Does Lower Income Affect the Development of One's Innovative Ability in the Education Niche

The need of using creative and innovative education strategies in the low-income consumer setting has never been felt until this wake of the pandemic to assist for sustainable well-being. In this chapter, the role of improved education as a collective innovation measure in promoting awareness of the inclusive cover to the low-income consumers in the emerging countries will be perused in the wake of the 2019-nCoV virus in their struggle to cope with the unexpected management of risks in a more calculated way. The study provides the education challenges in the low-income insurance area posed to both consumers and providers and explains how their involvement is important through innovative programmes in the low-income cover niche such as digitalization amongst others. Since education indeed plays a huge role in enhancing participation in this field of low-income cover to entail sustainability, it will be wise that the policymakers, government officials, and others work closely with their consumers so that this problem can assist for sustainable livelihoods.

Weather based crop insurance for risk management in agriculture

In recent years, in many parts of the country, indebtedness, crop failures, unpaid prices and poor returns have resulted in agrarian distress. The government has identified and introduced several programs to address these critical issues viz. crop insurance, lending waivers etc. among them. Crop insurance as a concept for risk management in agriculture has emerged in India since the turn of the twentieth century and government has launched various insurance schemes in last three decades like Comprehensive Crop Insurance Scheme (CCIS), National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified NAIS (MNAIS) etc. Apart from these schemes, several other pilot projects such as Seed Crop Insurance, Farm Income Insurance Scheme and Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS) were implemented from time to time. At present, two most important schemes are functional i.e. Pradhan Mantri Fasal BimaYojna (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) are in operation. This study focused on the performance of the Restructured Weather based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) from historical and analytical perspectives and presents recommendation for future scenarios. RWBCIS scheme having two most important challenges. Firstly, weather data related issues by designing a modern scientific approach to develop high resolution secondary data and secondly, modifying the existing design of RWBCIS Products, based on sound agronomic principles.

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH

This study investigates the impact of Covid-19 on the insurance industry of Bangladesh. We utilize a quarterly panel data of top-performing both life and non-life companies for the duration between Q1:2018 to Q1:2021. We depend on the quantitative method to determine the exact scenario implementing through the fixed effect model. The finding explains that the adverse effect of the pandemic is significant on the quarterly premium income, insurance density, and penetration. A robustness test further justifies the validity of the findings. We discuss the causes behind decline to portraits real scenario of such harsh impact. The sector demands potential measures that ensure a stable situation.

Prevalence and predictors of obesity-related cancers among racial/ethnic groups with metabolic syndrome

Background Obesity-related cancer (ORC) is associated with higher amounts of body fat, which could increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). A significant factor associated with CVD is metabolic syndrome (MetS), and MetS prevalence differs by race/ethnicity. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence and predictors of ORCs by race/ethnicity among adults (>18) with MetS. Methods This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study using data from the 1999–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). A chi-square test was performed to determine differences in ORC prevalence between non-Hispanic White (NHW), non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and Hispanic participants with MetS. A multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate predictors (race, sex, income, insurance, education, marital status, and smoking status) of ORC among adults with MetS. Results Of the 1,554 adults, the prevalence of ORC was 30.6% among NHWs, 51.3% in NHBs, and 54.1% in Hispanics (p = <0.001). Females were 6.27 times more likely to have an ORC compared to males (95% CI = 4.95–14.11). Compared to NHWs, NHBs were 2.1 times more likely to have an ORC (95% CI = 1.40–3.38); and Hispanics were 2.5 times more likely (95% CI = 1.39–4.77). For every 1-year unit increase in age, the odds of ORC increased by 3% (95% CI = 1.00–1.05). Conclusions Among NHANES participants with MetS, the prevalence of ORCs was significantly higher in NHBs and Hispanics, females, and older adults with MetS. Future studies, by race/ethnicity, are warranted on mortality risk of persons with MetS and ORC.

Healthcare disparities contribute to missed follow-up visits after cataract surgery in the USA: results from the perioperative care for intraocular lens study

ObjectiveTo identify factors that contribute to missed cataract surgery follow-up visits, with an emphasis on socioeconomic and demographic factors.MethodsIn this retrospective cohort study, patients who underwent cataract extraction by phacoemulsification at Massachusetts Eye and Ear between 1 January and 31 December 2014 were reviewed. Second eye cases, remote and international patients, patients with foreign insurance and combined cataract cases were excluded.ResultsA total of 1931 cases were reviewed and 1089 cases, corresponding to 3267 scheduled postoperative visits, were included. Of these visits, 157 (4.8%) were missed. Three (0.3%) postoperative day 1, 40 (3.7%) postoperative week 1 and 114 (10.5%) postoperative month 1 visits were missed. Age<30 years (adjusted OR (aOR)=8.2, 95% CI 1.9 to 35.2) and ≥90 years (aOR=5.7, 95% CI 2.0 to 15.6) compared with patients aged 70–79 years, estimated travel time of >2 hours (aOR=3.2, 95% CI 1.4 to 7.4), smokers (aOR=2.7, 95% CI 1.6 to 4.8) and complications identified up to the postoperative visit (aOR=1.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.1) predicted a higher rate of missed visits. Ocular comorbidities (aOR=0.7, 95% CI 0.5 to 1.0) and previous visit best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 20/50–20/80 (aOR=0.4, 95% CI 0.3 to 0.7) and 20/90–20/200 (aOR=0.4, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.9), compared with BCVA at the previous visit of 20/40 or better, predicted a lower rate of missed visits. Gender, race/ethnicity, language, education, income, insurance, alcohol use and season of the year were not associated with missed visits.ConclusionsMedical factors and demographic characteristics, including patient age and distance from the hospital, are associated with missed follow-up visits in cataract surgery. Additional studies are needed to identify disparities in cataract postoperative care that are population-specific. This information can contribute to the implementation of policies and interventions for addressing them.

