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It is commonly hypothesized that scientists are more likely to engage in data falsification and fabrication when they are subject to pressures to publish, when they are not restrained by forms of social control, when they work in countries lacking policies to tackle scientific misconduct, and when they are male. Evidence to test these hypotheses, however, is inconclusive due to the difficulties of obtaining unbiased data. Here we report a pre-registered test of these four hypotheses, conducted on papers that were identified in a previous study as containing problematic image duplications through a systematic screening of the journal PLoS ONE. Image duplications were classified into three categories based on their complexity, with category 1 being most likely to reflect unintentional error and category 3 being most likely to reflect intentional fabrication. We tested multiple parameters connected to the hypotheses above with a matched-control paradigm, by collecting two controls for each paper containing duplications. Category 1 duplications were mostly not associated with any of the parameters tested, as was predicted based on the assumption that these duplications were mostly not due to misconduct. Categories 2 and 3, however, exhibited numerous statistically significant associations. Results of univariable and multivariable analyses support the hypotheses that academic culture, peer control, cash-based publication incentives and national misconduct policies might affect scientific integrity. No clear support was found for the “pressures to publish” hypothesis. Female authors were found to be equally likely to publish duplicated images compared to males. Country-level parameters generally exhibited stronger effects than individual-level parameters, because developing countries were significantly more likely to produce problematic image duplications. This suggests that promoting good research practices in all countries should be a priority for the international research integrity agenda. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11948-018-0023-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The objective of this paper is to review and analyze the best practices in developing and implementing city strategies, particularly in lower-income environments. It reviews available evidence to formulate the list of basic criteria that good strategies should meet, discusses three key questions that city strategies should address, and suggests how the widely applied LED and CDS approaches can be improved in the future.

Significant contributions have been made since the World Health Organization published Brian Abel-Smith's pioneering comparative study of national health expenditures more than 50 years ago. There have been major advances in theories, model specifications, methodological approaches, and data structures. This introductory essay provides a historical context for this line of work, highlights four newly published studies that move health economics research forward, and indicates several important areas of challenging but potentially fruitful research to strengthen future contributions to the literature and make empirical findings more useful for evaluating health policy decisions. Copyright © 2016 John WileySons, Ltd.

Background: Telemedicine, once defined merely as the treatment of certain conditions remotely, has now often been supplanted in use by broader terms such as ‘virtual care’, in recognition of its increasing capability to deliver a diverse range of healthcare services from afar. With the unexpected onset of COVID-19, virtual care (e.g., telephone, video, online) has become essential to facilitating the continuation of primary care globally. Over several short weeks, existing healthcare policies have adapted quickly and empowered clinicians to use digital means to fulfil a wide range of clinical responsibilities which until then, have required face-to-face consultations. Objective: This paper aims to explore the virtual care policies and guidance material published during the initial months of the pandemic and examine their potential limitations and impact on transforming the delivery of primary care in high-income countries. Methods: A rapid review of publicly available national policies guiding the use of virtual care in General Practice was conducted. Documents were included if issued in the first six months of the pandemic (March to August of 2020) and focused primarily on high-income countries. Documents must have been issued by a national health authority, accreditation body, or professional organisation, and directly refer to the delivery of primary care. Results: We extracted six areas of relevance: primary care transformation during COVID-19, the continued delivery of preventative care, the delivery of acute care, remote triaging, funding & reimbursement, and security standards. Conclusion: Virtual care use in primary care saw a transformative change during the pandemic. However, despite the advances in the various governmental guidance offered, much work remains in addressing the shortcomings exposed during COVID-19 and strengthening viable policies so as to better incorporate novel technologies into the modern primary care clinical environment.

This study exploits a natural experiment to investigate the impact of land reform on the fertility outcomes of households in rural Ethiopia. Public policies and customs created a situation where Ethiopian households could influence their usufruct rights to land via a demographic expansion of the family. The study evaluates the impact of the abolishment of these pronatal property rights on fertility outcomes. By matching aggregated census data before and after the reform with administrative data on the reform, a difference-in-differences approach between reform and non-reform districts is used to assess the impact of the reform on fertility outcomes. The impact appears to be large. The study estimates that women in rural areas reduced their life-time fertility by 1.2 children due to the reform. Robustness checks show that the impact estimates are not biased by spillovers or policy endogeneity.

Introduction Participatory postnatal women's groups have been shown to have a significant impact on maternal and neonatal mortality in low-income countries. However, it is not clear whether this approach can be translated to high-income countries (HICs). We conducted a systematic review to answer the question: "Can postnatal women's groups improve health outcomes for mothers and children in high-income countries?" Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases were searched for randomised controlled trials testing any group-based intervention during the postnatal period, in HICs. No limitations were applied to stated outcomes. Results Nine trials, including 3029 women, fulfilled the criteria. Group-based interventions, facilitated by health professionals, ranged from didactic to participant-led. Three trials addressed postnatal depression, one addressed physical activity, whilst the remainder looked at multiple health or social outcomes. Three trials reported a significant association between their intervention and at least one outcome measure. Study limitations included poor and inequitable intervention uptake, low participant retention, small sample size and incomplete intervention description. Discussion This review found limited and incompletely described evidence testing the use of postnatal group-based interventions to improve health outcomes in HICs. Promising results were reported when the obstacles of sample size and group attendance were overcome. Studies reporting positive impacts on primary outcomes reported higher attendance rates and involved a psychoeducational or cognitive behavioural component in their group approaches. Further research should design and evaluate implementation strategies, assess the use of lay support workers in community settings to improve attendance and retention, and examine the effect of the group environment on outcomes.

Many factors contribute to the inappropriate use of medicines, including not only a lack of information but also inaccurate and misleading promotional information. This review examines how the promotion of pharmaceuticals directly affects the prescribing and use of medicines. We define promotion broadly as all actions taken directly by pharmaceutical companies with the aim of enhancing product sales. We look in greater detail at promotion techniques aimed at prescribers, such as sales representatives, pharmaceutical advertisements in medical journals and use of key opinion leaders, along with the quality of information provided and the effects thereof. We also discuss promotion to the public, through direct-to-consumer advertising, and its effects. Finally, we consider initiatives to regulate promotion that come from industry, government and nongovernmental organizations.

