An assessment of federal alcohol policies in Canada and priority recommendations: Results from the 3rd Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation Project.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically assess the Canadian federal government's current alcohol policies in relation to public health best practices. METHODS: The 2022 Canadian Alcohol Policy Evaluation (CAPE) Project assessed federal alcohol policies across 10 domains. Policy domains were weighted according to evidence for their relative impact, including effectiveness and scope. A detailed scoring rubric of best practices was developed and externally reviewed by international experts. Policy data were collected between June and December 2022, using official legislation, government websites, and data sources identified from previous iterations of CAPE as sources. Contacts within relevant government departments provided any additional data sources, reviewed the accuracy and completeness of the data, and provided amendments as needed. Data were scored independently by members of the research team. Final policy scores were tabulated and presented as a weighted overall average score and as unweighted domain-specific scores. RESULTS: Compared to public health best practices, the federal government of Canada scored 37% overall. The three most impactful domains-(1) pricing and taxation, (2) marketing and advertising controls, and (3) impaired driving countermeasures-received some of the lowest scores (39%, 10%, and 40%, respectively). Domain-specific scores varied considerably from 0% for minimum legal age policies to 100% for controls on physical availability of alcohol. CONCLUSION: Many evidence-informed alcohol policies have not been adopted, or been adopted only partially, by the Canadian federal government. Urgent adoption of the recommended policies is needed to prevent and reduce the enormous health, social, and economic costs of alcohol use in Canada.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIF: Évaluer de manière systématique les politiques sur l'alcool actuelles du gouvernement fédéral canadien dans le cadre de pratiques de santé publique exemplaires. MéTHODES: Le projet de l'Évaluation des politiques canadiennes sur l'alcool 2022 a évalué les politiques fédérales sur l'alcool dans dix domaines. Ces domaines de politiques ont été pondérés en fonction de preuves sur leurs répercussions relatives, notamment leur efficacité et leur portée. Une échelle d'évaluation descriptive détaillée de pratiques exemplaires a été élaborée et examinée à l'externe. Entre juin et décembre 2022, des données sur les politiques ont été recueillies dans la législation officielle, sur des sites Web du gouvernement et au moyen de sources identifiées comme telles au cours des itérations précédentes du projet de l'Évaluation des politiques canadiennes sur l'alcool. Des personnes-ressources au sein des ministères concernés ont communiqué d'autres sources de données, examiné l'exactitude et le caractère exhaustif de ces données et apporté les modifications nécessaires. Les données ont été évaluées indépendamment par des membres de l'équipe de recherche. Les scores de politiques finaux ont été inscrits dans des tableaux et présentés sous forme d'une moyenne générale pondérée et de scores non pondérés par domaine. RéSULTATS: Comparativement aux pratiques de santé publique exemplaire, le gouvernement fédéral du Canada a obtenu un score général de 37 %. Les trois domaines susceptibles d'avoir les plus grandes répercussions, à savoir 1) la fixation des prix et la taxation, 2) le contrôle du marketing et de la publicité, et 3) les mesures contre la conduite avec facultés affaiblies, se sont vu attribuer parmi les scores les plus bas (39 %, 10 %, et 40 % respectivement). Les scores par domaine variaient considérablement, allant de 0 % pour les politiques sur l'âge minimum légal à 100 % pour le contrôle de la disponibilité physique de l'alcool. CONCLUSION: De nombreuses politiques sur l'alcool reposant sur des preuves n'ont pas été adoptées, ou l'ont été seulement partiellement, par le gouvernement fédéral canadien. Il est urgent d'appliquer les politiques recommandées pour prévenir et réduire les énormes coûts sanitaires, sociaux et économiques de la consommation d'alcool au Canada.

Democratizing social scientists' impact on federal policy: Using the evidence act to help government and ourselves.

It is common for social scientists to discuss the implications of our research for policy. However, what actions can we take to inform policy in more immediate and impactful ways, regardless of our existing institutional affiliations or personal connections? Focusing on federal policy, I suggest that the answer requires understanding a basic coordination problem. On the government side, the Foundations of Evidence-based Policymaking Act (2018) requires that large federal agencies pose, communicate, and answer research questions related to their effects on people and communities. This advancement has opened the black box of federal agency policy priorities, but it has not addressed capacity challenges: These agencies often do not have the financial resources or staff to answer the research questions they pose. On the higher education side, we have more than 150,000 academic social scientists who are knowledge producers and educators by training and vocation. However, especially among those in disciplinary departments, or those without existing institutional or personal connections to federal agencies, we often feel locked out of federal policymaking processes. In this article, I define the coordination problem and offer concrete actions that the academic and federal government communities can take to address it. I also offer leading examples of how academics and universities are making public policy impact possible in multiple governmental spheres. I conclude by arguing that both higher education institutions and all levels of government can do more to help academic social scientists put our knowledge to work in service of the public good.

