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Public health insurance for China’s children is analyzed using an equity analysis framework and compared to US public health insurance for low-income children. Four dimensions of comparisons are addressed: fairness of financial support, equal treatment for equal need, equality of access to services, and equality of health outcomes. Secondary data from China and US government statistics were used for the comparisons. Recommendations to strengthen China’s health insurance for children include lower out-of-pocket expenses, standardized data collection and management, qualified nurse practitioners providing rural health care, and explicit coverage requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residing in Mexican Americanbarriosmight place individuals at heightened risk for chronic financial and acute stress, which are associated with adverse mental health outcomes. Stressors could be exacerbated for substance users. This research explores relations between chronic financial stress, acute stress, and depressive symptomatology among aging Mexican American heroin and other drug-using men. A prospective cohort study and field-intensive outreach methodology were used to recruit 227 men for in-depth interviews. Participants were categorized into depressed and nondepressed groups based on symptomatology measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Chronic financial stress (i.e., poverty) and acute stress (i.e., Life Events Questionnaire) associated with depressive symptomatology were tested using logistic regression. Findings suggest scores of depressive symptoms among substance users are highly related to chronic financial stress. Community-level interventions targeting chronic stressors present in the barrio could be especially salient in improving the mental health of Latino drug users. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]