Monday, June 8, 2009

[EQ] Does ratification of human-rights treaties have effects on population health?

Does ratification of human-rights treaties have effects on population health?

Alexis Palmer, Jocelyn Tomkinson, Charlene Phung, Nathan Ford, Michel Joff res, Kimberly A Fernandes, Leilei Zeng, Viviane Lima,

Julio S G Montaner, Gordon H Guyatt, Edward J Mills

Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada (A Palmer MPH, J Tomkinson MPH, C Phung MPH, N Ford, M Joff res MD, L Zeng PhD); British Columbia Centre for Excellence in

HIV/AIDS, Vancouver, BC, Canada (K A Fernandes MSc, V Lima PhD, Prof J S G Montaner MD, E J Mills PhD); and Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON,

Canada (Prof G H Guyatt MD, E J Mills)

The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9679, Pages 1987 - 1992, 6 June 2009

URL: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60231-2/fulltext

“….Human-rights treaties indicate a country’s commitment to human rights. Here, we assess whether ratification of human-rights treaties is associated with improved health and social indicators. Data for health (including HIV prevalence, and maternal, infant, and child [<5 years] mortalities) and social indicators (child labour, human development index, sex gap, and corruption index), gathered from 170 countries, showed no consistent associations between ratification of human-rights treaties and health or social outcomes. Established market economy states had consistently improved health compared with less wealthy settings, but this was not associated with treaty ratification.

The status of treaty ratification alone is not a good indicator of the realisation of the right to health. We suggest the need for stringent requirements for ratification of treaties, improved accountability mechanisms to monitor compliance of states with treaty obligations, and financial assistance to support the realisation of the right to health….’

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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/ KMS Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
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[EQ] Towards a common definition of global health

Towards a common definition of global health

Jeff rey P Koplan, T Christopher Bond, Michael H Merson, K Srinath Reddy, Mario Henry Rodriguez, Nelson K Sewankambo, Judith N Wasserheit,

for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Executive Board*

Emory Global Health Institute (Prof J P Koplan MD), and Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health (T C Bond PhD), Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Duke Global Health Institute,

Duke University, Durham, NC, USA (Prof M H Merson MD); Public Health Foundation of India, Delhi, India (Prof K S Reddy MD); Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, Cuernavaca, Mexico (Prof M H Rodriguez MD); School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda (Prof N K Sewankambo FRCP); and Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA (Prof J N Wasserheit MD)

The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9679, 6 June 2009

URL: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

“….Global health is fashionable. It provokes a great deal of media, student, and faculty interest, has driven the establishment or restructuring of several academic

programmes, is supported by governments as a crucial component of foreign policy,1 and has become a major philanthropic target. Global health is derived from public health and international health, which, in turn, evolved from hygiene and tropical medicine.

However, although frequently referenced, global health is rarely defined. When it is, the definition varies greatly and is often little more than a rephrasing of a common definition of public health or a politically correct updating of international health. Therefore, how should global health be defined?...”

“……..orders to be deemed a global health issue? We should not restrict global health to health-related issues that literally cross international borders. Rather, in this context, global refers to any health issue that concerns many countries or is affected by transnational determinants, such as climate change or urbanisation, or solutions, such as polio eradication. Epidemic infectious diseases such as dengue, influenza A (H5N1), and HIV infection are clearly global. But global health should also address tobacco control, micronutrient deficiencies, obesity, injury prevention, migrant-worker health, and migration of health workers. The global in global health refers to the scope of problems, not their location…..”

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[EQ] Conference; Research to Reform: Achieving Health System Change

AHRQ's 2009 Annual Conference

Research to Reform: Achieving Health System Change

September 13-16, 2009 Bethesda, Maryland - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Website: http://www.ahrq.gov/about/annlconf09.htm

The conference is designed to bring participants together with leading health care research and policy experts in sessions on issues including quality and safety, delivery of services and improving Americans' health status.

Tracks:

Track A: Health Care Infrastructure

Track B: Organization of How Services Are Delivered

Track C: Health Care Quality and Safety

Track D: Improving Americans' Health Status

Track E: Provider Performance and Payment Reform

Track F: Increasing Patient and Consumer Involvement in Their Care

Sunday, September 13, 2009

1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. -

· AHRQ Scientific Review: Keeping Pace with New Trends

· AHRQ Ambulatory Triggers and TIDS ACTION Task Order Steering Committee

· Emergency Preparedness

· Risk Informed Workgroup Meeting

Monday, September 14, 2009

· Track A The Role of Health IT in Measuring and Reducing Disparities

· Track A Emerging Issues in Data Registry Design, Implementation, and Use

· Track B Linking Clinical Practices and Community Resources to Improve Health Care: Innovative Approaches

· Track C Experience in Improving Health Care Decision-Making With Health IT: Impacts on Quality and Safety

· Track C Reducing Hospital-Associated Infections (HAIs)

· Track D Progress of a Learning Network: Working to Reduce Disparities by Improving Access to Care

· Track F Shared Decision-Making: Helping Patients Be Partners in Their Care

· Track F Informing Care Decisions: Emerging Technologies, Scientific Evidence, and Communication

· Track C Research Informing Policy Informing Research: Continuous Quality Improvement and the AHRQ QI

· Track D USPSTF: Potential Impact on Medicare Coverage

· Track F Input Your Data – Output Your Website, a New AHRQ Tool That Transforms Data to Information

· Track A Rating the Evidence: Using GRADE to Develop Clinical Practice Guidelines

· Track A AHRQ's Role in Primary Care Transformation

· Track A Developing Research Infrastructure to Enhance Quality and Reduce Health Care Disparities

