Health Research in JFEI Over a Decade: 2009-2019.

This article is a review of thirty health-related articles published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues from 2009 until 2019. This review discusses how the thirty studies have addressed broad areas of concern around health care access, health utilization and health status as well as health policy and implications and contributed to the advancement of knowledge in these areas. Articles mostly focused on health outcomes for families or demographic groups within families, with an emphasis on socio-economic inequalities and inequitable burdens faced.

Cost-effectiveness of probiotics for necrotizing enterocolitis prevention in very low birth weight infants.

Objective: To examine the cost-effectiveness of prophylactic probiotics on necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) prevention in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.

Study Design: We built a decision-analytic model using TreeAge. Effectiveness was assessed using quality-adjusted life-years (QALY).

Racial differences in Transitions to Marriage for Unmarried Mothers.

Unlike prior studies that have explained racial differences in the transitions to marriage among unmarried women, our study used the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine racial differences in the transitions to marriage among unmarried women following a non-marital birth. We found that Black mothers were 60-65% more likely to delay marriage after a non-marital birth compared to White mothers and these racial gaps were only partially explained by economic, demographic and attitudinal factors. Our paper further contributes to this literature by examining changes in cohabitation patterns, educational attainment, poverty status and attitudes of gender distrust that are able to partially explain and reduce these racial gaps in transitions to marriage.

Caring from Afar: Asian H1B Migrant Workers and Aging Parents.

With the growth in engineering/technology industries, the United States has seen an increase in the arrival of highly skilled temporary migrant workers on H1B visas from various Asian countries. Limited research exists on how these groups maintain family ties from afar including caring for aging parents. This study explores the experiences and challenges that Asian H1B workers face when providing care from a distance.

Changes in out-of-pocket payments for healthcare in Vietnam and its impact on equity in payments, 1992-2002.

Background: Economic reforms in Vietnam initiated in the late 1980s included deregulation of the health system resulting in extensive changes in health care delivery, access, and financing. One aspect of the health sector reform was the introduction of user fees at both public and private health facilities, which was in stark contrast to the former socialized system of free medical care. Subsequently, health insurance and free health care cards for the poor were introduced to mitigate the barriers to seeking care and financial burden imposed by out-of-pocket (OOP) health payments as a result of the user fees.

Influence of socioeconomic status, wealth and financial empowerment on gender differences in health and healthcare utilization in later life: evidence from India.

Empirical studies from developed countries observe that women report worse health and higher healthcare utilization than men, but the health disadvantage diminishes with age; gender differences in self-rated health often vanish or are reversed in older ages. Comparable assessments of health during later life from developing countries are limited because of the lack of large-scale surveys that include older women. Our study attempts to address the shortage of developing country studies by examining gender differences in health and healthcare utilization among older adults in India.

The impact of financial incentives on physician productivity in medical groups.

Objective: To estimate the effect of financial incentives in medical groups--both at the level of individual physician and collectively--on individual physician productivity.

Data Sources/study Setting: Secondary data from 1997 on individual physician and group characteristics from two surveys: Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Physician Compensation and Production Survey and the Cost Survey Area Resource File data on market characteristics, and various sources of state regulatory data.

Study Design: Cross-sectional estimation of individual physician production function models, using ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares regression.