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Purpose: Different health state utility (HSU) instruments produce different utilities for the same individuals, thereby compromising the intended comparability of economic evaluations of health care interventions. When developing crosswalks, previous studies have indicated nonlinear relationships. This paper inquires into the degree of nonlinearity across the four most widely used HSU-instruments and proposes exchange rates that differ depending on the severity levels of the health state utility scale.Methods: Overall, 7933 respondents from six countries, 1760 in a non-diagnosed healthy group and 6173 in seven disease groups, reported their health states using four different instruments: EQ-5D-5L, SF-6D, HUI-3 and 15D. Quantile regressions investigate the degree of nonlinear relationships between these instruments. To compare the instruments across different disease severities, we split the health state utility scale into utility intervals with 0.2 successive decrements in utility starting from perfect health at 1.00. Exchange rates (ERs) are calculated as the mean utility difference between two utility intervals on one HSU-instrument divided by the difference in mean utility on another HSU-instrument.Results: Quantile regressions reveal significant nonlinear relationships across all four HSU-instruments. The degrees of nonlinearities differ, with a maximum degree of difference in the coefficients along the health state utility scale of 3.34 when SF-6D is regressed on EQ-5D. At the lower end of the health state utility scale, the exchange rate from SF-6D to EQ-5D is 2.11, whilst at the upper end it is 0.38.Conclusion: Comparisons at different utility levels illustrate the fallacy of using linear functions as crosswalks between HSU-instruments. The existence of nonlinear relationships between different HSU-instruments suggests that level-specific exchange rates should be used when converting a change in utility on the instrument used, onto a corresponding utility change had another instrument been used. Accounting for nonlinearities will increase the validity of the comparison for decision makers when faced with a choice between interventions whose calculations of QALY gains have been based on different HSU-instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe harm associated with high-risk injected opiate use and the threat of the HIV epidemic among injecting drug users has become a worldwide problem. Twenty years ago, in the face of a rapid increase in mortality rates among injecting drug users and the upcoming threat of HIV, the first harm-reduction programs were implemented in the Western world. This paper is a literature review describing four forms of harm reduction currently in use in Europe, North America, and Australia. Each represents a reasonable counterapproach to the threat of increased prevalence of HIV among injecting drug users in transitional and developing countries. The paper attempts to explain the concepts behind the most commonly used types of harm reduction and provides a brief overview of the advantages and disadvantages of each and the reasons for their implementation. The main focus of the review is on the definition and the practical aspects of harm reduction; it includes a brief introduction of Chinese harm-reduction efforts and their implications.Acta Pharmacologica Sinica (2009) 30: 513–521; doi: 10.1038/aps.2009.30; published online 6th April 2009 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological evidence suggests that regular physical activity (PA) positively impacts individuals' mental health (MH). The PA-MH relationship may be critical among immigrants owing to psycho-social-cultural influences. This scoping review of 61 studies employed a holistic bio-psycho-socio-cultural framework to thoroughly investigate the complex relationship between PA (across life domains) and immigrants' MH in Western countries. A systematic search of five electronic databases (Medline, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and Anthropology Plus) was conducted to locate relevant articles. No limitations were applied to study design, age, gender, home country, MH condition or PA type. A bio-psycho-socio-cultural-informed conceptual model guided the analysis of the multi-domain PA-MH relationship. Immigrant PA-MH studies were conducted and reported most commonly in the USA (38%), Australia (18%), and Canada (11%). Overall, PA was positively related to MH. Each domain-specific PA appeared to be associated with unique MH-promoting pathways/mechanisms. Leisure-related PA may support MH by enhancing self-agency and minimizing risky behaviors, whilst travel- and domestic-related PA may promote self-accomplishment and physical engagement. Ethnic sports appeared to enhance resilience. Occupational-related PA was associated with either positive or negative MH, depending on the type of occupation. A bio-psycho-socio-cultural-informed model is required to gain an encompassing and integrated understanding of immigrants' health. The first iteration of such a model is presented here, along with an illustration of how the model may be used to deepen analysis and understanding of the multi-domain PA-MH relationship among immigrants and inform public health planners and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The previous papers of this issue discuss the views teachers from the United States, Australia, Hong Kong SAR, and Mainland China have on effective mathematics teaching and learning. Similarities and differences are found and a differentiation from West to East can be worked out in the order of the regions as listed above. The picture of teachers' views can, however, be differentiated when they are looked at from a European perspective. On the basis of the analysis of two comparative studies on teaching cultures in three European countries and a questioning of teachers, this commentary therefore locates France, Germany, and England within this framework so that the East-West-contrast is distinguished in more detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The burden of health and safety related issues emanating from the modern workplace is overwhelming. Although the prevailing statistics found in the literature show that victims of workplace fatalities and injuries are higher in developing countries and transition economies, there is a very limited understanding of the causal factors that may correspond to the continuous increase in the occupational exposure of employees to various fatalities and injuries. The purpose of this study was to review the literature on occupational safety of workers with the objective of highlighting the major causal factors of workplace injuries and fatalities from a multi-regional perspective, particularly on job-contexts with highest safety and health related hazards. Methodology: A systematic review of the literature was conducted on 73 empirical studies in the regions of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and the Americas (the US & Canada). Findings: The results showed that the highest number