Health and Development

Better health leads to faster economic growth which in turn, leads to healthier populations. Historical studies have shown that a substantial proportion of today's economic wealth can be attributed directly to past achievements in the health sphere. Health contributes to human capital through higher productivity, securing labour supply, through skills and the savings that become available for investment in physical and intellectual capital. Poor health negatively influences labour market productivity as measured by earnings and wages. At the same time, life expectancy increases with income across countries, but at a rate that becomes progressively lower as income increases due to diminishing health returns to income. However, the relationship between wealth and health is not as straightforward as was previously thought. Rather, it seems to be a more complex and multidimensional one and factors other than wealth exist that also influence the health of populations

Health and Development

Better health leads to faster economic growth which in turn, leads to healthier populations. Historical studies have shown that a substantial proportion of today's economic wealth can be attributed directly to past achievements in the health sphere. Health contributes to human capital through higher productivity, securing labour supply, through skills and the savings that become available for investment in physical and intellectual capital. Poor health negatively influences labour market productivity as measured by earnings and wages. At the same time, life expectancy increases with income across countries, but at a rate that becomes progressively lower as income increases due to diminishing health returns to income. However, the relationship between wealth and health is not as straightforward as was previously thought. Rather, it seems to be a more complex and multidimensional one and factors other than wealth exist that also influence the health of populations

Breast, colon, and prostate screening in the adult population of Croatia: does rural origin matter?

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate the utilization of breast, colon and prostate cancer screening in the adult Croatian population in a period without national cancer screening programs, with a special interest in respondents' rural versus urban origin. ----- METHODS: Self-reported screening utilization was investigated in the Croatian Adult Health Survey, which collected health-related information from a representative sample of the adult Croatian population. Breast cancer screening was investigated in women aged over 40 years, while colon and prostate screening was investigated in respondents aged over 50 years. The data were analysed using binary logistic regression. ----- RESULTS: One in five women reported breast cancer screening uptake in the year preceding the survey (22.5%), while only 4.5% reported a colon screening. A total of 6.1% men reported colon screening, while 13.7% of men reported having a prostate cancer screening. Respondents with rural origin reported all sites screening utilization less frequently than those of urban origin (breast: 14.5% vs 27.4%; prostate: 9.6% vs 16.3%; colon-men: 5.7% vs 6.3%; colon-women: 3.6% vs 5.1%; respectively). Multivariable models indicated that people with higher socio-economic status more commonly reported breast and prostate cancer screening uptake. Access to health care was the only independent variable associated with colon cancer screening in men, and the strongest variable associated with colon cancer screening in women. Rural origin was associated only with lower odds of breast screening (adjusted odds ratio 0.60 [95% confidence interval 0.48-0.74]), while in the remaining models, rural origin was not a significant predictor for cancer screening uptake. ----- CONCLUSIONS: Opportunistic cancer screening uptake is low in the Croatian adult population, with existing socio-economic differences in breast and prostate screening, and their absence in colon cancer screening. Rural origin was significantly associated with breast screening, even after adjustment to socioeconomic status and problems in access to health care. Lack of rural origin significance in the other screening sites could be related to small sample sizes of people who reported opportunistic utilization. Overall, access to health care is the strongest cancer screening predictor, and this should have a prominent role in the development of a systematic cancer screening program on a national level

Importance of health care issues in 2005 presidential elections in Croatia

Health and health care provision are among the most important and politically sensitive public service areas. Politicians carefully incorporate health care program changes in their political agendas to gain votes. However, knowing health care priorities of the electoral body is not useful only to politicians, but also to health policy makers, as it enables them to target the most problematic areas in health care. We conducted a telephone survey of representative sample of voters (n=643) immediately before the presidential elections in Croatia in 2005, to determine the possible differences in health care priorities between left-wing and right-wing voters, and found a high level of homogeneity in their opinions. Health care organization, corruption, and financing issues were identified as the top priorities by both left- and right-wing voters. This agreement in voters' expectations, probably caused by a similar frame of mind of Croatian citizens inherited from pre-democratic times of self-government, could be used by health policy makers to rationally invest the means and efforts in dealing with the most problematic health care issues

Bolnički sustav u Republici Hrvatskoj: funkcioniranje - problemi - planovi za budućnost

Polazište • u Republici Hrvatskoj ne postoje analize koje sustavno opisuju rad bolničkog sustava te funkcioniranje pojedinih segmenata. Isto tako ne postoje javno dostupne analize i komparacije s drugim sustavima u svijetu - napravljene prema priznatoj znanstvenoj i stručnoj metodologij

Comparing pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies in Croatia to the European Union Member States

Aim To perform a comparative analysis of the pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement systems in Croatia and the 27 European Union (EU) Member States. Methods Knowledge about the pharmaceutical systems in Croatia and the 27 EU Member States was acquired by literature review and primary research with stakeholders. Results Pharmaceutical prices are controlled at all levels in Croatia, which is also the case in 21 EU Member States. Like many EU countries, Croatia also applies external price referencing, ie, compares prices with other countries. While the wholesale remuneration by a statutorily regulated linear mark-up is applied in Croatia and in several EU countries, the pharmacy compensation for dispensing reimbursable medicines in the form of a flat rate service fee in Croatia is rare among EU countries, which usually apply a linear or regressive pharmacy mark-up scheme. Like in most EU countries, the Croatian Social Insurance reimburses specific medicines at 100%, whereas patients are charged copayments for other reimbursable medicines. Criteria for reimbursement include the medicine’s importance from the public health perspective, its therapeutic value, and relative effectiveness. In Croatia and in many EU Member States, reimbursement is based on a reference price system. Conclusion The Croatian pharmaceutical system is similar to those in the EU Member States. Key policies, like external price referencing and reference price systems, which have increasingly been introduced in EU countries are also applied in Croatia and serve the same purpose: to ensure access to medicines while containing public pharmaceutical expenditur

Zdravstvena politika EU - prikaz izvora informacija dostupnih na Internetu

Zdravlje je jedan od prioriteta za građane Europske unije i jedna od glavnih odgovornosti državnih vlasti u članicama EU. Politika EU na području zdravstva zamišljena je kao nadopuna nacionalnim politikama, uz dodatne vrijednosti koje je moguće ostvariti samo na nadnacionalnoj, europskoj razini, primjerice: kontrola i praćenje epidemija koje zahvaćaju više zemalja, slobodan protok pacijenata i zdravstvenog osoblja te praćenje i smanjivanje zdravstvenih nejednakosti između zemalja

Importance of Health Care Issues in 2005 Presidential Elections in Croatia

Health and health care provision are among the most important and politically sensitive public service areas. Politicians carefully incorporate health care program changes in their political agendas to gain votes. However, knowing health care priorities of the electoral body is not useful only to politicians, but also to health policy makers, as it enables them to target the most problematic areas in health care. We conducted a telephone survey of representative sample of voters (n=643) immediately before the presidential elections in Croatia in 2005, to determine the possible differences in health care priorities between left-wing and right-wing voters, and found a high level of homogeneity in their opinions. Health care organization, corruption, and financing issues were identified as the top priorities by both left- and right-wing voters. This agreement in voters’ expectations, probably caused by a similar frame of mind of Croatian citizens inherited from pre-democratic times of self-government, could be used by health policy makers to rationally invest the means and efforts in dealing with the most problematic health care issues