Articles

“The talking bit of medicine, that’s the most important bit”: doctors and Aboriginal interpreters collaborate to transform culturally competent hospital care

In hospitals globally, patient centred communication is difficult to practice, and interpreters are underused. Low uptake of interpreters is commonly attributed to limited interpreter availability, time constr...

Authors: Vicki Kerrigan, Stuart Yiwarr McGrath, Sandawana William Majoni, Michelle Walker, Mandy Ahmat, Bilawara Lee, Alan Cass, Marita Hefler and Anna P. Ralph

Assessing the impact of the 2008 health reform in Ecuador on the performance of primary health care services: an interrupted time series analysis

In 2008, Ecuador started a national health reform based on the principles of Alma Ata to achieve Universal Health Coverage. While coverage indicators have increased, a systematic assessment of the impact of th...

Authors: Sergio E Flores Jimenez and Miguel San Sebastián

Social inequalities in the surrounding areas of food deserts and food swamps in a Brazilian metropolis

Food deserts are neighborhoods with little or no access to healthy food, whereas food swamps are neighborhoods where unhealthy food options prevail over healthy ones. The main aims of the current study are to ...

Authors: Olivia Souza Honório, Milene Cristine Pessoa, Lucia Helena Almeida Gratão, Luana Lara Rocha, Inês Rugani Ribeiro de Castro, Daniela Silva Canella, Paula Martins Horta and Larissa Loures Mendes

The cumulation of ill health and low agency in socially excluded city dwellers in the Netherlands: how to better identify high-risk/high-need population segments with public health survey data

Population segmentation and risk stratification are important strategies for allocating resources in public health, health care and social care. Social exclusion, which is defined as the cumulation of disadvan...

Authors: Addi P. L. van Bergen, Annelies van Loon, Stella J. M. Hoff, Judith R. L. M. Wolf and Albert M. van Hemert

Examining the role of government in shaping disability inclusiveness around COVID-19: a framework analysis of Australian guidelines

The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered the ways in which disabled people are made more vulnerable due to structural inequalities. These vulnerabilities are the result of the interaction between individual and str...

Authors: David Colon-Cabrera, Shivika Sharma, Narelle Warren and Dikaios Sakellariou

Socio-cultural factors for breastfeeding cessation and their relationship with child diarrhoea in the rural high-altitude Peruvian Andes – a qualitative study

In some areas of the world, breast milk is seen as a potential source of child diarrhoea. While this belief has been explored in African and Southeast Asian countries, it remains vastly understudied in Latin A...

Authors: Néstor Nuño Martínez, Jordyn Wallenborn, Daniel Mäusezahl, Stella M. Hartinger and Joan Muela Ribera

Dissecting systemic racism: policies, practices and epistemologies creating racialized systems of care for Indigenous peoples

In this paper we explore some of the ways systemic racism operates and is maintained within our health and social services. We look at a very specific context, that of Nunavik Quebec, land and home to 13,000 Nuna...

Authors: Sarah Louise Fraser, Dominique Gaulin and William Daibhid Fraser

Health disparities in Russia at the regional and global scales

The capacity for health comparisons, including the accurate comparison of indicators, is necessary for a comprehensive evaluation of well-being in places where people live. An important issue is the assessment...

Authors: Natalia Shartova, Vladimir Tikunov and Olga Chereshnya

Physician distribution across China’s cities: regional variations

Distribution of physicians is a key component of access to health care. Although there is extensive research on urban-rural disparities in physician distribution, limited attention has been directed to the het...

Authors: Xuexin Yu, Wei Zhang and Jersey Liang

Needs, gaps and opportunities for standard and e-mental health care among at-risk populations in the Asia Pacific in the context of COVID-19: a rapid scoping review

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have profound mental health impact, including in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. Some populations might be at higher risk of experiencing negative ment...

