Latest news with #healthoutcomes
Globe and Mail
8 hours ago
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Linical Celebrates 20 Years of Advancing Clinical Research and Patient Wellbeing
OSAKA, Japan , /CNW/ -- Linical, a leader in clinical research services, is proud to celebrate its 20th anniversary — a milestone that reflects two decades of dedication to improving health outcomes through high-quality, patient-centered research. Since its founding in 2005 in Japan , the company has grown from a small team with a bold vision into a global organization supporting clinical trials in more than 30 countries. From the beginning, Linical set out to do more than manage clinical studies — the company set out to make a meaningful impact on patients' lives. Over the years, Linical's services have expanded to include full-service clinical trial management, site selection and feasibility, regulatory support, biometrics, pharmacovigilance, and drug development strategies. Throughout this growth, Linical's core mission has remained the same: to advance science while prioritizing patient safety and wellbeing. "What began as a small startup with a few dedicated professionals from the pharmaceutical industry has grown into a global force in clinical research," said Kazuhiro Hatano , President and CEO of Linical. "We've never lost sight of the fact that at the heart of every clinical trial is a patient who is hoping for a better future. That's what continues to drive us." Over the past two decades, Linical has supported hundreds of clinical studies across a range of therapeutic areas including oncology, neurology, immunology, and rare diseases. By leveraging technology and data-driven processes, the company has delivered faster study start-up times, improved site performance, and enhanced trial quality. Its investments in decentralized trial capabilities and digital tools have positioned the company at the forefront of innovation, especially in an era where flexibility and accessibility in research are more critical than ever. The company attributes its success to a collaborative culture, strong partnerships with sponsors and sites, and an unwavering focus on patients. "Clinical research is ultimately about people," added Mr. Hatano. "It's about the people participating in trials, the investigators treating them, and the sponsors developing new therapies. We're proud to be part of that ecosystem, helping turn scientific discovery into real-world impact." As it marks its 20th year, Linical is also looking ahead. The arrival of artificial intelligence is transforming the clinical research industry. With continued investment in global operations, advanced analytics, and patient-focused technologies, the company plans to further strengthen its ability to deliver efficient, high-quality clinical trials that bring new treatments to market faster. "We're proud of what we've achieved, but we're even more excited about the future," said Mr. Hatano. "Our work is far from done, and we remain committed to our purpose: improving lives through research." About Linical: Linical is a global provider of clinical research services, supporting biopharmaceutical companies in bringing innovative therapies to patients across APAC, Europe , and North America . With a focus on quality, technology, and patient wellbeing, Linical delivers tailored solutions for clinical trials across all phases and numerous therapeutic areas.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Children in England's most deprived areas ‘less likely to achieve development goals by age five'
Children in the most deprived areas of England are less likely to achieve good developmental goals by the age of five, according to the aid agency Unicef UK, which has urged ministers to lift the two-child benefit cap. A report by the UN agency mapped every local authority area across England measuring its level of deprivation and a range of early childhood health and educational outcomes such as oral health, weight and A&E attendance. The analysis found that children in England's most deprived areas are over twice as far from achieving the government's target of 75% of young children to reach a 'good level of development', compared with the country's most affluent areas. The five local authorities with the highest levels of deprivation – Blackpool, Knowsley, Liverpool, Kingston upon Hull and Middlesbrough – were each in the lowest 20% for five of the six child wellbeing measures used in the analysis. The study also found that obesity levels in reception-aged children in the most deprived areas are more than double those of children in the most affluent areas, at 12.9% compared with 6%, while in the most deprived areas, nearly twice as many children have untreated tooth decay, at nearly a third (29%) compared with the least deprived at 15%. Babies and young children in the most deprived areas of England have 55% more visits to A&E than those in the least deprived areas. The charity has urged the government to lift the two-child benefit cap to reduce child poverty and increase access to early childhood health and educational services. Philip Goodwin, the chief executive officer of Unicef UK, said: 'The consequences of poverty can last a lifetime and are especially harmful for babies and young children. Growing up in poverty damages children's life chances and our analysis shows the scale of the problem across the country. It is not acceptable that children in deprived areas are more likely to be behind at school, to be overweight or obese, to experience tooth decay and pain, and more likely to be admitted to A&E – all before their fifth birthday. 