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PubMed2005

Opposition to redistributive employment policies for women: the role of policy experience and group interest.

We examined whether group interest affected ideological beliefs and attitudes towards redistributive policies among men and women. We found that group interest influenced meritocratic and neo-sexist beliefs and support for gender-based affirmative action and comparable worth policies. Men and women differed in their ideological beliefs and support for the redistributive policies only when they had conscious experience with these policies. Those with policy experience expressed policy attitudes that corresponded with their gender group's interests, while those lacking such experience did not. We also noted group interest effects within each gender: men who had conscious experience with the policies expressed more opposition and greater neo-sexism and meritocratic beliefs than did men who were not consciously experienced with these policies. In contrast, consciously experienced women expressed more policy support than did their not consciously experienced counterparts. Overall, our findings indicate that group interest is an important determinant of policy attitudes and related ideological beliefs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Human resources for health policies: a critical component in health policies.

In the last few years, increasing attention has been paid to the development of health policies. But side by side with the presumed benefits of policy, many analysts share the opinion that a major drawback of health policies is their failure to make room for issues of human resources. Current approaches in human resources suggest a number of weaknesses: a reactive, ad hoc attitude towards problems of human resources; dispersal of accountability within human resources management (HRM); a limited notion of personnel administration that fails to encompass all aspects of HRM; and finally the short-term perspective of HRM.There are three broad arguments for modernizing the ways in which human resources for health are managed:bullet; the central role of the workforce in the health sector;bullet; the various challenges thrown up by health system reforms;bullet; the need to anticipate the effect on the health workforce (and consequently on service provision) arising from various macroscopic social trends impinging on health systems.The absence of appropriate human resources policies is responsible, in many countries, for a chronic imbalance with multifaceted effects on the health workforce: quantitative mismatch, qualitative disparity, unequal distribution and a lack of coordination between HRM actions and health policy needs.Four proposals have been put forward to modernize how the policy process is conducted in the development of human resources for health (HRH):bullet; to move beyond the traditional approach of personnel administration to a more global concept of HRM;bullet; to give more weight to the integrated, interdependent and systemic nature of the different components of HRM when preparing and implementing policy;bullet; to foster a more proactive attitude among human resources (HR) policy-makers and managers;bullet; to promote the full commitment of all professionals and sectors in all phases of the process.The development of explicit human resources policies is a crucial link in health policies and is needed both to address the imbalances of the health workforce and to foster implementation of the health services reforms.

Editorial↗
PubMed1995

Whose policy is it anyway? International and national influences on health policy development in Uganda.

As national resources for health decline, so dependence on international resources to finance the capital and recurrent costs is increasing. This dependence, combined with an increasing emphasis on policy-based, as opposed to project-based, lending and grant-making has been accompanied by greater involvement of international actors in the formation of national health policy. This paper explores the process of health policy development in Uganda and examines how major donors are influencing and conflicting with national policy-making bodies. Focusing on two examples of user fees and drugs policies, it argues that while the content of international prescriptions to strengthen the health system may not be bad in itself, the process by which they are applied potentially threatens national sovereignty and weakens mechanisms for ensuring accountability. It concludes by proposing that in order to increase the sustainability of policy reforms, much greater emphasis should be placed on strengthening national capacity for policy analysis and research, building up policy networks and enhancing the quality of information available to the public concerning key policy changes.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed2000

International actors and population policies in India, with special reference to contraceptive policies.

The international population policy agenda has traditionally been dominated by demographically driven population control policies. However, in the population policy development that preceded the International Conference on Population and Development in 1994, people's reproductive needs and rights received more emphasis. The aim of this study was to analyze how the new emphasis in population policies has been interpreted at the country level. In analyzing population policy rhetoric and its practical interpretations in India in 1994, the authors found that the rhetoric was broadening to encompass women's empowerment and reproductive health and that the use of direct method-specific monetary incentives and disincentives for accepting family planning methods was disapproved. However, population policy options were still considered mainly in terms of their ability to reduce fertility. Furthermore, the increased emphasis on the general market agenda was more important than that on reproductive needs and rights in molding population policies, as was evident in the greater stress on cost-recovery systems and nongovernmental actors. The findings suggest that the broader agenda for population policies and reproductive rights has been interpreted so that it can serve the aims of population-growth control and be implemented in the context of more market-oriented social policies and trade liberalization.

