With the passage of the Heath Care Reform Bill into law in March 2010, many investors have expressed interest in the impact that the new legislation will have on the health care sector. The impact of the new law is significant to the U.S. economy as overall health spending currently represents about 17 percent of the U.S. GDP and is projected to increase to about 19 percent by 2019. The Congres...

The relationship of religion and health is often misunderstood owing to a tendency to concentrate on the medical model and to ignore the wider context of heath care. A conceptual--as opposed to a historical--examination of this context reveals nine central religious ideas or categories which provide an ethical foundation and heritage for medical practice and health care delivery. These include ...

BACKGROUND Nursing home and home care nursing staff must increasingly deal with palliative care challenges, due to cost cutting in specialized health care. Research indicates that a significant number of dying patients long for adequate spiritual and existential care. Several studies show that this is often a source of anxiety for care workers. Teaching care workers to alleviate dying patients'...

BACKGROUND Nurses and social workers caring for people with intellectual disabilities are increasingly confronted with clients in need of end-of-life care. Previous studies, however, suggest that professionals in intellectual disability care services lack knowledge and experience concerning end-of-life care. Moreover, the proportion of nurses within the staff of intellectual disability services...

This study explored how direct care workers in nursing homes conceptualize good care and how their conceptualizations are influenced by external factors surrounding their work environment and the relational dynamics between them and residents. Study participants were drawn from a local service employees' union, and in-depth interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory a...

People with learning disabilities have a wide range of social and heath care needs. They may also have coexisting conditions that can contribute to need, including physical or developmental disabilities, mental and physical ill-health and a range of behavioural problems. It is often the presence of these conditions that defines need for services. The following are basic understandings that shou...

Background: The tuberculin test is widely used to identify tuberculosis infection. Some individuals infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis may have an initial negative skin test reaction to tuberculin. The two step purified protein derivative skin test can decrease misinterpretation of tuberculin test .This study was aimed at comparing the two- step tuberculin skin test and booster phenomenon...

BACKGROUND The potential of antenatal care for reducing maternal morbidity and improving newborn survival and health is widely acknowledged. Yet there are worrying gaps in knowledge of the quality of antenatal care provided in Tanzania. In particular, determinants of health workers' performance have not yet been fully understood. This paper uses ethnographic methods to document health workers' ...