scholarly journals Prioritising Medicines, Negotiating Lives: An Anthropological Inquiry of Pharmaceutical Access in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Veronica Adams
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Early Death ◽  
Cost Utility ◽  
Utility Analysis ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Government ◽  
Experimental Treatments ◽  
Anthropological Literature

<p>Pharmaceuticals have become synonymous with ideas of health and wellbeing. The consumption of pharmaceuticals has become the gateway to restoring, maintaining, or improving one’s health; in turn becoming deeply entrenched in everyday life as treatment for disease. Given the use of pharmaceuticals for treatment, the question needs to be asked how individuals are able to obtain the medication they need. There is little anthropological literature concerning how patients negotiate and lobby for access to pharmaceutical treatment in New Zealand, particularly so in the face of Pharmac as the government entity which heavily regulates pharmaceuticals. Through conducting interviews with nine participants who are patients, general practitioners, and employees of Pharmac, I argue that in utilising policies such as cost utility analysis Pharmac prioritise which medicines are publically funded, and in doing this determine how health is conceived and calculated within the New Zealand health care system. In determining which medicines should be funded the state is making judgements over which lives are prioritised, and, in turn, who is left to die. I suggest that in the face of being denied access to life-saving drugs patients become mobilised through seeking access to experimental therapies via pharmaceutical companies. By taking these experimental treatments we come to understand that experimentation and risk have become crucial in patients fight for life against the prognosis of an early death from disease.</p>

scholarly journals Prioritising Medicines, Negotiating Lives: An Anthropological Inquiry of Pharmaceutical Access in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Veronica Adams
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Early Death ◽  
Cost Utility ◽  
Utility Analysis ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Government ◽  
Experimental Treatments ◽  
Anthropological Literature

<p>Pharmaceuticals have become synonymous with ideas of health and wellbeing. The consumption of pharmaceuticals has become the gateway to restoring, maintaining, or improving one’s health; in turn becoming deeply entrenched in everyday life as treatment for disease. Given the use of pharmaceuticals for treatment, the question needs to be asked how individuals are able to obtain the medication they need. There is little anthropological literature concerning how patients negotiate and lobby for access to pharmaceutical treatment in New Zealand, particularly so in the face of Pharmac as the government entity which heavily regulates pharmaceuticals. Through conducting interviews with nine participants who are patients, general practitioners, and employees of Pharmac, I argue that in utilising policies such as cost utility analysis Pharmac prioritise which medicines are publically funded, and in doing this determine how health is conceived and calculated within the New Zealand health care system. In determining which medicines should be funded the state is making judgements over which lives are prioritised, and, in turn, who is left to die. I suggest that in the face of being denied access to life-saving drugs patients become mobilised through seeking access to experimental therapies via pharmaceutical companies. By taking these experimental treatments we come to understand that experimentation and risk have become crucial in patients fight for life against the prognosis of an early death from disease.</p>

scholarly journals Risk-benefit and cost-utility analysis for COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium: the impact on mental health and wellbeing.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederik Feys ◽  
Sam Brokken ◽  
Steven De Peuter
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Time Horizon ◽  
Cost Utility ◽  
Cost Utility Analysis ◽  
Utility Analysis ◽  
Net Benefit ◽  
Psychological Burden ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Life Years

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the benefits and risks of a lockdown in Belgium, with focus on mental health. Consequently, projecting the cost effectiveness of remedial measures.METHODS For benefits; in estimating health savings, we compared Belgium (lockdown) and Sweden (lockdown-light) for COVID-19 related deaths, peak intensive care unit load and peak hospitalisations load. We also calculated the years of life lost (YLL). For risks; we assessed the mental health and wellbeing, using the most common dimensions: anxiety and depression. GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores were extracted from a survey and compared to a similar representative survey in 2018. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were calculated for and we assessed non-COVID-19 related-deaths from excess mortality. Cost-utility analysis was performed with a 1-year time horizon. Hence, considering the Quality-adjusted Life Years (QALYs), Incremental Cost-effectiveness Ratio (ICER) and the potential impact providing adequate treatment compared to standard care.RESULTS Lockdown versus lockdown-light gave no COVID-19 related benefits. COVID-19 related risks during lockdown saw an increase of 4,231 deaths; 667 extra ICU admissions on peak day, 3213 extra hospital admissions on peak day and 140 extra non-COVID-19 related deaths. Additionally, 140 extra deaths occured due to a non-COVID-19 cause. 1,034,365 (9,0%) of Belgian population reported increased anxiety and/or depression. Risk-benefit analysis; COVID-19 related deaths yielded an extra 3,145 YLL, total psychological burden of 104,515 (74,025-139,762) DALYs and the total loss of societal value is considered between €3.0 billion and €5.6 billion. Cost-utility analysis; ICER for psychological treatment for depression was €11,510/QALY gained. In total psychotherapy could create 181,714 (34,134-213,654) QALYs and a 1 year net benefit of € 5.2 billion.CONCLUSION We found no evidence that a lockdown versus lockdown-light results in less COVID-19 related mortality and morbidity. The Belgian lockdown created an obvious +104,515 (74,025-139,762) DALYs psychological burden in Belgium. Adequate investment in psychological help would provide individual relief and may improve a person’s immunological response. Also, within a 1-year time horizon, taking into account the loss of value in healthy functioning people, the net benefit is €0.9 billion.

