In America, mental health needs surpass the availability of specialized providers. This vulnerable population also has other obstacles for comprehensive care including gaps in medical coverage, stigma, economic barriers, and a geographical mal‑distribution of qualified mental health professionals. A wide availability of primary care providers, including primary care and family nurse practitione...

background and objectives: informal payment in the health settings is a significant challenge facing the health system, with consequences such as inequity in access to healthcare services, distrust to health care system, and dissatisfied customers. detailed identification of the nature of the problem is perquisite to developing relevant overcoming strategies. given that, this study aimed at pro...

BACKGROUND Growing social inequities have made it important for general practitioners to verify if patients can afford treatment and procedures. Incorporating social conditions into clinical decision-making allows general practitioners to address mismatches between patients' health-care needs and financial resources. OBJECTIVES Identify a screening question to, indirectly, rule out patients' ...

Medical and technological advances have increased survival rates and enhanced the quality of life for infants, children and youths with chronic life-threatening conditions. Advance care planning includes the process of discussing life-sustaining treatments and establishing long-term care goals. Paediatric health care practitioners have an ethical obligation to educate themselves about this aspe...

Evidence-based programs for prevention and intervention in substance abuse are increasing. Community needs assessments and health rankings provide descriptions of local behavioral health needs but do not provide public health practitioners and policy makers with guidelines on the number of programs, health care practitioners, or interventions needed in the local substance abuse care system. Thi...

background: the aim of the study was to compare the effects of 'face-to-face education' and 'educational movies' on  'knowledge' and 'practice' of women of child-bearing-age, in terms of health-care during pregnancy and during infancy in a suburban region near tehran city, iran.   methods: in this quasi-experimental study, the sample included 873 married women. questionnaires for knowledge and ...

BACKGROUND People who are deaf use health care services differently than the general population; little research has been carried out to understand the reasons. OBJECTIVE To better understand the health care experiences of deaf people who communicate in American Sign Language. DESIGN Qualitative analyses of focus group discussions in 3 U.S. cities. PARTICIPANTS Ninety-one deaf adults who ...

BACKGROUND The U.S. health care system is at a critical juncture in health care workforce planning. The nation has a shortage of primary care physicians. Policy analysts have proposed expanding the supply and scope of practice of nurse practitioners to address increased demand for primary care providers. These proposals are controversial. METHODS From November 23, 2011, to April 9, 2012, we c...

BACKGROUND Pregnant women visit complementary/alternative health care practitioners in addition to regular maternal health care practitioners. A wide variation has been reported with regard to rates and determinants of use of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM), which may be due to heterogeneous populations. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and determinants of use of CAM...