Articles

‘The problem is small enough, the problem is big enough’: a qualitative study of health technology assessment and public policy on drug funding decisions for children

Public policy approaches to funding paediatric medicines in developed public health systems remain understudied. Current approaches to HTA present a variety of conceptual, methodological and practical problems...

Authors: Avram E. Denburg, Mita Giacomini, Wendy J. Ungar and Julia Abelson

Inequalities in reproductive health care use in five West-African countries: A decomposition analysis of the wealth-based gaps

Family planning and maternal care services have become increasingly available in West Africa but the level of non-use remains high. This unfavorable outcome may be partly due to the unaffordability of reproduc...

Authors: Oluwasegun Jko Ogundele, Milena Pavlova and Wim Groot

Cancer screening among racial/ethnic groups in health centers

Underserved and low-income population are placed at a disadvantage for receiving necessary cancer screenings. This study aims to measure the rates of receiving three types of cancer screening services, Pap tes...

Authors: De-Chih Lee, Hailun Liang, Nanqian Chen, Leiyu Shi and Ying Liu

Wealth-related inequalities of women’s knowledge of cervical cancer screening and service utilisation in 18 resource-constrained countries: evidence from a pooled decomposition analysis

Resource-constrained countries (RCCs) have the highest burden of cervical cancer (CC) in the world. Nonetheless, although CC can be prevented through screening for precancerous lesions, only a small proportion...

Authors: Rashidul Alam Mahumud, Syed Afroz Keramat, Gail M Ormsby, Marufa Sultana, Lal B. Rawal, Khorshed Alam, Jeff Gow and Andre M. N. Renzaho

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in complex humanitarian crises

Authors: Danielle N. Poole, Daniel J. Escudero, Lawrence O. Gostin, David Leblang and Elizabeth A. Talbot

Mobile health clinics in the United States

Mobile health clinics serve an important role in the health care system, providing care to some of the most vulnerable populations. Mobile Health Map is the only comprehensive database of mobile clinics in the...

Authors: Nelson C. Malone, Mollie M. Williams, Mary C. Smith Fawzi, Jennifer Bennet, Caterina Hill, Jeffrey N. Katz and Nancy E. Oriol

Reproductive health and the politics of abortion

This editorial provides an overview of a thematic series that brings attention to the persistently deficient and unequal access to sexual and reproductive health services for young women in sub-Saharan Africa....

Authors: Astrid Blystad, Haldis Haukanes, Getnet Tadele and Karen Marie Moland

Towards universal access to healthcare for older adults: an assessment of the old-age exemption policy under Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme

Despite calls for governments to provide universal health coverage for all, social health insurance programmes (SHI) that specifically target older adults continue to be largely absent in many African countrie...

Authors: Fidelia A. A. Dake and Nele van der Wielen

A qualitative needs assessment of human trafficking in Ethiopia: recommendations for a comprehensive, coordinated response

Human trafficking is a global human rights violation that has profound health, economic, and social impacts. There has been little investigation of service needs and response options for human trafficking surv...

Authors: Kristen R. Choi, Dana C. Beck, Munmun A. Khan, Sue Anne Bell, Lemlem Beza and Michelle L. Munro-Kramer

Health, income and poverty: evidence from China’s rural household survey

Understanding the health status of the poor households and the influence of unhealthy on their income can provide some vital insights into the effectiveness and appropriateness of poverty reduction solutions.

Authors: Yang Zhou, Yuanzhi Guo and Yansui Liu

Examining user fee reductions in public primary healthcare facilities in Kenya, 1997–2012: effects on the use and content of antenatal care

In 2004, The Kenyan government removed user fees in public dispensaries and health centers and replaced them with registration charges of 10 and 20 Kenyan shillings (2004 $US 0.13 and $0.25), respectively. Thi...

Authors: Mardieh L. Dennis, Lenka Benova, Catherine Goodman, Edwine Barasa, Timothy Abuya and Oona M. R. Campbell

“At this age, a Moroccan woman’s life’s work is over”-older Moroccan-Dutch migrant women’s perceptions of health and lifestyle, with a focus on Ramadan experiences: qualitative research integrating education and consultation

Older Moroccan-Dutch migrant women exhibit high rates of diabetes, hypertension, overweight and obesity which is further compounded by their high risk of multi-morbidity. Healthcare professionals’ efforts to e...

Authors: Karlijn Koudstaal, Petra Verdonk and Edien Bartels

The roles of health maintenance organizations in the implementation of a social health insurance scheme in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria: a mixed-method investigation

In Nigeria, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are the purchasers of health insurance with a social National Health Insurance Scheme for civil servants. However the roles of HMOs in implementation of soci...

