scholarly journals Maternal deaths in developing countries: A preventable tragedy

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnar Kvåle ◽  
Bjørg Evjen Olsen ◽  
Sven Gudmund Hinderaker ◽  
Magnar Ulstein ◽  
Per Bergsjø
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Maternal Mortality ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Public Health Importance ◽  
Maternal Deaths ◽  
Care Systems

The neglected tragedy of persistent high maternal mortality in the low-income countries is described. One of the millennium development goals states that the current number of maternal deaths of around 500,000 per year should be reduced by three quarters by 2015. Since the major causes and avenues for prevention are known, this may seem an achievable goal. It is concluded, however, that unless all stakeholders globally and within individual countries will demonstrate a real commitment to translate policy statements into actions, it is unlikely that the goal will be reached. A substantial increase in the resources for reproductive health care services is needed, and the human resource crises in the health care systems must be urgently addressed. Epidemiologists have an important role to play by designing randomized controlled trials for estimating the effect of different health care systems interventions aimed at reducing maternal mortality and other major health problems in low resource settings. The public health importance of such trials may be greater than the potential benefit of randomized trials for investigating effects of new vaccines and drugs. Within the field of perinatal epidemiology the disparity in public health importance of research conducted in the rich versus the poor world is glaring. Time is overdue for perinatal epidemiologists to turn their attention to the areas of the world where the maternal and perinatal health problems are overwhelming.

scholarly journals Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plants Used for Human Health Care in Yem Culture, South Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Woldemariam ◽  
Sebsebe Demissew ◽  
Zemede Asfaw
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Ethnobotanical Study ◽  
Care Systems

Abstract BackgroundIndigenous or traditional herbal medicine has been widely regarded as a resource for strengthening the health care systems among communities of low income countries including Ethiopia. The Yem people in Ethiopia have deep-rooted and ancient traditional knowledge of managing human ailments and health conditions using medicinal plants (mps). On the other hand, mps and the associated indigenous knowledge are under erosion due to human-induced and natural factors. Therefore, documenting the plant biodiversity along with the associated indigenous knowledge is of urgent task for conservation. MethodsThis study was conducted in April, 2013, October, 2016 and July, 2016 with the objective of documenting traditional mps in different land uses that are used for treating human ailments. Ethnobotanical data were collected from 69 informants that were selected by stratified random sampling and purposive sampling. Vegetation data were obtained from 30, 30x30 m quadrats. Ethnobotanical data were analysed using paired ranking, Informant consensus factor and Fidelity Level index. ResultsAbout 213 medicinal plant species that are used for treating 117 human ailments were recorded. ICF calculated depicted a highest ICF value of 0.82 for Gastrointestinal & Visceral organs ailments. Haplocarpha rueppellii, Carduus schimperi and Inula confortiflora each 100%, Maesa lanceolata 80% and Rumex abyssinicus 75%. Vegetation analysis showed three plant communities.ConclusionThe Yem people have rich traditional knowledge of utilising plants side by side with the mainstream biomedical system for maintaining human health care.

scholarly journals The Need for Expanding Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1236
Author(s):  
Aroub Lahham ◽  
Anne E. Holland
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Lung Disease ◽  
Chronic Lung Disease ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Pulmonary Rehabilitation ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Care Systems

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a strongly recommended and effective treatment for people with chronic lung disease. However, access to pulmonary rehabilitation is poor. Globally, pulmonary rehabilitation is accessed by less than 3% of people with chronic lung disease. Barriers to referral, uptake and completion of pulmonary rehabilitation are well documented and linked with organizational, practitioner and patient-related factors. Enhancing the knowledge of health care professionals, family carers, and people with chronic lung disease about the program and its benefits produces modest increases in referral and uptake rates, but evidence of the sustainability of such approaches is limited. Additionally, initiatives focusing on addressing organizational barriers to access, such as expanding services and implementing alternative models to the conventional center-based setting, are not yet widely used in clinical practice. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for health care systems to deliver pulmonary rehabilitation programs remotely, safely, and efficiently. This paper will discuss the pressing need to address the issue of the low accessibility of pulmonary rehabilitation. It will also highlight the distinctive challenges to pulmonary rehabilitation delivery in rural and remote regions, as well as low-income countries.

