scholarly journals The drivers of overdiagnosis within modern healthcare systems - An interdisciplinary analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Vodden

“Overdiagnosis” - when people are labelled with or treated for a disease that would never cause them harm - is increasingly highlighted as a significant issue within contemporary healthcare, yet one which to date, has received little attention outside of the medical context. As a society, our collective enthusiasm to diagnose and treat disease has paradoxically been shown to potentially do more harm than good, impacting individuals whilst simultaneously increasing financial costs to the health system. As health systems across the world continue to face unprecedented pressures, tackling this phenomenon represents an important step in reducing the proliferation of low-value care inherent within the practice of modern medicine, and contributing towards the development of sustainable health systems. This research represents the first interdisciplinary analysis of the factors contributing towards overdiagnosis within modern healthcare systems. The analysis finds that individual disciplines of a medical and non-medical origin elude to important insights in relation to the drivers of overdiagnosis which are not necessarily reflected across multiple disciplines. Drivers identified within literature which lies beyond the medical context likely represent new knowledge in relation to the causes of overdiagnosis, and collectively provide a starting point from which to consider the role of patients and clinicians in influencing overdiagnosis, the nature of the interaction between the drivers of overdiagnosis, and the role of the different models of health in providing a unique perspective of the wider phenomenon. These findings highlight the importance of interdisciplinarity within health research and contribute towards efforts to reduce the rise of low value care within modern healthcare, fostering the development of sustainable health systems.

Author(s):  
Chris Oyewole Durojaiye ◽  
Robin Morgan

The COVID-19 crisis has brought unprecedented strain on healthcare systems around the world. It has perhaps taught us some key lessons that are worth considering and addressing to help build more sustainable health systems as well as improve our ability to combat future epidemics.


Author(s):  
Tat’yana V. Bychkova ◽  

The paper considers the role of the language personality in speech activity in neologizations of abbreviated SMS messages in the English discourse. Within the framework of the communicative-discursive direction in Russian linguistics, a paradigmatic approach to the study of the role of the language personality in the creation of new knowledge has been established. The language personality is able to participate in the process of nominating objects and actions of the world picture. Intralinguistic and extralinguistic factors influence language changes. Intralinguistic factors provide potential for language renewal, including its neologization, in accordance with the laws of dialectical development. Extra- linguistic factors are represented by numerous social and socio-political phe- nomena from the surrounding world. The high popularity of SMS messages is explained not only by the action of the law of saving speech efforts in the language, but also by the ability of language personality to express emotions in the language, thanks to the opportunities for innovations and improvisations inherent in it. The paper considers the language functions and stylistic features of abbreviated SNS messages in English discourse.


Author(s):  
Jarosław Macała

A large portion of geopolitical research of the last decades, especially geopolitical criticism, undertakes the concept of the importance of culture, value and identity in explaining the relation between the space and politics, which was an aspect underappreciated by classical and neoclassical geopolitics. It might be assumed that the currently growing role of popculture and mass-media in our lives lead to the establishment of a kind of a “cultural order”, a particular filter that decides on the perception of the world and, consequently, geopolitics. This article relates to this issue as it deals with the meaning of popular culture in contemporary geopolitical research, mostly accentuated by popular geopolitics. This review briefly analyses what popular geopolitics is, how to sketch its research area, stages of development, applied definitions and research methods. The starting point is the assumption that the hegemonic structure of geographical/geopolitical thinking that the elites are trying to impose on the society by using popcultural artifacts may, in fact, be reconstructed thanks to popular geopolitics studies. It shows the scale and reach of resistance towards such imaginations as displayed by the non-elites, who also reach for symbols, texts and images from popular culture. Such circumstances allow to observe either legitimizing or debunking a particular view of the world and geopolitics.


Author(s):  
David MacDougall

Research in the sciences, including the social sciences, is usually supposed to be conducted in a systematic way, working from research questions to the gathering of empirical data, to conclusions. But in an analogy drawn from the art of fencing, the author argues for an alternative approach in visual anthropology. Films look at the world differently from the ways we conventionally see, and these differences have optical, social, and structural origins. To overcome these differences, filmmakers may have to voluntarily ‘dislocate’ themselves in order to put themselves in a position to view their subject from a different perspective, and so uncover new knowledge. The argument is supported by a discussion of the realities of ethnographic fieldwork, the processes of filmmaking, and the role of play and improvisation in the arts and other human endeavours.