NSF DARE-transforming modeling in neurorehabilitation: perspectives and opportunities from US funding agencies.

In recognition of the importance and timeliness of computational models for accelerating progress in neurorehabilitation, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored a conference in March 2023 at the University of Southern California that drew global participation from engineers, scientists, clinicians, and trainees. This commentary highlights promising applications of computational models to understand neurorehabilitation ("Using computational models to understand complex mechanisms in neurorehabilitation" section), improve rehabilitation care in the context of digital twin frameworks ("Using computational models to improve delivery and implementation of rehabilitation care" section), and empower future interdisciplinary workforces to deliver higher-quality clinical care using computational models ("Using computational models in neurorehabilitation requires an interdisciplinary workforce" section). The authors describe near-term gaps and opportunities, all of which encourage interdisciplinary team science. Four major opportunities were identified including (1) deciphering the relationship between engineering figures of merit-a term commonly used by engineers to objectively quantify the performance of a device, system, method, or material relative to existing state of the art-and clinical outcome measures, (2) validating computational models from engineering and patient perspectives, (3) creating and curating datasets that are made publicly accessible, and (4) developing new transdisciplinary frameworks, theories, and models that incorporate the complexities of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. This commentary summarizes U.S. funding opportunities by two Federal agencies that support computational research in neurorehabilitation. The NSF has funding programs that support high-risk/high-reward research proposals on computational methods in neurorehabilitation informed by theory- and data-driven approaches. The NIH supports the development of new interventions and therapies for a wide range of nervous system injuries and impairments informed by the field of computational modeling. The conference materials can be found at https://dare2023.usc.edu/ .

Screening for quality with process analytical technology in a health-system pharmacy: A primer.

PURPOSE: The University of Kentucky Drug Quality Study team briefly reviews the growing concerns over pharmaceutical manufacturing quality in the globalized environment, reviews the historical approach by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that prioritizes process over product in enforcing quality with manufacturers, reviews the science of process analytical technology (PAT) such as near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, illustrates the use of PAT methods for assessing uniformity and quality in injectable pharmaceuticals, and demonstrates the application of NIR spectroscopy in a health-system pharmacy setting while maintaining current good practice quality guidelines and regulations (cGxP). SUMMARY: Given that the current approach to monitoring quality in pharmaceutical manufacturing was developed in the late 1960s at a time when manufacturing was mostly domestic, the current approach prioritizes process over product, and the global footprint of manufacturing is straining federal resources to fulfill their task of monitoring quality, an approach to augment the quality monitoring process has been developed. PAT methodologies are supported by FDA for monitoring quality and offer a fast, low-cost, nondestructive solution. Given that the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education has not required qualitative/quantitative analysis and drug assaying in the pharmacy curriculum for several decades, the authors spend time explaining the science behind one of these PAT methodologies, NIR spectroscopy. This primer reviews the application of this technology in the health-system pharmacy setting and the relevant clinical applications. CONCLUSION: Utilizing PAT methodologies such as NIR spectroscopy, health-system pharmacies can gain insights about whether process controls are in place or lacking in FDA-approved formulations.

Rethinking diabetes in the United States.

Despite the availability of effective medical treatments, the diabetes epidemic has accelerated in the United States, efforts to translate treatments into routine clinical practice have stalled, and health inequities have persisted. The National Clinical Care Commission (NCCC) was established by the Congress to make recommendations to better leverage federal policies and programs to more effectively prevent and control diabetes and its complications. The NCCC developed a guiding framework that incorporated elements of the Socioecological and Chronic Care Models. It gathered information from both health-related and non-health-related federal agencies, held 12 public meetings, solicited public comments, met with interested parties and key informants, and performed comprehensive literature reviews. The final report of the NCCC was transmitted to the Congress in January 2022. It called for a rethinking of the problem of diabetes in the United States, including the recognition that the lack of progress is due to a failure to confront diabetes as both a complex societal problem as well as a biomedical problem. To prevent and control diabetes, public policies and programs must be aligned to address both social and environmental determinants of health and health care delivery as they impact diabetes. In this article, we discuss the findings and recommendations of the NCCC as they relate to the social and environmental factors that influence the risk of type 2 diabetes and argue that the prevention and control of type 2 diabetes in the U.S. must begin with concrete population-level interventions to address social and environmental determinants of health.

