Under-utilization of health care services for infectious diseases syndromes in rural Azerbaijan: A cross-sectional study

Background  

Infectious diseases present a potentially substantial yet undefined burden on the health of the adult Azerbaijani population. Efforts to quantify this burden in Azerbaijan are currently based almost exclusively on passive disease surveillance, and therefore hinge on the health utilization practices of the population. Understanding the prevalence of infectious syndromes and health utilization practices is paramount to disease surveillance, public health planning, and health care system reform.     

Seasonality of primary care utilization for respiratory diseases in Ontario: A time-series analysis

Background  

Respiratory diseases represent a significant burden in primary care. Determining the temporal variation of the overall burden of respiratory diseases on the health care system and their potential causes are keys to understanding disease dynamics in populations and can contribute to the rational management of health care resources.     

The burden of injuries in Iranian children in 2005

Background  

Child injury is recognized as a global health problem. Injuries caused the highest burden of disease among the total population of Iran in 2003. We aimed to estimate the morbidity, mortality, and disease burden caused by child injuries in the 0- to 14-year-old population of Iran in 2005.     

Market failure, policy failure and other distortions in chronic disease markets

Background  

The increasing prevalence of chronic disease represents a significant burden on most health systems. This paper explores the market failures and policy failures that exist in the management of chronic diseases.     

A review of co-morbidity between infectious and chronic disease in Sub Saharan Africa: TB and Diabetes Mellitus, HIV and Metabolic Syndrome, and the impact of globalization

Background  

Africa is facing a rapidly growing chronic non-communicable disease burden whilst at the same time experiencing continual high rates of infectious disease. It is well known that some infections increase the risk of certain chronic diseases and the converse. With an increasing dual burden of disease in Sub Saharan Africa the associations between diseases and our understanding of them will become of increased public health importance.     

The impact of the environment on health by country: a meta-synthesis

Background  

Health gains that environmental interventions could achieve are main questions when choosing environmental health action to prevent disease. The World Health Organization has recently released profiles of environmental burden of disease for 192 countries.     

The effects of gender and age on health related behaviors

Background  

Lifestyle-related diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers represent the greatest global health threat. Greater insight into health needs and beliefs, using broad community samples, is vital to reduce the burden of chronic disease. This study aimed to investigate gender, age, screening practices, health beliefs, and perceived future health needs for healthy ageing.     

The lack of public health research output from India

Background  

Systematic assessment of recent health research output from India, and its relation with the estimated disease burden, is not available. This information would help understand the areas in health research that need improvement in India to enhance the health of India's population.     

Unawareness of memory impairment and behavioral abnormalities in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: Relation to professional health care burden

Objectives  

The present study investigates the impact of unawareness of deficit (anosognosia) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease upon professional health care burden.     

Knowns and unknowns on burden of disease due to chemicals: a systematic review

Background  

Continuous exposure to many chemicals, including through air, water, food, or other media and products results in health impacts which have been well assessed, however little is known about the total disease burden related to chemicals. This is important to know for overall policy actions and priorities. In this article the known burden related to selected chemicals or their mixtures, main data gaps, and the link to public health policy are reviewed.     

Burden of disease due to cancer in Spain

Background  

Burden of disease is a joint measure of mortality and morbidity which makes it easier to compare health problems in which these two components enjoy different degrees of relative importance. The objective of this study is ascertaining the burden of disease due to cancer in Spain via the calculation of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).     

The prevalence of stunting,overweight and obesity,and metabolic disease risk in rural South African children

Background  

Low- to middle-income countries are undergoing a health transition with non-communicable diseases contributing substantially to disease burden, despite persistence of undernutrition and infectious diseases. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and patterns of stunting and overweight/obesity, and hence risk for metabolic disease, in a group of children and adolescents in rural South Africa.     

Chronic disease risk factors,healthy days and medical claims in South African employees presenting for health risk screening

Background  

Non-communicable diseases (NCD) accounts for more than a third (37%) of all deaths in South Africa. However, this burden of disease can be reduced by addressing risk factors. The aim of this study was to determine the health and risk profile of South African employees presenting for health risk assessments and to measure their readiness to change and improve lifestyle behaviour.     

Wastage in the health workforce: some perspectives from African countries

Background  

Sub-Saharan Africa faces a human resources crisis in the health sector. Over the past two decades its population has increased substantially, with a significant rise in the disease burden due to HIV/AIDS and recurrent communicable diseases and an increased incidence of noncommunicable diseases. This increased demand for health services is met with a rather low supply of health workers, but this notwithstanding, sub-Saharan African countries also experience significant wastage of their human resources stock.     

The health impacts of heat waves in five regions of New South Wales, Australia: a case-only analysis

Objectives  

To determine and characterise the health impacts of extreme heat events on the population in five regions of New South Wales (NSW). Such data provide evidence necessary for the development of policy and programme initiatives designed to reduce the burden of disease due to the impact of climate change.     

The VicGeneration study - a birth cohort to examine the environmental,behavioural and biological predictors of early childhood caries: background,aims and methods

Background  

Dental caries (decay) during childhood is largely preventable however it remains a significant and costly public health concern, identified as the most prevalent chronic disease of childhood. Caries in children aged less than five years (early childhood caries) is a rapid and progressive disease that can be painful and debilitating, and significantly increases the likelihood of poor child growth, development and social outcomes. Early childhood caries may also result in a substantial social burden on families and significant costs to the public health system. A disproportionate burden of disease is also experienced by disadvantaged populations.     

Wrong schools or wrong students? The potential role of medical education in regional imbalances of the health workforce in the United Republic of Tanzania

Background  

The United Republic of Tanzania, like many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, faces a human resources crisis in its health sector, with a small and inequitably distributed health workforce. Rural areas and other poor regions are characterised by a high burden of disease compared to other regions of the country. At the same time, these areas are poorly supplied with human resources compared to urban areas, a reflection of the situation in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa, where 1.3% of the world's health workforce shoulders 25% of the world's burden of disease. Medical schools select candidates for training and form these candidates' professional morale. It is therefore likely that medical schools can play an important role in the problem of geographical imbalance of doctors in the United Republic of Tanzania.     

Assessing the disease burden of Yi people by years of life lost in Shilin county of Yunnan province, China

Background  

Years of Life Lost (YLL) is one of the methods used to estimate the duration of time lost due to premature death. While previous studies of disease burden have been reported using YLL, there have been no studies investigating YLL of Yi people in rural China. Yunnan Province ranks first in terms of Yi people in China. This paper uses YLL to estimate the disease burden of Yi people in Shilin county of Yunnan Province. This study aims to address the differentials about YLL between Yi people and Han people for providing useful information for health planning.     

Epidemiological and economic burden of metabolic syndrome and its consequences in patients with hypertension in Germany,Spain and Italy; a prevalence-based model

Background  

The presence of metabolic syndrome in patients with hypertension significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and mortality. Our aim is to estimate the epidemiological and economic burden to the health service of metabolic syndrome in patients with hypertension in three European countries in 2008 and 2020.