INTRODUCTION OR BACKGROUND Debate over relationships between economic growth, wealth, health and health inequity is long-standing and ongoing. The main message of this paper is that economic growth, while necessary, is not a sufficient condition in itself for achieving equitable health. SOURCES OF DATA This review surveys and draws on research into principal factors commonly linked with impro...

BACKGROUND Despite remarkable progress in maternal and child health, inequity persists in maternal care utilization in Bangladesh. Government of Bangladesh (GOB) with technical assistance from United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) started implementing Maternal and Neonatal Health Initiatives in selected districts of Ban...

The past 20 years have witnessed an astonishing increase in computational power and an incredible reduction in the cost of contemporary computer systems, but the public health infostructure in most countries has not changed significantly. This article discusses the potential benefits of applying patient-centered infostructure at the primary medical “points-of-care” services, based on networked ...

This paper presents the results of an eight-country comparative study of equity in the delivery of health care. Equity is taken to mean that persons in equal need of health care should be treated the same, irrespective of their income. Two methods are used to investigate inequity: an index of inequity based on standardized expenditure shares, and a regression-based test. The results suggest tha...

Background Recent healthcare literature points to the need to investigate how to achieve inequity reduction. We studied the implementation of an organizational-wide inequity reduction intervention in Israel’s largest healthcare provider and insurer, Clalit Health Services during 20092012. The intervention focused on reducing health and healthcare gaps between 55 target clinics (major clinics se...

INTRODUCTION If an intervention is not well spatially targeted, appropriate levels of uptake, efficacy, long-term compliance and improved health outcomes are unlikely to be attained. Effective health interventions should seek to achieve not only absolute improvements in health but also to reduce inequity. There is often a disparity whereby preventative interventions are more likely to be succes...

The World Health Organization defines social determinants of health as "complex, integrated, and overlapping social structures and economic systems" that are responsible for most health inequities. Similar to the individual-level risk factors such as behavioral and biological risk factors that influence disease, we consider social determinants of health such as the distribution of income, wealt...

OBJECTIVE The present study was aimed at analysing socioeconomic inequity regarding the use of health services in Ecuador, inequity regarding the geographic distribution of healthcare-related human resources and reflecting on the challenges concerning equity which the Ecuadorian health system is currently facing. METHODS The Ecuadorian Demographic, Maternal and Infant Health Survey (2004) was...

BACKGROUND Inequities in health are a major challenge for health care planners and policymakers globally. In Vietnam, rapid societal development presents a considerable risk for disadvantaged populations to be left behind. The aim of this review is to map the known causes and determinants of inequity in maternal and child health in Vietnam in order to promote policy action. METHODS A review w...