Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “policy frameworks”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Indoor air quality: a risk-based approach to health criteria for radon indoors. Summary report on a WHO Working Group Eilat, Israel, 28 March-4 April 1993.

The Working Group discussed to what extent exposure to radon is a public health risk. It reviewed data from epidemiological studies of the occupational exposure of miners and residential exposures, animal experiments and other relevant work. The Group confirmed radon to be a human carcinogen, and recommended that indoor situations where individual risks exceeded 10(-3) per year should always be considered severe, further risk reduction must be sought based on procedures such as the optimization and evaluation of available control techniques. The Group considered what guidance could be offered to national authorities, and whether risks from radon should be considered solely within the present radiation protection framework policies or be handled as a part of a more integrated framework of all environmental risks; a three-step management scheme was proposed. The Group then discussed the problem of risk communication as a part of assisting policy-makers to arrive at strategies best suited to their socioeconomic conditions. The report concludes with 22 recommendations.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2004

Safety and stability for foster children: the policy context.

Even though federal laws have had a major influence on foster care and child welfare policy for more than 40 years, additional reforms are needed to ensure safe and stable families for children in care. This article describes the complex array of policies that shape federal foster care and observes: A number of federal policies addressing issues such as housing, health care, welfare, social security benefits, taxes, and foster care reimbursement to the states, form the federal foster care policy framework. The Adoption and Safe Families Act significantly altered federal foster care policy by instituting key changes such as defining when it is reasonable to pursue family reunification, expediting timelines for making permanency decisions, recognizing kinship care as a permanency option, and providing incentives to the state for increasing the number of adoptions. Courts play a key and often overlooked role in achieving safety and permanency for children in foster care. Efforts to improve court performance have focused on increasing the responsiveness and capacity of courts. The article concludes with policy recommendations that are needed to improve the lives of children in foster care, such as increasing investments in children and families, redirecting funding incentives, addressing service gaps, and enhancing accountability.

Adoption↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rejecting, revitalizing, and reclaiming: First Nations work to set the direction of research and policy development.

BACKGROUND: The history and legacy of Western, colonial research methodologies and policy frameworks continue to create and maintain dichotomies of superior/inferior, and valued/not valued between Western and First Nations cultures, peoples and knowledge. METHODS: This article was written to awaken discussion on how First Nations are working to shape the direction of research and policy development. It draws upon the author's personal observations and experiences of Western and Indigenous frameworks. The author also draws upon the growing body of work on this issue presented by indigenous researchers and scholars. FINDINGS: The Health Information Research Committee of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs rejects colonial research frameworks and promotes and supports culturally-respectful research. The Dakota in Manitoba are identifying our own Quality of Life indicators and developing policies based on our own cultural values. The Mohawk of Akwesasne have developed research ethics and protocols based on their cultural principles of skennen (peace), kariwiio (good word), and kasastensera (strength). CONCLUSION: First Nations people in Canada and the world are increasingly rejecting Western, colonial frameworks of research and policy development. Instead, we are reclaiming our right to be who we are, and we are revitalizing our cultures through promotion and utilization of indigenous research methodologies and development of culturally-rooted policy. Though the response of researchers and policy-makers is not yet known, these developments will continue into the future due to the commitment and work of First Nations people.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2000

India's voiceless and the new population policy.

Since the early 1950s, India's family planning program has failed to achieve the expected results, has entailed a massive waste of the country's resources, and has had a devastating effect on the health service system. Now the bureaucrats who have drawn up the New National Population Policy (NPP) have, again, decided what is best for the country's voiceless population. In setting out the NPP's "sociodemographic goals" and "strategic themes," the authors have ignored the recommendations made six years ago by the well-respected Swaminathan Committee and the sensible policy framework propounded ten years ago by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The outcome is a policy resulting from a process that has failed to take into account the complexity of the policy-formulation process, the necessary inputs from a wide array of disciplines, and the experiences of the past.

Decision Making, Organizational↗
PubMed2002

Role of knowledge in public health and health promotion policy change.

