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BMJ Global Health Jul 2021Migration health is affected by decision making at levels ranging from global to local, both within and beyond the health sector. These decisions impact seeking,... (Review)
Review
Migration health is affected by decision making at levels ranging from global to local, both within and beyond the health sector. These decisions impact seeking, entitlements, service delivery, policy making and knowledge production on migration health. It is key that ethical challenges faced by decision makers are recognised and addressed in research and data, clinical practice and policy making on migration health. An ethical approach can provide methods to identify ethical issues, frameworks for systematising information and suggesting ethically acceptable solutions, and guidance on procedural concerns and legitimate decision making processes. By unpacking dilemmas, conflicts of interests and values at stake, an ethical approach is relevant for all who make decisions about migration health policy and practice. Adopting an ethical approach to migration health benefits governments, organisations, policy makers, health workers, data managers, researchers and migrants themselves. First, it highlights the inherent normative questions and trade-offs at stake in migration health. Second, it assists decision makers in deciding what is the ethically justifiable thing to do through an 'all things considered' approach. Third, ethical frameworks and technical guidance set normative and practical standards for decision makers facing ethical questions - from 'bedside rationing' to collection of big data or in policy making - that can ensure that migrants' interests are considered. Fourth, there is a need for greater transparency and accountability in decision making, as well as meaningful participation of migrant groups. An ethical approach connects to public health, economic and human rights arguments and highlights the urgent need to mainstream concerns for migrants in global and national health responses.
Topics: Health Policy; Human Rights; Humans; Policy Making; Public Health; Public Policy
PubMed: 34321236
DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006425 -
BMJ Open Jun 2022Understanding the Latin American Social Innovation in Health (SIH) approach requires a process of typifying and identifying main criteria of the approach based on the... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
Understanding the Latin American Social Innovation in Health (SIH) approach requires a process of typifying and identifying main criteria of the approach based on the employed practices of different health initiatives implemented throughout the region. This article presents a descriptive analysis of the main criteria of SIH.
DESIGN
To identify the theoretical and methodological developments of SIH between the years 2013 and 2018, a scoping review was conducted using a mixed approach. 80 texts in English, Spanish and Portuguese were screened through a reflexive analysis process involving intratextual and intertextual reading.
SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS
The documentary research covered journals, books and higher degree theses addressing experiences or theoretical constructs developed in the Latin American region.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES
The approaches identified in the studied initiatives were mutually complementary; moreover, based on the typification of the main criteria between approaches and implementation proposals, the convergences and divergences between SIH and other approaches found in the sample were identified. In most cases, the different approaches in the sample are committed to initiatives that include some degree of innovation, improve access to healthcare services and recognise in one way or another a public policy in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
RESULTS
Eighteen characteristic criteria were identified, of which nine particularly differentiate SIH from other approaches conceptually and methodologically. Further work is essential to eliminate the vague delimitation between social and technological aspects of innovation.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicate that although the SIH concept is in construction, it is advancing down a path of recognition in the region, defining its role as an important field of study on social transformation in health and development.
Topics: Delivery of Health Care; Humans; Latin America; Public Policy; Sustainable Development
PubMed: 35680255
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063205 -
Behavioural Processes May 2022Behavioral economics is an approach to understanding behavior though integrating behavioral psychology and microeconomic principles. Advances in behavioral economics...
Behavioral economics is an approach to understanding behavior though integrating behavioral psychology and microeconomic principles. Advances in behavioral economics have resulted in quick-to-administer tasks to assess discounting (i.e., decrements in the subjective value of a commodity due to delayed or probabilistic receipt) and demand (i.e., effort exerted to defend baseline consumption of a commodity amidst increasing constraints)-these tasks are built upon decades of foundational work from the experimental analysis of behavior and exhibit adequate psychometric properties. We propose that the behavioral economic approach is particularly well suited, then, for experimentally evaluating potential public policy decisions, particularly during urgent times or crises. Using examples from our collaborations (e.g., cannabis legalization, happy hour alcohol pricing, severe weather alerts, COVID-19 vaccine marketing), we demonstrate how behavioral economic approaches have rendered novel insights to guide policy development and garnered widespread attention outside of academia. We conclude with implications on multidisciplinary work and other areas in need of behavioral economic investigations.
