May 10, 2011 — A study measuring potential changes in the behavior of Chinese health care consumers as their household income grows took top honors among the student projects in HSPH’s 25th annual Poster & Exhibit Day, which was held on April 15, 2011 in the Kresge Cafeteria.
“The economy in China is growing so fast, but we still lack this type of knowledge for policymaking,” said first author Yanfang Su, a doctoral student in the Department of Global Health and Population. Having spoken with Chinese government officials in China and at HSPH through the China Senior Health Executive Education Program, Su and her colleagues hope to contribute evidence that can help the country’s health care reform efforts, she said.
Through their study they found that, as household income grows, Chinese health care consumer behavior is more sensitive to increases in the cost of outpatient services and that patients tend to spend more money on inpatient services. Therefore, the researchers recommend that Chinese policymakers add outpatient services to health insurance coverage in order to correct the unbalanced growth.
Su suspects that her passion for the topic may have helped her clinch the win. She is grateful for the assistance she received at Countway Library in formatting her poster.
“The award offers me confidence,” she said. As a non-native English speaker, Su was initially nervous about her presentation. But she was happy to see that ideas can transcend linguistic barriers, she said.
Prizes of $500 were awarded by the Faculty Council for the best projects led by a student and a postdoctoral fellow. Full list of winners:
Students
First prize
Yanfang Su, Zhongliang Zhou, Jianmin Gao, Ling Xu, Yaoguang Zhang: “New Estimates of Elasticity of Demand for Healthcare in Rural China”
Honorable mentions
Kristin Palmsten, Soko Setoguchi, Andrea V. Margulis, Amanda R. Patrick and Sonia Hernández-Díaz: “Elevated Risk of Preeclampsia in Pregnant Women with Depression: Disease vs. Antidepressants”
Monica L. Wang, Courtney E. Walls, Karen E. Peterson, Tracy K. Richmond, Jennifer Spadano-Gasbarro, Mary L. Greaney, Emily Blood, Solomon Mezgebu, Marie M. McCormick, S.V. Subramanian, S. Bryn Austin: “Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors Related to Eating Disorder Symptoms Among Middle-School Youth”
Postdoctoral fellows
First prize
Thomas P. Ahern, Lars Pedersen, Deirdre P. Cronin-Fenton, Maja Tarp, Jens Peter Garne, Henrik Toft Sorensen, Timothy L. Lash: “Post-Diagnosis Use of Lipophilic Statins and Breast Cancer Recurrence: A Danish Nationwide Cohort Study”
Honorable mentions
Joseph C. Okeibunor, Bright C. Orji, William Brieger, Gbenga Ishola, Emmanuel Dipo Otolorin, Barbara Rawlins, Enobong U. Ndekhedehe, Nkechi Onyeneho, Günther Fink: “Preventing Malaria in Pregnancy through Community Directed Intervention-Evidence from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria”
Julie L. Kasperzyk, William V. Shappley III, Stacey A. Kenfield, Lorelei A. Mucci, Tobias Kurth, Jing Ma, Meir J. Stampfer, Martin G. Sanda: “Watchful Waiting and Quality of Life Among Prostate Cancer Survivors in the Physicians Health Study”
—Amy Roeder