Traffic medicine–related research : a scientometric analysis

OBJECTIVE: Traffic crashes and related injuries are important causes of morbidity and mortality and impose insofar an important burden on public health. However, research in this area is often under-funded. The aim of this study was to analyse quantity, evolution and geographic distribution of traffic medicine-related research. This multi-sectorial field covers both transport and health care sectors. DESIGN: A scientometric approach in combination with visualizing density equalizing mapping was used to analyse published data related to the field of traffic medicine between 1900 and 2008 within the "Web of Science" (WoS) database. RESULTS: In total, 5,193 traffic medicine-associated items were produced between 1900 and 2008. The United States was found to have the highest research activity with a production of n = 2,330 published items, followed by Germany (n = 298) and Canada (n = 219). Cooperation analyses resulted in a peak of published multilateral cooperations in the year of 2003. The country with the highest multilateral activity was the USA. The average number of cited references per publication varied heavily over the last 20 years with a maximum of 27.67 in 1995 and a minimum of 15.08 in 1998. Also, a further in-depth analysis was performed with a focus solely on public health aspects which revealed similar trends. CONCLUSIONS: Summarizing the present data it can be stated traffic medicine-related research productivity grows annually. Also, an active networking between countries is present. The data of the present study may be used by scientific organisations in order to gain detailed information about research activities in this field which is extremely important for public health

Pain medicine content, teaching and assessment in medical school curricula in Australia and New Zealand

Background: The objective of pain medicine education is to provide medical students with opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and professional attitudes that will lead to their becoming safe, capable, and compassionate medical practitioners who are able to meet the healthcare needs of persons in pain. This study was undertaken to identify and describe the delivery of pain medicine education at medical schools in Australia and New Zealand. Method: All 23 medical schools in Australia and New Zealand in 2016 were included in this study. A structured curriculum audit tool was used to obtain information on pain medicine curricula including content, delivery, teaching and assessment methods. Results: Nineteen medical schools (83%) completed the curriculum audit. Neurophysiology, clinical assessment, analgesia use and multidimensional aspects of pain medicine were covered by most medical schools. Specific learning objectives for pain medicine were not identified by 42% of medical schools. One medical school offered a dedicated pain medicine module delivered over 1 week. Pain medicine teaching was delivered at all schools by a number of different departments throughout the curriculum. Interprofessional learning (IPL) in the context of pain medicine education was not specified by any of the medical schools. The mean time allocated for pain medicine teaching over the entire medical course was just under 20 h. The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was used by 32% of schools to assess knowledge and skills in pain medicine. 16% of schools were unsure of whether any assessment of pain medicine education took place. Conclusion: This descriptive study provides important baseline information for pain medicine education at medical schools in Australia and New Zealand. Medical schools do not have well-documented or comprehensive pain curricula that are delivered and assessed using pedagogically-sound approaches considering the complexity of the topic, the prevalence and public health burden of pain

StrongNet: An International Network to Improve Diagnostics and Access to Treatment for Strongyloidiasis Control

Strongyloidiasis is a disease caused by an infection with a soil-transmitted helminth that affects, according to largely varying estimates, between 30 million and 370 million people worldwide [1,2]. Not officially listed as a neglected tropical disease (NTD), strongyloidiasis stands out as particularly overlooked [3]. Indeed, there is a paucity of research and public health efforts pertaining to strongyloidiasis. Hence, clinical, diagnostic, epidemiologic, treatment, and control aspects are not adequately addressed to allow for an effective management of the disease, both in clinical medicine and in public health programs [4]. The manifold signs and symptoms caused by Strongyloides stercoralis infection, coupled with the helminth’s unique potential to cause lifelong, persistent infection, make strongyloidiasis relevant beyond tropical and subtropical geographic regions, where, however, most of the disease burden is concentrated. Indeed, strongyloidiasis is acquired through contact with contaminated soil, and the infection is, thus, primarily transmitted in areas with poor sanitation, inadequate access to clean water, and lack of hygiene

