scholarly journals Societal Impact of Pain thematic network – from European recommendations to national implementations

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Badreh ◽  
S Kynman ◽  
J van Griensven ◽  
M Branco ◽  
M Votta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Policy ◽  
National Level ◽  
Societal Impact ◽  
Joint Statement ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Policy Work ◽  
Pain Care ◽  
Pain Patients ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Issue Pain puts a serious burden on individuals and society. The Societal Impact of Pain (SIP) aims at improving pain care policies by gathering a broad coalition of multi-disciplinary organisations. Description of the problem Uncontrolled pain can decrease people's quality of life and has a serious impact on individuals and society. The SIP Thematic Network focuses on improving policy-making via the creation of a network of stakeholders by sharing best practices and available data to draft recommendations with the goal to call for a European Framework addressing the societal impact of pain. SIP has been selected in 2018 as a Thematic Network as part of the EU Health Policy Platform and produced a Joint Statement that focuses on four key areas: (1) Indicators, (2) Research, (3) Education, and (4) Employment. The Joint Statement has been used as a basis for projects and initiatives at national level, aligned with the four key priorities. Results Nine SIP national platforms have been established in Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain under the guidance of the European SIP platform. Each platform has identified one or more key areas of the Joint Statement to take concrete actions for implementation. For example, SIP Belgium released a national SIP Joint Statement with the goal to improve the (re)integration of pain patients in the workforce and society. Lessons The selection of SIP as a Thematic Network on the EU Health Policy Platform provided opportunities to identify the key areas for impactful pain policy work and led to concrete actions for implementation on national level. More at www.sip-platform.eu Key messages Continuation of the dialogue on the EU Health Policy platform is important to improve existing policies and to increase collaboration amongst all key stakeholders. Structured implementation of policy recommendations on national level is important in order to improve pain care.

scholarly journals Comparative analysis of less-favoured areas payments in the EU states

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 455-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Štolbová
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Rural Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
National Level ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Council Regulation ◽  
The Eu

The core objectives for rural development support for the period 2007–2013 are: (1) improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry, (2) improving the environment and the countryside, and (3) improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging the diversification of economic activity. The Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005 includes an unambiguous targeting of smaller and micro-enterprises to sustain job opportunity in rural areas. For this scheduled period, a minimum funding of 10% of the total EU contribution has been withheld by the Council Regulation for the measures connected with the quality of life and diversification of the rural economy outside agriculture and forestry. In spite of this, the EU Court of Auditors has concluded that rural development policy in Europe is ineffective because it continues to allow member states to adopt a predominantly sectoral approach with the primary focus on the agricultural sector (Special Report No. 17/2006). This paper deals with the possible impact of one RDP measure – the reduction of LFA payments according to farm size. Taking into account the variety of regions in Europe and the different situations at national level, it is difficult to provide a single guideline to solve the problem. Implementation without a deep analysis could lead to undesirable consequences. A specific adjustment to the situation of the given country will be advisable.

scholarly journals Opinion of Croatian consumers on traditional Dalmatian lamb in the process of obtaining a PDO label

Meso ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 483-496
Author(s):  
Linda Martić Kuran ◽  
Jelena Đugum ◽  
Marina Krvavica ◽  
Marijana Drinovac Topalović
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
National Level ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Breeding Method ◽  
Protected Designation Of Origin ◽  
Quality Product ◽  
Production Area ◽  
High Quality Product ◽  
The Eu