Authors: Eric Obikeze and Obinna Onwujekwe

Prevalence and associated factors of self-treatment behaviour among different elder subgroups in rural China: a cross-sectional study

Self-treatment is a common and widespread behaviour, of which the risks are multiplied in old age. However, the determinants of self-treatment among elders in rural China remain unclear. This study aims to exp...

Authors: Wanchun Xu, Zhong Li, Zijing Pan, Ruibo He and Liang Zhang

How the choice of ethnic indicator influences ethnicity-based inequities in maternal health care in four Latin American countries: who is indigenous?

The current focus on monitoring health inequalities and the complexity around ethnicity requires careful consideration of how ethnic disparities are measured and presented. This paper aims to determine how ine...

Authors: Nancy Armenta-Paulino, Adela Castelló, María Sandín Vázquez and Francisco Bolúmar

Local health governance in Tajikistan: accountability and power relations at the district level

Relationships of power, responsibility and accountability between health systems actors are considered central to health governance. Despite increasing attention to the role of accountability in health governa...

Authors: Eelco Jacobs and Claudia Baez Camargo

“Who will stand up for us?” the social determinants of health of women tea plantation workers in India

The tea estate sector of India is one of the oldest and largest formal private employers. Workers are dependent on plantation estates for a range of basic services under the 1951 Plantation Labour Act and have...

Authors: Preety R. Rajbangshi and Devaki Nambiar

The disequilibrium in the distribution of the primary health workforce among eight economic regions and between rural and urban areas in China

Equity is one of the major goals of China’s new medical reforms launched in 2009. This study aimed to analyze the disequilibrium in primary health care (PHC) workforce among various economic zones in China and...

Authors: Yueyue Wang, Yuyang Li, Shangren Qin, Yuanfeng Kong, Xiyang Yu, Keqiang Guo and Jiayu Meng

Hospitalisation for cirrhosis in Australia: disparities in presentation and outcomes for Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians experience greater health disadvantage and have a higher prevalence of many chronic health conditions. Liver diseases leading to cirrhosis are among the most common contributor to the mo...

Authors: Patricia C. Valery, Paul J. Clark, Gregory Pratt, Christina M. Bernardes, Gunter Hartel, Maree Toombs, Katharine M. Irvine and Elizabeth E. Powell

Patient safety in marginalised groups: a narrative scoping review

Marginalised groups (‘populations outside of mainstream society’) experience severe health inequities, as well as increased risk of experiencing patient safety incidents. To date however no review exists to id...

Authors: Sudeh Cheraghi-Sohi, Maria Panagioti, Gavin Daker-White, Sally Giles, Lisa Riste, Sue Kirk, Bie Nio Ong, Aaron Poppleton, Stephen Campbell and Caroline Sanders

Socially-assigned race and health: a scoping review with global implications for population health equity

Self-identified race/ethnicity is largely used to identify, monitor, and examine racial/ethnic inequalities. A growing body of work underscores the need to consider multiple dimensions of race – the social con...

Authors: Kellee White, Jourdyn A. Lawrence, Nedelina Tchangalova, Shuo J. Huang and Jason L. Cummings

Vulnerability in health and social capital: a qualitative analysis by levels of marginalization in Mexico

Social capital is employed as an asset when there is a lack of an efficient health-care system. However, this relationship is not homogeneous and can differ according to the characteristics of individuals and ...

Authors: Oscar A. Martínez-Martínez and Anidelys Rodríguez-Brito

Prolonged health worker strikes in Kenya- perspectives and experiences of frontline health managers and local communities in Kilifi County

While health worker strikes are experienced globally, the effects can be worst in countries with infrastructural and resource challenges, weak institutional arrangements, underdeveloped organizational ethics c...

Authors: Dennis Waithaka, Nancy Kagwanja, Jacinta Nzinga, Benjamin Tsofa, Hassan Leli, Christine Mataza, Amek Nyaguara, Philip Bejon, Lucy Gilson, Edwine Barasa and Sassy Molyneux

Differences in medical specialist utilization among older people in need of long-term care – results from German health claims data

Elderly in need of long-term care tend to have worse health and have higher need of medical care than elderly without need for long-term care. Yet, characteristics associated with long-term care need can imped...

Authors: Maike Schulz, Jonas Czwikla, Chrysanthi Tsiasioti, Antje Schwinger, Daniel Gand, Guido Schmiemann, Annika Schmidt, Karin Wolf-Ostermann, Stephan Kloep, Franziska Heinze and Heinz Rothgang

Improving health equity among the African ethnic minority through health system strengthening: a narrative review of the New Zealand healthcare system

In New Zealand, health equity is a pressing concern and reaching disadvantaged populations has become the goal to close the inequity gap. Building and strengthening health systems is one way to secure better o...

Authors: Blessing Kanengoni, Sari Andajani-Sutjahjo and Eleanor Holroyd

Correction to: Households forgoing healthcare as a measure of financial risk protection: an application to Liberia

Following publication of the original article [1], we have been notified that part of the Results part of the Abstract text is mentioned with the mistake.

