Effects of health and social care spending constraints on mortality in England: a time trend analysis.

Objective: Since 2010, England has experienced relative constraints in public expenditure on healthcare (PEH) and social care (PES). We sought to determine whether these constraints have affected mortality rates.

Methods: We collected data on health and social care resources and finances for England from 2001 to 2014.

Unmasking the surgeons: the evidence base behind the use of facemasks in surgery.

The use of surgical facemasks is ubiquitous in surgical practice. Facemasks have long been thought to confer protection to the patient from wound infection and contamination from the operating surgeon and other members of the surgical staff. More recently, protection of the theatre staff from patient-derived blood/bodily fluid splashes has also been offered as a reason for their continued use.

Unemployment, public-sector health care expenditure and HIV mortality: An analysis of 74 countries, 1981-2009.

Background: The global economic downturn has been associated with increased unemployment and reduced public-sector expenditure on health care (PSEH). We determined the association between unemployment, PSEH and HIV mortality.

Methods: Data were obtained from the World Bank and the World Health Organisation (1981-2009).