'There must be immediate, decisive and ambitious action by the government. Any further delays will condemn hundreds of thousands of children to poverty and its effects, as child poverty rates continue to rise. 'The government must act urgently to lift the two-child limit and the benefit cap and commit to investing in the vital health and education services that support children during their crucial early years.' Sarah Woolnough, the chief executive of the King's Fund, said: 'Today's report is a stark reminder that as child poverty rises in many parts of the country, children's health is spiralling downwards. Lifelong health issues are established in childhood and the children with the poorest health outcomes now are set to become an unhealthy generation of adults. Action on child health must be taken now for the nation's future health. 'As our research shows, living in poverty has a profound impact on people's health and how they use NHS services. If the government wants to make headway on its mission to create 'the healthiest generation of children ever', tackling deprivation should be as much of a priority as bringing down waiting lists. 'For an NHS that is fit for the future, a greater and more equitable share of health service funding needs to be allocated to children and local services need to be sufficiently equipped to prioritise children. A lack of urgency on prioritising children's health will have serious long-term implications for children and their families, the economy, the health service and society as a whole.' Keir Starmer said he was 'absolutely determined' to 'drive down' child poverty when he was pressed on the two-child benefit cap in parliament last week, ahead of the publication of the government's strategy on the issue. A government spokesperson said: 'This government is taking action to reduce child poverty through our dedicated taskforce, and to address the stark health inequalities across the country. 'We have introduced free breakfast clubs, increased pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged children in schools, and announced plans to expand free school meals to all children in households on Universal Credit.'
Zawya
03-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Dr. Mercy Mwangangi Takes Office as State Health Agency (SHA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Ouma Oluga Calls for Excellence in Service Delivery
Dr. Mercy Mwangangi has officially assumed office as the Chief Executive Officer of the State Health Agency (SHA), succeeding Dr. Robert Ingasira, who served in an acting capacity. The handover ceremony was officiated by the State Department for Medical Services Principal Secretary, Dr. Ouma Oluga. Dr. Oluga urged the agency to provide a strong framework that advances improved health outcomes, including the right to health and Universal Health Coverage. He also emphasized the importance of fostering a culture of discipline, hard work, and prioritizing exemplary service delivery. The Principal Secretary pledged full support to SHA to ensure the successful implementation of Universal Health Coverage. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Health, Kenya.
Forbes
01-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
MAHA's Fight With The Chronic Disease Epidemic
Decentralized care models for diabetes, hypertension, and more may be the key to sustainable health outcomes. America is in the middle of a chronic disease crisis. Over 60% of adults suffer from at least one chronic condition such as diabetes, hypertension, or obesity. These conditions account for 90% of the nation's $4.3 trillion in healthcare expenditures (CDC), placing healthcare outcomes behind peer nations. Despite certain studies not existing as cited within the Trump administration's "Make America Healthy Again" report , confirmed by ABC News, American life expectancy significantly lags behind other developed countries. Pre‑COVID-19 United States life expectancy averages 78.8 years and comparable countries average 82.6 years. According to the President's Make America Healthy Again Commission, this equates to 1.25 billion fewer life years for the United States population. Traditional health systems weren't built to manage continuous care, behavior change, or real-time patient engagement all factors leading to increased cost in US healthcare. Although the US leads in healthcare technology, there still lags necessary emerging technology government mandates to undergo radical change towards health improvements. These emerging technologies enable a key missing link to ensure change; individual accountability. We're now entering a new era: where intelligence meets infrastructure—and patients become active participants in managing their own health. The Role of AI: From Prediction to Precision Artificial Intelligence excels at pattern recognition, real-time data analysis, and personalization. In chronic disease management, AI can: For example, AI-driven platforms can monitor glucose levels continuously and recommend personalized nutrition changes. For hypertension, AI can detect stress indicators or medication non-adherence and trigger nudges or alerts. But AI needs high-quality, secure, and longitudinal data. That's where blockchain comes in. Blockchain Adoption The problem with current healthcare AI is that it's siloed. Each provider, device, or health plan owns a fragmented sliver of a patient's story. Blockchain offers a decentralized