of injuries and fatalities were mostly found in the construction industry. It further emerged that most of the studies were centered in developing countries within Africa and Asia. Other results and recommendations were discussed for each region. Value: The findings from this study have the potential to expose the regional dynamics in relation to safety in the workplace. This study also addresses the main areas of concern for stakeholders to promote organizational development and safety culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines empirically whether more stringent domestic environmental policies reduce the international competitiveness of environmentally sensitive goods (ESGs). Our time series evidence indicates that there are no systematic changes in trade patterns of ESGs in thelast three decades, despite the introduction of more stringent environmental regulations in most of the developed countries in the 1970s and 1980s. This observed phenomenon is then subjected to a multi-country econometric test using an extended gravity-equation framework. The test suggests that, overall, more stringent environmental regulations do not reduce total exports, exports of ESGs and exports of non-resource-based ESGs. Neither was there any evidence to support the hypothesis that new trade barriers emerge to offset the effects of more stringent environmental regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the fertility transition in Ireland during 1880-1911. The decline in Irish marital fertility was neither uniform nor universal. Between 1881 and 1911, there were increases in Counties Galway, Mayo, Roscommon and Donegal, while the decline in several other counties was small. Cohort parity analysis (CPA), a fertility measure devised by researcher Paul David and his research associates, provides a means of inferring the extent and timing of birth control within marriage from distributions of married women by number of children born. A key aspect of CPA is the extent to which married couples resort to contraception in order to "space" births. Ireland has played an important part in the development of CPA, because David and his colleagues believe that the rural Irish of 1911 provide a suitable model, not only for urban Ireland in 1911 and the United States around the turn of the century, but also for Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, from the mid-nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries.

Developing culturally appropriate diabetes nutrition interventions for immigrants could be facilitated knowing what is successful in the home country and other relevant countries. The primary purpose of this scoping review was to identify the design and delivery methods of nutrition interventions for Chinese populations with type 2 diabetes, in their home countries and as immigrants to western countries. A total of 14 articles was retrieved and included. Overall, the approaches used in China often were modelled on intensive lifestyle programs although alternative strategies were also identified. Most interventions were not focussed solely on nutrition, and only a few were conducted in community settings. Most of the interventions were delivered in a group format, while those conducted in China also included individual counselling, particularly for nutrition. In addition, the diabetes and nutrition-related outcomes, cultural relevance and acceptability, and other factors that influenced protocol compliance were considered. Improvements in blood glucose control were observed in participants in all interventions where it was measured. Participants reported increased nutritional knowledge but nutritional behaviour was generally not well documented. Trials conducted in the United States emphasized the importance of cultural adaptation of intervention programs, particularly with respect to dietary patterns and specific foods. Practice-transferable characteristics are highlighted. Research gaps included trials conducted in community settings with pragmatic implementation and evaluation, comparative trials of interventions to gauge relative effectiveness, and measuring and reporting dietary outcomes for better understanding of the impact on dietary behaviours and their relationship to health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of AIDS & Behavior is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Problems of sexual desire are often cited as the most prevalent of the female sexual dysfunctions. Despite this finding, considerable variability exists when comparing prevalence figures across studies, highlighting the inconsistency in how these problems are defined and therefore measured. The current study was designed to determine how the prevalence estimates of women's sexual desire problems varied according to the diagnostic criteria adopted to define such problems. The sample consisted of 741 women from Australia, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Participants were between 18 and 71 years of age and were involved in a heterosexual relationship spanning between 3 months and 49 years duration. Sexual desire problems were defined using a variety of criteria, including (1) meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), (2) meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for HSDD, removing the sexual thoughts/fantasy requirement, (3) self-identified 'lack of sexual interest,' and (4) low average ratings of sexual desire levels, as assessed using the Female Sexual Desire Questionnaire. The prevalence of sexual desire problems varied from 3.0 to 31.0 % depending upon the criteria used to define such problems. It is important to reach a consensus with regard to the criteria used to define sexual desire problems, in order to standardize and compare studies investigating these problems. How women's sexual desire problems are conceptualized has implications for their treatment. Therapists may or may not need to address absent sexual thoughts/fantasies and may be working with low normative levels of desire versus subjective evaluations of low desire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of our study was to compare various aspects of radiology training schemes in ten countries. A questionnaire was sent to senior residents in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Egypt, India, Malaysia and Greece. The questions concerned length of training, required pre-training experience, the organization of the training scheme, teaching, resources, stages at which residents can independently perform and report examinations, fellowships, and progression to jobs. A wide variety of training, ranging from highly scheduled programs with detailed aims and objectives, to self-learning occurs across the world. Examinations and assessments are also variable. There are lessons to be learned from varying practices; more exchanges of ideas should be encouraged. In view of the "internationalization" of radiology services and the variation in training styles an international qualification for quality assurance purposes may be desirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]