ObjectiveThe high energy intake from energy-dense foods among children in developed countries is undesirable. Improving food parenting practices has the potential to lower snack intakes among children. To inform the development of interventions, we aimed to predict food parenting practice patterns around snacking (i.e. ‘high covert control and rewarding’, ‘low covert control and non-rewarding’, ‘high involvement and supportive’ and ‘low involvement and indulgent’).DesignA cross-sectional survey was conducted. To predict the patterns of food parenting practices, multinomial logistic regression analyses were run with 888 parents. Predictors included predisposing factors (i.e. parents’ and children’s demographics and BMI, parents’ personality, general parenting, and parenting practices used by their own parents) and parents’ cognitions (i.e. perceived behaviour of other parents, subjective norms, attitudes, self-efficacy and outcome expectations).SettingThe Netherlands (October–November 2014).SubjectsDutch parents of children aged 4–12 years old.ResultsAfter backward elimination, nineteen factors had a statistically significant contribution to the model (Nagelkerke R2=0·63). Overall, self-efficacy and outcome expectations were among the strongest explanatory factors. Considering the predisposing factors only, the general parenting factor nurturance most strongly predicted the food parenting clusters. Nurturance particularly distinguished highly involved parents from parents employing a pattern of low involvement.ConclusionsParental cognitions and nurturance are important factors to explain the use of food parenting practices around snacking. The results suggest that intervention developers should attempt to increase self-efficacy and educate parents about what constitute effective and ineffective parenting practices. Promoting nurturance might be a prerequisite to achieve prolonged change.

// Zhiye Xu 1 , Dan Yu 2 , Xueyao Yin 1 , Fenping Zheng 1 and Hong Li 1 1 Department of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 310016, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China 2 Department of Endocrinology, Zhejiang Hospital, 310013, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China Correspondence to: Hong Li, email: lihongheyi@126.com Keywords: diabetes, prevalence, socioeconomic status, human development index (HDI) Received: February 22, 2017 Accepted: April 27, 2017 Published: May 16, 2017 ABSTRACT The incidence of diabetes is increasing globally. We investigated the relationship between diabetes prevalence and patient socioeconomic status across multiple countries. We searched PubMed to identify population-based surveys reporting diabetes prevalence between 1990 and May 2016. Search results were filtered, and Human Development Index (HDI) values from the United Nations Development Programme were used to assess socioeconomic status for a given nation. Our analysis included 45 national surveys from 32 countries. Diabetes prevalence was positively correlated with national HDI ( r = 0.421 P = 0.041) in developing countries, and negatively correlated with HDI ( r = −0.442 P = 0.045) in developed countries. Diabetes prevalence trends were the same in women and men, although men were associated with increased diabetes risk in developed countries ( r = 0.459 P = 0.048). Thus, diabetes prevalence rises with increasing HDI in developing countries, and this is reversed in developed countries. Ours is the first study to investigate the relationship between diabetes and socioeconomic status at global level using HDI values. These results will aid in evaluating global diabetes prevalence and risk with respect to patient socioeconomic status, and will be useful in the development of policies that help reduce disease incidence.

Increases in patient needs can strain hospital resources, which may worsen care quality and outcomes. This systematic literature review sought to understand whether hospital capacity strain is associated with worse health outcomes for hospitalized patients and to evaluate benefits and harms of health system interventions to improve care quality during times of hospital capacity strain.Parallel searches were conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and reference lists from 1999-2015. Two reviewers assessed study eligibility. We included English-language studies describing the association between capacity strain (high census, acuity, turnover, or an indirect measure of strain such as delayed admission) and health outcomes or intermediate outcomes for children and adults hospitalized in highly developed countries. We also included studies of health system interventions to improve care during times of capacity strain. Two reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Score for observational studies and the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for experimental studies.Of 5,702 potentially relevant studies, we included 44 observational and 8 experimental studies. There was marked heterogeneity in the metrics used to define capacity strain, hospital settings, and overall study quality. Mortality increased during times of capacity strain in 18 of 30 studies and in 9 of 12 studies in intensive care unit settings. No experimental studies were randomized, and none demonstrated an improvement in health outcomes after implementing the intervention. The pediatric literature is very limited; only six observational studies included children. There was insufficient study homogeneity to perform meta-analyses.In highly developed countries, hospital capacity strain is associated with increased mortality and worsened health outcomes. Evidence-based solutions to improve outcomes during times of capacity strain are needed.

The global area of biotech crops in 2016 increased from 179.7 million hectares to 185.1 million hectares, a 3% increase equivalent to 5.4 million hectares. Some 26 countries planted biotech crops, 19 of which were developing countries and seven were industrial. Information and data collected from various credible sources showed variations from the previous year. Fluctuations in biotech crop area (both increases and decreases) are influenced by factors including, among others, acceptance and commercialization of new products, demand for meat and livestock feeds, weather conditions, global market price, disease/pest pressure, and government's enabling policies. Countries which have increased biotech crop area in decreasing order in 2016 were Brazil, United States of America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Bolivia, Philippines, Spain, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Colombia, Honduras, Chile, Sudan, Slovakia, and Costa Rica. Countries with decreased biotech area in decreasing order were China, India, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mexico, Portugal, and Czech Republic, in decreasing incremental decrease in biotech area. Pakistan and Myanmar were the only countries with no change in biotech crop (cotton) planted. Information detailed in the paper including future crops and traits in each country could guide stakeholders in informed crafting of strategies and policies for increased adoption of biotech crops in the country.

Background Increasing health costs in developed countries are a major concern for decision makers. A variety of cost containment tools are used to control this trend, including maximum price regulation and reimbursement methods for health technologies. Information regarding expenditure-related outcomes of these tools is not available. Objective To evaluate the association between different cost-regulating mechanisms and national health expenditures in selected countries. Methods Price-regulating and reimbursement mechanisms for prescription drugs among OECD countries were reviewed. National health expenditure indices for 2008–2012 were extracted from OECD statistical sources. Possible associations between characteristics of different systems for regulation of drug prices and reimbursement and health expenditures were examined. Results In most countries, reimbursement mechanisms are part of publicly financed plans. Maximum price regulation is composed of reference-pricing, either of the same drug in other countries, or of therapeutic alternatives within the country, as well as value-based pricing (VBP). No association was found between price regulation or reimbursement mechanisms and healthcare costs. However, VBP may present a more effective mechanism, leading to reduced costs in the long term. Conclusions Maximum price and reimbursement mechanism regulations were not found to be associated with cost containment of national health expenditures. VBP may have the potential to do so over the long term.

