Despite having its critics, most clinicians agree that evidence-based medicine is, on the whole, a good thing. But evidence is just one part of what drives policy, and this is nowhere more obvious than in the field of international assistance for HIV/AIDS. […]
Annabel Ferriman: Nudging, fudging, and politics
Would you rather be nudged or nannied? Andrew Lansley clearly thinks the first is infinitely preferable to the second. And BMJ columnist Nigel Hawkes thinks that nudging is much nicer because it assumes you are an adult rather than a recalcitrant child. […]
Richard Smith: Recessions are good for health
Between 1991 and 1993 the Finnish economy suffered a deep recession and health and social services were cut by 25%. The result was a fall in mortality. Sweden had the same experience, and both countries thought that the falls in mortality might have been caused by falls in consumption of tobacco and alcohol. Can recessions and […]
Neil Chanchlani: Encouraging teachers breed inspired students
I’m not the type to stay at hospital placement all day long, looking around for things to do. Don’t get me wrong; I do the basics: go to lectures, attend bedside teaching, write up histories, and shadow junior doctors. But I can’t help but feel a strong lack of encouragement from senior doctors and consultants. […]
Kirsten Patrick on 5-a-day fitness
All over the news in the UK recently was a story about The British Association of Sports and Exercise Medicine (BASEM) endorsing a “quick training programme designed to address criticism over the way PE is taught in English schools.” BASEM apparently called for all schools to use the short exercise routine called “five-in-five”, devised by […]
Harriet Vickers: The one in front of me, or all of them out there?
As the government’s white paper promises to change the role and duties of GPs, this week’s King’s Fund conference asked “do clinicians have a responsibility for the population as well as the individual patient?” From all the speakers the answer was a resounding “yes,” however each had their own perspective on how this could fit […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review – 29 November 2010
JAMA 24 Nov 2010 Vol 304 2245 It’s a pleasure to start the week with a first class well-conducted study with a clear outcome that will benefit patients. The benefit in this case is the avoidance of futile thoracotomy for non small-cell lung cancer. And the way to avoid it is by using combined trans-oesophageal […]
Julian Sheather: What’s wrong with addiction?
Middle-aged; mid-life; mid-career. Party to the blessings – and the curses – of a young family. A sense that some things have been achieved, some are still to be achieved, while some, alas will probably not be. A feeling also that life’s funnel is narrowing. If hope, as I cannot remember who said, makes a […]
Research highlights – 26 November 2010
“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 does continuous positive airway pressure affect blood pressure in patients with systemic hypertension and obstructive sleep apnoea? Which bedside test […]
Daniel Palazuelos: Whose community is it anyway?
There is no magic formula for how to work with communities in a way that perfectly balances power sharing with meaningful change.[1] Many of the experiences that I have had in the Partners In Health supported projects in Mesoamerica have been incredible reminders of just how complicated this work can be. Nevertheless, like the practice […]