Obtaining disability weights in rural Burkina Faso using a culturally adapted visual analogue scale

Burden of disease (BOD) estimates used to foster local health policy require disability weights which represent local preferences for different health states. The global burden of disease (GBD) study presumes that disability weights are universal and equal across countries and cultures, but this is questionable. This indicates the need to measure local disability weights across nations and/or cultures. We developed a culturally adapted version of the visual analogue scale (VAS) for a setting in rural Burkina Faso. Using an anthropologic approach, BOD-relevant health states were translated into culturally meaningful disability scenarios. The scaling procedure was adapted using a locally relevant scale. Nine hypothetical health states were evaluated by seven panels of in total 39 lay individuals and 17 health professionals. Results show that health professionals' rankings and valuations of health states matched those of lay people to a certain extent. In comparison to that of the lay people, health professionals rated seven out of nine health states as slightly to moderately less severe. The instrument scored well on inter-panel and test-retest reliability and construct validity. Our research shows the feasibility of eliciting disability weights in a rural African setting using a culturally adapted VAS. Moreover, the results of the present study suggest that it might be possible to use health professionals' preferences on disability weights as a proxy for lay people's preferences.     

Alcohol and burden of disease in Australia: the challenge in assessing consumption

Objective : Alcohol consumption is one of the major avoidable risk factors for disease, illness and injury in the Australian community. Population health scientists and economists use estimates of alcohol consumption in burden of disease frameworks to estimate the impact of alcohol on disease, illness and injury. This article highlights challenges associated with estimating alcohol consumption in these models and provides a series of recommendations to improve estimates. Methods : Key challenges in measuring alcohol consumption at the population level are identified and discussed with respect to how they apply to burden of disease frameworks. Results : Methodological advances and limitations in the estimation of alcohol consumption are presented with respect to use of survey data, population distributions of alcohol consumption, consideration of ‘patterns’ of alcohol use including ‘bingeing’, and capping exposure. Key recommendations for overcoming these limitations are provided. Implications and conclusion : Alcohol‐related burden has a significant impact on the health of the Australian population. Improving estimates of alcohol related consumption will enable more accurate estimates of this burden to be determined to inform future alcohol policy by legislators.     

BURDEN 2020—Burden of disease in Germany at the national and regional level

Background

Evidence-based policy measures need non-interest-guided information about the health status of a population and the diseases that affect the population the most. In such cases, a national burden of disease study can provide reliable insights at the regional level.

Aim

This article presents the potential of the BURDEN 2020 project and its expected outcome for Germany at the national and regional level.

Methods

The BURDEN 2020 project uses several indicators including years of life lost (YLL) to cover the impact of mortality and years lived with disability (YLD) to cover morbidity. The sum of both is the measure of population health called disability adjusted life years (DALY).

Results

The study ranks individual diseases and risk factors based on their impact on population health. The burden of disease approach is assumed to be sensitive to subnational differences and may generate immediate benefits for regional planning. The BURDEN 2020 study will pilot a national burden of disease study for Germany that will later be transformed into a continuous data processing and visualization tool. This is done by using, modifying and supplementing the methodology employed by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study to better fit the needs of health policy in Germany. This study is aimed at calculating the disease burden for up to 17 preselected diseases. Furthermore, the estimates of burden of disease are attributed to a selected set of risk factors.

Conclusion

The Burden 2020 study will provide the results of a new, health-related data processing system to the public. This includes a noninterest-guided presentation of the burden of disease (DALY) in Germany at the national and regional level.

