The SHARE survey: presentation and first results for the French edition

The SHARE survey (Survey on Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe) is an international and multidisciplinary operation launched in 2002, led by a European network coordinated by the MEA of the University of Mannheim. Its ambition is to become an instrument of reference for interdisciplinary research on ageing. A test of this survey on approximately 12000 households took place in 10 European countries in 2004. This first wave already allows the realization of comparative work on participating countries, either descriptive or microeconometric. Data have been made available to researchers in spring 2005, after publication of a volume of first results. This article presents the survey and gives an outline of its potentialities, using some first descriptive results for France.Ageing, health, pensions

Patient-physician interaction in general practice and health inequalities in a multidisciplinary study: design, methods and feasibility in the French INTERMEDE study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The way in which patients and their doctors interact is a potentially important factor in optimal communication during consultations as well as treatment, compliance and follow-up care. The aim of this multidisciplinary study is to use both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the 'black box' that is the interaction between the two parties during a general practice consultation, and to identify factors therein that may contribute to producing health inequalities. This paper outlines the original multidisciplinary methodology used, and the feasibility of this type of study.</p> <p>Methods and design</p> <p>The study design combines methodologies on two separate samples in two phases. Firstly, a qualitative phase collected ethnographical and sociological data during consultation, followed by in-depth interviews with both patients and doctors independently. Secondly, a quantitative phase on a different sample of patients and physicians collected data via several questionnaires given to patients and doctors consisting of specific 'mirrored' questions asked post-consultation, as well as collecting information on patient and physician characteristics.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The design and methodology used in this study were both successfully implemented, and readily accepted by doctors and patients alike. This type of multidisciplinary study shows great potential in providing further knowledge into the role of patient/physician interaction and its influence on maintaining or producing health inequalities. The next challenge in this study will be implementing the multidisciplinary approach during the data analysis.</p

Migrant health in French Guiana: Are undocumented immigrants more vulnerable?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few data exist on the health status of the immigrant population in French Guiana. The main objective of this article was to identify differences in its health status in relation to that of the native-born population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A representative, population-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2009 among 1027 adults living in Cayenne and St-Laurent du Maroni. Health status was assessed in terms of self-perceived health, chronic diseases and functional limitations. The migration variables were immigration status, the duration of residence in French Guiana and the country of birth. Logistic regression models were conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Immigrants account for 40.5% and 57.8% of the adult population of Cayenne and St-Laurent du Maroni, respectively. Most of them (60.7% and 77.5%, respectively) had been living in French Guiana for more than 10 years. A large proportion were still undocumented or had a precarious legal status. The undocumented immigrants reported the worst health status (OR = 3.18 [1.21-7.84] for self-perceived health, OR = 2.79 [1.22-6.34] for a chronic disease, and OR = 2.17 [1.00-4.70] for a functional limitation). These differences are partially explained by socioeconomic status and psychosocial factors. The country of birth and the duration of residence also had an impact on health indicators.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Data on immigrant health are scarce in France, and more generally, immigrant health problems have been largely ignored in public health policies. Immigrant health status is of crucial interest to health policy planners, and it is especially relevant in French Guiana, considering the size of the foreign-born population in that region.</p

Social determinants of overweight among immigrants in Spain and France

This study addresses immigrant health from the point of view of social health inequalities research. We study differences in overweight between immigrants and natives in two countries, France and Spain. Controlling for socioeconomic characteristics, we focus on effects that pertain to the country of origin and to the country of arrival in explaining overweight prevalence. We first estimate and compare between France and Spain, in women and men, the effect of immigration status on overweight when controlled for age, socioeconomic status (SES), and country of origin. We study the role of length of stay as proxied by naturalisation status and according to country of origin. We investigate the role of GDP, HDI and obesity prevalence in the country of origin. We then estimate how differences in population compositions and differences in estimated coefficients contribute to observed differences in overweight between natives and migrants for each country. We show distinct patterns according to gender. Among women, the overweight probability is higher for immigrants than natives in France and Spain. Among men, the probabilities are identical in France and lower in Spain. In Spain, most of the effect of migration on health arises among more recent immigrants, whereas in France, overweight tends to appear among longer-established immigrants. Moreover, African immigrants (North Africans as well as Sub-Saharans) are more likely to be overweight than other immigrants. We conclude by addressing overweight inequalities between migrants and natives in Spain and France. Our decomposition results conclude that difference in characteristics is less important than differences in coefficients. In terms of health policy targeting the immigrant sub-population would be a good tool to reduce overweight prevalence. Among immigrants, origin country characteristics (GDP, HDI and obesity) play a role in their overweight prevalence

European immigrant health policies, immigrants’ health, and immigrants’ access to healthcare

Objective: Evidence indicates presence of immigrant health disparities in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US). We examined the association between immigrant health policies and the gap in health status, unmet needs and service use between immigrants and citizens, in the EU and US. Methods: We used the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), European Health Interview Survey, and National Health Interview Survey for 2014. Our independent variables of interest were MIPEX Health strand score and citizenship. Our dependent variables were four measures of health status (self-reported poor health; severely limited in general activities; two or more comorbidities; one or more ambulatory care sensitive conditions) and four measures of health access and utilization (unmet need due to non-financial reasons; could not afford needed health care; one or more primary care visits last year; any hospitalization last year). We conducted linear probability models and presented the marginal effects of each outcome in percentage points. Findings: We found that immigrant-friendly health policies were significantly associated with better health and less unmet need due to non-financial reasons. Conclusion: Our findings supported the promotion of immigrant-friendly and a 'Health-in-All Policies' (HiAP) approach to preserve the health of immigrants