Topics: COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Economics, Behavioral; Health Policy; Humans; Public Policy
PubMed: 35398525
DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104640 -
Perspectives on Psychological Science :... Jan 2022Psychological science is increasingly influencing public policy. Behavioral public policy (BPP) was a milestone in this regard because it influenced many areas of policy...
Psychological science is increasingly influencing public policy. Behavioral public policy (BPP) was a milestone in this regard because it influenced many areas of policy in a general way. Well-being public policy (WPP) is emerging as a second domain of psychological science with general applicability. However, advocacy for WPP is criticized on ethical and political grounds. These criticisms are reminiscent of those directed at BPP over the past decade. This déjà vu suggests the need for interdisciplinary work that establishes normative principles for applying psychological science in public policy. We try to distill such principles for WPP from the normative debates over BPP. We argue that the uptake of BPP by governments was a function of its relatively strong normative and epistemic foundations in libertarian paternalism, or , for short. We explain why the nudge framework is inappropriate for WPP. We then analyze how offer a strict but feasible alternative framework for substantiating the legitimacy of well-being and behavioral policies. We illuminate how some WPPs could be fruitfully promoted as boosts and how they might fall short of the associated criteria.
Topics: Choice Behavior; Humans; Paternalism; Public Policy
PubMed: 33682526
DOI: 10.1177/1745691620984395 -
Pediatrics Mar 2024
Topics: Child; Humans; Housing; Public Policy; Health Policy
PubMed: 38317617
DOI: 10.1542/peds.2023-063971 -
Revista Peruana de Medicina... 2022Scientists have always looked for ways to evaluate research results to recognize and reward their efforts, and to support decisions regarding programs and public...
Scientists have always looked for ways to evaluate research results to recognize and reward their efforts, and to support decisions regarding programs and public policies. The metrics of scientific impact have become, in recent decades, the driving force behind the academic environment. The work of researchers, scientific journals, databases and publishers, research institutions, and funding agencies is driven by the impact of the research they produce, publish, index, promote and finance. Bibliometric indicators are widely used for the evaluation of scientific output, despite the lack of a clear relationship between citations and quality, impact, or scientific merit. Furthermore, the relationship is even less evident regarding innovation, which is an inherent characteristic of scientific research. This article describes the main types of metrics used to evaluate scientific output, as well as its features, potentials, and limitations.
Topics: Public Policy
PubMed: 36477326
DOI: 10.17843/rpmesp.2022.392.11171 -
Addiction (Abingdon, England) May 2023In 2000, the Portuguese minority socialist government decriminalized the possession and consumption of drugs. This law made Portugal unique in having a formal system... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
In 2000, the Portuguese minority socialist government decriminalized the possession and consumption of drugs. This law made Portugal unique in having a formal system that directs the person using drugs to a panel under the purview of the Ministry of Health, as opposed to the Ministry of Justice, and hence constitutes an 'original innovation'. In this article, we ask under which conditions such kinds of reforms are introduced and successfully implemented.
AIMS AND DESIGN
After discussing the limitations of the existing literature, we present a new theoretical framework: the 'six-stars' framework. We argue that successful policy innovation in democracies will only occur and persist when six institutional and individual 'stars' are aligned: attention, motivation to innovate, a new solution, political strategies, quality and legitimacy of the decision-making process and guarantees for full implementation. We then apply this framework to the Portuguese Drug Policy Case through theory-testing/process-tracing. Relying upon a qualitative analysis of three different types of data-primary and secondary sources, official documents emitted by key actors and interviews-we identify the presence of the six aligned 'stars'.
CONCLUSIONS
The proposed 'six-stars' framework of successful drug policy innovation shows the importance of electoral mandates, communication, inclusion, transparency, deliberation and evaluation when designing innovative drug policies. It also illustrates the importance of ensuring the support of implementing agents and quickly creating visible, positive policy feedback.