Transformation of the Ghent System in Sweden: Silent Institutionalization of Complementary ­Unemployment­ Benefits

The Swedish public unemployment insurance program is characterized by its governance structure involving union-linked insurance funds, famously known as the Ghent system. This paper argues that the unions’ strongly entrenched interest in the provision of unemployment benefits has continued to shape the establishment and expansion of complementary benefits for the unemployed in multiple forms, including bilateral Employment Transition Agreements between employers’ organizations and unions (occupational pillar) and privately provided complementary income insurance benefits mediated by unions (private pillar). The paper accounts for this multi-pillarization process of the Swedish unemployment benefit provision system and how the unions’ involvement has come to take multiple forms. The paper also discusses distributive implication of this union-led development of the complementary pillars, which reinforces the differences in risk protection between different occupational groups and sectors.

A Population-Based Study on the Association between Periodontal Disease and Major Lifestyle-Related Comorbidities in South Korea: An Elderly Cohort Study from 2002–2015

This study determined the association between periodontal disease (PD) and major lifestyle-related comorbidities (LCs) using the database of the nationwide population-based National Health Insurance Service–Elderly Cohort 2002–2015. A nationwide representative sample comprising 558,147 participants, aged 60 years, was analyzed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for sociodemographic and economic factors (sex, age, household income, insurance status, health status, and living area) and major LCs (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, cerebral infarction, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, erectile dysfunction, lipoprotein disorder, and obesity) were used to determine the association between PD and major LCs. Elderly participants with PD had a higher risk of major LCs (hypertension: odds ratio (OR) = 1.40, diabetes mellitus: OR = 1.22, rheumatoid arthritis: OR = 1.16, osteoporosis: OR = 1.37, erectile dysfunction: OR = 1.73, lipoprotein disorder: OR = 1.50, and obesity: OR = 1.59). Our longitudinal cohort study provided evidence that PD was significantly associated with major LCs in elderly participants. In particular, the association between PD and erectile dysfunction had the highest OR in the multivariate analyses.

Trends in Obesity and Medical Expenditure among Women with Diabetes, 2008-2016: Differences by Race/Ethnicity

Objectives: Diabetes results in $327 billion in medical expenditures annually, while obesity, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, leads to more than $147 billion in expendi­ture annually. The aims of this study were: 1) to evaluate racial/ethnic trends in obesity and medical expenditures; and 2) to assess incremental medical expenditures among a nationally representative sample of women with diabetes.Methods: Nine years of data (2008–2016) from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Full Year Consolidated File (unweighted = 11,755; weighted = 10,685,090) were used. The outcome variable was medical expenditure. The primary independent variable was race/ethnicity defined as non-Hispanic Black (NHB), Hispanic, or non-Hispanic White (NHW). Covariates included age, education, marital status, income, insurance, employment, region, comorbidity, and year. Cochran-Armitage tests determined statistical significance of trends in obesity and mean expenditure. Two-part modeling using Probit and gamma distribution was used to assess incremental medical expenditure. Data were clustered to 2008-2010, 2011-2013, 2014-2016.Results: Trends in medical expenditures dif­fered significantly between NHB and NHW women between 2008-2016 (P<.001). His­panic women paid $1,291 less compared with NHW women, after adjusting for rel­evant covariates. There were no significant differences in obesity trends from 2008- 2016 between NHB (P=.989) or Hispanic women with diabetes (P=.938) compared with NHW women with diabetes.Conclusions: These findings suggest the need to further understand the factors asso­ciated with differences in trends for medical expenditures between NHB and NHW women with diabetes and incremental med­ical expenditures in Hispanic women with diabetes compared with NHW women with diabetes.Ethn Dis. 2020;30(4);621-628; doi:10.18865/ed.30.4.621

Distributive Consequences of Risk Privatization: The Case of the Swedish Unemployment Insurance System

The public unemployment insurance program in Sweden has retrenched in terms of its benefit generosity in the last three decades. As a response to this trend, in which an ever-smaller proportion of the previous income of unemployed persons is compensated by public unemployment insurance benefit, complementary income insurance schemes provided by unions have expanded rapidly in the last 15 years, currently covering one half of the working population. What does this change mean for people who need income protection upon unemployment and are more likely to find themselves unemployed or underemployed? By analyzing survey-based benefit recipiency data among retail workers who were unemployed in 2014, this article explores the outcomes of the multi-pillarized unemployment benefit provision system in Sweden. While public unemployment insurance benefit does not fully compensate for the income loss for the majority of retail workers, the promise of a complementary income insurance scheme seems to be illusory for many individuals as they repeatedly oscillate between precarious work and benefits, accompanied by the burden of navigating a complex system.