Social Work Education in Ukraine

Development of social work as a professional kind of activity, as a science and a subject keeps going on in Ukraine. The number of educational establishments training specialists in the area of social work gradually grows. A multi-level system of social workers training has been created, the demand for highly skilled specialists in the social area increases. An important factor, which notably influences the training effectiveness at all stages of social education, is a differential approach practiced by different educational establishments and social services. Nowadays it is particularly important, because central bodies are in the process of developing standards for social work practice, and consider the idea of introducing professional licenses for providing social services

Willingness to pay for physician services at a primary contact in Ukraine: results of a contingent valuation study

Background: The existence of quasi-formal and informal payments in the Ukrainian health care system jeopardizes equity and creates barriers to access to proper care. Patient payment policies that better match patient preferences are necessary. We analyze the potential and feasibility of official patient charges for public health care services in Ukraine by studying the patterns of fee acceptability, ability and willingness to pay (WTP) for public health care among population groups. Methods: We use contingent valuation data collected from 303 respondents representative of the adult Ukrainian population. Three decision points were separated: objection to pay, inability to pay, and level of positive non-zero WTP. These decisions were studied for relations with quality profiles of the services, and socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents and their households. Results: The likelihood to object to pay is mostly determined by the quality characteristics of the services. Objection to pay is not related to corresponding behavior in real life. The likelihood of being unable to pay is associated with older age, lower income, and a larger share of household members with no income. The level of positive WTP is positively related to income (+7% per 1000 UAH increase in income) and is lower for people who visited a doctor but did not pay (−22%). Conclusions: Rather substantial WTP levels (between 0.9% and 1.9% of household income) for one visit to physician indicate a potential for official patient charges in Ukraine. User fees may cover a substantial share of personnel cost in the out-patient sector. The patterns of inability to pay support well designed exemption criteria based on age, income, and other aspects of economic status. The WTP patterns highlight the necessity for payments that are proportional to income. Other methodological and policy implications are discussed

Зміни масової свідомості під час соціально-економічної кризи посткомуністичного суспільства (Україна 90-х років)

Події духовного життя України в останні п'ять років визначаються різноманітними впливами, серед яких найголовнішими можна вважати: 1) подальший економічний спад, що останнім часом досяг рівня економічного колапсу; 2) раптове знецінення комуністичної ідеології та пов'язаний з цим ідеологічний і екзистенційний вакуум; 3) зростаюча екологічна небезпека в промислово розвинутих містах і в Чорнобильській зоні; 4) різке збільшення обсягів нової інформації, що суперечить звичним поглядам на матеріальний світ і суспільне життя

Informal payments for health care services: The case of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine

AbstractThis paper analyzes patterns of tips, gifts and bribes paid by patients for health care services. Informal payments are more prevalent in developing and transition countries because the economic and socio-cultural environment is more conducive to “gifts”-exchange as a means to maintain the underfunded health care system. Moreover, most Eastern European countries have experienced wider socio-political reforms, which have also affected health care service provision and have led to a greater reliance on informal patient payments in the access and quality assurance of health care services. This study provides evidence on public attitudes and recent experiences with informal patient payments in post-Soviet and post-communist countries, namely in Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland. The empirical results suggest a lower share of informal patient payments as well as a prevalence of more negative attitudes towards informal patient payments in Poland compared to Lithuania and Ukraine. Informal payments are more common and more expensive for in-patient health care services in contrast to out-patient ones in all countries. Still, in post-Soviet Lithuania and Ukraine informal patient payments co-exist with other types of patient payments such as quasi-formal patient payments. When clear regulation of the basic package and formal patient charges is lacking, patients experience a mixture of payment obligations. About three quarters of the respondents support the statement that informal patient payments should be eradicated. It is proposed therefore that governments of the countries should meet public expectations and implement a strategy to deal with informal patient payments. In all three countries, informal patient payments (both “bribes and fees”) are a symptom of system failure and provide a means for patients to obtain the health care they desire, which the government is not able to guarantee. Suitable regulations coupled with (dis)incentives may decrease the level of informal payments for health care provision

ВІЛ/СНІД на сторінках українських газет і журналів : соціальний аспект проблеми

Finding out the way HIV/AIDS is reflected in Ukrainian mass media, allows to assess both social opinion on this matter and the level media discourse tackles models of safe behavior, the issues that could have effectively decrease disease spreading rates. This paper presents the results of All-Ukrainian monitoring of the most popular printed media.З'ясування того, яким чином подається ВІЛ/СНІД у мас-медіа, дає змогу оцінити як суспільну думку щодо цього питання, так і наскільки в публічному дискурсі поширена практика висвітлення моделей безпечної поведінки, що могло б вплинути на зменшення рівня поширеності захворювання. Ця стаття розглядає особливості висвітлення теми ВІЛ/СНІДу на сторінках найпопулярніших дру­ кованих ЗМІ України, презентує результати відповідного дослідження