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Biomedical subjects

P Contoyannis

Publications and source records attributed to P Contoyannis.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

The impact of public voluntary health insurance on private health expenditures in Vietnam.

As a financing mechanism with the potential to raise additional funds for health services, whilst improving access to services amongst the poor, non-profit health insurance has become increasingly attractive to health policy-makers. Using data from a household survey in Vietnam, out of pocket health expenditure are compared between members and eligible non-members of the government-implemented voluntary health insurance scheme. Expenditures are analysed for individuals who sought care during their most recent illness. Using an endogenous dummy variable model to control for bias resulting from self-selection into the scheme, we find that health insurance reduces average out-of-pocket expenditures by approximately 200%. Whilst income inelastic, health expenditures are found to be significantly influenced by an individuals level of income, irrespective of insurance status. Despite this, insurance reduces expenditures significantly more for the poor than for the rich.

Cost Sharing↗
PubMed1999

The distribution of health and income: a theoretical framework.

A general framework is developed to analyse variations in the distribution of population health, where individual health is modelled as a function of income, conditional upon the level of another factor such as health-related behaviour. Results are derived for the response of the level of average health in a population and the degree of health inequality to alternative health promotion policies and equiproportionate income growth. Qualitative results are shown to depend on characteristics of the individual health production functions and the frequency distribution of the other factor at each income level. These results are independent of the distribution of income. The discussion focuses on the implications of these results for contemporary research into inequalities in health and income.

Health Behavior↗
PubMed1983

Post-exposure hepatitis B vaccination of sexual partners of acute viral hepatitis patients.

Sexual transmission of HBV was studied in a sample of 350 sporadic acute viral hepatitis type B adult patients hospitalised in the Infectious Diseases Hospital of Athens, Greece. Spouses with acute viral hepatitis type B (six in number) or asymptomatic HBsAg carriership (80 in number) were considered as the most likely sources of infection in 86 (24.6 per cent) of the 350 patients. Only 164 (46.8 per cent) spouses were susceptible to HBV and 149 agreed to participate in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial of hepatitis B vaccine. The Merck Sharp and Dohme vaccine (20 micrograms per dose) or placebo were administered as soon as possible and repeated one and six months later. Vaccinees were interviewed, clinically examined and bled one, three, six and nine months after the first injection. HBV events (clinical hepatitis type B in seven or serological evidence of HBV infection in 15) were diagnosed in 22 vaccinees. We anticipate completing the required sample to establish the possible protective efficacy of the hepatitis B vaccine by the end of November 1982. Final results of the trial will be available early next year.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1982

Changing epidemiological characteristics of acute viral hepatitis in Greece.

We have studied the epidemiological characteristics of acute viral hepatitis (AVH) in adult patients admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital of Athens in 1980. Commercially available radioimmunoassays were used for the detection of the hepatitis B surface antigen, its antibody, the antibody to the core of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the IgG and IgM antibody to the hepatitis A virus (HAV). HBV was responsible for 59.9%, HAV for 20.4% and hepatitis non-A, non-B virus for the remaining 19.7% of the cases studied. The results show that the relative frequency of AVH type B has declined considerably in the last four years (from 80.6% to 59.9%). In contrast, AVH type A (from 10.8% to 20.4%) and non-A, non-B (from 8.6% to 19.7%) have increased substantially. The incidence of AVH type A declined rapidly with age; the incidence of type B was higher in the 20-29 year-old group, while non-A, non-B continued to occur in older people. Seasonal variation was not observed, except for a slight increase during the winter months. These changes in the epidemiological characteristics of AVH can be attributed to the improvements in socioeconomic, sanitary and hygienic conditions, as well as to the obligatory screening of blood donors for HBsAg and the increased awareness of medical and paramedical personnel regarding the risk of transmitting the disease iatrogenically.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

Etiological characterization of hepatitis B surface antigen-negative hepatitis among adult patients in Athens, Greece.

In a 4-month period, 216 cases of acute viral hepatitis were diagnosed in adults at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Athens, Greece. Twenty-six percent of these were hepatitis B surface antigen negative. A full set of clinical specimens was obtained from 19 of these patients, who were studied in depth for the etiology of their hepatitis. A total of 7 of the 19 patients had serological evidence of hepatitis A virus infection, and 2 had evidence of recent hepatitis B virus infection. The remaining 10 patients lacked evidence of hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus, cytomegalovirus, or Epstein-Barr virus infection related to their illness and were classified as having type non-A, non-B hepatitis. Types A and non-A, non-B hepatitis were clinically similar in these adults patients. However, patients with type non-a, non-B hepatitis were, on the average, older and more likely to have received parenteral inoculations during the 6 months before contracting hepatitis. Approximately 76% of the 216 consecutive cases of acute viral hepatitis were probably type B, approximately 10% were probably type A, and approximately 14% were probably type non-A, non-B, although the latter two types may be underestimated because of the possibility of superinfection with these viruses in asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen carriers. Thus, all three types of viral hepatitis appear to be important in the etiology of liver disease in Athens, Greece.

Acute Disease↗