Total: 759

    What are the advantages and limitations of different quality and safety tools for health care?

    The term “quality tools” is used in many different ways to refer to a method used by an individual, a team, an organization or a health system. It is most often used in a narrow sense in American texts to refer to a set of simple “continuous quality improvement” methods (CQI tools). More broadly,...

    Should patient decision aids (PtDAs) be introduced in the health care system?

    “Grey zone” treatments are those that rely upon the patient’s judgement of associated benefits versus harms. When clinicians judge patients are eligible for “grey zone” treatments, their acceptance should be consistent with informed patients’ values. The question is how can one obtain informe...

    What evidence is there about the effects of health care reforms on gender equity, particularly in health?

    In most countries the pressure for health care reform is aimed at improving the efficiency, equity and effectiveness of the health sector. Emerging evidence shows that health care reforms can affect men and women differently, as a consequence of their different positions as users and producers of health ...

    What is the effectiveness of antenatal care? Supplement

    This is a Health Evidence Network (HEN) evidence report on antenatal care (ANC). This report is a supplement to the 2003 HEN report on the same subject (http://www.euro.who.int/Document/e82996.pdf). It is a review of the best available evidence in the scientific literature regarding ANC interventions. It...

    What is the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions to reduce hepatitis C infection and the associated morbidity?

    Hepatitis C infection has been declared a global health problem. Prevalence is most common among injecting drug user populations, where up to 98% can be infected despite a low HIV prevalence. Up to 20% of those infected with hepatitis C can clear the virus, though chronic infection can lead to significan...

    How can health care systems effectively deal with the major health care needs of homeless people?

    Homeless people have poorer physical and mental health than the general population, and often have problems obtaining suitable health care. This synthesis has critically reviewed the international literature pertaining to the health care needs of homeless people in countries with relatively well-develope...

    What are the main factors that influence the implementation of disease prevention and health promotion programmes in children and adolescents?

    Many disease prevention and health promotion programmes are directed at the health of children and young people because they can prevent both immediate problems (mortality and morbidity) and long-term problems. However, even where there is evidence to support such public health interventions, implementat...

    Do current discharge arrangements from inpatient hospital care for the elderly reduce readmission rates, the length of inpatient stay or mortality, or improve health status?

    In the developed world, older people make up an increasing proportion of the population, and this demographic transition also affects some developing countries. In general, older people are at increased risk of disease, disability and financial and social deprivation compared to younger people in the sam...

    How effective are different types of day care services for people with severe mental disorders?

    Day care is considered to be an important component of psychiatric services, but the evidence on different forms of day care is not easy to interpret. This review evaluates five main forms of day care for adults with severe mental disorders: acute psychiatric day hospital care, transitional psychiatric d...

    Is housing improvement a potential health improvement strategy?

    The well-established links between poor health, poor housing and poverty suggest that housing improvements in disadvantaged areas or social housing may provide a population-based strategy to improve health and reduce health inequalities. Housing improvements that reduce exposure to specific hazards may l...