Now is the Time to Take Gum Disease Seriously: A Roadmap for Improving Oral Health in the United States

A new Economist Impact research, Now is the time to take gum disease seriously: A roadmap for improving oral health in the United States, assesses the status of gum disease in the US, identifies evidence around policies and practices that link to better gum health and provides relevant considerations to reduce the burden of gum disease. We bring together scientific literature research with valuable insights from industry experts.

Five key objectives underpin the analysis of this report:

Breaking the cycle of chronic child malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa

Malnourished children are subject to physical and cognitive delays, often impeding them from reaching their complete developmental potential with significant and lifelong health, social and economic implications. Malnourished children are also more susceptible to infectious and chronic diseases and achieve lower levels of education and reduced adult income.

Time to care: innovating to improve timely decision-making in emergency departments

However, emergency department crowding is a global problem and long waits are becoming more common.

This article is part of a series on improving decision-making across different settings and contexts. It highlights the challenges that overcrowding in the emergency department (ED) creates for healthcare staff and patients, and explores some of the innovative approaches and technologies being used to help smooth workflow.

Key takeaways include:

  • Solutions to stem the rising tides of ED presentations have been implemented in three key stages: 

Achieving the potential of outpatient care in the US

This shift has been enabled by advances in technology, surgical techniques, and innovation in healthcare delivery methods, and have been further driven by factors like lower cost of care and reduced resource utilization in outpatient versus inpatient settings. However, equitable access to outpatient services remains an issue.

The article is part of a series on improving decision-making across different settings and contexts. It explores opportunities to leverage innovations and technologies to achieve the full potential of outpatient care in the US, including: 

Infographic | Enhancing patient-centred approaches to optimise early-breast cancer care in New Zealand

Video | Enhancing patient-centred approaches to optimise early-breast cancer care in New Zealand

is a research report by Economist Impact examining the existing breast cancer care pathway in New Zealand and the factors that help or hinder the goal of achieving optimal patient-centred c

Harnessing innovation in bleeding disorders

Centred on the insights of experts based in Europe and North America (drawn together in workshops and one-to-one interviews), the report focuses on past, present and future innovations in the treatment and management of rare, inherited bleeding disorders, and where these innovations have been and can be utilised to address current unmet health needs in patients. It focuses on the three most common of these bleeding disorders—haemophilia A, haemophilia B and von Willebrand disease (vWD).

Enhancing patient-centred approaches to optimise early-breast cancer care in New Zealand

New Zealand is amongst the countries with the highest prevalence of breast cancer, affecting one in nine women, and more than 600 deaths every year. The incidence rate exceeds the OECD average and is second only to Australia. According to the WHO New Zealand Cancer profile, the total breast cancer cases per year are expected to increase by 31% and reach 4,584 by 2040 from 3,504 in 2018.

Connecting the Dots: Embedding Progress on Rare Disease into Healthcare

Recent years has seen progress in the diagnosis and care of rare diseases, but health systems have more to do to integrate rare disease care into mainstream care. The good news is that doing so does not involve the wholesale re-invention of existing institutions, structures and processes, so much as adjusting them. 

Five important questions for health in a post-pandemic world

The pandemic has led to numerous lessons learned and a reassessment of priorities in health. However, it remains unclear if short-term drivers of change will lead to seismic shifts in how we manage the future well-being of people, systems and society. David Humphreys, global practice lead for health policy at Economist Impact, offers perspective on the trends that will shape the future.

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