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<div><b>Economic

crisis, restrictive policies, and the population’s health and health

care:<br></b><p style="margin-left:.5in"><b><font color="maroon" face="Arial" size="3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:maroon;font-weight:bold">

The Greek case</span></font></b></p>

<p style="margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><br>

</span></font><font color="black" face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial"> Elias Kondilis, M.D., Ph.D., Stathis Giannakopoulos,

M.D., Ph.D., Magda Gavana, M.D., Ph.D., <br>

Ioanna Ierodiakonou, M.D., Ph.D., Howard Waitzkin, M.D., Ph.D., and <span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">Alexis

Benos, M.D., Ph.D</span>.</span></font></p>

<p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><br>

<b><span style="font-weight:bold">American Journal of Public Health, April 18,

2013<br>

</span></b> (online ahead of print) : <a href="http://bit.ly/15n1hW1" target="_blank"><font color="black"><span style>http://bit.ly/15n1hW1</span></font></a> <u></u><u></u></span></font></p>

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<p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in"><i><font face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:italic">Study reveals austerity’s harmful

impact on health in Greece<u></u><u></u></span></font></i></p>

<p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">“……a team of Greek and <u></u>U.S.<u></u> researchers have vividly chronicled the

harmful public health impacts of the economic austerity measures imposed on <u></u><u></u>Greece<u></u><u></u>’s

population in the wake of the global economic crisis.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>

<p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Writing in the today’s [Thursday,

April 18] American Journal of Public Health, the researchers cite data showing

the economic recession and subsequent austerity policies in Greece have led to

a sharp deterioration of health services and health outcomes.<br>

Researchers at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in <u></u>Greece<u></u> and the <u></u>University<u></u>

of <u></u>New Mexico<u></u> in the <u></u><u></u>United States<u></u><u></u>

studied current data on economic and social conditions, utilization of health

services, and health outcomes.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>

<p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">They found that key public health

indicators declined in tandem with the recession and austerity policies that

reduced public services.<br>

For example, between 2007 and 2009, suicide and homicide mortality rates among

men increased by 22.7 percent and 27.6 percent, respectively. Mental disorders,

substance abuse, and infectious diseases showed worsening trends.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>

<p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Despite deteriorating health conditions,

cutbacks occurred in government financing of public services, as the Ministry

of Health’s total expenditures fell by 23.7 percent between 2009 and

2011.<u></u><u></u></span></font></p>

<p style="margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in"><font color="black" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Meanwhile, due to unemployment and loss

of personal income, patients decreased their use of private medical facilities,

and utilization of already-stressed public inpatient and primary care services

rose by 6.2 percent and 21.9 percent, respectively, over a two-year period.<br>

Dr. Elias Kondilis, lead author of the study and a researcher at Aristotle University,

commented from <u></u><u></u>London<u></u><u></u>,

“We were expecting that these austerity policies would negatively affect

health services and health outcomes, but the results were much worse than we

imagined.”<br>

Based on their findings, the authors criticize austerity policies that are

likely to cause deteriorating health conditions in other European countries and

in the <u></u><u></u>United States<u></u><u></u>….”<u></u><u></u></span></font></p><br></div></div></div></div><br>