Articles

The comorbidity of HIV, hypertension and diabetes: a qualitative study exploring the challenges faced by healthcare providers and patients in selected urban and rural health facilities where the ICDM model is implemented in South Africa

PLWH are living longer as a result of advancement and adherence to antiretroviral therapy. As the life expectancy of PLWH increases, they are at increased risk of hypertension and diabetes. HIV chronic co-morb...

Authors: Motlatso Godongwana, Nicole De Wet-Billings and Minja Milovanovic

The failure of community-based health insurance schemes in Tanzania: opening the black box of the implementation process

Globally, there is increased advocacy for community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes. Like other low and middle-income countries (LMICs), Tanzania officially established the Community Health Fund (CHF) in...

Authors: Ramadhani Kigume and Stephen Maluka

A qualitative study on professionals’ attitudes and views towards the introduction of patient reported measures into public maternity care pathway

The importance and potential benefits of introducing patient reported measures (PRMs) into health care service have been widely acknowledged, yet the experience regarding their implementation into practice is ...

Authors: An Chen, Kirsi Väyrynen, Riikka-Leena Leskelä, Seppo Heinonen, Paul Lillrank, Aydin Tekay and Paulus Torkki

Physician associate/assistant contributions to cancer diagnosis in primary care: a rapid systematic review

Symptom recognition and timely referral in primary care are crucial for the early diagnosis of cancer. Physician assistants or associates (PAs) have been introduced in 18 healthcare systems across the world, w...

Authors: Jessica Sheringham, Angela King, Ruth Plackett, Anwar Khan, Michelle Cornes and Angelos P. Kassianos

Socioeconomic differences in healthcare expenditure and utilization in The Netherlands

Worldwide, socioeconomic differences in health and use of healthcare resources have been reported, even in countries providing universal healthcare coverage. However, it is unclear how large these socioeconomi...

Authors: Bette Loef, Iris Meulman, Gerrie-Cor M. Herber, Geert Jan Kommer, Marc A. Koopmanschap, Anton E. Kunst, Johan J. Polder, Albert Wong and Ellen Uiters

Community health volunteers challenges and preferred income generating activities for sustainability: a qualitative case study of rural Kilifi, Kenya

There is a global emphasis on engaging community health volunteers (CHVs) in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) to reach to the vast underserved populations that live in rural areas. Retention of CHVs in ...

Authors: Adelaide M Lusambili, Njeri Nyanja, Sophie Vusha Chabeda, Marleen Temmerman, Lucy Nyaga, Jerim Obure and Anthony Ngugi

Are preventive measures adequate? An evaluation of the implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures in nursing homes in China

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a challenge for nursing homes in China. Nursing homes are particularly dangerous places in terms of the spread of COVID-19 given that they hous...

Authors: Meihong Shi, Fengying Zhang, Xinxin He, Siyuan Huang, Mingfeng Zhang and Xiuying Hu

What resources do elderly people choose for managing their symptoms? Clarification of rural older people’s choices of help-seeking behaviors in Japan

Appropriate help-seeking behavior (HSB) that involves lay and professional care may moderate the usage of medical resources and promote good health, especially among the rural elderly. However, there is little...

Authors: Ryuichi Ohta, Mikiya Sato, Yoshinori Ryu, Jun Kitayuguchi, Tetsuhiro Maeno and Chiaki Sano

Nurses and the acceptance of innovations in technology-intensive contexts: the need for tailored management strategies

Several technological innovations have been introduced in healthcare over the years, and their implementation proved crucial in addressing challenges of modern health. Healthcare workers have frequently been c...

Authors: Chiara Barchielli, Cristina Marullo, Manila Bonciani and Milena Vainieri

Psychometric evaluation of the perceived access to health care questionnaire

Access to health care is a universal concern. Therefore, this study was conducted to develop a questionnaire to assess the Perceived Access to Health care based on Penchansky and Thomas’s definition of access ...

