Thursday, February 28, 2008

[EQ] Responding to Requests for Information on Health Systems from Policy Makers

Responding to Requests for Information on Health Systems from Policy Makers in Asian Countries


Judith Healy1, John Maxwell1, Phua Kai Hong2, Vivian Lin3 and collaborators

1. Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

2. National University of Singapore

3. La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, World Health Organization, December 2007

 

Available online as PDF file [115p.] at: http://www.who.int/alliance-hpsr/TR1Healy.pdf

 

 

“……Policy makers in the Asian region, compared to those in Europe and OECD countries, generally have less access to relevant evidence-based information on the workings of their health systems. This study aimed to assess the level of interest in the establishment of an Asian regional mechanism, whether a centre or network, with the capacity to respond to questions from policy makers.

 

The purpose of a regional mechanism with the capacity to offer information on health systems would be to promote the take-up of research evidence by policy makers in participating Asian countries, and thus help strengthen their health systems and thereby improve the health of their populations…”

 

Contents

Executive Summary

1 Introduction

2 Health policy challenges in rapidly changing societies

3 Views on an Asian region information mechanism

4 Health systems information mechanisms: international overview

4.1 On-call evidence for policy-makers

4.2 Information centres and knowledge networks

4.3 Centres for systematic reviews

5 Information mechanisms: options for Asia

6 From ideas to action

Bibliography

 

 

 

 

 


 
*      *      *     * 

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] 

“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] Height, health, and inequality: the distribution of adult heights in India

Height, health, and inequality: the distribution of adult heights in India

 

 

Angus Deaton, Research Program in Development Studies

Center for Health and Wellbeing, Princeton University - January 2008

Forthcoming in the American Economic Review, papers and proceedings, May 2008

 

Available online as PDF file [15p.] at:
http://www.princeton.edu/~rpds/downloads/deaton_height_health_inequality_revised_ack_jan08.pdf

 

".......This paper explores the relationship between adult heights and the distribution of income across populations of individuals. There is a long literature that examines the relationship between mean adult heights and living standards.

If adult height is set by the balance between food intake and charges to disease in early childhood, it is informative about economic and epidemiological conditions in childhood. Because taller populations are better-off, more productive, and live longer, the relationship between childhood conditions and adult height has become an important focus in the study of the relationship between health and wealth.

Here I follow one of the tributaries of this main stream. A relationship between income and height at the individual level has implications for the effects of income inequality on the distribution of heights.

These relationships parallel, but are somewhat more concrete than, the various relationships between income inequality and health that have been debated in the economic and epidemiological literature..."

 

 

 *      *      *     * 

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] 

“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: http://www.paho.org/

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.  

[EQ] Overcoming Obstacles to Health

Overcoming Obstacles to Health


Report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the Commission to Build a Healthier America

February 2008

University of California, San Francisco Center on Social Disparities in Health

Paula Braveman, M.D., M.P.H. ; Susan Egerter, Ph.D.

Available online as PDF file [84p.] at: http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/obstaclestohealth.pdf

 

“……….Despite what many believe, a person's health is not only a product of good medical care and genes. In fact, in many cases, these may only be small pieces of a much larger puzzle.

Social and economic factors are keeping some Americans from being as healthy as they should be. Based on work conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), this report outlines in stark detail how a person's health and the likelihood of becoming sick and dying prematurely are greatly influenced by powerful social factors—such as levels of education, income and the quality of neighborhood environments.

This RWJF report describes the current health profile of Americans, looking specifically at how education, income, race and ethnicity play a role in Americans' health. This report:

·         Examines the roles of personal and societal responsibilities for health within the contexts in which people live, work and learn—which influence both the choices people have and their ability to make healthy choices.

·         Reviews evidence of the lasting impact that physical and social environments have on a child's health and on his or her chances of becoming a healthy adult.

·         Reveals new national evidence of differences in health across income and education groups, and how they relate to differences in health by race or ethnicity. 

·         Provides new evidence of the economic and human costs of differences in health, including the life stories of three American families who are trying to make healthy choices but face major obstacles. 

·         Offers a framework for finding solutions by applying current knowledge about the underlying causes of social disparities in health.

 

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Launches Commission to Look Beyond Medical Care System to Improve the Health of All Americans

February 28, 2008

http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/newsreleasesdetail.jsp?productid=26672&typeid=160

 

The national, independent and nonpartisan health commission will focus on factors outside the health care system and identify non-medical, evidence-based strategies—both short- and long-term—to improve the health of all Americans. The group will investigate how factors, such as education, environment, income and housing, shape and affect personal behavioral choices through an extensive inquiry that will include regional field hearings. The commission members represent a diverse group of innovators and experts with the ability to cross traditional boundaries, mobilize partners to action and identify practical, timely solutions. 

 

The Commission to Build a Healthier America is based at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C.
David R. Williams, M.P.H., Ph.D., a renowned social scientist and Norman Professor of Public Health and professor of African and African American Studies and Sociology, Harvard University, is the staff director of the commission.
The research team for the commission's work is headed by distinguished health researcher Paula Braveman, M.D., M.P.H., professor of Family and Community Medicine at UCSF.

 

Commission to Build A Healthier America Members

Mark B. McClellan
Director, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform, the Brookings Institution and Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, the Brookings Institution

Alice M. Rivlin
Senior Fellow, Economic Studies Program, the Brookings Institution and Director, Greater Washington Research Program, the Brookings Institution
Visiting Professor at the Public Policy Institute of Georgetown University

Katherine Baicker
Professor of Health Economics, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard University

Angela Glover Blackwell
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PolicyLink

Sheila P. Burke
Faculty Research Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Linda M. Dillman
Executive Vice President of Benefits and Risk Management, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Sen. Bill Frist
Schultz Visiting Professor of International Economic Policy, Princeton University

Allan Golston
U.S. Program President, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Kati Haycock
President, Education Trust

Hugh Panero
Co-Founder and Former President and Chief Executive Officer, XM Satellite Radio

Carole Simpson
Leader-in-Residence, Emerson College School of Communication
Former Anchor, ABC News

Dennis Rivera
Chair, SEIU Healthcare

Jim Towey
President, Saint Vincent College

Gail L. Warden
Professor, University of Michigan School of Public Health
President Emeritus, Henry Ford Health System

 

 


 
*      *      *     * 

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] 

“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: http://www.paho.org/

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.