Among future parents, the “doula” – a Greek word that means “servant woman” or "women's servant" – is increasingly popular. Who are doulas and what accounts for their popularity? A doula is someone who provides the support and understanding necessary to make childbirth an enriching and personalized experience. In many countries doulas meet a need that traditional maternity services cannot.
As health technologies evolve, the ways in which these technologies are evaluated and applied to the public sphere to ensure effectiveness also change. The Health Technology Assessment (HTA), in particular, is a systematic and technically robust process that examines a health technology (often new) from different perspectives. Using the available evidence, and then balancing the different positive and negative results, it produces recommendations for public policy.
Not so long ago, access to primary health care was scarce and of poor quality. Although much must be done still to ensure quality health-care for all, particularly those most vulnerable, in recent years, the emphasis on bettering health care systems has resulted in improvements. Patients now expect more from these systems and listening to them might just be the key to furthering human development, at all stages, according to our health policy and planning specialist, Frederico C.
Surely you have read or heard about the demographic transition and the challenges that this generates for health systems. The demographic transition begins when the infant mortality rate falls, resulting in cohorts of children and young people that are very numerous in relation to the adult population. As time goes by, the life expectancy of the population increases as socioeconomic conditions and access to health services usually improve.
Brazilian National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care