Debt, Ownership, and Size: The Case of Hospitals in Poland

Alerting trends in epidemiology for calcific aortic valve disease, 1990-2019: An age-period-cohort analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

AIMS

To assess the trends in calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) epidemiology, with an emphasis on CAVD mortality, leading risk factors, and their associations with age, period, and birth cohort.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and mortality were derived from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The age-period-cohort model was employed to study the detailed trends of CAVD mortality and its leading risk factors. Globally, CAVD showed unsatisfactory results from 1990 to 2019, with the CAVD deaths of 127 000 in 2019. CAVD mortality was substantially reduced in high socio-demographic index (SDI) countries [-1.45%, 95% confidence interval (CI) (-1.61 to -1.30)], mildly increased in high-middle SDI countries [0.22%, 95% CI (0.06-0.37)], and unchanged in other SDI quintiles. There was a noticeable transition in CAVD deaths from younger to older populations globally. The CAVD mortality increased exponentially with age, and the male had higher mortality than the female before 80 years old. Favourable period [0.69, 95% CI (0.66-0.72)] and birth effects [0.30, 95% CI (0.22-0.43)] were mainly observed in high SDI countries, while unfavourable effects were mostly noticed in high-middle SDI countries. High systolic blood pressure was the leading risk factor of CAVD deaths globally, and it showed favourable trends in high SDI regions.

CONCLUSION

Although CAVD mortality reduction was observed globally, unfavourable period, and cohort effects were found in many countries. Increase of mortality rate among the population ≥85 years was the common challenge across all SDI quintiles, stressing the necessity to further improve health care for CAVD patients worldwide.

Assessment of the Health Care System in Poland and Other OECD Countries Using the Hellwig Method

The health care system is a key element in the functioning of any country. However, depending on the level of funding, the number of medical staff and their availability, there are significant discrepancies in the health care systems of different countries. This article presents a picture of the Polish health care system compared to the systems of other selected OECD countries. The comparison was made on the basis of selected indicators concerning financing, medical and nursing staff as well as patient satisfaction with the availability and quality of healthcare. The aim of this article is to analyze the Polish health care system and compare it with other selected OECD countries' health care systems. A literature review, secondary data analysis and statistical analyses were used as the research method. The ranking was prepared using Hellwig's linear ordering method. Ten indicators related to financing, medical and nursing staff, and residents' opinions on the availability and quality of medical services were selected for the analysis. The presented results clearly indicated that Norway, Germany and Switzerland have the best health care systems. The Polish system takes one of the last places in developed classification. The conducted analysis indicates the need to introduce changes to the health care system and the need to implement solutions from countries where health care systems have been indicated as the best.