Revista panamericana de salud pública = Pan American journal of public health
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Rev. Panam. Salud Publica · Jun 2015
Regulatory transparency: social, technical, and ethical aspects of clinical trial data access.
In the field of health regulation, enabling public access to data from clinical trials is a process currently undergoing consolidation by the principal regulators worldwide. This paper discusses recent developments in public policy regarding regulatory transparency, and the risks and benefits of a regulatory impact-analysis on clinical trial reports, from the perspective of the key stakeholders (i.e., patients, prescribers, government, society, industry, and regulators). Additionally, the social, technical, and ethical aspects of the datasharing process are highlighted, including access limits, commercially-confidential data and patent rights, privacy of research subjects, arrangements and publicity tools, and clinical trials registration. Furthermore, perspectives on improvement and expansion of regulatory transparency policies are presented, contextualizing North American, Latin American, and European experiences, and highlighting in-teragency cooperation and collaboration initiatives that aim to harmonize health programs and regulatory convergence.
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Rev. Panam. Salud Publica · Jun 2015
Moving toward universal access to health and universal health coverage: a review of comprehensive primary health care in Suriname.
To provide an overview of comprehensive primary health care (CPHC) development and implementation in Suriname in peer-reviewed literature. ⋯ Given the focus on primary health care in the Americas and the notable developments that have occurred in Surinamese health policy and health care, particularly in health care reform, the paucity of published research on CPHC in Suriname was an unexpected finding that may be partly due to prioritizing research on disease control rather than health policy and systems research. The limited amount of scientific literature on this topic 1) prevents clear understanding of CPHC development and implementation in Suriname and 2) underscores the need to strengthen the national health research system to better inform policies for moving the country toward universal health access and coverage to improve the health of all of its citizens.
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Rev. Panam. Salud Publica · May 2015
Observational Study[Under the shadow of maternity: pregnancy, suicidal ideation, and intimate partner violence].
To investigate the association between intimate partner violence and indicators of suicidal ideation during the current pregnancy. ⋯ Policy makers and health care providers must be made aware of the impact of intimate partner violence, including in terms of suicidal ideation, especially during pregnancy. The adoption of simple measures, such as the scales used in the present study, may provide information regarding the extent of intimate partner violence and suicidal ideation in health care services.
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Rev. Panam. Salud Publica · Oct 2014
[Prescription drug monitoring programs in the United States of America].
Since the late 1990s, the number of opioid analgesic overdose deaths has quadrupled in the United States of America (from 4 030 deaths in 1999 to 16 651 in 2010). The objectives of this article are to provide an overview of the problem of prescription drug overdose in the United States and to discuss actions that could help reduce the problem, with particular attention to the characteristics of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). ⋯ Suppliers can use such information to prevent interaction with other drugs or therapeutic duplication, or to identify drug-search behavior. Law enforcement agencies can use these programs to identify improper drug prescription or dispensing patterns, or drug diversion.
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Rev. Panam. Salud Publica · Oct 2014
[Adherence to research reporting guidelines in biomedical journals in Latin America and the Caribbean].
To evaluate the familiarity of the editors of journals indexed in the LILACS database with the guidelines for reporting on and publishing research- promoted by the EQUATOR Network (Enhancing QUAlity and Transparency Of Health Research)-, the journals' requirements for use of the guidelines, and the editors' opinions regarding the reasons for the low rate of use. ⋯ The first Latin American and Caribbean study on LILACS editors' familiarity with the guidelines revealed that more than half of them were not familiar either with the guidelines or the EQUATOR Network.