data infrastructure where: This architecture not only enhances AI's performance but also protects patient privacy—addressing one of the biggest barriers to data sharing. Decentralized Disease Management in Action Let's take diabetes as an example. A decentralized care model could look like this: The result? Continuous, community-driven care that adapts in real time and aligns incentives between patients, providers, and payers. In a recent published study on decentralized diabetes care in the NIH National Library of Medicine, it was concluded that diabetic care services can be decentralized to non-specialized facilities such as primary hospitals as quality of diabetic care (explained by FBS, systolic blood pressure, Hemoglobin A1C and creatinine) will not be compromised. The finding of the study is supported with studies conducted in LMIC and high-income countries [5–7,10–13], therefore, by decentralizing diabetes care to primary health care facilities service with the same quality could be provided with limited budget in countries like US. It will also decrease the transportation and accommodation expenses of patients as it helps them get the service in nearby health facilities. On the other hand, this will help the general and referral hospitals to focus on more severe and complicated cases. As health systems worldwide are coming under increased financial pressure, with healthcare expenditures taking an ever-bigger chunk out of countries' GDPs ( distributed care frameworks flip the traditional hospital-centric care paradigm on its head. Instead of having patients come into a central location, distributed care brings care to the patient. Increasingly, we will see healthcare being delivered through a decentralized network of ambulatory clinics, retail settings, and home-based monitoring, coaching, and treatment. The glue that binds this network together is the end-to-end experiences of the patients it serves, throughout their care journey (Phillips): The Path Forward Healthcare doesn't need more dashboards. It needs an intelligent, transparent, and patient-owned infrastructure. As America searches for solutions to its chronic disease epidemic, we must move beyond pilot projects and build the platforms that empower people to take control of their health—with privacy, precision, and purpose.
Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
People in disadvantaged areas face worse health outcomes than before, ESRI report finds
People living in disadvantaged communities in Ireland face worse health outcomes than they previously did, new research on barriers to social inclusion has found. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report, commissioned by Pobal and published on Tuesday, looks at how barriers to social inclusion have changed over time and whether disadvantaged communities are particularly adversely affected. The study used data from the Pobal HP Deprivation Index and the 2016 and 2022 Censuses. Some potential barriers to social inclusion have decreased between the two census years, such as the falling rates of unemployment and low educational attainment in deprived areas. READ MORE The study found the gap between unemployment rates in the most disadvantaged areas and the most affluent areas attenuated between 2016 and 2022, with the difference falling from 24 percentage points to 14 percentage points. [ Children in poorer areas far more likely to develop severe mental health difficulties, says professor Opens in new window ] The report's conclusions note, however, that 'while lower unemployment rates are positive, they do not necessarily translate into better living standards, particularly given rising costs of living and potential job quality concerns'. In contrast to this, the study finds a rise in poor health in the most deprived areas and worsening health outcomes for people living in disadvantaged communities. While the number of people reporting bad or very bad health has increased across all areas, the change is most pronounced in deprived regions. Looking at the results of the 2016 and 2022 censuses, there was an increase of 29 per cent in those in the most deprived areas reporting very bad health, compared to an increase of 22 per cent in the most affluent areas. 'This divergence may be due to long-term Covid-19 outcomes, as research has shown that the most deprived areas experienced greater health impacts, or it may be due to other health-related factors which were impacted by the pandemic. [ Education key to breaking link between poverty in childhood and later life, says ESRI report Opens in new window ] 'For example those in deprived areas with greater health needs pre-pandemic may have suffered disproportionately from the healthcare system pivoting from standard care to emergency pandemic protocols, which meant reduced clinics, operations, screenings etc,' the report stated. The study also found an increased prevalence of ethnic minorities, particularly in cities, while lone-parent households are also more common in urban areas and more deprived areas. Anna Shakespeare, chief executive of Pobal, said the findings 'reinforce the need for place-based policymaking in Ireland'. The study also 'reinforces the need to reflect on the health of the nation, and if this has changed post-pandemic. From the data, there is clear evidence of a widening health gap between the most and least disadvantaged communities. 'This raises important considerations for healthcare resourcing and allocation across the country in the coming years,' Ms Shakespeare said.
