Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). However defined, this term has many dimensions, including economic, technological, political, social, scientific and cultural aspects. As borders disappear, people and goods are increasingly free to move, creating new challenges to global health. The WHO has estimated that by the year 2020, non-communicable diseases, such as cancers, diabetes, obesity etc., will cause about two-thirds of the global disease burden, up from 40% at present. Quality of life and well being therefore are important concepts in the field of international development, since it allows development to be analyzed on a measure broader than standard of living.
Understanding quality of life is increasingly important in healthcare, where the relationship between cost and value raises complex problems. For instance, health providers must make economic decisions about access to expensive drugs that may prolong life by a few months and weigh these against alternative uses such as preventative medicine. There is a growing field of research concerned with developing, evaluating and improving the quality of life, well being measures etc., within health related research. The role of research is vital, as it contributes to the development of appropriate treatments as well as measures to prevent the diseases. One may therefore say that healthcare research is an eclectic "field", not only a discipline or a specialty.
For centuries, scholars and scientists have questioned the benefits of medical interventions. Contemporary versions of these questions continue to emphasize the need to equate value received with money spent. Answers to those questions require measures of outcomes, risks, access, appropriateness, costs and collective responses to public perceptions, expectations, needs etc. through healthcare management and research.
Clinical epidemiology, technology assessment, critical appraisal, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses, clinical decision analysis, operations research, health systems research and health services research can all be accommodated under the rubric of healthcare research. Epidemiological, qualitative and statistical methods can be clubbed together with population-based sciences such as economics, demography, as well as behavioural sciences such as medical anthropology and sociology, and clinical psychology.
Suitable topics include but are not limited to
- Stress management
- Occupational health
- Clinical/ health psychology
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Ergonomics
- Applied ergonomics
- Biotechnology
- Pharmacology
- Community medicine
- Preventive medicine
- Organizational behavior in healthcare
- Best practices in healthcare
- Alternative medicine for science and management
- Nutrition and dietetics
- Health economics
- Health administration
- Management information systems in healthcare
- Operations management in healthcare services
- Finance and economics in healthcare services
- Management applications in healthcare research
- Workforce management in healthcare research
- Business transformation in healthcare services
- Strategy in healthcare services
- Decision making in healthcare research
Manuscript submission : 27 February 2011
Notification of initial decision : 30 March 2011
Submission of revised manuscript : 30 Aril 2011
Notification of final acceptance : 30 May 2011
Submission of final manuscript : 30 June 2011
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