source@ich.ucl.ac.uk http://www.asksource.org http://search.asksource.info/images/source-resource.gif Logo for Asksource Copyright ©Healthlink, 2009 http://www.asksource.org This is a RSS newsfeed of resources on issues relating to the Medicines Transparency Alliance 60 Thursday, 05 Aug 2010 10:02:31 en-uk HAINES, A|KURUVILLA, S|BORCHERT, M There is widespread evidence of failure to implement health interventions that have been demonstrated to be cost-effective by high-quality research; this failure affects both high-income and low-income countries. Low-income countries face additional challenges to using research evidence including: the weakness of their health systems, the lack of professional regulation and a lack of access to evidence. There is a need to strengthen institutions and mechanisms that can more systematically promote interactions between researchers, policy-makers and other stakeholders who can influence the uptake of research findings. The concept of public engagement with health research requires a public that is both informed and active. Even when systematic reviews are available further work is needed to translate their findings into guidelines or messages that are understandable to patients and health professionals. Many of the commonly used approaches for keeping health professionals' knowledge up-to-date appear to have small or inconsistent effects. The evidence-base is more extensive for interventions directed towards professionals, such as education, reminders or feedback, than for those directed at organisations or patients. The effect of interventions varies according to the setting and the behaviour that is targeted. Case studies in low-income settings suggest that some strategies can result in increased coverage of evidence-based interventions, but there is a lack of evidence from systematic reviews of rigorous research. Given the potential for near-term improvements in health, finding more effective ways of promoting the uptake of evidence-based interventions should be a priority for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=SG20 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=SG20 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) This fact sheet provides some useful information about rational use of medicines. Rational use of medicines refers to the correct, proper and appropriate use of medicines. Rational use requires that patients receive the appropriate medicine, in the proper dose, for an adequate period of time, and at the lowest cost to them and their community http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37792 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37792 03/08/2010 NUGENT, Rachel|BLACK, Emma|BEITH, Alexandra This report makes clear the need for urgent action to address the growing crisis of drug resistance. While there is no simple solution, there are achievable steps,that the health community, governments, donors, and the pharmaceutical industry can take to slow the spread of drug resistance. It says that retaining the medicines available now, developing new ones and other technology, and ensuring these resources continue to save lives in future generations must become a priority for global and national health organisations, both public and private http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37762 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37762 28/06/2010 OVER, Mead This blog discusses research which warns that a drug resistant strain of HIV could develop, through over use, and how treatment regulation could help to slow down such a development http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37760 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37760 24/06/2010 SECRETARIAT OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO) This is a report of progress made towards achieving international targets for tuberculosis control by 2015 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37761 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37761 24/06/2010 BARNARD, Geoff|CARLILE, Liz|RAY, Deepayan Basu This Report is the main output of a workshop that was held in October 2006 to ask the question How can funders encourage more effective research communication? The workshop brought together invited participants drawn from three groups: research funders (international agencies, foundations, and research councils involved in funding development research); research organisations and networks from around the world involved in carrying out research, and with an interest in effective research communication; and knowledge intermediaries involved in communicating research http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37743 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37743 19/05/2010 LAVIS, John N This article describes the findings from a study which examined efforts to bridge the gaps between research, policy and practice in 10 low- and middle-income countries in which researchers conducting research in one of four clinical areas relevant to the Millennium Development Goals: prevention of malaria (Ghana, Laos, Senegal and Tanzania), care of women seeking contraception (China, Kazakhstan, Laos and Mexico), care of children with diarrhoea (Ghana, India, Pakistan and Senegal) and care of patients with tuberculosis (China, India, Iran and Mexico) were surveyed http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37749 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37749 19/05/2010 GUINDON, G Emmanuel This article discusses the results of a survey to examine the gaps that continue to exist between research based evidence and clinical practice. Health care providers in 10 low- and middle-income countries were surveyed about their use of research-based evidence and examined factors that may facilitate or impede such use. The conclusion is that locally conducted or published research plays an important role in changing the professional practice of health care providers surveyed in low- and middle-income countries and increased investments in local research, or at least in locally adapted publications of research-based evidence from other settings, are therefore needed. Although access to the Internet was viewed as a significant factor in whether research-based evidence led to concrete changes in practice, few respondents reported having easy access to the Internet. Therefore, efforts to improve Internet access in clinical settings need to be accelerate http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37741 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37741 18/05/2010 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) This is a