Contraception↗
PubMed2004

The life cycle of the policy for preventing road accidents: an empirical example of the policy for reducing drunk driving crashes in Taipei.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the temporal variation of the effect of preventive policy on reducing traffic accidents. The life cycle theory was introduced to describe the safety effect of the intervening policy over time. Poisson regression models with dummy-based and time-based specifications were used to evaluate the effect of an intervening policy over an observation period following its implementation. The policy of "Criminal sanction for drunk driving (CSFDD)" in Taipei city was evaluated as an empirical example to determine whether the temporal variation of safety effect happened to the CSFDD policy. The study results showed that alcohol consumption, arresting the drunk driving offenders, and the implementation of the CSFDD were the significant factors affecting the rate of occurrence of fatal accidents involving drunk driving. The effect of the CSFDD policy appeared to be a rapid initial response followed by a lower rate of decay. The existence of the life cycle implies that employing different observation periods following the implementation of a specific policy to evaluate its performance may obtain different effects. The results of this study are crucial for policy evaluation. The effects of safety policy should be carefully interpreted in order to avoid misleading the relevant authorities in coming to the wrong conclusions and as such make the wrong decisions.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2006

Teachers' perceptions of health education practice in Northern Ireland: reported differences between policy and non-policy holding schools.

It is generally accepted that schools should devote resources to developing and disseminating a health education policy, yet there is little empirical evidence to establish the value of policy in this context. This study examined teachers' perceptions of health education practice in policy and non-policy holding schools. A questionnaire measuring aspects of health education practice was issued to a random sample of schools. This consisted of 276 primary and 119 post-primary schools. In this cross-sectional study, significant differences in teachers' evaluations were found between policy and non-policy holding schools. It was evident that the presence of a health education policy was associated with higher ratings of health education practice. This evidence suggests that policy has intrinsic value in terms of health education practice. The development and dissemination of policy documents were also examined to assess the workload involved.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Using simulation for AIDS policy modeling: benefits for HIV/AIDS prevention policy makers in Vienna, Austria.

In spite of advanced therapies and the success of additional prevention programs, the HIV/AIDS epidemic still remains a challenge. Our paper refers academics, health care managers, and policy makers to the relevance of AIDS policy simulators in better decision-making. By highlighting the types of decisions AIDS policy models can support, we demonstrate the strategic role of AIDS policy simulators for the efficient and effective planning of scarce resources to fight the epidemic. For each type of decision, we then review exemplary AIDS policy simulators that have helped policy makers make better decisions. Finally, we present the benefits of an AIDS policy simulator for HIV/AIDS prevention policy makers in Vienna, Austria.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Making healthy public policy; developing the science by learning the art: an ecological framework for policy studies.

During the 1980s increasing attention has been given to the view that a vast array of public policies have great potential for health promotion and that this potential ought to be developed. After briefly discussing the basis for this concept and its policy implications, this article turns to a major corequisite for making healthy public policy a political reality: learning how to do it. Where healthy public policy exists, how did it happen? This is a question that calls for a new generation of policy studies, one that is relevant to advocates of healthy public policy within and outside governments. An ecological framework of policy-making is proposed for such studies, delineating the social climate, key players, and strategic action. From it, operational indicators and study methods are suggested, in order to learn some general principles, within a real-world context, of how to develop public policies that are healthful.

Ecology↗
PubMed1997

Policy matters: critical policy analysis and nursing.

Policy is an integral part of nursing. At the organisational level, policies are constantly developed in a seemingly endless quest to provide more effective and efficient nursing services and outcomes. Such an increasing generation of policy appears to rest on the taken-for-granted assumption by nurses that policy is essential for good nursing practice. However, is it necessarily the case that the generation of policy documents advances the practice of nursing? Rather, does the apparent uncritical adoption of the role of policy by nurses actually serve to further regulate, control, and even limit the practice of nursing? This paper uses a critical perspective to explore nursing policy. In so doing it exposes the effect of policy on the construction and maintenance of everyday understandings of nursing practice.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The role of public policies in reducing smoking prevalence and deaths caused by smoking in Arizona: results from the Arizona tobacco policy simulation model.

Arizona was one of the first few states to implement a comprehensive tobacco control program. The effect of that program is examined using a computer-simulation model (SimSmoke) developed for the purposes of evaluation, planning, and justifying policies. This approach assesses the impact to date of tobacco control policies on smoking prevalence and generates predictions about the effects of tobacco control policies on past and future smoking prevalence and associated future premature mortality. SimSmoke estimates indicate that tobacco control policies reduced smoking rates in Arizona by about 20 percent over the period 1993-2002. A previous CDC study obtains similar effects, but does not net out the effects of individual policies. SimSmoke attributes much of the reduction, about 61 percent, to price increases and attributes 38 percent of the overall effect to media policies, leaving only a small percentage of the smoking reductions attributed to quitlines, youth access policies, and the weak clean air laws. Tobacco control policies implemented as comprehensive strategies have significantly affected smoking rates in Arizona, which leads to large reductions in deaths attributable to smoking. It will be important to maintain these efforts over time to reduce or keep smoking prevalence down and to minimize smoking-attributable deaths.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Consensus for tobacco policy among former state legislators using the policy Delphi method.

