A strategic framework for synergizing managed entry agreement efforts to access pharmaceutical products in Saudi Arabia—results from a multi-stakeholder workshop

Background Managed entry agreements (MEAs) between manufacturers and healthcare payers allow health systems to maximize patients’ access to treatments while maintaining financial sustainability. However, to work efficiently, MEAs need to be integrated into a country’s formal pricing, reimbursement, and market access processes. This study proposes a country-specific MEA framework for pharmaceutical products and sheds light…

A step towards harmonising human biomonitoring study setup on European level: Materials provided and lessons learnt in HBM4EU

Internal exposure of the human body to potentially harmful chemical substances can be assessed by Human Biomonitoring (HBM). HBM can be used to generate conclusive data that may provide an overview of exposure levels in entire or specific population groups. This knowledge can promote the understanding of potential risks of the substances of interest or help monitoring…

A Semiautomated Classification System for Producing Service Directories in Social and Health Care (DESDE-AND): Maturity Assessment Study

Background: DESDE-LTC (Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs for Long-Term Care) is an international classification system that allows standardized coding and comparisons between different territories and care sectors, such as health and social care, in defined geographic areas. We adapted DESDE-LTC into a computer tool (DESDE-AND) for compiling a directory of care services in…

A review of exposure assessment methods for epidemiological studies of health effects related to industrially contaminated sites

BACKGROUND: this paper is based upon work from COST Action ICSHNet. Health risks related to living close to industrially contaminated sites (ICSs) are a public concern. Toxicology-based risk assessment of single contaminants is the main approach to assess health risks, but epidemiological studies which investigate the relationships between exposure and health directly in the affected…

A regional multicomponent intervention for mechanical restraint reduction in acute psychiatric wards

4.1 Introduction Mechanical restraint (MR) is used in many countries, including Spain, where non‐harmonized policies between autonomous communities exist. There is a lack of research about interventions at regional levels to reduce their use. 4.2 Aim To analyse data on key outcomes during the implementation of a multicomponent intervention in Andalusia (Spain) to reduce the…

A proteomics approach to identify predictive blood biomarkers for pleural mesothelioma in prospective cohorts

Background Pleural mesothelioma (PM) is a rare, asbestos-linked cancer with a long asymptomatic latency, delaying diagnosis and limiting treatment options. Identifying blood‐based biomarkers that signal disease before symptoms onset could improve surveillance of at‐risk individuals. Methods In our work, we conducted a prospective proteomic study of pre-diagnostic serum from 21 PM cases (< 5 years before…

A prospective study of physical activity and cardiometabolic diseases in association with cancer risk

Background Most physical activity research focuses on general populations, and its cancer-preventive benefits in adults with cardiometabolic diseases remain poorly understood. This study investigated associations between non-occupational physical activity and cancer risk in adults with and without cardiometabolic diseases (cardiovascular disease and/or type 2 diabetes). Methods We conducted a meta-analysis of individual participant data of…

A Prospective Evaluation of Plasma Polyphenol Levels and Colon Cancer Risk

Polyphenols have been shown to exert biological activity in experimental models of colon cancer; however, human data linking specific polyphenols to colon cancer is limited. We assessed the relationship between pre‐diagnostic plasma polyphenols and colon cancer risk in a case–control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. Using high pressure…

A prospective evaluation of plasma phospholipid fatty acids and breast cancer risk in the EPIC study

Background Intakes of specific fatty acids have been postulated to impact breast cancer risk but epidemiological data based on dietary questionnaires remain conflicting. Materials and methods We assessed the association between plasma phospholipid fatty acids and breast cancer risk in a case–control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. Sixty…

A prospective diet-wide association study for risk of colorectal cancer in EPIC

BACKGROUND & AIMS Evidence regarding the association of dietary exposures with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is not consistent with a few exceptions. Therefore, we conducted a diet-wide association study (DWAS) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) to evaluate the associations between several dietary exposures with CRC risk. METHODS The association of…