Recycling ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Fabiula Danielli Bastos de Sousa

Since the beginning of the first cases of the new coronavirus, opinions and laws on the use of plastic materials have been questioned around the world. Their importance in the manufacture of hospital devices and personal protective equipment (PPE) is unquestionable, as they contribute largely to the reduction of the virus spread, helping health systems from all edges of the world and, most importantly, saving lives. However, the same material that is a protector, becomes a polluter when inadequately disposed of in the environment, generating or worsening socio-environmental problems, such as pollution of water bodies by plastic. A critical overview of the role of plastic during the COVID-19 pandemic is provided in this paper. A future panorama is attempted to be outlined. The real possibility of the virus spread from the use of plastic is discussed, as well as the recycling of plastic during the pandemic, correlating its use with problems that it may cause.


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devidas Menon ◽  
Tania Stafinski

“Evidence-informed” priority-setting in healthcare has become increasingly important in most health systems around the world. This paper presents the results of a two-part study of the role of academic health services research in healthcare priority-setting. First, a review of peer-reviewed literature was done to elicit the factors important to priority-setting. Second, a survey of authors of this literature was conducted to determine the value of relevant academic work to decision-making.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Malou Strandvad

Based on a study of the admission test at a design school, this paper investigates the contingencies of aesthetic values as these become visible in assessment practices. Theoretically, the paper takes its starting point in Herrnstein Smith’s notion of ‘contingencies of values’ and outlines a pragmatist ground where cultural sociology and economic sociology meet. Informed by the literature on cultural intermediaries, the paper discusses the role of evaluators and the devices which accompany them. Whereas studies of cultural intermediaries traditionally apply a Bourdieusian perspective, recent developments within this field of literature draws inspiration from the so-called ‘new new economic sociology,’ which this paper adds to. While the admission test is easily described as a matter of overcoming “subjective” aesthetic evaluations by means of “objective” and standardized assessment criteria, the paper does not accept this storyline. As an alternative, the paper outlines the contingencies of values which are at play at the admission test, composed of official assessment criteria and scoring devices together with conventions within the world of design, and set in motion by interactions with the objects that applicants submit.


Author(s):  
Divya Chaudhry ◽  
Priyanka Tomar

Pandemics have indefinitely threatened the resilience of health systems worldwide. Based on the costs inflicted by some of the deadliest pandemics in human history, economists have projected that global pandemics could cost over USD 6 trillion and generate an annual estimated loss of over USD 60 billion. While the global health community is tirelessly trying to curb the burden of premature mortality from several old and new forms of pathogens, it is now faced with the silently emerging antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pandemic that could endanger some of the most significant advances in modern medicine. Owing to rampant antibiotic consumption in India, the article shows why the country may become the ‘AMR capital of the world’. It shows how health systems may be strengthened both at the national and international levels to reduce premature mortality and morbidity attributable to AMR and pandemics. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (35) ◽  
pp. 7-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albin John ◽  
Freedom Ha ◽  
Mimi Zumwalt

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a great toll on many families. From its rapid spread to debilitating outcomes, the virus has wreaked havoc on healthcare systems around the world. As researchers study this novel virus, the public continues to seek more information on who is the most susceptible and which population will be affected by the more severe manifestations of the disease. As a result, scientists have started analyzing the variable effects of COVID-19 infection in different age groups. While the information is still nascent, these studies demonstrate that no one is immune, that all are susceptible to infection by this virus, and that certain demographics of the general population have more severe disease than others. This literature review examines how COVID-19 has affected different age groups, from neonates to older adults, by exploring statistics, mechanisms, and possible risk factors. This article will also investigate the role of comorbidities in increasing the severity of this viral infection. Key words: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, age, neonates, pregnancy, older adults, mechanism, comorbidities, angiotensin converting enzyme 2


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