BACKGROUND Lay health workers (LHWs) are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. However, little is known about the effectiveness of LHW interventions. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of LHW interventions in primary and community health care on health care behaviours, patients' health and wellbeing, and patients' satisfaction with care. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched t...

BACKGROUND In order to avoid proliferation of microorganisms, cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation in health centres is of utmost importance hence reducing exposure of workers to biological agents and of clients that attend these health centres to potential infections. One of the most commonly-used chemical is glutaraldehyde. The effects of its exposure are well known in the hospital settin...

The health of primary care workers is still a poorly addressed area of study in Brazil. The scope of this study was to describe the standard of self-reported morbidity by workers in Family Health Teams (FHT) in the northeastern macro-region of the state of Minas Gerais. A cross-sectional study was conducted with self-applied questionnaires, including socio-demographical data, labor and health c...

Background Performance-based financing (PBF) is currently tested in many low- and middle-income countries as a health system strengthening strategy. One of the main mechanisms through which PBF is assumed to effect change is by motivating health workers to improve their service delivery performance. This article aims at a better understanding of such motivational effects of PBF. In partic...

abstract background: the world health organization emphasizes on integration of sexual health into primary health care services, educating people and health care workers about sexuality, and promoting optimal sexual health. despite the high prevalence of sexual problems, these problems are poorly managed in primary health care services. this study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and feas...

One of the challenges facing primary health care in South Africa is the delivery of quality eye care to all South Africans. In this regard the role of the primary health care worker, as the first point of contact, is crucial. This paper reports on the problems primary health care workers experience in providing quality eye care in Region B of the Free State. Problems identified by those involve...

introduction crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever (cchf) is a severe infectious disease that is not endemic in the united arab emirates (uae). case presentation we report two cases of confirmed cchf diagnosed in dubai, uae, during hajj season 2010. both patients presented with an acute history of high-grade fever, skin rash, and hematemesis. conclusions in spite of maximal supportive measures and in...

Background: Prostitution and substance abuse are among the crucial social problems in women, which affect the quality of life. However, no study has yet investigated that prostitution and substance abuse affect which dimension(s) of quality of life. The current study aimed to compare different dimensions of quality of life among female sex workers with and without drug abuse. Methods: The rese...

BACKGROUND An adequate health workforce force is central to universal health coverage and positive public health outcomes. However many African countries have critical shortages of healthcare workers, which are worse in primary healthcare. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of healthcare workers, policy makers and the community on the shortage of healthcare workers in Botswana...