ObjectiveThe present study aimed to examine the association between household income and the intake of foods and nutrients by Japanese schoolchildren, and any differences between days with and without school lunch.DesignThis was a cross-sectional study. Children, with the support of their parents, kept dietary records with photographs for 4 d (2 d with school lunch and 2 d without). The socio-economic status of each family was obtained from a questionnaire completed by the parents.SettingJapan.SubjectsAll students in 5th grade (10–11 years old) at nineteen schools in four prefectures and their parents (1447 pairs of students and parents) were invited to take part in the study; 836 pairs of complete data sets were analysed.ResultsThe average results of four days of dietary records showed that lower income level was associated with a lower intake of fish/shellfish, green vegetables and sugar at the food group level, a lower intake of protein and several micronutrients, and a higher energy intake from carbohydrates at the nutrient level among the children. These associations between income and food/nutrient intake were not significant on days with school lunches, but were significant on days without school lunch.ConclusionsOur study confirmed an association between household income and the amount of foods and nutrients consumed by Japanese schoolchildren, and suggested that school lunches play a role in reducing disparities in the diets of children from households with various incomes.

ObjectiveDairy products contain essential nutrients to ensure healthy growth and bone development in children. However, a significant proportion of children in developed countries fail to consume the daily recommended intake of dairy products. Parents are the gatekeepers of familial nutritional intake and represent a potential vehicle through which to increase dairy consumption in children. As such, formative research was conducted to gain insight into parents’ perceived barriers to and benefits of purchasing and consuming dairy products and to develop innovative message content that could be utilized in future public health campaigns.DesignSeven in-depth group interviews were conducted in two phases between February and May 2015.SettingInterviews were conducted in local recreational centres and libraries in British Columbia, Canada.SubjectsMothers (n21, mean age 38 (sd5) years) and fathers (n9, mean age 38 (sd3) years) of children aged 4–10 years.ResultsParents perceived both positive and negative physical outcomes associated with consuming dairy. Lack of trustworthy information was a frequently discussed barrier theme to purchasing and consuming dairy products. Mothers were concerned about the cost of dairy products. Differences in purchasing and consumption strategies were reported between parents of children who consumed adequate dairy and those who did not. Parents believed the most appropriate communication channel was through print material.ConclusionsMessages targeting parents, as a means of increasing dairy consumption in children, should address barriers identified by parents. In addition, practical tips should be provided to promote purchasing and consumption of dairy products.

This paper uses a combination of survey questions to instructors and data collected from course syllabi and examinations to examine how the subject of development economics is taught at the undergraduate and masters levels in developing countries, and benchmark this against undergraduate classes in the United States. The study finds that there is considerable heterogeneity in what is considered development economics: there is a narrow core of only a small set of topics such as growth theory, poverty and inequality, human capital, and institutions taught in at least half the classes, with substantial variation in other topics covered. In developing countries, development economics is taught largely as a theoretical subject coupled with case studies, with few courses emphasizing data or empirical methods and findings. This approach contrasts with the approach taken in leading U.S. economics departments and with the evolution of development economics research. The analysis finds that country income per capita, the role of the state in the economy, the education level in the country, and the involvement of the instructor in research are associated with how close a course is to the frontier. The results suggest there are important gaps in how development economics is taught.

ObjectiveTo assess the mean package size and manufacturer-recommended serving size of sweet beverages available in four high-income countries: Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand.DesignCross-sectional surveys.SettingThe two largest supermarket chains of each country in 2012/2013.SubjectsIndividual pack size (IPS) drinks (n891) and bulk pack size (BPS) drinks (n1904).ResultsFor all IPS drinks, the mean package size was larger than the mean serving size (mean (sd)=412 (157) ml and 359 (159) ml, respectively). The mean (sd) package size of IPS drinks was significantly different for all countries (range: Australia=370 (149) ml to New Zealand=484 (191) ml;P<0·01). The mean (sd) package size of Dutch BPS drinks (1313 (323) ml) was significantly smaller compared with the other countries (New Zealand=1481 (595) ml, Australia=1542 (595) ml, Canada=1550 (434) ml;Psd) serving size of BPS drinks was significantly different across all countries (range: Netherlands=216 (30) ml to Canada=248 (31) ml;P<0·00). New Zealand had the largest package and serving sizes of the countries assessed. In all countries, a large number of different serving sizes were used to provide information on the amount appropriate to consume in one sitting.ConclusionsAt this point there is substantial inconsistency in package sizes and manufacturer-recommended serving sizes of sweet beverages within and between four high-income countries, especially for IPS drinks. As consumers do factor serving size into their judgements of healthiness of a product, serving size regulations, preferably set by governments and global health organisations, would provide consistency and assist individuals in making healthier food choices.

ObjectiveTo assess and develop consensus among experienced public health nutrition practitioners from high-income countries regarding conceptualisation of capacity building in practice, and to test the content validity of a previously published conceptual framework for capacity building in public health nutrition practice.DesignA Delphi study involving three iterations of email-delivered questionnaires testing a range of capacity determinants derived from the literature. Consensus was set at >50 % of panellists ranking items as ‘very important’ on a five-point Likert scale across three survey rounds.SettingPublic health nutrition practice in Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA.SubjectsPublic health nutrition practitioners and academics.ResultA total of thirty expert panellists (68 % of an initial panel of forty-four participants) completed all three rounds of Delphi questionnaires. Consensus identified determinants of capacity building in practice including partnerships, resourcing, community development, leadership, workforce development, intelligence and quality of project management.ConclusionsThe findings from the study suggest there is broad agreement among public health nutritionists from high-income countries about how they conceptualise capacity building in public health nutrition practice. This agreement suggests considerable content validity for a capacity building conceptual framework proposed by Baillieet al. (Public Health Nutr12, 1031–1038). More research is needed to apply the conceptual framework to the implementation and evaluation of strategies that enhance the practice of capacity building approaches by public health nutrition professionals.

With the introduction of national carbon neutrality targets, carbon emission reduction actions in developed countries have become a hot topic as part of the international community's drive to take action to mitigate climate change. Carbon emission efficiency is an important indicator that can be used to measure progress toward carbon emission reduction targets. The relationship between green technology innovation and carbon emission efficiency has not been adequately studied, and the transmission mechanism is not yet clear. Based on the above research gaps, taking 32 developed countries that have proposed carbon neutral targets as research samples, this paper used spatial econometric models to explore the impact of green technology innovation on carbon emission efficiency and adopted spatial mediation model and spatial moderation model to analyze the transmission effects of economic development, urbanization, and financial development on environment-related green technology and carbon emission efficiency. This paper aimed to provide a policy basis for developed countries to mitigate carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality goals as soon as possible. The following results were obtained: (1) Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland were found to be efficient in terms of carbon emissions, while most developed countries were in an inefficient state. (2) Environment-related green technology innovation significantly improved carbon emission efficiency. (3) Economic development and urbanization had a mediating role on green technology innovation and carbon emission efficiency. In other words, green technology innovation could have an indirect impact on carbon emission efficiency by influencing economic development and urbanization. (4) Financial development could positively moderate the sensitivity of carbon emission efficiency to green technology innovation. Improving the level of green technology innovation is one way to improve carbon emission efficiency, and the mediating effect of economic development and urbanization can be used as a focus point to improve carbon emission efficiency. The pressure of carbon emission reduction can be moderated by finance development. The results of this study provide theoretical support that will assist developed countries in achieving their carbon neutrality targets.

