Da heterogeneidade à harmonização? : tendências recentes na política de saúde européia

In the European Union (EU), health policy and the institutional reform of health systems have been treated primarily as national affairs, and health care systems within the EU thus differ considerably. However, the health policy field is undergoing a dynamic process of Europeanization. This process is stimulated by the orientation towards a more competitive economy, recently inaugurated and known as the Lisbon Strategy, while the regulatory requirements of the European Economic and Monetary Union are stimulating the Europeanization of health policy. In addition, the so-called open method of coordination, representing a new mode of regulation within the European multi-level system, is applied increasingly to the health policy area. Diverse trends are thus emerging. While the Lisbon Strategy goes along with a strategic upgrading of health policy more generally, health policy is increasingly used to strengthen economic competitiveness. Pressure on Member States is expected to increase to contain costs and promote market-based health care provision.Da heterogeneidade à harmonização? : Tendências recentes na política de saúde européia Na União Européia, as políticas de saúde e a reforma institucional dos sistemas de saúde têm sido tratadas principalmente como questões nacionais, levando a diferenças importantes entre os sistemas dentro da União. Entretanto, o campo da política de saúde está passando por um processo dinâmico de europeização, estimulado pela mudança recente para uma economia mais competitiva, conhecida como a Estratégia de Lisboa, enquanto as exigências regulatórias da União Econômica e Monetária estão promovendo a europeização da política sanitária. Além disso, o método conhecido como coordenação aberta, que representa uma nova modalidade de regulamentação dentro do sistema europeu com múltiplos níveis, é aplicado cada vez mais à área de política sanitária. Enquanto a Estratégia de Lisboa acompanha a melhoria estratégica da política de saúde no sentido mais geral, esta política é utilizada cada vez mais para fortalecer a competitividade econômica. A previsão é de que a pressão crescente sobre os países membros irá conter custos e promover a oferta de serviços de saúde com base no mercado

New medicines for neglected diseases. Summary

For many diseases that occur almost exclusively in poor countries, hardly any medicines are developed. Although medicines are developed for globally occurring diseases, they are usually too expensive for poor countries, as product development is (re)financed through sales at monopoly prices. For years, there has been a discussion on how to sustainably promote product development in this area and to what extent market mechanisms should be supplemented or even replaced. A closer look at and questioning of individual positions usually reveals a highly complex set of circumstances with local, national and global groups of actors and diverse interconnections of causes and effects

New medicines for neglected diseases. TAB-Fokus

Some diseases are particularly raging in poor countries leading to a considerable burden of diseases in these countries. Besides insufficient local medical care, the innovation system of industrialised countries is held responsible for this problem. The diseases are considered to be neglected, because industry has little incentive to develop new medicines and medical devices due to the financially weak demand. In recent years, national and international measures have been discussed and partly been implemented in order to deliberately strengthen research and development (R&D) with regard to such diseases and to make new medicines affordable for poor countries as well. Germany is one of the world‘s leading locations for medical R&D. Yet with regard to fighting neglected diseases, Germany lags behind compared to several other industrialised countries. The TAB report gives an overview of various measures aiming at strengthening research and product development to fight against neglected diseases and identifies options for a stronger political commitment in Germany

Growth Mindset and Persistence in Children\u27s Creative Performance

Motivation literature regarding children\u27s academic achievement is quite extensive and can typically be separated into two mindsets: growth mindset and fixed mindset, which vary on their level of persistence (i.e., effort toward a task, Dweck, 2006). Individuals with a growth mindset find persistence is useful because they believe their abilities can change through hard work. Individuals with a fixed mindset find persistence is not useful because they believe their abilities cannot change with hard work. In the domain of creative achievement there is a lack of research on mindset and persistence during creative performance. Research shows that adults underestimate the value of persisting in their own creative performance (Lucas & Nordgren, 2015). However, this has not been examined in conjunction with mindset or in a younger sample. The aim of this study was to determine if children also show this underestimation of persistence and if children who are more growth minded will value persistence during their own creative performance. Children of all age groups undervalued their persistence in a creativity task, but children who were more creative did a better job in estimating their persistence. Mindset was not related to children\u27s value of persistence for their own creative performance, nor did mindset interact with age. These results suggest children are doubtful of persistence as a valuable strategy in their own creative performance for creative achievement