Authors: Sara-Sadat Hoseini-Esfidarjani, Reza Negarandeh, Farzaneh Delavar and Leila Janani

Who are the beneficiaries and what are the reasons for non-utilization of care respite and support services? A cross-sectional study on family caregivers

Family caregivers assume substantial caregiving responsibilities for persons with chronic conditions, such as individuals with spinal cord injury, which leads to negative impacts on their lives. Respite care a...

Authors: Jianan Huang, Nadja Münzel, Anke Scheel-Sailer and Armin Gemperli

Cost analysis and critical success factors of the use of oxygen concentrators versus cylinders in sub-divisional hospitals in Fiji

Oxygen is vital in the treatment of illnesses in children and adults, yet is lacking in many low and middle-income countries health care settings. Oxygen concentrators (OCs) can increase access to oxygen, comp...

Authors: Susan McAllister, Louise Thorn, Sainimere Boladuadua, Mireia Gil, Rick Audas, Tim Edmonds, Eric Rafai, Philip C. Hill and Stephen R. C. Howie

Late initiation and low utilization of postnatal care services among women in the rural setting in Northwest Tanzania: a community-based study using a mixed method approach

Maternal and newborn mortality is high immediately after childbirth and up to 42 days postnatally despite the availability of interventions. Postnatal care is crucial in preventing mortality and improving the ...

Authors: Eveline T. Konje, Jennifer Hatfield, Reg Sauve, Susan Kuhn, Moke Magoma and Deborah Dewey

Making patient blood management the new norm(al) as experienced by implementors in diverse countries

Patient blood management (PBM) describes a set of evidence-based practices to optimize medical and surgical patient outcomes by clinically managing and preserving a patient’s own blood. This concepts aims to d...

Authors: Axel Hofmann, Donat R. Spahn and Anke-Peggy Holtorf

Perspective of potential patients on the hospital volume-outcome relationship and the minimum volume threshold for total knee arthroplasty: a qualitative focus group and interview study

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is performed to treat end-stage knee osteoarthritis. In Germany, a minimum volume threshold of 50 TKAs/hospital/year was implemented to ensure outcome quality. This study, embedde...

Authors: Charlotte M. Kugler, Karina K. De Santis, Tanja Rombey, Kaethe Goossen, Jessica Breuing, Nadja Könsgen, Tim Mathes, Simone Hess, René Burchard and Dawid Pieper

Exploring community tuberculosis program in the pastoralist setting of Ethiopia: a qualitative study of community health workers’ perspectives in Borena Zone, Oromia Region

Pastoralist community accounts for a significant portion of the population in Ethiopia. This community is different from majority of the country’s population. Access to TB prevention and control services is un...

Authors: Abebe Megerso, Negusie Deyessa, Godana Jarso, Robel Tezera and Alemayehu Worku

The determinants of caregiver use and its costs for elderly inpatients in Korea: a study applying Andersen’s behavioral model of health care utilization and replacement cost method

The average annual healthcare expenditure among elderly patients in Korea is increasing rapidly in indirect healthcare sectors, requiring an understanding of factors related to the use of both formal and infor...

Authors: Jennifer Ivy Kim and Sukil Kim

“Traditionally you would be passing them from pillar to post”: an evaluation exploring the Life Rooms model of partnership working

NHS systems are under increasing, unsustainable pressure. In the context of rising demand, limited resources and changing population needs, partnership working across sectors is crucial. The Liverpool City Reg...

Authors: Joanne Worsley, Clare Rotheram and Rhiannon Corcoran

Shifting palliative care paradigm in primary care from better death to better end-of-life: a Swiss pilot study

Patients suffering from advanced cancer often loose contact with their primary care physician (PCP) during oncologic treatment and palliative care is introduced very late.

Authors: Johanna Sommer, Christopher Chung, Dagmar M. Haller and Sophie Pautex

The effectiveness of primary health care reforms in Greece towards achieving universal health coverage: a scoping review

Between 2010 and 2018, Greece implemented an Economic Adjustment Programme and underwent a series of extensive reforms, including in the health sector. We conducted a scoping review to examine whether the Prim...