Authors: Jacopo Gabani and Lorna Guinness

Examining purchasing reforms towards universal health coverage by the National Hospital Insurance Fund in Kenya

Kenya has prioritized the attainment of universal health coverage (UHC) through the expansion of health insurance coverage by the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). In 2015, the NHIF introduced reforms i...

Authors: Rahab Mbau, Evelyn Kabia, Ayako Honda, Kara Hanson and Edwine Barasa

Intersectionality, special populations, needs and suggestions: the Flint Women’s study

Equitable access to services that promote health and wellbeing is an important component of social justice. A community-engaged participatory qualitative study was conducted in Flint, Michigan, USA, to underst...

Authors: Maji Hailemariam, Julia W. Felton, Kent Key, DeOnica Greer, Bernadel L. Jefferson, Janice Muhammad, Raven Miller, Fallon Richie, DeWaun Robinson, Sharon Saddler, Bryan Spencer, Monicia Summers, Jonne Mc Coy White and Jennifer E. Johnson

Implementing a sustainable health insurance system in Cambodia: a study protocol for developing and validating an efficient household income-level assessment model for equitable premium collection

As elsewhere in low- and middle-income countries, due to limited fiscal resources, universal health coverage (UHC) remains a challenge in Cambodia. Since 2016, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has impl...

Authors: Haruyo Nakamura, Floriano Amimo, Siyan Yi, Sovannary Tuot, Tomoya Yoshida, Makoto Tobe and Shuhei Nomura

The inter-relationship of diversity principles for the enhanced participation of older people in their care: a qualitative study

The health and aged care workforce must understand and support the diverse needs of older people to enhance their care experience. We previously identified five principles of diversity training for this workfo...

Authors: Rajna Ogrin, Claudia Meyer, Arti Appannah, Sally McMillan and Colette Browning

Too poor or too far? Partitioning the variability of hospital-based childbirth by poverty and travel time in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania

In sub-Saharan Africa, women are most likely to receive skilled and adequate childbirth care in hospital settings, yet the use of hospital for childbirth is low and inequitable. The poorest and those living fu...

Authors: Kerry L. M. Wong, Oliver J. Brady, Oona M. R. Campbell, Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas and Lenka Benova

Sustainable under nutrition reduction program and dietary diversity among children’s aged 6–23 months, Northwest Ethiopia: Comparative cross-sectional study

Adequate dietary diversity is vital for the survival, growth and development of infants and children. Inadequate dietary diversity is the major cause of micronutrient deficiency in Sub-saharan Africa, includin...

Authors: Tigist Worku, Kedir Abdela Gonete, Esmael Ali Muhammad and Asmamaw Atnafu

Perceived poverty and health, and their roles in the poverty-health vicious cycle: a qualitative study of major stakeholders in the healthcare setting in Hong Kong

Poverty and ill-health are closely inter-related. Existing studies on the poverty-health vicious cycle focus mainly on less developed countries, where the identified mechanisms linking between poverty and ill-...

Authors: Gary Ka-Ki Chung, Dong Dong, Samuel Yeung-Shan Wong, Hung Wong and Roger Yat-Nork Chung

All-cause mortality rate in China: do residents in economically developed regions have better health?

Urban-rural disparities have been extensively investigated, while most investigators overlooked urban-suburban-rural variations in population health. Although regional disparities in East-West China have been ...

Authors: Xuexin Yu and Wei Zhang

“To mean something to someone”: sport-for-development as a lever for social inclusion

Socially excluded groups are at higher risk of low well-being and poor health. The link between social exclusion and health inequities is complex, and not being involved in society makes it difficult to be rea...

Authors: Karen Van der Veken, Emelien Lauwerier and Sara Willems

The impact of vaccination on gender equity: conceptual framework and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine case study

Although the beneficial effects of vaccines on equity by socioeconomic status and geography are increasingly well-documented, little has been done to extend these analyses to examine the linkage between vaccin...

Authors: Allison Portnoy, Samantha Clark, Sachiko Ozawa and Mark Jit

A method for measuring spatial effects on socioeconomic inequalities using the concentration index

Although spatial effects contribute to inequalities in health care service utilisation and other health outcomes in low and middle income countries, there have been no attempts to incorporate the impact of nei...

Authors: Sung Wook Kim, Hassan Haghparast-Bidgoli, Jolene Skordis-Worrall, Neha Batura and Stavros Petrou

Qualitative study of psychosocial factors impacting on Aboriginal women’s management of chronic disease

Aboriginal women are frequently called upon to support their families and other community members. At times, such supporting roles can be burdensome for these women. Many Aboriginal women live with chronic con...