Bioprotection of Transportation and Facilities from SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has led to a nearly world-wide shelter-in-place strategy. This raises several natural concerns about the safe relaxing of current restrictions. This article focuses on the design and operation of heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in the context of transportation. Do HVAC systems have a role in limiting viral spread? During shelter-in-place, can the HVAC system in a dwelling or a vehicle help limit spread of the virus? After the shelter-in-place strategy ends, can typical workplace and transportation HVAC systems limit spread of the virus? This article directly addresses these and other questions. In addition, it also summarizes simplifying assumptions needed to make meaningful predictions. This article derives new results using transform methods first given in Ginsberg and Bui. These new results describe viral spread through an HVAC system and estimate the aggregate dose of virus inhaled by an uninfected building or vehicle occupant when an infected occupant is present within the same building or vehicle. Central to these results is the derivation of a quantity called the "protection factor"-a term-of-art borrowed from the design of gas masks. Older results that rely on numerical approximations to these differential equations have long been lab validated. This article gives the exact solutions in fixed infrastructure for the first time. These solutions, therefore, retain the same lab validation of the older methods of approximation. Further, these exact solutions yield valuable insights into HVAC systems used in transportation.

Occupational health promotion at a federal education institution: challenges and perspectives.

Introduction: The Brazilian Federal Government developed the Occupational Health and Safety policy for the Federal Public Servant, supported by the following axes: health surveillance and promotion, health assistance for the civil servant, and medical surveillance expertise. As a federal public institution, the Federal Institute of Northern Minas Gerais (Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais) is responsible for implementing this policy. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the challenges and perspectives associated with the health care provided to the servants of the Federal Institute of Northern Minas Gerais. Methods: This was a documentary and field study, with a qualitative and quantitative approach, conducted using documentary research and semi-structured interviews. The collected data were submitted to descriptive and categorical content analyses. Results: The Federal Institute of Northern Minas Gerais still presents several problems in the consolidation and structuring of the Occupational Health and Safety policy for the Federal Public Servant. Among the main obstacles faced are the lack of governmental and institutional support and the precariousness of financial and human resources, mainly directed to the axis of health promotion and surveillance. The institution plans to conduct periodic medical examinations, the establishment of Internal Health Commissions for Public Servants, and the implementation of a mental health program. Conclusions: It is expected that the Federal Institute of Northern Minas Gerais will be able to perform better on the development of health policies and programs for its workers.

Introdução: O Governo Federal criou a Política de Atenção à Saúde e Segurança do Trabalho do Servidor Público Federal, sustentada pelos seguintes eixos: vigilância e promoção à saúde, assistência à saúde do servidor e perícia em saúde. O Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais, enquanto instituição pública federal, detém o encargo de implementar a referida política. Objetivos: Este estudo objetivou identificar os desafios e perspectivas frente às ações de atenção à saúde do servidor no Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais. Métodos: Tratou-se de um estudo documental e de campo, de abordagem quali-quantitativa, realizado por meio de pesquisa documental e entrevista semiestruturada. Os dados coletados foram submetidos à análise descritiva e de conteúdo categorial. Resultados: O Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais ainda apresenta diversos problemas na consolidação e estruturação da Política de Atenção à Saúde e Segurança do Trabalho do Servidor Público Federal. Entre os principais obstáculos enfrentados, estão a falta de apoio governamental e institucional e a precariedade dos recursos financeiros e humanos, principalmente direcionados ao eixo de promoção e vigilância à saúde. A instituição planeja a realização de exames médicos periódicos, a criação de Comissões Internas de Saúde do Servidor Público e a implementação de um programa de saúde mental. Conclusões: Espera-se que o Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais possa melhor atuar no desenvolvimento de ações voltadas para a saúde dos servidores.

Análise estratégica da atuação do governo federal brasileiro na pandemia de COVID-19: 2020-2021 / Strategic analysis of the Brazilian federal government's performance in the COVID-19 pandemic: 2020-2021

Resumo O objetivo é analisar a atuação do governo federal (GF) na pandemia de COVID-19 e identificar as tensões e conflitos entre atores e instituições dos três poderes e do GF com governadores estaduais. A produção de dados incluiu revisão de artigos, publicações e documentos que analisam a pandemia e registram pronunciamentos, decisões, ações, debates e controvérsias entre esses atores no período 2020-2021. Os resultados contemplam a análise do estilo de ação do ator central e dos conflitos entre a Presidência, Ministério da Saúde, Anvisa, governos estaduais, Câmara, Senado e Supremo Tribunal Federal, buscando correlacioná-los com os projetos políticos para a saúde em disputa na atual conjuntura. Conclui-se que o ator central utilizou largamente uma ação comunicativa dirigida a seus apoiadores e uma ação estratégica caracterizada pela imposição, coação e confronto nas relações que manteve com outros atores institucionais, sobretudo quando estes divergiram da sua visão acerca do enfrentamento da crise sanitária, coerentemente com sua vinculação ao projeto político ultra neoliberal e autoritário do GF, que inclui o desmonte do SUS.

