BACKGROUND Health services can only be responsive if they are designed to service the needs of the population at hand. In many low and middle income countries, the rate of urbanisation can leave the profile of the rural population quite different from the urban population. As a consequence, the kinds of services required for an urban population may be quite different from that required for a ru...

Impact of China’s Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance on Health Care Utilization and Expenditure In 2007, China launched a subsidized voluntary public health insurance program, the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance, for urban residents without formal employment, including children, the elderly, and other unemployed urban residents. We estimate the impact of this program on health care u...

OBJECTIVES This study is based on the 2000 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted in Haiti. Using the DHS information on women aged 15 to 49 who had given birth during the three years preceding the survey interview, this study was intended to: (1) examine the determinants of the likelihood of the women using prenatal care in the rural areas and in the urban areas of the country and (2) f...

BACKGROUND The entire population of Mongolia has free access to primary health care, which is fully funded by the government. It is provided by family health centers in urban settings. In rural areas, it is included in outpatient and inpatient services offered by rural soum (district) health centers. However, primary health care utilization differs across population groups. The aim of this stud...

Lack of ready access to health services is a continuing problem for the one-quarter of northern Ontario residents who live in non-urban areas. Teletriage has been proposed to help reduce medically unnecessary visits and thus free-up available resources. A mail survey obtained information about patients' use of teletriage and other health care services, as well as socioeconomic and demographic c...

Background Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran has developed a new version of health urban posts called Urban Community Health Center (UCHC) with primary aim of improving primary health care (PHC) in urban areas. The aim of present study was to evaluate this newly developed model of UCHC in Ghaleno, a suburban region of Shiraz, Iran in 2014. Methods Besides descriptive analysis of for...

OBJECTIVES To assess the trend of urban-rural disparities in hospital admissions and medical expenditure between 2003 and 2011 in the context of Chinese health-care system reform. METHODS The data were from three different national surveys: the Third National Health Services Survey in 2003, the Fourth National Health Services Survey in 2008 and the national health-care reform phased assessmen...

background: social issues have prominent effects on the peoples' physical and mental health and on the health risk factors. in iran, many organizations provide social care services to their target population. this study aimed to explore the roles and functions of primary health care (phc) system in providing social care services in iran.   methods: this was a qualitative study, for which data w...

BACKGROUND Access to care remains a key part of improving health care outcomes in the United States. Recent reports have suggested that the number of physicians able to meet the demands for access to care may be decreasing. METHODS We surveyed physicians practicing in rural and urban/suburban areas of Florida in 2004 to determine whether changes were occurring in health care service delivery....

The aim of the Greek healthcare system is stated to be universal coverage and provision of equal services to all citizens 1 . This ambitious aim can hardly be said to have been realised. Primary healthcare in Greece remains poorly organised and highly fractured, as it is delivered by a variety of providers that differ in quantity, quality, effectiveness and efficiency of care provision. As a co...