· Track A The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA): AHRQ's Role in Comparative Effectiveness Research

· Track B Facilitating Chronic Disease Improvement in Primary Care

· Track C Trends and Disparities in Measuring Health Care Efficiency

· Track C Advancing Safety and Quality: Supporting Patient Safety Organizations in Reducing Risks to Patients

· Track C A Simulation Demonstration: Keeping Today’s Patients Safe While Training Tomorrow’s Clinicians

· Track D Mental Health and Substance Abuse Care in Community Hospitals

· Track D Building Patient and Consumer Awareness: Achieving Maximum Exposure for Your Study Findings

· Track F Personal Health Records: What Are They Good For? A Panel Discussion

· Track A Maximizing the Impact of Comparative Effectiveness Research: The Role of the DEcIDE Consortia

· Track B Addressing Primary Care Workforce Challenges: A Panel Discussion

· Track C First Do No Harm: Ensuring the Safe and Effective Use of Health IT: A Panel Discussion

· Track C Risk-Informed Interventions: Improving Quality and Reducing Harm

· Track C Developing Research Careers Focused on Improving Health Care Quality

· Track C A Window Into the U.S. Health Care System: Measuring Quality and Implementing Change in Emergency Departments

· Track C Creating Health Information That Americans Can Understand

· Track D AHRQ's Role in the Patient-Centered Medical Home

· Track E Use of Outcome Measures in Payment Reform

· Track F Learning From the Patient's Experience: Opportunities to Improve Patient Safety

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

· Track A Connecting Guidelines, Measures, and Clinical Decision Support Systems. What's New?

· Track A Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement and Comparative Effectiveness Research

· Track B Getting to Meaningful Use of Health IT: Experiences in Redesigning Workflow in the Ambulatory Setting

· Track C Innovative Efforts for Linking Transparency, Patient Safety, and Quality of Care

· Track C Using Collaboratives to Reduce Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI): A National Implementation Program

· Track C Risk-Informed Evaluation of Patient Safety Training Activities

· Track D Improving Preventive Health Care: Success Stories

· Track E Regional Collaboratives as Catalysts for Quality Reporting and Improvement

· Track F Project RED: Reengineering the Hospital Discharge Process

· Track A Tricks of the Trade: Tools for Evaluating Clinical Effectiveness of Medical Interventions

· Track B What Not to Do in Primary Care: Overuse of Preventive Services

· Track C Overview of AHRQ Resources to Improve Patient Safety

· Track D Generating Quality Headlines in a Change Environment: Media Attention That Leads to Increased Awareness

· Track A Implementing the GRADE Method in Guideline Development: Real-World Experiences

· Track A Are We Making Progress? Measuring the Adoption, Meaningful Use, and Impacts of Health IT

· Track B Reforming Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

· Track B Measuring Inequities in Financing the U.S. Health Care System

· Track B Moving Beyond Institution-Based Service Delivery: Medical Homes and Health 2.0

· Track C Measuring Improvement in Hospital Team Work

· Track C Recent Findings in Patient Safety

· Track C Health Literacy in Action: Design, Development, and Measurement

· Track E Helping Hospitals Help Themselves: Proactive Steps to Avoid a Health Care System "Bailout"

· Track A Building the Health IT Infrastructure: How Do We Get There? A Panel Discussion

· Track A Do Ask, Do Tell: Best Practices in Conflict of Interest Policies for Research, Publishing, and Recommendation-Making

· Track B Adapting Global Innovations in Health Services Delivery

· Track B Redesigning Hospital Care for Quality and Efficiency

· Track B Expanding Insurance Coverage for Children, the Elderly, and the Uninsured: Opportunities and Challenges

· Track C Children's Health Care Quality: Responding to a New National Focus

· Track D Disparities in Health Care: Issues for National Reporting

· Track D Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Are Electronic Health Records Enough for Population Health? A Panel Discussion

· Track F Assessing Patients’ Experiences With Care: Using CAHPS as a Standardized Quality Metric

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

· Track A Assessing the Evidence: Overview of AHRQ's Comparative Effectiveness Guide for Systematic Reviews

· Track A Connecting Communities: Lessons From Six State Health Information Exchange Demonstrations

· Track B Trends and Issues in Access to Care: Implications for Health Care Reform

· Track B Enhancing Patient Safety and Quality With Evidence-Based Health Care Design

· Track C Reducing Hospital-Acquired Venous Thromboembolisms: Interventions That Work

· Track D So You're Doing Quality and Safety Improvement: How Can You Tell Whether It's Working?

· Track D Experiences in Patient-Centered Care: Improving Coordination and Communication Among Patients and Providers

· Track E Electronic Medical Record Systems in Critical Access Hospitals: Anticipated and Realized Benefits

· Track A Assessing the Evidence: Overview of AHRQ's Comparative Effectiveness Guide for Systematic Reviews

· Track B Health Care Quality for Children: New Opportunities for Measurement and Improvement

· Track B Chronic Diseases and Health Care Use and Spending: The Impact of Changes in the Health Care System

· Track C Advancing Safety and Quality: Supporting Patient Safety Organizations in Reducing Risks to Patients

· Track C MRSA: Reducing Infections and Changing Epidemiology, Improving the Health of Populations

· Track C A Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP) as an Intervention Strategy

· Track C The Pharmacist's Role in Quality: Is the Profession Ready?

· Track C Collaboration Between Researchers and State Policymakers: A Model for Health Care Improvement

· Track D An Innovative Approach to Women's Health Care Research: Lessons from the California Virtual Lab

· Track E Payment Reform: Cost of Collecting Performance Data in Primary Care

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