Inconsistencies in authoritative national paediatric workforce data sources

Objective National health workforce data are used in workforce projections, policy and planning. If data to measure the current effective clinical medical workforce are not consistent, accurate and reliable, policy options pursued may not be aligned with Australia’s actual needs. The aim of the present study was to identify any inconsistencies and contradictions in the numerical count of paediatric specialists in Australia, and discuss issues related to the accuracy of collection and analysis of medical workforce data. Methods This study compared respected national data sources regarding the number of medical practitioners in eight fields of paediatric speciality medical (non-surgical) practice. It also counted the number of doctors listed on the websites of speciality paediatric hospitals and clinics as practicing in these eight fields. Results Counts of medical practitioners varied markedly for all specialties across the data sources examined. In some fields examined, the range of variability across data sources exceeded 450%. Conclusions The national datasets currently available from federal and speciality sources do not provide consistent or reliable counts of the number of medical practitioners. The lack of an adequate baseline for the workforce prevents accurate predictions of future needs to provide the best possible care of children in Australia. What is known about the topic? Various national data sources contain counts of the number of medical practitioners in Australia. These data are used in health workforce projections, policy and planning. What does this paper add? The present study found that the current data sources do not provide consistent or reliable counts of the number of practitioners in eight selected fields of paediatric speciality practice. There are several potential issues in the way workforce data are collected or analysed that cause the variation between sources to occur. What are the implications for practitioners? Without accurate data on which to base decision making, policy options may not be aligned with the actual needs of children with various medical needs, in various geographic areas or the nation as a whole.

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The Special Perils of Being Old and Sick in Prison

Federal Sentencing Reporter ◽

10.1525/fsr.2020.32.5.276 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (5) ◽

pp. 276-284

Author(s):

William J. Jefferson

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Health Care ◽

Medical Care ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

The United States ◽

United States Constitution ◽

Care Providers ◽

Medical Practitioners ◽

Medical Needs ◽

Access To Medical Care

The United States Supreme Court declared in 1976 that deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain…proscribed by the Eighth Amendment. It matters not whether the indifference is manifested by prison doctors in their response to the prisoner’s needs or by prison guards intentionally denying or delaying access to medical care or intentionally interfering with treatment once prescribed—adequate prisoner medical care is required by the United States Constitution. My incarceration for four years at the Oakdale Satellite Prison Camp, a chronic health care level camp, gives me the perspective to challenge the generally promoted claim of the Bureau of Federal Prisons that it provides decent medical care by competent and caring medical practitioners to chronically unhealthy elderly prisoners. The same observation, to a slightly lesser extent, could be made with respect to deficiencies in the delivery of health care to prisoners of all ages, as it is all significantly deficient in access, competencies, courtesies and treatments extended by prison health care providers at every level of care, without regard to age. However, the frailer the prisoner, the more dangerous these health care deficiencies are to his health and, therefore, I believe, warrant separate attention. This paper uses first-hand experiences of elderly prisoners to dismantle the tale that prisoner healthcare meets constitutional standards.

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Environmental taxes and subsidies: some insights from the Italian experience

Environmental Economics ◽

10.21511/ee.11(1).2020.04 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 39-53

Author(s):

Andrea Zatti

Keyword(s):