A framework of policy development is presented that identifies the role various forms of knowledge can play in the policy formation process. The framework is based upon the premise that public health and health promotion issues should be addressed within an analysis of policy change that considers concepts of interactive and critical knowledge in addition to scientific knowledge. Progress in developing meaningful health policy will require accepting the validity of these various forms of knowledge and developing frameworks that see experts and citizens working together to develop and achieve public health and health promotion goals.

Health Policy↗
PubMed1998

Functional foods and health claims: a public health policy perspective.

OBJECTIVE: To propose a policy framework for the regulation of functional foods and health claims within a public health context. DESIGN: This article reviews the empirical evidence and public health principles associated with functional foods and health claims to analyse the issues, challenge the assumptions that have emerged and explore options for moving forward. SETTING: Functional foods and health claims are among the more controversial and complex issues being debated by food regulators internationally. Proponents of functional foods and health claims state that functional foods may reduce health care expenditure and health claims are a legitimate nutrition education tool that will help them inform consumers of the health benefits of certain food products. Conversely, opponents of these developments respond that it is the total diet that is important for health, not so-called 'magic bullets'. Moreover, they argue that health claims will enable manufacturers to indulge in marketing hyperbole and essentially blur the distinction between food and drugs. This topic provides a valuable case study of public policy in relation to food and health. CONCLUSION: The need to maintain a general prohibition on health claims while accommodating specific exemptions supported by scientific substantiation is recommended. Nutrition education and monitoring and evaluation are integral to the proposed regulatory framework. The intention of this policy position is to encourage research and development of innovative food products while avoiding an inappropriate medicalization of the general food supply.

Food, Organic↗
PubMed2004

The negative impacts of human activities in the eastern African region: an international waters perspective.

The complex interactions between human activities and the environment at the interface of land and water is analyzed with a focus on the Somali Current (East Africa), and Indian Ocean Island States, subregions of the Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA). These 2 subregions contain some of the world's richest ecosystems, including the high biodiversity forests of Madagascar and the diverse coastal habitats of the eastern African coast. These ecosystems support local communities and national and regional economies. Current and future degradation of these systems, from water basins to continental shelves, affects the livelihoods and sustainability of the countries in the region, and long-term efforts to reduce poverty. The assessments determined that pollution and climate change are the primary environmental and social concerns in the Islands of the Indian Ocean, while freshwater shortage and unsustainable exploitation of fisheries and other living resources are the primary environmental and social concerns in East Africa. The GIWA approach, through assessing root causes of environmental concerns, enables the development of policy approaches for mitigating environmental degradation. This paper explores policy frameworks for mitigating the impacts, and reducing the drivers, of 3 environmental concerns--freshwater shortage; solid waste pollution; and climate change--addressing social and institutional causes and effects, and linking the subregions to broad international frameworks. The common theme in all 3 case studies is the need to develop integrated ecosystem and international waters policies, and mechanisms to manage conflicting interests and to limit threats to natural processes.

Climate↗
PubMed2000

Development of notification policy in Namibia.

On 21 April, 1999, the Namibian press reported that the government was going to declare AIDS a notifiable disease. This announcement sparked much debate about the role of confidentiality in a sound public health approach to the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. It also became apparent that in Namibia people's understanding of the principle of confidentiality varies widely. Many seem to confuse the concepts of secrecy and confidentiality. They see preserving confidentiality about HIV/AIDS information as strengthening the "veil of secrecy" that surrounds HIV, reinforcing stigma and undermining efforts to control the spread of HIV. A consultative process, initiated by Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS, led to the formulation of a much needed policy framework for reporting and notification of HIV/AIDS. A task force was established to identify, discuss and report on national issues, policies and experiences that could inform the discussion on HIV reporting and confidentiality.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1998

Carcinogen risk assessment. Can we harmonise?

