Evaluation of sun holiday, diet habits, origin and other factors as determinants of vitamin D status in Swedish primary health care patients: a cross-sectional study with regression analysis of ethnic Swedish and immigrant women.
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This analysis of the Armenian health system reviews the developments in organization and governance, health financing, healthcare provision, health reforms and health system performance since 2006. Armenia inherited a Semashko style health system on independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Initial severe economic and sociopolitical difficulties during the 1990s affected the population health, though strong economic growth from 2000 benefited the populations health. Nevertheless, the Armenian health system remains unduly tilted towards inpatient care concentrated in the capital city despite overall reductions in hospital beds and concerted efforts to reform primary care provision. Changes in health system financing since independence have been more profound, as out-of-pocket (OOP) payments now account for over half of total health expenditure. This reduces access to essential services for the poorest households - particularly for inpatient care and pharmaceuticals - and many households face catastrophic health expenditure. Improving health system performance and financial equity are therefore the key challenges for health system reform. The scaling up of some successful recent programmes for maternal and child health may offer solutions, but require sustained financial resources that will be challenging in the context of financial austerity and the low base of public financing. (+info)
Interbirth interval and history of previous preeclampsia: a case-control study among multiparous women.
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Although one of the smallest of the new independent states of the former Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia has an ancient tradition and a strong ethnic identification, greatly enhanced by the diaspora. In addition to the problems following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenia has had to contend with a draining war in Nagorno-Karabakh and the after-effects of a devastating earthquake in 1988. Humanitarian efforts have ranged from emergency supply deliveries to longer-term sustainable health care partnerships. The United States government, through the Agency for International Development, has organized such partnerships, partially as a result of a multinational mission in 1992 and a subsequent hospital-to-hospital program developed by the American International Health Alliance. We describe the current state of health care in Armenia and some of the problems that need to be addressed to improve health care services to its citizens. (+info)
The development of a spinal injuries unit in Armenia.
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A severe earthquake in December 1988 in Armenia, resulted in a large number of spinal cord injuries. A rehabilitation facility was urgently established in Yerevan by the Red Cross with volunteers from various countries outside the then Soviet Union. A programme of training of Armenian doctors, nurses and therapists was established, and a new purpose built spinal unit planned. The new unit was opened in August 1992 and should serve as a model for similar units throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States. (+info)
Occupational blood lead survey--Armenia, 1991 and 1993.
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The risk for lead exposure and lead poisoning is a persistent problem for some workers (1) and is an important issue in both industrialized and developing countries (2). In Armenia, where lead is used widely in industry (3), the Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America, Inc. (AESA), and the United Armenian Fund (UAF)* initiated a program in 1991 to use blood lead determinations to investigate lead exposures, identify industries and circumstances associated with lead hazards, and define specific jobs characterized by excessive exposures that increase the risk for lead poisoning of workers. In 1991, team investigators surveyed four factories that use lead; in 1993, one of the factories was resurveyed. Because the capacity of laboratories in Armenia to reliably determine blood lead levels (BLLs) is limited, blood specimens were transported to the United States for lead testing. This report presents the findings of both surveys and establishes the feasibility of sample collection at remote sites for transport to laboratories equipped and certified to process lead specimens. (+info)
Genomic and proteinic characterization of strain S, a rickettsia isolated from Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks in Armenia.
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Strain S, a spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsia isolated from Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks collected in Armenia, was identified. Microimmunofluorescence, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel protein electrophoresis and Western immunoblotting, PCR and then restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were used to compare strain S with reference isolates. Strain S was found to possess proteinic, antigenic, and genomic patterns which were unique among SFG rickettsiae. Strain S is characterized by its high degree of pathogenicity for experimental animals, but its role as a potential human pathogen should be determined. The role of R. sanguineus ticks in the epidemiology of SFG rickettsiae is discussed. (+info)