Günther Fink
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 174130 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Günther Fink |
| PRENOMES | Günther |
| SOBRENOME | Fink |
| ASSINATURA | FINK G |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7525-3668 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 101 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 285 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 101 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2008 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2027 |
| ÍNDICE H | 9 |
Reducing early secondary school leaving
Despite major gains in primary school enrollment across low- and middle-income countries, secondary school completion remains low. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in Burkina Faso to evaluate the effectiveness of three interventions designed to reduce early secondary school leaving: (i) information on the economic and health returns to education, (ii) tailored tutoring, and (iii) conditional cash incentives. The cash intervention signif…
Development and validation of the Nurturing Parenting Beliefs and Behaviors Scale (NPBBS)
Despite growing interest in supporting caregivers' use of nurturing care globally, few parenting measures have been validated for use outside of Minority World contexts. This study aims to develop, describe, and provide validity evidence for an efficient, culturally relevant instrument to measure local nurturing parenting beliefs and behaviors regarding responsive caregiving and early learning within a sample of caregivers of 2- to 5-year-olds in…
Physiological Markers of Early Social Skills in Rural South Africa
Early social skills underlie the development of crucial regulatory and behavioral processes across childhood. EEG frontal alpha asymmetry and heart rate variability are two physiological markers that have been extensively studied in relation to social skills in high‐income country (HIC) samples. The prevalence of adversities in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) is linked to pervasive deficits in early social skills, yet little is known abo…
A Short Parent-Reported Attachment Relationship Questionnaire
Secure attachment relationships provide the foundation for lifelong emotional resilience and social flourishing. However, measuring attachment with observational methods is challenging at scale in low-resource settings. Caregiver-report questionnaires offer a feasible alternative but remain underutilized and insufficiently validated for Majority World contexts. This study aimed to address this gap by culturally adapting and validating the Attachm…
Human capital and lifetime income gains of scaling-up small-quantity lipid nutrient supplements among children under 2 years
Undernutrition in early childhood is associated with adverse health and developmental outcomes later in life and remains a persistent global public health problem. Providing small-quantity lipid nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) to children aged 6-24 months improves child growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes, but the potential long-term benefits to human capital have not been previously estimated. We estimated the potential returns to schooling and…
Healthcare managers’ perspectives on direct health facility financing in Tanzania
Health systems in low- and middle-income countries often face severe resource constraints and are implementing reforms to improve accountability and efficiency. Healthcare managers and governance structures are key for the successful implementation of these reforms. This study aimed to examine the implementation of the Direct Health Facility Financing (DHFF), focusing on the perspectives of health facility in-charges and members of Council Health…
The political economy of national health insurance schemes
Governments in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly considering the introduction of national health insurance scheme (NHIS) as a strategy to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) targets. The literature has widely documented the technical challenges associated with implementing UHC policies in LMICs but much less is known about the political process necessary to pass UHC legislation. In this article, we document the politica…
Know-do gaps in the clinical management of childhood illness
To improve quality of care, it is critical to understand why providers do not consistently follow clinical guidelines. Our findings suggest that adherence to protocols is low, but that knowledge is not the primary barrier. Interventions to improve quality must go beyond improving knowledge to also address other drivers of provider behavior such as motivation, workload, and systemic constraints
Prevalence of depression in a large regionally representative population sample in Côte d’Ivoire
The results presented here suggest that the depression burden in rural Côte d'Ivoire is moderate, with a particularly high burden among women and elderly individuals. Mental health services are needed to specifically support this population
Scaling Up Perinatal Care
Utilization of perinatal care remains limited in many settings, exposing pregnant women and newborns to excessive mortality risks. This study quantifies the potential mortality impact of scaling up perinatal care in the five low- and middle-income countries with the highest current infant mortality burden. The study analyses 237,358 birth records from nationally representative observational data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Et…
Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022
BACKGROUND: Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. METHODS: ). For school-aged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI 2 SD above the median). FINDINGS: From 1990 to 20…
