Articles: community-health-services.
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Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) · Sep 1987
Comparative StudyHospital and community health service costs: England and Scotland compared.
In publications which have compared the health expenditure in the component parts of the United Kingdom by applying the Resource Allocation Working Party (RAWP) formula to the health budget of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland it has been previously concluded that Scotland's hospital and community health services expenditure is more than 19% above what would be a fair distribution. It has also been implied that Scotland's allocation should be cut substantially to improve services in England. On the assumption that the purpose of examining the distribution of the health and community health service budget is to ensure "equal opportunity of access to health care for people at equal risk" it is concluded that simple RAWPing of the United Kingdom budget is flawed and a conclusion based on this is therefore untenable.
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Preventive medicine · Jul 1986
A low-cost community approach to weight control: initial results from an evaluated trial.
This article describes a trial of a low-cost, readily disseminatable weight-control program ("Waistline") which uses behavioral, social support, and community strength-building principles. Participants meet for 12 weeks in small, lay-led groups in community settings, and use prepackaged materials designed specifically for those of modest education. Results from 407 participants are presented, showing a mean postcourse weight loss of 5.6 kg (12.3 lb) and a low attrition rate (9-12%). ⋯ A comparison group ("Slimline," N = 26) lost 1.27 kg (2.8 lb) and had an attrition rate of 31-46%. The Waistline results are comparable to those obtained by more intensive and expensive behavioral programs, and demographic data show that those of relatively low educational attainment are well represented. The potential of this approach for cheap, noncommercial dissemination of weight-control programs on a population basis is noted.