Health Care Sciences & Services

The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes articles and communications in the interdisciplinary area of environmental health sciences and public health. The Section “Health Care Sciences & Services” will focus on topics that addressing health promotion, disease prevention and healthcare provided at any level of care to all sub-populations with no respect to insurance status. It aims to provide space for research for health, looking at the integration possibilities of different elements of the healthcare system at any level, e.g., the integration of primary care and public health services within health care systems. The section also welcomes manuscripts addressing key health determinants influencing health-care-seeking behavior of different populations all around the world. 

Health systems research seeks to respond to the problems and challenges to the health of individuals and communities. It includes the evaluation, adaptation and improvement of health systems through scientific research in many different disciplines, including anthropological, social, legal, epidemiological and clinical studies and reaches the identification of health problems that require new responses; the analysis of the health beliefs of the population; identifying key elements for the effectiveness of health systems; efficiency and acceptability of the structures; strategies of health systems; the analysis of health policies and their results; the legal framework in which the provision of health services takes place; the socio-economic, cultural, anthropological, political and physical context in which healthcare provision takes place; the impact of educational or medio-Ambiental policies; elements for the evaluation and improvement of healthcare quality; guarantees for patient safety or risk management; disease prevention; health promotion (including the study of health determinants); strategies to involve patients (including health literacy, improvement of patient experience or the study of health behaviors); and the study of new challenges for public health, among others. It focuses on the institutional means to respond to the health needs of populations; of individuals, families, communities and society; of health systems themselves; and of related sectors with a direct impact on people's health (environment, agriculture, education, industry and others). Overall, this section aims to address issues on all aspects of healthcare and services research.

Keywords

• healthcare
• health systems
• disease prevention
• health promotion
• public health
• primary care
• specialized care
• screening
• diagnosis
• treatment
• coordination
• integrated care
• health insurance
• universal health coverage
• determinants of health
• research for health