OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to examine and explain the extent of income-related inequity in health care utilization and expenditures to compare the extent in 2005 and 2010 in Korea. METHODS We employed the concentration indices and the horizontal inequity index proposed by Wagstaff and van Doorslaer based on one- and two-part models. This study was conducted using data from the 20...

BACKGROUND Continued inequities in coverage, low quality of care, and high out-of-pocket expenses for health services threaten attainment of Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 in many sub-Saharan African countries. Existing health systems largely rely on input-based supply mechanisms that have a poor track record meeting the reproductive health needs of low-income and underserved segments of ...

BACKGROUND Patient satisfaction is an important measure of healthcare quality as it offers information on the provider's success at meeting clients' expectations and is a key determinant of patients' perspective behavioral intention. The aim of this paper is first to assess the degree of patient satisfaction, and second, to study the relationship between patient satisfaction of healthcare syste...

Background As in many industrialised countries, the health care quality movement began in France because of rising health expenditure and the necessity to contain costs but, recently, the public has become more aware of issues relating to quality. Serious public health problems such as the contaminated blood scandal of 1984, when blood that was strongly suspected of being contaminated by HIV wa...

background provincial health accounts (pha) as a subset of national health accounts (nha) present financial information for health sectors. it leads to a logical decision making for policy-makers in order to achieve health system goals, especially fair financial contribution (ffc). this study aimed to examine health accounts in kerman province.   methods the present analytical study was carried...

any states are struggling to ensure that all children receive adequate health care. States often face challenges in attracting plans to deliver high-quality health care to children. Some plans are reluctant to serve children in state-sponsored programs because of the perceived financial risk of serving children, particularly those with special health care needs who are disproportionately repres...

Detailed information about the forest management expenditures incurred by nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners over time provides a wealth of information about costs associated with forestland ownership, management practices implemented hv NIPF landowners, and changes in management intensity over time. A survey of Mississippi's nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners owning 20 ...

US analysts and decisionmakers interested in comparative health policy typically turn to European perspectives, but Brazil-notwithstanding its far smaller gross domestic product and lower per capita health expenditures and technological investments-offers an example with surprising relevance to the US health policy context. Not only is Brazil comparable to the United States in size, racial/ethn...

background: considering the role of laboratory tests as a central part of controlling health expenditure, this study intends to investigate laboratory tests overutilization in iran to pave the way for future interventions.   methods: inappropriate laboratory utilization was reviewed in a cross-sectional survey through the retrospective analysis of 384 medical records at a tertiary center. to pa...