detailed manual giving a step by step approach to undertaking pharmacovigilance of antiretroviral medicines http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37742 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37742 18/05/2010 This website offers policymakers, researchers, the media and civil society information and a platform to explore how science and technology can reduce poverty, improve health and raise standards of living around the world. SciDev.Net also builds developing countries’ capacity for communicating science and technology through regional networks of committed individuals and organisations, practical guidance and specialist workshops http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37731 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37731 06/05/2010 Wellcome Library "A gateway to Internet resources on public engagement with science and technology and science communication. Produced by the Wellcome Library in collaboration with Intute, Psci-com consists of a growing searchable database of websites, a calendar of events, online bibliographies and links to an associated email discussion list. Websites included in the database include science communication courses, sources of funding for public engagement activities, key reports and documents, and primary source surveys and opinion polls" http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37724 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37724 04/05/2010 GOULD, Helen G|MARSH, Mary This is a practical working guide to culture and development for the international development sector. Through research involving tracking and mapping, it explores the role of culture in the work of five UK-based international development agencies. This publication has been designed to tease out some of the issues and help the development sector to start thinking culturally and take practical steps towards acknowledging the cultural dimension to their work http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37721 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37721 29/04/2010 This is the website for a project which gives indigenous people in Suriname's interior Greenstone Belt region with the materials and technical support they need to self-diagnose the effects of mercury pollution from gold-mining on their community's and their environment's health http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37723 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37723 29/04/2010 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) This is a report on the meeting of the executive board about the 2008 Bamako call to action on health research - strengthening health, equity and research http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37715 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37715 21/04/2010 COUNCIL ON HEALTH RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT (COHRED) This call for action sets out a blueprint for strengthening the role of civil society organisations in research for health following the Bamako global ministerial forum on research for health http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37716 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37716 21/04/2010 BATISTA, Ricardo This paper is a record of a consultation on 'Communities Matter' which reviewed case studies of successes and failures of community and civil society engagement, participation and action in health research. The group discussion focused on opportunities and obstacles for communities to engage in health research. It analysed strategies that can be applied to increase a community’s voice in health research, and looked at the concepts, definitions and frameworks that can be used for promoting, advocating and supporting community engagement in health research http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37717 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37717 21/04/2010 HOLLOWAY, Kathleen A This document describes five pilot surveillance projects that were set up in India (three sites) and South Africa (two sites) with the aim of developing a model for undertaking integrated community-based surveillance in resource-constrained settings and generating baseline data. The methodology used in each area aimed to collect antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and use data from the same geographical area over time, but was modified to suit the particular characteristics of each site http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37707 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37707 20/04/2010 This report provides activists, policy makers, and donors with lessons learned from two years of capacity building for HIV treatment activists to integrate TB and TB/HIV collaborative activities into their advocacy work. The TAG-ICW capacity building model evolved out of their experience in building the capacity of Africa-based HIV activists to take on TB advocacy http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37705 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37705 06/04/2010 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) The medicines in this model list are intended for use for children up to the age of 12. There is a core list of minimum medicine needs for a basic health care system, listing the most efficacious, safe and cost-effective medicines for priority conditions. Priority conditions are selected on the basis of current and estimated future public health relevance, and potential for safe and cost-effective treatment. There is also a complementary list of essential medicines for priority diseases, for which specialised diagnostic or monitoring facilities, and/or specialist medical care, and/or specialist training are needed http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37697 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37697 16/03/2010 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) This section of the WHO website provides resources, information and links relating to essential medicines. Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of the population. They are selected with due regard to public health relevance, evidence on efficacy and safety, and comparative cost-effectiveness; and are intended to be available within the context of functioning health systems at all times in adequate amounts, in the appropriate dosage forms, with assured quality and adequate information, and at a price the individual and the community can afford http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37686 http://search.asksource.info/cf/display/rssdisplay.cfm?ID=37686 11/03/2010