Together with a global group of >50 researchers, policy makers and clinicians from >20 countries, Assistant Professors Loai Albarqouni and Ray Moynihan from Bond University in Australia are leading a suite of projects focused on exploring and mitigating medical excess in low- and middle-income countries.
While much of the evidence for overuse arises from high income countries, where there is greater access to care, the problem may be even more serious in low-resource settings. The waste and harm of overuse can be seen as a potential threat to both the viability of public budgets and to population health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) – which directs resources away from addressing underuse.
In this suite of projects, as a first step, the available evidence and analysis around the problems of overdiagnosis and overuse of healthcare services in LMICs is systematically reviewed in three scoping reviews. These will focus on: overdiagnosis, overuse of diagnostic and screening tests; overuse of medications; and overuse of procedures and surgeries. This will be the herald for the development of a global network of researchers and decision-makers who are interested in these issues with an overall aim is to bring an enhanced focus on equity and increased investigation of these problems and potential solutions in LMICs, and to help in future research and translation works, including but not limited to: surveys on overdiagnosis in LMICs; evaluation of interventions to reduce overdiagnosis or overuse of healthcare services in LMICs; and knowledge translation projects in LMICs.
Publications so far:
Albarqouni L, Arab-Zozani M, Abukmail E, Greenwood H, Pathirana T, Clark J, Kopitowski K, Johansson M, Born K, Lang E, Moynihan R. Overdiagnosis and overuse of diagnostic and screening tests in low-income and middle-income countries: a scoping review. BMJ Global Health, 7(10), e008696.
Albarqouni L, Palagama S, Chai J, Sivananthajothy P, Pathirana T, Bakhit M, Arab-Zozani M, Ranakusuma R, Cardona M, Scott A, Clark J, Friedemann Smith C, Effa E, Ochodo E, Moynihan R, & the Overdiagnosis and Overuse of Healthcare Services in LMICs Network. Overuse of medications in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2022, Epub Ahead of Print.
More information is coming soon!