Selected Topics - Non Communicable Diseases

Events

• School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW - Upcoming Events

Global policies and related documents

Reports, guidelines and projects

• A pan-European comparison regarding patient access to cancer drugs
  "The availability of modern cancer treatments varies widely from country to country. In order to inform the debate on to how to prioritise healthcare, it is essential to have as accurate as possible a knowledge base of the current distribution of resources and their uptake by the medical profession and patients. In this report, Wilking and Jönsson have surveyed access to and uptake of new anticancer drugs across the European states. They have reviewed data from 19 countries accounting for 447 million people, or 76% of the total population in Europe (excluding Russia and Turkey); after excluding Norway and Switzerland, this constitutes 96% of the total population of the 25 EU member states. Their report focuses on the treatment of common cancers such as breast, lung and colorectal cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and aspects of palliative medicine using the example of malignant metastatic bone disease..."
• Chronic Disease: An economic perspective
  "This major report, 'Chronic disease: an economic perspective', written by Marc Suhrcke, Rachel A. Nugent, David Stuckler and Lorenzo Rocco for the Oxford Health Alliance, demonstrates that chronic diseases – heart and lung disease, cancer and diabetes – are having a negative economic impact on both the developed and developing world and should thus be adequately addressed by domestic and international policy makers."
• Fulfilling the Potential of Cancer Prevention and Early Detection
  Published in March 2003, by the US National Cancer Policy Board, US Institute of Medicine, this report examines the evidence for dramatic reductions of cancer cases and deaths and calls for an effective national strategy to optimise the promise cancer detection and prevention
• Interventions Related to Obesity - A State of the Evidence Review
  This paper, published by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, reviews the state of evidence of obesity interventions. It presents a summary of the challenges described in a number of comprehensive reviews of evidence of effectiveness of interventions that were carried out in recent years, either from a broad focus on social and behavioral research and health promotion, or from a specific focus on obesity.
• Preventing Chronic Disease: A Vital Investment
  This WHO global report makes the case for urgent action to halt and turn back the growing threat of chronic diseases. It presents a state-of-the-art guide to effective and feasible interventions, and provides practical suggestions for how countries can implement these interventions to respond successfully to the growing epidemics. Pdf 200 pages
• Preventing Noncommunicable Diseases in the Workplace through Diet and Physical Activity
  "Chronic disease, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease, is responsible for more than 60% of all deaths globally and is projected to account for 47 million deaths annually in the next 25 years. The economic consequences – driven by productivity reductions and increases in costs caused by these noncommunicable diseases among workforces – are dramatic. The WHO estimates that between 2005-2015, income loss (in international dollars) could rise to as much as $558 billion in China, $237 billion in India, $33 billion in Russia and $33 billion in the UK. Not restricted to developed nations or older populations, the problem is growing fastest in low- and middle-income countries, and almost half of those who die from chronic diseases are in their productive years. Countries like Brazil, China, Russia and India currently lose more than 20 million productive life-years annually to chronic disease, and that number is expected to grow by 65% by 2030."
• Providing Access to Modern Treatments and Influencing Policy in Orphan Diseases: The International Experience and Evidence from the UK
  "The term "orphan condition" is used to describe conditions that affect a very small number of patients in a given population. Most of these conditions are currently untreatable. They can either have a genetic cause or a significant genetic component....It is evident that the existence of a large number of orphan conditions afflicting small numbers of patients in a given population generates a number of interesting issues for policy makers. These entail knowledge of actual numbers of sufferers, their access to services, availability of treatments, and research into orphan conditions aiming to develop future treatments, and putting orphan diseases on the agenda of decision-makers with a view to developing policies for patients"
• What is known about the effectiveness of economic instruments to reduce consumption of foods high in saturated fat and other energy dense foods for preventing and treating obesity
  This is a Health Evidence Network (HEN) synthesis report summarising the available evidence concerning the effectiveness of economic instruments (including taxes, price policies and incentives) in containing or reducing food consumption, particularly of foods high in saturated fats and other energy-dense foods. Available evidence suggests – but does not demonstrate – that introduction of policy-related economic instruments, particularly in the form of taxes and price policies, could reduce food consumption, including of high saturated fat and other energy-dense foods, and increase the purchasing of healthful foods.
• WHO MONICA Project
  The MONICA (Multinational MONItoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease) Project was established in the early 1980s in many Centres around the world to monitor trends in cardiovascular diseases, and to relate these to risk factor changes in the population over a ten year period. This site outlines the results of the project and provides links to subsequent publications.
• Women and Autoimmune Diseases
  78% of people affected by autoimmune diseases are women. The reasons for this high prevalance among women is unknown though circumstantial evidence has linked autoimmune diseases with previous infection. Sex hormones are also believed to play a role. This report addresses the implications of these links.

