World medical & health policy
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World Med Health Policy · Aug 2020
An Analysis of Government Communication in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Recommendations for Effective Government Health Risk Communication.
Governments throughout the world can learn many critical lessons from examining instances of ineffective communication with the public during the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Ineffective government communication has resulted in a great deal of public confusion and misunderstanding, as well as serious errors in responding to this evolving health threat, leading to disastrous health and social outcomes for the public and prolonging the pandemic, especially within the United States. ⋯ The communication strategies offered here promote the delivery of relevant, accurate, and sensitive information to key public groups, minimizing communication noise to guide desirable coordinated actions. These communication strategies can be applied locally, nationally, and internationally.
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World Med Health Policy · Aug 2020
Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality Among Essential Workers in the United States.
Racial disparities are apparent in the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States, yet the factors contributing to racial inequities in COVID-19 mortality remain controversial. To better understand these factors, we investigated racial disparities in COVID-19 mortality among America's essential workers. Data from the American Community Survey and Current Population Survey was used to examine the correlation between the prevalence of COVID-19 deaths and occupational differences across racial/ethnic groups and states. ⋯ Vulnerability to coronavirus exposure was increased among NH Blacks, who disproportionately occupied the top nine essential occupations. As COVID-19 death rates continue to rise, existing structural inequalities continue to shape racial disparities in this pandemic. Policies mandating the disaggregation of state-level data by race/ethnicity are vital to ensure equitable and evidence-based response and recovery efforts.
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World Med Health Policy · Jul 2020
Statewide COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders and Population Mobility in the United States.
Many jurisdictions enacted stay-at-home orders (also called shelter-in-place orders, safer-at-home orders, or lockdowns) when SARS-CoV-2 began spreading in the United States. Based on Google mobility data, every state had substantially fewer visits to transit stations, retail and recreation facilities, workplaces, grocery stores, and pharmacies by the end of March 2020 than in the previous two months. ⋯ Similarly, there were fewer routing requests received by Apple in large cities for public transportation, walking, and driving, with a 10 percentage point greater mean reduction in metropolitan areas under statewide stay-at-home orders. The pandemic led to large decreases in mobility even in states without legal restrictions on travel, but statewide orders were effective public health policy tools for reducing human movement below the level achieved through voluntary behavior change.
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World Med Health Policy · Mar 2015
Why the Shift? Taking a Closer Look at the Growing Interest in Niche Markets and Personalized Medicine.
Pharmaceutical research and development is increasingly focused on niche markets, most notably treatments for rare diseases and "personalized" medicine. Drawing on the results of a qualitative study of 34 key Canadian stakeholders (including drug regulators, funders, scientists, policy experts, pharmaceutical industry representatives, and patient advocates), we explore the major trends that are reportedly contributing to the growing interest of the pharmaceutical industry in niche markets. ⋯ We consider some of the potential advantages to industry, as well the important implications and risks that arise from the increasing pursuit of niche markets and pharmacogenomics. While there are many potential benefits associated with targeted therapies and drug development for historically neglected rare diseases, niche market therapies also present evidentiary challenges (e.g., smaller clinical trials and enrichment strategies) that can make approval decisions difficult, and uncertainties remain around the true benefits of many therapies.