In a study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine, Waller found if high-utilizing healthcare users were provided with appropriate and timely care, patient outcomes were improved, hospital visits were drastically reduced, and healthcare costs dropped significantly (2011). The study focused on high frequency utilizers of...
A lot of research has shown a strong link between education and overall health. A study done by Ross & Wu shows that those who have obtained higher levels of education are more likely to have better health throughout life. Those who obtain higher education...
Ross and Mirowsky found that health is improved when individuals are employed (1995). Ross and Mirowsky conducted a study that was done over one year using a survey which showed that the health of those who were employed did not change in the year, while...
The Ontario government has identified that understanding and being able to identify who high-cost users (HCUs) are would help inform policy making and better management of healthcare resource utilization. A study by Rais et al. found that HCUs in Ontario (1.5% of the Ontario population),...
Emerging information technologies are changing the healthcare landscape. Some of these trends include: big data analysis, cloud computing in healthcare, and health sensing technologies (Chen et. al., 2015). Health sensing devices have given the consumer the power to track their own physical, mental and physiological...
In 2009, researchers discovered that substance abuse and mental health services cost the United States $172 billion every year (Santora, Smith & Stocks, 2015). The readmission of patients who suffered from mental health and substance abuse (MHSA) proved to be very expensive. Identifying the reasons...
The improved physical and mental health of young Canadians can be attributed to access to nutritious foods, a healthy diet, regular physical activity and reduced sedentary behaviour (Freeman, King & Pickett, 2012). This is why breakfast programs within Ontario schools are essential to the healthy...
Improving the social determinants of health of communities is important as it will not only contribute towards improving population health but will also reduce health disparities. Although there has been a lot of effort contributed towards narrowing the gap in health for disadvantaged populations, much...
Accessible and affordable transportation, safe and habitable housing, access to nutritious food, public safety, quality education, and exposure to drugs and violence - these all impact a person’s overall health and wellbeing. Healthcare systems in North America are currently working to improve population health with...