Health and Healthcare

Completed Research

Evaluating Grant Peer Review in the Health Sciences: A Review of the Literature — 31 August 2009

medical researcher analyzes DNA plate in imaging system, photo courtesy of phil.cdc.gov/Gathany

More than 95 percent of the £2 billion of public funding for medical research each year in the UK is allocated by peer review. Long viewed as a respected process of quality assurance for research, grant peer review has lately been criticised by a growing number of people as inefficient and structuraly flawed. This report presents the findings of a wide-ranging literature review to evaluate these criticisms and a short discussion of simple modifications that might help to address some of them.

Full Document

The Boorman Review: Developing an Evidence Base for NHS Staff Health and Wellbeing — 19 August 2009

This review is tasked with developing an evidence base for potential action to improve the health and wellbeing of NHS staff; as well as making practical recommendations for improvements. The review was initiated by the Department of Health and is headed by Dr Steve Boorman. Working in partnership with The Work Foundation and Aston Business School, RAND Europe led on the literature review, staff perception survey, the call for evidence, and the identification of supporting international good practice work.

Full Document Read More Press Release (www.theworkfoundation.com) Interim Report (www.nhshealthandwellbeing.org)

Requirements and Options for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Application in Healthcare — 20 July 2009

newborn with RFID tag on leg, photo courtesy of www.dacamsys.com

The report assesses individual cases to identify the potential and real costs and benefits of RFID deployment in healthcare, as well as the critical success and failure factors of RFID implementation programmes in practice. It identifies the most promising RFID applications in healthcare delivery by reviewing potential for increasing patient safety and the reduction of costs. A framework is presented for conducting actual cost-benefit analyses in the future and to stimulate the effective monitoring and capturing of cost-benefit data in care delivery settings.

Full Document Review of Relevant Literature

Analysis to Support the Impact Assessment of the Commission's Smoke-Free Initiatives — 30 June 2009

This report assess the expected health, economic, social and environmental impacts of five policy options that the European Commission Directorate-General for Public Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO) is considering for achieving smoke-free environments in the European Union (EU-27). The EU initiative would aim to assist Member States in implementing comprehensive smoke-free laws in line with their obligations under the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Full Document

International Comparison of Ten Medical Regulatory Systems — 01 June 2009

Female patients get a check up, photo courtesy of World Bank/Curt Carnemark

This study was commissioned by the UK General Medical Council (GMC) to provide an evidence base on the systems of medical regulation in place in the countries of origin of the ten largest groups of non-UK qualified doctors registered in the UK. As the core regulator of doctors in the UK, the GMC seeks to compare UK regulations with the regulation of medical professionals in other countries and whether any differences could potentially affect quality of care and patient safety.

Full Document

EC Report Examines the World's Illicit Drugs Problem, Ten Years On — 10 March 2009

A study conducted by RAND Europe, RAND's Drug Policy Research Centre, and the Trimbos Institute assesses how the global market for illicit drugs has developed from 1998 to 2007, as well as the impact of worldwide policy measures - both at the national and sub-national levels - on the illicit drugs problem. The study finds that while the situation may have improved slightly in some of the world's richer countries, it has substantially worsened in others, which include a few large developing or transitional countries.

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Mapping the Impact: Exploring the Payback of Arthritis Research — 19 May 2009

This report describes the RAND/ARC Impact Scoring System (RAISS). RAISS was developed as part of the project to produce a replacement for the Arthritis Research Campaign (arc) end of grant reporting system. The mapping tool had to be capable of producing data that would stand up to sophisticated analysis while imposing minimal time and cost burdens on administrators, researchers and data processors. The final tool took the form of a simple Web questionnaire that took most researchers less than an hour to complete. The impact map generated by the tool enables arc to see the returns from individual grants and compare different types of grants.

Full Document

Radio Frequency ID in Healthcare — 13 April 2009

Radio Frequency ID (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. It shows potential to improve patient safety, reduce medical errors, save costs, and overall contribute to the quality of care delivered to patients. The objective of this study is to identify policy and research options for the European Commission (EC) to ensure large-scale, effective, and secure implementation of RFID in healthcare and the pharmaceutical market.

