SynthesisBMC health services research2020
New insight into the informal patients' payments on the evidence of literature: a systematic review study.
Synthesis in BMC health services research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 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
- Understanding informal payments in the health sector in Malawi: results of a multidistrict household survey.Health policy and planning · 2026Article
- Explaining informal patient payments through gaps in governance - a comparative assessment of health system governance in three European countries.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Exploring drivers and management strategies of informal patient payments in hospitals: A qualitative study in Iran.PloS one · 2026Article
- Navigating cancer care in Ukraine: patient's coping strategies to ensure access and quality.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2025Article
- Socioeconomic Inequalities in Out-of-Pocket and Catastrophic Health Expenditures in Pakistan.International journal of public health · 2024Article
- National Evaluation of HIV Service Resource Allocation in Tanzania.AIDS and behavior · 2023Article
- Socioeconomic inequality in informal payments for health services among Iranian households: a national pooled study.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Informal payments by patients, institutional trust and institutional asymmetry.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Informal Payments for Outpatient Health Care: Country-Wide Evidence from Iran.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2022Article
- Informal payments in public hospitals in Malawi: the case of Kamuzu Central Hospital.Global health research and policy · 2021Article
- Informal Payments by Patients in Central and Eastern Europe during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Institutional Perspective.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Civil Servants and Non-Western Migrants' Perceptions on Pathways to Health Care in Serbia-A Grounded Theory, Multi-Perspective Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Article
- Trends in Informal Payments by Patients in Europe: A Public Health Policy Approach.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
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 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNowadays, a growing literature reveals how patients use informal payments to seek either better treatment or additional services, but little systematic review has been accomplished for synthesizing the main factors. The purpose of this study was to analyze the content of literatures to demonstrate the factors for informal patient payments.
methodsIn this systematic review study, PubMed, Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, Science Direct, Ovid, Scopus, and Iranian databases were investigated without time limitation for eligible English and Persian studies. Achieved data were analyzed using content analysis approach and MAXQDA
resultsThemes related to informal payments in external context of health system were demographic features of health service consumers, patient's personality features and social & cultural backgrounds of the community. Health system challenges' themes were about stewardship weakness, and sustainable financing and social protection weakness. These were followed by human resources' organizational behavior challenges, drugs, medical products, and services delivery provision process challenges and finally change management weakness for reducing and dealing with IPs.
conclusionIt appears that improving the quality of health care services and accurate monitoring of delivery processes, along with performing some strategies for regulating payroll and medical tariffs, strict rules and regulations and improving health staff motivation, would be effective ways against informal payments. Improving the health insurance contribution, promoting transparency & accountability in health system especially in financing, identify precise control mechanism, using empower patient/public related approach, modifying community perception, reinforcing social resistance to unofficial payments and rebuilt lost social capital in health care are some of the other recommendations in this field. To practice these strategies, a comprehensive and systemic vision and approach is needed, however, the key point is that before applying any strategy the impact of this strategy on access, efficiency, equity, and other health systems' goals and policies should be investigated due to the consideration.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.