The impact of home-installed growth charts and small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) on child growth in Zambia
BACKGROUND: Childhood stunting remains common in many low-income settings and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, as well as impaired child development. METHODS: The main objective of the study was to assess whether home-installed growth charts as well as small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) can reduce growth faltering among infants. All caregivers of infants between 2 and 10 months of age at baseline, and at…
Human resources for health
BACKGROUND: Human resources are a key determinant for the quality of healthcare and health outcomes. Several human resource management approaches or practices have been proposed and implemented to better understand and address health workers' challenges with mixed results particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of this framework synthesis was to review the human resources frameworks commonly available to address human re…
The acute effects of community violence on young children's regulatory, behavioral, and developmental outcomes in a low‐income urban sample in Brazil
BACKGROUND: Existing research on the impacts of adversity on young children's psychological well-being has largely focused on household-level risk factors using observational methods in high-income countries. This study leverages natural variation in the timing and location of community homicides to estimate their acute effects on the regulatory, behavioral, and developmental outcomes of Brazilian 3-year-olds. METHODS: = 41.05 months; 53% female;…
Mental health of individuals at increased suicide risk after hospital discharge and initial findings on the usefulness of a suicide prevention project in Central Switzerland
Low to moderate levels of self-efficacy, self-management, and health literacy underscore the need for targeted interventions to support individuals at suicide risk. Positive feedback on the personal safety plan and the SERO app suggests their potential effectiveness in helping individuals manage their suicidality. Therefore, integrating structured measures for promoting self-management into standard care protocols in psychiatric hospitals and int…
Coverage of policies to improve antimicrobial stewardship in human medicine in low and middle income countries
In many LMICs, despite the existence of policies aimed at slowing down the spread of AMR, there are still significant gaps in their implementation and enforcement. Increased national efforts in the areas of enforcement and monitoring of antibiotic use as well as regular monitoring of national efforts are urgently needed to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use in LMICs and to slow the spread of AMR globally
Health system utilization and perceived quality among adults in Lao PDR
The study presents data from the first nationally representative survey in Lao PDR to measure health system performance. The results indicate that, despite progress towards universal coverage of health insurance in Lao PDR, significant gaps remain, particularly with respect to bypassing of primary care facilities, significant unmet need for care, experiences of discrimination, and overall low perceptions of quality of care
Effects of Performance‐Based Financing on Availability, Quality, and Use of Family Planning Services in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Access to high‐quality family planning services remains limited in many low‐ and middle‐income countries, resulting in a high burden of unintended pregnancies and adverse health outcomes. We used data from a large randomized controlled trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo to test whether performance‐based financing (PBF) can increase the availability, quality, and use of family planning services. Starting at the end of 2016, 30 health zones …
Understanding the role of the Tanzania national health insurance fund in improving service coverage and quality of care
Health insurance is one of the main financing mechanisms currently being used in low and middle-income countries to improve access to quality services. Tanzania has been running its National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) since 2001 and has recently undergone significant reforms. However, there is limited attention to the causal mechanisms through which NHIF improves service coverage and quality of care. This paper aims to use a system dynamics (qu…
Improving coverage of antenatal iron and folic acid supplementation and malaria prophylaxis through targeted information and home deliveries in Côte d’Ivoire
INTRODUCTION: Coverage of antenatal iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation and malaria chemoprophylaxis remains low in many low-income and middle-income settings. We assessed the effectiveness of personal information (INFO) sessions and personal information session plus home deliveries (INFO+DELIV) to increase coverage of IFA supplementation and intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp), and their effectiveness on postpartum anaemi…
Healthcare workers’ experiences with Covid-19-related prevention and control measures in Tanzania
The ability of a health system to withstand shocks such as a pandemic depends largely on the availability and preparedness of health-care workers (HCWs), who are at the frontline of disease management and prevention. Despite the heavy burden placed on HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known regarding their experiences in low-income countries. We conducted a web-based survey with HCWs in randomly selected districts of Tanzania to explor…
Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of high blood pressure in a cohort in Northern Andean Peru
BACKGROUND: Gaps exist along the high blood pressure (HBP) diagnosis-treatment-control pathway in high, low and middle-income countries. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of HBP and to describe the levels of awareness, control and treatment of HBP in the rural Peruvian Andes. METHODS: = 2752) who answered a baseline health and lifestyle questionnaire and underwent a physical examination, which included three blood pressure readings. HBP was …
Maternal stimulation and early child development in sub-saharan Africa
NA (not a clinical trial)
Relationship between animal health and livestock farmers’ wellbeing in Ghana
Disease-induced livestock mortalities have a significant negative effect on farmers' wellbeing, particularly in the physical and psychological domains. This suggests that veterinary service policies addressing disease risks in livestock, could contribute to improving the wellbeing of livestock dependent populations, and public food security
Purchasing for high-quality care using National Health Insurance
Improving the quality of care is essential for progress towards universal health coverage. Health financing arrangements offer opportunities for governments to incentivize and reward improvements in the quality of care provided. This study examines the extent to which the purchasing arrangements established within Zambia’s new National Health Insurance can improve equitable access to high-quality care. We adopt the Strategic Purchasing Progress a…
Fertility, female labor force participation, and the demographic dividend
We estimate the effect of fertility on female labor force participation in a panel of countries using abortion legislation as an instrument for fertility. We find that removing legal restrictions on abortion significantly reduces fertility and estimate that, on average, a birth reduces a woman's labor supply by almost 2 years during her reproductive life. Our results imply that behavioral change, in the form of increased female labor supply, cont…
Girl child marriage as a risk factor for early childhood development and stunting
Slum Residence and Child Health in Developing Countries
Continued population growth and increasing urbanization have led to the formation of large informal urban settlements in many developing countries in recent decades. The high prevalence of poverty, overcrowding, and poor sanitation observed in these settlements—commonly referred to as “slums”—suggests that slum residence constitutes a major health risk for children. In this article, we use data from 191 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) across…
Determinants of International Emergency Aid—Humanitarian Need Only
Disease and Development Revisited
Poverty, physical stature, and cognitive skills
Past research suggests robust positive associations between household socioeconomic status and children's early cognitive development in Western countries. Relatively little is known about these relations in low-income country settings characterized by economic adversity, high prevalence of malnutrition and infectious disease, and relatively lower school enrollment. The present study develops and empirically evaluates an adapted model of early ch…
Pathways between paternal and maternal education, caregivers’ support for learning, and early child development in 44 low- and middle-income countries
The Cost of Low Fertility in Europe
When urban taps run dry
More politicians, more corruption
In the literature on political economy and public choice, it is typically assumed that government size correlates positively with public corruption. The empirical literature, however, is inconclusive, owing to both measurement problems and endogeneity. This paper creates a corruption index based on original data from a survey covering top politicians and civil servants in all Swedish municipalities. The effect of more politicians on corruption pr…
Home- and center-based learning opportunities for preschoolers in low- and middle-income countries
Measuring Socioeconomic Inequalities With Predicted Absolute Incomes Rather Than Wealth Quintiles
Objectives. To compare the predictive power of synthetic absolute income measures with that of asset-based wealth quintiles in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) using child stunting as an outcome. Methods. We pooled data from 239 nationally representative household surveys from LMICs and computed absolute incomes in US dollars based on households’ asset rank as well as data on national consumption and inequality levels. We used multivariab…
Impact of Migration on Fertility and Abortion
Over the last few decades, total fertility rates, child morbidity, and child mortality rates have declined in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Among the most striking trends observed are the rapid rate of urbanization and the often remarkably large gaps in fertility between rural and urban areas. Although a large literature has highlighted the importance of migration and urbanization within countries’ demographic transitions, relatively little i…
Health insurance and health-seeking behavior
Distal determinants of fertility decline
Districts in India exhibit enormous variation in the level of socioeconomic development and are at different stages of fertility transition. Though a large and growing body of literature has examined the proximate determinant of fertility at the state and
Scrambling” geo-referenced data to protect privacy induces bias in distance estimation
Poor and Rational
Inequality in the Quality of Health Services
