@article { author = {Thakkar, Vidhi and Sullivan, Terrence}, title = {Public Spending on Health Service and Policy Research in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States: A Modest Proposal}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {617-620}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.45}, abstract = {Health services and policy research (HSPR) represent a multidisciplinary field which integrates knowledge from health economics, health policy, health technology assessment, epidemiology, political science among other fields, to evaluate decisions in health service delivery. Health service decisions are informed by evidence at the clinical, organizational, and policy level, levels with distinct, managerial drivers. HSPR has an evolving discourse spanning knowledge translation, linkage and exchange between research and decision-maker partners and more recently, implementation science and learning health systems. Local context is important for HSPR and is important in advancing health reform practice. The amounts and configuration of national investment in this field remain important considerations which reflect priority investment areas. The priorities set within this field or research may have greater or lesser effects and promise with respect to modernizing health services in pursuit of better value and better population outcomes. Within Canada an asset map for HSPR was published by the national HSPR research institute. Having estimated publiclyfunded research spending in Canada, we sought identify best available comparable estimates from the United States and the United Kingdom. Investments from industry and charitable organizations were not included in these numbers. This commentary explores spending by the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on HSPR as a fraction of total public spending on health and the importance of these respective investments in advancing health service performance. Proposals are offered on the merits of common nomenclature and accounting for areas of investigation in pursuit of some comparable way of assessing priority HSPR investments and suggestions for earmarking such investments to total investment in health services spending.}, keywords = {Health Policy,Public Spending,Comparative Spending Health Services and Policy Research}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3348.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3348_815cdc7e861e9d5a92d65c0528feb1a2.pdf} } @article { author = {Buch Mejsner, Sofie and Eklund Karlsson, Leena}, title = {Informal Patient Payments and Bought and Brought Goods in the Western Balkans – A Scoping Review}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {621-637}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.73}, abstract = {Introduction Informal patient payments for healthcare are common in the Western Balkans, negatively affecting public health and healthcare.   Aim To identify literature from the Western Balkans on what is known about informal patient payments and bought and brought goods, to examine their effects on healthcare and to determine what actions can be taken to tackle these payments.   Methods After conducting a scoping review that involved searching websites and databases and filtering with eligibility criteria and quality assessment tools, 24 relevant studies were revealed. The data were synthesized using a narrative approach that identified key concepts, types of evidence, and research gaps.   Results The number of studies of informal patient payments increased between 2002 and 2015, but evidence regarding the issues of concern is scattered across various countries. Research has reported incidents of informal patient payments on a wide scale and has described various patterns and characteristics of these payments. Although these payments have typically been small – particularly to providers in common areas of specialized medicine – evidence regarding bought and brought goods remains limited, indicating that such practices are likely even more common, of greater magnitude and perhaps more problematic than informal patient payments. Only scant research has examined the measures that are used to tackle informal patient payments. The evidence indicates that legalizing informal patient payments, introducing performance-based payment systems, strengthening reporting, changing mentalities and involving the media and the European Union (EU) or religious organizations in anti-corruption campaigns are understood as some of the possible remedies that might help reduce informal patient payments.   Conclusion Despite comprehensive evidence regarding informal patient payments, data remain scattered and contradictory, implying that informal patient payments are a complex phenomenon. Additionally, the data on bought and brought goods illustrate that not much is known about this matter. Although informal patient payments have been studied and described in several settings, there is still little research on the effectiveness of such strategies in the Western Balkans context.}, keywords = {Scoping Review,Informal Patient Payments,Bough and Brought Goods,Health care,Western Balkan}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3381.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3381_db10ccf7eddd43c518a834d88add7afe.pdf} } @article { author = {Gómez, Eduardo J.}, title = {Contextualizing Obesity and Diabetes Policy: Exploring a Nested Statistical and Constructivist Approach at the Cross-National and Subnational Government Level in the United States and Brazil}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {639-648}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.13}, abstract = {Background This article conducts a comparative national and subnational government analysis of the political, economic, and ideational constructivist contextual factors facilitating the adoption of obesity and diabetes policy.   Methods We adopt a nested analytical approach to policy analysis, which combines cross-national statistical analysis with subnational case study comparisons to examine theoretical prepositions and discover alternative contextual factors; this was combined with an ideational constructivist approach to policy-making.   