FSI’s researchers assess health and medicine through the lenses of economics, nutrition and politics. They’re studying and influencing public health policies of local and national governments and the roles that corporations and nongovernmental organizations play in providing health care around the world. Scholars look at how governance affects citizens’ health, how children’s health care access affects the aging process and how to improve children’s health in Guatemala and rural China. They want to know what it will take for people to cook more safely and breathe more easily in developing countries.
FSI professors investigate how lifestyles affect health. What good does gardening do for older Americans? What are the benefits of eating organic food or growing genetically modified rice in China? They study cost-effectiveness by examining programs like those aimed at preventing the spread of tuberculosis in Russian prisons. Policies that impact obesity and undernutrition are examined; as are the public health implications of limiting salt in processed foods and the role of smoking among men who work in Chinese factories. FSI health research looks at sweeping domestic policies like the Affordable Care Act and the role of foreign aid in affecting the price of HIV drugs in Africa.
As the population of older adults in the US increases, there is a growing need for performance measurement systems that take multiple comorbid conditions into account.
We measure the degree of supplier-induced demand in newborn treatment, by exploiting changes in reimbursement arising from the introduction in Japan of the partial prospective payment system (PPS). Under the partial PPS, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) utilization became relatively more profitable than other procedures, since it was excluded from prospective payments. We find that hospitals respond to PPS adoption by increasing NICU utilization and more frequently manipulating infants' reported birth weights -- the latter of which is a measure that determines the infant's maximum allowable length of stay in NICU. This induced demand substantially increases hospitals' reimbursements.
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Previous research suggests that the emotions people value (“ideal affect”) can help explain cultural differences in health care preferences. For example, those valuing excitement tend to prefer physicians who promote excitement and medications that induce feelings of excitement. However, the emotions people want to avoid (“avoided affect”) may be just as influential, particularly among older adults and East Asian Americans who tend to be motivated more by avoiding (versus approaching) certain outcomes.
Adherence rates to public health recommendations are low, and seem to be falling. DiMatteo (2004) found that on average, at least one quarter of patients and recipients of lifestyle advice do not follow the recommendations given; other studies estimate this rate as high as 90% (Burke & Dunbar-Jacob, 1995). One possible reason why people are not following these recommendations may be that they are not communicated in a way that motivates people, especially not older adults.
Prior research indicates reliable age differences in decision making processes consistent with the age-related positivity effect: Relative to younger adults, older adults demonstrate greater attention and memory for positive versus negative information about choice alternatives (e.g., Löckenhoff & Carstensen, 2007; Mather et al., 2005). However, the implications of age-related positivity for decision outcomes remain less clear.
This study will examine the relationship between social factors and hospital utilization using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). This study will provide pilot data about this relationship, especially more details about how social risk factors affect actual measures in use by decision makers. The researchers will examine this relationship using a regression approach.
Human beings are incredibly prosocial: helping others at no material benefit, or even at a cost, to the self. Prosocial behavior enhances interpersonal relationships and improves physical and mental health. Thus, understanding the motivational bases of prosocial behavior may suggest ways to bolster individuals’ well-being. Given the importance of prosocial behavior, surprisingly little attention has been paid to prosocial behavior in older adults.
Background: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and disproportionately affects elderly patient populations. Many describe poor quality of life and experience, unnecessary suffering, and treatment options with little benefit. Additionally, many elderly patients with cancer also are less likely to receive a full diagnosis or engage in shared-decision making. No studies have evaluated the influence of health coaches and shared-decision making tools on patient and caregiver experiences and receipt of goal concordant care.
