Monday, February 4, 2008

[EQ] Corporate influences on epidemiology

            Corporate influences on epidemiology


Neil Pearce
Centre for Public Health Research, Massey University Wellington Campus - Wellington, New Zealand

International Journal of Epidemiology - Volume 37, Number 1, February 2, 2008

Int. J. Epidemiol. 2008 37: 46-53; doi:10.1093/ije/dym270 [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

 

“…Corporate influences on epidemiology have become stronger and more pervasive in the last few decades, particularly in the contentious fields of pharmacoepidemiology and occupational epidemiology. For every independent epidemiologist studying the side effects of medicines and the hazardous effects of industrial chemicals, there are several other epidemiologists hired by industry to attack the research and to debunk it as ‘junk science’. In some instances these activities have gone as far as efforts to block publication. In many instances, academics have accepted industry funding which has not been acknowledged, and only the academic affiliations of the company-funded consultants have been listed.

 

These activities are major threats to the integrity of the field, and its survival as a scientific discipline. There is no simple solution to these problems. However, for the last two decades there has been substantial discussion on ethics in epidemiology, partly in response to the unethical conduct of many industry-funded consultants. Professional organizations, such as the International Epidemiological Association, can play a major role in encouraging and supporting epidemiologists to assert positive principles of how science should work, and how it should be applied to public policy decisions, rather than simply having a list of what not to do….”


Joanna Haas

Commentary: Epidemiology and the pharmaceutical industry: an inside perspective
IJE Advance Access published on January 9, 2008
Int. J. Epidemiol. 2008 37: 53-55; doi:10.1093/ije/dym264
[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

 

‘…..Neil Pearce's impassioned comments on ‘Corporate Influences on Epidemiology’1 are designed to raise awareness of industry activities that he believes ‘are major threats to the integrity of the field, and its survival as a scientific discipline’. He argues that ‘for every independent epidemiologist studying the side effects of medicines there are several other epidemiologists hired by industry to attack the research and debunk it as "junk science"’. While we recognize his depth of feeling, passion may nurture bias of its own. The relationship between science and industry is complex, and the role of epidemiologists in the pharmaceutical industry is not limited to debunking ‘junk science’. Balanced evaluation and discussion are necessary to provide accurate safety information to physicians and patients. Unfortunately, such temperate interchanges rarely make headlines and seldom sell books…”


A White, N Robinson, P Egger, M Stender, K Davis, J Weil, and S Bowlin

Commentary: Collaboration between industry-based and academic epidemiologists
Int. J. Epidemiol. 2008 37: 56-57; doi:10.1093/ije/dym265
[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

 

‘…..In many instances, academics have accepted industry funding which has not been acknowledged, and only the academic affiliations of the company-funded consultants have been listed’. He believes that this and other unethical practises are major threats to the integrity of epidemiological research. Although the article is addressed primarily to academic epidemiologists who consult with industry, there are a number of issues raised in the article that merit comment from those of us who practice epidemiology within a large, research-based pharmaceutical company….’


Sander Greenland

Commentary: Addressing Corporate Influence Through Ethical Guidelines
Int. J. Epidemiol. 2008 37: 57-59; doi:10.1093/ije/dym267
[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

 

‘…..I support declarations of conflict of interest and mandatory disclosure of funding sources. I think corporate influence by and large seeks to benefit only one entity: The corporation. That condition is an inevitable by-product of the competitive environment in which corporations are naturally selected: A corporation that prospers does so largely because of its self-aggrandizing traits. Admitting this fact is an essential step toward addressing the problems to society and individuals that result. But also needed is an appreciation of the complex interplay of individuals and units within and among corporate entities, and a realistic appraisal of conditions within and among corporations….”

 


Carl V Phillips

Commentary: Lack of scientific influences on epidemiology
Int. J. Epidemiol. 2008 37: 59-64; doi:10.1093/ije/dym266
[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

 

“…..since I have done a few critical scientific analyses of epidemiological claims as part of industry consultancies. More significantly, the anti-scientific attacks on epidemiology that I have been a victim of have come not from corporations, or even government, but from those who are thought by most people to be public health advocates. The players and specific areas of research are different, but as with corporate influence, influential organized interests are willing to damage science and even sacrifice people's health to further their goals….”


Neil Pearce

Response: The distribution and determinants of epidemiologic research
Int. J. Epidemiol. 2008 37: 65-68; doi:10.1093/ije/dym268
[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

 

“…..Epidemiology is commonly defined as the study of ‘the distribution and determinants of disease in human populations’. Thus, epidemiology is inherently focused on populations, and epidemiologists recognize that anecdotes about individuals cannot be used to refute evidence about populations. For example, an anecdote about someone who smoked one pack a day and lived to be 100, or someone who never smoked and developed lung cancer anyway, does not refute the evidence that people who smoke a pack a day get lung cancer at 10 times the rate of non-smokers. Similarly, anecdotes about individual epidemiologists acting ethically or unethically do not confirm or refute evidence about general tendencies.

