scholarly journals Priority Setting in Indigenous Health: Why We Need an Explicit Decision Making Approach

Author(s):  
Michael E Otim ◽  
Ranmalie Jayasinha ◽  
Margaret Kelaher ◽  
Edward Shane Houston ◽  
Ian P Anderson ◽  
...  

Indigenous Australians have significantly poorer health outcomes than the non-Indigenous population worldwide. The Australian government has increased its investment in Indigenous health through the "Closing the Health Gap" initiative. Deciding where to invest scarce resources so as to maximize health outcomes for Indigenous peoples may require improved priority setting processes. Current government practice involves a mix of implicit and explicit processes to varying degrees at the macro and meso decision making levels. In this article, we argue that explicit priority setting should be emphasized in Indigenous health, as it can ensure that the decision making process is accountable, systematic, and transparent. Following a review of the literature, we outline four key issues that need to be considered for explicit priority setting: developing an Indigenous health "constitution," strengthening the evidence base, selecting mechanisms for priority setting, and establishing appropriate incentives and institutional structure. We then summarize our findings into a checklist that can help a decision makers ensure that explicit priority setting is undertaken in Indigenous health. By addressing these key issues, the benefits of an explicit approach, which include increased efficiency, equity, and use of evidence, can be realized, thereby maximizing Indigenous health outcomes.

Author(s):  
Sarah B. van Mastrigt

A notable proportion of crime is committed in company, particularly during youth, but relatively little attention has been paid to the influence of co-offenders on criminal decision making. This chapter reviews current theory and research on co-offending as it relates to three aspects of offender decision making: the decision to (co)-offend, the selection of accomplices, and choices shaping the characteristics of the criminal event (planning, target selection, and seriousness). Both implicit and explicit decision making are considered, as well as situations in which the offense is premeditated and collaboration is explicitly sought after a plan has been made and situations in which the motivation to offend develops in a group of preformed individuals who become co-offenders by committing the act. The chapter concludes with a discussion of gaps in the current evidence base and directions for future research.


2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (spe) ◽  
pp. 125-134
Author(s):  
Per-Erik Liss

In many countries, a gap exists between the population's need for health care and available resources. These nations have attempted to eliminate or reduce the gap through such activities as improving efficiency and narrowing responsibilities. Since these measures have proven insufficient, decisions must be made regarding how to best use the scarce resources. The priority-setting and rationing processes involve key decisions in the sense that they have consequences for people's health and quality of life and they should therefore be rational and based on solid grounds. This means that the decisions involve three issues: facts, concepts and values. In this presentation the focus is on the conceptual and value issues. A basic ethical platform as a guide for decision-making will be presented. The ethical principles that constitute the platform contain central concepts like health care need, cost-effectiveness, health and goal. A short presentation of these concepts will be carried out. This will end with the concept of a goal and its importance for decision-making.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 649-661
Author(s):  
Sorrel J Langley-Hobbs

Practical relevance: While feline patellar fractures are not commonly encountered in practice, they tend to be found more often in younger cats; no breed or sex predispositions are recognised. If there is no evidence of a traumatic aetiology, the cat may be suspected of having patellar fracture and dental anomaly syndrome (PADS). Patellar fractures are easy to diagnose on lateral radiographs and there are several different fracture types. The type of fracture, the age of the cat at fracture occurrence and whether there is suspicion of a pathological aetiology are all relevant when considering treatment technique. Clinical challenges: While some cats with patellar fractures will do well with conservative management, surgical treatment is often indicated and decision-making can be challenging. Evidence base: Information and recommendations provided in this review are based on the literature and the author’s own clinical experience. There are several publications on PADS, but there is limited evidence as to what the underlying cause of this condition is, and the best method for managing patellar fractures is still an area where more research is needed. Aim: This review aims to gather the papers, case series and case reports published over the past few decades in order to discuss how best to manage different types of patellar fractures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Batel Yifrah ◽  
Ayelet Ramaty ◽  
Genela Morris ◽  
Avi Mendelsohn