Cost-utility analysis of eating disorder treatment

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Pohjolainen ◽  
P. Rasanen ◽  
R. P. Roine ◽  
H. Sintonen ◽  
K. Wahlbeck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Cost Utility ◽  
Cost Utility Analysis ◽  
Utility Analysis ◽  
Eating Disorder Treatment ◽  
Disorder Treatment

An Immigrant Filmmaker Substitutes an Alternative Vision of Adolescence: The Scarecrow (Sam Pillsbury, 1982)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Fox
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cinematic Adaptation ◽  
Alternative Vision ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Genre Film

By comparing Sam Pillsbury’s cinematic adaptation of Ronald Hugh Morrieson’s The Scarecrow (1963) with the original, this chapter shows how the filmmaker, who was raised in the USA and immigrated to New Zealand in his teens, empties the source novel of the moral ambiguities and transgressive elements that had made the original a genuinely New Zealand work, in so far as it reflected puritan guilt over transgressive impulses in the face of repression, and thus turned the story into a genre film that that is much more anodyne in its vision.

Verán ustedes las chozas más humildes. El discurso de pobreza en la diplomacia pública cardenista dirigida a Estados Unidos

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-281
Author(s):  
Sylvia Dümmer Scheel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New Deal ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Government ◽  
Lazaro Cardenas ◽  
The New Deal

El artículo analiza la diplomacia pública del gobierno de Lázaro Cárdenas centrándose en su opción por publicitar la pobreza nacional en el extranjero, especialmente en Estados Unidos. Se plantea que se trató de una estrategia inédita, que accedió a poner en riesgo el “prestigio nacional” con el fin de justificar ante la opinión pública estadounidense la necesidad de implementar las reformas contenidas en el Plan Sexenal. Aprovechando la inusual empatía hacia los pobres en tiempos del New Deal, se construyó una imagen específica de pobreza que fuera higiénica y redimible. Ésta, sin embargo, no generó consenso entre los mexicanos. This article analyzes the public diplomacy of the government of Lázaro Cárdenas, focusing on the administration’s decision to publicize the nation’s poverty internationally, especially in the United States. This study suggests that this was an unprecedented strategy, putting “national prestige” at risk in order to explain the importance of implementing the reforms contained in the Six Year Plan, in the face of public opinion in the United States. Taking advantage of the increased empathy felt towards the poor during the New Deal, a specific image of hygienic and redeemable poverty was constructed. However, this strategy did not generate agreement among Mexicans.

Information-seeking to Support Personal and Community Wellbeing: Report of a study of New Zealand Men Using Focus Groups

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peta Wellstead
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Groupes De Discussion

This paper reports part of an ongoing study exploring the information behaviour of New Zealand men during periods of diminished health and wellbeing. Focus groups were used for this iteration of the study. Results indicate that New Zealand men face both personal and structural constraints to their information-seeking during periods when their health and wellbeing may be compromised. This study highlights that service providers need to develop more effective information delivery mechanisms and support services for men. These services need to be appealing to men and reflect men’s information seeking preferences. The role of LIS professionals in supporting this endeavour is discussed. Cet article présente une étude en cours explorant le comportement informationnel d’ hommes néo-zélandais durant des périodes où leur état de santé et de bien-être est amoindri. Des groupes de discussion ont été utilisés pour cette itération de l'étude. Les résultats indiquent que les hommes en Nouvelle-Zélande font face à des contraintes à la fois  personnelles et structurelles dans leur recherche d'information pendant les périodes où leur santé et leur bien-être peuvent être affaiblis. Cette étude met en évidence le besoin pour les fournisseurs de services de développer des mécanismes de diffusion de l'information plus efficaces et des services de soutien pour les hommes. Ces services doivent être attrayants et refléter les préférences des hommes dans leurs recherches d’information. Le rôle des professionnels de l'information dans le soutien à cette entreprise est discuté.

New Drugs of 2012: A Concise Overview of the NMEs and Trends for Innovative Brand Market in the United States

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 2009-2013
Author(s):  
D Samba Reddy
Keyword(s):  
Drug Approval ◽  
The United States ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
New Combination ◽  
Drug Status ◽  
Combination Drug ◽  
Human Cord Blood ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Genomics And Proteomics ◽  
The Face

Thirty-nine (39) new drugs have been approved by the U.S. FDA in 2012, a record highest number of approvals since 1996. The record is a sign that pharma companies are poised to tap recent advances from genomics and proteomics. This list includes novel new drugs, known as new molecular entities (NMEs), biologics and new products. Many life-saving drugs are approved for marketing. The list includes a total of 10 drugs for cancer treatment, and nearly a quarter of those approved in 2012 had orphan drug status.  Among the breakthrough drugs approved in 2012 were ivacaftor (cystic fibrosis), vasmodegib (skin cancer), HPC-C (human cord blood product), ruxolitinib (myelofibrosis) and a new combination drug to treat HIV. In addition,  several unique products were approved for the treatment of macular degeneration, chronic weight management, overactive bladder, actinic keratosis, erectile dysfunction, glaucoma, respiratory distress syndrome, and COPD. The approval of 39 drugs in 2012 underscores a robust success rate and confirms that innovation is once again beginning to pay off. In the existing climate of reduced revenues in the face of generic competitions, the future and survival of big companies rests heavily on their unique niche products. It is apparent that big Pharma and a growing number of emerging Biotechs alike have focused their attention on developing new NMEs for rare diseases. In 2012, the length of the FDA’s review is shorter than agencies in other countries. Innovative models adopted for R&D strategies, communications, and new regulatory changes appear to shorten development timelines. Despite record drug approvals, there is bleak scope for blockbusters because most of these drugs have a limited market. The pipeline for blockbusters appears very low. However, there is unmet medical need for new drugs in autism, Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. Overall, the new drug approval list unveils unique and reemerging trends indicating that the pharma companies are poised for big growth from new brands approved for marketing for narrow-spectrum indications.    

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