The paper contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurial activity by assessing the relative importance of eight entrepreneurial readiness factors across countries in different regions and stages of economic development. Drawing on the literature, this paper identifies eight principle national entrepreneurial readiness factors (NERFs) as (1) business freedom; (2) investment freedom; (3) investor protection; (4) property rights protection; (5) technological readiness; (6) innovation; (7) freedom from corruption; and (8) access to risk capital. NERF country data is subjected to a linear regression analysis for each factor’s influence on the sum of all eight factors which is called a country’s National Entrepreneurial Readiness Value (NERV). Six South East European countries, eight South American countries, ten South East Asian countries, and six West African countries are compared against one another and the benchmark of the four largest G7 economies. Results of this analysis are presented and show that investor protection, property rights protection, and freedom from corruption are the most impactful entrepreneurial readiness factors. These findings present future research implications of how these results link to endowments and relate to improving entrepreneurial readiness.

The role of FDI relating to the problems of environmental pollution in host countries has been recognized by related literature. Some papers posit the pollution haven hypothesis while others advocate the pollution halo hypothesis. The paper provides empirical evidence to demonstrate that the relationship between FDI and environment quality varies based on the governance environment of host countries. The findings support the pollution halo hypothesis in 31 developed countries with a good governance environment and the pollution haven hypothesis in 55 developing countries with a bad one using the two-step system GMM estimator from 2005 to 2018. Besides, the results indicate that the difference in the impact of economic growth on environmental quality between developed and developing countries approves the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve. The robustness of these estimates is checked by the PMG estimator. These findings suggest some policy implications for developing countries in improving environmental quality.

Similar to tariffs, non-tariff measures may induce trade fraud when they are restrictive. This paper examines whether discrepancies observed in the official trade statistics of importing and exporting countries are partly due to trade fraud from evading border non-tariff measures. To capture the restrictiveness of non-tariff measures, the paper estimates the ad valorem equivalent with importer-exporter-product variations. It presents a theoretical model and empirical evidence showing that discrepancies increase with ad valorem equivalents, consistent with the trade fraud due to traders intentionally mis-declaring countries of origin or misclassifying products in order to evade border non-tariff measures. The results are driven by homogeneous products and the trade between developed and developing countries.

Poverty alleviation programs, such as cash transfers and monetary grants, may not only lift people out of poverty but, some argue, may improve mental health as well. However, to date, the impact of such programs on children and adolescents’ mental health is unclear. We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of poverty alleviation interventions providing monetary support and reporting mental health outcomes in 0–19 year olds in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. We searched 11 databases for research published between January 1, 1990 and June 1, 2020 and included interventions offering unconditional and/or conditional monetary support and reporting mental health outcomes. After screening 7,733 unique articles, we included 14 papers (16,750 children and adolescents at follow-up) in our narrative summary. We meta-analyzed data on internalizing symptoms from 8 papers (13,538 children and adolescents analyzed). This indicated a small but significant reduction in adolescents’ internalizing problems postintervention compared to control (odds ratio 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.59–0.88, p < .01; I2 = 67%, τ2 = 0.05, p < .01). Our narrative synthesis provides further support for the overall effectiveness of cash programs but also notes that monetary support alone may not be sufficient in extreme risk settings and that imposing conditions may be actively harmful for the mental health of adolescent girls. We provide causal evidence that monetary interventions reduce internalizing symptoms of adolescents experiencing poverty. We recommend that future programming thoughtfully considers whether to apply conditions as part of their interventions and highlight the importance of providing additional comprehensive support for children and adolescents living in extreme risk settings.

Modern society is characterised by clear and distinct demographic processes, such as the constant decline in the number of children born and the ageing population in developed countries, resulting from complex biological, economic, social, political, and other factors. Demographic changes observed through population ageing have an impact on the economy and inflation. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the impact of population ageing on inflation in Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) countries. The paper?s authors used data from 1970 to 2016. The ARDL approach was used to test the long- and short-term relationship between population ageing and inflation. The results showed a positive relationship between population ageing and inflation in the long term and a negative relationship in the short term. The ageing population decreases inflation in the short term and increases inflation in the long term.

International audience; Despite the important role of entrepreneurship in alleviating poverty in developing countries, scholars have devoted less attention to exploring entrepreneurship and poverty in developed countries. Therefore, our understanding of entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation remains limited even though poverty in developed countries was increasing long before the COVID-19 pandemic. This systematic literature review aims to provide a foundational understanding of this phenomenon by evaluating research papers on entrepreneurship and poverty in developed countries. The authors identify 51 studies in developed countries from 1990 to 2020 that link poverty to entrepreneurship. These studies are classified based on four dimensions: entrepreneurial antecedents, activities, contexts and outcomes. This paper develops new insights and highlights several promising future research opportunities. It also proposes theoretical approaches to advance the entrepreneurship and poverty literature by utilising and extending theories such as opportunity theory and bricolage theory.

Many high- and middle-income countries face challenges in developing and maintaining a health workforce which can address changing population health needs. They have experimented with interventions which overlap with but have differences to those documented in low- and middle-income countries, where many of the recent literature reviews were undertaken. The aim of this paper is to fill that gap. It examines published and grey evidence on interventions to train, recruit, retain, distribute, and manage an effective health workforce, focusing on physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals in high- and middle-income countries. A search of databases, websites, and relevant references was carried out in March 2019. One hundred thirty-one reports or papers were selected for extraction, using a template which followed a health labor market structure. Many studies were cross-cutting; however, the largest number of country studies was focused on Canada, Australia, and the United States of America. The studies were relatively balanced across occupational groups. The largest number focused on availability, followed by performance and then distribution. Study numbers peaked in 2013–2016. A range of study types was included, with a high number of descriptive studies. Some topics were more deeply documented than others—there is, for example, a large number of studies on human resources for health (HRH) planning, educational interventions, and policies to reduce in-migration, but much less on topics such as HRH financing and task shifting. It is also evident that some policy actions may address more than one area of challenge, but equally that some policy actions may have conflicting results for different challenges. Although some of the interventions have been more used and documented in relation to specific cadres, many of the lessons appear to apply across them, with tailoring required to reflect individuals’ characteristics, such as age, location, and preferences. Useful lessons can be learned from these higher-income settings for low- and middle-income settings. Much of the literature is descriptive, rather than evaluative, reflecting the organic way in which many HRH reforms are introduced. A more rigorous approach to testing HRH interventions is recommended to improve the evidence in this area of health systems strengthening.