Harmonisation of risk assessment (RA) is one of the priorities for sound chemical management set by Chapter 19, Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED) 1992 Earth Summit. The benefits of harmonisation are self evident and include transportability and consistency of RA outcomes, transparency and efficiency of process, and credible science. The outcomes of carcinogen RA are a description or classification of the carcinogenic hazard, the conditions under which cancers may be induced, and an estimate of a dose or exposure which poses a minimal, or otherwise defined, risk in exposed human populations. Weight-of-evidence based systems which classify carcinogenic hazards are part of, but do not substitute for, the risk assessment process. Carcinogen RA is based on assessment of appropriate toxicological and exposure data sets, which may have much in common. However, national policy frameworks can differ to the extent that RA outcomes may be quite different for the same chemical(s). Historically, differences in science policy have been greater for cancer RA compared to other toxic endpoints, with a tendency to differentiate cancer RA on the basis of presumed mechanism (i.e. genotoxic or non-genotoxic) and relevance to humans (some carcinogenic responses in animals may be considered not relevant for human RA). Significant strides towards harmonisation are being made, with reassessment of some national policies and participation in international harmonisation programmes, such as the ones being managed by the International Programme for Chemical Safety (IPCS). Alternative approaches to quantitative carcinogen RA are being considered which are more amenable to harmonisation, and one such approach being developed in Australia in connection with contaminated sites will be discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

User charges for rural health services in Papua New Guinea.

This paper reports on a review of user charges for health services in rural areas of Papua New Guinea. Facilities implementing both fee for service and community risk sharing schemes were studied. This study found that there is a lack of any policy framework or practical guidelines on cost recovery. In some areas fees are being used as a fiscal tool rather than to further health policy. This study from Papua New Guinea raises serious questions about the virtue of cost recovery for health services in rural areas. Equity is an issue and the fees are creating a barrier both for entry and continuation in the health system; accountability is poor, and issues of cross subsidization are not addressed; fee revenues from rural health services are small and primarily of local significance; and are not being used to improve quality of health services. Cost recovery schemes in rural areas have the potential to provide a valuable contributory source of income to operate and improve health services. In practice, few are achieving this. It is concluded that health sector financing focus could be more fruitfully directed to financing mechanisms with greater potential to improve and expand health services.

Community Health Services↗
PubMed2003

Health sector reforms in Kenya: an examination of district level planning.

The paper examines health sector reforms in Kenya at the district level based on the Government of Kenya's Health Policy Framework of 1994. The authors present the context of and historical perspective to health sector reforms in Kenya and discuss the major reform policies including decentralization to the district level. The authors then review intended policy outcomes, investigating assumptions on which the implementation and effectiveness of the reform agenda at the local level are based. The authors argue that emphasis on outcomes rather than process has not supported sustainable reforms or achieved the government's goal of improving health and ensuring equity for the citizens of the country.

Community Health Planning↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Access control based on attribute certificates for medical intranet applications.

BACKGROUND: Clinical information systems frequently use intranet and Internet technologies. However these technologies have emphasized sharing and not security, despite the sensitive and private nature of much health information. Digital certificates (electronic documents which recognize an entity or its attributes) can be used to control access in clinical intranet applications. OBJECTIVES: To outline the need for access control in distributed clinical database systems, to describe the use of digital certificates and security policies, and to propose the architecture for a system using digital certificates, cryptography and security policy to control access to clinical intranet applications. METHODS: We have previously developed a security policy, DIMEDAC (Distributed Medical Database Access Control), which is compatible with emerging public key and privilege management infrastructure. In our implementation approach we propose the use of digital certificates, to be used in conjunction with DIMEDAC. RESULTS: Our proposed access control system consists of two phases: the ways users gain their security credentials; and how these credentials are used to access medical data. Three types of digital certificates are used: identity certificates for authentication; attribute certificates for authorization; and access-rule certificates for propagation of access control policy. Once a user is identified and authenticated, subsequent access decisions are based on a combination of identity and attribute certificates, with access-rule certificates providing the policy framework. CONCLUSIONS: Access control in clinical intranet applications can be successfully and securely managed through the use of digital certificates and the DIMEDAC security policy.

