PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Political Factors”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Social and political factors influencing the functioning of regional health boards in British Columbia (Canada).

Health reform is associated with changes in the way the health system works and in the roles of major stakeholders, such as governments, health professionals, and the lay public. This paper reviews the immediate relevance of these social and political elements to health boards, particularly those with lay board members; source documents include peer-reviewed articles, and government documents and news releases in Canada especially. Also presented are the perceptions of 130 regional health board members in British Columbia (BC), Canada, who responded to our 1996 survey questionnaire. Two sets of social and political factors are identified and discussed in this paper. The first set deals with the composition of health board members (qualifications, representation, and selection). Our findings suggest that there is now less attention focusing on the composition of health boards in BC. This may contribute to a re-focusing of attention on the boards' effectiveness in working with stakeholders and in influencing the health system. The other set of social and political factors deals with the relations of health boards with key stakeholder groups. The responses to our questionnaire suggest that the health boards in BC may have had some success in addressing the concerns of various stakeholder groups. However, the respondents also suggested that the stakeholder groups needed to be more understanding and involved in the regionalization (decentralization) process. Health boards that have lay representatives, including regional health authorities in Canada, face similar social and political factors immediate to their operation.

British Columbia↗
PubMed1987

[Constraints imposed by political factors upon government intervention and health promotion].

In this article, Michel O'Neill, Ph. D., discusses the necessity of taking political factors into consideration when embarking on preventive programmes, regardless of the level in the community in which the intervention is to take place. When using the term, "political factors", the author is referring to the powers of influence which certain individuals or groups inevitably have over members of a community, regardless of its size. The influence is thus not necessarily linked to partisan politics but potentially has extensive implications for health promotion activities. After an introduction to the history of the development of a community health oriented system in Quebec, O'Neill presents four examples (at the local, regional, provincial, and federal levels) to introduce his analysis of political influence in community health and its implications in health promotion programmes. The marketing genius and tremendous budget of a multinational, American-based fast food corporation represents the political influence contrary of health promotion interests in two of the examples: competing with nutrition education efforts at a local level and "philanthropically" supporting curative efforts at a regional level. At a provincial level, the perpetual problem of tobacco corporations influencing elected officials in their social policies is presented while the aberration between rhetoric vis à vis policy and the reality of non-action is cited as political influence at a federal level. The examples cited are only four among "dozens and dozens" and serve as a reminder that health promotion professionals must take political influences into account if they wish to implement effective policies and programmes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Community Health Services↗
PubMed1982

137Cs concentrations in northern Alaskan Eskimos, 1962-79: effects of ecological, cultural and political factors.

Concentrations of worldwide fallout 137Cs were measured in the lichen-caribou-Eskimo food chain of northern Alaska during the period 1962-79. Pronounced inputs of fallout occurred after major nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere and 137Cs was transmitted through the food chain to Eskimos with about a 2-yr delay due to environmental parameters. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) meat sampled during spring harvest contained 4 times the 137Cs concentration of lichens obtained from their winter range. Calculated caribou meat ingestion rates of Anaktuvuk Pass Eskimos during winter ranged from approximately 1 kg/day in 1964 to 0.16 kg/day in 1977. Several environmental factors affected seasonal patterns and amounts of 137Cs transferred through the food chain. Maximum 137Cs concentrations of approximately 20 nCi/kg body weight in ESkimos occurred in 1964 and have now decreased to approximately 0.5 nCi/kg, largely because of cultural and political factors. Radiation doses from 137Cs body burdens during the study period ranged from 60 mrad/yr in 1962 to approximately 140 mrad/yr during the 1962-64 maxima and decreased to 8 mrad/yr in 1979.

Alaska↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The politics of health sector reform in developing countries: three cases of pharmaceutical policy.

This paper examines the political dynamics of health sector reform in poor countries, through a comparative study of pharmaceutical policy reform in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. The paper first reviews five reasons why policy reform is political. It then presents three political economic models of the policy reform process: the political will, political factions, and political survival models. Next, the paper describes the three cases of national pharmaceutical policy reform, and identifies common conditions that made these reforms politically feasible. The paper's analysis suggests that health sector reform is feasible at certain definable, and perhaps predictable, political moments, especially in the early periods of new regimes. The most important and manipulable political factors are: political timing, which provides opportunities for policy entrepreneurs to introduce their ideas into public debate, and political management of group competition, which allows leaders to control the political effects of distributional consequences and protect the regime's stability. A strong and narrow political coalition improves the capacity of political leaders to resist the pressures of concentrated economic costs (both inside and outside national boundaries). The paper argues that for reform to succeed, policy-makers need effective methods to analyze relevant political conditions and shape key political factors in favor of policy reform. The method of Political Mapping is briefly introduced as a technique that can help policy-makers in analyzing and managing the political dimensions of policy reform and in improving the political feasibility of reform.

Bangladesh↗
PubMed2002

Predictors of Canadian legislators' support for tobacco control policies.

It is clear that regulatory strategies can be effective in reducing tobacco use. Because legislators ultimately determine whether many of these policies are enacted, they are a key focus for tobacco policy research. This study identifies political and personal predictors of Canadian legislators' support for tobacco control policies. Data are from a 1996-97 survey of federal, provincial and territorial legislators. Multivariate regression analysis was used to assess relationships between five groups of variables (political factors including political ideology, personal characteristics, tobacco experiences, tobacco knowledge, interest group saliency) and support for tobacco control based on an 11-item scale. Support for tobacco control varied by political party. Support was higher among legislators who thought government had a duty to promote healthy lifestyles, knew second-hand smoke could cause lung cancer, knew tobacco caused more deaths than alcohol, and said they wanted more contact with medical associations about tobacco issues. Support was lower among current smokers and those with tobacco industry jobs in their ridings. The findings indicate that political party membership cannot be ignored in enlisting legislator support for tobacco control. It also appears that legislators who oppose tobacco control measures may not be opposed to tobacco control per se, but are more generally opposed to a government role in health promotion. Thus, public health professionals and tobacco control advocates need to be more attentive to the way tobacco control issues are framed for particular legislators. Further, meetings with health groups about tobacco issues would be welcomed by many legislators; non-governmental organizations and other health advocates could work to increase tobacco knowledge among legislators.

Attitude to Health↗