Implementing defence policy: A benchmark-"lite"

Most countries put significant amounts of time and effort in writing and issuing high-level policy documents. These are supposed to guide subsequent national defence efforts. But do they? And how do countries even try to ensure that they do? This paper reports on a benchmarking effort of how a few "best of breed” small- to medium-sized defence...

Development of the Migrant Friendly Maternity Care Questionnaire (MFMCQ) for migrants to Western societies: An international Delphi consensus process

Background: Through the World Health Assembly Resolution, 'Health of Migrants', the international community has identified migrant health as a priority. Recommendations for general hospital care for international migrants in receiving-countries have been put forward by the Migrant Friendly Hospital Initiative; adaptations of these...

How we will produce the evidence-based EURRECA toolkit to support nutrition and food policy

Background: There is considerable variation in the recommended micronutrient intakes used by countries within Europe, partly due to different methodologies and concepts used to determine requirements and different approaches used to express the recommendations. As populations become more mobile and multi-national, and more traditional foods...

Development of good modelling practice for physiologically based pharmacokinetic models for use in risk assessment: The first steps

The increasing use of tissue dosimetry estimated using pharmacokinetic models in chemical risk assessments in various jurisdictions necessitates the development of internationally recognized good modelling practice (GMP). These practices would facilitate sharing of models and model evaluations and consistent applications in risk assessments....

Feasibility and reliability of a mailed questionnaire to obtain visual analogue scale valuations for health states defined by the health utilities index mark 3

To establish the generalizability (external validity) of the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) as a single-summary score generic outcome measure in numerous countries/subgroups (including children), repeated studies of community preferences should be performed in various settings. In performing multiple HUI3 studies, a mailed questionnaire...

Reliability of classification of cerebral palsy in low-birthweight children in four countries

The reliability of classification of cerebral palsy (CP) in low-birthweight children was assessed by using clinical and research study records sampled from population-based cohort studies in the USA, the Netherlands, Canada, and Germany. Records of neurological examination findings and functional motor assessments were submitted to up to five...

School-age outcomes in children who were extremely low birth weight from four international population-based cohorts

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine whether leaming and school problems in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) and reference children differ between cohorts in different countries. Methods. Participants were 4 international population-based cohorts of ELBW survivors who were 500 to 1000 g birth weight from New Jersey, central-west...

Behavioural problems in children who weigh 1000 g or less at birth in four countries

Background: The increased survival chances of extremely low-birthweight (ELBW) infants (weighing ≤1000 g at birth) has led to concern about their behavioural outcome in childhood. In reports from several countries with different assessments at various ages, investigators have noted a higher frequency of behavioural problems in such infants, but...

Alcohol and breast cancer in women: A pooled analysis of cohort studies

Objective. - To assess the risk of invasive breast cancer associated with total and beverage-specific alcohol consumption and to evaluate whether dietary and nondietary factors modify the association. Data Sources. - We included in these analyses 6 prospective studies that had at least 200 incident breast cancer cases, assessed long-term intake...

Gezondheidsbevordering op de werkplek: toekomstig element van bedrijfsvoering

Dit boek geeft een beeld van de stand van zaken en toekomstverwachtingen rond gezondheidsbevordering op de werkplek (GBW) in Nederland en van enkele ontwikkelingen in het buitenland. Centraal daarbij staan het bevorderen van een gezonde leefstijl van werknemers en het realiseren van een gezonde werkplek. Vanuit verschillende invalshoeken is door...

Lessons from the eight countries

While the eight countries presented in this issue differ considerably from each other, they have important similarities. All have faced the problem of increasing health care expenditures, and all are coming to recognize problems with health care technology such as inappropriate use and poor quality of care. Health reforms appear to be...

Health care technology as a policy issue

Health care technology has become an increasingly visible issue in many countries, primarily because of the rising costs of health care. In addition, many questions concerning quality of care are being raised. Health care technology assessment has been seen as an aid in addressing questions concerning technology, including benefits and costs. A...

Methaanflux uit toendra's in een veranderd klimaat

Psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal disease: A review of the literature

It is generally agreed that musculoskeletal disaese is of multifactorial origin and that mechanical load explains only part of this disease. Recently, the role of the psychosocial factors at work has received increasing attention. The objective of this review is to establish whether the epidemiological literature presents evidence for an...