Authors: Thanos Myloneros and Dikaios Sakellariou

Challenges in delivery of tuberculosis Services in Ethiopian Pastoralist Settings: clues for reforming service models and organizational structures

The End-TB strategy aims to see a world free of tuberculosis (TB) by the coming decade through detecting and treating all cases irrespective of socioeconomic inequalities. However, case detections and treatmen...

Authors: Fentabil Getnet, Meaza Demissie, Alemayehu Worku, Tesfaye Gobena, Rea Tschopp, Alinoor Mohamed Farah and Berhanu Seyoum

Electronic health record–integrated approach for collection of patient-reported outcome measures: a retrospective evaluation

The integration of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) into clinical care presents many challenges for health systems. PROMs provide quantitative data regarding patient-reported health status. However, t...

Authors: Maggie E. Horn, Emily K. Reinke, Richard C. Mather, Jonathan D. O’Donnell and Steven Z. George

Patient perspectives on the implementation of routinised syphilis screening with HIV viral load testing: Qualitative process evaluation of the Enhanced Syphilis Screening Among HIV-positive Men trial

Syphilis infections have been on the rise, affecting men living with HIV in urban centres disproportionately. Since individuals in HIV care undergo routine blood testing, HIV clinics provide practical opportun...

Authors: Kinnon R MacKinnon, Ramandip Grewal, Darrell HS Tan, Rodney Rousseau, John Maxwell, Sharon Walmsley, Paul A MacPherson, Anita Rachlis, Nisha Andany, Sharmistha Mishra, Vanessa G Allen and Ann N. Burchell

Professionals’ views on working in the field of domestic violence and abuse during the first wave of COVID-19: a qualitative study in the Netherlands

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown evoked great worries among professionals in the field of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) as they expected a rise of the phenomenon. While many countries reported increased ...

Authors: Nicole E. van Gelder, Ditte L. van Haalen, Kyra Ekker, Suzanne A. Ligthart and Sabine Oertelt-Prigione

A qualitative study on patients’ and their support persons’ preferences for receiving one longer consultation or two shorter consultations when being informed about allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) is the only potentially curative treatment option for many patients with hematological disorders but it includes a significant risk of mortality an...

Authors: Anne Herrmann, Ernst Holler, Matthias Edinger, Sascha Eickmann and Daniel Wolff

Nocturnal digital surveillance in aged populations and its effects on health, welfare and social care provision: a systematic review

Nocturnal digital surveillance technologies are being widely implemented as interventions for remotely monitoring elderly populations, and often replace person-based surveillance. Such interventions are often ...

Authors: Matt X. Richardson, Maria Ehn, Sara Landerdahl Stridsberg, Ken Redekop and Sarah Wamala-Andersson

The role of the public and private health sectors on factors associated with early essential newborn care practices among institutional deliveries in Ghana

Early essential newborn care is one of the important interventions developed by the World Health Organization to reduce morbidities and mortalities in neonates. This study investigated the role of the public a...

Authors: Maxwell Tii Kumbeni, Paschal Awingura Apanga, Mary-Ann Wepiamo Chanase, John Ndebugri Alem and Nana Mireku-Gyimah

Preparing for partnerships in cancer care: an explorative analysis of the role of family-based caregivers

Family-based ‘informal’ caregivers are critical to enable sustainable cancer care that produces optimal health outcomes but also gives rise to psychological burdens on caregivers. Evidence of psychosocial supp...

Authors: Reema Harrison, Madhav Raman, Ramesh Lahiru Walpola, Ashfaq Chauhan and Ursula M. Sansom-Daly

Sex differences in direct healthcare costs following stroke: a population-based cohort study

The economic burden of stroke on the healthcare system has been previously described, but sex differences in healthcare costs have not been well characterized. We described the direct person-level healthcare c...

Authors: Amy Y. X. Yu, Murray Krahn, Peter C. Austin, Mohammed Rashid, Jiming Fang, Joan Porter, Manav V. Vyas, Susan E. Bronskill, Eric E. Smith, Richard H. Swartz and Moira K. Kapral

Correction to: Awareness and current implementation of drug dosage adjustment by pharmacists in patients with chronic kidney disease in Japan: a web-based survey

Authors: Yuki Kondo, Yoichi Ishitsuka, Eri Shigemori, Mitsuru Irikura, Daisuke Kadowaki, Sumio Hirata, Takeshi Maemura and Tetsumi Irie

Structure and process of palliative care provision: a nationwide study of public hospitals in Thailand

The demand for palliative care in hospitals in Thailand has rapidly increased in recent years. Subsequently, the way in which palliative care systems should be arranged to facilitate the care process and patie...