scholarly journals Learning from health care in other countries: the prospect of comparative research

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Van Teijlingen ◽  
Cecilia Benoit ◽  
Ivy Bourgeault ◽  
Raymond DeVries ◽  
Jane Sandall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Reproductive Health Care ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Cross National ◽  
The Way

It is widely accepted that policy-makers (in Nepal and elsewhere) can learn valuable lessons from the way other countries run their health and social services. We highlight some of the specific contributions the discipline of sociology can make to cross-national comparative research in the public health field. Sociologists call attention to often unnoticed social and cultural factors that influence the way national reproductive health care systems are created and operated. In this paper we address questions such as: ‘Why do these health services appear to be operating successfully in one country, but not another?’; ‘What is it in one country that makes a particular public health intervention successful and how is the cultural context different in a neighbouring country?’ The key examples in this paper focus on maternity care and sex education in the Netherlands and the UK, as examples to highlight the power of cross-national research. Our key messages are: a) Cross-national comparative research can help us to understand the design and running of health services in one country, say Nepal, by learning from a comparison with other countries, for example Sri Lanka or India. b) Cultural factors unique to a country affect the way that reproductive health care systems operate. c) Therefore,we need to understand why and how services work in a certain cultural context before we start trying to implement them in another cultural context.

scholarly journals Application of Health-Care Networking in COVID-19: A Brief Report

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Punidha Kaliaperumal ◽  
Tamorish Kole ◽  
Neha Chugh
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Delivery Of Care ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Northern India ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Private And Public

ABSTRACT Health-care systems all over the world are stretched out and being reconfigured to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Some countries have flattened the curve, some are still fighting to survive it, and others are embracing the second wave. Globally, there is an urgent need to increase the resilience, capacity, and capability of health-care systems to deal with the current crisis and improve upon the future responses. The epidemiological burden of COVID-19 has led to rapid exhaustion of local response resources and massive disruption to the delivery of care in many countries. Health-care networking and liaison are essential component in disaster management and public health emergencies. It aims to provide logistical support between hospitals; financial support through local or regional governmental and nongovernmental agencies for response; manpower and mechanism for coordination and to implement policies, procedures, and technologies in the event of such crisis. This brief report describes how 4 independent private hospitals in northern India had adopted the principles of health-care networking, pooled their resources, and scaled up 1 of the partner hospitals as Dedicated COVID-19 Hospital (DCH) to treat moderate to severe category of COVID-19 patients. It brings out the importance of a unique coalition between private and public health-care system.

The Untold Story: How the Health Care Systems in Developing Countries Contribute to Maternal Mortality

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. Sundari
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Maternal Mortality ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Health Services Delivery ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Referral Hospitals ◽  
Care Systems

This article attempts to put together evidence from maternal mortality studies in developing countries of how an inadequate health care system characterized by misplaced priorities contributes to high maternal mortality rates. Inaccessibility of essential health information to the women most affected, and the physical as well as economic and sociocultural distance separating health services from the vast majority of women, are only part of the problem. Even when the woman reaches a health facility, there are a number of obstacles to her receiving adequate and appropriate care. These are a result of failures in the health services delivery system: the lack of minimal life-saving equipment at the first referral level; the lack of equipment, personnel, and know-how even in referral hospitals; and worst of all, faulty patient management. Prevention of maternal deaths requires fundamental changes not only in resource allocation, but in the very structures of health services delivery. These will have to be fought for as part of a wider struggle for equity and social justice.

scholarly journals Return to Treatment in the Formal Health Care Sector: Evidence from Tanzania

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achyuta Adhvaryu ◽  
Anant Nyshadham
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Sector ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
Public Health Goal ◽  
Formal Health Care

Improving access to the formal health care sector is a primary public health goal in many low-income countries. But the returns to this access are unclear, given that the quality of care at public health facilities is often considered inadequate. We exploit temporal and geographic variation in the cost of traveling to formal sector health facilities to show that treatment at these facilities improves short-term health outcomes for acutely ill children in Tanzania. Our results suggest that these improvements are driven in part by more timely receipt of and better adherence to antimalarial treatment. (JEL I11, I12, I15, I18, J13, O15)

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