scholarly journals The health service contacts of 87 suicides

1994 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 548-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josie Evans

The Health of the Nation asserts that the suicide rate in England and Wales can be reduced by the provision of better health care services. In a sample of suicides in one district health authority, 61% had had contact with health services during the year prior to death, suggesting that improvements in these services could have an impact on the overall suicide rate. However, the proportion who had had prior contact varied between different age and sex groups and individuals in groups with the higher suicide rates tended to have the least contact. Therefore, the impact of health service improvements on the overall suicide rate may be limited.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Firaol Dandena ◽  
Berhanetsehay Teklewold ◽  
Dagmawi Anteneh

Abstract Background Health systems around the world are being challenged by an on-going COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated response can have a significant downstream effect on access to routine health care services, and indirectly cause morbidity and mortality from causes other than the disease itself, especially in resource-poor countries such as Ethiopia. This study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on these services and measures taken to combat the effect. Methods The study was conducted at St. Paul’s hospital millennium medical college (SPHMMC) from December 15, 2020 to January 15, 2021 using a comparative cross-sectional study design. We collected data on the number of clients getting different essential health care services from May to October 2019 (Pre COVID) and the same period in 2020 (during a COVID-19 pandemic) from the patient registry book. The analysis was done with SPSS version 24 software. Result Overall, the essential services of SPHMMC were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The most affected service is inpatient admission, which showed a 73.3% (2044 to 682) reduction from the pre-COVID period and the least affected is maternal service, which only decreased by 13% (3671 to 3177). During the 6 months after the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a progressive increment in the number of clients getting essential health services. Conclusion and recommendation The establishment of a triple setup for fighting against COVID-19, which encompasses non-COVID services, an isolation center and a COVID-19 treatment center, played a vital role in preserving essential health services.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Racheal Omukhulu Makokha

The last five decades have seen uncountable debates on the impact of decentralization on provision of public services. While it has evidently improved public service delivery in some countries, it has worsened it in others. Kenya implemented devolution in 2013 in the hope of bringing public services nearer to the people. Health was one of the services identified. Yet, the local media has reported negative impact of devolution on provision of health services since 2013. This study sought to look at the actual effect of devolution on access to health care services by analysing secondary quantitative data from the government published data, official statistics, international development agencies’ surveys and reports. Two county governments; Kisumu and Makueni were chosen to represent the urban and rural populations respectively. Contrary to the wider literature on health decentralization, this study found out that devolution did not worsen access to health care services in Kenya. The study attributed this to the nature of devolution adopted in the country where the county governments have considerable authority, decision-making power and responsibility over their counties.


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kylie Gwynne ◽  
Thomas Jeffries Jr ◽  
Michelle Lincoln

Objective The aim of the present systematic review was to examine the enablers for effective health service delivery for Aboriginal Australians. Methods This systematic review was undertaken in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Papers were included if they had data related to health services for Australian Aboriginal people and were published between 2000 and 2015. The 21 papers that met the inclusion criteria were assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Seven papers were subsequently excluded due to weak methodological approaches. Results There were two findings in the present study: (1) that Aboriginal people fare worse than non-Aboriginal people when accessing usual healthcare services; and (2) there are five enablers for effective health care services for Australian Aboriginal people: cultural competence, participation rates, organisational, clinical governance and compliance, and availability of services. Conclusions Health services for Australian Aboriginal people must be tailored and implementation of the five enablers is likely to affect the effectiveness of health services for Aboriginal people. The findings of the present study have significant implications in directing the future design, funding, delivery and evaluation of health care services for Aboriginal Australians. What is known about the topic? There is significant evidence about poor health outcomes and the 10-year gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, and limited evidence about improving health service efficacy. What does this paper add? This systematic review found that with usual health care delivery, Aboriginal people experience worse health outcomes. This paper identifies five strategies in the literature that improve the effectiveness of health care services intended for Aboriginal people. What are the implications for practitioners? Aboriginal people fare worse in both experience and outcomes when they access usual care services. Health services intended for Aboriginal people should be tailored using the five enablers to provide timely, culturally safe and high-quality care.


1992 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Weatherill

This paper received the 1992 Agnew Peckham Literary Prize of the Canadian College of Health Service Executives in recognition of excellence in content and presentation of ideas related to a current issue in the management of health services.