     

Health states for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder within the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study

ABSTRACT: A comprehensive revision of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is expected to be completed in 2012. This study utilizes a broad range of improved methods for assessing burden, including closer attention to empirically derived estimates of disability. The aim of this paper is to describe how GBD health states were derived for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These will be used in deriving health state-specific disability estimates. A literature review was first conducted to settle on a parsimonious set of health states for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A second review was conducted to investigate the proportion of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder cases experiencing these health states. These were pooled using a quality-effects model to estimate the overall proportion of cases in each state. The two schizophrenia health states were acute (predominantly positive symptoms) and residual (predominantly negative symptoms). The three bipolar disorder health states were depressive, manic, and residual. Based on estimates from six studies, 63% (38%-82%) of schizophrenia cases were in an acute state and 37% (18%-62%) were in a residual state. Another six studies were identified from which 23% (10%-39%) of bipolar disorder cases were in a manic state, 27% (11%-47%) were in a depressive state, and 50% (30%-70%) were in a residual state. This literature review revealed salient gaps in the literature that need to be addressed in future research. The pooled estimates are indicative only and more data are required to generate more definitive estimates. That said, rather than deriving burden estimates that fail to capture the changes in disability within schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the derived proportions and their wide uncertainty intervals will be used in deriving disability estimates.     

Capturing the true burden of Shigella and ETEC: The way forward

The mortality and morbidity burden estimation of diarrheal diseases (DD), and Shigella and Enterotoxigenic E. Coli (ETEC) varies among different studies and by the models used for producing these estimates. Understanding the real burden of these important pathogens will guide public health and policy makers to prioritize resources for accelerating interventions against these enteric infections. In addition, long term effects, in the form of growth faltering, cognitive impairment and decreased school performance are important aspects of burden that has not been well captured. Efforts to incorporate these effects and refine their estimation, in the form of Disability Adjusted Life years (DALYs) are very important to inform the burden of diarrheal diseases and Shigella and ETEC specifically. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington conducted a workshop at the VASE 2018 meeting to discuss IHME Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) modelling methods for diarrheal diseases, with a focus on ETEC and Shigella estimates in relation to other pathogens, including limitations, areas of improvements, and IHME plans for future GBD iterations.     

山东省蓬莱市2006-2007年道路交通伤害疾病负担分析

目的 综合评价蓬莱市道路交通伤害的健康和社会经济负担.方法 以蓬莱市2006-2007年居民死亡原因登记系统中数据和伤害抽样调查资料为基础,估计道路交通事故导致的死亡和伤残现状,按照全球疾病负担研究中伤残调整寿命年(DALY)公式,利用直接法测算疾病健康负担,并评价道路交通伤害的经济负担.结果 蓬莱市平均每年因道路交通伤害造成31 373.04个健康寿命年损失,相当于每1000人损失70.59个健康寿命年;男性健康寿命年损失高于女性;15～44岁年龄段青壮年健康寿命年损失最高,占全部寿命损失的一半以上;DALY主要由失能所致的寿命损失年(YLD)构成(占79.45%).两年间总经济损失为21.85亿元,占同期GDP总量的4.89%,其中间接经济损失达21.52亿元,占全部损失的98.45%,男性造成经济损失明显高于女性,15～59岁年龄段经济损失占全部损失的97.65%.结论 道路交通伤害严重影响蓬莱市居民身体健康,给个人、家庭和社会带来沉重的负担.

Abstract：

Objective To evaluate the burden of road traffic injury (RTI) from perspectives both on the health of population and on social economic status so as to provide scientific evidence for policy making. Methods The status of mortality and disability caused by traffic accident in Penglai county was estimated, based on data from death registration and a sampling survey from 2006 to 2007.Together with the disability weights gained from global burden of disease (GBD) , health burden (DALY) was measured with GBD formula. The economic burden of RTI was evaluated. Results Average loss of the health life years (HLY) related to RTI was 31 373.04 per year. 70.59 HLY were lost per 1000 persons. Loss among the males was higher than females. The loss of DALY among the age group 15-44 years ranked the first place (39 209.71 HLY) which accounted for 62.42% of the total DALY. 79.45% of the total DALY were caused by disability. In 2006 and 2007 ,the economic loss caused by RTI was as high as 2.19 billion RMB, which accounted for 4.89% of the total amount of GDP while the indirect economic costs (2.15 billion RMB) accounted for 98.45% of the total costs in Penglai city. The economic loss of the males was obviously higher than the females and the loss by the group aged 15-59 years old accounted for 97.65% of the total. Conclusion RTI had severely influenced the health of the residents in Penglai city and brought heavy burden to the individuals,families as well as the society.     

