In the late part of the 20th century, due to the change of disease spectra, rapid increase of health expenditure and imbalanced distribution of health resources, the health management sectors and doctors increasingly demand the scientific decision-making. With the development of clinical evidences and research, evidence-based medicine (EBM) became emerged in the early 1990's. EBM, the medical science in compliance with the best available clinical evidence, integrates clinical epidemiology (CE), systematic reviews (SRs) and health technology assessment (HTA) as the major technology, to emphasize that the clinical practice should be based on the combination of the best available clinical evidence, medical experiences and patient desire to cope with the demand of medical decision-making. Some governments and international organizations like WHO, and Australia have now adopted the high-quality evidence of EBM for decision-making. As the largest developing country, China is challenged by variety of health problems. The introduction, adaptation and implementation of EBM will improve the decision-making and health care services, which should enhance the competitive capacity of medical and pharmaceutical manufactures, as well as promote the popularization of EBM, and protect the doctors and patients rights.
Epidemiologic Methods ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Forecasting ; Health Policy ; trends ; Humans ; Meta-Analysis as Topic ; Policy Making

No abstract available.
Diagnosis-Related Groups ; Forecasting ; Health Policy/*trends ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Managed Care Programs/trends ; Mental Health Services/*trends ; United States

The ongoing pandemic coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) remains a significant issue for global health, economics, and society. In order to balance epidemic control and economic recovery, many countries have successively announced the gradual relaxation of some lockdown restrictions. Hospitals and medical staff constitute the backbone in this war against COVID-19. In response to this serious situation, many hospitals went into emergency and impaired healthcare access to patients with conditions other than COVID-19. Therefore, gradually promoting hospital operations and functions back to the new normal is important, especially when this outbreak has been effectively controlled. In this study, we introduce existing and potential problems that could seriously affect people's health. Additionally, we propose that an especial transition phase between the emergency and regular modes of hospitals can be well adapted to the current situation.
Coronavirus Infections ; epidemiology ; Health Policy ; trends ; Hospitals ; standards ; trends ; Humans ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; epidemiology

In the past 50 years, integration of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, known as the Chinese version of integrative medicine (IM), has achieved significant developments. In this article, the present situation and progress in IM development in China are summarized from the aspects of IM application, policy making, scientific research, education, academic exchanges, and its future development. With continuous support from the Chinese government and successful scientific achievements in the past 50 years, the authors believe that IM will be moving forwards to a full globalization.
China ; Health Policy ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; education ; trends ; Professional Practice ; Research

OBJECTIVETo introduce and explore the current status and prospects of traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) in China.

METHODSGovernment websites, national statistics, and authoritative papers from journal and government daily were fully searched. Further data were gathered by related experts.

RESULTSWith the implementation of policies on growing TTM, there have been improvements in TTM's health care, scientific research, education, and pharmacy industry. TTM hospitals contribute to the health service system in Tibet Autonomous Region and other four Tibetan regions; TTM education has been incorporated into national education system in China; the number of scientific researches on TTM funded by the government is increasing year by year; Tibetan medicines become available to more people with the development of TTM pharmacy industry.

CONCLUSIONTTM is well preserved and developed in China, and more efforts should be taken to promote its spread and development.

Adolescent ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Emergency Service, Hospital/trends* ; Facilities and Services Utilization/trends* ; Female ; Health Policy ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Pandemics ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore/epidemiology*

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study has been instrumental in guiding global health policy development since the early 1990s. The GBD 2010 project provided rich information about the key causes of mortality, disability-adjusted life years, and their associated risk factors in Japan and provided a unique opportunity to incorporate these data into health planning. As part of the latest update of this project, GBD 2013, the Japanese GBD collaborators plan to update and refine the available burden of disease data by incorporating sub-national estimates of the burden of disease at the prefectural level. These estimates will provide health planners and policy makers at both the national and prefectural level with new, more refined tools to adapt local public health initiatives to meet the health needs of local populations. Moreover, they will enable the Japanese health system to better respond to the unique challenges in their rapidly aging population and as a complex combination of non-communicable disease risk factors begin to dominate the policy agenda. Regional collaborations will enable nations to learn from the experiences of other nations that may be at different stages of the epidemiological transition and have different exposure profiles and associated health effects. Such analyses and improvements in the data collection systems will further improve the health of the Japanese, maintain Japan's excellent record of health equity, and provide a better understanding of the direction of health policy in the region.
Aging ; Communicable Diseases/mortality ; *Cost of Illness ; Disabled Persons/statistics & numerical data ; *Health Policy ; Humans ; Japan ; Mortality/trends ; Risk Factors ; Socioeconomic Factors

