Including health impacts in environmental impact assessments for three Australian coal-mining projects: a documentary analysis.

Notwithstanding the historical benefits of coal in aiding human and economic development, the negative health and environmental impacts of coal extraction and processing are of increasing concern. Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are a regulated policy mechanism that can be used to predict and consider the health impacts of mining projects to determine if consent is given. The ways in which health is considered within EIA is unclear.

Comparing metabolic control and complications in type 2 diabetes in two Pacific Islands at baseline and following diabetes care intervention.

Aim: To compare metabolic control and complications in people with type 2 diabetes in Nauru and the Solomon Islands before and after a project intervention.

Methods: This follow-up study compared metabolic control and complications in a cohort of 216 people with diabetes (81 from Nauru and 135 from the Solomon Islands) at baseline and 15 months following a project intervention (upgrading and equipping the existing diabetes centres, and providing training and clinical support systems) aimed at improving the quality of clinical diabetes care. Subjects were screened using a standardised protocol which gathered information on demographics, treatment, physical and biochemical parameters and their outcomes.

Counting the Cost of Diabetes in the Solomon Islands and Nauru.

Aim: To determine the costs associated with diabetes to governments, people with diabetes and their carers, and its impact on quality of life in two Pacific Island countries--the Solomon Islands and Nauru.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional cost of illness study was conducted on 330 people with type 2 diabetes (197 from the Solomon Islands and 133 from Nauru) using a structured cost of illness survey questionnaire adapted from the Australian DiabCo$t study. Quality of life was measured by the EQ-5D Visual Analogue Scale.

Evidence-based medicine: is it a bridge too far?

Aims: This paper aims to describe the contextual factors that gave rise to evidence-based medicine (EBM), as well as its controversies and limitations in the current health context. Our analysis utilizes two frameworks: (1) a complex adaptive view of health that sees both health and healthcare as non-linear phenomena emerging from their different components; and (2) the unified approach to the philosophy of science that provides a new background for understanding the differences between the phases of discovery, corroboration, and implementation in science.

Results: The need for standardization, the development of clinical epidemiology, concerns about the economic sustainability of health systems and increasing numbers of clinical trials, together with the increase in the computer's ability to handle large amounts of data, have paved the way for the development of the EBM movement.

Research Priorities for NCD Prevention and Climate Change: An International Delphi Survey.

Climate change and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are arguably the greatest global challenges of the 21st Century. However, the confluence between them remains under-examined and there is little evidence of a comprehensive, systematic approach to identifying research priorities to mitigate their joint impact. Consequently, we: (i) convened a workshop of academics (n = 25) from the Worldwide Universities Network to identify priority areas at the interface between NCDs and climate change; (ii) conducted a Delphi survey of international opinion leaders in public health and relevant other disciplines; and (iii) convened an expert panel to review and advise on final priorities.

A profile of diabetes in Pacific Island Countries and Territories.

Aim: To examine the available evidence about the epidemiology, health, social, and economic impact of diabetes in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs).

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature published in English from January 1990 to January 2014, and relevant technical reports.

Results: A total of 1548 articles were identified of which 35 studies of type 2 diabetes met the inclusion criteria.

Framing of scientific knowledge as a new category of health care research.

Rationale: The new area of health system research requires a revision of the taxonomy of scientific knowledge that may facilitate a better understanding and representation of complex health phenomena in research discovery, corroboration and implementation.

Method: A position paper by an expert group following and iterative approach.

Results: 'Scientific evidence' should be differentiated from 'elicited knowledge' of experts and users, and this latter typology should be described beyond the traditional qualitative framework.

The global response to diabetes: action or apathy?

Diabetes and related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for over 60% of the world's annual deaths, untold personal suffering, and an economically crippling burden of lost productivity. Despite the body of evidence and various calls to action, historically, the global response has bordered on apathy. Although diabetes and related NCDs remain disproportionately underfunded, the United Nations now recognises them as a major challenge to human and economic development, resulting in an action-oriented policy, frameworks and monitoring requirements that are being driven by the UN and the World Health Organization.

Health care frames - from Virchow to Obama and beyond: the changing frames in health care and their implications for patient care.

Rationale, Aims, Objectives And Methods: Framing allows us to highlight some aspects of an issue, thereby bringing them to the forefront of our thinking, talking and acting. As a consequence, framing also distracts our attention away from other issues. Over time, health care has used various frames to explain its activities.

