Archive for category Epidemiology
Making a Tippy Tap
Posted by admin in Child Health, Epidemiology, FOOD POISONING, FOOD SAFETY, Healthy Eating, ICONS - Golden apple, Infection Control, Public Health and Health Protection Agencies, Vomiting on October 17th, 2012
COUNTRY : WORLDWIDE
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Are hospitals more risky at weekends or not?
Posted by admin in Epidemiology, ICONS - Stethescope and apple on February 4th, 2012
Analysis of data indicates that if you happen to be admitted, whether as an emergency or elective patient, to a UK hospital over the weekend, then you are more likely to be dead within 30 days of that admission than if you were admitted on say a Wednesday.
On the other hand, you are less likely to die in hospital over the weekend than, say, on a Wednesday.
While this is an interesting observation, the question arises “Why might this be?”
The original study was published this week in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
WEEKEND HOSPITALISATION AND ADDITIONAL RISK OF DEATH : AN ANALYSIS OF INPATIENT DATA.
COUNTRY : UK
Conclusion
We have found clear evidence of an excess of mortality associated with admission to hospital on weekend days in the National Health Service in England and in not-for-profit hospitals in the USA. Although being admitted at the weekend is associated with increased risk of subsequent death, we also found corresponding evidence of a reduced risk of death occurring among patients already in hospital on weekend days versus week days.
It may be that reorganized services providing 7-day access to all aspects of care could improve outcomes for higher risk patients currently admitted at the weekend. However, the economics for such a change need further evaluation to ensure that such reorganization represents an efficient use of scarce resources.
It is very easy to hypothesise on numerous reasons for this, however each hypothesis still needs to be proven. It will be interesting to see if the UK government picks up on this paper for commercial reasons and uses it make changes in the way hospitals work. i.e premature changes that are not evidence based.
A medical blogger has some astute thoughts on the matter:
COUNTRY : UK
“But – and is a big but – this nicely baked epidemiological cake is only good so far as it goes. One can’t go around layering it with speculative icing, and expect the icing to look good. And yet that is just what Prof Cough did: he leapt from an established association, via a speculative (he himself described the situation as “complex”) causation (not enough senior doctors around at weekends), to an imaginary solution: the 24/7 hospital.”
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That devil drink!
Posted by admin in Alcohol related health problems, Epidemiology, ICONS - Challenge on January 6th, 2012
Most people are aware that if they smoke too much, drink too much, eat too much and exercise too little they will become unhealthy.
The question that successive governments have been asking is “What can we do about it?”
The Scottish Government is grappling with the problem by trying to put an end to cheap alcohol.
The English Government has plans for something similar.
But does this really make sense? Or is it just another means of governments obtaining tax revenue from those who find it difficult to help themselves?
Dr No is a medical blogger that I follow. He writes about a variety of things under the theme of “Bad Medicine.” He has a particular interest in epidemiology and frequently challenges some ideas being promoted by the medical establishment and by governments.
He’s doing it now in his recent post:
SICK INDIVIDUALS AND SICK POLITICIANS
COUNTRY : UK
As a doctor interested in epidemiology, Dr No has naturally focused on the science for and against the effectiveness of minimum pricing as a means to reduce heavy drinking: and he is not in the slightest bit convinced that a case has been made. Others have pointed out the libertarian objections, and then there is the regressive nature of any such policy: the poor will be disproportionately hit. And – if Dr No is correct, and minimum pricing will have precious little effect on heavy drinkers – then there may turn out to be serious adverse consequences. Heavy drinkers will continue to drink heavily, but will spend more, and amongst poorer heavier drinkers, that can only mean less to spend on other things: less to spend on food, on their children, and their children’s food.
And then – to add insult to injury – the extra cash raised (note that the negative elasticities mean that sales will decline by less than the increase in price, such that overall turnover will increase) by minimum pricing will, unlike tax revenues, go mostly into the pockets of the supermarkets and drinks manufacturers. Small wonder, then, that some supermarkets and drinks manufacturers are putting their weight behind minimum pricing.
The primary modelling reports on which both the Scottish and Westminster governments rely on appear deeply flawed, and the likely unintended consequences of minimum pricing for alcohol are all too predictable. It seems to Dr No that instead of good government tending to good people, we have sick politicians tending to sick notions.
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