German emergency department measures in 2018: a status quo based on the Utstein reporting standard

Background Compelling data on clinical emergency medicine is required for healthcare system management. The aim of this survey was to describe the nationwide status quo of emergency care in Germany at the healthcare system level using the Utstein reporting template as the guideline to measure the data collected. Methods This cross-sectional survey collected standardized data from German EDs in 2018. All 759 of the EDs listed in a previously collected ED Directory were contacted in November 2019 using the online-survey tool SoSci Survey. Exclusively descriptive statistical analyses were performed. Absolute as well as relative frequencies, medians, means, ranges, standard deviations (SD) and interquartile ranges (IQR) were reported depending on distribution. Main Results A total of 150 questionnaires of contacted EDs were evaluated (response rate: 19.8%). Hospitals had a median of 403 inpatient beds (n=147). The EDs recorded a median of 30,000 patient contacts (n=136). Eighty-three EDs (55%) had observation units with a median of six beds. The special patient groups were pediatric patients (< 5 years) and older patients (> 75 years) with a median of 1.7% and 25%, respectively. Outpatients accounted for 55%, while 45% were admitted (intensive care unit 5.0%, standard care unit 32.3%, observation unit 6.3%) and 1.2% transferred to another hospital. Conclusions The use of the Utstein reporting template enabled the collection of ED descriptive parameters in Germany. The data can provide a baseline for upcoming reforms on German emergency medicine, and for international comparisons on admission rates, initial triage categories, and patient populations.

News from the BIPM laboratories—2021

In order to fulfil its mission to ensure and promote the global comparability of measurements, the BIPM operates laboratories in the fields of physical metrology, time, ionizing radiation and chemistry. These laboratories act as centres for scientific and technical collaboration between Member States providing capabilities for international measurement comparisons on a shared cost basis. They coordinate international comparisons of national measurement standards agreed to be of the highest priority, and they establish and maintain appropriate reference standards for use as the basis of key international comparisons at the highest level and provide selected calibrations from them.

MENA Countries Face the Challenge of the Knowledge-Based Economy

The growing interest in the knowledge economy raises many questions about its effect on economic growth. The study aims to position a set of MENA countries in the context of the knowledge economy compared to developed countries. It also detects theoretically and empirically the knowledge effect on economic growth. To do this, the authors have estimated an endogenous growth model, using the dynamic panel data technique, for a sample of 16 MENA countries over 1995-2014. The results show that, despite the significant improvements that have registered in the knowledge economy pillars, the selected countries are still lagging compared to developed countries. Far from international comparisons, the internal effects of these knowledge pillars (education, innovation, ICT, institutional regime) on growth are positive and highly significant.

Hazardous alcohol consumption and problem drinking in Norwegian and Russian women and men: The Tromsø Study 2015–2016 and the Know Your Heart study 2015–2018

Aim: Harmful use of alcohol is a worldwide public health concern. Cultural differences may affect responses to questions on alcohol problems, making international comparisons difficult. We aimed to compare self-reported alcohol consumption and problem drinking between Norwegian and Russian populations. Methods: We used data from women and men aged 40–69 years participating in the Tromsø Study seventh survey (Tromsø7, N=17646, participation 65%), Tromsø (2015–2016), Norway, and the Know Your Heart study (KYH, N=4099, participation 51%), Arkhangelsk and Novosibirsk (2015–2018), Russia. Alcohol consumption and problem drinking were measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) via questionnaires (Tromsø7) and interviews (KYH). We compared AUDIT scores and components between populations, by sex. Results: Non-drinking was more commonly reported in KYH compared with Tromsø7 (men 15.5% versus 4.9%, women 13.3% versus 7.3%). In men, hazardous consumption (41.4% versus 31.5%) and problem drinking (24.8% versus 19.6%) was higher in KYH compared with Tromsø7, but opposite for women (6.5% versus 12.0%, and 2.3% versus 5.8%). KYH men were less likely to report problem drinking behaviours than Tromsø7 men, with the exception of needing a drink first thing in the morning (13.2% versus 2.4%). KYH women consistently reported less consumption and problem drinking than Tromsø7 women. Conclusions: We found between-study differences in hazardous drinking, but in men these were lower than suggested by differences in country-level statistics on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related health-harms. Study sample selection, stronger social desirability bias effects in the Russian samples, and cultural differences in responding could have affected the results.

Researching the Complexities of the School Subject Swedish as a Second Language: A Linguistic Ethnographic Project in Four Schools

This article focuses on language education policy for language learners in Sweden by building on a synthesis of findings from a research project on the school subject Swedish as a second language (SSL). The project was located in three upper secondary schools and one primary school with a large proportion of migrant students, of whom a majority studied SSL. We present previously published core findings, as well as revisit data for new analyses. The overarching aim is to contribute new knowledge on the complexities of arranging for sustainable, equitable and high-quality language educational provisions that include the teaching and learning of the language of schooling, through the lens of SSL. First, we outline and discuss the relatively unique design of SSL and discourses surrounding the subject, and also make some international comparisons with English as an Additional Language. Secondly, we discuss the role of pedagogical scaffolding of advanced literacy and literary content, and of multilingual aspects in SSL, as well as examine policy frictions in the data. We conclude by reflecting on the role of teacher competences and research methodology. Researching a second language subject is to stand in the crossroad of macro policy, the theory and practice of language education, and equity. All these aspects need to be considered to reach sustainable educational goals.

Migrant Care Labour, Covid-19, and the Long-Term Care Crisis: Achieving Solidarity for Care Providers and Recipients

Globally there is a care crisis in terms of the quantity of care needed for an aging population and the quality of both the care provided and work conditions of those providing this care. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and heighted this crisis of care. In this chapter we review the issue with a particular focus on long-term care (LTC) facilities and the type and skill mix of labour, including the degree to which immigrant workers are over-represented in this sector. We offer some conceptual reflections on elder care as a matter of social justice and ethics in terms of those needing and providing care. These concerns take on a specific global dimension when we understand the transnationalisation of care, or the care provisioning function of what are termed global care chains. We contextualise how this migrant labour is positioned within this sector through international comparisons of funding models for LTC, which also allows us to understand the structural conditions within which this globally-sourced workforce is positioned. We then highlight two significant contributing factors to the current LTC crisis that were intensified and exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic using Ontario, Canada, as an example: the role of the private sector and the unsustainable extraction of profits from this service, and the gendered and racialised devaluing of migrant labour so essential to the sector.