Global Financial Crisis, Health and Healthcare Professionals Role Implications: a Review of Literature
Keywords
economic crisis, financial crisis, health implications, mental health, public health, unemployment, healthcare (nursing)Abstract
Aim. Identifying the effects of the global financial crisis on health, public health system(s) and healthcare workers is the main purpose of this paper.
Material and methods. A review of the literature was undertaken. The following keywords were adopted: economic crisis, financial crisis, health implications, public health, unemployment, labour substitution, mental health, healthcare (nursing), and education as a Mesh word or text words in the title and in the abstract, via MedLine/ Cinahl and Scopus database. A ten-year timeframe (2001-2011) was set in order to include the most recent studies. Articles reporting the relationship between financial crisis, health problems, mortality, use of public health care service(s), and implications on healthcare workers roles were included and analysed. A content analysis methodology of the articles retrieved was then performed.
Results. The economic downturn that has unfolded in recent years is expected to produce adverse social and health effects. Extended research data reveal that people’s health status is definitely affected by the economic crisis and consequently the healthcare sector will have to be reformed to meet the new challenges more efficiently. Economics depressions have a direct impact on overall health, on public spending directed to the healthcare system, on the quality of the services provided and on restructuring of the roles and functions of healthcare personnel.
Conclusions. Preliminary lessons learnt from the current global financial crisis suggest undertaking several strategies at the: a) social and public health level, b) healthcare system level; c) healthcare workers education level and, d) at the nursing professional level. (PNN 2012;1(4):164–169)
References
OECD. Employment and the crisis on employment and unemployment in the OECD countries. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2010.
Uutela A. Economic crisis and mental health. Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 2010;23(2):127-130.
WHO Regional Office for Europe. Impact of economic crises on mental health. Copenhagen: WHO, 2011.
Catalano R. Health, Medical Care, and Economic Crisis. New England Journal of Medicine. 2009;360:749.
Perry J. & Humphreys G. Health and a financial crisis: a complex diagnosis. Bulletin of World Health Organization. 2009;87(1):4-5.
Eberstadt N. The health crisis in the USSR. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2006;35(6):1384-94. Reprinted with permission from The New York Review of Books. Copyright no longer a developed nation. _1981 NYREV, Inc
Aiken L.H., Clarke S.P., Sloane D.M., Sochalski J. & Silber J.H. Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout, and job dissatisfaction. New England Journal of Medicine. 2002;288(16):1987-1993.
Crossan F. & Ferguson D. Exploring nursing skill mix: a review. Journal of Nursing Management. 2005;13(4):356-362.
Dierick-van Daele A.T., Spreeuwenberg C., Derckx E.W., Metsemakers J.F. & Vrijhoef B.J. Critical appraisal of the literature on economic evaluations of substitution of skills between professionals: a systematic literature review. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. 2008;14(4):481-492.
Gidron Y., Gilutz H., Berger R. & Huleihel M. Molecular and cellular interface between behaviour and acute coronary syndromes. Cardiovascoular Research. 2002;56(1):15-21.
Goryakin Y., Griffiths P. & Maben J. Economic evaluation of nurse staffing and nurse substitution in health care: a scoping review. International Journal of Nursing
Studies. 2011;48(4):501-512.
Hefford M., Love T., Cumming J., Finlayson M. & Raymont A. The financial impact of clinical task substitution between practice nurses and GPs in New Zealand primary care centres. New Zeeland Medical Journal. 2011;9(1342):59-65.
Laurant M., Reeves D., Hermens R., Braspenning J., Grol R. & Sibbald B. Substitution of doctors by nurses in primary care. Cochrane Database Systematic Review. 2005;18(2):CD001271.
Lionis C., Symvoulakis E.K., Markaki A., Vardavas C., Papadakaki M., Daniilidou N., Souliotis K. & Kyriopoulos I. Integrated primary health care in Greece, a missing issue in the current health policy agenda: a systematic review. International Journal of Integrated Care. 2009;9:e88.
Needleman J., Buerhaus P., Mattke S., Stewart M. & Zelevinsky K. Nurse-Staffing Levels and the Quality of Care in Hospitals. New England Journal of Medicine. 2002;346:1715-1722.
Rafferty A.M., Clarke S.P., Coles J., Ball J., James P., McKee M. & Aiken L.H. Outcomes of variation in hospital nurse staffing in English hospitals: cross-sectional analysis
of survey data and discharge records. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 2002;44(2):175-182.
Unruh L. Nurse stuffing and patient, Nurse and Financial Outcomes. American Journal of Nursing. 2008;108(1):62-71.
OECD. Impact of the economic crisis on employment and unemployment in the OECD countries. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2008.
