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“On average, declining measles infections in countries are associated with increases in measles vaccines and social spending.”
PhD graduate from the University of Saskatchewan, Dra. Mary Ellen Walker. Photo by Laurent Peignault / Unsplash / Photo sent
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How much does a country’s investment in social programs, such as parental leave and employment insurance, influence rates of diseases such as measles in a population? The answer is: quite significant.
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During her doctoral program in nursing at the University of Saskatchewan, Mary Ellen Walker set out to find out how government-funded social supports such as old-age pensions, unemployment benefits, sick leave and parental leave , can affect rates of infectious diseases.
Other relevant factors include vaccination rates, income and education levels, politics, wealth, and location in the country.
“I became interested in this type of research after traveling elsewhere and questioning how socioeconomic conditions influence health,” said Walker, who received his doctorate in 2021 from the University of Nursing.
Walker’s research found that measles immunization and government spending on social programs were key players associated with measles infection rates.
“On average, declining measles infections in countries are associated with increases in measles vaccines and social spending,” Walker said. “In fact, these two variables work together to reduce measles infections.”
In fact, higher levels of spending on social programs are related to lower levels of measles infections nationwide.
Future research could explore whether factors such as welfare programs, parental leave offers, and the types of unemployment benefits your government provides to citizens influence your decisions to get vaccinated, preventing further outbreaks.
Another interesting finding was that lower rates of measles infections were related to higher levels of wealth in the country.
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The job is unique because it uses relatively new research methods for nursing. Walker used geographic information systems to understand and explore statistics related to disease incidence rates in different places and related these statistics to public policies in the region.
Rather than statistical facts about disease incidence rates, Walker’s research examines how national policy decisions can influence health as well as a nation’s ability to implement preventive interventions to control disease.
“(My work) helps to deepen the understanding of how policies that address poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion influence the health of the general population,” he said.
The results of the study were published in the Global Journal of Health Science and the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health in 2021. Walker also had the opportunity to travel to San Diego, California, to share his preliminary findings at the the American Public Health Association in 2018.
The project was overseen by June Anonson of the Faculty of Nursing and Michael Szafron of S University School of Public Health.
Walker currently works as a Diabetes Clinical Nurse for the Saskatchewan Health Authority and as a Statistician for the Department of Antsiology at S. University School of Medicine. She hopes to continue developing her skills as a nurse and researcher in these roles.
The research was supported by the U of S and the Canadian Nurses Foundation.