[Correspondence] Putting Ireland's health spending into perspective
The Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar recently stated that Ireland spends the fifth highest amount on health in the world, therefore citizens should expect the fifth best health system in the world.1 Meanwhile, the European Commission has expressed concerns about the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of the Irish health system.2 However, these observations fail to take into account the fact that the Irish health system is only now recovering from historic long-term underfunding, the effects of which are still being felt. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Brian Turner Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Obituary] Jeffrey Lima Hayes O'Riordan
Pioneer researcher in the hormonal control of bone metabolism. Born in Newport, UK, on March 27, 1931, he died in London, UK, of a bowel obstruction on Oct 9, 2017, aged 86 years. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Geoff Watts Tags: Obituary Source Type: research
[Perspectives] A day in the life of a surgical intern: women in surgery
I wake up moderately rested for another day of work as a surgical intern, a first year resident doctor learning to care for patients. I mentally prepare myself for the day ahead. Morning rounds, ward management, clinic appointments, and perhaps I'll be able to squeeze into an operating room. Despite my planning for the day, I dwell mostly on my apprehensions about my abilities. Are my patients stable enough? Is my prioritisation of tasks safe and efficient? Am I learning enough? Am I good enough? (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Han Yan Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Perspectives] Edna Adan Ismail: midwife and champion of women's health
“I have an incurable disease; I suffer from I've-got-to-fix-that”, says Edna Adan Ismail, midwife and founder of the non-profit Edna Adan Hospital in Somaliland. At the age of 80 years, she has no intention of slowing down. “There's so much to be done and why should I miss all the fun”, she says. “But I am trying to delegate more and I'm finding people who can do things very well. I don't want the hospital to die with me.” (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Sharmila Devi Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Perspectives] Human arrogance and epidemics
There was a time not so long ago, in the early 1990s, when warnings about emerging epidemics and infectious diseases were derided, the Cassandras were mocked, and the power of human ingenuity and countermeasures were hailed. Globalisation of HIV/AIDS, of course, curbed such hubris, but medical and public health leaders, including the top tiers of WHO, viewed HIV as an exception to the rule. And as Michael Merson and Stephen Inrig detail in their agonising account The AIDS Pandemic: Searching for a Global Response, that notion of AIDS exceptionalism spawned an international non-response that allowed the virus to sweep acros...
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Laurie Garrett Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[World Report] Negotiations lagging for science and technology in the UK
A summit held by the Science and Technology parliamentary Committee on Feb 22 highlights how much still needs to be determined to safeguard UK research before Brexit. Talha Burki reports. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Talha Burki Tags: World Report Source Type: research
[World Report] Libya: war and migration strain a broken health system
Libya is struggling to cope with a migrant crisis as widespread suffering and armed violence continue in the war-torn nation. John Zarocostas reports. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: John Zarocostas Tags: World Report Source Type: research
[Comment] Offline: Canada and global health —iconic or ironic?
Canada occupies iconic status in the history of medicine and global health. Midwife to UN peacekeeping. 0 ·7%. The Lalonde Report. The Ottawa Charter. Evidence-based medicine. Muskoka. Canada can be proud of its iconic leaders too. Emily Howard Jennings Stowe, the first woman doctor to practise medicine in Canada. Jennie Robertson, the country's first female surgeon. Brock Chisholm, WHO's first Directo r-General. John Evans, who rewrote the World Bank's mission to include health. Canada possesses internationally influential health research funders, such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the International D...
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Richard Horton Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Editorial] Wellcome seeks Brexit carve-out for UK research
Last week, The Wellcome Trust released a report on the future relationship for scientific research between the UK and the European Union (EU) following Brexit. Drawing on the views of 200 organisations and individuals, the report recommends maintaining a close partnership through the establishment of an EU –UK research and innovation agreement that covers funding, regulation and research policy, and the movement of researchers. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: The Lancet Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
[Editorial] Stem cells, regenerative medicine, and Prometheus
The possibility of regeneration fascinates us as much today as it did the ancient Greeks. In the story of Prometheus, an eagle was sent to peck his liver each day as punishment, while at night it regrew. Stem cells have a similar mythical character —part fact, part fantasy—that captures the imagination but also blurs reality. In today's issue, we publish the Lancet Commission: Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine (published online Oct 4, 2017) to assess advances in the field, including gene therapy, since our last Series on the topic in 20 13, and how to plan future developments in a way that both promotes science and ...
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: The Lancet Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
[Editorial] The burden of traumatic brain injury in children
On Feb 21, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, published the Report to Congress: The Management of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in Children, to review the public health burden and to make recommendations for the future management and treatment of this population. In a field with such a lack of scientific research and evidence, the report has drawn on all existing resources and studies to comprehensively present the US experience. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: The Lancet Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
[Correspondence] Addressing paediatric surgical care on World Birth Defects Day
As we pause to reflect on the burden of disease caused by birth defects during World Birth Defects Day on March 3, 2018, we highlight the importance of developing surgical systems for children, to decrease the morbidity and mortality of birth defects. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 2, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Naomi J Wright, Jamie E Anderson, Doruk Ozgediz, Diana L Farmer, Tahmina Banu Tags: Correspondence Source Type: research
[Articles] Mapping the burden of cholera in sub-Saharan Africa and implications for control: an analysis of data across geographical scales
Although cholera occurs throughout sub-Saharan Africa, its highest incidence is concentrated in a small proportion of the continent. Prioritising high-risk areas could substantially increase the efficiency of cholera control programmes. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 1, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Justin Lessler, Sean M Moore, Francisco J Luquero, Heather S McKay, Rebecca Grais, Myriam Henkens, Martin Mengel, Jessica Dunoyer, Maurice M'bangombe, Elizabeth C Lee, Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey, Bertrand Sudre, Didier Bompangue, Robert S M Fraser, Abdina Tags: Articles Source Type: research
[Comment] Taking aim at cholera
In 1854, John Snow's work on cholera in London immortalised the power of mapping as a tool for disease prevention and control.1 Over 160 years later, a more ambitious effort to map cholera has been reported in The Lancet.2 Forgoing so-called shoe leather epidemiology in favour of big data, Justin Lessler and colleagues2 used 279 cholera datasets covering 2283 locations in 37 countries, and cluster-level maps of access to improved water and sanitation in 41 countries, to map cholera incidence across sub-Saharan Africa at a 20 km × 20 km grid scale. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - March 1, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Eric Mintz Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Comment] Nursing Now campaign: raising the status of nurses
There have been enormous developments in nursing over the past decades, with extended roles, nurse practitioners, and degree level education spreading globally and with, for example, prescribing by nurses now established in countries as different as Botswana and the UK.1 Nursing and midwifery make up almost half the global health workforce, are at the centre of most health teams, and have a massive impact on health.2 However, nurses and midwives will assume an even more extensive and influential role in the future for at least six powerful reasons. (Source: LANCET)
Source: LANCET - February 28, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: Nigel Crisp, Elizabeth Iro Tags: Comment Source Type: research