Introduction HIV transmission continues among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM), with those who are younger, or recent migrants, or of minority ethnicity or who are gender diverse remaining at increased risk. We aimed to identify and describe recent studies evaluating the effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions for GBMSM in high income countries. Methods We searched ten electronic databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), conducted in high income settings, and published since 2013 to update a previous systematic review (Stromdahl et al, 2015). We predefined four outcome measures of interest: 1) HIV incidence 2) STI incidence 3) condomless anal intercourse (CLAI) (or measure of CLAI) and 4) number of sexual partners. We used the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK) Quality Appraisal of Intervention Studies tool to assess the quality of papers included in the review. As the trials contained a range of effect measures (e.g. odds ratio, risk difference) comparing the arms in the RCTs, we converted them into standardized effect sizes (SES) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results We identified 39 original papers reporting 37 studies. Five intervention types were identified: one-to-one counselling (15 papers), group interventions (7 papers), online interventions (9 papers), Contingency Management for substance use (2 papers) and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) (6 papers). The quality of the studies was mixed with over a third of studies rated as high quality and 11% rated as poor quality. There was some evidence that one-to-one counselling, group interventions (4–10 participants per group) and online (individual) interventions could be effective for reducing HIV transmission risk behaviours such as condomless anal intercourse. PrEP was the only intervention that was consistently effective at reducing HIV incidence. Conclusions Our systematic review of the recent evidence that we were able to analyse indicates that PrEP is the most effective intervention for reducing HIV acquisition among GBMSM. Targeted and culturally tailored behavioural interventions for sub-populations of GBMSM vulnerable to HIV infection and other STIs should also be considered, particularly for GBMSM who cannot access or decline to use PrEP.

In this paper, a national Danish survey is used to explore the rural happiness paradox in developed countries. This paradox revolves around the observation that rural residents tend to report higher subjective well-being than urban residents in developed countries. Based on three different rural-urban classifications, the paper provides a solid confirmation of the rural happiness paradox in Denmark. The paper tests three hypotheses regarding the factors behind the rural happiness paradox and finds strong support for two of the hypotheses. Thus, higher bonding social capital in rural areas and higher access to nature amenities in rural areas were found to contribute to the rural happiness paradox in Denmark. As for the third hypothesis, the paper finds no significant evidence that rural-urban differences in spatial location satisfaction (measured by the correspondence between actual and preferred residential location on the rural-urban continuum) contribute to the rural happiness paradox in Denmark.

A comprehensive evidence-based framework is needed to guide policies and programmes that enable children and adolescents to accrue the human capital required to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper proposes a comprehensive, multisectoral, multilevel life-course conceptualisation of human capital development by building on the Nurturing Care Framework (NCF), originally developed for the foundational period of growth and development through the age 3 years. Nurturing care (NC) comprises stable environments that promote children’s health and nutrition, protect from threats, and provide opportunities for learning and responsive, emotionally supportive and developmentally enriching relationships. NC is fostered by families, communities, services, national policies and beyond. The principles apply across the life course, endorse equity and human rights, and promote long-term human capital. This paper presents an evidence-based argument for the extension of the NCF from preconception through adolescence (0–20 years), organised into six developmental periods: preconception/prenatal, newborn/birth, infancy/toddlerhood, preschool, middle childhood and adolescence. The proposed framework advances human capital within each developmental period by promoting resilience and adaptive developmental trajectories while mitigating negative consequences of adversities. Attaining the SDGs depends on strengthening human capital formation, extending throughout childhood and adolescence and supported by NC. Embedded in enabling laws, policies and services, the dynamic NCF components can mitigate adversities, enhance resilience and promote the well-being of marginalised groups. The life-course extension of the NCF is strategically positioned to enhance human capital, to attain the SDGs and to ensure that children or adolescents are not left behind in reaching their developmental potential.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is responsible for acute hepatitis in humans, through foodborne, zoonotic, and waterborne transmission routes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of HEV in water matrices. Six categories were defined: untreated and treated wastewater, surface water (river, lake, and seawater), drinking water, groundwater, and other water environments (irrigation water, grey water, reservoir water, flood water, and effluent of pig slaughterhouse). We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Global Index Medicus, and Excerpta Medica Database. Study selection and data extraction were performed by at least two independent investigators. Heterogeneity (I2) was assessed using the χ2 test on the Cochran Q statistic and H parameter. Sources of heterogeneity were explored by subgroup analysis. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42021289116. We included 87 prevalence studies from 58 papers, 66.4% of which performed in Europe. The overall prevalence of HEV in water was 9.8% (95% CI 6.4–13.7). The prevalence was higher in untreated wastewater (15.1%) and lower in treated wastewater (3.8%) and in drinking water (4.7%). In surface water, prevalence was 7.4%, and in groundwater, the percentage of positive samples, from only one study available, was 8.3%. Overall, only 36.8% of the studies reported the genotype of HEV, with genotype 3 (HEV-3) prevalent (168 samples), followed by HEV-1 (148 sample), and HEV-4 (2 samples). High-income countries were the most represented with 59/87 studies (67.8%), while only 3/87 (3.5%) of the studies were performed in low-income countries. The overall prevalence obtained of this study was generally higher in industrialized countries. Risk of bias was low in 14.9% of the studies and moderate in 85.1%. The results of this review showed the occurrence of HEV in different waters environments also in industrialized countries with sanitation and safe water supplies. While HEV transmission to humans through water has been widely demonstrated in developing countries, it is an issue still pending in industrialized countries. Better knowledge on the source of pollution, occurrence, survival in water, and removal by water treatment is needed to unravel this transmission path. Graphical Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effect of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) adoption on financial reporting quality at the country-level (developing and developed countries). Design/methodology/approach This study uses data from 98 developed and developing countries between 2005 and 2018. This study collected data from various sources such as the World Economic Forum, World Development Indicators, World Governance Indicators and XBRL website. Findings The results show that XBRL is associated with an increased financial reporting quality. However, the relationship is stronger in developing countries than in developed countries. This study also finds that the results remain the same after accounting for years of XBRL experience and the effect of accounting globalisation. The results are consistent with the assumption that XBRL-formatted financial statements improve information efficiency through increased searching efficiency, quality of display and comparability. The results are robust to alternative econometric modifications such as controlling for country, year effects and endogeneity. Practical implications The results can potentially assist the XBRL promoters and regulators in expeditiously assessing the benefits of XBRL and advocating its adoption by many countries. The findings offer more motivations for regulators around the world to mandate this new filing standard format. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the consequences of XBRL at the country level. This study provides evidence on an important question of whether the XBRL, new information technology in the accounting field, can play a useful role in improving financial reporting.