We use unique data on direct observations of patient-provider interactions linked to detailed patient exit interviews and household surveys to study the relationship between patients’ socioeconomic status and the quality of antenatal care in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We find a significant wealth-quality gradient: a 1 standard deviation in household wealth is associated with a 1.6–3.2 percentage point increase in protocol compliance, depen…
Measuring early childhood development at a global scale
Stunting risk of orphans by caregiver and living arrangement in low-income and middle-income countries
Early orphanhood constitutes a major risk for children's physical development in LMICs. However, the results suggest that the adverse effects of a parental loss can be mitigated if appropriate support is provided, indicating the potential benefits of the surviving parents staying with their children. The benefits of targeted social policies aimed at single fathers and grandparents supporting orphans may be significant
Higher Education Policy, Enrollment, and Income Inequality
Objective. The objective of this article is to examine whether public expenditure on higher education has an effect on income inequality by increasing enrollment. Methods. Combining data from the World Bank Development Indicators with data from the World Income Inequality Database version 2, we study the relation between government education expenditure and enrollment rates, as well as the relation between government education expenditure and the…
Housing conditions and respiratory health in children in mining communities
Poor housing conditions, such as poor building materials and weak structures as well as high levels of indoor air pollution, are important risk factors for a broad range of diseases, including acute respiratory infections (ARI). In mining areas, research on the determinants of respiratory health predominantly focuses on exposures to outdoor air pollutants deriving from mining operations. However, mining projects also influence the socioeconomic s…
Quality of clinical assessment and child mortality
This analysis describes specific gaps in the quality of health care in Central Africa and assesses the association between quality of clinical care and mortality at age 2–59 months. Regionally representative facility and household surveys for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Central African Republic were collected between 2012 and 2016. These data are novel in linking facilities with households in their catchment area. Complianc…
Impact of a Text-Messaging Program on Adolescent Reproductive Health
Objectives. To evaluate whether text-messaging programs can improve reproductive health among adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries. Methods. We conducted a cluster–randomized controlled trial among 756 female students aged 14 to 24 years in Accra, Ghana, in 2014. We randomized 38 schools to unidirectional intervention (n = 12), interactive intervention (n = 12), and control (n = 14). The unidirectional intervention sent participan…
Saving a Life-Year and Reaching MDG 4 with Investments in Water and Sanitation
Urbanization and the Wealth of Nations
The proportion of a country's population living in urban areas is highly correlated with its level of income. Urban areas offer economies of scale and richer market structures, and there is strong evidence that workers in urban areas are individually more productive, and earn more, than rural workers. However, rapid urbanization is also associated with crowding, environmental degradation, and other impediments to productivity. Overall, we find no…
Higher Education Policy, Enrollment, and Income Inequality
Objective. The objective of this article is to examine whether public expenditure on higher education has an effect on income inequality by increasing enrollment. Methods. Combining data from the World Bank Development Indicators with data from the World Income Inequality Database version 2, we study the relation between government education expenditure and enrollment rates, as well as the relation between government education expenditure and the…
Fertility, female labor force participation, and the demographic dividend
We estimate the effect of fertility on female labor force participation in a panel of countries using abortion legislation as an instrument for fertility. We find that removing legal restrictions on abortion significantly reduces fertility and estimate that, on average, a birth reduces a woman's labor supply by almost 2 years during her reproductive life. Our results imply that behavioral change, in the form of increased female labor supply, cont…
Implications of population ageing for economic growth
The share of the population aged 60 and over is projected to increase in nearly every country in the world during the period 2005–50. Population ageing will tend to lower both labour-force participation and savings rates, thereby raising concerns about a future slowing of economic growth. Our calculations suggest that OECD countries are likely to see modest—but not catastrophic—declines in the rate of economic growth. However, behavioural respons…
Determinants of International Emergency Aid—Humanitarian Need Only
The Cost of Low Fertility in Europe
The effect of water and sanitation on child health
BACKGROUND: Despite continued national and international efforts, access to improved water and sanitation remains limited in many developing countries. The health consequences of lacking access to water and sanitation are severe, and particularly important for child development. METHODS: To investigate the associations between child health and access to water and sanitation, we merged all available Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) with comple…
When urban taps run dry
Saving a Life-Year and Reaching MDG 4 with Investments in Water and Sanitation
