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Effect of provincial spending on social services and health care on health outcomes in Canada: an observational longitudinal study.
- Source :
-
Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) . 1/22/2018, Vol. 190 Issue 3, pE66-E71. 6p. 2 Charts, 2 Graphs. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- <bold>Background: </bold>Escalating health care spending is a concern in Western countries, given the lack of evidence of a direct connection between spending and improvements in health. We aimed to determine the association between spending on health care and social programs and health outcomes in Canada.<bold>Methods: </bold>We used retrospective data from Canadian provincial expenditure reports, for the period 1981 to 2011, to model the effects of social and health spending (as a ratio, social/health) on potentially avoidable mortality, infant mortality and life expectancy. We used linear regressions, accounting for provincial fixed effects and time, and controlling for confounding variables at the provincial level.<bold>Results: </bold>A 1-cent increase in social spending per dollar spent on health was associated with a 0.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04% to 0.16%) decrease in potentially avoidable mortality and a 0.01% (95% CI 0.01% to 0.02%) increase in life expectancy. The ratio had a statistically nonsignificant relationship with infant mortality (p = 0.2).<bold>Interpretation: </bold>Population-level health outcomes could benefit from a reallocation of government dollars from health to social spending, even if total government spending were left unchanged. This result is consistent with other findings from Canada and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *SOCIAL services
*MEDICAL care
*MEDICAL care financing
*PUBLIC spending
*LIFE expectancy
*INFANT mortality
*SCIENTIFIC observation
*MEDICAL care cost statistics
*HEALTH status indicators
*LONGITUDINAL method
*MEDICAL care costs
*POPULATION
*REGRESSION analysis
*SOCIAL case work
*RETROSPECTIVE studies
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Volume :
- 190
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 127567540
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.170132