Authors: Parichat Dokmai, Natthani Meemon, Seung Chun Paek and Supakarn Tayjasanant

Somatic symptom disorders and utilization of health services among Palestinian primary health care attendees: a cross-sectional study

Many primary health care (PHC) clients come in with medically unexplained complaints, leading to frequent consultations and high usage of services and healthcare costs. This study aimed to determine the preval...

Authors: Zaher Nazzal, Beesan Maraqa, Marah Abu Zant, Layali Qaddoumi and Rana Abdallah

The relationship between urban and rural health insurance and the self-rated health of migrant workers in Southwest China

Following health insurance reforms, China’s health care system has made great progress. However, there are still huge differences between the urban and rural health insurance systems. For rural-to-urban migran...

Authors: Dingying Fu, Li Liu, Xuewen Zhang, Chuan Yu, Huiqiang Luo and Ningxiu Li

Associations of GP practice characteristics with the rate of ambulatory care sensitive conditions in people living with dementia in England: an ecological analysis of routine data

Hospital admissions for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSCs) are potentially avoidable. Dementia is one of the leading chronic conditions in terms of variability in ACSC admissions by general practice,...

Authors: Emily Eyles, Maria Theresa Redaniel, Sarah Purdy, Kate Tilling and Yoav Ben-Shlomo

Changes in the management of urinary tract infections in women: impact of the new recommendations on antibiotic prescribing behavior in France, between 2014 and 2019

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common infections that require antibiotic therapy. In December 2015, new guidelines for UTI management were published in France with the aim of reducing antib...

Authors: Arthur Piraux, Sébastien Faure, Kurt G. Naber, Jakhongir F. Alidjanov and Aline Ramond-Roquin

Conducting a psychosocial and lifestyle assessment as part of an integrated care approach for childhood obesity: experiences, needs and wishes of Dutch healthcare professionals

The causes and consequences of childhood obesity are complex and multifaceted. Therefore, an integrated care approach is required to address weight-related issues and improve children’s health, societal partic...

Authors: L. W. Koetsier, M. M. A. van Mil, M. M. A. Eilander, E. van den Eynde, C. A. Baan, J. C. Seidell and J. Halberstadt

‘Bare-bones’ to ‘silver linings’: lessons on integrating a palliative approach to care in long-term care in Western Canada

‘Whole-person’ palliative approaches to care (PAC) are important for enhancing the quality of life of residents with life-limiting conditions in long-term care (LTC). This research is part of a larger, four pr...

Authors: Denise Cloutier, Kelli I. Stajduhar, Della Roberts, Carren Dujela and Kaitlyn Roland

Accessing and utilising gender-affirming healthcare in England and Wales: trans and non-binary people’s accounts of navigating gender identity clinics

Transgender, or trans, people experience a number of barriers to accessing gender-affirming healthcare and have a range of barriers and facilitators to primary care and specialist services, commonly citing dis...

Authors: Talen Wright, Emily Jay Nicholls, Alison J Rodger, Fiona M Burns, Peter Weatherburn, Roger Pebody, Leanne McCabe, Aedan Wolton, Mitzy Gafos and T. Charles Witzel

Understanding acceptability in the context of text messages to encourage medication adherence in people with type 2 diabetes

Acceptability is recognised as a key concept in the development of health interventions, but there has been a lack of consensus about how acceptability should be conceptualised. The theoretical framework of ac...

Authors: Y. Kiera Bartlett, Cassandra Kenning, Jack Crosland, Nikki Newhouse, Lisa M. Miles, Veronika Williams, Jenny McSharry, Louise Locock, Andrew J. Farmer and David P. French

Self-referral and associated factors among patients attending adult outpatient departments in Debre tabor general hospital, North West Ethiopia

Self-referral leads to diminished quality of health care service; increase resource depletion and poorer patient outcomes. However, a significant number of patients referred themselves to the higher health car...