Authors: Jill K. Murphy, Amna Khan, Qiumeng Sun, Harry Minas, Simon Hatcher, Chee H. Ng, Mellissa Withers, Andrew Greenshaw, Erin E. Michalak, Promit Ananyo Chakraborty, Karen Sharmini Sandanasamy, Nurashikin Ibrahim, Arun Ravindran, Jun Chen, Vu Cong Nguyen and Raymond W. Lam

Participatory Action Research-Dadirri-Ganma, using Yarning: methodology co-design with Aboriginal community members

Appropriate choice of research design is essential to rightly understand the research problem and derive optimal solutions. The Comorbidity Action in the North project sought to better meet the needs of local ...

Authors: Hepsibah Sharmil, Janet Kelly, Margaret Bowden, Cherrie Galletly, Imelda Cairney, Coral Wilson, Lisa Hahn, Dennis Liu, Paul Elliot, Joanne Else, Trevor Warrior, Trevor Wanganeen, Robert Taylor, Frank Wanganeen, Jodus Madrid, Lisa Warner…

Did the poor gain from India’s health policy interventions? Evidence from benefit-incidence analysis, 2004–2018

Health policy interventions were expected to improve access to health care delivery, provide financial risk protection, besides reducing inequities that underlie geographic and socio-economic variation in popu...

Authors: Sakthivel Selvaraj, Anup K. Karan, Wenhui Mao, Habib Hasan, Ipchita Bharali, Preeti Kumar, Osondu Ogbuoji and Chetana Chaudhuri

Using concept mapping to prioritize barriers to diabetes care and self-management for those who experience homelessness

Diabetes is a chronic medical condition which demands that patients engage in self-management to achieve optimal glycemic control and avoid severe complications. Individuals who have diabetes and are experienc...

Authors: Eshleen K. Grewal, Rachel B. Campbell, Gillian L. Booth, Kerry A. McBrien, Stephen W. Hwang, Patricia O’Campo and David J. T. Campbell

Are Nepal’s water, sanitation and hygiene and menstrual hygiene policies and supporting documents inclusive of disability? A policy analysis

This study assesses the inclusion of disability in Nepal’s policy and guidance relevant to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in comparison to gender. We investigated ...

Authors: Jane Wilbur, Nathaniel Scherer, Islay Mactaggart, Govind Shrestha, Thérèse Mahon, Belen Torondel, Shaffa Hameed and Hannah Kuper

Assisted reproduction in Spain, outcome and socioeconomic determinants of access

We analyzed two questions. First, the effectiveness of public Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) in Spain compared with private ones, measured by the time since initiating ART treatment until achieving p...

Authors: Ido Alon and Jaime Pinilla

An intersectional analysis of the composite index of anthropometric failures in India

Nutritional inequality in India has been estimated typically using stunting, wasting and underweight separately which hide the overall magnitude and severity of undernutrition. We used the Composite Index of A...

Authors: Sabu Ulahannan Kochupurackal, Yogish Channa Basappa, Sangeetha Joice Vazhamplackal and Prashanth N Srinivas

Health and socio-demographic implications of the Covid-19 second pandemic wave in Israel, compared with the first wave

Israel’s containment of the first wave of Covid-19 was relatively successful. Soon afterwards, however, in the summer months, a harsher pandemic wave developed, resulting in many more seriously ill and dead Is...

Authors: Daphna Birenbaum-Carmeli and Judith Chassida

Affordability of current, and healthy, more equitable, sustainable diets by area of socioeconomic disadvantage and remoteness in Queensland: insights into food choice

Poor diet is the leading preventable risk factor contributing to the burden of disease globally and in Australia, and is inequitably distributed. As the price of healthy foods is a perceived barrier to improve...

Authors: Amanda Lee, Dori Patay, Lisa-Maree Herron, Ella Parnell Harrison and Meron Lewis

The impact of sociodemographic factors on the utilization of radiation therapy in breast cancer patients in Estonia: a register-based study

Radiation therapy is an important part of multimodal breast cancer treatment. The aim was to examine the impact of sociodemographic factors on radiation therapy use in breast cancer (BC) patients in Estonia, l...