Abstract The study aim is to analyze the performance of the Brazilian federal government (FG) in the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking to identify tensions and conflicts between actors and institutions of the three branches of the government and the FG with state governors. Data production included a review of articles, publications and documents that analyze the pandemic evolution and record announcements, decisions, actions, debates and controversies between these actors in the period of 2020 to 2021. The results include the characterization of the action style of the central Actor and the analysis of conflicts between the Presidency, the Ministry of Health, ANVISA, state governments, the House of Representatives and the Senate and the Federal Supreme Court, seeking to correlate them with the debate around the political projects for health in dispute under the current circumstances. It is concluded that the central actor largely used a communicative action aimed at his supporters and strategic action characterized by imposition, coercion and confrontation in the relationships he maintained with other institutional actors, especially when they diverged from his viewpoints about how to face the health crisis, consistently with his connection to the ultra-neoliberal and authoritarian political project of the FG, which includes the deconstruction of the Brazilian Unified Health System.

Health-Related Data Sources Accessible to Health Researchers From the US Government: Mapping Review.

BACKGROUND: Big data from large, government-sponsored surveys and data sets offers researchers opportunities to conduct population-based studies of important health issues in the United States, as well as develop preliminary data to support proposed future work. Yet, navigating these national data sources is challenging. Despite the widespread availability of national data, there is little guidance for researchers on how to access and evaluate the use of these resources. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to identify and summarize a comprehensive list of federally sponsored, health- and health care-related data sources that are accessible in the public domain in order to facilitate their use by researchers. METHODS: We conducted a systematic mapping review of government sources of health-related data on US populations and with active or recent (previous 10 years) data collection. The key measures were government sponsor, overview and purpose of data, population of interest, sampling design, sample size, data collection methodology, type and description of data, and cost to obtain data. Convergent synthesis was used to aggregate findings. RESULTS: Among 106 unique data sources, 57 met the inclusion criteria. Data sources were classified as survey or assessment data (n=30, 53%), trends data (n=27, 47%), summative processed data (n=27, 47%), primary registry data (n=17, 30%), and evaluative data (n=11, 19%). Most (n=39, 68%) served more than 1 purpose. The population of interest included individuals/patients (n=40, 70%), providers (n=15, 26%), and health care sites and systems (n=14, 25%). The sources collected data on demographic (n=44, 77%) and clinical information (n=35, 61%), health behaviors (n=24, 42%), provider or practice characteristics (n=22, 39%), health care costs (n=17, 30%), and laboratory tests (n=8, 14%). Most (n=43, 75%) offered free data sets. CONCLUSIONS: A broad scope of national health data is accessible to researchers. These data provide insights into important health issues and the nation's health care system while eliminating the burden of primary data collection. Data standardization and uniformity were uncommon across government entities, highlighting a need to improve data consistency. Secondary analyses of national data are a feasible, cost-efficient means to address national health concerns.

Práticas corporais e atividades físicas como política pública de saúde: desafios para avançar na atenção primária do Sistema Único de Saúde no período de 2023 a 2026 / Body practices and physical activities as public health policy: challenges to advance in primary care in the Unified Health System in the period from 2023 to 2026 / Prácticas corporales y actividades físicas como política pública de Salud: desafíos para avanzar en la atención primaria en el Sistema Único de Salud en el período 2023 a 2026

As práticas corporais e atividades físicas (PCAF) estão relacionadas à saúde individual e coletiva. Considerando-se que no último ciclo governamental federal (2019-2022) houve medidas de austeridade fiscal, com consequências para o Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) e para os programas e ações de PCAF, este ensaio tem o objetivo de apresentar desafios para que tais práticas avancem como política pública de Saúde no ciclo governamental federal de 2023-2026. Destacam-se: a) financiamento; b) vigilância; c) educação, formação e pesquisa; d) comitê participativo; e) política nacional. Espera-se que as proposições fomentem um amplo debate que favoreça a ampliação da oferta na Atenção Primária à Saúde do SUS, buscando efetivar o direito às PCAF, contribuindo para o cuidado integral em saúde (AU).