The protection of Dalmatian lamb ("Dalmatinska janjetina") with a protected designation of origin label (PDO) is based on the specific quality of meat of Dalmatian pramenka lamb and the traditional lamb breeding method in the geographic area that coincides with the breeding area of Dalmatian pramenka (indigenous Croatian sheep breed). Under the name of "Dalmatinska janjetina", only the meat of lambs of Dalmatian pramenka, bred exclusively in Dalmatia, can be placed on the market. In the process of obtaining a PDO label, which has recently been completed at the Croatian national level and is currently in the process at the EU level, a survey among Croatian consumers (a sample of 1,034 consumers from all over Croatia) was conducted to determine the recognition of this product on the Croatian market, as well as consumer preferences considering similar products from other Croatian regions. The research has shown that Croatian consumers recognize Dalmatian lamb as a traditional, high-quality product. Thus, almost 75 % of the respondents recognize it as a particular type of lamb of better quality than others on the Croatian market. Almost 85 % of the respondents use lamb regardless of type in their diet, but more than 58 % always on special occasions (folk festivals and family celebrations), especially if prepared in the traditional way (lamb on a spit) by which Dalmatia as a region is recognized by more than 85 % of the respondents. The market reputation and connection with the geographic production area are why Croatian consumers rather buy Dalmatian lamb over others.

scholarly journals Procedural justice perceptions in the mediation of discrimination reports by a national equality body

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-61
Author(s):  
Cathérine Van de Graaf
Keyword(s):  
Procedural Justice ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
National Level ◽  
Relational Model ◽  
Great Role ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Justice Perceptions ◽  
The Eu

National equality bodies (NEBs) must provide independent assistance to victims of discrimination in complaints about discrimination. As the EU Directive 2000/43/EC only introduced a minimum programme, there is great variety in design at the national level. In this article, the focus lies on the out-of-court approach of the Belgian NEB (Unia) which is founded on dialogue with the involved parties. Based on semi-directive interviews with 18 persons who reported discrimination and hate speech, the factors that contribute to their satisfaction with the assistance procedure of the NEB are explored. This satisfaction is approached from a socio-psychological perspective based on the relational model of procedural justice which implies that people care about a fair procedure because of the message it conveys to them about their relationship with the entity enacting the procedure. As established in prior research on informal dispute resolution, it was found that the quality of their interaction with the staff members at the NEB played a great role in the assessment of the procedure.

scholarly journals The needs of key-stakeholders for evaluating client’s experienced quality of home care: a qualitative approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Haex ◽  
Theresa Thoma-Lürken ◽  
Sandra Zwakhalen ◽  
Anna Beurskens
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
National Level ◽  
Care Process ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Quality Of Home Care

Abstract Background To optimize home care, it is essential to determine how care recipients experience quality of care. Traditionally, quality of care is measured with normative quality indicators such as safety, efficiency, or prevalence rates such as falls. The growing interest for qualitative patient-reported experience measures in home care requires insight into the needs of care receivers, providers, and organizations as key-stakeholders. Each stakeholder has their own needs that are important to communicate and use to conduct thorough comparisons before implementing new experience measures. This study aims to understand the needs of clients, formal/informal caregivers, and managers/policy officers in measuring client’s experienced quality of care in home care. Methods Four focus group interviews and 25 semi-structured interviews with key-stakeholders were conducted and analyzed by means of content analysis. The value-proposition canvas was used as a thematic framework to explore the purpose of experience quality of care measures and related pains and gains. Results There were two main purposes for measuring experienced quality of care: first improving the primary care process of individual clients and second for learning and improving in home care team. Using experienced quality of care measures for external accountability and transparency on an organizational or national level were considered less relevant. Among others, participants described not having time and no clear procedure for conducting an evaluation as a pain of the current methods used to evaluate perceived quality of home care. As gains they put forward the ability to informally evaluate experiences during care delivery and to openly discuss complaints with a familiar caregiver. Conclusions This study advocates that home care organizations should be aware of the goal of quality of care measures. They should consider selecting experienced quality of care measures mainly for improving primary care processes of individual clients. The results also underline the relevance of adopting next to quantitative evaluations, more narrative evaluation methods which support communicating openly on care experiences, leading to concrete point-of-improvement. The findings of this study can serve as a guide for both the development or selection of adequate methods, from the perspectives of key-stakeholders, in assessing experienced quality in home care.

