Uninsured vs. Insured Population

A couple-level analysis of participation in physical activity during unemployment

There is a well-documented negative correlation between unemployment and health. Yet, little research has examined how unemployment relates to participation in physical activity, and few researchers have considered how an individual's unemployment may affect the health of their spouse or partner. The purpose of this study is to answer three questions: 1. Is one's own unemployment associated with changes in physical activity participation? 2. Is one's partner's unemployment associated with changes in physical activity participation? 3. Do changes in physical activity behaviors associated with unemployment differ by gender? This study uses nationally representative, longitudinal data on couples in the United States, covering the period 1999–2013. These data, obtained from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, are used to estimate fixed-effects models of the relationships between one's own, and one's partner's, unemployment and participation in physical activity. I find that for men unemployment is not associated with changes in physical activity time. For women, own unemployment is associated with increases in physical activity, whereas a partner's unemployment is associated with decreases in physical activity. I argue that unemployed women, unlike men, are able to take advantage of the increased availability of time through reduced labor supply to invest in their health during unemployment, which could have positive long-run consequences. Results suggest the importance of studying unemployment and health at the household level and suggest a need for further investigation into gender differences in unemployment and health.

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Limited research has examined how unemployment affects physical activity.

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Research examining how unemployment affects one's spouse is also limited.

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Study uses Panel Study of Income Dynamics data to investigate these issues.

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Unemployed men do not experience changes in physical activity.

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Women increase activity during unemployment but do less during partner unemployment.

Reading Perception of the Insured and the Uninsured and Assessment of Factors Influencing Health Insurance Policy Subscription in the Lucknow Region

Health insurance has been acknowledged by researchers as a valuable tool in health financing. In spite its significance, a subscription paralysis has been observed in India for this product. People who possess the economic capacity to afford health insurance products have also been found to be either ignorant or aversive towards it. The present study is designed to investigate three aspects—socio-economic factors, individual health insurance perception and individual behavioural traits—in order to clarify the paradoxes that inhibit people from subscribing to this product. We find that these factors have a significant impact on an individual’s insurance status.

Understanding perception and factors influencing private voluntary health insurance policy subscription in the Lucknow region

BACKGROUND

Health insurance has been acknowledged by researchers as a valuable tool in health financing. In spite of its significance, a subscription paralysis has been observed in India for this product. People who can afford health insurance are also found to be either ignorant or aversive towards it. This study is designed to investigate into the socio-economic factors, individuals' health insurance product perception and individuals' personality traits for unbundling the paradox which inhibits people from subscribing to health insurance plans.

METHODS

This survey was conducted in the region of Lucknow. An online questionnaire was sent to sampled respondents. Response evinced by 263 respondents was formed as a part of study for the further data analysis. For assessing the relationships between variables T-test and F-test were applied as a part of quantitative measuring tool. Finally, logistic regression technique was used to estimate the factors that influence respondents' decision to purchase health insurance.

RESULTS

Age, dependent family members, medical expenditure, health status and individual's product perception were found to be significantly associated with health insurance subscription in the region. Personality traits have also showed a positive relationship with respondent's insurance status.

CONCLUSION

We found in our study that socio-economic factors, individuals' product perception and personality traits induces health insurance policy subscription in the region.

What Explains Divorced Women's Poorer Health?: The Mediating Role of Health Insurance and Access to Health Care in a Rural Iowan Sample*

The economic restructuring in rural areas in recent decades has been accompanied by rising marital instability. To examine the implications of the increase in divorce for the health of rural women, we examine how marital status predicts adequacy of health insurance coverage and health care access, and whether these factors help to account for the documented association between divorce and later illness. Analyzing longitudinal data from a cohort of over 400 married and recently divorced rural Iowan women, we decompose the total effect of divorce on physical illness a decade later using structural equation modeling. Divorced women are less likely to report adequate health insurance in the years following divorce, inhibiting their access to medical care and threatening their physical health. Full-time employment acts as a buffer against insurance loss for divorced women. The growth of marital instability in rural areas has had significant ramifications for women's health; the decline of adequate health insurance coverage following divorce explains a component of the association between divorced status and poorer long-term health outcomes.

Race-ethnicity and medical services for infertility: stratified reproduction in a population-based sample of U.S. women

Evidence of group differences in reproductive control and access to reproductive health care suggests the continued existence of "stratified reproduction" in the United States. Women of color are overrepresented among people with infertility but are underrepresented among those who receive medical services. The authors employ path analysis to uncover mechanisms accounting for these differences among black, Hispanic, Asian, and non-Hispanic white women using a probability-based sample of 2,162 U.S. women. Black and Hispanic women are less likely to receive services than other women. The enabling conditions of income, education, and private insurance partially mediate the relationship between race-ethnicity and receipt of services but do not fully account for the association at all levels of service. For black and Hispanic women, social cues, enabling conditions, and predisposing conditions contribute to disparities in receipt of services. Most of the association between race-ethnicity and service receipt is indirect rather than direct.

Access to medical care, dental care, and prescription drugs: the roles of race/ethnicity, health insurance, and income

BACKGROUND

After accounting for socioeconomic factors and other demographic characteristics, racial/ethnic disparities in access to care were examined.

METHODS

Using nationally representative data on 34,403 individuals from the 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), multiple logistic regression analyses for five outcome measures were conducted: self-reports of being unable to get medical care, dental care, or prescriptions in the past year; and having no doctor or dentist visits in the past year. The main independent variables were race/ethnicity, income, and insurance status.

RESULTS

Blacks and Hispanics were less likely to report difficulties in accessing medical care, dental care, and prescriptions as compared to whites. These disparities occurred primarily among the uninsured and Medicaid insured. More objective measures of utilization (ie, no doctor visit or dental visit during the past year) showed that minorities experienced less access than whites.

CONCLUSIONS

Racial/ethnic disparities in access to care persist, and cannot be entirely explained by socioeconomic differences. In addition, the nature of these disparities depends on the socioeconomic position of racial/ethnic groups as well as the access measure used.

Explaining disparities in treatment seeking: the case of infertility

OBJECTIVE

To present an integrated model of help-seeking, review empirical work in its support, and show its application to the explanation of racial and ethnic disparities in infertility help-seeking.

DESIGN

Review.

SETTING

None.

PATIENT(S)

None.

INTERVENTION(S)

None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

None.

RESULT(S)

None.

CONCLUSION(S)

A help-seeking model provides a plausible explanation of observed disparities in infertility help-seeking. In addition to being related to income, race and ethnicity is related to prior experience with doctors, marital status, parity, knowledge and attitudes toward reproductive technology, and attitudes supporting spiritual rather than technological solutions to health problems.