Diversity in medical PhD curricula: a call for harmonisation.

Background: Globalisation has increased human movements around the world, spurring greater connectiveness and opportunities to collaborate. In an increasingly connected world, quality assurance among professionals is paramount, particularly in medical research where PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degree holders are expected to be at the peak of their field and play advanced-level research, education and leadership roles. While some regional efforts have been made to ensure comparability in the standards of advanced degree training, no previous study has compared these standards for a PhD in medicine across the globe.

Obesity: a sociological guide for health practitioners.

Obesity is a condition of excess body fat that has been identified as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century. Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death globally and increases the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and various cancers. Obesity worldwide has tripled in the adult population over the past 40 years, with 13% of the world's adult population now obese, leading to calls for control of a global obesity epidemic.

Emergency department: A sociological perspective.

As a complex space that can be interpreted on individual, societal and systemic levels, there is a need for analysis of emergency medicine that transcends the biomedical paradigm to explore its sociological influences. The ED is a social structure of different roles, responsibilities and relationships that can be analysed through observation of the different institutionalised activities which highlight the hierarchies and culturally influenced interactions taking place between actors. Institutionalised activities that provide insight into the social structure of the ED include deference to doctors by patients in the context of environmental chaos, segregated handover of information and discharge-oriented patient care that de-emphasises the impact of social background.

Barriers to the implementation of isoniazid preventive therapy for tuberculosis in children in endemic settings: A review.

Isoniazid preventive therapy is one of the key interventions in reducing the risk of active disease among children exposed to tuberculosis. However, initiation and maintenance of this treatment is poor in many areas. This review summarises the existing literature on barriers to implementation of isoniazid preventive therapy for tuberculosis in children in endemic settings.