Physical activities and body practices (PABP) are related to individual and collective health. Considering that in the last federal government cycle (2019-2022) there was a fiscal austerity measures, with consequences for the Unified Health System (SUS) and for PABP programs, this essay aims to present the challenges for such practices to advance as a public Health policy in the 2023-2026 federal government cycle. We highlight: a) financing; b) surveillance; c) education, training, and research; d) participative committee; e) national policy. It is expected that the proposals will promote a wide debate that will contribute to the expansion of the offer of these practices in SUS primary health care, seeking to guarantee the right to PABP, contributing to comprehensive health care (AU).

Las prácticas corporales y actividades físicas (PCAF) están relacionadas con la salud individual y colectiva. Considerando que de 2019 a 2022 hubo una serie de medidas de austeridad fiscal, con consecuencias para el Sistema Único de Salud (SUS) y para las PCAF, este ensayo tiene como objetivo presentar desafíos para que estas prácticas avancen como política de salud pública en el período de 2023 a 2026. Se destacan: a) financiamiento; b) vigilancia; c) educación, formación e investigación; d) comité participativo; e) política nacional. Se espera que las proposiciones fomenten un amplio debate que favorezca la ampliación de la oferta en la Atención Primaria de Salud del SUS, buscando la implementación del derecho al PCAF, contribuyendo para la atención integral a la salud (AU).

Recommendations for Canada's National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence: perspectives from leaders, service providers and survivors in Canada's largest city during the COVID-19 pandemic. / Recommandations pour le Plan d'action national pour mettre fin à la violence fondée sur le genre : points de vue de dirigeants, de fournisseurs de services et de survivantes dans la plus grande ville du Canada pendant la pandémie de COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: The Canadian government has committed to a national action plan (NAP) to address violence against women (VAW). However, a formalized plan for implementation has not been published. Building on existing recommendations and consultations, we conducted the first formal and peer-reviewed qualitative analysis of the perspectives of leaders, service providers and survivors on what should be considered in Canada's NAP on VAW. METHODS: We applied thematic analysis to qualitative data from 18 staff working on VAW services (11 direct support, 7 in leadership roles) and 10 VAW survivor participants of a community-based study on VAW programming during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Greater Toronto Area (Ontario, Canada). RESULTS: We generated 12 recommendations for Canada's NAP on VAW, which we organized into four thematic areas: (1) invest into VAW services and crisis supports (e.g. strengthen referral mechanisms to VAW programming); (2) enhance structural supports (e.g. invest in the full housing continuum for VAW survivors); (3) develop coordinated systems (e.g. strengthen collaboration between health and VAW systems); and (4) implement and evaluate primary prevention strategies (e.g. conduct a gender-based and intersectional analysis of existing social and public policies). CONCLUSION: In this study, we developed, prioritized and nuanced recommendations for Canada's proposed NAP on VAW based on a rigorous analysis of the perspectives of VAW survivors and staff in Canada's largest city during the COVID-19 pandemic. An effective NAP will require investment in direct support organizations; equitable housing and other structural supports; strategic coordination of health, justice and social care systems; and primary prevention strategies, including gender transformative policy reform.

What is wrong with the Mission Dependency Index for US federal infrastructure decisions?

The Mission Dependency Index (MDI) is a risk metric used by US military services and federal agencies for guiding operations, management, and funding decisions for facilities. Despite its broad adoption for guiding the expenditure of billions in federal funds, several studies on MDI suggest it may have flaws that limit its efficacy. We present a detailed technical analysis of MDI to show how its flaws impact infrastructure decisions. We present the MDI used by the US Navy and develop a critique of current methods. We identify six problems with MDI that stem from its interpretation, use, and mathematical formulation, and we provide examples demonstrating how these flaws can bias decisions. We provide recommendations to overcome flaws for infrastructure risk decision making but ultimately recommend the US government develop a new metric less susceptible to bias.

