Street dwellers, as homeless people are called locally, are ubiquitous in Dhaka. As a health systems researcher, much of my work is far removed from the people around me. Things like systematic reviews, knowledge translation platforms, and capacity building seem to have little immediate impact on the ultrapoor, but recently we completed a small project […]
Snow Talk: Elizabeth Loder explores the bright side of all the snow in Massachusetts
Here in Massachusetts we’ve had snowstorm after snowstorm, and the winter of 2010-2011 is on track to be among the three snowiest on record. This record-setting possibility gives perverse satisfaction: at least we’ll be able to mention the award-winning nature of the snow when describing our hardships for future generations. […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review – 7 February 2011
JAMA 2 Feb 2011 Vol 305 487 Most of us have never come near a vial of bevacizumab, though we’ve read plenty about it, especially over recent years in the context of eye disease involving vascular proliferation. This monoclonal antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor A was initially developed as a treatment for solid cancers […]
Martin McShane: The dog that hasn’t barked
As we wrestle with uncertain futures, financial stringencies, and retaining a focus on ensuring services continue to get delivered, there is a creeping realisation that something is missing. There is a bill before Parliament which details, in jargon that defeats me, the changes to the structures for commissioning. It lays out the way the system […]
Research highlights – 4 February 2011
“Research highlights” is a weekly round-up of research papers appearing in the print BMJ. We start off with this week’s research questions, before providing more detail on some individual research papers and accompanying articles How effective are two risk stratification schemes at predicting thromboembolic events in patients with atrial fibrillation? Is CPR with chest compression […]
Mervyn Dean on adjusting to work in Tanzania
It used to be, and may still be, that in the tourist shops here one could buy a T-shirt bearing the words, “No hurry in Africa.” I now understand what it means, and I’m sure that many reading this who have worked in Africa will not be surprised at my experience to date. I am […]
Richard Smith: Can the NHS become environmentally sustainable?
“We live in a world of competing sorrows,” said Daniel Moynihan, the US senator. We also live in a world of competing agendas, and the NHS has to think about saving money, increasing productivity, improving quality and access, and many other issues as well as achieving environmental sustainability. And despite their fine words, the health […]
Martin Dawes: Health research: what’s in a name?
Every year my family tease me about going to NAPCRG, the North American Primary Care Research Group. This is pronounced “nap crag” and it does not take a huge leap of imagination to see how a little mispronunciation may lead to a sequence of “funny” jokes. As a result of this and partly to get […]
Douglas Noble on Euthanasia
The current issue of the BMJ includes four letters venting an angry response to an opinion piece on euthanasia on 22nd December 2010. The rapid responses reveal even greater depth of feeling. At the heart of the issue is the view that there has not been even-handed coverage, and the pro-euthanasia lobby has been given unfairly […]
Chris Cox on “criminalising” health care practice
A team of medical ethicists is calling for a new criminal offence of wilful neglect in the UK. The call, in the Journal of Medical Ethics, follows scandals over care such as that at Mid Staffordshire Hospital. […]