Nutrition process and practices are one of the basic elements of the human routine life. This process has a significant cultural and historical imprint and subject to social changes. The paper is devoted to food studies. Food studies is the new interdisciplinary field that includes critical analysis of food and its contexts in science, art, history and society. Food studies cover wide range of sociocultural issues related to food and nutrition. All these issues reflect the approach to nutrition not as to satisfaction of basic human need in food but as to significant and historically variable sociocultural practice and part of the lifestyle. The paper examines how the attitude to various types of food and drinks has changed over the course of two centuries, as well as to nutrition in general in developed countries. The data source is a collection of books created by Google as the only source of long-term data. The time frame for the various changes has been established. Some of our results confirm the established opinions, others are unexpected.

Over the last decade, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have been reported in developed countries around the world. In particular, measles outbreaks have been ongoing in the European Union since 2017, with the majority of cases concentrated in Romania and Italy. Measles has been identified as a powerful indicator of the status of vaccination programs in a region, as outbreaks have been reported to quickly emerge as a result of underlying problems in the immunisation routine. This paper aims to report and critically comment on the factors underpinning the recent measles outbreaks in Italy, considering the psychological, cultural, social and political causes of vaccine hesitancy and refusal amongst the population. Data from government agencies including the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) are analysed to describe incidence and mortality trends from 1887 to the present day, including regional variations and the impact of measles vaccination coverage. The topic of compulsory vaccination is currently the object of heated debate in the Italian social and political panorama; this paper discusses the current state of the vaccination controversy in the Italian political discourse and its potential impact on immunisation policies and measles vaccine coverage amongst the population. A burgeoning body of evidence indicates that every effort should be made to bolster the existing legislation on mandatory vaccination through widespread health education campaigns aimed at improving scientific literacy amongst the Italian population with regards to the topic of immunisation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the spillover of returns, information and volatility of returns, and conditional variance-covariance between the stock markets of developed countries namely the United States of America, the United Kingdom and China (US, UK and CH) and the stock markets of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain) using daily returns spanned from 2 March 2003 to 9 December 2010. We consider shocks and volatility spillover model by applying a multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (MGARCH) model using; MGARCH-BEKK to identify the source and magnitude of volatility and shock spillover. We get the correlation between GCC markets is positive, indicating that there is a common factor which is driving the markets towards the same direction. Evidence shows that the own-shocks and volatility in GCC markets are highly significant. Cross-information spillover effects, as another observable trend, are found between Qatar and Oman. Furthermore, the results show that UA is significantly affected by spillover (return, shocks and volatility) from developed markets, while there have been no significant effects seen from Kuwait markets. This study takes a new empirical look in the sense that the models incorporating all the countries under investigation are estimated jointly utilizing multivariate GARCH-BEKK formulation. In addition, this paper should be interesting for academicians as well as practitioners. Including those interested in modelling multivariate volatility for financial market risk management.

Objective Although medication abortion has become more common in high-income countries, the procedure has not yet met early expectations for widening access to abortion. High-quality evidence can serve as a catalyst for changes in policy and practice. To direct research priorities, it is important to understand where quality evidence is concentrated and where gaps remain. High-income countries have developed a body of evidence that may have implications for the future of medication abortion. This literature review assesses the characteristics and quality of published studies on medication abortion conducted in the last 10 years in high-income countries and indicates future areas for research to advance policy and practice, and broaden access. Study design A structured search for literature resulted in 207 included studies. A framework based upon the World Health Organization definition of sub-tasks for medication abortion was developed to categorize research by recognized stages of the medication abortion process. Using an iterative and inductive approach, additional sub-themes were created under each of these categories. Established quality assessment frameworks were drawn upon to gauge the internal and external validity of the included research. Results Studies in the US and the UK have dominated research on MA in high-income countries. The political and social contexts of these countries will have shaped of this body of research. The past decade of research has focused largely on clinical aspects of medication abortion. Conclusion Researchers should consider refocusing energies toward testing service delivery approaches demonstrating promise and prioritizing research that has broader generalizability and relevance outside of narrow clinical contexts. Plain English summary Although medication abortion is more commonly available worldwide, it is not being used as often as people thought it would be, particularly in high income countries. In order to encourage changes in policy and practice that would allow greater use, we need good quality evidence. If we can understand where we do not have enough research and where we have good amounts of research, we can determine where to invest energies in further studies. Many high-income countries have produced research on medication abortion that could influence policy and practice in similarly resourced contexts. I conducted a literature review to be able to understand the type and quality of research on medication abortion conducted in high-income countries in the past 10 years. I conducted the review in an organized way to make sure that the papers reviewed discussed studies that I thought would be important for answering this question. The literature review found 207 papers. Each of these papers were reviewed and organized them by theme. I also used existing methods to determinine the quality of each study. Most of the research came from the US and the UK. Furthermore, most of the research conducted in the past 10 years was focused on clinical studies of medication abortion. In future studies, researchers should focus more on new ways of providing medication abortion to women that offers greater access. Also, the studies should be designed so that the results have meaning for a broader group of people or situations beyond where the study was done.

Increasing economic integration and global synchronization can be key for countries aiming to catch up in GDP per capita terms. Little attention has hitherto been placed in synchronization as determinant of convergence. In this paper we estimate the effect of economic globalization and synchronization on income convergence for a sample of 89 developed and developing countries in the period 1970–2015. We use a dynamic factor model and panel data techniques to undertake the objectives of the paper. We show that synchronized countries (those correlated with the factor) exhibit a higher response on GDP per capita growth with variations on the global business cycle. This implies that synchronization improves growth for that group in global expansionary phases, but also implies risks during global recessions. On the contrary, the effect on growth of an economic globalization index is less relevant for synchronized countries than for asynchronized countries. The latter result implies that asynchronized countries can benefit more increasing their levels of economic globalization.

