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Introduction: Provision of healthcare is considered a basic human right. Delivery and uptake is affected by many complex factors. Routine vaccinations are provided free of charge in Israel to all residents. The Palestinian Israeli Collaborative Research (PICR) group conducted research on vaccine impact at eight primary care facilities in east Jerusalem (EJ) and central Israel (IL) which allowed assessment and comparison of interactions of these Arab and Jewish populations, respectively, with healthcare services. Methods: Families attending clinic with a child under five years old were invited to participate. Utilisation of healthcare was assessed using data from standardise questionnaires completed after enrolment, using proxies of vaccination status, antibiotic use, primary care physician and hospital visits as well as demographics such as household size. Differences between EJ and IL were assessed using chi squared tests; univariate analyses identified potential confounders which were tested in a multiple logistic regression model for any independent associations between region and outcome. Results: Children in EJ were significantly more likely to live in larger households, with tobacco smokers, to have been breastfed, hospitalised and used antibiotics recently than those in IL, who were significantly more likely to have recently seen a primary care physician (all p < 0.01). Receipt of routine vaccinations, given at well baby clinics, was similar between the regions at above 95 % (p = 0.11), except for influenza which was delivered separately at primary physician clinics to 5 % (EJ) and 12 % (IL). Receipt of pneumococcal vaccine when paid for separately was significantly higher in IL than EJ (3 % vs 31 %). Multivariate analysis identified the most important independent predictors of these differences as region, age and household size. Conclusions: Healthcare in Israel is of a very high standard, but it is not uniformly utilised within the community in all geographical areas, though in some key areas, such as uptake of most routine childhood vaccination, equality seems to be achieved. To ensure excellent healthcare is achieved across the population, inequalities must be addressed, for instance in health promotion and other activities, which could improve and normalise health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate long-term pulmonary function tests in pediatric survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)., Material/methods: Observational study based on a telephone poll of retrospectively identified post ARDS children who were hospitalized in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in a general 1200-bed teaching, tertiary, regional referral center for children., Results: Follow-up pulmonary function tests were achieved in only 7 children, with a mean age of 7.3+/-4.3 years (range 3-12) and following 5.6+/-4.3 years after PICU discharge. The etiology for ARDS included: lymphoma (n=2), pneumonia (n=2), aspiration (n=1), petrol ingestion (n=1) and snake envenomation (n=1). The children had been ventilated for 9.4+/-7.3 days and their worst PaO2/FiO2 ratio was 65.1+/-17.0 mm Hg. The follow-up pulmonary functions in all the children was within normal limits except for one child who had mildly reduced DLCO and one who had mild exercise-induced hypoxemia (oxyhemoglobin saturation of 94%). Neither of the two nor the others showed subjective symptoms or clinical physical limitations., Conclusions: Children who survive ARDS apparently enjoy long-term normal pulmonary function. Some, however, may present subclinical dysfunction that persists for many years after the acute episode and evoked only by sophisticated lung tests.