Assessing the impact of health technology assessment in the Netherlands

Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008Objectives: Investments in health research should lead to improvements in health and health care. This is also the remit of the main HTA program in the Netherlands. The aims of this study were to assess whether the results of this program have led to such improvements and to analyze how best to assess the impact from health research.Methods: We assessed the impact of individual HTA projects by adapting the "payback framework" developed in the United Kingdom. We conducted dossier reviews and sent a survey to principal investigators of forty-three projects awarded between 2000 and 2003. We then provided an overview of documented output and outcome that was assessed by ten HTA experts using a scoring method. Finally, we conducted five case studies using information from additional dossier review and semistructured key informant interviews.Results: The findings confirm that the payback framework is a useful approach to assess the impact of HTA projects. We identified over 101 peer reviewed papers, more than twenty-five PhDs, citations of research in guidelines (six projects), and implementation of new treatment strategies (eleven projects). The case studies provided greater depth and understanding about the levels of impact that arise and why and how they have been achieved.Conclusions: It is generally too early to determine whether the HTA program led to actual changes in healthcare policy and practice. However, the results can be used as a baseline measurement for future evaluation and can help funding organizations or HTA agencies consider how to assess impact, possibly routinely. This, in turn, could help inform research strategies and justify expenditure for health research.This research is funded by ZonMw, the Netherlands organization for health research and development (project 945-15-001)

Handling ethical problems in counterterrorism. An inventory of methods to support ethical decisionmaking

This document presents the findings of a study into methods that can help counterterrorism professionals make decisions about ethical problems. The study was commissioned by the Research and Documentation Centre (Wetenschappelijk Onderzoeken Documentatiecentrum, WODC) of the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice (Ministerie van Veiligheid en Justitie), on behalf of the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding en Veiligheid, NCTV). The research team at RAND Europe was complemented by applied ethics expert Anke van Gorp from the Research Centre for Social Innovation (Kenniscentrum Sociale Innovatie) at Hogeschool Utrecht. The study provides an inventory of methods to support ethical decision-making in counterterrorism, drawing on the experience of other public sectors – healthcare, social work, policing and intelligence – and multiple countries, primarily the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The report introduces the field of applied ethics; identifies key characteristics of ethical decision-making in counterterrorism; and describes methods that can help counterterrorism professionals make decisions in these situations. Finally, it explores how methods used in other sectors may be applied to ethical decision-making in counterterrorism. It also describes the level of effectiveness that may be expected from the various methods. The report is based on a structured literature search and interviews with professionals and academics with expertise in applied ethics. This report will be of interest to counterterrorism professionals who are responsible for strengthening ethical decision-making in their organisation. It may provide some insights for professionals who seek new methods to help them make ethical decisions. The findings may also be relevant for other professionals, if complemented by a review of decisionmaking characteristics in their sector of specialism

Assessing the impacts of digital government transformation in the EU

This report presents the results of the conceptual and empirical work conducted as part of the JRC research on “Exploring Digital Government Transformation: understanding public sector innovation in a data-driven society” conducted within the framework of the “European Location Interoperability Solutions for eGovernment (ELISE)" Action of the ISA2 Programme on Interoperability solutions for public administrations, businesses and citizens, coordinated by DIGIT. Building on the systematisation of the state of the art carried out in the previous phase of the research, the report presents an original conceptual framework for assessing the impacts of Digital Government transformation in the EU and discusses the results of case studies carried out using an experimental or quasi-experimental approach to test and validate it, carried out in different policy areas in various EU countries. The report concludes outlining the final proposal of DigiGov F 2.0, which defines the dimensions and elements of analysis for assessing the effects that can be generated by digital innovation in the public sector and the impacts they have at social, economic and political levels in different policy-cycle phases and governance contexts.JRC.B.6-Digital Econom

Parents at work: Men and women participating in the labour force

Miani C, Hoorens S. Parents at work: Men and women participating in the labour force. Short statistical report. Vol 2. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation; 2014

Methods to address ethical issues in Counterterrorism: An overview of methods and tools used to address and manage ethical issues in healthcare, social work, police and the military

Abstract Chapter 4: Basing ourselves on a literature review and expert interviews we create an overview of methods and tools to identify and respond to ethical questions used in healthcare, social work, police and the military. We identify six main types of methods or tools that can support professionals or organisations in dealing with ethical issues. Some of these methods are already used in CT or could be used. Some methods or tools are targeted at individual professionals or small groups, whilst others are targeted at the organisational level. The methods and tools are described in brief. Samenvatting boek: Wat is ethisch wel en wat niet geoorloofd? De aanslagen die de Europese hoofdsteden teisteren wrijven het ons in: terrorismebestrijding is noodzakelijk en is onlosmakelijk verbonden met de moderne samenleving. De inlichtingendiensten en andere organisaties die zich hiermee bezighouden, stuiten echter telkens op de vraag hoe ver zij mogen gaan. Waar liggen de grenzen? Wat is ethisch wel en wat niet geoorloofd? En vooral: hoe gaan professionals met deze soms levensgrote dilemma's om? In deze Engelstalige uitgave reflecteren wetenschappers, terrorismebestrijders en ethici op dit zeer actuele thema

The economic promise of Malaria reduction

In Sub-Saharan Africa, illness and death from malaria remain harsh realities. While the psychological and social consequences are keenly felt by those living in countries where the malady is most endemic, the economic implications are less well understood

The economic promise of malaria reduction

In Sub-Saharan Africa, illness and death from malaria remain harsh realities. While the psychological and social consequences are keenly felt by those living in countries where the malady is most endemic, the economic implications are less well understood