Précis This debate article highlights the challenges of health situation in Iran and some influencing or relevant factors such as health sector, welfare system and social protection, social exclusion and civil society from the viewpoint of an international partner. Some advanced experiences in Iranian health system and the manner of system for international cooperation have also been discussed.

Virtual healthcare communities are incorporating social network features to motivate more participation. Using the lens of social identity theory, this study looks at how the social network structure of virtual healthcare communities influences participation via social identity. In specific, the effect of cognitive, emotional and evaluative components of social identity are investigated. Uncert...

This article uses recently published time series data for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries to estimate income elasticities for health care expenditures. Several different models and alternative specifications are examined to determine the sensitivity and robustness of the estimated relationships. Income is the dominant-determinant of health care spending and l...

Numerous social policy analysts have suggested that globalisation and the emergence of more knowledge based economies have encouraged high income nations to shift away from a model of protective welfare focused on social rights and towards a model of productive welfare focused on social investment. However, much of the work in this area remains purely theoretical, not least because comparative ...

abstract background: chronic renal disease and hemodialysis cause numerous psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual challenges for both patients and their families. overcoming these challenges is possible only through providing holistic support for the patients. today, despite the support provided by family and professional caregivers for the patients, patients still express dissatisfacti...