Rural and urban differences in health system performance among older Chinese adults: cross-sectional analysis of a national sample.

Background: Despite improvement in health outcomes over the past few decades, China still experiences striking rural-urban health inequalities. There is limited research on the rural-urban differences in health system performance in China.

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis to compare health system performance between rural and urban areas in five key domains of the health system: effectiveness, cost, access, patient-centredness and equity, using data from the WHO Study on Global AGEing and adult health (SAGE), China.

Comparative health system performance in six middle-income countries: cross-sectional analysis using World Health Organization study of global ageing and health.

Objective To assess and compare health system performance across six middle-income countries that are strengthening their health systems in pursuit of universal health coverage. Design Cross-sectional analysis from the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health, collected between 2007 and 2010. Setting Six middle-income countries: China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa.

Financial hardship on the path to Universal Health Coverage in the Gulf States.

Background: Countries globally are pursuing universal health coverage to ensure better healthcare for their populations and prevent households from catastrophic expenditure. The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have and continue to implement reforms to strengthen their health systems. A common theme between the countries is their pursuit of universal health coverage to provide access to necessary health care without exposing people to financial hardship.

Diabetes in the Middle-East and North Africa: an update.

In recent decades, the prevalence of diabetes has risen dramatically in many countries of the International Diabetes Federation's (IDF) Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) Region. This increase has been driven by a range of factors that include rapid economic development and urbanisation; changes in lifestyle that have led to reduced levels of physical activity, increased intake of refined carbohydrates, and a rise in obesity. These changes have resulted in the countries of MENA Region now having among the highest rates of diabetes prevalence in the world.

Effect of a UK pay-for-performance program on ethnic disparities in diabetes outcomes: interrupted time series analysis.

Purpose: We wanted to examine the long-term effects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), a major pay-for-performance program in the United Kingdom, on ethnic disparities in diabetes outcomes.

Methods: We undertook an interrupted time series analysis of electronic medical record data of diabetes patients registered with 29 family practices in South West London, United Kingdom. Main outcome measures were mean hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)), total cholesterol, and blood pressure.

Exclusion of patients from quality measurement of diabetes care in the UK pay-for-performance programme.

Background: We examined associations between patient and practice characteristics and exclusions from quality indicators for diabetes during the first 3 years of the Quality and Outcomes Framework, a major pay-for-performance scheme in the UK.

Methods: Three cross-sectional analyses, conducted using data from the electronic medical records of all patients with diabetes registered in 23 general practices in Brent, North West London between 2004/2005 and 2006/2007. Patterns of exclusions were examined for three intermediate outcome indicators.

Ethnic differences in diabetes management in patients with and without comorbid medical conditions: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To examine ethnic disparities in diabetes management among patients with and without comorbid medical conditions after a period of sustained investment in quality improvement in the U.K.

Research Design And Methods: This cross-sectional study examined associations between ethnicity, comorbidity, and intermediate outcomes for mean A1C, total cholesterol, and blood pressure levels in 6,690 diabetes patients in South West London.

Impact of pay for performance on inequalities in health care: systematic review.

Objectives: To assess the impact of pay for performance programmes on inequalities in the quality of health care in relation to age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Methods: Systematic search and appraisal of experimental or observational studies that assessed quantitatively the impact of a monetary incentive on health care inequalities. We searched published articles in English identified in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Cochrane databases.

Has pay for performance improved the management of diabetes in the United Kingdom?

Over the past decade the UK government has introduced a number of major policy initiatives to improve the quality of health care. One such initiative was the introduction of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), a pay for performance scheme launched in April 2004, which aims to improve the primary care management of common chronic conditions including diabetes. Some evidence suggest that introduction of QOF has been associated with improvements in the quality indicators for diabetes care included in the framework.