Teaching meta-analysis using Stata

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses contribute to the objectivity and transparency of literature reviews and play an increasingly important role in evidence-based medicine and public health. In addition to the expertise needed for critical reading of papers using these methodologies, researchers and professionals in areas related to clinical medicine and public health also need to have the appropriate skills to conduct systematic assessments of the published literature and quantitative synthesis of the results through meta-analysis. I describe the use of Stata in a short course aiming to introduce the essential aspects of the computation of summary estimates and the exploration of heterogeneity and publication bias in meta-analyses of observational studies. The course includes three practical exercises built over real data. It starts with a "pen and paper" exercise used to address the basic statistical methods of meta-analysis, and it ends with an introduction to meta-analysis in Stata, including the calculation of summary estimates (fixed- and random-effects models), the appraisal (visual inspection of funnel plots, I2 statistics, and hypothesis testing) and explanation of heterogeneity (subgroup analysis), and the assessment of bias (analysis of funnel plots). I will emphasize the strategies adopted to enable the achievement of the course objectives by participants unfamiliar with Stata.

Inteligencia Artificial en Medicina y Salud: revisión y clasificación de las aplicaciones actuales y del futuro cercano y su impacto ético y social

This paper provides an overview of the current and near-future applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medicine and Health Care and presents a classification according to their ethical and societal aspects, potential benefits and pitfalls, and issues that can be considered controversial and are not deeply discussed in the literature. This work is based on an analysis of the state of the art of research and technology, including existing software, personal monitoring devices, genetic tests and editing tools, personalized digital models, online platforms, augmented reality devices, and surgical and companion robotics. Motivated by our review, we present and describe the notion of “extended personalized medicine”, we then review existing applications of AI in medicine and healthcare and explore the public perception of medical AI systems, and how they show, simultaneously, extraordinary opportunities and drawbacks that even question fundamental medical concepts. Many of these topics coincide with urgent priorities recently defined by the World Health Organization for the coming decade. In addition, we study the transformations of the roles of doctors and patients in an age of ubiquitous information, identify the risk of a division of Medicine into “fake-based”, “patient-generated”, and “scientifically tailored”, and draw the attention of some aspects that need further thorough analysis and public debate

A critical anthropology essay on eHealth and precision medicine’s discourses

UIDB/04038/2020 UIDP/04038/2020“eHealth” and “Precision Medicine” are two major concepts in the new medical discourse. There are several signs of the implementation of a public policy generated around them. In this paper I present some of these signs, starting from the experience of attending a course on digital health and precision medicine directed to train leaders in this area. The reflection on the effects of these signals on populations and individuals’ lives suggests the presence of an ambivalence in the motivations that underpin the public policy discourse on eHealth and precision medicine which results as an overvaluation of health systems’ management economic aspects and an undervaluation of flexibility in healthcare providing resulting in a misadjustement to the necessarily ecological nature of individuals’ and populations’ lives.publishersversionpublishe

Balanced scorecard implementation in public social medicine

Social medicine is a segment of public health services aiming to improve the population’s health through various preventive programmes and activities. This is why the metrics of performance measurement can be a challenge, because these are activities with a qualitative outcome that requires a time lag. The research subject is the assessment of effectiveness of social medicine programmes implemented in the public health system of the Republic of Croatia. For this empirical research, data were used by the county’s Teaching Institute of Public Health, Social Medicine Department. The department has three basic objectives: to assess the health and health needs of the population, to develop public health policy, and to ensure the implementation of effective programmes. The aim of this research is to find the metrics that will be useful for the final outcome assessment of social medicine activities. The theory and the concept of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) are relevant for the field of health care, but there is not much research on applying the BSC in preventive activities, especially those in the field of social medicine. Adjusted Balanced Scorecard is proposed for improving the effectiveness of performance assessment of current and future results. In a modified BSC, its perspectives and metrics help to achieve the set objectives and report critical outcomes through a strategic map. This research confirms the applicability and flexibility of the BSC and contributes to developing a set of common indicators that reflect the qualitative aspects of activities and enable effectiveness assessment of social medicine activities

The Impact of Income Growth and Provision of Health-Care Services on Child Nutrition in Vietnam

Vietnam enjoyed rapid economic growth and a sharp reduction in child stunting in the 1990s. Economic growth can increase children's nutritional status in two ways. First, by raising household incomes, which can be used it to purchase more food, medicine and medical services. Second, by raising government revenue, which can be used to improve publicly provided medical services. This paper estimates the impact of household per capita expenditures on children's nutritional status. All the estimation methods used indicate that household income growth explains at best only part of the decrease in child stunting. The paper also examines what aspects of public and private medical services improveme child health.child nutrition and health, economic growth