The PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH UNIT undertakes social and health care research, supported mainly by the Department of Health, and focusing particularly on policy research and analysis of equity and efficiency in community care, long-term care and related areas — including services for elderly people, people with mental health problems and children in care. Views expressed in PSSRU public...

The health care system in China has been undergoing reforms for the past three decades. New policies and regulations are being developed to better meet the health needs of over a billion people. As reform programs expand, the need for scientific evidence increases, to enable accurate evaluation of the impact of new policies. In this context, health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) will be...

The PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES RESEARCH UNIT undertakes social and health care research, supported mainly by the Department of Health, and focusing particularly on policy research and analysis of equity and efficiency in community care, long-term care and related areas — including services for elderly people, people with mental health problems and children in care. Views expressed in PSSRU public...

In the UK, policy changes in primary health care research and development have led to the establishment of primary care research networks. These organizations aim to increase research culture, capacity and evidence base in primary care. As publicly funded bodies, these networks need to be accountable. Organizational science has studied network organizations including why and how they develop an...

Primary Health Care (PHC) has been promulgated for over two decades as a global strategy for ensuring basic health care for all people. PHC is characterized by equity, accessibility, availability of resources, social participation, intersectoral community action, and cultural sensitivity. While PHC can be discussed as philosophy or a process, it is critical that PHC be understood as a community...

The experience from the first four years of a longitudinal study on interrelations between nutrition, parasitic infections, immunity and environmental factors in a rural community, Kikwawila village (southeastern Tanzania) is reviewed. Two elements supported the implementation of the project. Firstly, the multidisciplinary approach with surveys across a range of biomedical and agricultural scie...

BACKGROUND In almost every major urban city, thousands of people live in overcrowded slums, streets, or other public places without any health services. Bangladesh has experienced one of the highest rates of urban population growth in the last three decades compared to the national population growth rate. The numbers of the urban poor and street-dwellers are likely to increase at least in propo...

The transformation of health services in South Africa today is governed by the political, policy and legislative frameworks. This article focuses on the transformation of a primary health care service within a local authority in Gauteng. The purpose with this article is to explore and describe the perceptions (expectations and fears) of selected managers employed in this primary health care ser...

This qualitative research project explored the experiences of primary health care providers working with newly arrived refugees in Brisbane. Data from 36 participants (20 general practitioners, five practice nurses and 11 administrative staff) involved in five focus groups and four semi-structured interviews were analysed. The results indicated that despite difficulties, providers are committed...

This issue links together a broad construct (quality) in a defined population (children) with alumni from a specific training program. In so doing, it is both a celebration and a challenge. The supplement celebrates the contributions of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Clinical Scholars to the national discourse regarding the measurement and improvement of quality; it acknowledges the incr...