OBJECTIVE: To test a novel approach for building consensus about tobacco control policies among legislators. DESIGN: A pilot study was conducted using a two-round, face-to-face policy Delphi method. PARTICIPANTS: Randomly selected sample of 30 former Kentucky legislators (60% participation rate). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Consensus on tobacco control and tobacco farming policies. RESULTS: Former state legislators were more supportive of tobacco control policies than expected, and highly supportive of lessening the state's dependence on tobacco. Former state legislators were in agreement with 43% of the second-round items for which there was no agreement at the first round, demonstrating a striking increase in consensus. With new information from their colleagues, former lawmakers became more supportive of workplace smoking restrictions, limitations on tobacco promotional items, and modest excise tax increases. CONCLUSIONS: The policy Delphi method has the potential for building consensus for tobacco control and tobacco farming policies among state legislators. Tobacco control advocates in other states might consider using the policy Delphi method with policymakers in public and private sectors.

Cooperative Behavior↗
PubMed2007

Public policy, private landholders: perspectives on policy mechanisms for sustainable land management.

A variety of tools can be employed in support of environmental policy objectives, but achieving preferred outcomes also requires the cooperation of private landholders and others with vested interests in the land. The Land Stewardship project in the state of Victoria, Australia, is an initiative devoted to exploring the ways in which private landholders could be encouraged towards more sustainable land management. Following the view that the success of policy initiatives is contingent on effective stakeholder engagement, a component of the Land Stewardship project involved a dialogue with landholders about policy tools (e.g., regulation, economic instruments) that might be deployed to encourage improved land management practices. This paper provides an account of the views and attitudes of landholders, as revealed in a series of three workshops, which consisted of discussions about the factors influencing agriculture, participants' interpretations of sustainability, and policy methods. The focus of the paper is on what landholders believe to be the strengths and limitations of standard policy tools, and the essential requirements for these tools to deliver the best land management outcomes. One of the main findings of the project was a 'preference hierarchy' in respect of policy methods, according to which the strongest support was expressed for voluntary and education-based tools, followed by market-based instruments, with command-and-control regulation identified as a measure of 'last resort'. In the paper we reflect also on how the views and outlook of landholders should be positioned relative to other inputs in the design of policy interventions.

Australia↗
PubMed2005

Health policy analysis: a simple tool for policy makers.

Policy analysis is not an easy task. Its scope is broad and can include both the analysis of policy process and the analysis of policy content. This paper is concerned with the analysis of policy content and offers some practical guidance regarding how to analyse health policy and link it to health outcomes. An eight-step framework for policy analysis is proposed that public health policy makers and public health practitioners may find especially useful due to its simplicity.

Decision Making, Organizational↗
PubMed1997

Health policy versus industrial policy in the pharmaceutical sector: the case of Canada.

This paper analyses the trade-off between health policy and industrial policy objectives in the field of pharmaceuticals in the Canadian policy setting. In Canada pharmaceutical regulation is organized in two tiers. The federal government is responsible for the conduct of industrial policy for the pharmaceutical sector, including the patenting of new molecular entities, the registration and approval of pharmaceutical products, and the pricing of new products. At the province level, policy-makers are responsible for the reimbursement of the cost of medicines; the methodologies implemented for this purpose may be geared towards meeting the objective of cost containment within tight health budgets rather than addressing industrial policy objectives and, thereby, supporting the pharmaceutical industry. The reimbursement methodologies implemented may also be related with the strength of pharmaceutical presence in each province. The paper provides evidence from two such provinces, British Columbia and Ontario, and contrasts pharmaceutical policy-making at the provincial level with that at the federal level.

British Columbia↗
PubMed2002

Innovation in social policy: collaborative policy advocacy.

In a time of policy devolution, social workers have a unique opportunity to develop a significant voice in constructing state social welfare policy. This article examines a method of collaborative policy advocacy led by social work researchers, practitioners, advocates, and students. It is illustrated with a five-year project to reduce wealth inequality through community economic development. Researchers brought expertise in ideas and analysis to real-world applications. Social work practitioners brought essential "on the ground" expertise. Students brought much-needed assistance and a fresh perspective to the social policy process. Advocates, working in social welfare advocacy organizations, bridged these perspectives and provided experience in policy advocacy. Working with coalition partners, social workers successfully placed asset-based community economic development strategies on the state agenda and were instrumental in passage of innovative legislation. The article demonstrates that the policy-making process is open to influence by social workers, especially if they come prepared with innovative and promising ideas about long-standing social issues. Social workers can and should take the lead and become significant actors in state policy development.

Community Participation↗