Results Contrary to the existing literature, we found that with the exception of cross-national statistical differences in access to healthcare infrastructural resources, the growing burden of obesity and diabetes, rising healthcare costs and increased citizens’ knowledge had no predictive affect on the adoption of obesity and diabetes policy. We then turned to a subnational comparative analysis of the states of Mississippi in the United States and Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil to further assess the importance of infrastructural resources, at two units of analysis: the state governments versus rural municipal governments. Qualitative evidence suggests that differences in subnational healthcare infrastructural resources were insufficient for explaining policy reform processes, highlighting instead other potentially important factors, such as state-civil societal relationships and policy diffusion in Mississippi, federal policy intervention in Rio Grande do Norte, and politicians’ social construction of obesity and the resulting differences in policy roles assigned to the central government.   Conclusion We conclude by underscoring the complexity of subnational policy responses to obesity and diabetes, the importance of combining resource and constructivist analysis for better understanding the context of policy reform, while underscoring the potential lessons that the United States can learn from Brazil.}, keywords = {Obesity,Diabetes,Policy-Making,Subnational Government}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3331.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3331_237d502be75ad6bf459896c5534b9f1d.pdf} } @article { author = {Benmarhnia, Tarik and Huang, Jonathan Y. and Jones, Catherine M.}, title = {Lost in Translation: Piloting a Novel Framework to Assess the Challenges in Translating Scientific Uncertainty From Empirical Findings to WHO Policy Statements}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {649-660}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.28}, abstract = {Background Calls for evidence-informed public health policy, with implicit promises of greater program effectiveness, have intensified recently. The methods to produce such policies are not self-evident, requiring a conciliation of values and norms between policy-makers and evidence producers. In particular, the translation of uncertainty from empirical research findings, particularly issues of statistical variability and generalizability, is a persistent challenge because of the incremental nature of research and the iterative cycle of advancing knowledge and implementation. This paper aims to assess how the concept of uncertainty is considered and acknowledged in World Health Organization (WHO) policy recommendations and guidelines.   Methods We selected four WHO policy statements published between 2008-2013 regarding maternal and child nutrient supplementation, infant feeding, heat action plans, and malaria control to represent topics with a spectrum of available evidence bases. Each of these four statements was analyzed using a novel framework to assess the treatment of statistical variability and generalizability.   Results WHO currently provides substantial guidance on addressing statistical variability through GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) ratings for precision and consistency in their guideline documents. Accordingly, our analysis showed that policy-informing questions were addressed by systematic reviews and representations of statistical variability (eg, with numeric confidence intervals). In contrast, the presentation of contextual or “background” evidence regarding etiology or disease burden showed little consideration for this variability. Moreover, generalizability or “indirectness” was uniformly neglected, with little explicit consideration of study settings or subgroups.   Conclusion In this paper, we found that non-uniform treatment of statistical variability and generalizability factors that may contribute to uncertainty regarding recommendations were neglected, including the state of evidence informing background questions (prevalence, mechanisms, or burden or distributions of health problems) and little assessment of generalizability, alternate interventions, and additional outcomes not captured by systematic review. These other factors often form a basis for providing policy recommendations, particularly in the absence of a strong evidence base for intervention effects. Consequently, they should also be subject to stringent and systematic evaluation criteria. We suggest that more effort is needed to systematically acknowledge (1) when evidence is missing, conflicting, or equivocal, (2) what normative considerations were also employed, and (3) how additional evidence may be accrued.}, keywords = {Evidence-Based Policy,Uncertainty,Statistical Variability,Generalizability,Policy Statements,World Health Organization (WHO)}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3333.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3333_294a0e1fbfcd69106fa7d5371228ddea.pdf} } @article { author = {Kohler, Graeme and Sampalli, Tara and Ryer, Ashley and Porter, Judy and Wood, Les and Bedford, Lisa and Higgins-Bowser, Irene and Edwards, Lynn and Christian, Erin and Dunn, Susan and Gibson, Rick and Ryan Carson, Shannon and Vallis, Michael and Zed, Joanna and Tugwell, Barna and Van Zoost, Colin and Canfield, Carolyn and Rivoire, Eleanor}, title = {Bringing Value-Based Perspectives to Care: Including Patient and Family Members in Decision-Making Processes}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {661-668}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.27}, abstract = {Background Recent evidence shows that patient engagement is an important strategy in achieving a high performing healthcare system. While there is considerable evidence of implementation initiatives in direct care context, there is limited investigation of implementation initiatives in decision-making context as it relates to program planning, service delivery and developing policies. Research has also shown a gap in consistent application of system-level strategies that can effectively translate organizational policies around patient and family engagement into practice.   Methods The broad objective of this initiative was to develop a system-level implementation strategy to include patient and family advisors (PFAs) at decision-making points in primary healthcare (PHC) based on wellestablished evidence and literature. In this opportunity sponsored by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) a co-design methodology, also well-established was applied in identifying and developing a suitable implementation strategy to engage PFAs as members of quality teams in PHC. Diabetes management centres (DMCs) was selected as the pilot site to develop the strategy. Key steps in the process included review of evidence, review of the current state in PHC through engagement of key stakeholders and a co-design approach.   