BACKGROUND The wetlands of the North East India fall among the global hotspots of biodiversity. However, they have received very little attention with relation to their intrinsic values to human kind; therefore their conservation is hardly addressed. These wetlands are critical for the sustenance of the tribal communities. METHODS Field research was conducted during 2003 to 2006 in seven majo...

Access to and utilisation of quality healthcare promotes positive child health outcomes. However, to be optimally utilised, the healthcare system needs to be responsive to the expectations of the population it serves. Health systems in many sub-Saharan African countries, including Malawi, have historically focused on promoting access to health services by the rural poor. However, in the context...

BACKGROUND Innovation through an open source model has proven to be successful for software development. This success has led many to speculate if open source can be applied to other industries with similar success. We attempt to provide an understanding of open source software development characteristics for researchers, business leaders and government officials who may be interested in utiliz...

Pharmacists are an important component of a primary care system for two reasons. Pharmacists are often an easily accessible source of primary care because of the widespread distribution of pharmacies. After access to the health care system, primary care requires recommending treatment or referral to another health care provider with the expertise that is needed. By accessing a pharmacist, exper...

1 Barrett DS, Cobb AG, Bentley G. Joint proprioception in normal, osteoarthritic and replaced knees. J Bone Joint Surg Br 1991; 73: 53–56. 2 Barrett DS. Proprioception and function after anterior cruciate reconstruction. J Bone Joint Surg Br 1991; 73: 833–37. 3 Skinner HD, Barrack RL, Cook SD. Age-related decline in proprioception. Clin Orthop 1984; 184: 208–01. A recent consensus statement fro...

BACKGROUND Pakistan's Lady Health Worker Programme aims to provide care to children sick with pneumonia and diarrhoea, which continues to cause 27 % under-five mortality in Pakistan. The quality of supervision received by Lady Health Workers (LHWs) in the programme influence their knowledge and skills, in turn impacting their ability to provide care. METHODS This study is part of an implement...

This paper illustrates the experiences of essential medicine management in providing cure and care to victims of Pakistan's 2005 earthquake in a safe, rational and effective mode. The health interventions assured access to essential medicine, sustained supply, inventory control through a computerized logistic support system and rational use of medicines. World Health Organization Pakistan outli...

BACKGROUND  Community health workers (CHWs) were trained in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Uganda to diagnose febrile children using malaria rapid diagnostic tests, and treat positive malaria cases with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and those who could not take oral medicines with rectal artesunate. We quantified the impact of this intervention on private household costs for childhood...

BACKGROUND To ascertain equity in financing for essential medicines and health supplies (EMHS) in Uganda, this paper explores the relationships among government funding allocations for EMHS, patient load, and medicines availability across facilities at different levels of care. METHODS We collected data on EMHS allocations and availability of selected vital medicines from 43 purposively sampl...

the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (af) is 1-2 % in the general population, and the risk of embolic stroke in af patients is 4-5 times higher than that in the general population. af-related strokes are often severe, and the rate of permanent disability is much higher among individuals who have af-related strokes than in those who have strokes unrelated to af. in patients with af, more than 9...