In this study, we aim to establish the impact of the introduction of the Family Medicine Model patient satisfaction in the Turkish health system.

To examine the association between financial performance as measured by operating margin (surplus/deficit as a proportion of turnover) and clinical outcomes in English National Health Service (NHS) trusts.

User charges are widely used health financing mechanisms in many health systems in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to insufficient public health spending on health. This study systematically reviews the evidence on the relationship between user charges and health outcomes in LMICs, and explores underlying mechanisms of this relationship.

Up to 1.45 billion people currently suffer from soil transmitted helminth infection, with the largest burden occurring in Africa and Asia. Safe and cost effective deworming treatment exists, but there is a debate about mass distribution of this treatment in high prevalence settings. While the World Health Organization recommends mass administration of anthelmintic drugs for preschool and school-aged children in high (>20%) prevalence settings, and several long run follow up studies of an influential trial have suggested large benefits that persist over time, recent systematic reviews have called this recommendation into question.

To find the millions of missed tuberculosis (TB) cases, national TB programs are under pressure to expand TB disease screening and to target populations with lower disease prevalence. Together with imperfect performance and application of existing diagnostic tools, including empirical diagnosis, broader screening risks placing individuals without TB on prolonged treatment. These false-positive diagnoses have profound consequences for TB patients and prevention efforts, yet are usually overlooked in policy decision making. In this article we describe the pathways to a false-positive TB diagnosis, including trade-offs involved in the development and application of diagnostic algorithms. We then consider the wide range of potential consequences for individuals, households, health systems, and reliability of surveillance data. Finally, we suggest practical steps that the TB community can take to reduce the frequency and potential harms of false-positive TB diagnosis and to more explicitly assess the trade-offs involved in the screening and diagnostic process.

Infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a sexually transmitted pathogen that causes urethritis, cervicitis, and more severe complications, are increasing. Gonorrhea is typically treated with antibiotics; however, N. gonorrhoeae has rapidly acquired resistance to many antibiotic classes, and lineages with reduced susceptibility to the currently recommended therapies are emerging worldwide. In this review, we discuss the contributions of whole genome sequencing (WGS) to our understanding of resistant N. gonorrhoeae. Genomics has illuminated the evolutionary origins and population structure of N. gonorrhoeae and the magnitude of horizontal gene transfer within and between Neisseria species. WGS can be used to predict the susceptibility of N. gonorrhoeae based on known resistance determinants, track the spread of these determinants throughout the N. gonorrhoeae population, and identify novel loci contributing to resistance. WGS has also allowed more detailed epidemiological analysis of transmission of N. gonorrhoeae between individuals and populations than previously used typing methods. Ongoing N. gonorrhoeae genomics will complement other laboratory techniques to understand the biology and evolution of the pathogen, improve diagnostics and treatment in the clinic, and inform public health policies to limit the impact of antibiotic resistance.

To evaluate the potential cost-effectiveness of and stakeholder perspectives on a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) excise tax and a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) policy that would not allow SSB purchases in Maine, US.