Data mining – sociopolitical and legal challenges

Data mining refers to the recognition of patterns and structures in large data sets. Information is generated, for example on similarities, deviations or anomalies, as well as mathematical-statistical models and algorithms that can be used in new situations with the same facts in order to at least support decisions. Data mining is considered to have an enormous innovation potential in almost all areas of life. However there are concerns about non-transparent procedures as well as unequal possibilities of making us of data mining. Involved fears refer to, e.g. an end of privacy or the uncontrollability of algorithmic systems. Among others, there are challenges with regard to providing data, specifying the possibilities and limits of the analysis, and dealing with the results. Extensive expertise is required for implementation, verification and monitoring. Impact assessments and evaluations should be based on the respective application. The TAB report (see Relation in KITopen, available only in German) discusses examples of data mining in medicine and health care

Remote sensing: Application potentials in Africa. TAB-Fokus

Remote-sensing satellites are a core area of German space technology and a focus of the federal government’s high-tech strategy which enjoys substantial public funding. Developing countries offer considerable application potential for remote-sensing data (e. g. weather services, environmental monitoring, agriculture and forestry, urban development, disaster management). User-oriented information services need to be developed in order to achieve these potentials. There are significant deficiencies in this regard in Africa, compared with other continents. The state, as an important sponsor, supporting authority and regulator of technology development, can offer substantial support for applications in developing countries

Soziale Ungleichheit von Gesundheitschancen : Anmerkungen zum Beitrag der Gesundheitspolitik

Die Privatisierung von Krankheitskosten durch erhöhte Zuzahlungen, informelle Leistungsverweigerungen in der GKV sowie das Nebeneinander von gesetzlicher und privater Krankenversicherung bei einer wachsenden Kluft zwischen beiden Systemen haben die sozialen und die räumlich-zeitlichen Barrieren zur Inanspruchnahme von Gesundheitsleistungen für sozial schwache Gruppen erhöht. Damit wächst die Gefahr, dass die Krankenversorgungspolitik zu einer eigenständigen Ursache für die Verstärkung und Aufrechterhaltung gesundheitlicher Ungleichheit wird. Gleichzeitig werden die Möglichkeiten der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung, durch verbesserte Prävention zu einer Verringerung gesundheitlicher Ungleichheit beizutragen, nur unzureichend genutzt. So liegt die Teilnahmequote von Personen mit niedrigem Sozialstatus an zahlreichen Maßnahmen der Krankheitsfrüherkennung, insbesondere bei der Krebsvorsorge, nach wie vor deutlich unter dem Durchschnitt. Mit der Novellierung des § 20 SGB V im Jahr 2000 hat zwar auch die Verminderung der sozialen Ungleichheit von Gesundheitschancen Eingang in das Zielsystem der GKV gefunden. Allerdings geht dieses Ziel nur teilweise in die Präventionspraxis der Krankenkassen ein. Nach wie vor existieren zahlreiche Hürden bei der Implementierung von Maßnahmen der kontextgestützten Verhältnisprävention.In recent years, poorer people in Germany are facing new barriers to get access to health care, due to the raising of co-payments and the informal rationing of benefits. Moreover, the persisting segregation and widening gap between social and private health insurance is raising barriers towards the use of health services by the poor. Thus, health care policy is more likely to become a separate cause for maintaining and increasing health inequalities. At the same time, social health insurances do not adequately use existing opportunities to reduce health inequality by improving prevention strategies. Thus, participation rates of people of low socio-economic status in secondary prevention, especially cancer prevention, are mostly far below average. The goal of reducing the social inequality of health chances was included into the social health insurance code by the amendment of para 20 (non-medical primary prevention und health promotion) in 2000. But in practice, this goal has only in part been pursued by the social health insurance organisations. High barriers to implement structural changes in order to prevent illness do still continue to exist