Bruno Casal

Adaptación de los servicios de salud a las características específicas y de utilización de los nuevos españoles. Informe SESPAS 2008

Because of the progressive increase in the number of immigrants and the uncertainty about the capacity of the Spanish health service to deal with the quantitative and qualitative increases in demand, the possibility of introducing changes to adapt our services to the new situation should be considered. Beginning with an analysis of the factors that influence health status and use of the health service, based on the National Health Survey (NHS), the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), we compare the health profiles and patterns of medical resources utilization between the national and foreign populations. The pattern of demand for health services in the immigrant population corresponds basically to the needs of a young population in good health. According to NHS data, resource utilization among immigrants can even be lower than that among the national population. Assessing the link between health status and demand for healthcare from a dynamic point of view, by identifying variations in patterns of health and patterns of demand for healthcare, is important to identify imbalances in resources and to establish an appropriate hierarchy of preventive and treatment priorities.

Length of stay and mental health of the immigrant population in Spain: evidence of the healthy immigrant effect

This article analyses the relationship between how long immigrant populations reside in the country of destination and the state of their mental health. The empirical approach to this relationship relies on data from the Spanish National Health Survey 2011–2012. The results confirm a Healthy Immigrant Effect that tends to decline in accordance with how long the immigrant stays. Immigrants who have been residing for less than 10 years in Spain have better mental health than the national population as a whole. It is important to study health disparities among the foreign population and how these evolve to ensure that it has access to health services and that its health care needs are met.

Pérdidas laborales atribuibles a la mortalidad prematura por lesiones de tránsito entre 2002 y 2012

OBJECTIVE To estimate the years of potential life lost, years of potential productive life lost and the labor productivity losses attributable to premature deaths due to traffic injuries between 2002 and 2012 in Spain. METHOD Several statistical sources were combined (Spanish Registry of Deaths, Labor Force Survey and Wage Structure Survey) to develop a simulation model based on the human capital approach. This model allowed us to estimate the loss of labor productivity caused by premature deaths following traffic injuries from 2002 to 2012. In addition, mortality tables with life expectancy estimates were used to compute years of potential life lost and years of potential productive life lost. RESULTS The estimated loss of labour productivity caused by fatal traffic injuries between 2002 and 2012 in Spain amounted to 9,521 million euros (baseline year 2012). The aggregate number of years of potential life lost in the period amounted to 1,433,103, whereas the years of potential productive life lost amounted to 875,729. Throughout the period analyzed, labor productivity losses and years of life lost diminished substantially. CONCLUSIONS Labor productivity losses due to fatal traffic injuries decreased throughout the period analyzed. Nevertheless, the cumulative loss was alarmingly high. Estimation of the economic impact of health problems can complement conventional indicators of distinct dimensions and be used to support public policy making.

MonográficoPérdidas laborales atribuibles a la mortalidad prematura por lesiones de tránsito entre 2002 y 2012Labor productivity losses attributable to premature deaths due to traffic injuries between 2002 and 2012

OBJECTIVE To estimate the years of potential life lost, years of potential productive life lost and the labor productivity losses attributable to premature deaths due to traffic injuries between 2002 and 2012 in Spain. METHOD Several statistical sources were combined (Spanish Registry of Deaths, Labor Force Survey and Wage Structure Survey) to develop a simulation model based on the human capital approach. This model allowed us to estimate the loss of labor productivity caused by premature deaths following traffic injuries from 2002 to 2012. In addition, mortality tables with life expectancy estimates were used to compute years of potential life lost and years of potential productive life lost. RESULTS The estimated loss of labour productivity caused by fatal traffic injuries between 2002 and 2012 in Spain amounted to 9,521 million euros (baseline year 2012). The aggregate number of years of potential life lost in the period amounted to 1,433,103, whereas the years of potential productive life lost amounted to 875,729. Throughout the period analyzed, labor productivity losses and years of life lost diminished substantially. CONCLUSIONS Labor productivity losses due to fatal traffic injuries decreased throughout the period analyzed. Nevertheless, the cumulative loss was alarmingly high. Estimation of the economic impact of health problems can complement conventional indicators of distinct dimensions and be used to support public policy making.

Parental education, child’s grade repetition and the modifier effect of cannabis use

Previous research on the relationship among family socio-economic status (SES), cannabis use and educational attainment has concentrated on finding a causal pathway from SES and illicit drug use to educational achievement. However, the association between family background and a child’s cannabis use is weak. When analysing both family SES and education as determinants of a child’s educational attainment, cannabis use should be treated as an effect modifier rather than a confounder. This article examines how cannabis use alters the protective effect of better family education on a child’s school performance. By means of a retrospective cohort study using data from the Spanish National Survey on Drug Use in Secondary Education, this study illustrates that, as expected, children of better-educated parents are less likely to repeat a grade, although the positive impact of higher family education vanishes when students use cannabis.

Illicit drug use and labour market participation: evidence of simultaneity

Empirical research into the relationship between illicit drug use and labour market success has been found to have mixed results in the literature. The relevant sources of variability are the methods used to account for the potential endogeneity of drug use. This article utilizes clinical data for drug use and a recursive simultaneous equations approach as an alternative method for estimating the effect of consumption on labour participation and as a means for controlling for the endogeneity problem. Our results confirm that drug use is endogenously determined, and provide evidence to support the thesis that frequent use of dependency drugs greatly decreases the likelihood of being employed.

The social cost of illicit drugs use in Spain

BACKGROUND Illegal drugs consumption not only has a notable impact on the populations health, but also leads to major socio-economic costs. A significant characteristic of drug consumers is that the majority are of working age. The main aim of this study is to estimate the economic impact of drug consumption in Spain from a social perspective. METHODS A cost-of-illness methodology is carried out and a distinction is made between health-related and non-health related direct costs, as well as indirect costs. Among the direct health care costs included are hospitalisations, primary and emergency care, support programmes and HIV outpatient care. Expenditure on prevention, law enforcement and research was included as direct costs falling outside of health care. Productivity losses due to premature deaths attributed to substance abuse and patient hospitalisation formed part of indirect costs. RESULTS For 2012, the total social cost related to drug consumption in Spain was somewhere between 1,436 and 1,651 million euros. The minimum cost of this consumption represented 0.14% of Spains GDP for that year. CONCLUSION The present cost estimations provide a measure of the social burden that illegal drug consumption represents for the community. When it comes to allocating resources, the obtained results quantify the potential economic returns that could be achieved from effective policies and programmes aimed at reducing the consumption of illegal drugs.