142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Can we buy health? Government health expenditure and population health in the developing world

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Zara Petkovic , Department of Political Science, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO
  
There are a multitude of factors that may contribute to health, one of which is government health expenditure. This paper examines the relationship between government health expenditure and population health in the developing world. While there has been a significant amount of research on the topic previously, results differ widely from one scholar to the next. Results range from finding no relationship between the two variables to finding a very strong, positive relationship. This paper uses regression analysis to test the hypothesis that government expenditure on health, measured as a percentage of gross domestic product, increases health in developing countries. Four measures of health are used: infant mortality rate, life expectancy, under-five mortality rate, and maternal mortality rate. The results of this analysis showed a strong, positive relationship between health and government health expenditure, though more research needs to be done on this relationship.

Learning Areas:

Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Assess previous research on the relationship between government health expenditures and population health in the developing world. Identify any relationship that may exist between government health expenditures and population health in the developing world. Explain the reasons behind the relationship, or lack thereof, between government health expenditure and population health in the developing world. Compare this relationship with that between government health expenditures and population health in the developed world.

Keyword(s): Policy/Policy Development, Public Health Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been solely responsible for the research, analysis and writing of this paper, and have been supervised by both political science professionals and public health professionals to ensure the soundness of my research, analysis and writing. Health policy and health in the developing world are among my greatest academic interests.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4193.0: Public Health Policy/Practice Student Posters