Browsing by Author "Laing, R."
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Item Health policy and systems research in access to medicines: A prioritized agenda for low- and middle-income countries(Health Research Policy and Systems, 2013) Bigdeli, M.; Javadi, D.; Hoebert, J.; Laing, R.; Ranson, K.; Arhinful, D.; Jabbour, S.; Luiza, V.L.; Men, C.; Thi Kim, C.N.; Ntaganira, J.; Essomba, C.N.; Rashidian, A.; Selvaraj, S.; Syhakhang, L.; Zaidi, S.Objectives: To identify priority policy issues in access to medicines (ATM) relevant for low- and middle-income countries, to identify research questions that would help address these policy issues, and to prioritize these research questions in a health policy and systems research (HPSR) agenda. Methods: The study involved i) country- and regional-level priority-setting exercises performed in 17 countries across five regions, with a desk review of relevant grey and published literature combined with mapping and interviews of national and regional stakeholders; ii) interviews with global-level stakeholders; iii) a scoping of published literature; and iv) a consensus building exercise with global stakeholders which resulted in the formulation and ranking of HPSR questions in the field of ATM. Results: A list of 18 priority policy issues was established following analysis of country-, regional-, and global-level exercises. Eighteen research questions were formulated during the global stakeholders' meeting and ranked according to four ranking criteria (innovation, impact on health and health systems, equity, and lack of research). The top three research questions were: i) In risk protection schemes, which innovations and policies improve equitable access to and appropriate use of medicines, sustainability of the insurance system, and financial impact on the insured? ii) How can stakeholders use the information available in the system, e.g., price, availability, quality, utilization, registration, procurement, in a transparent way towards improving access and use of medicines? and iii) How do policies and other interventions into private markets, such as information, subsidies, price controls, donation, regulatory mechanisms, promotion practices, etc., impact on access to and appropriate use of medicines?Conclusions: Our HPSR agenda adopts a health systems perspective and will guide relevant, innovative research, likely to bear an impact on health, health systems and equity. © 2013 Bigdeli et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.Item The selection and use of essential medicines(World Health Organization - Technical Report Series, 2003) De Buschiazzo, P.M.; Helali, A.; Laing, R.; Laporte, J.R.; Ofori-Adjei, D.et.alThis report presents the recommendations of the WHO Expert Committee responsible for updating the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. The first part contains a summary of the Committee's considerations and justifications for additions and changes to the Model List, including its recommendations. Annexes to the main report include the revised version of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (the 15th) and a list of all items on the Model List sorted according to their 5-level Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification codes. Other annexes cover the proposed procedure for updating and disseminating the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, and the revised procedure for updating the content of the Interagency Emergency Health Kit.Item A Strategy for Promoting Improved Pharmaceutical Use: The International Network for Rational Use of Drugs(Social Science & Medicine, 1992) Ross-Degnan, D.; Laing, R.; Quick, J.; Ali, H.M.; Ofori-Adjei, D.; Salako, L.; Santo, B.Over the last decade, pharmaceutical selection, procurement, distribution, and financing have improved as a result of essential drugs programs. However, despite improved availability, pharmaceuticals are frequently used irrationally. The International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) has been established to help address this problem. The Network joins core groups of researchers from four African and three Asian countries with support groups in Boston, Sweden, WHO, and Australia. The activities of the Network are supported by multilateral, bilateral, foundation donors and by Management Sciences for Health. INRUD functions as a participatory organization in which members are involved in decision-making. The primary objective of the Network is to identify through a coordinated set of country-based research projects a set of effective interventions to recommend as policy options for the promotion of rational drug use. In developing these research projects, INRUD stresses the importance of a multi-disciplinary perspective for adequately understanding the reasons underlying inappropriate use of drugs. To better enable country groups to utilize strong research methodologies and to blend the strengths of multiple disciplines effectively, a major activity of the Network thus far has been the building of local research capacity.