American journal of industrial medicine
-
Given reports about variation in opioid prescribing, concerns about increasing opioid use and its associated negative consequences make understanding the sources of variability important. The aims of the study were to assess the extent of and factors associated with geographic variation in early opioid prescribing for acute, work-related, low back pain (LBP). ⋯ Geographic variation of early opioid prescribing for acute LBP is important and almost fully explained by state-level contextual factors. The study suggests that clinician and patient interaction and the subsequent decision to use opioids are substantially framed by social conditions and control systems. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:162-171, 2009. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
-
Editorial policy for biomedical journals increasingly calls on authors to affirm that approval was received from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) (or equivalent) prior to initiating any human subjects research presented in a manuscript submitted for publication. For most investigations and investigators this does not present any problem. However, when research is carried out in a setting where there is no IRB, should editors consider a report of such a study based on the merits alone? There is no simple answer to this question. ⋯ J. Ind. Med. 52:172-175, 2009. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.