Certification↗
PubMed2005

International cooperation and networking in genetic health care provision: issues arising from the genetic services plan for the Emilia-Romagna region, Italy.

The aims of this report are to describe the genetic plan for Emilia-Romagna, a region in Italy, and to contribute to the international exchange of information on developing and applying policy frameworks to provide high-quality and comprehensive genetic health care in the publicly funded health systems. At the present time there is no national policy for genetic medicine in Italy, and only two regions, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria, have formally agreed to a strategic plan for health care in genetics. The current provision of genetic services in Emilia-Romagna is described focusing on the intra- and inter-organizational linkages to ensure a comprehensive system of coordinated activities. Strengths and implementation areas are highlighted. Points that must be solved within the regional or national context are the definition of the level of assistance required in genetic medicine, the formal professional recognition of the genetic counselor and the adjustment of the billing mechanisms to the complexities of clinical genetic services. Issues that need to be addressed at a wider level include full assessment of genetic tests before their introduction into clinical practice, networking to provide tests for the rarest genetic diseases, consensus on fundamental terminology and clinical and administrative data sets to promote a cohesive framework for the flow of information throughout the health care systems with respect to genetics.

Genetic Services↗
PubMed2004

Nanotechnology and environmental and public health considerations.

Nanotechnology has arrived on the scene much as did predecessor technologies--hailed for its purpose and accepted with enthusiasm amid bursts of research, funding, and news of creative applications. But the early efforts to consider its environmental aspects have been small even though the implications for environmental and public health are broad. A well-crafted policy framework is needed, one linked to a clearer understanding of the direct and indirect effects, benefits, and risk of nanotechnology. A precautious approach would foster policy interventions to prevent harms by slowing developments where the risks are high and focus scientific effort on dispelling ignorance and uncertainty, especially in those areas where the consequences of being wrong are substantial. This kind of approach also would impose the burden of demonstrating the safety of the technology primarily on its proponents. The process of producing guidelines for other technologies is considered.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Nutritional policy and its framework in Colombia].

OBJECTIVE: Assessing the nutritional policy formulated in the 1996-2005 Colombian Food and Nutrition National Plan (FNNP) using key informants (KI), policy-makers and civil servants. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional structured survey of 77 KI: 17 policy-makers and 60 civil-servants from PNAN. VARIABLES STUDIED: determinant food factors, the existence of a nutritional policy, assessing policies involved with food security and organisational variables implicit in the policies. A Position Index (PI) was constructed for quantifying KI assessment (0-0.33 = positive evaluation, 0.34-0.67 = partial/readjusted, 1 = 0.68-1= negative evaluation). RESULTS: 79% of KI coincided in stating that there was a Nutritional Policy but that it should be readjusted (IP = 0.50 policy-makers, IP = 0.54 civil servants). KI did not agree about institutional coordination whilst policy-makers said that there was coordination between a reduced group of institutions, including themselves (IP = 0.33); civil servants said that there was no coordination between any of the institutions (IP = 0.75). They also said that the research strategy had been unsuccessful (IP = 0.73). CONCLUSIONS: Ten years after the Nutritional Policy was introduced into Colombia KI say that it should be readjusted. Strategies such as coordination and research could be optimised so that their objectives can be reached.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Reproductive rights and the medical care system: a plea for rational health policy.

Recently, there have been many challenges to women's reproductive rights and freedoms: court-ordered cesarean sections; criminal cases against women for prenatal child abuse; and attempts to limit the practice of mid-wifery, home birth, and the operation of alternative birth centers. In these cases, medicine has been complicit or proactive in attempts to control the behavior or health care options of pregnant women. We discuss medicine's role as an agent of social control, the medical reconstruction of problems that are social in nature, and the need for a more coherent policy framework to guide physician practices.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Occupational Safety and Health Act. The national policy for the prevention of work-related illness.

Occupational health and safety issues are increasingly important on the broader health agendas of both industrial and non-industrial communities. These issues go beyond traditional industrial hygiene into areas of environmental epidemiology and public health engineering. The policy framework for addressing such issues is the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

Environmental Health↗