Posts Tagged ‘countries’
Roche To Offer Developing Countries Discounted Tamiflu
The pharmaceutical company Roche on Wednesday announced a program to help ensure developing countries have access to its antiviral Tamiflu, for “the management of a novel influenza strain defined by the WHO as having significant and current pandemic potential,” Reuters reports (Egenter, 7/1).
WHO Urges H1N1 Vaccine Producers To Give 10 Per Cent To Poor Countries
The World Health Organization (WHO) urged pharmaceutical companies to donate at least 10 per cent of their H1N1 pandemic swine flu vaccine to poor countries, or at least offer them lower prices, to ensure that they don’t get left out as it is likely that demand will outstrip capacity to supply in the months ahead. Six out of 30 major drug companies have agreed to do so.
Swine Infects 36 Countries So Far, 8,451 Cases, And 71 Confirmed Deaths
The World Health Organization announced today that swine flu, or influenza A(H1N1) has now infected humans in 36 cases, making a total of 8,451 people ill, and causing the deaths of 66 people in Mexico, 4 deaths in the USA, and 1 death in Canada. All data indicate the virus strain is not a virulent one (an aggressive and dangerous one).
Contextual adaptation of the Personnel Evaluation Standards for assessing faculty evaluation systems in developing countries: the case of Iran
Background:Faculty evaluations can identify needs to be addressed in effective development programs. Generic evaluation models exist, but these require adaptation to a particular context of interest. We report on one approach to such adaptation in the context of medical education in Iran, which is integrated into the delivery and management of healthcare services nationwide.Methods:Using a triangulation design, interviews with senior faculty leaders were conducted to identify relevant areas for faculty evaluation. We then adapted the published checklist of the Personnel Evaluation Standards to fit the Iranian medical universities’ context by considering faculty members’ diverse roles. Then the adapted instrument was administered to faculty at twelve medical schools in Iran. Results:The interviews revealed poor linkages between existing forms of development and evaluation, imbalances between faculty work components and evaluated areas, and inappropriate feedback and use of information in decision making. The principles of Personnel Evaluation Standards addressed almost all of these concerns and were used to assess the existing faculty evaluation system and also adapted to evaluate the core faculty roles. The survey response rate was 74%. Responses showed that the four principles in all faculty members’ roles were met occasionally to frequently. Evaluation of teaching and research had the highest mean scores, while clinical and healthcare services, institutional administration, and self-development had the lowest mean scores. There were statistically significant differences between small medium and large medical schools (p<0.0001).Conclusions:The adapted Personnel Evaluation Standards appears to be valid and applicable for monitoring and continuous improvement of a faculty evaluation system in the context of medical universities in Iran. The approach developed here provides a more balanced assessment of multiple faculty roles, including educational, clinical and healthcare services. In order to address identified deficiencies, the evaluation system should recognize, document, and uniformly reward those activities that are vital to the academic mission. Inclusion of personal developmental concerns in the evaluation discussion is essential for evaluation systems.
15 Countries Report 615 Swine Flu (influenza A H1N1) Cases Of Infection Among Humans, 2nd May 2009
According to WHO (World Health Organization), 615 cases of swine flu infection among humans have officially been reported in 15 countries. Total confirmed infections in Mexico now stand at 397, including 16 deaths. Most of the Mexican rise of confirmed cases comes more as a result of ongoing testing of a backlog of samples.



