The increasing number of acute and severe digestive diseases presenting to hospital emergency departments, mainly related with an ageing population, demands an appropriate answer from health systems organization, taking into account the escalating pressure on cost reduction. However, patients expect and deserve a response that is appropriate, effective, efficient and safe. The huge variety of v...

BACKGROUND On its establishment, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as a fundamental human right deserving legal protection. Subsequently, the Ottawa Charter reaffirmed health as a fundamental right, and emphasized health promotion as the most appropriate response to global health issues. Here we suggest that the WHO definition of health as more than simply the absence of illnes...

mental disorders are known to be an important cause of disabilities worldwide. despite their importance, about two thirds of mentally ill people do not seek treatment, probably because of the mental health system's inability to decrease the negative side effects of the interaction with the mental health services. the world health organization has suggested the concept of responsiveness as a way...

The World Health Organization 2010 Global Policy Recommendations: ‘Increasing Access to Health Workers in Remote and Rural Areas through Improved Retention’ is a notable milestone in rural health policy. This report, with preface by WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan, recognizes at the very highest level that the half of the world’s population that lives in rural and remote areas faces enor...

background & aim: prenatal care is a key strategy for achieving public health goals, primary healthcare objectives, and the millennium development goals. the aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the use of prenatal care services in order to design suitable interventions and promote the use of these services. methods:in this systematic quantitative literature review, stud...

Health care reform is likely to raise unique issues for rural communities and providers. This paper identifies and discusses several of these issues, with a particular focus on the potential relationship between health care reform and rural health networks. Topics addressed include the likely impact of health reform on the organization and development of rural health networks, the reimbursement...

background: preconception counseling is preventive medicine in obstetrics. preconception care creates an opportunity for examining conditions before pregnancy improving pregnancy outcome. this study was conducted with the aim of determining the adaptation rate of preconception care with the national standards at health care centers, ahvaz, 2014. methods: this descriptive study was conducted at ...

Recent policy developments in public health care systems lead to a greater diversity in health care. Decentralization, either geographically or at an institutional level, is the key force, because it encourages innovation and local initiatives in health care provision. The devolution of responsibilities allows for a sort of 'deconstruction' of the status quo by changing both organizational form...

background: according to the important role of health care apprentice program on medical students’ performance, especially in relation with social accountability of medical education, it is attempted to assess efficacy of health care apprentice program on the level of medical students’ knowledge and skills in the context of primary health care at babol university of medial sciences    methods: ...