Authors: Fereshteh Shahrabi Farahani, Keiu Paapsi and Kaire Innos

Pride Camp: Pilot study of an intervention to develop resilience and self-esteem among LGBTQ youth

Many LGBTQ youth experience rejection and discrimination in their families and schools, and the range of interventions for improving their resilience and well-being is limited. We developed and piloted an LGBT...

Authors: Lance S. Weinhardt, Linda M. Wesp, Hui Xie, Jennifer (Jen) Murray, Jeanette Martín, Sarah DeGeorge, Caleb B. Weinhardt, Maren Hawkins and Patricia Stevens

Recruiting people facing social disadvantage: the experience of the Free Meds study

Researching access to health services, and ways to improve equity, frequently requires researchers to recruit people facing social disadvantage. Recruitment can be challenging, and there is limited high qualit...

Authors: Pauline Norris, Kimberly Cousins, Marianna Churchward, Shirley Keown, Mariana Hudson, Leina Isno, Leilani Pereira, Jacques Klavs, Lucy Linqing Tang, Hanne Roberti and Alesha Smith

How do breastfeeding workplace interventions work?: a realist review

Women are representing an increasing share of the labor force, thus, raising the need to accommodate breastfeeding working mothers at the workplace. While there is an emerging body of evidence supporting the p...

Authors: Kathrin Litwan, Victoria Tran, Kate Nyhan and Rafael Pérez-Escamilla

Chronic pain experience and health inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: qualitative findings from the chronic pain & COVID-19 pan-Canadian study

Chronic pain affects about 20 % of the Canadian population and can lead to physical, psychological and social vulnerabilities. However, this condition remains poorly recognized and undertreated. During 2020, a...

Authors: Lise Dassieu, M. Gabrielle Pagé, Anaïs Lacasse, Maude Laflamme, Vickie Perron, Audrée Janelle-Montcalm, Maria Hudspith, Gregg Moor, Kathryn Sutton, James M Thompson and Manon Choinière

Pervasive systemic drivers underpin COVID-19 vulnerabilities in migrants

Asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented foreign nationals have always been identified as a vulnerable population owing to the longstanding structural barriers and inequalities that they continually face. The...

Authors: Ferdinand C Mukumbang

Hukou-based rural–urban disparities in maternal health service utilization and delivery modes in two Chinese cities in Guangdong Province

Most existing research on rural–urban health inequalities focuses on disparities in service access and health outcomes based on region. This paper examines rural–urban disparities in maternal healthcare utiliz...

Authors: Menghan Shen, Yushan Wu and Xin Xiang

Inequities in the delivery of mental health care: a grounded theory study of the policy context of primary care

Strengthening capacity for mental health in primary care improves health outcomes by providing timely access to coordinated and integrated mental health care. The successful integration of mental health in pri...

Authors: Rachelle Ashcroft, Matthew Menear, Jose Silveira, Simone Dahrouge, Monica Emode, Jocelyn Booton and Kwame McKenzie

Temporal trends and variation in out-of-pocket expenditures and patient cost sharing: evidence from a Chinese national survey 2011–2015

This study aims to examine: (1) temporal trends in the percentage of cost-sharing and amount of out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) from 2011 to 2015; (2) factors associated with cost-sharing and OOPE; and (3) th...

Authors: Vicky Mengqi Qin, Yuting Zhang, Kee Seng Chia, Barbara McPake, Yang Zhao, Emily S. G. Hulse, Helena Legido-Quigley and John Tayu Lee

Exploring different methods to evaluate the impact of basic income interventions: a systematic review

Persistent income inequality, the increase in precarious employment, the inadequacy of many welfare systems, and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have increased interest in Basic Income (BI) interventi...

Authors: Andrew D. Pinto, Melissa Perri, Cheryl L. Pedersen, Tatiana Aratangy, Ayu Pinky Hapsari and Stephen W. Hwang

Sociodemographic inequities in dental care utilisation among governmental welfare recipients in Japan: a retrospective cohort study

Maintaining oral health is one of the global public health challenges. Income and out-of-pocket payments for dental care services are predictors of dental care utilisation. Although public assistance programme...

