Management of diabetes and associated cardiovascular risk factors in seven countries: a comparison of data from national health examination surveys.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of the health system response to the challenge of diabetes across different settings and explore the inequalities in diabetes care that are attributable to socioeconomic factors. METHODS: We used nationally representative health examination surveys from Colombia, England, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mexico, Scotland, Thailand and the United States of America to obtain data on diagnosis, treatment and control of hyperglycaemia, arterial hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia among individuals with diabetes. Using logistic regression, we explored the socioeconomic determinants of diagnosis and effective case management. FINDINGS: A substantial proportion of individuals with diabetes remain undiagnosed and untreated, both in developed and developing countries. The figures range from 24% of the women in Scotland and the USA to 62% of the men in Thailand. The proportion of individuals with diabetes reaching treatment targets for blood glucose, arterial blood pressure and serum cholesterol was very low, ranging from 1% of male patients in Mexico to about 12% in the United States. Income and education were not found to be significantly related to the rates of diagnosis and treatment anywhere except in Thailand, but in the three countries with available data insurance status was a strong predictor of diagnosis and effective management, especially in the United States. CONCLUSION: There are many missed opportunities to reduce the burden of diabetes through improved control of blood glucose levels and improved diagnosis and treatment of arterial hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia. While no large socioeconomic inequalities were noted in the management of individuals with diabetes, financial access to care was a strong predictor of diagnosis and management.

Prevalence and management of prehypertension and hypertension by geographic regions of Thailand: the Third National Health Examination Survey, 2004.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension, and management of hypertension, by geographic regions of Thailand. METHODS: Using a stratified, multistage sampling design, data from a nationally representative sample of 39 290 individuals aged > or = 15 years were collected by interview, physical examination and blood sample. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension weighted to the national 2004 population was 22.0% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 20.5-23.6] and 32.8% (95% CI = 31.5-34.1), respectively, with a higher prevalence in men compared to women. Hypertension was more common in urban compared to rural men, but similar between urban and rural women. Despite some variation, the prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension was relatively uniform across geographical regions. Of those identified as having hypertension in the survey, 69.8% (95% CI = 67.8-71.7) were unaware that they had hypertension. Although the majority of those who were aware (78.2%; 95% CI = 75.8-80.5) had taken blood pressure-lowering drugs in the last 2 weeks, of these only 36.6% (95% CI = 33.3-40.0) had blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg. Rural populations and those from the economically poorer Northeast region were more likely to be unaware that they had hypertension. CONCLUSION: Compared to previous surveys, the prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension is rising rapidly, and is spread relatively evenly across regions of Thailand. Levels of awareness of hypertension were low across the country. A challenging task remains in improving screening, treatment and control of hypertension at the same time as promoting healthier lifestyles.

Benchmarking of performance of Mexican states with effective coverage.

Benchmarking of the performance of states, provinces, or districts in a decentralised health system is important for fostering of accountability, monitoring of progress, identification of determinants of success and failure, and creation of a culture of evidence. The Mexican Ministry of Health has, since 2001, used a benchmarking approach based on the WHO concept of effective coverage of an intervention, which is defined as the proportion of potential health gain that could be delivered by the health system to that which is actually delivered. Using data collection systems, including state representative examination surveys, vital registration, and hospital discharge registries, we have monitored the delivery of 14 interventions for 2005-06. Overall effective coverage ranges from 54.0% in Chiapas, a poor state, to 65.1% in the Federal District. Effective coverage for maternal and child health interventions is substantially higher than that for interventions that target other health problems. Effective coverage for the lowest wealth quintile is 52% compared with 61% for the highest quintile. Effective coverage is closely related to public-health spending per head across states; this relation is stronger for interventions that are not related to maternal and child health than those for maternal and child health. Considerable variation also exists in effective coverage at similar amounts of spending. We discuss the implications of these issues for the further development of the Mexican health-information system. Benchmarking of performance by measuring effective coverage encourages decision-makers to focus on quality service provision, not only service availability. The effective coverage calculation is an important device for health-system stewardship. In adopting this approach, other countries should select interventions to be measured on the basis of the criteria of affordability, effect on population health, effect on health inequalities, and capacity to measure the effects of the intervention. The national institutions undertaking this benchmarking must have the mandate, skills, resources, and independence to succeed.

Assessing the effect of the 2001-06 Mexican health reform: an interim report card.

