PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Cindy Mann

Publications and source records attributed to Cindy Mann.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Different patterns of illness-related interaction in couples coping with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To learn more about the effect of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on couples' relationships and how couples manage the illness within their dyad. METHODS: Eight women with RA (ages 31-60 years) and their partners, and 4 men with RA (ages 43-75 years) and their partners were recruited from the rheumatology case load of a hospital in the UK. Interpretative phenomenologic analysis was used for data collection and analysis. During semistructured interviews, couples were asked about the effect of RA on their lives and relationship. RESULTS: This study found clear differences in the way couples managed the illness of one partner and in the nature of their illness-related interactions. Based on these differences, the couples were allocated to 1 of 3 groups: the shared illness management group (SIM), the ill partner in charge group (IPIC), or the conflict over management group (COM). In the SIM group, both partners attended appointments and shared decisions about illness management. In the IPIC group, the ill person claimed and was conceded the right to make autonomous decisions about illness management. In the COM group, the well partner was dissatisfied with the way the ill person was managing the illness, and conflict resulted. CONCLUSION: Heterogeneity exists in the intradyad management of RA. Identifying each couple's style of illness management could make medical consultations and education programs more responsive to the needs and preferences of patients and their partners. Dissatisfaction of either partner with illness management and resulting conflict could be addressed, with benefits for both partners and possible improvement in disease management.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Is the drive to manage long-term conditions in the community compatible with improving standards of care for those with inflammatory arthritis?

At the same time as the Government is pushing ahead with its agenda to manage long-term conditions in the community, standards of care have been published by the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) in an attempt to improve and standardize the care of people with inflammatory arthritis. This raises the question of whether the needs and preferences of people with arthritis can be adequately met in a primary care setting. This paper looks at the evidence so far and discusses the possibilities for achieving ARMA's standards if arthritis care is managed in the community.

Arthritis↗
PubMed2003

Historical overview of children's health care coverage.

America's public health insurance programs reflect a deeply rooted commitment to caring for low-income families and children. This article chronicles the evolution of Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), two public programs designed to provide free or low-cost health coverage to low-income children who do not have access to private health insurance. Such a historical overview is key to understanding where the programs come from and the challenges that policymakers must grapple with in order to effectively provide health coverage to children. Depression-era maternal and child health programs created the foundation for Medicaid. Expansions of the program during the 1980s and 1990s made Medicaid the largest single insurance provider for children in the United States. In 1997, SCHIP boosted these efforts by filling the gap between Medicaid and employment-based coverage. In addition to expanding coverage, SCHIP also motivated efforts to address obstacles to coverage such as application and enrollment procedures. Together, SCHIP and Medicaid have made significant progress in providing health coverage to children in low-income families. They are the primary sources of coverage for children in low-income families. In a discussion of major challenges to providing public health coverage to children, the authors highlight some important issues that threaten current progress, such as rising health care costs and falling state revenues, gaps in coverage, and remaining barriers to enrollment and retention.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children↗
PubMed2002

Five years later: poor women's health care coverage after welfare reform.

The 1996 welfare reform law aims to increase poor women's participation in the work force and encourage their financial independence. Because women's ability to obtain and retain employment is affected by their health status, welfare reform's success is fundamentally tied to poor women's access to health care and to health insurance. Despite this, the rate of uninsurance among poor women with children has grown by half in recent years, leaving 37% of poor mothers uninsured in 2000. Coverage through employer-sponsored insurance has increased only slightly, and Medicaid participation has dropped. Although many factors contributed to this, welfare policies and procedures and low Medicaid eligibility levels had unintended yet significant negative effects on women's health care coverage. The sharp decline in poor women's health care coverage is likely to be one of several health-related issues that Congress will consider as it debates the reauthorization of the welfare law in 2002. Both public and private efforts will be necessary to improve coverage for poor women with children. Much progress has been made during the past 5 years in covering poor and near-poor children, but their parents have been left behind. The same efforts that proved successful for children, including broadening eligibility for coverage and simplifying the application process, can be used to improve the health and well-being of parents and to strengthen their ability to care for and support their families.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The flexibility factor: finding the right balance.

Medicaid is financed with federal and state dollars and administered by states subject to certain federal rules. This design has strengths and weaknesses, and inherent tensions. Rising costs, state fiscal pressures, and new federal waiver policies have prompted some states to seek authority to use Medicaid dollars in ways that do not conform to current federal standards. These changes could have a sizable impact on the program and its beneficiaries. As federal and state roles and responsibilities are discussed, a range of options, including some that extend beyond Medicaid, will need to be considered to address the cost and resource issues that lie beneath much of the current debate.

Adult↗