Gaceta sanitaria
-
To identify and describe studies using the RAND/UCLA method to evaluate the appropriateness of health procedures. This method is a consensus technique that involves several phases to develop appropriateness criteria. ⋯ A total of 5092 articles were identified and 205 were selected. Slightly more than half analyzed surgical or medical procedures, while 16.5% evaluated healthcare quality. More than 50% were published in journals of public health, general medicine, and gastroenterology and hepatology. The mean impact factor was 4.07. A quarter (25.4%) of the articles was published in 1999. CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTIVE: The RAND method is still widely used. Appropriateness criteria can be used to review utilization of procedures, to design guidelines, or to support for decision making. These tools should be reviewed to obtain evermore valid and reliable results.
-
Much medical research is observational. The reporting of observational studies is often of insufficient quality. Poor reporting hampers the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of a study and the generalisability of its results. ⋯ For each item, one or several published examples and, where possible, references to relevant empirical studies and methodological literature are provided. Examples of useful flow diagrams are also included. The STROBE Statement, this document, and the associated Web site (http://www.strobe-statement.org/) should be helpful resources to improve reporting of observational research.
-
Comparative Study
[Impact of informal caregiving on caregivers' health and quality of life: analysis of gender inequalities].
To describe informal caregivers' characteristics, quantify the effect of caregiving activities on caregivers' health, and determine whether this effect differs by sex. ⋯ Caregiving damages the health of informal caregivers but the risks for female caregivers are higher due to greater intensity of caregiver burden. As men's caregiving burden increases, gender inequalities decrease or invert.
-
This paper reviews policies to reduce social inequalities in health and presents some examples. Previously it presents the model on social determinants of health inequalities. ⋯ It describes 10 principles to keep in mind to launch interventions aimed at reducing inequalities in health and describes various policies depending on different "entry points" considered in the conceptual model. Finally we present two examples: The Public Health Policy of Sweden and the programme "Barrio Adentro" in Venezuela.