Illness is a major risk to people's livelihoods in resource-poor settings, particularly where there are rising levels of chronic illness. Measures that improve access to treatment are increasingly seen as a vital form of social protection for vulnerable households, and central to the achievement...

The value of the social sciences is increasingly recognised in health services and clinical research, contributing to an increasing number of multi-disciplinary, multi-method studies. Such studies offer numerous advantages, but also pose particular challenges, including different approaches to...

Health insurance is an alternative to direct out-of-pocket (OOP) financing. It aims to improve access to care and reduce direct OOP payments. However, this may not be the case if there is high cost sharing and limited cover. This paper uses the methodology of propensity score matching to...

This paper presents a South African case study as a contribution to international debates about the policy challenges posed by health sector commercialisation. It shows that the South African health system was highly commercialised before 1994, and fragmented between the private sector, serving...

There is evidence to suggest the decline of trusting relationships in modern healthcare systems. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the role of trust in medical transactions in Thailand, using obstetric care as a tracer service. The paper proposes an explanatory framework of trust...

Satisfaction is an important element of the quality of health care, often determining patient willingness to comply with treatment and influencing the effectiveness of care. However, few specific assessments of patient satisfaction in developing countries have been undertaken. This paper...

Over the past decade, international health policy debates have been dominated by efficiency considerations. There has been a recent resurgence of interest in health equity, including consideration of the notions of vertical equity and procedural justice. This paper explores the possible...

Increasing attention has been paid in recent years to efforts to strengthen the impact of research on policy in low- and middle-income countries. However, the processes by which such research might have policy impact remain a subject of debate. This paper presents an analysis of the...

Health economics is increasingly recognized as a discipline that has much to offer developing countries in addressing these problems, but how can it help? What economic concepts and tools can be applied to the health sector? A wider understanding of the discipline is required if it is to support...