1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Reamy

New Brunswick moved swiftly in 1992 to regionalize hospital and physician services along with the reform and expansion of other health care services. The dissolution of 51 hospital and community health services center boards and the establishment of eight region hospital corporations to oversee services in the seven health regions set the tone for regionalization in the province. The plan provides the flexibility to meet specific regional needs. The initial regionalization of hospital services was followed by the determination of the appropriate number, mix, and distribution of physician resources for each region, also to be managed by the region hospital corporation. The provincial government's central role not only guides the regions, but also uses incentives and disincentives to ensure that regional goals are met. While regionalization is not new and some components of the New Brunswick plan have been used elsewhere, the effort offers an integrated model for the regionalization of hospital and physician services, with the expansion of complementary services.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 81-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Morad ◽  
Shifra Shvarts ◽  
Joav Merrick ◽  
Jeffrey Borkan

The extension of universal health service insurance to national populations is a relatively new phenomenon. Since 1995, the Israeli National Health Insurance Law (NHIL) has provided universal health services to every resident, but the effect of this law on health and health services among minorities has not been examined sufficiently. The goals of this study were to track some of the first changes engendered by the NHIL among the Negev Bedouin Arabs to examine the effects of universal health care services. Methods included analysis of historical and health policy documents, three field appraisals of health care services (1994, 1995, 1999), a region-wide interview survey of Negev Bedouins (1997), and key informant interviews. For the interview survey, a sample of 515 households was chosen from different Bedouin localities representing major sedentarization stages. Results showed that prior to the NHIL, a substantial proportion of the Negev Bedouins were uninsured with limited, locally available health service. Since 1995, health services, particularly primary care clinics and health manpower, have dramatically expanded. The initial expansion appears to have been a marketing ploy, but real improvements have occurred. There was a high level of health service utilization among the Bedouins in the Negev, especially private medical services, hospitals, and night ambulatory medical services. The NHIL brought change to the structure of health services in Israel, namely the institution of a national health system based on proportional allocation of resources (based on size and age) and open competition in the provision of quality health care. The expansion of the pool of potential members engendered by the new universal coverage had profound effects on the Health Funds' attitudes towards Negev Bedouins. In addition, real consumer choice was introduced for the first time. Although all the health care needs of this rapidly growing population have yet to be met fully, the assurances under the Law and the new level of competition promise a higher level of service in the future.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052199083
Author(s):  
Laura Vargas ◽  
Carolina Vélez-Grau ◽  
David Camacho ◽  
Therese S. Richmond ◽  
Zachary F. Meisel

Mexico’s violence related to organized crime activity has grown to epidemic levels in the last 12 years. We interviewed 22 Mexican health care providers from five states to examine how violence impacts health care services and health. We transcribed and analyzed semi-structured interviews using framework analysis. Our findings describe the ways in which community violence in Mexico permeates health care services, impacting health care providers, and the health of patients. We developed a model to reflect our main themes that illustrate how violence permeates health care services over geographic space and time. We identified three thematic categories: (a) the impact of violence on health care facilities and service provision, (b) the impact of violence on providers, and (c) the impact of violence on the health of the community. Our model articulates a dynamic process of the spread and permeation of violence. Prior literature focuses on the impact of violence as an occupational hazard and the effect of war or civil conflict on health care services. We extend this literature by documenting the impacts of widespread violence on Mexican health care services and providers. We discuss how violence impacts services, providers, and health in a country that is not officially at war. We compare our findings to previous literature on occupational violence in health professions and the impacts on health services in official war zones. Finally, we highlight the implications for health care practice and policy. We suggest that violence should be considered throughout the care continuum in Mexico and make the case for violence as a structural contributor to health and health disparities in Mexico. We suggest additional research on this under-investigated topic.


1990 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-28
Author(s):  
Michael Savage

Health care services in South Africa are in decline. Inadequate resources, the fragmentation of services along racial lines, their division between a confused jumble of authorities together with a growing privatization of medical care are among the many factors having grave effects on an already poorly constructed health service. The persistence of high levels of infant mortality and the widespread nature of preventable disease provide clear measures indicating that existing health services have failed to meet the needs of the majority of the population for basic medical care. The changes that are currently underway in health services are making it less likely that they can adequately contribute to providing health for all.


1990 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-28
Author(s):  
Michael Savage

Health care services in South Africa are in decline. Inadequate resources, the fragmentation of services along racial lines, their division between a confused jumble of authorities together with a growing privatization of medical care are among the many factors having grave effects on an already poorly constructed health service. The persistence of high levels of infant mortality and the widespread nature of preventable disease provide clear measures indicating that existing health services have failed to meet the needs of the majority of the population for basic medical care. The changes that are currently underway in health services are making it less likely that they can adequately contribute to providing health for all.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Turkan Ahmet

The past few decades of ongoing war in Iraq has had a dramatic impact on the health of Iraq’s population. Wars are known to have negative effects on the social and physical environments of individuals, as well as limit their access to the available health care services. This paper explores the personal experiences of my family members, who were exposed to war, as well as includes information that has been reviewed form many academic sources. The data aided in providing recommendations and developing strategies, on both local and international levels, to improve the health status of the populations exposed to war.


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