Topics: Humans; Policy Making; Portugal; Public Policy; Health Policy
PubMed: 36426667
DOI: 10.1111/add.16099 -
Public Health Research & Practice Apr 2024Objectives and importance of study: For public policy to respond effectively to social, economic, and health challenges, there is an urgent need for research-policy...
Objectives and importance of study: For public policy to respond effectively to social, economic, and health challenges, there is an urgent need for research-policy collaboration to advance evidence-informed policy. Many organisations seek to promote these engagement activities, but little is known about how this is experienced by researchers and policy actors. This study aimed to understand how policy actors and researchers in Australia experience collaboration and the impediments and enablers they encounter. Study type and methods: An online survey was developed, and using convenience sampling, self-identified Australian policy actors and researchers were invited to participate. Results: In total, 170 responses were analysed, comprising 58% policy actors and 42% researchers. Respondents reported the primary purpose for collaboration was evidence-informed policy making. Policy actors reported that the most common barrier to collaboration with academics was 'budget constraints' while academics reported 'budget, 'political risk' and 'structural barriers'. Reported enablers were 'leadership' and 'connections'. Conclusions: Our findings build upon existing evidence that highlights the importance of collaboration for facilitating evidence-informed policy. Structural deficits in both policy agencies and research funding systems and environments continue to present challenges to policy-research partnerships. Future initiatives could use these findings to implement preferred collaboration methods, alongside rigorous evaluation, to explore 'what works' in promoting engagement for evidence-informed policy.
Topics: Humans; Australia; Policy Making; Public Policy; Leadership; Research Design; Health Policy
PubMed: 37559184
DOI: 10.17061/phrp33232308 -
Social Science & Medicine (1982) Aug 2021Existing research has identified numerous barriers to the adoption of public health policies for alcohol, including the cross-cutting nature of the policy problem and...
Existing research has identified numerous barriers to the adoption of public health policies for alcohol, including the cross-cutting nature of the policy problem and industry influence. Recent developments in Ireland suggest that while formidable, such barriers can be overcome. Ireland's 2018 alcohol legislation adopts key evidence-based measures, introducing pricing, availability and marketing regulations that are world-leading in public health terms. Drawing primarily on the Multiple Streams Approach (MSA), this study investigates the adoption of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018. We draw data from 20 semi-structured interviews with politicians, government advisors, public health experts, and advocates, as well as from relevant primary documents, newspaper articles, and other material in the public domain. We find that increased public attention to alcohol-related harms in Ireland (problem stream), developments within the institutional location of policymaking (the policy stream), and the political pressure exerted by politicians and advocates (the political stream) all combined to open a policy window. Unlike previous alcohol policy reform efforts in Ireland, several personally committed and well-positioned leaders championed policy change. This study suggests that political leadership might be important in understanding why public health approaches to alcohol have been embraced in some contexts but not in others.
Topics: Health Policy; Humans; Ireland; Leadership; Policy Making; Public Health; Public Policy
PubMed: 34192619
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114116 -
Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases 2024Currently, assessing physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness in healthcare settings and supporting patients on their journey toward active living is not a... (Review)
Review
Currently, assessing physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness in healthcare settings and supporting patients on their journey toward active living is not a standard of practice in the US, although significant progress is underway. This paper summarizes the foundational as well as supporting public policies necessary to make PA assessment, prescription, and referral a standard of care in the US healthcare system to support active living for all. Measure standardization and healthcare integration will be supported by digital health and public private partnerships, as well as payer strategies and quality and performance incentives. The policy and systems change effort, currently being led by the Physical Activity Alliance's "It's Time to Move" initiative, will improve patient care and the ability to monitor PA levels across the US population, filling in gaps in current national public health surveillance systems. Having patient data available will also allow for additional research that elucidates the relationship between PA and overall health and well-being.
Topics: Humans; Exercise; Health Policy; United States; Public Policy; Cardiorespiratory Fitness; Healthy Lifestyle; Health Promotion
PubMed: 38428786
DOI: 10.1016/j.pcad.2024.02.012