Results The project team included a diverse representation of members from the PHC system including patient advisors, DMC team members, system leads, providers, Public Engagement team members and CFHI improvement coaches. Key outcomes of this 18-month long initiative included development of a working definition of patient and family engagement, development of a Patient and Family Engagement Resource Guide and evaluation of the resource guide.   Conclusion This novel initiative provided us an opportunity to develop a supportive system-wide implementation plan and a strategy to include PFAs in decision-making processes in PHC. The well-established co-design methodology further allowed us to include value-based (customer driven quality and experience of care) perspectives of several important stakeholders including patient advisors. The next step will be to implement the strategy within DMCs, spread the strategy PHC, both locally and provincially with a focus on sustainability.}, keywords = {Patient and Family Engagement,Decision-Making,Quality Teams,Patient Experience}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3336.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3336_d45f69ceb1c004536ca79c91636d35bf.pdf} } @article { author = {McKee, Martin and Stuckler, David}, title = {“Enemies of the People?” Public Health in the Era of Populist Politics; Comment on “The Rise of Post-truth Populism in Pluralist Liberal Democracies: Challenges for Health Policy”}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {669-672}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.46}, abstract = {In this commentary, we review the growth of populist politics, associated with exploitation of what has been termed fake news. We explore how certain words have been used in similar contexts historically, in particular the term “enemy of the people,” especially with regard to public health. We then set out 6 principles for public health professionals faced with these situations. First, using their epidemiological skills, they can provide insights into the reasons underlying the growth of populist politics. Second using their expertise in modelling and health impact assessment, they can anticipate and warn about the consequences of populist policies. Third, they can support the institutions that are necessary for effective public health. Fourth they can reclaim the narrative, rejecting hatred and division, to promote social solidarity. Fifth, they can support fact checking and the use of evidence. Finally, they should always remember the lessons of history, and in particular, the way that public health has, on occasions, collaborated with totalitarian and genocidal regimes.}, keywords = {Public Health,Advocacy,Political Economy,Fake News}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3349.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3349_a6ef1a4d89e203e4c8eef8171bd9a714.pdf} } @article { author = {Schrecker, Ted}, title = {“Stop, You’re Killing us!” An Alternative Take on Populism and Public Health; Comment on “The Rise of Post-truth Populism in Pluralist Liberal Democracies: Challenges for Health Policy”}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {673-675}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.50}, abstract = {Ewen Speed and Russell Mannion correctly identify several contours of the challenges for health policy in what it is useful to think of as a post-democratic era. I argue that the problem for public health is not populism per se, but rather the distinctive populism of the right coupled with the failure of the left to develop compelling counternarratives. Further, defences of ‘science’ must be tempered by recognition of the unavoidably political dimensions of the (mis)use of scientific findings in public policy.}, keywords = {Populism,Post-democracy,Science,Standards of Proof}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3354.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3354_6b308d4c5cabd4b0b98b4595a5f6ab0d.pdf} } @article { author = {Kenis, Patrick}, title = {Passed the Age of Puberty: Organizational Networks as a Way to Get Things Done in the Health Field; Comment on “Evaluating Global Health Partnerships: A Case Study of a Gavi HPV Vaccine Application Process in Uganda”}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {677-679}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.51}, abstract = {In this commentary I will demonstrate that the case study of Uganda’s Human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine application partnership provides an excellent example of widening our lens by evaluating the successful HP vaccine coverage from a network-centric perspective. That implies that the organizational network is seen as the locus of production and that network theories become indispensable to analyze the situation at hand. The case study is, as said, an excellent example of how this can be done and my comments have to be read as an endorsement and a broadening of the discussion of what Carol Kamya and colleagues have presented. It is demonstrated that an organizational network approach can be considered a serious and mature way in understanding public health issues.}, keywords = {Partnership,Organization Network,Social Network Analysis,Evaluation,HPV Vaccine Coverage}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3355.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3355_12077b02bc211d55dd50fd24ca7f78f5.pdf} } @article { author = {van Dijk, Wieteke and Faber, Marjan J. and Tanke, Marit A.C. and Jeurissen, Patrick P.T. and Westert, Gert P.}, title = {Define and Conquer: How Semantics Foster Progress; A Response to Recent Commentaries}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {681-682}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.116}, abstract = {}, keywords = {Medicalisation,Overdiagnosis,Society}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3360.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3360_102c70f05a1c9b6cd3b642597375d1c2.pdf} } @article { author = {Ozaki, Akihiko and Guadalupe, Angeli and Saquido, Arra Barrameda and Gepte, Diana Francesca and Higuchi, Asaka and Morita, Tomohiro and Tanimoto, Tetsuya}, title = {Family Planning as a Possible Measure to Alleviate Poverty in the Philippines – Beyond Sociocultural Norms and Pervasive Opposition}, journal = {International Journal of Health Policy and Management}, volume = {6}, number = {11}, pages = {683-684}, year = {2017}, publisher = {Kerman University of Medical Sciences}, issn = {2322-5939}, eissn = {2322-5939}, doi = {10.15171/ijhpm.2017.57}, abstract = {}, keywords = {Poverty,Philippines,Rodrigo Duterte,Abortion,Catholic}, url = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3366.html}, eprint = {https://www.ijhpm.com/article_3366_df82bab89877daeb203ca2f0d9f584c4.pdf} }