Evidence-based Policy Planning Research Articles

Age-Adjusted US Cancer Death Rate Predictions

The likelihood of developing cancer during one's lifetime is approximately one in two for men and one in three for women in the United States. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death and accounts for one in every four deaths. Evidence-based policy planning and decision making by cancer researchers and public health administrators are best accomplished with up-to-date age-adjusted site-specific cancer death rates. Because of the 3-year lag in reporting, forecasting methodology is employed here to estimate the current year rates based on complete observed death data up through three years prior to the current year. The authors expand the State Space Model (SSM) statistical methodology currently in use by the American Cancer Society (ACS) to predict age-adjusted cancer death rates for the current year. These predictions are compared with those from the previous Proc Forecast ACS method and results suggest the expanded SSM performs well.

Financing Adolescent Health in China: How Much, Who Pays, and Where It Goes

PurposeAdolescent health has been gaining increasing attention in the Sustainable Development Goals era. Data on adolescent health financing are essential for evidence-based policy planning and evaluation. Little is known on national expenditure on adolescent health in China. To inform decision-making on national strategies of adolescent health and development, this study estimated expenditure on adolescent health-care utilization in China and identified funding sources and their allocation among different health functions. MethodsWe constructed and implemented an institutional survey and collected primary financial data from health institutions in the nine selected administrative provinces in 2014. We used the collected data to generate estimate of proportion of health spending on adolescent health and its breakdowns by health-care functions, health-care financing schemes, and diseases based on primary diagnosis. We applied the proportion estimates to the 2014 national-level health expenditure data and estimated national-level estimates of spending on adolescent health and breakdowns in aforementioned areas. ResultsSpending on adolescents health in 2014 amounted to CNY82.1 billion (USD 13.4 billion) or 2.6% of the total health expenditures in the year. Per adolescent health expenditures was CNY525 (USD 85.5), less than per capita health spending (CNY2349, USD382.4). National spending on adolescent health was 73.1% on curative care and 10.3% on preventive care. Out-of-pocket spending is the major source of adolescent health financing, contributing to 57.9% of total spending on adolescent health. Spending on respiratory, digestive, injury and poisoning, genitourinary diseases, and neoplasms accounted for 59.8% of curative care expenditures on adolescents. ConclusionsCurrent financing mechanism on adolescent health stressed on curative care and imposed a large portion of financial burden on households. Future investment on adolescent health shall focus more on preventive care. Financing schemes shall be adjusted so as to reduce household out-of-pocket spending on medical care used by adolescents.

The energy performance contract - key towards energy efficiency in Europe?

Abstract The paper focuses on the Energy Performance Contract (EPC) as a business model for energy efficiency. More precisely, it examines, using two case studies, enablers and disablers – from an economic, legal and institutional/managerial perspective – for advancing this arrangement across the EU. The EU has set a 20% energy savings target by 2020 (roughly equivalent to turning off 400 power stations), with an even more ambitious target of 27% by 2030. To reach these ambitious targets, the investments needed are approximately EUR 100 bn/year across the EU (according to the European Commission). Energy efficiency is not, as fervent proponents often claim, the low hanging fruit in terms of investment efforts. Like any other sub-sector, such as transmission and distribution, it demands innovative financing instruments to ensure adequate scale-up. In the paper, I use two comparative case studies to identify and classify the disablers and enablers of Energy Performance Contracting/Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) development: the European frontrunner, namely Germany, and a laggard, namely Romania. As research methodology, I use literature review, comparisons between similar government policy planning and evaluation documents, and stakeholder interviews. While academic literature on the topic (Seefeldt, 2003; Wilhelm, 2015) is developed for Germany, for Romania a critical reflection on EPC promotion policy is to be found only in industry documents (e.g.: ARPEE, 2013; Tractebel, 2015). The German success demonstrates that, contrary to the belief of Romanian stakeholders, it is not the lack of a standardized contract model that prevents EPC development, but lack of genuine commitment, drive and leadership of public officials in promoting this financing instrument. A solid communication between public authorities and private beneficiaries, and public administration capacity for impact assessment and evidence-based policy planning are two other significant enablers of EPCs, that could foster this financing instrument across the EU.

What is Wrong with the ‘What-Went-Right’ Approach in Educational Policy?

This article critically examines how ‘what-went-right’ analyses are used to subsequently justify the transfer of reform packages or ‘best practices' from one country to another. Similar to evidence-based policy planning, the what-went-right approach needs to be criticized for being presumptuous. There are three fallacies of the what-went-right analysis that the article dismantles: rationality, precision and universality. The article focuses on the façade of universality and examines how the claim to universal solutions is methodologically sustained. First, the author shows how standardized or normative comparison has in recent years overshadowed the other two types of comparison: comparison across time (historical analyses) and comparison across contexts ('simple comparison’). Then, she elaborates on why the what-went-right approach requires policy analysts to downplay differences between educational systems in order to establish comparability between cases. The emphasis on comparability and similarity of cases is a prerequisite to importing ‘best practices' from vastly different educational systems. But what if transfer occurs regardless of difference? There is a curious phenomenon that the article addresses in greater detail: the retrospective definition of a local problem. Given the worldwide circulation of ‘best practices' and traveling reform packages, policy analysts sometimes are under pressure to align their analyses of local problems with already existing global solutions. The article ends with a reflection on policy borrowing and lending research and situates the what-went-right approach in the broader question of why and how policy analysts ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ reform packages that worked well in one context for transfer into another.

