Publications by authors named "Rob Cunningham"

Introduction: Tobacco use is a major threat to health globally. A number of countries have adopted "endgame goals" to minimize smoking prevalence. The INSPIRED project aims to describe and compare the experiences of the first six countries to adopt an endgame goal.

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This article draws on the concept of cultural humility, to describe and analyze a decolonizing approach to co-designing a primary prevention basketball program for young African-Australian people in Melbourne, Australia. We explore the potential for genuine collaboration and power-sharing with a culturally diverse community through collaboratively developing the co-design process and resultant program design. This article highlights the central role of UBUNTU in the co-design process, prioritizing African ways of knowing, being, and doing within a Westernized social work and design context.

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Aims: In 2014, in response to evidence that Canada’s tobacco use would lead, inexorably, to substantial morbidity and mortality for the foreseeable future, a group of experts convened to consider the development of a “Tobacco Endgame” for Canada. The “Tobacco Endgame” defines a time frame in which to eliminate structural, political, and social dynamics that sustain tobacco use, leading to improved population health. Strategies: A series of Background Papers describing possible measures that could contribute to the creation of a comprehensive endgame strategy for Canada was prepared in advance of the National Tobacco Endgame Summit hosted at Queen’s University in 2016.

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Measures to ban or restrict menthol and other flavours in tobacco products are under consideration or newly implemented in an increasing number of jurisdictions across the world. As one of the world leaders, Canada's experience in successfully developing and implementing such measures can be instructive for other jurisdictions. This paper explores the history of how Canada was able to implement tobacco flavour bans including menthol, examines some of the challenges and presents lessons learnt for other jurisdictions.

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Challenges of Forecasting Physician Workforce Needs Amid Delivery System Transformation.

Issue Brief George Wash Univ Natl Health Policy Forum

September 2015

As population growth and the aging of the overall population increase demand for health care, policymakers and analysts grapple with whether sufficient health care providers, particularly physicians, will be available to meet that demand. Some argue there are too few physicians already; others say our current supply-demand problems lie with efficiency. But suppose both are correct? Perhaps the real challenge is to understand how the provision of health care services is changing in response to market forces such as payment changes, patients' expectations, provider distributions, and technology innovations.

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States around the country have seized on Medicaid as a force for health system transformation.

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Health workforce needs: projections complicated by practice and technology changes.

Issue Brief George Wash Univ Natl Health Policy Forum

October 2013

As population growth and the aging of the overall population increase demand for health care, policymakers and analysts posit whether sufficient health care providers will be able to meet that demand. Some argue there are too few providers already; others say our current supply-demand problems lie with efficiency. But suppose both are correct? Perhaps the real challenge is to understand how physician practices are changing in response to market forces such as payment changes, provider distributions, and technology innovations.

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Stimulus bill implementation: expanding meaningful use of health IT.

Issue Brief George Wash Univ Natl Health Policy Forum

August 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act authorizes an estimated $38 billion in incentives and supports for health information technology (IT) from 2009 to 2019. After years of sluggish HIT adoption, this crisis-driven investment of public funds creates a unique opportunity for rapid diffusion of a technology that is widely expected to improve care, save money, and facilitate transformation of the troubled U.S.

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Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be a risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE). This study was designed to review the incidence of VTE in critically injured patients with an isolated TBI using a standardized venous duplex color-flow Doppler imaging program and to compare it with the overall and high-risk trauma populations.

Methods: Trauma patients who underwent lower-extremity surveillance color-flow Doppler imaging for VTE were identified.

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