Educational resources

• Atlas of Heart Disease and Stroke
  This atlas, produced by WHO is a comprehensive resource on cardiovascular disease designed for use by policy makers, national and international organisations, health professionals and the general public.
• CancerWeb
  CancerWeb provides information about cancer for clinicians and patients; educational resource site for health care professionals; communication between trainees in oncology; collection of information relevant to oncology and development of information systems and means of distribution.
• CDC Center for Chronic Disease Prevention (USA)
  Today, chronic diseases—such as cardiovascular disease (primarily heart disease and stroke), cancer, and diabetes—are among the most prevalent, costly, and preventable of all health problems. This site from the US National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion outlines the CDC's chronic disesase control programs and provides links to additional information including publications such as guidelines and recommendations.
• ChronicIllNet
  ChronicIllnet aims to give everyone from patients to researchers to the general public, equal access and opportunity to information about chronic illnesses. It also immediately brings to light research that is promising, but sometimes less visible or less accessible and provides a forum for discussion and encourage researchers to share data and discuss findings.
• Diabetes Monitor
  This site monitors the internet for information about diabetes. It provides information, education and support for people with diabetes.
• OncoLink
  The mission of OncoLink which is mainained by the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania is to help cancer patients, families, health care professionals and the general public to access accurate cancer-related information at no charge.
• World Health Organisation Observatory on Health Care for Chronic Conditions
  This site provides information and resources to people around the world who aim to improve health care for chronic conditions. It offers hands on information for policy makers, health managers and administrators on innovative approaches to organising care for chronic conditions.

Organisations and Networks

UN and multinational

• WHO - Cancer
  This site outlines the World Health Organisation's Cancer Control Strategy, including information on national cancer control programmes, prevention, screening and early detection strategies, treatment options and palliative care.

Government

Non Government

• American College of Preventive Medicine
  The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) is the national professional society for physicians committed to disease prevention and health promotion. Its members are engaged in preventive medicine practice, teaching and research and serve on ACPM committees and task forces and represent preventive medicine in national forums.
• Comprehensive Health Education Foundation (USA)
  The Comprehensive Health Education Foundation is committed to addressing the issues most pertinent to the health and well-being of today’s society. To this end it provides the skills, information and resources that people of all ages need to live safe and healthy lives.
• International Association for the Study of Pain
  IASP is a non-profit professional organisation dedicated to furthering research on pain and improving the care of patients with pain. Membership in IASP is open to scientists, physicians, dentists, psychologists, nurses, physical therapists, and other health professionals actively engaged in pain research and to those who have special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of pain.
• International Taskforce for Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease
  The aim of this taskforce is the diffusion at an international level of easily assimilable information on the prevention of coronary heart disease for physicians, medical professionals and the public.
• Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention
  The Stanford Prevention Research Center is an interdisciplinary research program involving several departments in the School of Medicine. The mission of the Center is to be a premier academic center that improves population health through interdisciplinary research and teaching, focusing on: the environmental and bio-behavioral determinants of chronic disease; and the development, testing, and dissemination of innovative chronic disease prevention strategies.
• World Federation of Hemophilia
  The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) is an international not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of people with hemophilia and related bleeding disorders.

Academic Institutions with particular focus in this area

Key Conferences, conference and workshop reports

Coming conferences

Conference reports

Journals, Newsletters, Forums

Bibliographies, Libraries

Public health bookshops

• Public Health bookshop