BACKGROUND Research exploring the drivers of health outcomes of women who are in prison in low- and middle-income settings is largely absent. This study aimed to identify and examine the interaction between structural, organisational and relational factors influencing Zambian women prisoners' health and healthcare access. METHODS We conducted in-depth interviews of 23 female prisoners across ...

INTRODUCTION E-health has been a recurrent topic in health reform, yet its implementation, ultimate role and feasibility are yet to be clearly defined. Organisations such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service South East Section (RFDS SE) are in a position to utilise technology to enhance the effectiveness of existing clinical services for remote communities. The study aim was to explore the readin...

This paper summarises the recommendations of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Palliative Care Public Health Programmes with respect to design and implementation of palliative care national or regional public health palliative care programmes in their initial phases. We describe the elements of a programme (leadership and aims; needs and context assessment; definition of the target patients; gen...

This paper aims to draw attention to the social and micropolitical dimensions of attempting to implement improvements within healthcare organisations. It is argued that quality improvement initiatives, like other forms of organisational innovation, will fail unless they are conceived and implemented in such a way as to take into account the pattern of interests, values and power relationships t...

Accurate evaluation of healthcare information systems (HCIS) relies upon the choice of appropriate indicators. Iranian healthcare and health industry professionals were surveyed, by means of a descriptive cross sectional study, in order to identify the indicators they considered most relevant to the evaluation of healthcare information systems currently in use in Iran. It was concluded that eff...

In this article the author examines the concepts of moral distress and moral courage within the context of nursing practice. Examples of challenging healthcare situations from the United Kingdom and Ireland are discussed in the light of the examination of these two concepts. The examples illuminate features of healthcare situations that need to be considered in relation to different organisatio...

BACKGROUND A study is reported that examines the use of electronic health record (EHR) systems in two UK local health communities. OBJECTIVE These systems were developed locally and the aim of the study was to explore how well they were supporting the coordination of care along healthcare pathways that cross the organisational boundaries between the agencies delivering health care. RESULTS...

This qualitative study aimed to investigate work demands experienced by healthcare workers in an adult eating disorders inpatient service. It also aimed to investigate the use of social support and job satisfaction in this setting. Twelve healthcare workers from an eating disorders inpatient ward, including nurses, healthcare support workers and occupational therapists, participated in semi-str...

BACKGROUND The public healthcare sector in developing countries faces many challenges including weak healthcare systems and under-resourced facilities that deliver poor outcomes relative to total healthcare expenditure. Global references demonstrate that information technology has the ability to assist in this regard through the automation of processes, thus reducing the inefficiencies of manua...