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Book part
Publication date: 25 September 2017

Eduardo Urias

There is sufficient evidence to prove that the improved health status of a nation’s citizens results in economic growth and development via improved functionality and productivity…

Abstract

There is sufficient evidence to prove that the improved health status of a nation’s citizens results in economic growth and development via improved functionality and productivity of labor. It is also commonly accepted that healthcare expenditure significantly influences health status through, for instance, improving life expectancy at birth and reducing morbidity, death, and infant mortality rates. Within healthcare, medicines account for a considerable share of health-related expenditure in both developed and developing countries. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that improved access to medicines is likely to contribute not only to the well-being of families and individuals but also to the economic growth and development in all societies. It has been widely advocated that pharmaceutical multinational enterprises (MNEs) can play an important role to address this problem, as they develop and supply a significant proportion of the drugs imported by low- and middle-income countries. This chapter is dedicated to a systematic review of literature in order to identify the strategies implemented by pharmaceutical MNEs to improve access to medicines in the low- and middle-income countries. A total of 76 research articles have been identified, and we have found that the main strategies of pharmaceutical MNEs are related to improving health outcomes through R&D, establishing partnerships for product development, pricing strategies to improve access to medicines, technology transfer, licensing agreements, and nonmarket efforts to improve access to medicines, among other strategies to overcome barriers imposed by intellectual property rights. We have also found that pharmaceutical MNEs’ strategies take place within a complex system and often involve interactions with a wide range of actors, such as international organizations, governments, private not-for-profit sector, universities and research institutes, and generic manufacturers. However, there is still a need for major progress in the field of access to medicines, and pharmaceutical MNEs should be more active in this field in order to avoid potential negative consequences, such as loss of legitimacy and compulsory licensing of their patented medicines.

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International Business & Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-163-8

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Book part
Publication date: 12 April 2019

David A. Sleet

Building a culture of safety in transportation is not dissimilar from building a culture of safety in health. Public health is widely known for protecting the public from diseases…

Abstract

Building a culture of safety in transportation is not dissimilar from building a culture of safety in health. Public health is widely known for protecting the public from diseases through milk pasteurization and chlorination of drinking water, and from injuries by implementing environmental and occupational safeguards and fostering behavioral change. Lifestyle and environmental changes that have contributed to the reductions in smoking and heart disease can also help change driving, walking and cycling behaviors, and environments. Stimulating a culture of safety on the road means providing safe and accessible transportation for all. The vision for a culture of traffic safety is to change the public’s attitude about the unacceptable toll from traffic injuries and to implement a systems approach to traffic injury prevention as a means for improving public health and public safety. Framing the motor vehicle injury problem in this way provides an opportunity for partnerships between highway safety and public health to improve the culture of safety.

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Traffic Safety Culture
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-617-4

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Abstract

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Wellness, Social Policy and Public Health
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-026-7

Book part
Publication date: 7 December 2011

Nirupama Prakash and Barbara Wejnert

So far only minimal efforts have been made to directly integrate health concerns with priorities of the processes of global economic development. Nonetheless, there is search for…

Abstract

So far only minimal efforts have been made to directly integrate health concerns with priorities of the processes of global economic development. Nonetheless, there is search for new models to provide sufficient medical care and to encumber global threats, soaring medical costs, technological costs, poverty, and disease. Using example of health conditions and health policies implemented in countries of Southeast Asia in comparison to Eastern Europe, the chapter emphasizes success achieved and in the process of achievement in provision of health care to societies in these countries.

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Democracies: Challenges to Societal Health
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-238-8

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 15 July 2017

Abstract

Details

World Agricultural Resources and Food Security
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-515-3

Book part
Publication date: 16 July 2015

Catherine Bliss

This chapter explores the rise in genetic approaches to health disparities at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter explores the rise in genetic approaches to health disparities at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Methodology/approach

Analysis of public health policies, genome project records, ethnography of project leaders and leading genetic epidemiologists, and news coverage of international projects demonstrates how the study of health disparities and genetic causes of health simultaneously took hold just as the new field of genomics and matters of racial inequality became a global priority for biomedical science and public health.

Findings

As the U.S. federal government created policies to implement racial inclusion standards, international genome projects seized the study race, and diseases that exhibit disparities by race. Genomic leaders made health disparities research a central feature of their science. However, recent attempts to move toward analysis of gene-environment interactions in health and disease have proven insufficient in addressing sociological contributors to health disparities. In place of in-depth analyses of environmental causes, pharmacogenomics drugs, diagnostics, and inclusion in sequencing projects have become the frontline solutions to health disparities.

Originality/value

The chapter argues that genetic forms of medicalization and racialization have taken hold over science and public health around the world, thereby engendering a divestment from sociological approaches that do not align with the expansion of genomic science. The chapter thus contributes to critical discussions in the social and health sciences about the fundamental processes of medicalization, racialization, and geneticization in contemporary society.

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Genetics, Health and Society
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-581-4

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 20 October 2014

Valentina Bodrug-Lungu and Erin Kostina-Ritchey

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of post-Soviet and demographic challenges faced by the government in Moldova that have posed as challenges to reform of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of post-Soviet and demographic challenges faced by the government in Moldova that have posed as challenges to reform of the healthcare system. Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova has undergone significant challenges and reforms throughout the society. Healthcare has been no exception. Changes in family structures due to migration, a decreased birthrate, and an aging population have placed strain on the healthcare system which is working to both modernize and provide specialized care. Legislation has helped to streamline and reform the healthcare system but systemic challenges are still faced by at-risk populations including the elderly, women, and rural populations.

Design

Information presented in this paper is based on a review of independent research, United Nations and government reports.

Findings

Findings show that progress has been made through legislative reform, new government programming, and most recently volunteer/nonprofit involvement in healthcare reform. Currently, the government is working to establish holistic patient centered care and to bridge the healthcare divide between rural and urban populations. Healthcare reforms include basic universal health care services and family support programming. Additionally, there has been a renewed emphasis on how environmental factors, like housing and nutrition, interact with health quality.

Value

Moldova faces an increasing challenge of caring for elderly populations at the family and societal level due to the increased number of elderly, shifts in family structures, and international migration for employment. A discussion of the developing role of nonprofit and nongovernment organizations is included.

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Family and Health: Evolving Needs, Responsibilities, and Experiences
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-126-8

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Abstract

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Resilient Health Systems
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-273-7

Book part
Publication date: 30 December 2013

Gabriella Conti

In this chapter, I review recent evidence on the developmental origins of health inequality. I discuss the origins of the education-health gradient, the long-term costs caused by…

Abstract

In this chapter, I review recent evidence on the developmental origins of health inequality. I discuss the origins of the education-health gradient, the long-term costs caused by early life adversity, and how early life experiences affect the biology of the body. Additionally, I provide complementary evidence on enrichment interventions which can at least partially compensate for these gaps. I highlight emerging lines of scientific inquiry which are likely to have a significant impact on the field. I argue that, while the evidence that early life conditions have long-term effects is now uncontroversial, the literature needs to be expanded both in a theoretical and empirical direction. On the one hand, a model linking early life origins to ageing needs to be developed; on the other hand, a better understanding of the mechanisms – both biological and socioeconomic – is required, in order to design more effective interventions.

Abstract

Details

The Digital Pill: What Everyone Should Know about the Future of Our Healthcare System
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-675-0

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