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Biomedical subjects

Ritu Sadana

Publications and source records attributed to Ritu Sadana.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The 10/90 divide in mental health research: trends over a 10-year period.

A search (precision value 94%, recall value 93%) of the ISI Web of Science database (1992-2001) revealed that mental health publications accounted for 3-4% of the health literature. A 10/90 divide in internationally accessible mental health literature was evident and remained undiminished through 10 years as low- and middle-income countries (n=152) contributed only 6%, high-income countries (n=54) 94%, and 14 leading high-income countries (with more than 1% contribution for majority of years under consideration) contributed 90% of internationally accessible mental health research. Steps should be taken to improve the research infrastructure and capacity to conduct and disseminate mental health research in general, and on a priority basis in low- and middle-income countries.

Bibliometrics↗
PubMed2005

Why do case studies on national health research systems matter?: identifying common challenges in low- and middle-income countries.

Since health research has become increasingly acknowledged as an important tool for development, many approaches have been undertaken to understand national health research from a systems perspective. This paper reviews 28 case studies that describe or analyse health research systems in 26 low- and middle-income countries. These case studies were sponsored either by the Council on Health Research for Development or the South-East Asia Regional Office of the World Health Organization. In reviewing these case studies, we identify several common challenges facing national health research systems. These challenges include the lack of coordination in research activities; the inadequate participation of stakeholders in research, policy and implementation processes; the lack of demand for research and the low accessibility of research findings. These obstacles are compounded by some fundamental systems constraints, such as the lack of financial resources, human capacities, infrastructure and data. By identifying from these case studies the common challenges of health research systems as well as approaches to overcome these, this paper highlights the potential for case studies to inform policies and strategies for strengthening health research systems, and presents recommendations for future case studies to increase this potential.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed2004

Knowledge for better health: a conceptual framework and foundation for health research systems.

Health research generates knowledge that can be utilized to improve health system performance and, ultimately, health and health equity. We propose a conceptual framework for health research systems (HRSs) that defines their boundaries, components, goals, and functions. The framework adopts a systems perspective towards HRSs and serves as a foundation for constructing a practical approach to describe and analyse HRSs. The analysis of HRSs should, in turn, provide a better understanding of how research contributes to gains in health and health equity. In this framework, the intrinsic goals of the HRS are the advancement of scientific knowledge and the utilization of knowledge to improve health and health equity. Its four principal functions are stewardship, financing, creating and sustaining resources, and producing and using research. The framework, as it is applied in consultation with countries, will provide countries and donor agencies with relevant inputs to policies and strategies for strengthening HRSs and using knowledge for better health.

Artificial Intelligence↗
PubMed2003

Healthy life expectancy: comparison of OECD countries in 2001.

OBJECTIVES: To compare average levels of population health for Australia and other OECD countries in 2001. METHODS: Healthy life expectancies (HALE) for OECD countries for 2001 are based on analysis of mortality data for OECD countries, country-specific estimates of health state prevalences for 135 causes from the Global Burden of Disease 2000 study, and an analysis of 34 health surveys in 28 OECD countries, using novel methods to improve the comparability of self-report data. RESULTS: HALE at birth ranges from a low of 59.8 years for Turkey to a high of 73.6 years in Japan in 2001. Australia ranks fourth among OECD countries at 71.6 years with a 95% uncertainty interval of 70.9 to 72.8 years, ahead of New Zealand in 13th place at 70.3 years. The equivalent 'lost' healthy years at birth range from around 10 years in OECD countries with lowest life expectancies to around eight years in those with high life expectancies at birth. There is a statistically significant association between higher levels of health expenditure and higher healthy life expectancy across OECD countries, although causal inferences require more sophisticated analyses of the health system and non-health system determinants of levels of health. CONCLUSIONS: The new methods used in the WHO Multi-Country Household Survey Study have increased the comparability of self-report data across OECD countries, a major step forward in the use of self-reported data on health. Building on this experience, WHO is developing improved health status measurement techniques for a World Health Survey to be carried out in 2002/03.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Global patterns of healthy life expectancy for older women.

This paper focuses on patterns of healthy life expectancy for older women around the globe in the year 2000, and on the determinants of differences in disease and injury for older ages. Our study uses data from the World Health Organization for women and men in 191 countries. These data include a summary measure of population health, healthy life expectancy (HALE), which measures the number of years of life expected to be lived in good health, and a complementary measure of the loss of health (disability-adjusted life years or DALYs) due to a comprehensive set of disease and injury causes. We examine two topics in detail: (1) cross-national patterns of female-male differences in healthy life expectancy at age 60; and (2) identification of the major injury and disability causes of disability in women at older ages. Globally, the male-female gap is lower for HALE than for total life expectancy. The sex gap is highest for Russia (10.0 years) and lowest in North Africa and the Middle East, where males and females have similar levels of healthy life expectancy, and in some cases, females have lower levels of healthy life expectancy. We discuss the implications of the findings for international health policy.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Definition and measurement of reproductive health.

An internationally agreed conceptual definition of reproductive health is applied to the development and testing of practical indicators for use in the community. Basic criteria are proposed for an interview-based tool to measure reproductive health -- as opposed to morbidity or mortality -- adapting methods from the health status measurement field. Proposed domains and indicators linked to the definition of reproductive health adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) should be comparable across and within diverse populations. Two sets of domains that describe reproductive health are recommended for further development and testing, seven domains that focus directly on health and six others that assess related areas of well-being.

Female↗