In my commentary about corporate influences on epidemiology,1 I was not intending to comment on specific individuals (with the occasional exception of extreme cases which are too blatant to ignore), but rather to comment on the distribution and determinants of epidemiologic research, particularly current corporate influences on what research gets done and how the findings are received…”

 

 


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[EQ] The Chinese Health Care System: Structure, Problems and Challenges

The Chinese Health Care System: Structure, Problems and Challenges

 

Jens Leth Hougaard, Lars Peter Østerdal and Yi Yu

Department of Economics - University of Copenhagen - January 2008

 

Available online PDF [34p.] at: http://www.econ.ku.dk/Research/Publications/pink/2008/0801.pdf

 

“…In the present paper we describe the structure of the Chinese health care system and sketch its future development. We analyse issues of provider incentives and the actual burden sharing between government, enterprises and people. We further aim to identify a number of current problems and link these to a discussion of future challenges in the form of an aging population, increased privatization and increased inequity…”

 

“…..In the late 80ies the Chinese government launched a major reform of the social insurance system, including reforms of pension- and health care schemes. This reform has had a huge impact on the organization of the entire public welfare system. It has been implemented using a series of local experiments, of which particular models have been selected for national implementation. The system is constantly changing trying to respond to current financial problems and adapt to the need of the population.


Despite many efforts, the general impression of the population as well as the governing authorities is that the reform has not been successful.1 Cost inflation has been difficult to control and the huge inequality in access seems to be further increased. On top of this, the reform process itself has made the population confused and uncertain about their rights in the system and when adding that the lack of regulation makes the system more exposed to corruption this distrust only becomes worse.

China is a country with huge regional differences. It is therefore questionable whether it makes sense to talk about one coherent system or whether one should more likely consider the system as several co-exiting subsystems – subsystems that seem to be related to different groups of people as well as differences in geographic location. Moreover, any empirical analysis of the Chinese health care system will suffer from considerable data uncertainties and often even a crucial lack of relevant data…..”

 


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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
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[EQ] The CARSO Institute: Call for nominations to three categories of 2008 awards in Health and Nutrition

THE CARSO HEALTH INSTITUTE:  
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS TO THE THREE CATEGORIES OF THE 2008 CARSO AWARDS IN HEALTH AND NUTRITION

-          Outstanding achievement in health research

-          Innovation of health systems

-          Outstanding institutions or programs

 

Award amount:  $100,000 American dollars

Final date of submission:   May 9, 2008

Website: http://www.salud.carso.org/ca_pecs.html

 

The CARSO AWARDS, an initiative of the Carso Health Institute, aim at promoting the development of human capital in Latin America and the Caribbean and strengthening the formation of leaders that can push forward the research and innovation agenda in the region within the health and nutrition fields.


Categories

Carso Award for Outstanding achievement in health research
The award honors researchers whose contributions have helped to develop the health sciences and promoted the leadership of the region in health research.

Carso Award for innovations in health systems
The award honors researchers and practitioners whose contributions, directly or indirectly, have led to the promotion of more effective and equitable health systems in the region.

Carso Award to outstanding institutions or programs
The award honors institutions for the design and execution of a specific program that has contributed to the improvement of health conditions in the region.

 

 

El INSTITUTO CARSO DE LA SALUD CONVOCA A LA COMUNIDAD MUNDIAL A PRESENTAR NOMINACIONES PARA LAS TRES CATEGORÍAS DEL PREMIO CARSO EN SALUD Y NUTRICIÓN 2008

-          Trayectoria personal en investigación en salud

-          Innovación en la mejora de los sistemas de salud

-          Institución o programa excepcional

 

Monto por categoría:  $100,000 dólares americanos

Cierre de la convocatoria:  9 de mayo de 2008.

Website: http://www.salud.carso.org/ca_pecs.html

 

OBJETIVO Y DESCIPCIÓN DE LOS PREMIOS

Los Premios Carso tienen como objetivo impulsar el desarrollo del capital humano en América Latina, estimulando la formación de líderes en el campo de la salud cuyas investigaciones e innovaciones promuevan el bienestar de la población de la región.

                       

PREMIOS CARSO

- Premio Carso a la trayectoria personal en investigación en salud

Este premio honra a los investigadores cuyas aportaciones a la investigación han contribuido al desarrollo de las ciencias de la salud y promovido el liderazgo de la región en esta materia.

 

- Premio Carso a la innovación en la mejora de los sistemas de salud

Este premio honra a los investigadores cuyas contribuciones, directa o indirectamente, han sido pioneras en la promoción de sistemas de salud más efectivos y equitativos.

 

-  Premio Carso  a  la Institución excepcional

Este premio honra a las instituciones que se han distinguido en el diseño y ejecución de programas cuya implementación ha contribuido a mejorar los niveles de salud en la región.

 

 

 

 


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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ IKM Area]

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and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
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