BACKGROUND Scuba diver fitness is paramount to confront environmental stressors of diving. However, the diving population is aging and the increasing prevalence of diseases may be a concern for diver fitness. PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to assess the demographics, lifestyle factors, disease prevalence, and healthcare access and utilization of Divers Alert Network (DAN) members and co...

INTRODUCTION Community health insurance (CHI) schemes are growing in importance in low-income settings, where health systems based on user fees have resulted in significant barriers to care for the poorest members of communities. They increase revenue, access and financial protection, but concerns have been expressed about the equity of such schemes and their ability to reach the poorest. Few p...

Background One of the main objectives of health systems is the financial protection against out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditures. OOP health expenditures can lead to catastrophic payments, impoverishment or poverty among households. In Iran, health sector evolution plan (HSEP) has been implemented since 2014 in order to achieve universal health coverage and reduce the OOP health expenditures...

OBJECTIVE To examine whether the community-based health insurance (CBHI) scheme in Burkina Faso has been effective in providing equitable healthcare access to poor individuals, women, children and those living far from health facilities. METHODS We used the Nouna Health District Household Survey to collect panel data on 990 households during 2004-08. By applying a series of random effects reg...

INTRODUCTION Health care financing reforms in both China and Vietnam have resulted in greater financial difficulties in accessing health care, especially for the rural poor. Both countries have been developing rural health insurance for decades. This study aims to evaluate and compare equity in access to health care in rural health insurance system in the two countries. METHODS Household surv...

The aims of this study are to enhance the performance of a solar chimney power plant (SCPP), investigate utilization of thermal energy storage (TES) and analyze the environmental impact of the SCPP in providence of Isfahan, Iran. To achieve these goals, multi-stage numerical simulations during twenty-four hours of a day are performed in climate condition of Isfahan province (central region of I...