Acting on Data
Discover stories from around the world about the people turning IHME evidence into health impact.Global Burden of Disease findings helping make Stockholm County healthier
In Sweden, the Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institute, and the Center for Epidemiology and Community Medicine (CES) collaborated with IHME to develop estimates for the burden of disease in Stockholm County. These are now a key feature of the county’s Public Health Guide, which serves as a valuable reference for Stockholm’s government and civil society as they work to promote health and prevent disease.
New burden of tobacco paper provides novel insights and tools for policymakers
Earlier this month, the GBD 2015 Tobacco Collaborators published a new report on smoking prevalence and the global burden of tobacco use in The Lancet.
Brookings Institute uses Global Burden of Disease data to explore dangers of smoking
Some people smoke and live seemingly long lives. Yet tobacco is unquestionably harmful. How do we reconcile the two? A recent post published on the Brookings Institute’s Future Development blog used Global Burden of Disease data to educate readers about “selection bias,” or the human tendency to focus on anecdotal accounts that defy the trends while ignoring the much larger body of evidence that supports them.
Using a new network of collaboration to reduce burden of disease in Europe
The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) and its members view burden of disease data as an essential component of population health monitoring, and an important indicator for policy change. As a result, these bodies have joined forces with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) to carry out detailed disease burden analyses in the region.
A new way of measuring development helps assess health system performance
During his recent visit to IHME’s offices, we sat down with Dr. Yohannes Kinfu, member of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study’s Scientific Council and the person who came up with the idea that led to the creation of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a new metric for measuring development. SDI allows people to compare countries’ health outcomes and the performance of health systems, and better understand what tomorrow’s health landscape will look like.
CSIS Women’s and Family Health Task Force uses IHME research to call for major US initiative to improve health of adolescent girls and young women
On March 21, 2017, the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Task Force on Women’s and Family Health outlined a road map for the Trump administration to improve the lives of adolescent girls and young women in 13 low-income countries, using IHME’s research to make their case.
Understanding the ‘big picture’ can lead to a healthier population in Ghana
The Ministry of Health of Ghana is using burden of disease data to identify the biggest health problems in the country and guide health planning.
In Norway, burden of disease informs public and policymakers on health status and risks
In Norway, the government is helping improve the science behind the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and incorporating it into their decision-making. The March 2016 launch of the report on GBD findings in Norway has received extensive coverage by the Norwegian media.
Global Health 2.0: A new era of population health measurement and action
On February 8, the University of Washington Department of Global Health (UWDGH) convened renowned thought leaders from around the world to explore the evolving field of global health through presentations, panel discussions, and audience Q&A’s. Health metrics sciences play an important role in driving decisions and programs aimed at improving the health of the world’s populations, and the significance of good evidence and IHME’s impact was made apparent by many speakers during the event.
Portugal joins Global Burden of Disease enterprise to improve community health
In the historic city of Porto, famous for being a critical center of trade, health organizations from across Portugal have come together to celebrate a new partnership between Portugal and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation to advance the work of the Global Burden of Disease enterprise and provide insight to guide policymaking in the country.
Following the money in US health care leads to surprises and insights for US policies
The paper, “US spending on personal health care and public health, 1996–2013,” published recently in JAMA, found that just 20 conditions make up more than half of all spending on health care in the United States. The paper’s findings have elicited a variety of recommendations from health care experts from the private sector and an architect of the Affordable Care Act.
Using Different Types of Data to Improve Health in Mesoamerica
Data collected by IHME during its evaluation of the Salud Mesoamerica Initiative (SMI) is driving improvements in the health systems that serve some of the Americas’ poorest people.
Burden of disease to guide research and innovation in the US
On December 13, 2016, President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act into law. Intending to “accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of 21st century cures,” the act emphasizes using burden of disease data to prioritize areas of research and innovation.
Motivated by burden of disease data, India tackles air pollution
Researchers and clean air advocates in India have used GDB data to highlight the health impacts of air pollution, and to guide the development of a pioneering new framework to address this major risk factor.
Burden of Disease data spur recommendation to shift Italy’s health policy toward reducing morbidity
Facing the dual challenge of aging societies and the rise of non-communicable diseases, health experts in countries like Italy are using burden of disease data to help guide policymaking.