The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington School of Medicine, today launched the NUS-IHME Global Burden of Disease Research Centre, a new regional hub to serve as a key analytical engine for the Southeast Asia and the surrounding region by delivering scientific evidence that its leaders can translate into policy.

A new study examined whether providing financial vouchers to offset medication costs, conditional on improved blood sugar levels, could enhance glycemic control. The results demonstrated that participants receiving these performance-based incentives achieved a significantly larger reduction in HbA1c levels compared to a control group, an improvement clinically comparable to adding a new pharmacological treatment. Based on these findings, the authors conclude that incorporating financial incentives into health insurance plans could serve as an effective, optional tool to improve health outcomes and equity for low-income populations.

A new analysis led by UC Berkeley, published today in JAMA Health Forum, shows that the passage of "red flag" laws — also called extreme risk protection orders — does reduce suicides by gun. The researchers looked at data from four states that passed ERPO laws and eight that did not, and concluded that the laws reduced firearm suicides by a mean of 3.79 incidences per 100,000 population, with an estimated 675 suicides prevented across these four states between the year the law was passed and following year.  Non-firearm suicide rates did not change.

Long-term research and new policy frameworks needed / Practical barriers must be overcome / Six concrete areas for action identified