Mental Imagery, Impact, and Affect: A Mediation Model for Charitable Giving.

One of the puzzling phenomena in philanthropy is that people can show strong compassion for identified individual victims but remain unmoved by catastrophes that affect large numbers of victims. Two prominent findings in research on charitable giving reflect this idiosyncrasy: The (1) identified victim and (2) victim number effects. The first of these suggests that identifying victims increases donations and the second refers to the finding that people's willingness to donate often decreases as the number of victims increases. While these effects have been documented in the literature, their underlying psychological processes need further study. We propose a model in which identified victim and victim number effects operate through different cognitive and affective mechanisms. In two experiments we present empirical evidence for such a model and show that different affective motivations (donor-focused vs. victim-focused feelings) are related to the cognitive processes of impact judgments and mental imagery. Moreover, we argue that different mediation pathways exist for identifiability and victim number effects.

MPs slam Macmillan for spending £1m on an integrated care project.

A leading cancer charity has denied its decision to spend nearly £1 million on an NHS project instead of nurses is a misuse of donations, after coming under fire from MPs.

Chiropractors as safety net providers: first report of findings and methods from a US survey of chiropractors.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the actual or potential contribution of the chiropractic profession in meeting US healthcare workforce needs. METHODS: The authors performed a descriptive cross-sectional mail survey of US chiropractors in 2002 to 2003. RESULTS: The amount of charity care provided by chiropractors closely approximates that of medical physicians; on a weekly basis, approximately 2 weekly hours of chiropractic care are provided for free, and 4 weekly hours are provided at a reduced fee. CONCLUSION: Chiropractors serve a vital, though often overlooked, role in the US health care safety net.

Implementation of a patient medication assistance program in a community pharmacy setting.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the establishment of a community pharmacy-based patient medication assistance program to improve access to medications by indigent patients, lessen the burden placed on physicians in obtaining such medications, reduce the amount of money spent on such medications by area charitable organizations, and improve therapeutic outcomes by improving patient adherence with therapy. SETTING: Supermarket-based pharmacy in Ashland, Ohio. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Community pharmacy. PRACTICE INNOVATION: A partnership was developed among Buehler's Pharmacy #3, United Way of Ashland County, and United Way Affiliates to establish a community pharmacy-based medication assistance program to help indigent patients obtain needed medications through manufacturer assistance programs and discount card programs. INTERVENTIONS: Following initial screening by a United Way affiliate agency, patients are seen by appointment by a Certified Pharmacy Technician at the pharmacy. An electronic application is completed, printed, and sent to the patient's physician for signatures and medication orders. The paperwork is returned to the pharmacy, where it is completed, signed by the patient, and filed. The patient pays the United Way agency $10 and the pharmacy $15 for these services. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of prescriptions dispensed cumulatively from April 1, 2003, to July 31, 2003, within the program, patients' cumulative savings, and community response. RESULTS: Between April 1, 2003, and July 31, 2003, a total of 123 patients and 47 physicians were served, and 512 medications valued at $112,139.00 were applied for and/or procured. The time lapse between filing of paperwork and receipt of medications varies from 1 to 6 weeks. While some manufacturers ship product to physicians or directly to patients, the process works better when the product is sent to the pharmacy, where it can be added to the patient's profile, screened for drug interactions and allergies, and dispensed with proper labels and counseling. CONCLUSION: Establishing a community pharmacy-based medication assistance program is an innovative spin on the traditional physician office, advocacy, or health-system setting and was found to be beneficial to the patients, physicians and other health care providers, and the community it served.

A review of state legislation and a state legislator survey related to not-for-profit hospital tax exemption and health care for the indigent.

This study examines recent states' legislation related to the not-for-profit (NFP) hospital tax exemption and care to the uninsured and underinsured, and compares these legislative provisions to a past survey of state legislators' opinions about appropriate criteria for the NFP hospital tax exemption. To be tax-exempt, hospitals need to provide services that benefit the community. The problem lies in the ambiguous nature of the community benefits standard and the type of information required for compliance with the standard. As a consequence, NFP hospital tax-exemption challenges have occurred across the nation, resulting most recently in a federal class action lawsuit against NFP hospitals across several states. Empirical research has examined whether the NFP hospital tax exemption is justified based on the amount of community benefits and charitable care provided, without examining the type of policy alternatives that might be proposed by legislators who are responsible to change and create tax-exemption regulations. This article surveys state legislators and examines state legislation. The survey reveals that legislators from states with tax-exempt challenge activity focus more narrowly on the provision of charitable care and that state legislators consider quantitative information to be as important as qualitative information for the tax-exemption decision. Essentially, the survey predicts that state legislation would focus primarily on charitable care policy and indigent care guidelines, which is confirmed by the review of recent state legislation; however, there is still much variation in tax-exemption legislation between states. More standardization is needed to address the needs of indigent patients equitably.

CAM research funding in the UK: surveys of medical charities in 1999 and 2002.

A custom-made questionnaire was sent to all UK medical charities in 1999 and again in 2002. Its primary aim was to assess the commitment of these institutions towards funding research in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Sixty-two (1999) and 60 (2002) answers were received corresponding to response rates of 62% and 55%. The total CAM research funds have increased from pound 70,000 in 1999 to pound 412,755 in 2002. In terms of total research budgets, this amounts to 0.05% and 0.31%, respectively. The number of CAM research projects has increased but so has the number of charities who do not fund CAM research. We conclude from these data that CAM research funding by UK medical charities has increased. In relative terms it does, however, remain low and out of proportion to the prevalence of CAM use in the UK.