New indices for home nursing care resource disparities in rural and urban areas, based on geocoding and geographic distance barriers: a cross-sectional study

Trends in Coprescription Among Taiwanese Children from 2002 to 2012

Purpose

Coprescription means that patients use different prescription medications at the same time, which can lead to polypharmacy and subsequent complications. In Taiwan, prescriptions can be ordered by Western physicians, traditional Chinese physicians and dentists. It is essential to disclose the trends in coprescription to prevent possible polypharmacy among children.

Patients and Methods

We used the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 in Taiwan. Children <18 years old who had coprescription from 2002 to 2012 are included. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval are estimated by a logistic regression model to evaluate the correlation between basic characteristics and coprescription.

Results

A total of 44,801 children are included in the analysis. The numbers of children with coprescription and the numbers of coprescriptions ordered for children increased with calendar years. Children aged 3-5 year and 6-8 years constituted the majority of coprescriptions, while those aged <3 years constituted the minority of coprescriptions. Compared to those in the Western medication-alone group, aged 3-5 years and children who lived in central and southern Taiwan are more likely to have coprescription.

Conclusion

Coprescription among Taiwanese children is not uncommon. Healthcare providers, policymakers and parents should be aware of the real coprescription situation among the children.

Estimation method for distance cost to access medical services: Policy and patient privacy implications in Taiwan

Introduction

Indicators of healthcare access with high reliability, validity, timeliness, and easy application can aid in an understanding of the supply and demand of a region's medical resources and assist governments in allocating resources more effectively. However, a key concern when developing indicators is the protection of private information, such as patients' residential addresses.

Objectives

We develop an estimation method for distance cost using official public information, including a region's disease prevalence rates and population.

Materials and methods

The method accounts for patients' privacy and addresses limitations associated with using the National Health Insurance Database. This cross-sectional study conducts a secondary data analysis using SPSS and QGIS. The data were divided into a validation group and an index development group with the medical distance calculated for each group. Data for the validation group were sourced from the medical records of patients with diabetes (n = 108-164) and hypertension (n = 243-348) in Yuli documented by a medical center in 2017-2019, and the data for the novel index development group included diabetes and hypertension prevalence sourced from national official public data. The study compared the consistency of the two groups' medical treatment distances to verify the accuracy of the estimation method.

Results

The estimated distances for the index development group showed a high consistency (ICC > 0.9). Further, the index development group had an excellent R-square after adjusting for age (98.1%) and gender (92.7%).

Conclusions

The proposed method to estimate healthcare on the basis of disease prevalence and population protects patient privacy and can be implemented by local governments.

Trial registration

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation (IRB109-239-B).

Justice in Dementia Care Resource Allocation: How Should We Plan for Dementia Services?

Dementia care resources in Taiwan have not been allocated taking into account patients’ needs and the distance between service users and providers. The objective of this study was to use two newly developed indicators; profit willing distance (PWD) and tolerance limited distance (TLD), to profile the service availability and accessibility of the 22 administrative areas in Taiwan and facilitate justice-based resource allocation by the central government. The study employed secondary data analysis by using a geographic information system (GIS) and geocoding to identify distances between service users and providers. The study samples were drawn from the databank of the National Disability Eligibility Determination System and grouped by the acuteness of registrants’ needs. Both the PWD and TLD were found in 15 of the administrative areas, and neither was found in three areas (Penghu, Kinmen, and Lienchiang County). Either the PWD or TLD (but not both) were found in four areas (only have PWD: Hsinchu and Chiayi City; only have TLD: Yunlin and Taitung County). How the priorities should be set for dementia service allocation based on these findings was also addressed. We conclude that the indicators of PWD and TLD can add value to the policy decision-making process, help set priorities, and facilitate efficient and fair resource allocation by defining specifics of the resources needed.

Geospatial analysis and distribution patterns of home nursing care in a metropolitan area - a large-scale analysis

AIMS

This study focuses on home nursing care distribution in an urban setting in Germany.

BACKGROUND

A shortage of nursing care workforce is present in Germany.

METHODS

A geospatial analysis was performed to examine distribution patterns at the district level in Frankfurt, Germany (n = 46 districts) and factors were analysed influencing the location choice of home nursing care providers (n = 151). Furthermore, within the analysis we focused on the population aged over 65 years to model the demand for nursing care.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed a tendency of home nursing care providers to be located near the city centre (centripetal distribution pattern). However, the demand for care showed more inconsistent patterns. Still, a centripetal distribution pattern of demand could be stated. Compared with the control groups (e.g. acute hospitals and pharmacies) similar geographical distribution patterns were present. However, the location of home nursing care providers was less influenced by demand compared with the control groups.

CONCLUSION

The supply of nursing care was unevenly distributed in this metropolitan setting, but still matched the demand for nursing care.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Due to the rapidly changing health care environments policy, regulations must be (re-)evaluated critically to improve the management and delivery of nursing care provision.