Authors: A. Eades, M. L. Hackett, H. Liu, A. Brown, J. Coffin and A. Cass

Delay in decision and determinants for safe abortion among women at health facilities in south West Ethiopia: facility based cross sectional study

Delayed safe abortion is the most common cause of gynecologic admission in developing countries. The study, therefore, assessed the delay decision for safe abortion and determinant factors among women at healt...

Authors: Biru Abdissa Mizana, Tsige Woyecha and Samuel Abdu

Inequity in inpatient services utilization: a longitudinal comparative analysis of middle-aged and elderly patients with the chronic non-communicable diseases in China

Aging and the chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) challenge the Chinese government in the process of providing hospitalization services fairly and reasonably. The Chinese government has developed the basi...

Authors: Xian-zhi Fu, Lian-ke Wang, Chang-qing Sun, Dong-dong Wang, Jun-jian He, Qi-xin Tang and Qian-yu Zhou

Homeownership status and risk of food insecurity: examining the role of housing debt, housing expenditure and housing asset using a cross-sectional population-based survey of Canadian households

Household food insecurity is a potent marker of material deprivation with adverse health consequences. Studies have repeatedly found a strong, independent relationship between owning a home and lower vulnerabi...

Authors: Andrée-Anne Fafard St-Germain and Valerie Tarasuk

The state of enrollment on the National Health Insurance Scheme in rural Ghana after eight years of implementation

In 2004, Ghana implemented a national health insurance scheme (NHIS) as a step towards achieving universal health coverage. In this paper, we assessed the level of enrollment and factors associated with NHIS m...

Authors: Anthony Kwarteng, James Akazili, Paul Welaga, Philip Ayizem Dalinjong, Kwaku Poku Asante, Doris Sarpong, Samuelina Arthur, Martin Bangha, Jane Goudge and Osman Sankoh

Social inequalities in the burden of care: a dyadic analysis in the caregiving partners of persons with a physical disability

Socioeconomic position (SEP) is an important contextual factor in the Stress Process Model of caregiving. However, the basic assumption that low SEP is associated with greater caregiver burden has so far lacke...

Authors: Hannah Tough, Martin W. G. Brinkhof, Johannes Siegrist and Christine Fekete

Ethnicity recording in health and social care data collections in Ireland: where and how is it measured and what is it used for?

In the European Union (EU), discrimination based on racial and ethnic origin is prohibited under the Racial Equality Directive. Ireland is one of only three EU countries where a legal duty of equality data col...

Authors: Ailish Hannigan, Nazmy Villarroel, Maria Roura, Joseph LeMaster, Alphonse Basogomba, Colette Bradley and Anne MacFarlane

Have inequalities in all-cause and cause-specific child mortality between countries declined across the world?

Comparing the distribution of all cause or cause-specific child mortality in countries by income and its progress over time has not been rigorously monitored, and hence remains unknown. We therefore aimed to a...

Authors: Seungman Cha and Yan Jin

Exploring patient experiences with and attitudes towards hypertension at a private hospital in Uganda: a qualitative study

Hypertension is the leading risk factor for mortality worldwide and is more common in sub-Saharan Africa than any other region. Work to date confirms that a lack of human and material resources for healthcare ...

Authors: Hayley M. Lynch, Aliza S. Green, Rose Clarke Nanyonga, Darinka D. Gadikota-Klumpers, Allison Squires, Jeremy I. Schwartz and David J. Heller

Exploring the health-relevant poverty line: a study using the data of 663,000 individuals in Japan

Income poverty is known to be associated with poor health outcomes. However, the poverty line, which is used to calculate the poverty rate, is arbitrarily set without specific reference to health. This study e...

Authors: Takashi Oshio

Experiences, perspectives and values of Indigenous peoples regarding kidney transplantation: systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies

Kidney transplantation is considered best practice treatment for end stage kidney disease (ESKD), however Indigenous patients are substantially less likely to receive either a deceased or live donor kidney tra...

Authors: Rachael C. Walker, Sally Abel, Annie Reynolds, Suetonia C. Palmer, Curtis Walker and David C. Tipene-Leach

Socio-economic inequality in malnutrition among children in India: an analysis of 640 districts from National Family Health Survey (2015–16)

Despite a fast-growing economy and the largest anti-malnutrition programme, India has the world’s worst level of child malnutrition. Despite India’s 50% increase in GDP since 1991, more than one third of the w...

Authors: Shrikant Singh, Swati Srivastava and Ashish Kumar Upadhyay

Connecting knowledge with action for health equity: a critical interpretive synthesis of promising practices

Connecting knowledge with action (KWA) for health equity involves interventions that can redistribute power and resources at local, national, and global levels. Although there is ample and compelling evidence ...

Authors: Katrina M. Plamondon, C. Susana Caxaj, Ian D. Graham and Joan L. Bottorff