BACKGROUND Cervical cancer is one of the commonest cancers among women all over the world. The association of cervical cancer with human papilloma virus (HPV) is well established. Knowledge about the causal relationship between HPV and cervical cancer is important to make appropriate, evidence-based health care choices. In this context we conducted a community based study among women about the ...

BACKGROUND Increases in health care utilization and costs, resulting from the rising prevalence of chronic conditions related to the aging population, is exacerbated by a high level of fragmentation that characterizes health care systems in China. There have been several pilot studies in China, aimed at system-level care coordination and its impact on the full integration of health care system,...

Introduction Health-care service processes need to be assessed over time. We aimed to assess the breast cancer care process in primary health system of Golestan Province, North Iran. Materials and Methods To perform a descriptive cross-sectional study, information on breast cancer care processes in primary health-care system was collected using a "collecting form" from 234 health houses, 29 h...

OBJECTIVE there is little evidence about disabled women׳s access to maternal and newborn health services in low-income countries and few studies consult disabled women themselves to understand their experience of care and care seeking. Our study explores disabled women׳s experiences of maternal and newborn care in rural Nepal. DESIGN we used a qualitative methodology, using semi-structured in...

BACKGROUND High quality maternal health care is an important tool to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. Services offered should be evidence based and adapted to the local setting. This qualitative descriptive study explored the perspectives and experiences of midwives, assistant physicians and medical doctors on the content and quality of maternal health care in rural Vietnam. METHOD The...

INTRODUCTION The authors report on a health systems strengthening intervention using quality improvement (QI) methods at the subdistrict level to accelerate highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) initiation in South Africa. METHODS Using a phased scale-up design between August 2006 and November 2009, 14 primary healthcare clinics, one community health centre, one district hospital and...

BACKGROUND Assessment of the availability of essential medicines, in rural areas of countries with free state health care system, is scarce. Dependence on essential medicines among the population in rural sector is considered to be high. Assessing the availability of essential medicines in selected state owned primary and secondary health care institutions of a rural district will help to ident...

BACKGROUND Tanzania has been a pioneer in establishing community-level services, yet challenges remain in sustaining these systems and ensuring adequate human resource strategies. In particular, the added value of a cadre of professional community health workers is under debate. While Tanzania has the highest density of primary health care facilities in Africa, equitable access and quality of c...

Attendance for intrapartum care in Thyolo District, Malawi, was studied following implementation of a locally valued, non-monetary incentive. The number of facility-based deliveries per month was compared between the fourth quarter of 2007 and the third quarter of 2009, before and after introducing the incentive that included soap, a baby blanket and a traditional baby wrap. The number of deliv...

health care is considered a universal human right greatly emphasized in social welfare development in most countries. in this regard, public health care with its pervasive effects on the general level of communities' health is a top priority drawing the attention of planners and decision-makers a like. unequal and inharmonious distribution of such services leads to unequal accessibility ca...