Variações quantitativas em carreiras de Estado do Poder Executivo federal / Variaciones cuantitativas en carreras del Estado del Poder Ejecutivo federal / Quantitative variations in federal Executive Career Paths

Resumo Este trabalho pretende analisar mudanças quantitativas no número de servidores de algumas carreiras de Estado do Poder Executivo federal entre 2012 e 2022. Para tal, dividiram-se quatro grupos de carreiras civis da administração direta que exercem atividades afins e costumam ser classificadas como típicas de Estado: segurança pública, jurídicas, fiscalização e gestão pública. A escolha por esses grupos se deveu ao fato de que tais carreiras estratégicas com frequência se articulam em conjunto na defesa de seus interesses. Baseando-se em levantamentos realizados pelo Painel Estatístico de Pessoal do Governo Federal, concluiu-se que, durante o período, as carreiras do grupo de segurança pública selecionadas cresceram fortemente (+24%) e ultrapassaram, em número de servidores, as carreiras de fiscalização selecionadas (-27%), que foram reduzidas em proporção semelhante. Individualmente, as carreiras que mais cresceram foram a de policial rodoviário federal (34%) e de analista de comércio exterior (78%). Já as carreiras de auditor-fiscal da Receita Federal e de auditor-fiscal do trabalho foram as que mais diminuíram, perdendo quase um terço de seus servidores ativos cada uma (33% e 33%).

Resumen Este trabajo pretende analizar los cambios cuantitativos en el número de servidores de algunas carreras del Estado del Ejecutivo federal entre 2012 y 2022. Para ello, las carreras civiles de la administración directa que desarrollan actividades similares y son comúnmente catalogadas como propias del Estado se dividieron en cuatro grupos: Seguridad Pública, Jurídica, Inspección y Gestión Pública. La elección de estos grupos de debió a que tales carreras estratégicas frecuentemente se articulan en la defensa de sus intereses. Con base en las encuestas realizadas por el Panel Estadístico del Personal del Gobierno Federal, se concluyó que, durante el período, las carreras del grupo de Seguridad Pública seleccionadas crecieron fuertemente (+24%) y superaron a las carreras de Inspección seleccionadas en número de empleados (-27%), que se redujeron en una proporción similar. De manera individual, las carreras que más crecieron fueron policía federal de caminos (34%) y analista de comercio exterior (78%). Las carreras de inspector fiscal del Ministerio de Hacienda e inspector fiscal del Ministerio de Trabajo fueron las que más declinaron, perdiendo casi un tercio de sus servidores activos cada una (33% y 33%).

Abstract This paper analyzes the quantitative changes in the number of servers of some State Careers of the federal executive branch between 2012 and 2022. Thus, they were divided into four groups of direct administration civil careers that carry out similar activities and are commonly classified as typical of the state: Public Security, Legal, Inspection, and Public Management. Based on surveys carried out by the Statistical Panel of Federal Government Personnel, it was concluded that, during the period, the careers of the selected Public Security group grew strongly (+24%) and surpassed the selected Inspection careers in number of employees (-27%), which were reduced in a similar proportion. Individually, the careers that grew the most were Federal Highway Police (34%) and Foreign Trade Analyst (78%). The careers of Tax Auditor of the Federal Revenue and Labour Tax Auditor were the ones that declined the most, losing almost a third of their active servants each (33% and 33%).

Priorities to accelerate workflow automation in health care.

Inefficient workflows affect many health care stakeholders including patients, caregivers, clinicians, and staff. Widespread health information technology adoption and modern computing provide opportunities for more efficient health care workflows through automation. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) led a multidisciplinary effort with stakeholders across health care and experts in industrial engineering, computer science, and finance to explore opportunities for automation in health care. The effort included semistructured key informant interviews, a review of relevant literature, and a workshop to understand automation lessons across nonhealth care industries that could be applied to health care. In this article, we describe considerations for advancing workflow automation in health care that were identified through these activities. We also discuss a set of six priorities and related strategies developed through the ONC-led effort and highlight the role the informatics and research communities have in advancing each priority and the strategies.

Impact of current Australian paid parental leave on families of preterm and sick infants.

AIM: Parents of preterm or sick infants are at increased risk of mental health problems. The financial stress associated with an infant's prolonged hospital stay can have an additional negative effect on families' wellbeing and child development. This study explores parent use of Australian paid parental leave (PPL) and the financial impact of having an infant requiring neonatal care. METHODS: Retrospective, cross-sectional, online survey study conducted from November 2020 to February 2021. Participants were parents of babies born from 1 January 2013, admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit or special care nursery in Australia. The survey explored use of Australian Government and private sector PPL, and financial stress. Parent-reported anxiety and depression were measured using the EuroQol Group 5D-5L Anxiety and Stress Subscale. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-one parents responded of which 93% had a preterm infant. Seventy-three percent of infants were hospitalised for more than 1 month, and 34% were readmitted to hospital within the first year following discharge home. Eighty-three percent of parents reported moderate, severe or extreme levels of anxiety or depression. Seventy-six percent reported that having a child in hospital had a moderate-very large financial impact on their family. Parents identified main costs to be travel, food, inability to work and direct medical costs. CONCLUSIONS: Having an infant born preterm or sick has significant emotional and financial implications for families. The current Australian Government PPL scheme does not adequately support parents of preterm or sick infants, and a change is urgently needed to improve outcomes for this vulnerable population.