Delisting publicly funded community-based physical therapy services in Ontario, Canada: A 12-month follow-up study of the perceptions of clients and providers

Publicly funded community-based physical therapy (PT) services in Canada's most populous province of Ontario were partially delisted, or deinsured, in April 2005. Two previous studies examined the short-term effects from the client and provider perspectives; and in this study, we follow up with participants from these preceding studies to assess long-term consequences of this policy. Sixteen of 18 providers (89%) and 64 of 98 clients (65%) agreed to participate in a follow-up telephone interview. Our results indicate that 12 months following delisting, and despite government assurances that access would be preserved, clients rendered ineligible for publicly funded services report ongoing access barriers across Ontario. Clients in this study also express concern about their overall health and report an increased use of other insured health professionals (e.g., physicians) and services (e.g., hospitals). On the other hand, providers within the network of publicly funded clinics report an important decrease in demand for PT services, whereas those from other settings report little change. We conclude that delisting policies may have long-term consequences on uninsured or underinsured clients and that evidence-based policy planning is warranted to ensure that the goals of reform are aligned with the desired outcomes at the client, provider, and system levels.

Research Strategies in Comparative Education

L'auteur souhaite faire un bilan des methodes de collectes des donnees en education comparee. Ce bilan permet de repondre a cinq questions : La methodologie de recherche fait-elle partie des discussions dans ce champs de recherche? Quelles sont les strategies de recherche de ceux qui publient actuellement en education comparee? La variete des strategies de recherche est-elle reduite dans ce domaine? Les zones geographiques concernees par les travaux se sont-elles elargies? De la recherche qualitative ou de la recherche quantitative, laquelle tient le plus de place? Les sources de l'auteur pour realiser cette synthese sont essentiellement les periodiques specialises : Comparative education review, Comparative education et International Journal of educational development. L'auteur definit une typologie des recherches et procede a l'analyse de contenu des publications du point de vue des strategies de recherche de 1960 a 1995.

From Paradigm Wars to Disputatious Community

Previous articleNext article No AccessColloquy on Comparative TheoryFrom Paradigm Wars to Disputatious CommunityRolland G. PaulstonRolland G. Paulston Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Comparative Education Review Volume 34, Number 3Aug., 1990 Sponsored by the Comparative and International Education Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/446956 Views: 12Total views on this site Citations: 10Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1990 The Comparative and International Education SocietyPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Brian D. Denman Post-worldview? A dialogic meta-narrative analysis of North-South, South-South, and Southern theory, International Journal of Comparative Education and Development 19, no.2/32/3 (May 2017): 65–77.https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCED-05-2017-0007Supriya Baily Trajectories of Influence, (Jan 2011): 217–233.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-722-6_12Mark B. Ginsburg, Peggy Nsama Chakufyali, Kalima Kalima, Benny Mwaanga, Winnehl Tubman Promoting Evidence-Based Policy Planning and Implementation in Education in Zambia, (Jan 2011): 355–370.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-722-6_19Shoko Yamada, Jing Liu Between Epistemology and Research Practices, (Jan 2011): 371–393.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-722-6_20Peter Ninnes Fear and desire in twentieth century comparative education, Comparative Education 44, no.33 (Aug 2008): 345–358.https://doi.org/10.1080/03050060802264884David R Geelan Feyerabend revisited: Epistemological anarchy and disciplined eclecticism in educational research, The Australian Educational Researcher 28, no.22 (Aug 2001): 129–146.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03219756David R Geelan Feyerabend revisited: Epistemological anarchy and disciplined eclecticism in educational research, The Australian Educational Researcher 28, no.11 (Apr 2001): 129–146.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03219747Rolland G. Paulston Ways of Seeing Education and Social Change in Latin America: A Phenomenographic Perspective, Latin American Research Review 27, no.33 (Oct 2022): 177–202.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0023879100037274Keith Watson, Kenneth King From comparative to international studies in education: Towards the co-ordination of a British resource of expertise, International Journal of Educational Development 11, no.33 (Jan 1991): 245–253.https://doi.org/10.1016/0738-0593(91)90024-3W. James Jacob, Sheng Yao Cheng Mapping Paradigms and Theories in Comparative, International, and Development Education (CIDE) Research, (): 221–258.https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3679(04)06009-8

Comparative Education: From Theory to Practice, or Are You A: \neo.* or B:\*. ist?

Comparative Education: From Theory to Practice, or Are You A: \neo.* or B:\*. ist?

Social and Educational Change: Conceptual Frameworks

Social and Educational Change: Conceptual Frameworks