Full Document

RE Examines the Link Between Alcohol Affordability, Consumption and Harms — 03 April 2009

liquor on sale, photo courtesy of flickr/elisharene

A RAND Europe study prepared for the European Commission shows that the affordability of alcoholic beverages has increased across the EU over the last decade, and demonstrates that alcohol affordability is positively correlated with alcohol consumption. In turn, increases in alcohol consumption were shown to be associated with increases in traffic accidents, traffic deaths and liver cirrhosis. The study provides evidence that pricing policy could be an effective policy lever to reduce alcohol-related harms.

Full Document

Improving Organ Donation and Transplantation in the European Union — 13 February 2009

Due to rapid advances in transplantation medicine, the use of human organs for transplantation has steadily increased during the past decades, saving thousands of lives every year. This success of transplantation medicine has however led to a shortage of available organs and poses new quality and safety challenges for organ donation systems across Europe. This report assesses and compares the impacts of four different policy options proposed by the European Commission’s Health and Consumer Directorate to address the most pressing challenges faced in the field of organ donation and transplantation.

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Improving Patient Safety in the EU — 23 December 2008

prescription bottles for hospital patient

Patient harm arising from medical errors that occur during patient care is a leading cause of disability and death. The European Commission's Directorate for Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO) asked RAND Europe to inform its impact assessment of the Patient Safety and Quality legislative proposal in 2008. The study stresses the need for systemic solutions, in addition to addressing individual responsibility for medical error. Patient safety systems should include effective reporting and learning systems, effective remedial mechanisms and the active dissemination and implementation of evidence-based knowledge aimed at reducing errors.

Full Document Related Report REsource Note

Modelling the Provision of End-of-Life Services — 08 December 2008

Current data suggest that far more people die in hospital than at home or in a hospice as they would prefer. The UK National Audit Office commissioned RAND Europe to provide modelling of the provision of end-of-life care services. RAND Europe's research identifies areas for improvements in the quality of such services within existing resources, and the cost-savings of end-of-life care at home and hospice compared to hospital.

Full Document Full Document (www.nao.org.uk)

Estimating the Economic Value of Medical Research in the UK — 21 November 2008

Woman doing medical research in laboratory

Despite a growing international interest in understanding the health and economic returns on investment in medical research, there has been relatively little formal analysis, particularly in Europe. A joint report coproduced with RAND Europe demonstrates substantial returns from such investment and highlights the importance of the time lag between basic research and health gain: the quicker research is translated from bench to bedside, the greater the rate of return.

Full Document (wellcome.ac.uk)Read More

Healthcare Interventions Insufficient To Tackle Alcohol-Related Harms — 10 November 2008

historical illustration of people pouring from wine barrel

While some interventions in healthcare settings can be effective in reducing alcohol harms at the individual level, they are unlikely to reduce morbidity and mortality at the aggregate population level, according to a study by RAND for the National Audit Office that examines healthcare interventions in Australia, Canada, the United States, Germany and The Netherlands.

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Identifying DG SANCO's Future Challenges 2009-2014 — 08 May 2008

RAND Europe developed a set of alternative scenarios describing possible future outcomes for Europe as part of a study to inform the future strategic planning of DG SANCO. This involved a series of wide-ranging workshops, with experts and civil servants that considered specific developments that may affect the future policy environment of DG SANCO.

Full Document

Can the London 2012 Olympics Help Curb Obesity? — 02 April 2008

It is often claimed that the London 2012 Games could help to address the UK's growing obesity problem. RAND Europe's Setting the Agenda for an Evidence-based Olympics examines the evidence of the health impacts of previous Games and highlights the lessons of the past.

RAND Europe was commissioned by the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General (DG SANCO) of the European Commission to conduct two assessments of the possible impacts of revisions to the European food labelling regulations. These impact assessments informed the Commission's recent proposals to introduce mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling in all pre-packaged food, to extend allergen labelling to all foods, and to set minimum standards for food labels in Europe. The reports highlight the importance of providing clear and consistent information to consumers to help them make informed choices, and discuss possible impacts on European retailers and food producers.

Full Document Full Document EU food Safety Web Site (ec.europa.eu)

A Review of the Literature on the Effectiveness of Community Orders — 29 January 2008

Community orders, authorised in the UK by the 2003 Criminal Justice Act, allow judges and magistrates to customise community sentences for each offender. The Act requires judges to incorporate one or more of twelve provisions that are congruent with the seriousness of the offence, and the risk of re-offending During the last three quarters of 2005, community orders comprised slightly over half of all community sentences issued, yet there was little rigorous research on their impact. RAND Europe was commissioned by the NAO to conduct a selected review of the literature of community sentencing, focusing especially on benefits of community orders. The review focused on assessing their effectiveness at reducing reoffending and/or reconviction; meeting other sentencing requirements such as punishment of offenders, protection of the public, rehabilitation and reparation.

