19 research outputs found
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A systematic review of frameworks for the interrelationships of mental health evidence and policy in low- and middle-income countries
Background: The interrelationships between research evidence and policy-making are complex. Different theoretical frameworks exist to explain general evidenceâpolicy interactions. One largely unexplored element of these interrelationships is how evidence interrelates with, and influences, policy/political agenda-setting. This review aims to identify the elements and processes of theories, frameworks and models on interrelationships of research evidence and health policy-making, with a focus on actionability and agenda-setting in the context of mental health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Methods: A systematic review of theories was conducted based on the BeHeMOTh search method, using a tested and refined search strategy. Nine electronic databases and other relevant sources were searched for peer-reviewed and grey literature. Two reviewers screened the abstracts, reviewed full-text articles, extracted data and performed quality assessments. Analysis was based on a thematic analysis. The included papers had to present an actionable theoretical framework/model on evidence and policy interrelationships, such as knowledge translation or evidence-based policy, specifically target the agenda-setting process, focus on mental health, be from LMICs and published in English.
Results: From 236 publications included in the full text analysis, no studies fully complied with our inclusion criteria. Widening the focus by leaving out âagenda-settingâ, we included ten studies, four of which had unique conceptual frameworks focusing on mental health and LMICs but not agenda-setting. The four analysed frameworks confirmed research gaps from LMICs and mental health, and a lack of focus on agenda-setting. Frameworks and models from other health and policy areas provide interesting conceptual approaches and lessons with regards to agenda-setting.
Conclusion: Our systematic review identified frameworks on evidence and policy interrelations that differ in their elements and processes. No framework fulfilled all inclusion criteria. Four actionable frameworks are applicable to mental health and LMICs, but none specifically target agenda-setting. We have identified agenda-setting as a research theory gap in the context of mental health knowledge translation in LMICs. Frameworks from other health/policy areas could offer lessons on agenda-setting and new approaches for creating policy impact for mental health and to tackle the translational gap in LMICs
Positioning pharmacistsâ roles in primary health care: a discourse analysis of the compensation plan in Alberta, Canada
Abstract Background A comprehensive Compensation Plan for pharmacy services delivered by community pharmacists was implemented in Alberta, Canada in July 2012. Services covered by the Compensation Plan include care planning services, prescribing services such as adapting prescriptions, and administering a drug or publicly-funded vaccine by injection. Understanding how the Compensation Plan was framed and communicated provides insight into the roles of pharmacists and the potential influence of language on the implementation of services covered by the Compensation Plan by Albertan pharmacists. The objective of this study is to examine the positioning of pharmacistsâ roles in documents used to communicate the Compensation Plan to Albertan pharmacists and other audiences. Methods Publicly available documents related to the Compensation Plan, such as news releases or reports, published between January 2012 and December 2015 were obtained from websites such as the Government of Alberta, Alberta Blue Cross, the Alberta College of Pharmacists, the Alberta Pharmacistsâ Association, and the Blueprint for Pharmacy. Searches of the Canadian Newsstand database and Google identified additional documents. Discourse analysis was performed using social positioning theory to explore how pharmacistsâ roles were constructed in communications about the Compensation Plan. Results In total, 65 publicly available documents were included in the analysis. The Compensation Plan was put forward as a framework for payment for professional services and formal legitimization of pharmacistsâ changing professional roles. The discourse associated with the Compensation Plan positioned pharmacistsâ roles as: (1) expanding to include services such as medication management for chronic diseases, (2) contributing to primary health care by providing access to services such as prescription renewals and immunizations, and (3) collaborating with other health care team members. Pharmacistsâ changing roles were positioned in alignment with the aims of primary health care. Conclusions Social positioning theory provides a useful lens to examine the dynamic and evolving roles of pharmacists. This study provides insight into how communications regarding the Compensation Plan in Alberta, Canada positioned pharmacistsâ changing roles in the broader context of changes to primary health care delivery. Our findings may be useful for other jurisdictions considering implementation of remunerated clinical services provided by pharmacists
Simulation of hydrodynamics and inhibitor consumption in hydrometallurgical plants
Mathematical models are presented for the consumption of the inhibitors of electrocrystallization in hydrometallurgical plants involved with the copper electrorefining and zinc electrowinning. Continuously-stirred tank reactors (CSTR) and plug flow reactors (PFR) in which first order chemical and electrochemical reactions take place are used in these models. The time dependent behaviours of the industrial plants are predicted. Tests with metallic tracers show the validity of the models. Possible uses in electrocrystallization studies are described. © 1990 Chapman and Hall Ltd.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
Social work, human services and basic income
Economic inequality is increasing globally and in Australia. Social work and human services (SWHS) professions will be part of the response to the social consequences of this division. However, SWHS have always been contested professions, split between individualist and structural approaches to combatting the social harms of economic inequality. The recent renewal of âcritical social workâ raises the prospects for a more structural, reform-oriented response from SWHS practitioners to rising inequality. From a critical SWHS perspective, a basic income (BI) could provide a useful response to structural inequality, provided it is part of a redistributive policy suite and not simply a cost-saving replacement for other welfare measures. We argue, based on past and current examples, that critical SWHS could be supportive allies in campaigning for an equitable and adequate BI. This chapter highlights the potential contribution that critical SWHS workers could make in promoting the BI campaign through practitioner activism, professional advocacy and critical pedagogy