SynthesisBMC health services research2010
Empirical studies on informal patient payments for health care services: a systematic and critical review of research methods and instruments.
Synthesis in BMC health services research, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- The hidden financial burden of healthcare: a systematic literature review of informal payments in Sub-Saharan Africa.Wellcome open research · 2021Pooled it
- Explaining informal patient payments through gaps in governance - a comparative assessment of health system governance in three European countries.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Reforming the white coat economy: judicial evidence and institutional implications from China's healthcare anti-corruption campaign.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Utilisation, out-of-pocket payments and access before and after COVID-19: Thailand's Universal Health Coverage Scheme.BMJ global health · 2024Review
- The nature, drivers and equity consequences of informal payments for maternal and child health care in primary health centres in Enugu, Nigeria.Health policy and planning · 2023Article
- The Companion Pandemic to COVID-19: The Use of Informal Practices to Access Public Healthcare Services in the European Union.International journal of public health · 2022Article
- A Narrative Synthesis Review of Out-of-Pocket Payments for Health Services Under Insurance Regimes: A Policy Implementation Gap Hindering Universal Health Coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa.International journal of health policy and management · 2021Review
- Financing Healthcare in Central and Eastern European Countries: How Far Are We from Universal Health Coverage?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Informal payments for primary health services in Zambia: Evidence from a health facility patient exit survey.Health policy OPEN · 2020Article
- Article
- Anti-corruption, transparency and accountability in health: concepts, frameworks, and approaches.Global health action · 2020Review
- Evaluation of informal payments to health care professionals and the influential factors in Urmia city hospitals, Iran.Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine · 2018Article
- Governance and the effectiveness of public health subsidies: Evidence from Ghana, Kenya and Uganda.Journal of public economics · 2017Article
- Assessing quality of maternity care in Hungary: expert validation and testing of the mother-centered prenatal care (MCPC) survey instrument.Reproductive health · 2017Article
- Informal Patient Payments and Bought and Brought Goods in the Western Balkans - A Scoping Review.International journal of health policy and management · 2017Article
- At first glance, informal payments experience on track: why accept or refuse? Patients' perceive in cardiac surgery department of public hospitals, northeast of Iran 2013.BMC health services research · 2017Article
- The Importance of Community Consultations for Generating Evidence for Health Reform in Ukraine.International journal of health policy and management · 2017Article
- Combined social and private health insurance versus catastrophic out of pocket payments for private hospital care in Greece.International journal of health economics and management · 2017Article
- Reduction and elimination solutions of informal payment in Iran's health system.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2017Article
- Response process and test-retest reliability of the Context Assessment for Community Health tool in Vietnam.Global health action · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEmpirical evidence demonstrates that informal patient payments are an important feature of many health care systems. However, the study of these payments is a challenging task because of their potentially illegal and sensitive nature. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review and analysis of key methodological difficulties in measuring informal patient payments.
methodsThe systematic review was based on the following eligibility criteria: English language publications that reported on empirical studies measuring informal patient payments. There were no limitations with regard to the year of publication. The content of the publications was analysed qualitatively and the results were organised in the form of tables. Data sources were Econlit, Econpapers, Medline, PubMed, ScienceDirect, SocINDEX.
resultsInformal payments for health care services are most often investigated in studies involving patients or the general public, but providers and officials are also sample units in some studies. The majority of the studies apply a single mode of data collection that involves either face-to-face interviews or group discussions.One of the main methodological difficulties reported in the publication concerns the inability of some respondents to distinguish between official and unofficial payments. Another complication is associated with the refusal of some respondents to answer questions on informal patient payments.We do not exclude the possibility that we have missed studies that reported in non-English language journals as well as very recent studies that are not yet published.
conclusionsGiven the recent evidence from research on survey methods, a self-administrated questionnaire during a face-to-face interview could be a suitable mode of collecting sensitive data, such as data on informal patient payments.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.