Authors: Tigist Misganaw Abere, Desta Debalkie Atnafu and Yaread Mulu

The health service use of aged rural-to-urban migrant workers in different types of cities in China

The association between different types of cities and the use of health services by aged migrant workers in China has not been widely reported in previous studies. This article aims to focus on rural-to-urban ...

Authors: Yating Xie, Qiuju Guo and Yang Meng

Correction to: Effectiveness of self-managed continuous monitoring for maintaining high-quality early essential newborn care compared to supervision visit in Lao PDR: a cluster randomised controlled trial

Authors: Sayaka Horiuchi, Sommana Rattana, Bounnack Saysanasongkham, Outhevanh Kounnavongsa, Shogo Kubota, Mariko Inoue and Kazue Yamaoka

Reimagining community relationships for organizational learning: a scoping review with implications for a learning health system

Communities represent a highly relevant source of knowledge with regard to not only healthcare performance but also sociocultural context, yet their role in learning health systems has not been studied. Situat...

Authors: Crystal Milligan and Whitney Berta

When trust, confidence, and faith collide: refining a realist theory of how and why inter-organisational collaborations in healthcare work

Health systems are facing unprecedented socioeconomic pressures as well as the need to cope with the ongoing strain brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the reconfiguration of health systems to...

Authors: Justin Avery Aunger, Ross Millar and Joanne Greenhalgh

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene services in health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa 2013–2018: Results of health facility surveys and implications for COVID-19 transmission

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted important needs in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and standard practices for infection prevention and control in sub-Saharan Africa. We assessed the availab...

Authors: Mufaro Kanyangarara, Savannah Allen, Safia S Jiwani and David Fuente

Economic status and catastrophic health expenditures in China in the last decade of health reform: a systematic review and meta-analysis

In order to solve the problem of “expensive medical treatment and difficult medical treatment” for patients and improve the equity of medical services, China started the health-care reform in 2009, and propose...

Authors: Qingqing Yuan, Yuxuan Wu, Furong Li, Min Yang, Dandi Chen and Kun Zou

Factors impacting hospital avoidance program utilisation in the care of acutely unwell residential aged care facility residents

An existing hospital avoidance program, the Aged Care Rapid Response Team (ARRT), rapidly delivers geriatric outreach services to acutely unwell or older people with declining health at risk of hospitalisation...

Authors: Luke Testa, Tayhla Ryder, Jeffrey Braithwaite and Rebecca J. Mitchell

Patient-controlled admissions to inpatient care: A twelve-month naturalistic study of patients with schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses and the effects on admissions to and days in inpatient care

Patients with schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses have a poor prognostic outlook and rates of recovery. Inpatient care is common, but the decision to initiate such care is not solely up to the patient but also in...

Authors: Maria Skott, Natalie Durbeej, Maria Smitmanis-Lyle, Clara Hellner, Emelie Allenius, Sigrid Salomonsson, Tobias Lundgren, Nitya Jayaram-Lindström and Alexander Rozental

Exploring the use of health and wellbeing measures during pregnancy and the first year following birth in women living with pre-existing long-term conditions: qualitative interviews with women and healthcare professionals

One way in which care for pregnant and postpartum women living with long-term health conditions (LTCs) may be improved is through the adoption of standardised measures to provide evidence of health outcomes an...

Authors: Laura Kelly, Jennifer J. Kurinczuk, Oliver Rivero-Arias, Ray Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth Gibbons and Fiona Alderdice

Key informant perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for using routine health data for decision-making in Senegal

Increasing the performance of routine health information systems (RHIS) is an important policy priority both globally and in Senegal. As RHIS data become increasingly important in driving decision-making in Se...

Authors: Pierre Muhoza, Haneefa Saleem, Adama Faye, Ibrahima Gaye, Roger Tine, Abdoulaye Diaw, Alioune Gueye, Almamy Malick Kante, Andrea Ruff and Melissa A. Marx