Since 2001, Mexico has been designing, legislating, and implementing a major health-system reform. A key component was the creation of Seguro Popular, which is intended to expand insurance coverage over 7 years to uninsured people, nearly half the total population at the start of 2001. The reform included five actions: legislation of entitlement per family affiliated which, with full implementation, will increase public spending on health by 0.8-1.0% of gross domestic product; creation of explicit benefits packages; allocation of monies to decentralised state ministries of health in proportion to number of families affiliated; division of federal resources flowing to states into separate funds for personal and non-personal health services; and creation of a fund to protect families against catastrophic health expenditures. Using the WHO health-systems framework, we used a wide range of datasets to assess the effect of this reform on different dimensions of the health system. Key findings include: affiliation is preferentially reaching the poor and the marginalised communities; federal non-social security expenditure in real per-head terms increased by 38% from 2000 to 2005; equity of public-health expenditure across states improved; Seguro Popular affiliates used more inpatient and outpatient services than uninsured people; effective coverage of 11 interventions has improved between 2000 and 2005-06; inequalities in effective coverage across states and wealth deciles has decreased over this period; catastrophic expenditures for Seguro Popular affiliates are lower than for uninsured people even though use of services has increased. We present some lessons for Mexico based on this interim evaluation and explore implications for other countries considering health reforms.

Joint prevalence and control of hypercholesterolemia and hypertension in Thailand: third national health examination survey.

The prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and control of hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertension were estimated for Thailand using data from a recent, nationally representative health examination survey. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with diagnosis, treatment, and control. In all, 14% of men and 17% of women had hypercholesterolemia, 23% and 21% had hypertension, and 5% and 6%, respectively, had both. A large proportion of individuals with these risk factors is neither diagnosed nor treated, let alone adequately controlled; 30% of people with hypertension had been diagnosed and 24% treated, and 9% had their blood pressure controlled. The figures for hypercholesterolemia were 13%, 9%, and 6%, respectively. Those for both risk factors combined were below 15% and did not differ by sex, urbanicity, age, or marital status. Among men, education correlated with diagnosis and treatment odds. There is great scope for improved prevention of cardiovascular disease in Thailand.

Has the DOTS strategy improved case finding or treatment success? An empirical assessment.

BACKGROUND: Nearly fifteen years after the start of WHO's DOTS strategy, tuberculosis remains a major global health problem. Given the lack of empirical evidence that DOTS reduces tuberculosis burden, considerable debate has arisen about its place in the future of global tuberculosis control efforts. An independent evaluation of DOTS, one of the most widely-implemented and longest-running interventions in global health, is a prerequisite for meaningful improvements to tuberculosis control efforts, including WHO's new Stop TB Strategy. We investigate the impact of the expansion of the DOTS strategy on tuberculosis case finding and treatment success, using only empirical data. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We study the effect of DOTS using time-series cross-sectional methods. We first estimate the impact of DOTS expansion on case detection, using reported case notification data and controlling for other determinants of change in notifications, including HIV prevalence, GDP, and country-specific effects. We then estimate the effect of DOTS expansion on treatment success. DOTS programme variables had no statistically significant impact on case detection in a wide range of models and specifications. DOTS population coverage had a significant effect on overall treatment success rates, such that countries with full DOTS coverage benefit from at least an 18% increase in treatment success (95% CI: 5-31%). CONCLUSIONS: The DOTS technical package improved overall treatment success. By contrast, DOTS expansion had no effect on case detection. This finding is less optimistic than previous analyses. Better epidemiological and programme data would facilitate future monitoring and evaluation efforts.

Prevalence and management of diabetes and associated risk factors by regions of Thailand: Third National Health Examination Survey 2004.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and their association with cardiovascular risk factors and to evaluate the management of blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol in individuals with diabetes by geographical regions of Thailand. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: With the use of a stratified, multistage sampling design, data from a nationally representative sample of 37,138 individuals aged > or = 15 years were collected using questionnaires, physical examination, and blood samples. RESULTS: The prevalence of diabetes and IFG weighted to the national 2004 population was 6.7% (6.0% in men and 7.4% in women) and 12.5% (14.7% in men and 10.4% in women), respectively. Diabetes was more common in urban than in rural men but otherwise prevalence was relatively uniform across geographical regions. In more than one-half of those with diabetes, the disease had not been previously diagnosed, although the majority of those with diabetes were treated with oral antiglycemic agents or insulin. The prevalence of associated risk factors was high among individuals with diabetes as well as those with IFG. Two-thirds of those with diabetes and concomitant high blood pressure (> or = 130/80 mmHg) were not aware that they had high blood pressure, and > 70% of those with diabetes and concomitant high cholesterol (total cholesterol > or = 6.2 mmol/l) were not aware that they had high cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalences of diabetes and IFG were uniformly high in all regions. Improvements in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes and associated risk factors are required if the health burden of diabetes in Thailand is to be averted.

[Benchmarking of performance of Mexican states with effective coverage]. / Evaluación comparativa del desempeño de los sistemas estatales de salud usando cobertura efectiva.