Chatterjee P. Economic crisis highlights mental health issues in India. Lancet. 2009;373(9670):1160-1161.
Falagas M.E., Vouloumanou E.K., Mavros M.N. & Karageorgopoulos D. E. Economic crises and mortality: a review of the literature. International Journal of Clinical Practice. 2009;63:1128-1135.
Stuckler D., Basu S., Suhrcke M., Coutts A. & McKee M. The public health effect of economic crises and alternative policy responses in Europe: an empirical analysis. Lancet. 2009;374(9686):315-323.
Kwon J.W., Chun H. & Cho S.I. A closer look at the increase in suicide rates in South Korea from 1986-2005. BubMed Central Public Health. 2009;27(9):72.
WHO (2003) World Health Organization. Social determinants of health. The solid facts. Second Edition/edited by Wilkinson, R. & Marmot M. Copenhagen:WHO.
Kyriopoulos J. & Tsiantou V. The financial crisis and its impact on health and medical care. Archives of Hellenic Medicine. 2010;27(5):834-840.
Davalos M.E. & French M.T. This recession is wearing me out! Health-related quality of life and economic downturns. Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics. 2011;14(2):61-72.
Kroll L.E. & Lampert T. Unemployment, social support and health problems: results of the GEDA study in Germany, 2009. Deutsches Arzteblatt International. 2011;108(4):47-52.
OECD. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Employment Outlook 2009 - Tackling the jobs crisis. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2009.
Kondo N., Subramanian S.V., Kawachi I., Takeda Y. & Yamagata Z. Economic recession and health inequalities in Japan: analysis with a national sample, 1986-2001. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2008;62(10):869-875.
Skalli A., Johansson E. & Theodossiou J. Are the healthier wealthier or the wealthier healthier? The European evidence. Helsinki: Etla, 09.
World Bank. A Practicioner’s Guide: Health Financing Revisited (Chapter 1). World Bank, Washington, DC (USA), 2006.
Economou A., Nikolaou A. & Theodossiou I. Socioeconomic status and health-care utilization: a study of the effects of low income, unemployment and hours of work on the demand for health care in the European Union. Health Service Management Research.
;21:40-59.
Ruhm C.J. Healthy living in hard times. Journal of Health Economics. 2005;24(2):341-363.
Gerdtham U.G. & Ruhm C.J. Deaths rise in good economic times: evidence from the OECD. Economics and Human Biology. 2006;4(3):298-316.
Neumayer E. Recessions lower (some) mortality rates: evidence from Germany. Social, Science & Medicine. 2004;58(6):1037-1047.
WHO. World Health Organization. The financial crisis and global health: report of a high-level consultation. Geneva: WHO, 2009.
Avčin B.A., Kučina A.U., Sarotar B.N., Radovanović & M., Plesničar, B.K. The present global financial and economic crisis poses an additional risk factor for mental health problems on the employees. Psychiatria Danubina. 2011;23(Suppl.1):142-148.
Wolfgang H., Manfred M., Fichter & Winfried R. A controlled treatment study of somatoform disorders including analysis of healthcare utilization and cost-effectiveness. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2003;54:369-380.
Yang B.M., Prescott N., & Bae E.Y. The impact of economic crisis on health-care consumption in Korea. Health Policy Plan. 2001;16(4):372-385.
Gottret P., Gupta V., Sparkes S., Tandon A., Moran V. & Berman P. Protecting pro-poor health services during financial crises: lessons from experience. Advances in Health Economics and Health Services Research. 2009;(21):23-53.
Palese A., Vianello C., De Maino R., Bortoluzzi G. Measures of cost containment, impact of the economical crisis and the effects perceived in nursing daily practice: an Italian cross over study. Nursing Economics, 2012, in press.
Notara V., Koupidis S.A., Vaga E. & Grammatikopoulos I.A. Economic crisis and challenges for the Greek healthcare system: the emergent role of nursing management. Journal of Nursing Management. 2010;18(5):501-504.
WHO Report. World Health Organization. Migration of health workers. Fact sheet. No 301. Geneva: WHO, 2010.
Zabalegui A. & Cabrera E. Economic crisis and nursing in Spain. Journal of Nursing Management. 2010; 18(5):505-508.
Pringle D. Alert--return of 1990s healthcare reform. Nurse Leadership (Tor Ont). 2009;22(3):14-15.
Chang N.H., Huang C.L. & Yang Y.O. The effects of economic crises on health care. Hu Li Za Zhi. 2010;57(4):89-94.
Primary Health Care Reform in Australia Report to Support Australia’s First National Primary Health Care Strategy. 2009.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 136
Number of citations: 0