[EQ] Using Research in Public Health Policymaking

State Policy Guide:

Using Research in Public Health Policymaking

 

The US Council of State Governments, 2008

 

Available online at: http://www.csg.org/policy/health/documents/StatePolicyGuideCP.pdf

 

"…..This guide describes the benefits of using research results to make state policy decisions on public health and other health and human services concerns. In addition to considering budgetary constraints, how well a policy fits in your state, public opinion and other political factors, state legislators can effectively apply the cumulative lessons from public health research by working closely with researchers and other experts.

 

Specifically, this guide will help legislators and their staffs understand:

-   How to use research results to produce effective public health policies and programs ƒ. and to spend public resources as wisely as possible;

- . Ways to work with researchers and other experts to understand and apply research evidence on successful programs;

-   Key concepts and terms used by public health researchers;

- . How research evidence varies in strength, and what must be considered to determine the likelihood a program or policy will work for your state;

- . Tips for using research when drafting legislation;

- . How to work with coalitions of experts and advocates to advance public health issues;

- . Resources for finding more information about public health policy recommendations based on research results; and

-.  How one state used research results to make a measurable positive difference in people's lives….'

 

Table of Contents

 

Summary—10 Key Points

Why Us e Research Results in Policymaking?

Understanding Public Health Research:

Using Research Results in Policymaking

Selecting Policy Options and Developing Policy Strategy

Drafting Public Health Legislation

Reviewing Proposed Public Health Legislation

Legislative Oversight

Developing Champions for Public Health Programs

Conclusion

 

Apendices

A. Measuring Effectiveness of Public Health Policies and Programs

Example: Using Cost-effectiveness to Set Policy on Flu Vaccines for Children

B. Translating Research into Public Health Policy: Types of Recommendations and Examples

How Do Researchers Identify Highest Potential Policies and Programs?

Examples: Research-based Recommendations on Public Health Policies

Cost-Saving Public Health Policies

Cost-Effective Public Health Policies

Good Ideas for Public Health

No Consensus on Effectiveness Public Health Policies

Discouraged Public Health Policies

C. Resources on Public Health Research Results, Policies and Legislation

Policy Recommendations Based on Research

State Legislation and Programs Based on Public Health Research

D. State Success: California Uses Research to Create Tobacco Use Policies

What are the Research-based Recommendations to Control Tobacco Use?

How is Research Used to Predict the Impact of Increasing Tobacco Taxes?

How Did California Legislators Use Research to Develop Policies?

California's Tobacco Use Policies: Future Challenges

E. References........"

 

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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] Linking Political Systems and Priorities to the Magnitude of Health Inequities

Epi + demos + cracy:
Linking Political Systems and Priorities to the Magnitude of Health Inequities
Evidence, Gaps, and a Research Agenda

Jason Beckfield; Nancy Krieger, Professor, Dept of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health

Epidemiologic Reviews 2009; doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxp002 - May 27, 2009.

“…A new focus within both social epidemiology and political sociology investigates how political systems and priorities shape health inequities.
To advance—and better integrate—research on political determinants of health inequities, the authors conducted a systematic search of the ISI Web of Knowledge and PubMed databases and identified 45 studies, commencing in 1992, that explicitly and empirically tested, in relation to an a priori political hypothesis, for either
1) changes in the magnitude of health inequities or
2) significant cross-national differences in the magnitude of health inequities.

 

Overall, 84% of the studies focused on the global North, and all clustered around 4 political factors:
1) the transition to a capitalist economy;
2) neoliberal restructuring;
3) welfare states; and
4) political incorporation of subordinated racial/ethnic, indigenous, and gender groups.

 

The evidence suggested that the first 2 factors probably increase health inequities, the third is inconsistently related, and the fourth helps reduce them. In this review, the authors critically summarize these studies’ findings, consider methodological limitations, and propose a research agenda—with careful attention to spatiotemporal scale, level, time frame (e.g., life course, historical generation), choice of health outcomes, inclusion of polities, and specification of political mechanisms—to address the enormous gaps in knowledge that were identified….”

 

Free-access links to the online article:

 

Abstract: http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/mxp002?ijkey=xaXqimZNzdGpbSc&keytype=ref

 

Full Text: http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/mxp002?ijkey=xaXqimZNzdGpbSc&keytype=ref   

 

PDF: http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/mxp002?ijkey=xaXqimZNzdGpbSc&keytype=ref

 

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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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    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] Toward international primary care reform

Toward international primary care reform

Barbara Starfield, University Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
CMAJ • May 26, 2009; 180 (11). doi:10.1503/cmaj.090542.

Available online at: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/180/11/1091?etoc

“….Primary care reform is now a worldwide imperative. National health care systems with strong primary care infrastructures have healthier populations, fewer health-related disparities and lower overall costs for health care. ¹ In the World Health Organization’s 2008 World Health Report, ² all countries were encouraged to orient their health care systems toward strengthened primary care. Such reforms are unlikely to improve overall population health, equalize distribution of health care resources or reduce costs unless they address both the systemic and clinical characteristics of primary care. ^{3 …..”}

Related paper:

 

Research

 

Capitation and enhanced fee-for-service models for primary care reform: a population-based evaluation

Richard H. Glazier, Julie Klein-Geltink, Alexander Kopp, and Lyn M. Sibley

From the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (Glazier, Klein-Geltink, Kopp, Sibley), Toronto, Ont., St. Michael’s Hospital Centre for Research on Inner City Health (Glazier), Toronto, Ont., the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Glazier), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.

CMAJ • May 26, 2009; 180 (11). doi:10.1503/cmaj.081316.

Available online at: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/cmaj;180/11/E72

 

‘…….Primary health care is facing a number of serious challenges internationally, with questions being raised about whether it will even survive in some settings. ¹ Fundamental issues include shortages in human resources and maldistribution of physicians; dissatisfaction on the part of providers and patients; gaps between guideline-recommended care and provided care; and a preference of trainees to choose specialty careers. Close to 4 million Canadians do not have a family physician, and more than 2 million report difficulties in accessing routine or ongoing care at any time of day as well as immediate care for minor health problems at any time of day. ² Canadians in rural areas face geographic barriers to care, fewer available health care professionals than in urban areas and higher rates of disease. ³

In response to these challenges, policy-makers in Canada and elsewhere are considering or are implementing interdisciplinary teams, new organizational structures, new governance and reimbursement models, requirements for after-hours care, provision of after-hours advice by telephone, electronic health records and other information technology, and pay-for-performance initiatives. Many of these directions are incorporated in the Medical Home concept in the United States ⁴ and in the Quality and Outcomes Framework in the United Kingdom. ⁵ Although there is evidence for the effectiveness of some of these initiatives, most have not been rigorously evaluated. Reimbursement models, perhaps the best-studied aspect of primary care reform, seem to influence some aspects of physician behaviour. However, there is a lack of evidence about their ultimate impact on patient outcomes. ⁶ ….”

 

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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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Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html

 

 

    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.