Benchmarking of the performance of states, provinces, or districts in a decentralised health system is important for fostering of accountability, monitoring of progress, identification of determinants of success and failure, and creation of a culture of evidence. The Mexican Ministry of Health has, since 2001, used a benchmarking approach based on the World Health Organization (WHO) concept of effective coverage of an intervention, which is defined as the proportion of potential health gain that could be delivered by the health system to that which is actually delivered. Using data collection systems, including state representative examination surveys, vital registration, and hospital discharge registries, we have monitored the delivery of 14 interventions for 2005-06. Overall effective coverage ranges from 54.0% in Chiapas, a poor state, to 65.1% in the Federal District. Effective coverage for maternal and child health interventions is substantially higher than that for interventions that target other health problems. Effective coverage for the lowest wealth quintile is 52% compared with 61% for the highest quintile. Effective coverage is closely related to public-health spending per head across states; this relation is stronger for interventions that are not related to maternal and child health than those for maternal and child health. Considerable variation also exists in effective coverage at similar amounts of spending. We discuss the implications of these issues for the further development of the Mexican health-information system. Benchmarking of performance by measuring effective coverage encourages decision-makers to focus on quality service provision, not only service availability. The effective coverage calculation is an important device for health-system stewardship. In adopting this approach, other countries should select interventions to be measured on the basis of the criteria of affordability, effect on population health, effect on health inequalities, and capacity to measure the effects of the intervention. The national institutions undertaking this benchmarking must have the mandate, skills, resources, and independence to succeed.

[Assessing the effect of the 2001-06 Mexican health reform: an interim report card]. / Evaluación del impacto de la reforma mexicana de salud 2001-2006: un informe inicial.

Since 2001, Mexico has been designing, legislating, and implementing a major health-system reform. A key component was the creation of Seguro Popular, which is intended to expand insurance coverage over seven years to uninsured people, nearly half the total population at the start of 2001. The reform included five actions: legislation of entitlement per family affiliated which, with full implementation, will increase public spending on health by 0.8-1.0% of gross domestic product; creation of explicit benefits packages; allocation of monies to decentralised state ministries of health in proportion to number of families affiliated; division of federal resources flowing to states into separate funds for personal and non-personal health services; and creation of a fund to protect families against catastrophic health expenditures. Using the WHO health-systems framework, a wide range of datasets to assess the effect of this reform on different dimensions of the health system was used. Key findings include: affiliation is preferentially reaching the poor and the marginalised communities; federal non-social security expenditure in real per-head terms increased by 38% from 2000 to 2005; equity of public-health expenditure across states improved; Seguro Popular affilates used more inpatient and outpatient services than uninsured people; effective coverage of 11 interventions has improved between 2000 and 2005-06; inequalities in effective coverage across states and wealth deciles has decreased over this period; catastrophic expenditures for Seguro Popular affiliates are lower than for uninsured people even though use of services has increased. We present some lessons for Mexico based on this interim evaluation and explore implications for other countries considering health reforms.

Evaluación comparativa del desempeño de los sistemas estatales de salud usando cobertura efectiva / Benchmarking of performance of Mexican states with effective coverage

Realizar un análisis comparativo del desempeño (benchmarking) de las unidades subnacionales en un sistema de salud descentralizado es importante para favorecer la rendición de cuentas, monitorear el progreso, identificar los factores que determinan tanto el éxito como el fracaso, y crear una cultura basada en la evidencia. Desde 2001, la Secretaría de Salud de México se ha dedicado a desarrollar esta tarea basándose en el concepto de cobertura efectiva promovido por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), que la define como la fracción de ganancia potencial en salud que el sistema de salud podría aportar, con los servicios que actualmente ofrece. Usando los sistemas de información en salud, que incluyen encuestas de salud representativas a nivel estado, registros vitales y registros de egresos hospitalarios, se ha monitoreado la prestación de 14 intervenciones para mejorar la salud entre 2005 y 2006. La cobertura efectiva en general va desde 54 por ciento en Chiapas hasta 65 por ciento en el Distrito Federal. La cobertura efectiva para intervenciones en salud materno-infantil es mayor que para las intervenciones que abordan otros problemas de salud del adulto. La cobertura efectiva para el quintil de ingresos más bajo es de 52 por ciento, comparada con 61 por ciento para el quintil de ingresos más alto. La cobertura efectiva guarda especial relación con el gasto público en salud per cápita en todos los estados, y esta relación es más estrecha con las intervenciones ajenas a la salud materno-infantil que con las que tienen que ver directamente con ella. También se observan variaciones considerables en la cobertura efectiva en niveles de gasto similares. Asimismo, se discuten algunas implicaciones para el desarrollo que debiera seguir el sistema de información en salud en México. Este enfoque alienta a quienes toman decisiones a concentrarse en brindar servicios de calidad y no sólo en ofrecer la disponibilidad del servicio. El cálculo...

