Ethics expertise for health technology assessment: a Canadian national survey.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify individuals with expertise in ethics analysis in Canada, who might contribute to health technology assessment (HTA); to gauge these individuals' familiarity with, and experience participating in, the production of HTA.

Methods: A contact list was developed using the Canadian Bioethics Society membership list and faculty listings of Canadian universities, bioethics centers, and health agencies. An eighteen-question email survey was distributed to potential respondents to collect data on demographic information, education and work experience in applied ethics, and involvement in HTA.

Vitamin D and health-related quality of life in a community sample of older Canadians.

Purpose: To assess how vitamin D status is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among older residents of Canada.

Design: We analysed baseline data of 1,493 Canadians aged 50 years and over in Alberta on HRQOL (EQ-5D-5L) and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) as a measure of vitamin D status. We applied multivariable regression methods to examine the association between vitamin D status and each of the five dimensions and the summary index of the EQ-5D-5L.

The ethics of dietary supplements and natural health products in pharmacy practice: a systematic documentary analysis.

Objectives: Many natural health products and dietary supplements are purchased in pharmacies and it has been argued that pharmacists are in the best position to provide patients with evidence-based information about them. This study was designed to identify how the pharmacist's role with respect to natural health products and dietary supplements is portrayed in the literature.

Method: A systematic search was conducted in a variety of health databases to identify all literature that pertained to both pharmacy and natural health products and dietary supplements.

Guidance for considering ethical, legal, and social issues in health technology assessment: application to genetic screening.

Objectives And Methods: Many authors have argued that ethical, legal, and social issues ("ELSIs") should be explicitly integrated into health technology assessment (HTA), yet doing so poses challenges. This discussion may be particularly salient for technologies viewed as ethically complex, such as genetic screening. Here we provide a brief overview of contemporary discussions of the issues from the HTA literature.

Exploring consumer and pharmacist views on the professional role of the pharmacist with respect to natural health products: a study of focus groups.

Background: Natural health products (NHPs) such as herbs, vitamins and homeopathic medicines, are currently available for sale in most Canadian pharmacies. However, most pharmacists report that they have limited knowledge about these products which have been regulated in Canada as a specific sub-category of drugs. In this paper, consumers' and practicing pharmacists' perceptions of pharmacists' professional responsibilities with respect to NHPs are examined.