Authors: Daisuke Nishioka, Keiko Ueno, Shiho Kino, Jun Aida and Naoki Kondo

Tipping the scales: a theoretical model to describe the differential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changes in almost every aspect of life. The fatal consequences of the pandemic have been clearly reported, with direct and indirect effects; however, there is some evidenc...

Authors: Mor Saban, Vicki Myers, Osnat Luxenburg and Rachel Wilf-Miron

Inequitable access to healthcare in Africa: reconceptualising the “accountability for reasonableness framework” to reflect indigenous principles

The “Accountability for Reasonableness” (A4R) framework has been widely adopted in working towards equity in health for sub-Saharan Africa (SAA). Its suitability for equitable health policy in Africa hinges, a...

Authors: Samuel J. Ujewe and Werdie C. van Staden

Transnational social networks, health, and care: a systematic narrative literature review

While transnational social ties and exchanges are a core concern within migration studies, health researchers have often overlooked their importance. Continuous and circular exchanges of information within tra...

Authors: Inez Roosen, Sarah Salway and Hibbah Araba Osei-Kwasi

Symbolic annihilation of Syrian refugees by Turkish news media during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article presents a discussion about the representation of Syrian refugees in Turkish news media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Media play a critical role during pandemics by affecting values, opinions, pub...

Authors: Alev Yücel

Experts prioritize osteoarthritis non-surgical interventions from Cochrane systematic reviews for translation into “Evidence4Equity” summaries

Osteoarthritis generates substantial health and socioeconomic burden, which is particularly marked in marginalized groups. It is imperative that practitioners have ready access to summaries of evidence-based i...

Authors: Elizabeth Houlding-Braunberger, Jennifer Petkovic, Nicholas Lebel and Peter Tugwell

Factors associated with access to health care among foreign residents living in Aichi Prefecture, Japan: secondary data analysis

In Japan, foreign residents, and particularly new arrivals in the country, experience barriers to health care and show poorer health outcomes when compared to Japanese nationals. The health-care-related situat...

Authors: Michiyo Higuchi, Maki Endo and Asako Yoshino

First Nations and Metis peoples’ access and equity challenges with early childhood oral health: a qualitative study

Inequities in early childhood oral health are evident amongst Indigenous peoples and communities in Manitoba, Canada. Early childhood caries (ECC) is decay in primary dentition in children under 6 years of age...

Authors: Grace Kyoon-Achan, Robert J. Schroth, Daniella DeMaré, Melina Sturym, Jeannette M. Edwards, Julianne Sanguins, Rhonda Campbell, Frances Chartrand, Mary Bertone and Michael E. K. Moffatt

Inequalities in access to safe drinking water in Peruvian households according to city size: an analysis from 2008 to 2018

Peru is one of the countries with the lowest percentage of population with access to safe drinking water in the Latin American region. This study aimed to describe and estimate, according to city size, socioec...

Authors: Akram Hernández-Vasquéz, Carlos Rojas-Roque, Denise Marques Sales, Marilina Santero, Guido Bendezu-Quispe, Tonatiuh Barrientos-Gutiérrez and J. Jaime Miranda

Equity in newborn care, evidence from national surveys in low- and middle-income countries

High coverage of care is essential to improving newborn survival; however, gaps exist in access to timely and appropriate newborn care between and within countries. In high mortality burden settings, health in...

Authors: Kimberly Peven, Lindsay Mallick, Cath Taylor, Debra Bick, Louise T. Day, Lionel Kadzem and Edward Purssell

Trajectories of antidepressant use before and after a suicide attempt among refugees and Swedish-born individuals: a cohort study

To identify key information regarding potential treatment differences in refugees and the host population, we aimed to investigate patterns (trajectories) of antidepressant use during 3 years before and after ...

