@article{SinghShaikhHaucketal., author = {Singh, Surya and Shaikh, Mujaheed and Hauck, Katharina and Miraldo, Marisa}, title = {Impacts of introducing and lifting nonpharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 daily growth rate and compliance in the United States}, series = {PNAS}, journal = {PNAS}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.2021359118}, abstract = {We evaluate the impacts of implementing and lifting nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in US counties on the daily growth rate of COVID-19 cases and compliance, measured through the percentage of devices staying home, and evaluate whether introducing and lifting NPIs protecting selective populations is an effective strategy. We use difference-in-differences methods, leveraging on daily county-level data and exploit the staggered introduction and lifting of policies across counties over time. We also assess heterogenous impacts due to counties' population characteristics, namely ethnicity and household income. Results show that introducing NPIs led to a reduction in cases through the percentage of devices staying home. When counties lifted NPIs, they benefited from reduced mobility outside of the home during the lockdown, but only for a short period. In the long term, counties experienced diminished health and mobility gains accrued from previously implemented policies. Notably, we find heterogenous impacts due to population characteristics implying that measures can mitigate the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on marginalized populations and find that selectively targeting populations may not be effective.}, language = {en} } @article{ShaikhTymoszukWilliamonetal., author = {Shaikh, Mujaheed and Tymoszuk, Urszula and Williamon, Aaron and Miraldo, Marisa}, title = {Socio-economic inequalities in arts engagement and depression among older adults in the United Kingdom: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing}, series = {Public Health}, volume = {198}, journal = {Public Health}, issn = {0033-3506}, doi = {10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.044}, pages = {307 -- 314}, abstract = {Objectives Arts engagement has been positively linked with mental health and well-being; however, socio-economic inequalities may be prevalent in access to and uptake of arts engagement reflecting on inequalities in mental health. This study estimated socio-economic inequality and horizontal inequity (unfair inequality) in arts engagement and depression symptoms of older adults in England. Trends in inequality and inequity were measured over a period of ten years. Study design This is a repeated cross-sectional study. Methods In this analysis, we used data from six waves (waves 2 to 7) of the nationally representative English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We estimated socio-economic inequality using concentration curves that plot the distribution of arts engagement and depression symptoms against the distribution of wealth. A concentration index was used to measure the magnitude of the inequality. Unfair inequality was then calculated for need-standardised arts engagement using a horizontal inequity index (HII). Results The study sample included adults aged 50 years and older from waves 2 (2004/2005, n = 6620) to 7 (2014/2015, n = 3329). Engagement with cinema, galleries and theatre was pro-rich unequal, i.e. concentrated among the wealthier, but inequality in depression was pro-poor unequal, i.e. concentrated more among the less wealthy. While pro-rich inequality in arts engagement decreased from wave 2 (conc. index: 0·291, 95\% confidence interval 0·27 to 0·31) to wave 7 (conc. index: 0·275, 95\% confidence interval 0·24 to 0·30), pro-poor inequality in depression increased from wave 2 (conc. index: -0·164, 95\% confidence interval -0·18 to -0·14) to wave 7 (conc. index: -0·189, 95\% confidence interval -0·21 to -0·16). Depression-standardised arts engagement showed horizontal inequity that increased from wave 2 (HII: 0·455, 95\% confidence interval 0·42 to 0·48) to wave 7 (HII: 0·464, 95\% confidence interval 0·42 to 0·50). Conclusions Our findings suggest that while socio-economic inequality in arts engagement might appear to have reduced over time, once arts engagement is standardised for need, inequality has actually worsened over time and can be interpreted as inequitable (unfair). Relying on need-unstandardised estimates of inequality might thus provide a false sense of achievement to policy makers and lead to improper social prescribing interventions being emplaced.}, language = {en} } @article{ShaikhMiraldoRenner, author = {Shaikh, Mujaheed and Miraldo, Marisa and Renner, Anna-Theresa}, title = {Waiting time at health facilities and social class: Evidence from the Indian caste system}, series = {Plos One}, volume = {13}, journal = {Plos One}, number = {10}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0205641}, pages = {1 -- 16}, abstract = {Waiting time for non-emergency medical care in developing countries is rarely of immediate concern to policy makers that prioritize provision of basic health services. However, waiting time as a measure of health system responsiveness is important because longer waiting times worsen health outcomes and affect utilization of services. Studies that assess socio-economic inequalities in waiting time provide evidence from developed countries such as England and the United States; evidence from developing countries is lacking. In this paper, we assess the relationship between social class i.e. caste of an individual and waiting time at health facilities—a client orientation dimension of responsiveness. We use household level data from two rounds of the Indian Human Development Survey with a sample size of 27,251 households in each wave (2005 and 2012) and find that lower social class is associated with higher waiting time. This relationship is significant for individuals that visited a male provider but not so for those that visited a female provider. Further, caste is positively related to higher waiting time only if visiting a private facility; for individuals visiting a government facility the relationship between waiting time and caste is not significant. In general, caste related inequality in waiting time has worsened over time. The results are robust to different specifications and the inclusion of several confounders.}, language = {en} } @article{BarrenhoMiraldoShaikhetal., author = {Barrenho, Eliana and Miraldo, Marisa and Shaikh, Mujaheed and Atun, Rifat}, title = {Vertical and horizontal equity of funding for malaria control: A global multisource funding analysis for 2006-2010}, series = {BMJ Glob Health}, volume = {2}, journal = {BMJ Glob Health}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000496}, abstract = {Background: International and domestic funding for malaria is critically important to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Its equitable distribution is key in ensuring that the available, scarce, resources are deployed efficiently for improved progress and a sustained Response that enables eradication.Methods. We used concentration curves and concentration indices to assess inequalities in Malaria funding by different donors across countries, measuring both horizontal and vertical equity. Horizontal equity assesses whether funding is distributed in proportion to health needs, whereas vertical equity examines whether unequal economic needs are addressed by appropriately unequal funding. We computed the Health Inequity Index and the Kakwani Index to assess the former and the latter, respectively. We used data from the World Bank, Global Fund, Unicef, President's Malaria Initiative and the Malaria Atlas Project to assess the distribution of funding against need for 94 countries. National gross domestic product per capita was used as a proxy for economic need and 'population-at-risk' for health need.}, language = {en} } @techreport{MiraldoSassiShaikhetal., type = {Working Paper}, author = {Miraldo, Marisa and Sassi, Franco and Shaikh, Mujaheed and Simmons, Bryony and Vrinten, Charlotte}, title = {The development and market launch of orphan drugs from 1980 - 2019: a quantitative analysis}, publisher = {Rare2030}, pages = {83}, language = {en} }