Full Document

International Comparison of Neonatal Services — 12 December 2007

A new study, commissioned by the UK National Audit Office (NAO), analyses the provision of neonatal services in seven countries: the UK nations of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, Canada, Sweden, and Australia. The report aims to provide a compendium of relevant data to facilitate comparisons and benchmarking of neonatal services across countries. It examines trends in high-risk births, the organisation and scale of neonatal services, neonatal transport, costs and best practices. The study found that all countries studied use neonatal networks, although with varying levels of formalisation, that low staffing is a pervasive problem for UK neonatal services, and that a few international regions are leading the way in the development of high-quality neonatal service provision.

Full Document RAND Review: "Baby Steps"

IVF's Potential Contribution to Increasing Fertility Rates in Europe — 03 January 2007

Results of RAND Europe research demonstrate that Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), such as IVF, could help European governments combat the problem of ageing populations if incorporated into population policies. The research is the first step to systematically examine the potential impact of biomedical developments such as fertility treatment on population ageing. The results of this analysis will be of interest to those who are concerned with policy options to reverse low fertility and mitigate the effects of population ageing.

Full Document Read More Related Report BBC Interview

Prescribing in Primary Care: Understanding What Shapes GPs' Prescribing Choices and How Might These be Improved — 18 May 2007

The National Audit Office (NAO) asked RAND Europe to conduct a qualitative study into General Practitioners' (GP) prescribing behaviour. The study aims to understand what shapes GPs' prescribing decisions, and how the cost efficiency of prescribing might be improved in the future. This qualitative study contributes to the NAO's larger investigation into primary care prescribing in England and more specifically, how financial savings can be delivered by helping primary care prescribing to deliver better value for patients.

Full Document NAO Report (www.nao.org.uk)

Tackling Obesity and Promoting Health in Europe — 28 March 2007

This report presents an overview of the achievements of the European Union Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health in 2006. The Platform brings together stakeholders from across Europe, all of whom are undertaking actions to improve the health of European citizens. The Platform's achievements are presented by summarising information contained in over 150 monitoring forms that were provided by members of the Platform.

Full Document

RAND Europe Evaluates EC's Scientific Committees in Areas of Consumer Products, and Health and Environmental Risks — 31 January 2007

Lab technicians looking through microscope

RAND Europe released its report conducted for the European Commission's Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General (DG SANCO). The report provides an interim evaluation of the procedures and functions of the three non-food Scientific Committees that provide the EC with scientific advice on issues related to consumer safety, and health and environmental risks. It concluded that the Scientific Committees are functioning adequately so far and make substantial contributions to the evidence-base upon which related EC decision making relies. However, the evaluation identified practical recommendations that could improve the process of implementing scientific advice in DG SANCO policy making.

Full Document

Capturing Payback from Funding by the UK Arthritis Research — 26 September 2006

For people depending on scientific advances for improved treatment, the translation of new knowledge into practice is among the most important payback from biomedical research. This study used a novel evaluation of the 10-15 year paybacks of research grants by UK Arthritis Research Campaign. This evaluation used a multi-dimensional payback framework with the aim of informing funding and governance decision by comparing the value for money of different types of grants, and identifying success factors in the translation of research into practice.

Full Document REsource Note REsource Note Volume 2

Use of Evidence in Illegal Drug Classification — 01 March 2006

The UK Home Secretary's call for a review of the system for classifying illegal drugs in the UK (January 2006) is shining a spotlight on the use of evidence in making these often controversial policy decisions. The UK House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology had already identified the subject as needing investigation and commissioned RAND Europe to report on the UK Government's use of evidence in drug classification policy making.

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Low Birth Rates, Ageing Pose Challenges for Europe — 26 September 2006

elderly man on bicylce in european countryside

Across Europe, birth rates are falling and the population is aging. To successfully reverse these trends, EU governments need long-term policies that address demographic change and household behaviors.

Full Document

Evaluation of the London Patient Choice Project — 01 July 2005

The London Patient Choice Project (LPCP) was established to offer choices to patients who were clinically eligible for treatment and had been waiting for treatment at an NHS London hospital beyond a target waiting time. This report covers the choice process and the trade-offs patients are willing to make in order to obtain earlier treatment.

Full Document

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