Authors: Ridwanul Amin, Syed Rahman, Magnus Helgesson, Emma Björkenstam, Bo Runeson, Petter Tinghög, Lars Mehlum, Ping Qin and Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutz

Prevalence and sociogeographical inequalities of violence against women in Ecuador: a cross-sectional study

Violence against women (VAW) is a vast public health problem in Latin America. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of violence against women and to assess its sociogeographical inequalities i...

Authors: Agnes Edeby and Miguel San Sebastián

Correction to: Horizontal inequity in self-reported morbidity and untreated morbidity in India: Evidence from National Sample Survey Data

Authors: Veenapani Rajeev Verma and Umakant Dash

Promoting equity in breastfeeding through peer counseling: the US Breastfeeding Heritage and Pride program

In the United States, Black and Hispanic mothers have lower breastfeeding rates compared with White mothers. To address breastfeeding inequities, the Breastfeeding Heritage and Pride program (BHP) provides bre...

Authors: Elizabeth C Rhodes, Grace Damio, Helen Wilde LaPlant, Walter Trymbulak, Carrianne Crummett, Rebecca Surprenant and Rafael Pérez-Escamilla

Sharing power in global health research: an ethical toolkit for designing priority-setting processes that meaningfully include communities

To promote social justice and equity, global health research should meaningfully engage communities throughout projects: from setting agendas onwards. But communities, especially those that are considered disa...

Authors: Bridget Pratt

The benefits of an integrated social medical insurance for health services utilization in rural China: evidence from the China health and retirement longitudinal study

Improving health equity is a fundamental goal for establishing social health insurance. This article evaluated the benefits of the Integration of Social Medical Insurance (ISMI) policy for health services util...

Authors: Xiaojing Fan, Min Su, Yafei Si, Yaxin Zhao and Zhongliang Zhou

Cultural adaptation of health interventions including a nutrition component in Indigenous peoples: a systematic scoping review

Indigenous populations throughout the world experience poorer health outcomes than non-indigenous people. The reasons for the health disparities are complex and due in part to historical treatment of Indigenou...

Authors: Lisa Vincze, Katelyn Barnes, Mari Somerville, Robyn Littlewood, Heidi Atkins, Ayala Rogany and Lauren T. Williams

Socioeconomic inequalities in curative healthcare-seeking for children under five before and after the free healthcare initiative in Sierra Leone: analysis of population-based survey data

Socioeconomic inequalities between and within countries lead to disparities in the use of health services. These disparities could lead to child mortality in children under 5 years by depriving them of healthc...

Authors: Joel D. Bognini, Sekou Samadoulougou, Mady Ouedraogo, Tiga David Kangoye, Carine Van Malderen, Halidou Tinto and Fati Kirakoya-Samadoulougou

Integrating equity and social justice for indigenous peoples in undergraduate health professions education in Canada: a framework from a critical review of literature

Understanding how to create structural change by actively counteracting racialized ways of interacting with Indigenous peoples at an individual and organizational level within health care systems and health pr...

Authors: Amélie Blanchet Garneau, Marilou Bélisle, Patrick Lavoie and Catherine Laurent Sédillot

Financial protection effects of private health insurance: experimental evidence from Chinese households with resident basic medical insurance

After achieving universal basic medical insurance coverage, Chinese government put the development of private health insurance (PHI) on its agenda to further strengthen financial risk protection. This paper ai...

Authors: Xian-zhi Fu

Community support model on breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in remote areas in Vietnam: implementation, cost, and effectiveness

Poor access to healthcare facilities and consequently nutrition counseling services hinders the uptake of recommended infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. To address these barriers and improve IYCF...

Authors: Tuan T. Nguyen, Nemat Hajeebhoy, Jia Li, Chung T. Do, Roger Mathisen and Edward A. Frongillo

Trends and equity in the use of health services in Spain and Germany around austerity in Europe

Following the 2008 economic crisis many countries implemented austerity policies, including reducing public spending on health services. This paper evaluates the trends and equity in the use of health services...

Authors: Almudena Moreno, Lourdes Lostao, Johannes Beller, Stefanie Sperlich, Elena Ronda, Siegfried Geyer, José Pulido and Enrique Regidor