BACKGROUND Out-of-pocket payments make up about 80% of medical care spending at hospitals in Laos, thereby putting poor households at risk of catastrophic health expenditure. Social security schemes in the form of community-based health insurance and health equity funds have been introduced in some parts of the country. Drug and Therapeutics Committees (DTCs) have been established to ensure rat...

BACKGROUND The measurement of consumer satisfaction is an essential part of the assessment of health care services in terms of service quality and health care system responsiveness. Studies across Europe have described various strategies health care users employ to secure services with good quality and quick access. In Central and Eastern European countries, such strategies also include informa...

BACKGROUND Universal Health Coverage seeks to assure that everyone can obtain the health services they need without financial hardship. Countries which rely heavily on out-of-pocket (OOP) payments, including informal payments (IP), to finance total health expenditures are not likely to achieve universal coverage. The Republic of Moldova is committed to promoting universal coverage, reducing ine...

Abstract Informal payments for healthcare are widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. They often regressive, potentially limiting access to quality healthcare, particularly the most vulnerable, and can have catastrophic consequences households. Yet there is little empirical research that uses theory-driven hypotheses explore what influences informal and, especially, from health workers’ perspectives....

Corruption continues to be a major issue of global concern and discussions on the have escalated over past two decades, prompting Bretton Woods institutions donor community tie development assistance governance indicators. Accordingly, there is growing shift among research toward disaggregated corruption due beguiling assumption that reduction in grand would knock-on effect petty corruption. Gh...