Objective: To establish a methodological approach to compare two high-need, high-cost (HNHC) patient personas internationally. Data sources: Linked individual-level administrative data from the inpatient and outpatient sectors compiled by the International Collaborative on Costs, Outcomes, and Needs in Care (ICCONIC) across 11 countries: Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Study design: We outline a methodological approach to identify HNHC patient types for international comparisons that reflect complex, priority populations defined by the National Academy of Medicine. We define two patient profiles using accessible patient-level datasets linked across different domains of care—hospital care, primary care, outpatient specialty care, post-acute rehabilitative care, long-term care, home-health care, and outpatient drugs. The personas include a frail older adult with a hip fracture with subsequent hip replacement and an older person with complex multimorbidity, including heart failure and diabetes. We demonstrate their comparability by examining the characteristics and clinical diagnoses captured across countries. Data collection/extraction methods: Data collected by ICCONIC partners. Principal findings: Across 11 countries, the identification of HNHC patient personas was feasible to examine variations in healthcare utilization, spending, and patient outcomes. The ability of countries to examine linked, individual-level data varied, with the Netherlands, Canada, and Germany able to comprehensively examine care across all seven domains, whereas other countries such as England, Switzerland, and New Zealand were more limited. All countries were able to identify a hip fracture persona and a heart failure persona. Patient characteristics were reassuringly similar across countries. Conclusion: Although there are cross-country differences in the availability and structure of data sources, countries had the ability to effectively identify comparable HNHC personas for international study. This work serves as the methodological paper for six accompanying papers examining differences in spending, utilization, and outcomes for these personas across countries. © 2021 The Authors. Health Services Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Health Research and Educational Trust.

Research on multinational firms’ activity has been conducted widely since late 1980s. The literature is differentiated into three types: horizontal FDI, vertical FDI, and three-country FDI, represented by export platform FDI. There are other methods of differentiation of the literature by approach, for example, the pure theory approach represented by Krugman and Melitz and the numerical simulation approach represented by Markusen. This paper surveys Markusen type literature by firm type. There is little literature focused on intermediate goods trade, although intermediate goods trade is considered to be strongly related to the production patterns of MNEs. In this paper, we introduce a model to explicitly treat intermediate goods trade and present simulation analysis for empirical estimation.

The ethical concept of justice, as it relates to the development and deployment of innovative health technologies, commands the fair and equitable distribution of burdens and benefits. In bioethics, specific guidance on practical strategies for achieving what this concept of justice demands are somewhat elusive. Drawing on issues of justice arising or likely to arise in the context of the search for a vaccine or cure for COVID-19, this paper argues for a focus on the concept of "practical justice" in post-pandemic bioethics work. To illustrate the value and promise of this concept, the paper reflects on an approach to achieving practical justice in health biotechnology research that is grounded in a commitment to offer technical assistance to developing and under-resourced nations.

Objective To identify and assess the drivers and barriers to recruiting and retaining doctors in rural communities of high-income countries. Design A systematic review and thematic analysis. Setting Publications were sourced from medical and scientific databases online. Participants Qualitative, mixed-methods and review studies from peer-reviewed journals published since 2000 that discussed recruitment or retention of doctors to rural areas in high-income countries. Main outcome measures Identification and assessment of themes in the literature pertaining to recruitment and retention of rural doctors. Recurrent themes were assessed for relevance and applicability to current rural shortages. Results A thematic analysis was completed on 41 papers assessed as in scope of the review. Papers were scrutinised for relevance to established rural recruitment and retention strategies. Key themes were rural background, education and training, personal and professional circumstances, and integration with the community. Conclusion While rural origin has long been promoted as the key factor for recruiting rural doctors, initiatives targeting only these individuals ignore a potentially larger cohort of future rural doctors. Rurally focused medical education and training need to encompass students and doctors from all backgrounds. The major barriers to rural recruitment are family-unit considerations for partners and children, concerns over isolation and a poor perception of rural practice. Attracting doctors to practise rurally is only half the challenge however, and strategies to retain rural doctors need a greater focus on personal and professional support networks and community integration. Additional strategies are needed to retain international and bonded doctors restricted to rural areas.

Current evidence of the impact of childhood obesity on human capital development does not point in a consistent direction, and its interpretation is challenging. We carried out a systematic review of studies from high-income countries that used robust causal inference approaches to assess the impact of childhood overweight and obesity on outcomes typically linked to human capital development in economics. Global Health, Medline and EconLit were used to search for peer-reviewed papers. Three reviewers independently assessed study quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Nineteen papers representing 22 studies met the inclusion criteria. Included studies were categorized based on three components of human capital: cognitive performance (n = 18), measured through test scores; educational attainment (n = 3), through grade progression and college completion; and labour market outcomes (n = 1), through wages. We find that childhood overweight and obesity hinder education outcomes, with effects mostly observed at older ages of exposure measurement (12+ years). Girls with overweight and obesity experienced larger negative effects and more often than boys. Future research should elucidate the pathways through which childhood obesity impacts human capital development, to support policies that may mitigate those impacts, thus averting social costs that are currently widespread, increasing and unaccounted for.

Rubella infection generally leads to mild symptoms; otherwise, in pregnant women it can cause severe damages. The only way to prevent rubella is vaccine. Before the introduction of the vaccine, up to 4 babies in 1000 live births were born with CRS. This work aims to review the most important strategies for the elimination of CRS in upper and high-income countries. Papers were selected through a PubMed search up to January 2019, using keywords rubella, congenital rubella syndrome and epidemiology. Articles published in the last 12 years and referred to upper income and high-income countries in title or abstract were included. Sixty-five papers were selected dealing with one or more of the following strategies: increasing of rubella vaccination coverage in childbearing age women, males, immigrants; exploitation of all appropriate occasions; improving of rubella surveillance. Despite numerous suggestions and indications for valid strategies to eliminate rubella in pregnancy and congenital rubella syndrome, a practical application is often missing., Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, Vol. 61 No. 1 (2020): 2020611

This working paper examines methodological approaches for the empirical assessment of the labour market impact of international trade at the macro and meso level. It considers the underlying assumptions, data requirements and the advantages and limitations associated with each of these approaches in order to evaluate their adequacy and to inform policymaking. A major takeaway of this review is that the approaches commonly used for such assessments tend to focus on quantitative changes in the level of employment and wages, while paying less attention to other aspects related to working conditions. This paper argues that a methodological approach based on mixed methods and drawing on a broader set of indicators can provide more comprehensive insights into the impact of international trade on labour markets.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) – conceptualized as consisting of brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, perceived value and brand loyalty – and market share for different brand types (global versus local) in different country groups (developed versus emerging).Design/methodology/approachThis paper combines consumer–survey-based data, experts' coding and retail panel data of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands in 29 countries.FindingsIn developed countries, the relationship between each CBBE component (except for brand associations) with market share is stronger for local than global brands. In emerging countries, the relationship between each CBBE component with market share is stronger for global than local brands.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to better understanding the relationships between CBBE and market share by showing how CBBE components relate to market share for different brand types (global and local) in different country groups (developed and emerging). Limitations arise from constraints related to existing datasets (e.g. limited number of variables and type of product categories considered).Practical implicationsThis paper offers insights to managers working in multinational FMCG companies, as it suggests which CBBE components relate more strongly to the global or local brands' market shares in different countries.Originality/valueThis paper analyzes the relationship between CBBE and market share by focusing on different brand types (global versus local) in different country groups (developed versus emerging). It does so by using a company dataset and showing correspondence with conceptualizations and measures of brand equity from the academic literature. It also considers a large set of 29 countries, extending research beyond national boundaries.