Policy Instruments ◽

Data Sources ◽

Environmental Taxes ◽

Full Potential ◽

National Data ◽

Future Developments ◽

Italian Experience ◽

Environmental Objectives ◽

Fiscal Reforms ◽

Environmental Taxes And Subsidies

Environmental taxes and subsidies are considered by the economic theory as useful policy instruments to enhance environmental protection, improve the alignment of prices with full social costs, and encourage sustainable modes of consumption and production. In a policy-oriented perspective, the issue of reforming the financial system in an environmental perspective has attracted increasing attention to the international and European agenda in recent decades. Despite these premises, the actual implementation of environmental fiscal reforms (EFRs) has often lagged behind their full potential and premises. This paper analyzes environmental taxes and subsidies applied in Italy in the last decades to identify priorities, opportunities, and barriers to future developments. Data collected in the main national data sources and reports, as the recently established Catalogue of Environmentally Harmful Subsidies (EHSs) and environmentally friendly subsidies (EFSs), reveal how the implementation and design of taxes and subsidies have been, and still are, mainly driven by non-environmental objectives, leading to mixed and not completely satisfactory effects. In conclusion, relying on these results, some key elements – transparency, graduality, and predictability – may help to overcome the existing barriers to implement and achieve a broader and comprehensive EFR in Italy.

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National data sources

Health at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2014 - Health at a Glance: Asia/Pacific ◽

10.1787/health_glance_ap-2014-44-en ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 109-110

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Data Sources ◽

National Data

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Introducing xSub: A new portal for cross-national data on subnational violence

Journal of Peace Research ◽

10.1177/0022343319836697 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 56 (4) ◽

pp. 604-614 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Yuri M Zhukov ◽

Christian Davenport ◽

Nadiya Kostyuk

Keyword(s):

Grid Cell ◽

Large Data ◽

Political Conflict ◽

Data Sources ◽

National Data ◽

Units Of Analysis ◽

Disaggregated Data ◽

Data Collections ◽

The Impact ◽

Cross National

Researchers today have access to an unprecedented amount of geo-referenced, disaggregated data on political conflict. Because these new data sources use disparate event typologies and units of analysis, findings are rarely comparable across studies. As a result, we are unable to answer basic questions like ‘what does conflict A tell us about conflict B?’ This article introduces xSub – a ‘database of databases’ for disaggregated research on political conflict ( www.x-sub.org ). xSub reduces barriers to comparative subnational research, by empowering researchers to quickly construct custom, analysis-ready datasets. xSub currently features subnational data on conflict in 156 countries, from 21 sources, including large data collections and data from individual scholars. To facilitate comparisons across countries and sources, xSub organizes these data into consistent event categories, actors, spatial units (country, province, district, grid cell, electoral constituency), and time units (year, month, week, and day). This article introduces xSub and illustrates its potential, by investigating the impact of repression on dissent across thousands of subnational datasets.

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Cocaine use and overdose mortality in the United States: Evidence from two national data sources, 2002–2018

Drug and Alcohol Dependence ◽

10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108148 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 214 ◽

pp. 108148 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Manuel Cano ◽

Sehun Oh ◽

Christopher P. Salas-Wright ◽

Michael G. Vaughn

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Data Sources ◽

National Data ◽

Cocaine Use ◽

Overdose Mortality

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Road Traffic Injury in China: A Review of National Data Sources

Traffic Injury Prevention ◽

10.1080/15389588.2011.633945 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 13 (sup1) ◽

pp. 57-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Sai Ma ◽

Qingfeng Li ◽

Maigeng Zhou ◽

Leilei Duan ◽

David Bishai

Keyword(s):

Road Traffic ◽

Road Traffic Injury ◽

Data Sources ◽

National Data ◽

Traffic Injury

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Aboriginal Material Culture - Let’s Get It Right - Redressing the Folklore

The Aboriginal Child at School ◽

10.1017/s0310582200014486 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 11-27

Author(s):

A.W. Scott

Keyword(s):

Material Culture ◽

Current Data ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Data Sources ◽

Aboriginal Culture

Since the mid 1970s (cf. Mulvaney 1976, p.74) there has been a rapid expansion in the study of Aboriginal material culture which has led to modification of ideas relating to the interpretation of this culture. It is therefore most important that current data sources and interpretations are used by teachers. In response to the comments and opinion of persons not particularly conversant with the field, one is forced to conclude that there are many misconceptions held by our society in general concerning traditional Aboriginal culture.The purpose of this paper is to dispel some of these subjectively based impressions so that any materials, examples or ideas which are drawn from the area of Aboriginal studies are presented in an accurate context.

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