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The process of the health reform being experienced by Ecuador has had significant achievements because it occurs within the framework of a new Constitution of the Republic, which allowed the incorporation of historical social demands that arose from the criticism of neoliberalism in the restructure and modernization of the state. The backbone of the reform consists of three components: organiza...

Primary health care in Cameroon meets with serious obstacles. The state gives it a low priority in its budget and over-all policy. The health institutions are rarely active in this field. Institutions which do practice some primary health care are usually foreign. The villagers, Finally, are little interested. They insist only on improvement of curative services and material life conditions. Th...

Primary care is currently at the heart of health service policy, both in Portugal and internationally. At the same time, interest in the measurement of efficiency of health care delivery has increased considerably. However, very few studies have focused specifically on performance assessment in primary health care provision. In this paper we aim to contribute to a discussion regarding appropria...

This article seeks to contribute to the debate about participation and health by presenting a framework for psychosocial interventions in primary health care. It highlights the social psychological dimensions of participation and the role it plays in improving conditions of living and thus health. The Freirean concepts of dialogue, recognition and conscientization, combined with understanding o...

The Partnership for Reviving Routine Immunization in Northern Nigeria - Maternal, Newborn and Child Health initiative supports efforts by the government of Nigeria to bridge primary health care (PHC) policies and services at three levels of government: federal, state and local. The paper suggests that understandings informed by complexity theory and complex adaptive systems have been helpful in...

In Tanzania access to urban and rural primary health care is relatively widespread, yet there is evidence of considerable bypassing of services; questions have been raised about how to improve functionality. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of health workers working in the primary health care facilities in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania, in terms of their motivation to work, s...

Inappropriate incentives as part of China's fee-for-service payment system have resulted in rapid cost increase, inefficiencies, poor quality, unaffordable health care, and an erosion of medical ethics. To reverse these outcomes, a strategy of experimentation to realign incentives for providers with the social goals of improvement in quality and efficiency has been initiated in China. This Revi...

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is on the increase in the health systems, representing a means of improving the quality of health care. This study analyzed the ICT incorporation in primary care in Brazil and identified the different aspects that may be associated with better quality in the care provided, in relation to certain aspects of women's care. We noted an uneve...