Paper aims to analyze the international flow of students - both from developed and underdeveloped countries - and to observe their significance for the productivity gains of the country of origin of these students. Originality The main contributions to the literature are the understanding of how student flows affect countries' economic growth, as well as to verify the systematic differences between the contribution of international student flows to economic growth between developed and underdeveloped countries. Research method This empirical study performed using a data set of 87 countries, during 2001-2012 yields results that are in accordance with previous literature, supporting the hypothesis of international student flows as a significant channel of R&D spillovers from developed countries. The paper used econometric models already tested by previous studies. Main findings The results show that BRICS countries may benefit more than other countries from such internationalization initiatives. Implications for theory and practice The mobility of international students is currently an important political issue in the world. These formal or informal links between agents from diverse countries result in an exchange of ideas, experiences and knowledge potentially generating new business opportunities for developing economies.

Digital, Background Separate studies suggest that the risks from smoking might vary between high-income (HICs), middle-income (MICs), and low-income (LICs) countries, but this has not yet been systematically examined within a single study using standardised approaches. We examined the variations in risks from smoking across different country income groups and some of their potential reasons. Methods We analysed data from 134 909 participants from 21 countries followed up for a median of 11·3 years in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) cohort study; 9711 participants with myocardial infarction and 11 362 controls from 52 countries in the INTERHEART case-control study; and 11 580 participants with stroke and 11 331 controls from 32 countries in the INTERSTROKE case-control study. In PURE, all-cause mortality, major cardiovascular disease, cancers, respiratory diseases, and their composite were the primary outcomes for this analysis. Biochemical verification of urinary total nicotine equivalent was done in a substudy of 1000 participants in PURE. Findings In PURE, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the composite outcome in current smokers (vs never smokers) was higher in HICs (HR 1·87, 95% CI 1·65–2·12) than in MICs (1·41, 1·34–1·49) and LICs (1·35, 1·25–1·46; interaction p, Funding Full funding sources are listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments)., Ciencias Médicas y de la Salud

Upon resettlement, refugees face many challenges, including limited knowledge of available food and food insecurity, that increase their risks of diet-related diseases. Nutrition education may help them better navigate the challenges of their new food environments and help them live healthier lives. This review assesses the evidence on nutrition education delivery strategies and outcomes among refugees in the United States and other high-income countries using Levac review guidelines. Multiple electronic databases were searched using combinations of the following terms: nutrition, food, cooking, or gardening; education, workshop, curriculum, class, literacy, or program; and refugee. The quality of the peer-reviewed papers was assessed using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) scoring method. A total of 1930 studies were identified, and 17 met the inclusion criteria. The mean MERSQI score of the peer-reviewed studies was 9.02 (SD, 3.3; range, 1-14). The key nutrition education delivery strategies included conducting a needs assessment and providing client-centered education, a collaborative approach in program design, and hands-on activities such as cooking and store visits. A refugee's literacy level, cultural, and language barriers are common challenges to nutrition education delivery. Because there is limited evidence regarding the efficacy of programs regarding changes in refugees' nutrition knowledge and diet-related behaviors, future research should include rigorously designed studies and the development and implementation of standardized assessment and training tools. The adoption of a context-specific and flexible model is important for effective nutrition education delivery among the refugee population.

Patient travel across borders to access healthcare is becoming increasingly common and widespread. Patients moving from high income to middle income countries for healthcare is well documented, with patients seeking treatments that are cheaper or more readily available than at home. Less well understood is when patients move from one low income country to another or from a low income country to a higher income country. In this paper, a realist review was undertaken to explore why, in what contexts and how patients from lower income countries travel to countries with the same, or more advanced, economies for planned healthcare. Based on an initial scoping of the literature and discussions with key informants, we generated an initial theory and set of propositions about why, how, who and in what contexts people cross international borders for planned healthcare. We then systematically located and synthesized (1) peer-reviewed studies from the Scopus, Embase, Web of Science and Econlit databases; (2) non-indexed reports using key informants and Google; and (3) papers from the reference lists of included documents, to glean supportive or contradictory evidence for our initial propositions. As we reviewed the literature and extracted our data, we drew on the work of Pierre Bourdieu to understand the interplay between material and non-material capital and cognitive processes in decisions to cross borders for healthcare. Patient travel was largely undertaken due to a lack of services in the home country and/or unacceptability of local services, with decisions on when, and where, to travel, usually made within the patient’s social networks. They were able to travel via use of multiple resources, including social networks, economic and cultural capital, and habitus. Those patients with greater volumes of the aforementioned factors had greater healthcare options; however, even those with limited resources engaged in patient travel. Patient movement challenges traditional ways of thinking about public health and the notion of health systems contained within the nation state. Further research is needed to better understand the effects of patient travel, and how to harness the benefits of patient travel without exacerbating existing health inequalities. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12992-017-0287-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

There is no doubt that strategic management tools and techniques are important parts of the strategic management process. Their use in organizations should be observed in a practice-based context. This paper analyzes the empirical studies on the usage of strategic management tools and techniques. Hence, the main aim of this study is to investigate and analyze which enterprises, according to their country development level, use more strategic management tools and techniques and which of these are used the most. Also, this paper investigates which strategic management tools and techniques are used globally according to the results of empirical studies. The study presents a summary of empirical studies for the period 1990–2015. The research results indicate that more strategic tools and techniques are used in developed countries, followed by developing countries and fewest in countries in transition. This study is likely to contribute to the field of strategic management because it summarizes the most used strategic tools and techniques at the global level according to varying stages of countries’ economic development. Also, the findings from this study may be utilized to maximize the full potential of enterprises and reduce the cases of entrepreneurship failures, through creating awareness of the importance of using strategic management tools and techniques.

The decarbonization of the global economy is an urgent concern. As a potential solution, it can be important to understand the efficiency of nuclear energy policies. For this purpose, the paper analyzes whether there is a unit root in nuclear energy consumption in 26 countries and it uses the unit root tests with two endogenous (unknown) structural breaks. The paper finds that nuclear energy consumption is stationary around a level and the time trend in 25 of 26 countries and nuclear energy consumption contains a unit root only in France. The paper also discusses the potential implications of the findings.