results the findings of this study showed that in most selected countries, primary care services were provided by the private sector and the public sector has been mostly functioning as a supervisor in this area, but in iran, primary care services were provided by the government. the findings of this study also showed that hospital services in iran and selected countries (second and third level...

BACKGROUND Indigenous people in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America experience disproportionately poor mental health compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. To optimally allocate resources, health planners require information about the services Indigenous people use for mental health, their unmet treatment needs and the barriers to care. We reviewed population...

OBJECTIVE The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) are a vital data resource for cross-country comparative analyses. This study is part of a set of analyses assessing the types of providers being used for reproductive and maternal health care across 57 countries. Here, we examine some of the challenges encountered using DHS data for this purpose, present the provider classification we used, and...

BACKGROUND Effective access measures are intended to reflect progress toward universal health coverage. This study proposes an operative approach to measuring effective access: in addition to the lack of financial protection, the willingness to make out-of-pocket payments for health care signifies a lack of effective access to pre-paid services. METHODS Using data from a nationally representa...

The dental profile of the population of most industrialised countries is changing. For the first time in at least a century most elderly people in the United Kingdom will soon have some of their own natural teeth. This could be beneficial for the frail and dependent elderly, as natural teeth are associated with greater dietary freedom of choice and good nutrition. There may also be problems inc...

The millennium development goals accorded highest priorities for achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. South Asian countries and India are societies with strong patriarchal norms, a high degree of son preference and pervasive gender discriminations. Using National family health survey (1998-99) data, this paper adopts a multiple indicator approach to study gender bias on the basis ...

BACKGROUND Under the current healthcare system in China, there is no government-sponsored health insurance program for children. Children from families who move from rural and interior regions to large urban centres without a valid residency permit might be at higher risk of being uninsured due to their low socioeconomic status. We conducted a survey in Shanghai to describe children's health in...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To study the effect of using a mail questionnaire or home interviews on the size and the selectivity of response to national health surveys. DESIGN The interview survey and the mail survey were both carried out in the same country (the Netherlands) using the same sample frame, the same study period (1998) and collected partly the same data on demographic, socioeconomic and hea...

Ensuring access to health care based on needs is to actually improve health rather than ability to pay, according to the World Health Report 2000 by the World Health Organization [1]. Improvement of economy, healthcare environment and medical technology seems to satisfy the desire for a healthier life. However, as health is a personal attribute and sometimes determined socially, not all people ...

BACKGROUND Obesity is associated with morbidity, mortality, and increased health care costs. Few studies have examined the impact of obesity on outpatient office visits. The purpose of this study was to determine if outpatient visits by obese persons required more time with the provider and more prescription medication management compared to visits made by non-obese persons. METHODS Obesity s...