INTRODUCTION: As part of infection control measures for COVID-19, individuals have been encouraged to adopt both preventive (such as handwashing) and avoidant behavioural changes (e.g. avoiding crowds). In this study, we examined whether demographics predicted the likelihood that a person would adopt these behaviours in Singapore. METHODS: A total of 1,145 participants responded to an online survey conducted between 7 March and 21 April 2020. We collected demographic information and asked participants to report which of 17 behaviour changes they had undertaken because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Regression analyses were performed to predict the number of behavioural changes (preventive, avoidant, and total) as a function of demographics. Finally, we sought to identify predictors of persons who declared that they had not undertaken any of these measures following the outbreak. RESULTS: Most participants (97%) reported at least one behavioural change on account of the pandemic, with changes increasing with the number of local COVID-19 cases ( CONCLUSION Our characterisation of behavioural changes provides a baseline for public health advisories. Moving forward, health authorities can focus their efforts on encouraging segments of the population who do not readily adopt infection control measures against COVID-19.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; COVID-19/psychology* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hand Disinfection/trends* ; Health Behavior ; Health Policy ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Physical Distancing ; Risk-Taking ; Self Report ; Sex Factors ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Socioeconomic Factors

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated the impact of public health measures on paediatric emergency department attendances during the COVID-19 and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreaks in Singapore. METHODS: Between 1 January 2020 and 31 July 2020, we retrospectively reviewed paediatric emergency department attendances and admissions in a tertiary paediatric hospital in Singapore before and after a national lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore. Hospital attendances and admissions were compared with data from a corresponding period in 2019 (1 January 2019 to 31 July 2019), as well as during and after the SARS outbreak (1 January 2003 to 31 December 2004). RESULTS: Compared with a corresponding non-outbreak period, emergency department attendances decreased in line with nationwide public health measures during the COVID-19 and SARS outbreaks (2020 and 2003 respectively), before increasing gradually following lifting of restrictions, albeit not to recorded levels before these outbreaks. During the COVID-19 outbreak, mean daily attendances decreased by 40%, from 458 per day in January-July 2019, to 274 per day in January-July 2020. The absolute number of hospital inpatient admissions decreased by 37% from January-July 2019 (19,629) to January-July 2020 (12,304). The proportion of emergency department attendances requiring admission remained similar: 20% in January-July 2019 and 21% in January-July 2020. CONCLUSION Nationwide public health measures in Singapore have had an impact on paediatric emergency department attendances and hospital inpatient admissions. Data from this study could inform planning and resource allocation for emergency departments in Singapore and internationally.
Adolescent ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Disease Outbreaks ; Emergency Service, Hospital/trends* ; Facilities and Services Utilization/trends* ; Female ; Health Policy ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Patient Admission/trends* ; Pediatrics ; Retrospective Studies ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/epidemiology* ; Singapore/epidemiology*

BACKGROUND: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor insecticides (AChEIIs) were used extensively in the agrarian region of Anuradhapura for the past few decades. As a result, the region faced a heightened risk of toxicity. Carbaryl, carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, and fenthion were the five hazardous AChEIIs banned from Anuradhapura in 2014. Assessment of post-ban trends in acute poisoning will reveal the impact of the ban. Data on availability and sales of remaining AChEIIs will guide towards preventive measures against related toxicities. METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted at Anuradhapura district of Sri Lanka. Details related to acute AChEII poisoning were sorted from the Teaching Hospital Anuradhapura. Main insecticide vendors in Anuradhapura were surveyed to find information on availability and sales of AChEIIs. Chi-square for goodness of fit was performed for trends in acute poisoning and sales. RESULTS: Hospital admissions related to acute AChEII poisoning have declined from 554 in 2013 to 272 in 2017. Deaths related to acute AChEII poisoning have declined from 27 in 2013 to 13 in 2017. Sales of all five banned AChEIIs had reduced by 100%. Sales of the remaining AChEIIs were declining, except for acephate, phenthoate, and profenofos. However, one of the top selling, most frequently abused carbosulfan, had the highest risk of toxicity. Chi-square for goodness of fit showed a significance (P < 0.001) between the trends of hospital admissions for acute AChEII poisoning and the sales related to AChEIIs. CONCLUSIONS Hospital admissions related to acute poisoning was declining along with the overall sales of remaining AChEIIs, during the post-AChEII ban period. Nevertheless, future vigilance is needed on the remaining AChEIIs to predict and prevent related toxicities.
Agriculture ; legislation & jurisprudence ; Cholinesterase Inhibitors ; classification ; poisoning ; supply & distribution ; Commerce ; statistics & numerical data ; trends ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Developing Countries ; Female ; Government Regulation ; Health Policy ; legislation & jurisprudence ; Hospitalization ; statistics & numerical data ; trends ; Humans ; Incidence ; Insecticides ; classification ; poisoning ; supply & distribution ; Male ; Poisoning ; epidemiology ; mortality ; prevention & control ; Risk Factors ; Sri Lanka ; epidemiology