Utilization of Evidence-based Intervention Criteria in U.S. Federal Grant Funding Announcements for Behavioral Healthcare.

Recent U.S. federal government policy has required or recommended the use of evidence-based interventions (EBIs), so that it is important to determine the extent to which this priority is reflected in actual federal solicitations for intervention funding, particularly for behavioral healthcare interventions. Understanding how well such policies are incorporated in federal opportunity announcements (FOAs) for grant funding could improve compliance with policy and increase the societal use of evidence-based interventions for behavioral healthcare. FOAs for discretionary grants (n = 243) in fiscal year 2021 were obtained from the Grants.gov website for 44 federal departments, agencies and sub-agencies that were likely to fund interventions in behavioral health-related areas. FOAs for block/formula grants to states that included behavioral healthcare (n = 17) were obtained from the SAM.gov website. Across both discretionary and block grants, EBIs were required in 60% and recommended in 21% of these FOAs for funding. Numerous different terms were used to signify EBIs by the FOAs, with the greatest variation occurring among the block grants. Lack of adequate elaboration or definition of alternative EBI terms prominently characterized FOAs issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, although less so for those issued by the Departments of Justice and Education. Overall, 43% of FOAs referenced evidence-based program registers on the web, which are scientifically credible sources of EBIs. Otherwise, most of the remaining elaborations of EBI terms in these FOAs were quite brief, often idiosyncratic, and not scientifically vetted. The FOAs generally adhered to federal policy requiring or encouraging the use of EBIs for funding requests. However, an overall pattern showing lack or inadequate elaboration of terms signifying EBIs makes it difficult for applicants to comply with federal policies regarding use of EBIs for behavioral healthcare.

Public procurement of antineoplastic agents used for treating breast cancer in Brazil between 2013 and 2019.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Brazil and the country's public health care system is the main care provider. Timely treatment can increase the chance of cure, prevent metastasis and improve quality of life. Effective public procurement of antineoplastic agents can therefore improve access to drug therapy. This study investigates patterns in the procurement of selected antineoplastic agents used for treating breast cancer by public bodies and avoidable expenditure on these drugs between January 2013 and December 2019. METHODS: We selected antineoplastic agents used for adjuvant or preoperative chemotherapy listed in the 2018 Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines and included in category L of the WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system. We analyzed regular purchases of antineoplastic agents registered in the Integrated General Services Administration System (SIASG), considering purchased quantity, unit price, date of purchase and procuring entity. Prices were inflation-adjusted to July 2019 based on the National Consumer Price Index. RESULTS: A total of 10 antineoplastic agents were selected. Trastuzumab and tamoxifen accounted for the largest share of total spending and largest volume of purchases, respectively. The Ministry of Education was the largest purchaser in volume terms of all the drugs studied, except trastuzumab 440 mg, where the category "Other Institutions" accounted for most purchases, and vinorelbine 20 mg, where the Ministry of Health made most purchases. The category "Other Institutions" accounted for the largest share of total spending. Total avoidable expenditure was R$99,130,645. Prices paid for medicines and avoidable expenditure were highest in the Ministry of Defense. CONCLUSIONS: The differences observed in the performance of different categories of buyers as to amounts purchased and prices practiced for antineoplastic agents could be reduced by employing strategies to expand the centralization of purchases, resulting in expanded access to breast cancer medicines in the public sector.

PERFORMANCE OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH IN ADDRESSING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN BRAZIL / ATUAÇÃO DO MINISTÉRIO DA SAÚDE NO ENFRENTAMENTO À PANDEMIA DE COVID-19 NO BRASIL

Since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic in Brazil in February 2020, the federal government has chosen to follow a different path than what scientific investigations indicated to act in the fight against the disease. This work aimed to present the main events and the performance of the direction of the ministry of health, in its relationship with the Presidency of the Republic, in the face of the covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. Was made an integrative review of information published on national news portals, organized chronologically and based on the performance of each of the ministers of health. A series of misguided, unfounded and denialist measures fostered by the Presidency were identified: rotation of ministers of health; weakening of Primary Health Care; weakening of inter-federative relations; slowness in the importance process; neglect of science; ineptitude in the strategy of testing and distribution of inputs; militarization of health; opacity of health information; corruption cases; among others. The main result of this performance is evidenced in the elevated statistics of cases and deaths by covid-19, and confirms the fact that there is a state racism policy in Brazil, linked to the dismantling and unfunding of the Unified Health System.

