How is health equity considered in policy evaluations employing quasi-experimental methods? A scoping review and content analysis.

Public health researchers employ quasi-experimental methods (QEM) to evaluate the effects of policies. Whilst some policies are designed to improve (health) equity, others may intentionally or unintentionally have detrimental effects on disadvantaged populations. We thus sought to investigate how health equity is addressed in policy evaluations which employ QEM.

Burden of Drug and Alcohol Use Disorders in Iran: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.

Background: Due to its specific socio-cultural and geographical situation, Iran has a major public health problem in terms of drug and alcohol use. The aim of this study is to report and critique the burden of drug and alcohol use disorders in Iran, and to compare these measurements with similar findings.

Methods: This study used data for Iran for the years 1990, 2005, and 2010 derived from the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD 2010) conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in 2010.