National practice guidelines for mental health care: a comparative policy analysis of the United kingdom and the United States

Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 1996). In a report on health indicators of premature death and disability, the World Bank concluded that mental health problems account for 8.1% of the global burden of disease (GBD). Industrialized nations have taken different approaches in applying innovations to mental health care and mental health care policy. This paper uses the K. McInnis-Dittrich model of policy analysis (Ginsberg, 1994) to analyze the approaches of the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.) to mental health treatment, specifically examining the effects of the U.K.'s national practice guidelines and the U.S.'s lack of similar guidelines. Recommendations for changes in current U.S. mental health policy are presented.     

A conduit between epidemiological research and regional health policy

Objective : To transform data from a research setting into a format that could be used to support strategies encouraging healthy lifestyle choices and service planning within local government. Methods : Details of the health status and lifestyle behaviours of the Geelong, Victoria, population were generated independently by the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (GOS), a prospective population‐based cohort study. Recent GOS follow‐up phases provided evidence about patterns of unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, smoking and harmful alcohol use. These factors are well‐recognised modifiable risk factors for chronic disease; the dataset was complemented with prevalence estimates for musculoskeletal disease, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma and cancer. Results : Data were provided to Healthy Together Geelong in aggregate form according to age, sex and suburb. A population statistics company used the data to project health outcomes by suburb for use by local council. This data exchange served as a conduit between epidemiological research and policy development. Conclusion and implications : Regional policy makers were informed by local evidence, rather than national or state health survey, thereby optimising potential intervention strategies.     

Discrete time representation of the formula for calculating DALYs

The global burden of disease (GBD) was measured using a new indicator called disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The formula to calculate DALYs is based on the idea of time being a continuous variable, which is not consistent with the way economic and health data are collected and reported, and is also different from the concept of time used in the vast majority of policy analyses. Use of this formula gives rise to a time-aggregation bias in the estimates of GBD. Based on discrete time representation and the key principles outlined in the GBD study, a new formula for estimating DALYs is derived in this paper. The properties of the two formulae are compared and contrasted and the implications of using the new formula are discussed. The results show that there is an appreciable difference in percentage terms (14.06%) between the burden of cataract in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1990 calculated using the new and the old formulae. The global burden of diseases and injuries as previously reported in the GDB study may, therefore, be underestimated and the relative positions of some diseases and injuries, and hence the relative priorities of related interventions, may shift if the more appropriate, discrete-time formula is used. The difference is greatest for diseases of short duration (e.g. infectious diseases).     

应用伤残调整寿命年测量山东省居民疾病负担

目的:应用伤残调整寿命年测量山东省居民疾病负担,提出该地区主要卫生问题,为卫生决策提供科学依据。方法:以山东省2000—2005年19个疾病监测点的死因监测资料为基础,利用世界卫生组织(WHO)提供的方法计算不同疾病在不同性别年龄人群所造成的伤残调整寿命年(DALYs),其中,YLDs根据WHO公布的亚太区2002年疾病负担数据进行估算。结果:2000—2005年山东省疾病监测系统居民因为早死和残疾年平均损失149.74个DALYs/千人,其中,76.6%的DALYs损失因慢性非传染性疾病所致,14.1%由传染性疾病等引起,9.2%因为意外伤害造成;接近1/2(45%)的DALYs损失发生在60岁以上人群;恶性肿瘤为造成男性居民DALYs损失的首位原因,其次为精神行为疾患、意外伤害、脑血管病和心脏病等,女性居民则以精神行为疾患为DALYs首位原因,其次为心脏病、恶性肿瘤、脑血管病和呼吸系统疾病。结论:以循环系统疾病、精神行为疾患和恶性肿瘤为首的慢性非传染性疾病为造成山东省疾病负担DALYs损失的主要原因,对于精神行为疾患的重要性的认识有待于进一步提高,研究的主要局限性在于发病率资料的缺乏。     

