Tag Archives: health policy

Quality of WHO guidelines on snakebite: the neglect continues

Snakebite remains a major public health challenge in many parts of rural Africa, Asia and South America. Available estimates suggest that there are about 94 000 deaths across the world annually due to snakebites; a conservative estimate as many deaths in low and middle-income countries are not reported.The burden on health systems due to snakebite is much higher than what is indicated by the mortality, because even non-venomous snakebite victims visit healthcare facilities for assessment and the morbidity due to snakebite has been scarcely documented. The social and economic consequences of snakebite are known to be high in communities with high prevalence.

snake

Despite its consequences, snakebite has largely been neglected in global health. The WHO readded snakebite to the list of neglected tropical diseases in 2017—potentially implying more attention and funding for disease control programmes and treatment access initiatives. Such initiatives and programme planning are informed by recommendations in practice guidelines. WHO guidelines are highly influential in South Asia, South-East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (countries with high burden of snakebite) where the lack of in-country capacity for guideline development means WHO guidelines are used as it is or are being adapted .

Read the full article by Dr. Soumyadeep B and colleagues which presents the evaluation of WHO guidelines on snakebite at BMJ Global Health.  (open access)

 

 

 

Cost-effectiveness of interventions to control cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus in South Asia:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) together contribute to the largest burden of morbidity (14% of disability-adjusted life years) and mortality (over 30% of all deaths) in South Asia.T2DM doubles the risk of developing CVD, and approximately half of patients with T2DM are known to be hypertensive.By 2030, it is projected that there will be 120.9 million people with diabetes in South Asia (90–95% of these will have T2DM), more than double the number affected in North America or Europe.

South Asians experience higher case fatality rates and rates of premature death due to CVD (deaths occurring at least 10–15 years younger) than the rest of the Western world.A report in 2010 suggested that the total annual income loss to households affected by CVDs in India was 144–158 billion INR. The WHO estimates that India will lose US$237 billion due to heart disease, stroke and diabetes, which will slow the growth in India’s GDP (gross domestic product) by 1% over the next 10 years, thereby contributing to poverty. The mortality and morbidity due to CVD/T2DM thus impose a huge economic burden on individuals, families and society, the health system, and the economy as a whole.

CVD and T2DM share various common risk factors (unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use, high blood pressure, dyslipidaemia and stress), and hence there is considerable overlap in strategies used to control these diseases.

While the efficacy and safety of various interventions have been tested by several randomised controlled clinical trials and subsequent systematic reviews and meta-analyses, little is known about the cost-effectiveness of these interventions from the perspective of either the patient or the healthcare system.

Full Systematic Review Protocol on the issue was published by Singh K , Sekaran AMC , Bhaumik S et al  recently in BMJ Open and is available here (Click) (Open Access )

Developing evidence based health policy in resource limited settings—lessons from Nepal

Few would argue against the benefits of evidence informed public health and health policies. However, efforts to inform health policy in resource limited settings face particularly daunting challenges—often specific to the political complexity and resource limitations experienced uniquely in low and middle income countries (LMICs).

The Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), a Government of Nepal body, has a long held mandate to support informed decision making by health policymakers in Nepal—an exciting but daunting role to operationalise. Informing health policy assumes that there is a base of information to communicate: in Nepal, this often isn’t available.

Read the full article by Dr Sangeeta R, Dr. Soumyadeep B and Dr. Krishna A at the British Medical Journal Blogs (Open Access)

The Cochrane Colloquium comes to India

Chowmahalla Palace,Hyderabad
Picture from Chowmahalla Palace,Hyderabad, royal seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty where the Nizams entertained their official guests and royal visitors.

Cochrane, the global leader in evidence-informed health is for the first time in its more than 20 year history (the first Cochrane Centre opened in Oxford,UK in October 1992 ) is for the first time holding its annual colloquium in India, or for that matter in South Asia.

The 22nd Cochrane Colloquium takes place in Hyderabad, India from 21-26 September, 2014 with the theme ‘Evidence-informed public health: opportunities and challenges’. The event is landmark especially when seen in the background of the impending evidence based medicine as well as universal health coverage in South Asia.The event will see Professor Gordon Guyatt delivering the Annual Cochrane Lecture and plenaries conducted and chaired by global leaders on EBM,public health and policies with the following themes :
1. East meets West: Evidence-Informed Public Health; Concepts, Context, Opportunities, Challenges,
2.Public Health: the context, the vision, the opportunities
3.Capacity Development: Challenges and Innovations
4.Cochrane Reviews: Assuring Quality and Relevance
5.Advocating for Evidence: Improving Health Decision-Making through Advocacy, Partnerships and Better Communication

Five Special themed session which will highlight important issues on the following theme are also scnheduled and their are inumerable workshops held.There are about 88 oral presentations and more than hundred posters.

Keep looking at this page for daily on the spot  updates on the event.
Link: https://colloquium.cochrane.org/

Indian doctors condemn move to fund treatments abroad for civil servants

An announcement by the Indian government that civil service officers will be reimbursed for approved medical treatments they receive outside India has led to calls of hypocrisy from doctors.

A circular from the Department of Personnel and Training earlier this month extends the benefit of medical treatment outside India to staff in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), and the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) as well as …

 

Read full article by Dr Soumyadeep B at British Medical Journal