Modernisation of Higher Education – Willful Action or Wishful Thinking? The Case of Bulgaria

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Elena Blagoeva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

The impact of the last global economic crisis (2008) on the European economy put a strain on higher education (HE), yet it also pushed the sector towards intensive reforms and improvements. This paper focuses on the “Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in the Republic of Bulgaria 2014-2020”. With a case study methodology, we explore the strategic endeavours of the Bulgarian government to comply with the European directions and to secure sustainable growth for the HE sector. Our research question is ‘How capable is the Bulgarian HE Strategy to overcome the economic and systemic restraints of Bulgarian higher education?’. Because the development of strategies for HE within the EU is highly contextual, a single qualitative case study was chosen as the research approach. HE institutions are not ivory towers, but subjects to a variety of external and internal forces. Within the EU, this is obviated by the fact that Universities obtain their funds from institutions such as governments, students and their families, donors, as well as EU-level programmes. Therefore, to explore how these pressures interact to affect strategic action on national level, the case method is well suited as it enabled us to study the phenomena thoroughly and deeply. The paper suggests the actions proposed within the Strategy have the potential to overcome the delay, the regional isolation and the negative impact of the economic crisis on the country. Nevertheless, the key elements on which the success or failure of this Strategy hinges are the control mechanisms and the approach to implementation. Shortcomings in these two aspects of strategic actions in HE seem to mark the difference between gaining long-term benefits and merely saving face in front of international institutions.

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

scholarly journals Exercise efficacy and prescription during treatment for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a systematic review

BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic O’Connor ◽  
Malcolm Brown ◽  
Martin Eatock ◽  
Richard C. Turkington ◽  
Gillian Prue
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Pancreatic Cancer ◽  
Adjuvant Therapy ◽  
Physical Function ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Surgical resection remains the only curative treatment for pancreatic cancer and is associated with significant post-operative morbidity and mortality. Patients eligible for surgery, increasingly receive neo-adjuvant therapy before surgery or adjuvant therapy afterward, inherently exposing them to toxicity. As such, optimizing physical function through exercise during treatment remains imperative to optimize quality of life either before surgery or during rehabilitation. However, current exercise efficacy and prescription in pancreatic cancer is unknown. Therefore, this study aims to summarise the published literature on exercise studies conducted in patients with pancreatic cancer undergoing treatment with a focus on determining the current prescription and progression patterns being used in this population. Methods A systematic review of four databases identified studies evaluating the effects of exercise on aerobic fitness, muscle strength, physical function, body composition, fatigue and quality of life in participants with pancreatic cancer undergoing treatment, published up to 24 July 2020. Two reviewers independently reviewed and appraised the methodological quality of each study. Results Twelve studies with a total of 300 participants were included. Heterogeneity of the literature prevented meta-analysis. Exercise was associated with improvements in outcomes; however, study quality was variable with the majority of studies receiving a weak rating. Conclusions High quality evidence regarding the efficacy and prescription of exercise in pancreatic cancer is lacking. Well-designed trials, which have received feedback and input from key stakeholders prior to implementation, are required to examine the impact of exercise in pancreatic cancer on key cancer related health outcomes.

Capacity building in the public health field in the Tunisian medical faculties

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Coman ◽  
O Oltean ◽  
M Palianopoulou ◽  
D Plancikova ◽  
C Zedini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
National Level ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Local Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
Medical Faculties ◽  
Health Field

