Thursday, December 10, 2009

[EQ] Message from the Director of the Pan American Health Organization

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[EQ] How Can We Support the Use of Systematic Reviews in Policymaking?

How Can We Support the Use of Systematic Reviews in Policymaking?


John N. Lavis

1 McMaster Health Forum, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada,
2 Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada,
3 Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada,
4 Department of Political Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

PLoS Medicine | www.plosmedicine.org -- November 2009 | Volume 6 | Issue 11 | e1000141

Available online OPDF file [6p.] at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2777391/pdf/pmed.1000141.pdf

“…….In the last few years the landscape has changed dramatically for policymakers seeking to use research evidence in the policymaking process.
The landscape has also changed for the many stakeholders seeking to use research evidence to influence the policymaking process. The task once seemed overwhelming given the dearth of synthesized research evidence on the ‘‘big’’, typically multifaceted, questions that matter to policymakers and stakeholders [1,2]. Now it isn’t uncommon for these groups to find dozens of systematic reviews that address the governance, financial, and delivery arrangements within health systems that can determine whether a cost-effective program, service, or drug reaches those who need it…..”

Summary Points

·         Policymakers need many types of research evidence—synthesized and packaged for them—and the use of this evidence supported in multiple complementary ways. Stakeholders who seek to influence the policymaking process have the same requirements.

·         Policymakers and stakeholders need many types of systematic reviews. For example, reviews of qualitative studies can help to identify alternative framings of the problem, to understand how or why a policy or program option works, and to appreciate stakeholders’ perspectives on particular options.

·         Policymakers and stakeholders now have access to many review-derived products:
(1) summaries of systematic reviews highlighting decision-relevant information;
(2) overviews of systematic reviews providing a ‘‘map’’ of the policy questions addressed by systematic reviews and the insights derived from them; and
(3) policy briefs drawing on many systematic reviews to characterize a problem, policy or program options to address the problem, and implementation strategies.

·         A range of activities are being undertaken to support the use of reviews and review-derived products in policymaking, all of which warrant rigorous evaluation.

·         Future challenges include:
(1) examining whether and when any apparent duplication of efforts occurs in the production of review-derived products at the international level; and
(2) scaling up activities that are found to be effective in supporting the use of reviews and review-derived products in policymaking




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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/ KMC 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] Call for Papers: Public Health Reports Supplement on Data Systems and Social Determinants of Health

Call for Papers:
Supplement Social Determinants of Health and Data Systems

Public Health Reports (PHR) is inviting papers for a Supplement on Social Determinants of Health and Data Systems.

Deadline for submission: June 1, 2010.
The anticipated publication date for the PHR Supplement is Fall 2011.

Journal website -author guidelines at www.publichealthreports.org

The Guest Editors for this Supplement are :
Kathleen McDavid Harrison, Associate Director for Health Equity and
Hazel D. Dean, Deputy Director, both with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.

The Editors seek manuscripts that advance the scientific knowledge and public health research, practice, and policy on data systems related to addressing social determinants of health (SDH). Manuscripts may be analytic or descriptive in format and may propose models for new/enhanced data systems, evaluate existing data systems, or use data from current systems to illustrate how gaps can be addressed.

Manuscripts may examine policy, program, disease surveillance, or other appropriate data systems and novel ways to use them to monitor indicators of health equity.

Manuscripts addressing the following broad range of topics will be sought:
• Studies focusing on developing and identifying key metrics that might be used to better measure and monitor the impact of SDH;
• Studies that are multidisciplinary; that analyze or compare rather than merely describe; and that are not limited to one measure of social determinants or health outcomes, one age group, or one population subgroup;
• Mathematical models of social determinants of human immunodeficiency virus, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis outcomes;
• Studies that examine or use SDH analytic methods (e.g., individual-level, multilevel, and mixed-level analyses) that take into account

The uniqueness of the data being used;
• Evidence of linkage with policy or other constituencies that influence equity outcomes;
• Application of innovative analytic methods for studying and monitoring influences on health equity;
• Analyses to support the design and evaluation of policies, services, and interventions that enhance equity in health;
• Analyses or meta-analyses of available data on legal and health policies; and
• Use of evidence toward enhanced public accountability in and social action for health equity.

Manuscript requirements: Articles in PHR are typically 3,000–4,000 words in length.
All manuscripts will  be reviewed by the PHR Special Editorial Committee (SEC) for this Supplement.
The SEC determines which manuscripts are sent for external peer review and which manuscripts are published in the Supplement.

Submit manuscripts to: manuscripts@publichealthreports.org.
Please include “Attention Social Determinants of Health and Data Systems” in the subject line of the e-mail.

If you have any questions about this Supplement,  please contact
Dr. Kathleen McDavid Harrison (404-639-8000; KMcDavidHarrison@cdc.gov) or
Dr. Hazel D. Dean (404-639-8000; HDean@cdc.gov).

If you have any questions about PHR, please contact the Acting Editor, Laurence Reed, at 513-636-0257; Laurence.Reed@cchmc.org.
Public Health Reports is a peer-reviewed journal of the U.S. Public Health Service and the U.S. Surgeon General.
It is published in collaboration with the Association of Schools of Public Health. PHR is the oldest journal of public health in the U.S. and has published since 1878.
The journal is widely distributed internationally, and is indexed by MEDLINE/Index Medicus, Current Contents, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Pais International, and LexisNexis.



*      *     *
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/ KMC 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”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO Website
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

 

    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.  

[EQ] PAHO/WHO Consultancy on the Social Determinants of Neglected and Other Poverty-Related Diseases

 

 

 

 

Consultancy on the Social Determinants of Neglected
and Other Poverty-Related Diseases

Call for Expression of Interest in a Consultancy on the Social Determinants of Neglected and Other Poverty-Related Diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean


Health Surveillance and Disease Prevention and Control Area, Communicable Disease Project
Pan American Health Organization PAHO/WHO

Deadline for submission of applications: 15 January 2010

Website English::
 
http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1508&Itemid=259&en

Website Spanish:
http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1508&Itemid=259&es


Purpose: To conduct qualitative studies to identify, in two specific communities, neglected infectious diseases (NIDs) affecting them, the social determinants of health (SDH), and to establish their relationship.

The aim: To address the social determinants of NIDs in a multisectoral and integrated approach to reduce the risk and burden of the NIDs. These two communities with overlapping of NIDs will be identified in agreement with PAHO. Possible sites include Brazil and Mexico.

Objectives

  • To identify, at the local level, the NIDs and their social determinants perceived by the members of the two selected communities and by relevant stakeholders and actors, including the health system, in two selected communities, and the importance given to both the NIDs and the social determinants.

  • Analyze—involving community members and relevant stakeholders and actors in the process— the role of the social determinants associated with the perceived NIDs, within the Framework of Social Determinants of Health as defined by the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH).

  • Identify—involving community participation and relevant stakeholders and actors— priorities, mechanisms and key interventions and present specific recommendations to address the Social Determinants of Health that could be used to develop a comprehensive, integrated and multi-sectoral approach in the selected communities to reduce the risk of NIDs as well as their burden.

Terms of reference:
http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2006&Itemid=

 


*      *     *
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/ KMC 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”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO Website
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

 

    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.