Out of the boxes,out of the silos: The need of interdisciplinary collaboration to reduce poor-quality medical products in the supply chain

In this paper, we argue that understanding and addressing the problem of poor-quality medical products requires a more interdisciplinary approach than has been evident to date. While prospective studies based on rigorous standardized methodologies are the gold standard for measuring the prevalence of poor-quality medical products and understanding their distribution nationally and internationally, they should be complemented by social science research to unpack the complex set of social, economic, and governance factors that underlie these patterns. In the following sections, we discuss specific examples of prospective quality surveys and of social science studies, highlighting the value of cross-sector partnerships in driving high-quality, policy-relevant research in this area.     

The influence of environmental and health indicators on premature mortality: An empirical analysis of the City of Toronto's 140 neighborhoods

The objective of this paper was to assess the link between premature mortality and a combination of neighbourhood contextual (environmental and health) and compositional (socioeconomic and demographic) characteristics. We statistically and spatially examined six environmental variables (ultrafine particles, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic pollutants, pollution released to air, tree cover, and walkability index), six health service indicators (number health providers, breast, colorectal and cervical cancer screening uptake rates, student nutrition program uptake rates, and healthy food index), and eight socioeconomic indicators (total income, Gini coefficient, two age categories – below and above 40 years, proportion of females to males, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, education, less than grade 9) among 140 neighbourhoods of the City of Toronto in Ontario (Canada). We applied principal component analysis to identify patterns and to reduce the number of explanatory variables into combined component axes that represent unique variation in these confounded and overlapping factors. We then applied regression analysis to model the relationship between the indices of enviro-health and socioeconomics and their potential relationship with premature mortality. Residual spatial analysis was used to investigate any remaining spatial structure (such as neighbourhoods with higher residual premature mortality rates). Neighbourhood Equity Index was correlated with our enviro-health and socioeconomic indices. Premature mortality within neighbourhoods was predicted by poor cancer screenings, pollution, lack of tree canopy, increased uptake of student nutrition programs and high walkability index. A negative association between premature mortality and pollution was associated low walkability index and presence of visible minorities within neighbourhoods. There was some unexplained residual spatial variation in our model of premature mortality - especially along the shores of Lake Ontario and in neighbourhoods with major highways or road corridors: premature mortality in Toronto neighbourhoods was higher than expected along highway-corridor neighbourhoods and shorelines. Our analysis revealed a significant relationship between neighbourhood contextual features – both environmental and health – and premature mortality, suggesting that these contextual components of neighbourhoods can predict rates of urban premature mortality in Toronto.     

健康支持性环境对四川农村人群的不同血压水平的影响分析

目的 探讨健康支持性环境中的不同特征变量对四川省农村人群的不同血压水平的影响。方法 采用多阶段整群抽样的方法，随机抽取四川省7个县（区）8400名的18岁以上常住居民为调查对象。问卷调查一般人口学特征、身体活动行为特征和环境等信息。采用标准方法测量身高、体重、腰围和血压。采用无序多分类logistic回归分析。结果 本调查人群中共检出正常高值血压者4270例，检出率为50.83%，标化率为37.02%，平均年龄（56.22±14.89）岁；高血压患者1498例，检出率为17.83%，标化率为7.92%，平均年龄（65.26±11.28）岁。无序多分类logistic回归结果显示，住宿环境好、获得运动方面的健康信息和参与中等强度活动150Symbol~A@300min/周是正常高值血压和高血压人群的共同保护因素；住宿便利（OR=0.789, 95%CI:0.649~0.958, P=0.017）、医疗服务可及性便利（OR=0.686, 95%CI:0.509~0.924, P=0.013）、对健身步道和健身广场满意为高血压人群的保护因素。结论 多途径合理构建健康支持性环境，对农村正常高值血压者和高血压患者具有保护作用，对遏制农村高血压的流行现状起到一定作用。     

临床药师在导管接触性溶栓联合抗凝治疗急性下肢深静脉血栓的用药分析与药学监护中的作用

目的 探讨临床药师在急性下肢深静脉血栓患者个体化治疗中的作用。 方法 对南京鼓楼医院血管外科2018年8月收治的8例急性下肢深静脉血栓患者的治疗过程进行分析，结合临床药学知识制定导管接触性溶栓及抗凝用药方案，对患者实施全程药学监护。 结果 溶栓治疗期间，患者血浆纤维蛋白原水平呈明显下降趋势，血浆D-二聚体水平呈先升高后降低的趋势，血小板未见明显下降趋势；8例患者在溶栓治疗过程中，2例出现轻微牙龈出血后自行止血，1例出现血尿，停止溶栓治疗后改为口服抗凝药，血尿现象消失。患者预后改善明显，血栓完全溶解，静脉恢复畅通，用药安全得到有效保障。 结论 临床药师在导管接触性溶栓联合抗凝治疗急性下肢深静脉血栓患者的个体化用药监护方面发挥了积极作用。