Time to tackle rheumatic heart disease: Data needed to drive global policy dialogues

ABSTRACT

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is an avoidable disease of poverty that persists predominantly in low resource settings and among Indigenous and other high-risk populations in some high-income nations. Following a period of relative global policy inertia on RHD, recent years have seen a resurgence of research, policy and civil society activity to tackle RHD; this has culminated in growing momentum at the highest levels of global health diplomacy to definitively address this disease of disadvantage. RHD is inextricably entangled with the global development agenda, and effective RHD action requires concerted efforts both within and beyond the health policy sphere. This report provides an update on the contemporary global and regional policy landscapes relevant to RHD, and highlights the fundamental importance of good data to inform these policy dialogues, monitor systems responses and ensure that no one is left behind.     

Modelling physical activity: a multi-state life-table approach

OBJECTIVE: To develop a consistent set of epidemiological estimates (incidence, prevalence, remission, mortality) for physical activity in New Zealand; project these estimates in the light of demographic trends; and predict the effectiveness of different health promotion strategies. METHOD: Multi-state life tables were constructed using physical inactivity prevalence data from the 1996/97 New Zealand Health Survey, and estimates of the relative risk of mortality, and of remission rates, from the literature. Statistics New Zealand population projections were used to forecast these multi-state life tables to 2021. Two physical activity health promotion strategies -uptake (remission enhancement) and maintenance (incidence or relapse reduction)--were simulated by changing the relevant epidemiological variables. RESULTS: The current fatal burden of physical inactivity in New Zealand is estimated to be 2,600 deaths per year (9% of all deaths). By 2021, the prevalence of physical inactivity will rise 4% as a result of demographic trends. Relapse reduction (enabling active people to remain active) is about 50% more effective than uptake enhancement (enabling inactive people to become active) as a physical activity health promotion strategy, but the two approaches are additive. Maximum realistic changes in relapse prevention and uptake enhancement could reduce the prevalence of physical inactivity by about 30%. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Multi-state life table methods can be used to model health risks (such as behaviours), as well as (chronic) diseases. The model has provided valuable insights for policy makers into the burden of physical inactivity in New Zealand, the impact of demographic trends, and the relative effectiveness of different health promotion strategies.     

基于ARIMA和GM(1,1)模型的陕西省个人卫生支出预测

目的:评价陕西省疾病经济负担的变化趋势,为卫生管理者进行政策调整和干预提供理论依据。方法:采用ARIMA和GM(1,1)模型对2016—2020年陕西省个人现金卫生支出和其占卫生总费用比例进行测算。结果:2016—2020年间,陕西省OOP占卫生总费用比重将由32.69%降至26.92%。结论:陕西省居民OOP占卫生总费用比重在2016—2020年不断下降,表明陕西省居民个人卫生支出负担正逐渐减轻,卫生筹资结构逐步趋于合理。建议进一步加大政府和社会卫生投入,合理提高社会医疗保险报销比例,充分发挥社会医疗保险的作用。     