The prevalence of diabetes complications and associated risk factors in Pacific Islands countries.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of diabetes complications and associated risk factors among people with type 2 diabetes in three Pacific Island countries, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 459 people with diabetes. Subjects were screened for complications using a standardised protocol which gathered information on demographics, physical and biochemical parameters.

Tuberculosis comorbidity with communicable and non-communicable diseases: integrating health services and control efforts.

Recent data for the global burden of disease reflect major demographic and lifestyle changes, leading to a rise in non-communicable diseases. Most countries with high levels of tuberculosis face a large comorbidity burden from both non-communicable and communicable diseases. Traditional disease-specific approaches typically fail to recognise common features and potential synergies in integration of care, management, and control of non-communicable and communicable diseases.

Diabetes related amputations in Pacific Islands countries: a root cause analysis of precipitating events.

Aim: To identify precipitating events and factors preceding diabetes related amputations in Pacific Islands countries (PICs).

Methods: Using a root cause analysis approach, a questionnaire seeking information on events leading up to amputation was administered to a convenience sample of 85 people with diabetes in three PICs (Solomon Islands, Nauru and Vanuatu) who had a lower limb amputation in the previous five years.

Results: There were 85 participants (36% females) with a mean age of 54.

The cost of diabetes in adults in Australia.

Aims: To assess and compare costs associated with diabetes and lesser degrees of glucose intolerance in Australia.

Methods: The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study collected data on the use of health services and health related expenditure in 2004-2005. Complications data were collected through physical examination and biochemical tests or questionnaire.

Coal mining, social injustice and health: a universal conflict of power and priorities.

Given the current insatiable demand for coal to build and fuel the world's burgeoning cities the debate about mining-related social, environmental and health injustices remains eminently salient. Furthermore, the core issues appear universally consistent. This paper combines the theoretical base for defining these injustices with reports in the international health literature about the impact of coal mining on local communities.

Priority actions for the non-communicable disease crisis.

The UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in September, 2011, is an unprecedented opportunity to create a sustained global movement against premature death and preventable morbidity and disability from NCDs, mainly heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease. The increasing global crisis in NCDs is a barrier to development goals including poverty reduction, health equity, economic stability, and human security. The Lancet NCD Action Group and the NCD Alliance propose five overarching priority actions for the response to the crisis--leadership, prevention, treatment, international cooperation, and monitoring and accountability--and the delivery of five priority interventions--tobacco control, salt reduction, improved diets and physical activity, reduction in hazardous alcohol intake, and essential drugs and technologies.

The cost of overweight and obesity in Australia.

Objective: To assess and compare health care costs for normal-weight, overweight and obese Australians.

Design, Setting And Participants: Analysis of 5-year follow-up data from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study, collected in 2004-2005. Data were available for 6140 participants aged >or= 25 years at baseline.

Do socio-economic factors influence supermarket content and shoppers' purchases?

Issue Addressed: Obesity is at crisis proportions. Individuals of low socio-economic status (SES) are more likely to consume higher energy dense diets than their high socio-economic status counterparts. The contribution of supermarket purchases of energy dense, nutrient poor foods has not been well-researched and has largely depended on unverified self-report.

The status of national diabetes programmes: A global survey of IDF member associations.

The 42nd World Health Assembly (1989) issued a global call to action on the prevention and control of diabetes. Four regional diabetes declarations followed - Europe, the Americas, the Western Pacific, and Africa - which paved the way for national diabetes programmes (NDPs) in many countries. As a result of the UN Resolution on Diabetes (2006), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) resolved to reinvigorate NDPs and established a Task Force for this purpose.

Counting the cost of type 2 diabetes in Vanuatu.

Aim: To determine the health system costs, cost to people with diabetes and their carers, and impact on quality of life associated with type 2 diabetes in Vanuatu.

Methods: A cross-sectional paper based survey was administered to 199 people with type 2 diabetes as part of a larger diabetes project.

Results: There were 172 respondents (86% response rate) with a mean age of 56 years (mean duration of diabetes 8 years, 106 females; 67 unemployed).

Individual patient education for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a common and costly chronic disease which is associated with significant premature mortality and morbidity. Although patient education is an integral component of diabetes care, there remain uncertainties regarding the effectiveness of different methods and modes of education.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of individual patient education on metabolic control, diabetes knowledge and psychosocial outcomes.