BACKGROUND Head injury in England is common. Evidence suggests that socio-economic factors may cause variation in incidence, and this variation may affect planning for services to meet the needs of those who have sustained a head injury. METHODS Socio-economic data were obtained from the UK Office for National Statistics and merged with Hospital Episodes Statistics obtained from the Departmen...

Anthropogenic activity has a negative impact on many coastal ecosystems, compromising the significant direct and indirect socio-economic benefits provided in these areas. Maintaining activities that depend on coastal zones while preserving the ecological state of the ecosystems represents a management challenge. Management of coastal zones requires scientifically based knowledge, due to the com...

OBJECTIVES To determine the level of knowledge regarding iodine nutrition and its relationship with socio-economic status in the South African population. DESIGN A cross-sectional population survey collecting questionnaire information on knowledge of iodine nutrition and sociodemographic variables in a multistage, stratified, cluster study sample, representative of the adult South African pop...

Background: Overcrowding of emergency departments (ED) during out-of-hours health care is a common problem in many Western countries. An appealing alternative for ED’s is the general practices cooperatives (GPC): regional networks of GP’s during the out-of-hours. The aim of this study is to investigate the socio-economic determinants of patients’ choice to opt for one of both health care provid...

BACKGROUND Self-rated health (SRH) is not only used to measure health status and health inequalities, but also as a strong predictor of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to: 1) evaluate the factors that account for variations in self-rated health among Chinese citizens; and to 2) explore the process through which socio-economic status may impact self-rated health. METHODS...