The Work, Family, and Equity Index: How Does the United States Measure Up

As part of the Project on Global Working Families, with the support of the Ford Foundation, the Work, Family, and Equity Index has been developed to measure governmental performance around the world in meeting the needs of working families. The elements in the Index have been selected to comprise an evidence-based set of policies that are important to meeting the needs of working families in general and low- and middle-income working families in particular. Those policies that have achieved widespread recognition based on the weight of the research evidence or consensus in global policy and international agreements are included. To complete the index, data were gathered from 177 countries that represent a wide range of political, social and economic systems

The suspension of routine inspections renders care homes invisible to scrutiny and costs lives

Alison Tarrant and Lydia Hayes explain how certain regulatory changes have led to legal standards being potentially contravened behind care homes’ closed doors. Researchers and regulators now face an urgent mission to stop such violations and save lives

Adapting and validating diabetes simulation models across settings: Accounting for mortality differences using administrative data

Abstract Aims. To develop age and sex-specific risk equations for predicting mortality following major complications of diabetes, using a large linked administrative dataset from Western Australia (WA) and to incorporate these into an existing diabetes simulation model.. Methods: The study uses linked hospital and mortality records on 13,884 patients following a major diabetes-related complication with a mean (SD) duration of 2.62 (2.25) years. Risk equations for predicting mortality were derived and integrated into the UKPDS Outcomes Model. Estimates of life expectancy and incremental QALYs gained as a result of two theoretical therapies (a reduction of HbA1c of 1%, and reduction of systolic blood pressure of 10mmHg) were determined using the original and adapted models. Results: The two versions of the model generated differences in life expectancy following specific events; however there was little impact of using alternative mortality equations on incremental QALYs gained as a result of reducing HbA1c or systolic blood pressure, or on outcomes of life expectancy for a cohort initially free of complications. Conclusions: Mortality following complications varies across diabetic populations and can impact on estimates of life expectancy, but appears to have less impact on incremental benefits of interventions that are commonly used in pharmoeconomic analyses.National Health and Medical Resaerch Council; Diabetes Australia Research Trus