Health insurance and health-seeking behavior
Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of preventive zinc supplementation
Preventive zinc supplementation to children of ages 1-5 appears to be a highly cost-effective intervention in typical developing country settings. More research will be needed to determine the most effective mechanism to deliver zinc to this target population
Impact of Migration on Fertility and Abortion
Over the last few decades, total fertility rates, child morbidity, and child mortality rates have declined in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Among the most striking trends observed are the rapid rate of urbanization and the often remarkably large gaps in fertility between rural and urban areas. Although a large literature has highlighted the importance of migration and urbanization within countries’ demographic transitions, relatively little i…
Slum Residence and Child Health in Developing Countries
Continued population growth and increasing urbanization have led to the formation of large informal urban settlements in many developing countries in recent decades. The high prevalence of poverty, overcrowding, and poor sanitation observed in these settlements—commonly referred to as “slums”—suggests that slum residence constitutes a major health risk for children. In this article, we use data from 191 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) across…
Disease and Development Revisited
Linear Growth and Child Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Scrambling” geo-referenced data to protect privacy induces bias in distance estimation
Poverty, physical stature, and cognitive skills
Past research suggests robust positive associations between household socioeconomic status and children's early cognitive development in Western countries. Relatively little is known about these relations in low-income country settings characterized by economic adversity, high prevalence of malnutrition and infectious disease, and relatively lower school enrollment. The present study develops and empirically evaluates an adapted model of early ch…
Risk Factors for Childhood Stunting in 137 Developing Countries
BACKGROUND: Stunting affects one-third of children under 5 y old in developing countries, and 14% of childhood deaths are attributable to it. A large number of risk factors for stunting have been identified in epidemiological studies. However, the relative contribution of these risk factors to stunting has not been examined across countries. We estimated the number of stunting cases among children aged 24-35 mo (i.e., at the end of the 1,000 days…
Paternal Stimulation and Early Child Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Few studies have examined the relationship between paternal stimulation and children's growth and development, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of paternal stimulation and to assess whether paternal stimulation was associated with early child growth and development. METHODS: Data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys rounds 4 and 5 were combined a…
Early Childhood Developmental Status in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
BACKGROUND: The development of cognitive and socioemotional skills early in life influences later health and well-being. Existing estimates of unmet developmental potential in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are based on either measures of physical growth or proxy measures such as poverty. In this paper we aim to directly estimate the number of children in LMICs who would be reported by their caregivers to show low cognitive and/or socio…
Rollout of community-based family health strategy (programa de saude de familia) is associated with large reductions in neonatal mortality in São Paulo, Brazil
Community based health delivery platforms may be a highly effective way to reduce neonatal mortality in urban areas of low and middle income countries, even when access to general health services is almost universal
Short- and long-run associations between birth weight and children's height
Stunting risk of orphans by caregiver and living arrangement in low-income and middle-income countries
Early orphanhood constitutes a major risk for children's physical development in LMICs. However, the results suggest that the adverse effects of a parental loss can be mitigated if appropriate support is provided, indicating the potential benefits of the surviving parents staying with their children. The benefits of targeted social policies aimed at single fathers and grandparents supporting orphans may be significant
Distal determinants of fertility decline
Districts in India exhibit enormous variation in the level of socioeconomic development and are at different stages of fertility transition. Though a large and growing body of literature has examined the proximate determinant of fertility at the state and
Dimensionality and the Development of Cognitive Assessments for Children in Sub-Saharan Africa
Over the past decade, researchers have shown increased interest in examining the cognitive development of children in non-Western countries, often in connection with evaluations of health and educational interventions. However, many studies have used Western-developed measures without proper consideration of contextual validity. Across domains-from language to cognition to non-cognitive skills-this results in varying degrees of bias that call int…
Medicine (75 obras) · Environmental health (58 obras) · Population (52 obras) · Economics (43 obras) · Demography (38 obras) · Economic growth (37 obras) · Child Nutrition and Water Access (36 obras) · Global Maternal and Child Health (33 obras) · Geography (28 obras) · Public health (26 obras)