Our analysis shows few instances where there is full integration of a health intervention or where an intervention is completely non-integrated .
Instead , there exists a highly heterogeneous picture both for the nature and also for the extent of integration .
Health systems combine both non-integrated and integrated interventions , but the balance of these interventions varies considerably
A longst and ing debate on health systems organization relates to benefits of integrating  health programmes that emphasize specific interventions into mainstream health systems to increase access and improve health outcomes .
This debate has long been characterized by polarization of views and ideologies , with protagonists for and against integration arguing the relative merits of each approach .
However , all too frequently these arguments have not been based on hard evidence .
The presence of both integrated and non-integrated programmes in many countries suggests there may be benefits to either approach , but the relative merits of integration in various context s and for different interventions have not been systematic ally analysed and documented .
In this paper we present findings of a systematic review that explores a broad range of evidence on : ( i ) the extent and nature of the integration of targeted health programmes that emphasize specific interventions into critical health systems functions , ( ii ) how the integration or non-integration of health programmes into critical health systems functions in different context s has influenced programme success , ( iii ) how context ual factors have affected the extent to which these programmes were integrated into critical health systems functions .
The impact of control measures on urinary schistosomiasis in primary school children in northern Cameroon: a unique opportunity for controlled observations.
As part of a program to integrate schistosomiasis control into the primary health care system in northern Cameroon , an unexpected opportunity to undertake a controlled evaluation of the impact of interventions was recognized . Inadvertently , a large part of Mindjil , one of four assessment villages , had been essentially excluded from the program , creating a unique natural control . The prevalence of infection with Schistosoma hematobium in school-aged children was 7 % in the areas where the control program was implemented , and 71 % in the excluded areas ( P < 0.0002 ) . High intensity infection was 1 % and 26 % in the two areas , respectively ( P < 0.0002 ) . Children in the school where the control interventions were implemented had a significantly lower prevalence of infection with Schistosoma hematobium ( P < 0.005 ) . Subjects in intervention areas demonstrated greater knowledge about the transmission of schistosomiasis than those in the control area . This study documented and quantified program impact in a controlled manner not usually possible in field studies and also illustrated how unrecognized intracultural diversity ( within culture differences ) in target population s may effect disease control programs in communities
Our analysis shows few instances where there is full integration of a health intervention or where an intervention is completely non-integrated .
Instead , there exists a highly heterogeneous picture both for the nature and also for the extent of integration .
Health systems combine both non-integrated and integrated interventions , but the balance of these interventions varies considerably
A longst and ing debate on health systems organization relates to benefits of integrating  health programmes that emphasize specific interventions into mainstream health systems to increase access and improve health outcomes .
This debate has long been characterized by polarization of views and ideologies , with protagonists for and against integration arguing the relative merits of each approach .
However , all too frequently these arguments have not been based on hard evidence .
The presence of both integrated and non-integrated programmes in many countries suggests there may be benefits to either approach , but the relative merits of integration in various context s and for different interventions have not been systematic ally analysed and documented .
In this paper we present findings of a systematic review that explores a broad range of evidence on : ( i ) the extent and nature of the integration of targeted health programmes that emphasize specific interventions into critical health systems functions , ( ii ) how the integration or non-integration of health programmes into critical health systems functions in different context s has influenced programme success , ( iii ) how context ual factors have affected the extent to which these programmes were integrated into critical health systems functions .