Abstract Over the past years, Tunisia has experienced important reforms in the field of public health. The Tunisian medical faculties (Universities of Sfax, Tunis el Manar, Sousse and Monastir) play a key role in this endeavor by training public health professionals who can contribute to the modernization of the health system. Funded by the EC through Erasmus+ programme, the CONFIDE project (coordinated by Babes-Bolyai University, having as EU partners the Universities of Southern Denmark and Trnava, and the above mentioned Tunisian universities) has established the Research into Policy training programme by strengthening their capacity to provide public health training. The Research into Policy training programme has been delivered by the Centres for Evidence into Health Policy (C4EHPs) established within the Tunisian partner universities for the needs of CONFIDE. The training programme was implemented in four steps: (1) train the trainer sessions - the European experts trained 18 Tunisian trainers; (2) shadowing sessions - the trainers participated in shadowing sessions in the European partner institutions; (3) training delivery - the CONFIDE trainers, assisted by the European experts, delivered the training to an interdisciplinary group of 25 students and professionals; (4) internships - the students participated in internships in local health institutions. Three modules have been built within the Research into Policy training programme: Public health research, Health promotion policies and Evidence based public health policy. They contributed to increasing the public health knowledge and skills of the professionals trained. The training programme was well received by the Tunisian universities and the material developed so far during the project was adapted to the Tunisian context in the third step of implementation. On the long term, the project is expected to have an impact at the national level and produce updates at curricula level in the Tunisian medical faculties. Key messages Research into Policy training programme developed by the EC partners and culturally adapted by the Tunisian partners to the Tunisian public health context. Research into Policy training is a well-received tool for the high quality learning process in the public health field in Tunisian medical faculties.

scholarly journals The legal street: a scarcity approach to urban open space in mobility transitions

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett J. M. Petzer ◽  
Anna J. Wieczorek ◽  
Geert P. J. Verbong
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Open Space ◽  
National Level ◽  
Urban Mobility ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Urban Open Space ◽  
Space Allocation ◽  
Zero Sum ◽  
Lock In ◽  
The Eu

AbstractAn urban mobility transition requires a transition in space allocation, since most mobility modes are dependent on urban open space for circulation and the storage of vehicles. Despite increasing attention to space and spatiality in transitions research, the finite, physical aspects of urban space, and the means by which it is allocated, have not been adequately acknowledged as an influence on mobility transitions. A conceptual framework is introduced to support comparison between cities in terms of the processes by which open space is (re-)distributed between car and bicycle circulatory and regulatory space. This framework distinguishes between regulatory allocation mechanisms and the appropriation practices of actors. Application to cases in Amsterdam, Brussels and Birmingham reveal unique relationships created by the zero-sum nature of urban open space between the dominant automobility mode and subordinate cycling mode. These relationships open up a new approach to forms of lock-in that work in favour of particular mobility modes within the relatively obdurate urban built environment. Empirically, allocation mechanisms that routinise the production of car space at national level within the EU are shown to be far more prevalent than those for bicycle space, highlighting the constraints faced by radical city-level policies aimed at space reallocation.

scholarly journals Sounding out falsified medicines from genuine medicines using Broadband Acoustic Resonance Dissolution Spectroscopy (BARDS)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anas Alfarsi ◽  
Céline Caillet ◽  
Garry Fawbert ◽  
Simon Lawrence ◽  
Jacob Krüse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Ingredient ◽  
Lower Cost ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Acoustic Resonance ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
Acoustic Signatures ◽  
Falsified Medicines ◽  
Acoustic Phenomenon ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe trade in falsified medicine has increased significantly and it is estimated that global falsified sales have reached $100 billion in 2020. The EU Falsified Medicines Directive states that falsified medicines do not only reach patients through illegal routes but also via the legal supply chain. Falsified medicines can contain harmful ingredients. They can also contain too little or too much active ingredient or no active ingredient at all. BARDS (Broadband Acoustic Resonance Dissolution Spectroscopy) harnesses an acoustic phenomenon associated with the dissolution of a sample (tablet or powder). The resulting acoustic spectrum is unique and intrinsic to the sample and can be used as an identifier or signature profile. BARDS was evaluated in this study to determine whether a product is falsified or genuine in a rapid manner and at lower cost than many existing technologies. A range of genuine and falsified medicines, including falsified antimalarial tablets from south-east Asia, were tested, and compared to their counterpart genuine products. Significant differences between genuine and falsified doses were found in their acoustic signatures as they disintegrate and dissolve. Principal component analysis was employed to differentiate between the genuine and falsified medicines. This demonstrates that the tablets and capsules included here have intrinsic acoustic signatures which could be used to screen the quality of medicines.

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