AbstractDecision making can be shaped both by trial-and-error experiences and by memory of unique contextual information. Moreover, these types of information can be acquired either by means of active experience or by observing others behave in similar situations. The interactions between reinforcement learning parameters that inform decision updating and memory formation of declarative information in experienced and observational learning settings are, however, unknown. In the current study, participants took part in a probabilistic decision-making task involving situations that either yielded similar outcomes to those of an observed player or opposed them. By fitting alternative reinforcement learning models to each subject, we discerned participants who learned similarly from experience and observation from those who assigned different weights to learning signals from these two sources. Participants who assigned different weights to their own experience versus those of others displayed enhanced memory performance as well as subjective memory strength for episodes involving significant reward prospects. Conversely, memory performance of participants who did not prioritize their own experience over others did not seem to be influenced by reinforcement learning parameters. These findings demonstrate that interactions between implicit and explicit learning systems depend on the means by which individuals weigh relevant information conveyed via experience and observation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahr Wali ◽  
Stefan Superina ◽  
Angela Mashford-Pringle ◽  
Heather Ross ◽  
Joseph A. Cafazzo

Abstract Background Indigenous populations have remained strong and resilient in maintaining their unique culture and values, despite centuries of colonial oppression. Unfortunately, a consequential result of facing years of adversity has led Indigenous populations to experience a disproportionate level of poorer health outcomes compared to non-Indigenous populations. Specifically, the rate of Indigenous chronic disease prevalence has significantly increased in the last decade. Many of the unique issues Indigenous populations experience are deeply rooted in their colonial history and the intergenerational traumas that has subsequently impacted their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. With this, to better improve Indigenous health outcomes, understanding the local context of their challenges is key. Studies have begun to use modes of community engagement to initiate Indigenous partnerships and design chronic disease-based interventions. However, with the lack of a methodological guideline regarding the appropriate level of community engagement to be used, there is concern that many interventions will continue to fall short in meeting community needs. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the how various community engagement strategies have been used to design and/or implement interventions for Indigenous populations with chronic disease. Methods A scoping review guided by the methods outlined by Arksey and O’Malley was conducted. A comprehensive search was completed by two reviewers in five electronic databases using keywords related to community engagement, Indigenous health and chronic disease. Studies were reviewed using a descriptive-analytical narrative method and data was categorized into thematic groups reflective of the main findings. Results We identified 23 articles that met the criteria for this scoping review. The majority of the studies included the use a participatory research model and the procurement of study approval. However, despite the claimed use of participatory research methods, only 6 studies had involved community members to identify the area of priority and only five had utilized Indigenous interview styles to promote meaningful feedback. Adapting for the local cultural context and the inclusion of community outreach were identified as the key themes from this review. Conclusion Many studies have begun to adopt community engagement strategies to better meet the needs of Indigenous Peoples. With the lack of a clear guideline to approach Indigenous-based participatory research, we recommend that researchers focus on 1) building partnerships, 2) obtaining study approval and 3) adapting interventions to the local context.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-240
Author(s):  
Julie M Hennet ◽  
John Williams

Practical relevance: Traumatic abdominal wall rupture is a potentially serious injury in cats. Feline and general practitioners should be up to date with the significance of these injuries and the procedures required to correct them. Clinical challenges: It is essential that the surgeon understands the local anatomy and adheres to Halsted’s principles in order that postoperative morbidity and mortality are kept to a minimum. Equipment: Standard general surgical equipment is required together with the facilities to provide adequate pre-, intra- and postoperative patient care. Evidence base: The authors have drawn on evidence from the published literature, as well as their own clinical experience, in developing this review aimed all veterinarians who want to update their skills in managing feline abdominal wall trauma.


2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aoife Nolan

Recent years have seen an explosion in methodologies for monitoring children’s economic and social rights (ESR). Key examples include the development of indicators, benchmarks, child rights-based budget analysis and child rights impact assessments. The Committee on the Right of the Child has praised such tools in its work and has actively promoted their usage. Troublingly, however, there are serious shortcomings in the Committee’s approach to the ESR standards enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which threaten to impact upon the efficacy of such methodologies. This article argues that the Committee has failed to engage with the substantive obligations imposed by Article 4 and many of the specific ESR guaranteed in the CRC in sufficient depth. As a result, that body has not succeeded in outlining a coherent, comprehensive child rights-specific ESR framework. Using the example of child rights-based budget analysis, the author claims that this omission constitutes a significant obstacle to those seeking to evaluate the extent to which states have met their ESR-related obligations under the CRC. The article thus brings together and addresses key issues that have so far received only very limited critical academic attention, namely, children’s ESR under the CRC, the relationship between budgetary decision-making and the CRC, and child rights-based budget analysis.


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