Benchmarking of the performance of states, provinces, or districts in a decentralised health system is important for fostering of accountability, monitoring of progress, identification of determinants of success and failure, and creation of a culture of evidence. The Mexican Ministry of Health has, since 2001, used a benchmarking approach based on the World Health Organization (WHO) concept of effective coverage of an intervention, which is defined as the proportion of potential health gain that could be delivered by the health system to that which is actually delivered. Using data collection systems, including state representative examination surveys, vital registration, and hospital discharge registries, we have monitored the delivery of 14 interventions for 2005-06. Overall effective coverage ranges from 54.0 percent in Chiapas, a poor state, to 65.1 percent in the Federal District. Effective coverage for maternal and child health interventions is substantially higher than that for interventions that target other health problems. Effective coverage for the lowest wealth quintile is 52 percent compared with 61 percent for the highest quintile. Effective coverage is closely related to public-health spending per head across states; this relation is stronger for interventions that are not related to maternal and child health than those for maternal and child health. Considerable variation also exists in effective coverage at similar amounts of spending. We discuss the implications of these issues for the further development of the Mexican health-information system. Benchmarking of performance by measuring effective coverage encourages decision-makers to focus on quality service provision, not only service availability. The effective coverage calculation is an important device for health-system stewardship. In adopting this approach, other countries should select interventions to be measured on the basis of the criteria of affordability,...

Evaluación del impacto de la Reforma Mexicana de salud 2001-2006: un informe inicial / Assessing the effect of the 2001-06 Mexican health reform: an interim report card

A partir de 2001 se inicia en México un proceso de diseño, legislación e implementación de la Reforma Mexicana de Salud. Un componente clave de ésta fue la creación del Seguro Popular, que pretende extender la cobertura de aseguramiento médico por siete años a la población que no cuenta con seguridad social, la cual constituía en ese momento casi la mitad de la población total. La reforma incluyó cinco acciones: modificar la ley para garantizar el derecho a la protección a la salud para las familias afiliadas, lo cual al ser implantado completamente incrementará el gasto público en salud entre 0.8 y 1.0 por ciento del PIB; la creación de un paquete de servicios de salud explícito; la asignación de recursos a secretarías estatales de salud descentralizadas, proporcional al número de familias incorporadas; la división de los recursos federales destinados a los estados en fondos independientes para servicios de salud personales y no personales; así como la creación de un fondo para garantizar recursos cuando se presentan eventos catastróficos en salud. Mediante el uso del marco conceptual de los sistemas de salud de la OMS, se han examinado diversos conjuntos de datos para evaluar el impacto de esta reforma en distintas dimensiones del sistema de salud. Entre los principales hallazgos clave se encuentran que: la afiliación alcanza de manera preferente a las comunidades pobres y marginadas; el gasto federal no correspondiente a la seguridad social aumentó 38 por ciento de 2000 a 2005 en términos reales; ha mejorado la equidad del gasto público entre los estados; los afiliados al Seguro Popular presentan una mayor utilización de servicios, tanto a nivel ambulatorio como para pacientes externos y pacientes hospitalarios en comparación con los no asegurados; la cobertura efectiva de 11 intervenciones en salud ha mejorado entre 2000 y 2005; han disminuido las desigualdades en cobertura efectiva durante este periodo en todos los estados y deciles...

Since 2001, Mexico has been designing, legislating, and implementing a major health-system reform. A key component was the creation of Seguro Popular, which is intended to expand insurance coverage over seven years to uninsured people, nearly half the total population at the start of 2001. The reform included five actions: legislation of entitlement per family affiliated which, with full implementation, will increase public spending on health by 0.8-1.0 percent of gross domestic product; creation of explicit benefits packages; allocation of monies to decentralised state ministries of health in proportion to number of families affiliated; division of federal resources flowing to states into separate funds for personal and non-personal health services; and creation of a fund to protect families against catastrophic health expenditures. Using the WHO health-systems framework, a wide range of datasets to assess the effect of this reform on different dimensions of the health system was used. Key findings include: affiliation is preferentially reaching the poor and the marginalised communities; federal non-social security expenditure in real per-head terms increased by 38 percent from 2000 to 2005; equity of public-health expenditure across states improved; Seguro Popular affiliates used more inpatient and outpatient services than uninsured people; effective coverage of 11 interventions has improved between 2000 and 2005-06; inequalities in effective coverage across states and wealth deciles has decreased over this period; catastrophic expenditures for Seguro Popular affiliates are lower than for uninsured people even though use of services has increased. We present some lessons for Mexico based on this interim evaluation and explore implications for other countries considering health reforms.