Eur J Public Health

BACKGROUND: For financial reasons, dental prosthetics is one of the major unmet dental healthcare needs [Financial-SUN (F-SUN)]. Private fees for dental prosthetics result in significant out-of-pocket payments for users. This study analyzes the impact of geo-variations in protheses fees on dental F-SUN. METHODS: Using a nationwide French declarative survey and French National Health Insurance administrative data, we empirically tested the impact of prosthetic fees on dental F-SUN, taking into account several other enabling factors. Our empirical strategy was built on the homogeneous quality of the dental prosthesis selected and used to compute our price index. RESULTS: Unmet dental care needs due to financial issues concern not only the poorest but also people with middle incomes. The major finding is the positive association between dental fees and difficulty in gaining access to dental care when other enabling factors are taken into account (median fee in the highest quintile: OR = 1.35; P value = 0.024; 95% CI 1.04-1.76). People with dental F-SUN are those who have to make a greater financial effort due to a low/middle income or a lack of complementary health insurance. For identical financial reasons, the tendency to give up on healthcare increases as health deteriorates. CONCLUSIONS: The results underscore the need for fee regulation regarding dental prosthetics. This is in line with the current French government dental care reform

Strengthening weak primary care systems: steps towards stronger primary care in selected Western and Eastern European countries.

European health care systems are facing diverse challenges. In health policy, strong primary care is seen as key to deal with these challenges. European countries differ in how strong their primary care systems are. Two groups of traditionally weak primary care systems are distinguished. First a number of social health insurance systems in Western Europe. In these systems we identified policies to strengthen primary care by small steps, characterized by weak incentives and a voluntary basis for primary care providers and patients. Secondly, transitional countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CCEE) that transformed their state-run, polyclinic based systems to general practice based systems to a varying extent. In this policy review article we describe the policies to strengthen primary care. For Western Europe, Germany, Belgium and France are described. The CCEE transformed their systems in a completely different context and urgency of problems. For this group, we describe the situation in Estonia and Lithuania, as former states of the Soviet Union that are now members of the EU, and Belarus which is not. We discuss the usefulness of voluntary approaches in the context of acceptability of such policies and in the context of (absence of) European policies. (aut. ref.

Strengthening weak primary care systems: steps towards stronger primary care in selected Western and Eastern European countries.

European health care systems are facing diverse challenges. In health policy, strong primary care is seen as key to deal with these challenges. European countries differ in how strong their primary care systems are. Two groups of traditionally weak primary care systems are distinguished. First a number of social health insurance systems in Western Europe. In these systems we identified policies to strengthen primary care by small steps, characterized by weak incentives and a voluntary basis for primary care providers and patients. Secondly, transitional countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CCEE) that transformed their state-run, polyclinic based systems to general practice based systems to a varying extent. In this policy review article we describe the policies to strengthen primary care. For Western Europe, Germany, Belgium and France are described. The CCEE transformed their systems in a completely different context and urgency of problems. For this group, we describe the situation in Estonia and Lithuania, as former states of the Soviet Union that are now members of the EU, and Belarus which is not. We discuss the usefulness of voluntary approaches in the context of acceptability of such policies and in the context of (absence of) European policies. (aut. ref.

Une personne sans titre de séjour sur six souffre de troubles de stress post-traumatique en France

Les Troubles de stress post-traumatique (TSPT) sont des troubles psychiatriques qui surviennent après un événement traumatisant. Ils se traduisent par une souffrance morale et des complications physiques qui altèrent profondément la vie personnelle, sociale et professionnelle. Ces troubles nécessitent une prise en charge spécialisée. Pour les personnes sans titre de séjour, la migration peut avoir donné lieu à des expériences traumatiques sur le parcours migratoire ou dans le pays d'accueil, qui peuvent s'ajouter à des traumatismes plus anciens survenus dans le pays d'origine, alors que les conditions de vie sur le sol français sont susceptibles de favoriser le développement de TSPT. Quelle est la prévalence des troubles de stress post-traumatique au sein de cette population encore mal connue ? Comment les conditions de migration et les conditions de vie dans le pays d'accueil jouent-elles sur leur prévalence ? Quel est l'accès à l'Aide médicale de l'Etat (AME) des personnes qui en souffrent ? 54 % des personnes interrogées dans l'enquête Premiers pas, menée en 2019 à Paris et dans l'agglomération de Bordeaux auprès de personnes sans titre de séjour, déclarent avoir vécu un événement traumatique. 33 % dans leur pays d'origine, 19 % au cours de la migration, et 14 % en France. La prévalence des TSPT atteint 16 % parmi les personnes sans titre de séjour, tandis qu'elle est estimée entre 1 à 2 % en population générale en France (Vaiva et al., 2008 ; Darves-Bornoz et al., 2008). Les conditions de vie précaires en France sont associées à des prévalences plus élevées de TSPT. Parmi les personnes souffrant de TSPT éligibles à l'AME, 53 % ne sont pas couvertes, contre 48 % dans le reste de cette population