Desde el inicio de la pandemia de covid-19 en Brasil en febrero de 2020, el gobierno federal optó por seguir un camino diferente al que indicaban las investigaciones científicas para actuar en la lucha contra la enfermedad. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo presentar los principales acontecimientos y la actuación de la dirección del ministerio de salud, en su relación con la Presidencia de la República, frente a la pandemia de covid-19 en Brasil. Se realizó una revisión integradora de la información publicada en los portales de noticias nacionales, organizada cronológicamente y con base en el desempeño de cada uno de los ministros de salud. Se identificaron una serie de medidas desacertadas, infundadas y negacionistas impulsadas por la Presidencia: rotación de ministros de salud; debilitamiento de la Atención Primaria de Salud; debilitamiento de las relaciones interfederativas; lentitud en el proceso de importancia; descuido de la ciencia; ineptitud en la estrategia de prueba y distribución de insumos; militarización de la salud; opacidad de la información de salud; casos de corrupción; entre otros. El principal resultado de esa actuación se evidencia en las elevadas estadísticas de casos y muertes por covid-19, y confirma el hecho de que existe una política estatal de racismo en Brasil, ligada al desmantelamiento y desfinanciamiento del Sistema Único de Salud.

Desde o início da pandemia de covid-19 no Brasil em fevereiro de 2020 o governo federal optou por seguir um caminho diferente do que indicavam as evidências científicas para agir no enfrentamento à doença. Este trabalho objetivou apresentar os principais acontecimentos e discutir a atuação da direção do Ministério da Saúde, em sua relação com a Presidência da República, no enfrentamento à pandemia de covid-19 no Brasil. Trata-se de pesquisa documental exploratória de publicações disponíveis em portais de notícias nacionais, organizadas cronologicamente e com base na atuação de cada um dos ministros da saúde. Identificou-se uma série de medidas equivocadas, infundadas e negacionistas fortemente orquestradas pela Presidência: rotatividade de ministros da saúde; fragilização da Atenção Primária à Saúde; minoração das relações interfederativas; morosidade no processo de vacinação; descaso com a ciência; inépcia na estratégia de testagem e distribuição de insumos; militarização da saúde; opacidade das informações em saúde; casos de corrupção; dentre outras. O principal desfecho desta atuação é evidenciado nas elevadas estatísticas de casos e óbitos por covid-19, reforçando o fato de que há em um curso uma política de racismo de Estado no Brasil, atrelada ao desmonte e desfinanciamento do Sistema Único de Saúde.

What Does the State Innovation Model Experiment Tell Us About States' Capacity to Implement Complex Health Reforms?

Policy Points To make progress implementing payment and delivery system reforms, state governments need to make genuine stakeholder engagement routine business, develop reforms that build on past successes, and ensure health reform is a top priority for bureaucrats and political leaders. To support state-led reform initiatives, the federal government needs to provide financial support directly to state governments; build bureaucratic capability in supporting state officials with policy design and implementation; develop more flexible, outcome-focused funding programs; reform its own programs, particularly Medicare; and commit to a long-term strategy for progressing payment and delivery system reforms. CONTEXT: For decades, Americans have debated whether the states need federal government support to reform health care. The Affordable Care Act has allowed the federal government to trial innovative ways of accelerating state-led reform initiatives through the State Innovation Model (SIM), which was run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center between 2013 and 2019. This study assesses states' progress implementing health reforms under SIM and examines how well the federal government supported them. METHODS: Detailed case studies were conducted in six states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Oregon, New York, Tennessee, and Washington. Data was collected from SIM evaluation and annual reports and through semistructured interviews with 39 expert informants, mostly state or federal officials involved in SIM. Preliminary findings were tested and refined through an online forum with health policy experts, facilitated by the Milbank Memorial Fund. FINDINGS: States that made the most progress implementing reforms had a strong track record and managed to sustain stakeholder, bureaucratic, and political support for their reform agenda. There was a clear correlation between past reform success and success under SIM, which raises questions about the value of federal government support beyond providing funding. State officials said the federal government could better support states, particularly those with less reform experience, by providing tailored advice that helped state officials overcome problems designing and implementing reforms. State officials also said the federal government could better support them by reforming their own programs, particularly Medicare, and committing to a long-term strategy for health system reform. CONCLUSIONS: States can make some progress reforming health care on their own, but real progress requires long-term cooperation between state and federal governments. Federal initiatives like SIM that foster cooperation between governments should be continued but refined so they provide better support to states.