2006-2007年乳山市居民死亡水平及疾病负担研究

[目的]了解乳山市居民死亡水平及流行现状,应用伤残调整寿命年（DALYs）测量疾病负担,找出严重影响居民健康的主要疾病,为卫生决策提供科学依据。[方法]以2006-2007年乳山市全人口死因监测资料为基础,描述人群死亡概况．利用世界卫生组织（WHO）提供的方法计算不同疾病造成的DALYs,其中,YLDs根据WHO公布的亚太区2002年疾病负担数据进行估算。将DALYs与人力资本法（HCA）相结合。利用人均国内生产总值（GDP）计算各类死因的间接经济负担。[结果]心脑血管疾病、恶性肿瘤、伤害、慢性呼吸道疾病和其他肿瘤居死因谱前5位;恶性肿瘤、伤害和心脑血管疾病为人群期望寿命和工作寿命损失的前3位原因,77．86％的PYLL和78．59％的WPYLL为这3类疾病所致;各种疾病导致的疾病负担为11．74万个健康生命年损失。其中因早死所致的健康生命年损失为6．40万个YLLs,因伤残所致的健康生命年损失为5．34万个YLDs;精神神经系统疾病、心脑血管疾病、恶性肿瘤、伤害和肌肉骨骼疾病为人群前5位疾病负担原因;各种疾病造成的人均间接经济负担为2372．87元,估计导致的间接经济负担为13．61亿元,占2007年国内生产总值（GDP）的5．41％。[结论]2006～2007年乳山市人群总死亡水平低于山东省同期水平,粗死亡率随时间变动呈上升趋势,经标化后则下降趋势明显,提示人口老龄化程度加剧。男性人群死亡水平高于女性,50岁以上年龄组死亡概率和风险增大明显。应用CDR、PYLL和DALY三种指标综合分析显示．无论从哪个角度来衡量,心脑血管疾病、恶性肿瘤、伤害已经成为威胁人群健康的最主要“杀手”,且对人群健康的危害正日益加重。     

Hesitance towards voluntary medical male circumcision in Lesotho: Reconfiguring global health governance

Drawing on work examining HIV prevention initiatives in Lesotho, this paper considers the hesitation of national state actors towards the new strategy for HIV prevention – voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). Lesotho offers a representative case study on global health governance, given the country's high HIV burden and heavy dependence on foreign donor nations to implement local HIV prevention initiatives. In this paper, I use the case of VMMC opposition in Lesotho to examine how the new era of ‘partnerships’ has shifted the architecture of contemporary global health, specifically considering how global agreements are translated or negotiated into local practice. I argue that Lesotho's domestic policy-makers, in employing national statistics to assess if VMMC is an effective approach to addressing the local epidemic, are asserting a claim of expertise. In doing so, they challenge the traditional structures of global health politics, which have largely been managed by experts and funders from and in the global North. I explore the development of global VMMC policy, what drives Lesotho's resistance to comply, and consider the impact renegotiation efforts may have on future global health architecture.     

Tackling second-hand exposure to tobacco smoke and aerosols of electronic cigarettes: the TackSHS project protocol

ObjectiveThe TackSHS project aims to comprehensively elucidate the impact that exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) from cigarettes and second-hand aerosols (SHA) from electronic cigarettes have on the respiratory health of the European population according to socioeconomic characteristics and other determinants.MethodThe TackSHS project involves a series of coordinated studies carried out by 11 academic and public health organisations from six European countries. The project will investigate: a) the determinants of SHS and SHA exposure assessed at the individual level (surveys on representative general population samples) and in common environments (environmental sampling in specific settings); b) the overall disease burden, mortality and morbidity attributable to such exposure; and c) its economic impact in terms of direct health care costs. The project will also examine specific acute respiratory health changes in healthy individuals and patients with respiratory diseases exposed to SHS and SHA. In addition, the project will examine the effectiveness of a novel intervention to reduce SHS exposure in households where smoking is permitted. All these studies are inter-related and involve collaborative coordination among the participant organisations.ConclusionThe comprehensive, integrated approach of the TackSHS project will enable a significant step forward from the current status quo in the understanding of the impact of SHS and SHA exposure on health and provide the basis for health policy recommendations to help European countries to further reduce the harm caused by SHS and SHA exposure.     

Health, well-being, and measuring the burden of disease

ABSTRACT: This essay asks whether the global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors (GBD) shouldbe measured in terms of their consequences for health, as maintained by most of those whoare attempting to measure the GBD, or in terms of their consequences for well-being, asargued by John Broome. It answers that the burden of disease should be understood in termsof the consequences of disease for health, and it defends the wider efforts to measure healthby those who are in other ways skeptical of the project of measuring the GBD.     

