governments and the public. COVID could further shift this equilibrium towards...
Public funding for basic research rests on a delicate balance between scientists, governments and the public. COVID could further shift this equilibrium towards translation and application.
Topics: COVID-19; Government; Humans; Motivation; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 33645882
DOI: 10.15252/embr.202152659 -
International Journal of Environmental... Dec 2022To clarify the relationship between environmental regulatory competition and carbon emissions and provide a theoretical basis for carbon emission reduction governance,...
To clarify the relationship between environmental regulatory competition and carbon emissions and provide a theoretical basis for carbon emission reduction governance, this paper explores the strategic interaction behavior of environmental regulatory competition by constructing a three-way evolutionary game model based on the perspective of the fusion of environmental federalism and local government competition theory. On this basis, the specific forms of carbon emission reduction competition are tested using the spatial Durbin model, and the mechanism of the effect of environmental regulation competition on carbon emissions is analyzed. The evolutionary game model shows that local governments make strategic choices based on the costs and benefits of environmental regulation, and there are strategic equilibria of "race to the bottom", "race to the top", and "differentiation of competition". The empirical results show that the competition for environmental regulations as a whole after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is a "race to the top", and the increase in the intensity of environmental regulations has an inhibitory effect on carbon emissions, which remains valid after a series of robustness tests. There is heterogeneity in environmental regulatory competition, and the effect of emissions reduction is most obvious in the central region. Mechanism analysis shows that environmental regulatory competition affects carbon emissions mainly through the effect of political performance assessment, the effect of industrial structure optimization, and the effect of low-carbon technology capability improvement. Therefore, the central government should follow the local government interest function and balance the interests of all parties, appropriately increase the proportion of environmental performance assessment and optimize the performance assessment system, and consider regional development differences to find the right carbon emissions reduction path.
Topics: Carbon; China; Local Government; Industry; Economic Development; Environmental Policy; Carbon Dioxide
PubMed: 36613054
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20010736 -
International Journal of Environmental... Aug 2022Environmental governance is related to the healthy living standard of human beings and the sustainable development of an economic society. It is of great significance to...
Environmental governance is related to the healthy living standard of human beings and the sustainable development of an economic society. It is of great significance to explore the influence of government trust and environmental pollution perception on environmental governance satisfaction to improve the performance of government environmental governance. Based on the CSS2019 survey data, 3872 survey samples were statistically analyzed, and the optimal scale regression model was used to analyze the relationship between government trust, environmental pollution perception, and environmental governance satisfaction. The results showed that 52.27% of the respondents believed that the satisfaction of environmental governance was good, and both government trust and environmental pollution perception had significant positive effects on the satisfaction of environmental governance. The trust level of the central government, district and county governments, and township governments shows a "differential government trust" state, which is pyramidal. However, the impact of government trust on environmental governance satisfaction shows an inverted pyramid structure, and the township government has the largest effect, which is not matched with the distribution of government trust level. The influence effect of air pollution perception is relatively large, and the public is sensitive to air pollution. Government trust has an impact on the satisfaction of environmental governance through the "expectation-response" path. People are close to the township government and have the opportunity to contact and interact with the township government and its staff. They can directly observe the governance performance and share the public goods of environmental governance. Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the trust level of township governments, strengthen the control of air pollution and improve the township government's environmental governance ability.
Topics: Air Pollution; China; Conservation of Natural Resources; Environmental Policy; Environmental Pollution; Government; Humans; Perception; Personal Satisfaction; Trust
PubMed: 36011557
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19169929 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2022Human health and wellbeing are intimately linked to the state of the environment. The current study emphasizes the role of environmental quality, government policies,... (Review)
Review
Human health and wellbeing are intimately linked to the state of the environment. The current study emphasizes the role of environmental quality, government policies, and human health. This paper provides a detailed literature review of existing findings regarding our key variables of interest. The results argue that the implications of poor government policies and environmental pollution for rising economic development have led to poor environmental quality and health issues for humans. Based on earlier investigations, the present study reviewed the state-of-the-art review and determined innovative insights for outdoor and indoor environment difficulties. This study provides a detailed review of human health, environmental quality, and governance quality. In addition, the study conducts an empirical analysis using the annual data of low-income countries from 1996 to 2020. Government actions and health systems must be modified immediately to address these rising concerns successfully. The report offers policy recommendations for addressing health, governance, and environmental change mitigation issues, all of which are directly or indirectly related to the study. This article presents an overview of environmental change's health impacts and explores how health hazards may be reduced or eliminated through effective adaptation strategies.
Topics: Economic Development; Environmental Health; Government; Humans; Policy
PubMed: 35812483
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.890741 -
International Journal of Environmental... Feb 2021Farmland abandonment has become relatively common in rural China. In the context of food security, the Chinese government has introduced policies for farmland...
Farmland abandonment has become relatively common in rural China. In the context of food security, the Chinese government has introduced policies for farmland abandonment supervision, but the effect of these policies has proven to be marginal. By constructing an evolutionary game model, our research explores the evolutionary logic during the supervision of farmland abandonment by governments and rural households. The results indicate that low food yield and high opportunity costs are the leading causes of farmland abandonment. The probable punishment administered by the central government for dereliction is a major motivation for the local government to practice farmland abandonment supervision. The low supervision avoidance cost for rural households leads local governments and households to form collaborations to jointly cope with central government supervision. When this occurs, local governments' supervision of farmland abandonment falls into a trap, as it leads to continued supervision practices that are costly and ineffective. Food security risk comes from the contradictory population and land resources demands. To improve food security while managing these contradictory demands, it is both necessary and feasible for the government to control population growth and focus on farmland protection, whereas it is unnecessary and unfeasible for the government to supervise whether or not farmland should be abandoned.
Topics: Agriculture; China; Farms; Government; Humans; Rural Population
PubMed: 33668411
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041815 -
The Lancet. Healthy Longevity Feb 2022
Topics: Government; Greece; Health Policy; Vaccination
PubMed: 35156070
DOI: 10.1016/S2666-7568(22)00017-4