STUDY DESIGN An economic evaluation was conducted alongside a randomized controlled trial. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Little is known about the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatment options for patients following lumbar disc surgery. If the knowledge available was supported by an economic evaluation, the information could then be used to make recommendations for the implementation o...

With each disaster, whether an infectious disease outbreak or a natural disaster, we are reminded of the importance of having a health care system that is prepared to efficiently and effectively care for large numbers of sick or injured people. We’ve been building our national preparedness system for well over a decade and have seen significant progress, particularly in hospital preparedness. B...

OBJECTIVE To explore reasons for attending a general emergency outpatient clinic versus a regular general practitioner (RGP). DESIGN Cross-sectional study using a multilingual anonymous questionnaire. SETTING Native and immigrant walk-in patients attending a general emergency outpatient clinic in Oslo (Monday-Friday, 08:00-23:00) during 2 weeks in September 2009. SUBJECTS We included 1022...

BACKGROUND The high segmentation and fragmentation in the provision of services are some of the main problems of the Colombian health system. In 2004 the district government of Bogota decided to implement a Primary Health Care (PHC) strategy through the Home Health program. PHC was conceived as a model for transforming health care delivery within the network of the first-level public health car...

To strengthen the health care delivery, the Burundian Government in collaboration with international NGOs piloted performance-based financing (PBF) in 2006. The health facilities were assigned - by using a simple matching method - to begin PBF scheme or to continue with the traditional input-based funding. Our objective was to analyse the effect of that PBF scheme on the quality of health servi...

This resource document discusses the use of seclusion or restraint for purposes of mental health intervention in correctional facilities. Correctional mental health standards essentially state that seclusion or restraint, when used for health care purposes, should be implemented in a manner consistent with current community practice. The community practice was significantly impacted and revised...

BACKGROUND It is estimated that 287,000 women worldwide die annually from pregnancy and childbirth-related conditions, and 6.9 million under-five children die each year, of which about 3 million are newborns. Most of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The maternal health situation in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar is similar to other sub-Saharan countries. This study assessed the availab...

BACKGROUND There is growing evidence that patients frequently bypass primary health care (PHC) facilities in favour of higher level hospitals regardless of substantial additional time and costs. Among the reasons given for bypassing are poor services (including lack of drugs and diagnostic facilities) and lack of trust in health workers. The World Health Report 2008 "PHC now more than ever" poi...

This analysis seeks to identify strengths and gaps in the existing facility capacity for intrapartum and immediate postpartum fetal and neonatal care, using data collected as a part of Malawi's Helping Babies Breath program evaluation. From August to September 2012, the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) conducted a cross-sectional survey in 84 Malawian health facilities to ca...