%0 Journal Article
%T Integrating quantitative and qualitative methodologies for the assessment of health care systems: emergency medicine in post-conflict Serbia
%A Brett D Nelson
%A Kerry Dierberg
%A Milena £¿£¿epanovi£¿
%A Mihajlo Mitrovi£¿
%A Milo£¿ Vuksanovi£¿
%A Ljiljana Mili£¿
%A Michael J VanRooyen
%J BMC Health Services Research
%D 2005
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6963-5-14
%X Integrated quantitative and qualitative methodologies ¨C system characterization and observation, focus group discussions, free-response questionnaires, and by-person factor analysis ¨C were used to identify needs, problems, and potential barriers to the development of emergency medicine in Serbia. Participants included emergency and pre-hospital personnel from all emergency medical institutions in Belgrade.Demographic data indicate a loosely ordered network of part-time emergency departments supported by 24-hour pre-hospital services and an academic emergency center. Focus groups and questionnaires reveal significant impediments to delivery of care and suggest development priorities. By-person factor analysis subsequently divides respondents into distinctive attitudinal types, compares participant opinions, and identifies programmatic priorities.By combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, our Integrated Multimodal Assessment identified critical needs and barriers to emergency medicine development in Serbia and may serve as a model for future health system assessments in post-conflict, post-disaster, and development settings.In June 1991, a series of civil wars began as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia dissolved violently into the four independent republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the semi-autonomous nations of Serbia and Montenegro. Kosovo remains a province of Serbia but under the administration of the international community. The events of the last decade in the Balkans have significantly impacted the health care system of Serbia. The nation and its health care system were devastated by international sanctions, soaring unemployment, political instability, near economic collapse, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air campaign [1]. Consequently, the health care budget was cut dramatically, further limiting the system's capabilities of providing adequate health ca
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/5/14