BACKGROUND Although there is a large increase in investment for tuberculosis control in Myanmar, there are few operational analyses to inform policies. Only 34% of nationally reported cases are from women. In this study, we investigate sex differences in tuberculosis diagnoses in Myanmar in order to identify potential health systems barriers that may be driving lower tuberculosis case finding a...

This teaching case features a situation at Belgacom, the leading telecommunications company in Belgium, end of April 2005. Wim Bouckenooghe, newly appointed finance director of Belgacom’s Network and IT division within the Fixed Line Services (FLS) segment, is troubled by the effectiveness of the selection of the discretionary IT projects, particularly the larger ones. He is especially concerne...

Langa Township, located in Cape Town, South Africa is home to many internal South African migrants and external African immigrants. As a mobile population, many Langa residents have embraced the mobile phone as a means of securing relationships with family members living elsewhere, while also maintaining relationships forged within the township and South Africa in general. Addressing the role o...

There has been a large upsurge of tuberculosis (TB) in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly as a result of the co-existing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. Malawi has had a well-run National TB Control Programme (NTP) with good registration and recording of cases. For some years the NTP has had the impression that TB in the country is concentrated around townships and is les...

The Medical University of Southern Africa (Medunsa), as it was formerly known, came into being in 1978 following an Act of Parliament that motivated for the establishment of a medical university to rectify the dire underrepresentation of the black community in the South African health system. The main aim was therefore to train black doctors, dentists, veterinarians and allied health profession...

BACKGROUND Fascioliasis, caused by Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica, is one of the most important plant and water borne disease in Iran. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of fascioliasis and intestinal helminthes in inhabitants of rural areas of Boyer-Ahmad in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in Southwest of Iran. METHODS Stool samples (1025) were collected from inhabitant of ...

BACKGROUND Township-village health centers in rural areas play an important role in health service system in China. In East China's Jiangsu Province, the City of Haimen privatized all 25 township-village health centers in 2002. This study assesses the effect of privatization on staff retention among these health centers. METHODS This is a retrospective study based on 10-year administrative da...

BACKGROUND The increased funding and reimbursement for the New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NRCMS) have provided residents in rural China with better access to inpatient services. This research aims to examine the level of inappropriate admissions to township hospitals under NRCMS, and the determinants that influence inappropriate admissions. METHODS A total of 2,044 medical records in 1...