山东省主要危险因素的归因死亡和疾病负担分析

目的 定最评价部分危险因素的健康负担,以确定严重影响山东省人群健康的莺点危险因素,为疾病预防决策提供直接依据.方法 以山东省第三次死因调查资料为基础,按照全球疾病负担(GBD)研究方法计算寿命损失年(YLL)、健康寿命损失年(YLD)和伤残调整寿命年(DALY),然后根据各种危险因素的人群归因比(PAF)数据测算各种危险因素的归因死亡数和归因DALY.YLD采用间接法进行估算;19种危险PAF资料参考2001年GBD研究. 结果 山东省人群51.09%的死亡和31.83%的DALY由纳入分析的19种危险因素所致,其中高血压、吸烟、蔬菜水果摄入少、饮酒、室内燃煤污染、高胆固醇、室外空气污染、缺乏体力锻炼、超重和肥胖、不安全注射为前10种死亡危险因素,归因死亡数合计占总死亡的50.21%;饮酒、吸烟、高血压、蔬菜水果摄入少、室内燃煤污染、超重和肥胖、高胆固醇、缺乏体力锻炼、室外空气污染和缺铁性贫血为前10种疾病负担危险因素,归因DALY合计占全部疾病负担的29.04%.结论 饮酒、吸烟和高血压为严重影响山东省人群健康的重点危险因素,如有效控制这些危险因素,可显著降低人群死亡率和减轻疾病负担.     

Choosing quality of care measures based on the expected impact of improved care on health.

Consumers, payers, and policymakers are demanding to know more about the quality of the services they are purchasing or might purchase. The information provided, however, is often driven by data availability rather than by epidemiologic and clinical considerations. In this article, we present an approach for selecting topics for measuring technical quality of care, based on the expected impact on health of improved quality. This approach employs data or estimates on disease burden, efficacy of available treatments, and the current quality of care being provided. We use this model to select measures that could be used to measure the quality of care in health plans, but the proposed framework could also be used to select quality of care measures for other purposes or in other contexts (for example, to select measures for hospitals). Given the limited resources available for quality assessment and the policy consequences of better information on provider quality, priorities for assessment efforts should focus on those areas where better quality translates into improved health.     

Estimating the burden of adult hospitalized RSV infection including special populations

BackgroundNumerous studies in the U.S. have made estimates of the RSV burden among adults that vary widely due to differences in methodology, reliance on influenza surveillance, which does not adequately capture all RSV clinical symptoms, and lack of diagnostic methods to identify RSV when viral loads are low. Nevertheless, accurate burden estimates can inform healthcare planning, resource allocation and potentially, RSV vaccine policy.MethodsA simple method combined with statewide and local hospitalization, medical record and U.S. Census data were used to estimate population-based RSV hospitalization burden among adults ages 18–64 years, ≥65 years, and including immunocompetent, immunocompromised and pregnant individuals during 2015–2018 for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Economic burden of hospitalization was estimated using state-provided average hospitalization charges for comparisons across patient groups.ResultsThe largest burden was borne by adults ≥ 65 years of age whose rates per 100,000 population of that age group (939/100,000) were 7.0–9.0 times those of adults 18–64 years of age (118/100,000). Immunosuppressed patients bore the greatest relative burden of RSV hospitalizations (1,288–1,562/100,000 immunosuppressed individuals). RSV burden ranged from 0 to 808/100,000 pregnant women. Average total charges for RSV hospitalization in Allegheny County across all adults increased from $39 million in 2015–2016 to $57 million in 2016–2017 to $89 million in 2017–2018, due to both increased average charges for an acute respiratory hospitalization and increased numbers of RSV cases.ConclusionsThese RSV burden estimates add to the body of knowledge to guide public health policy makers and offer a method for simply and easily producing population-based burden estimates.