International comparative research in health care. A study of the literature

This study of the literature concerning international comparative research in health care deals with the methodology and subject matter of the studies concerned. In the study of methodology, attention has been concentrated on the connection between the original objective and the results attained. In the study of the subject matter, an inventarisation has been made of the subjects that have been researched. These aspects have been examined in a total of 144 studies. The most striking conclusions are that there is very little connection between the stated objective of a given study and what is actually described, and that special attention is paid in international comparative research to the organisation and financing of health care, in particular to the subject of cost-control. Recommendations are made for improvements in the planning and implementation of such research.