EVIDENCE-BASED LP
Getting the Dosage Right to Stop the Pain
W
e have new CCTV cameras, but now what? This is the type of question we often hear. For example, do we primarily want the CCTV devices to deter offenders, detect attempts, or document them for trial and planning, or some combination? This distinction is huge because each CCTV use objective can mean slightly different camera form factors and deployment tactics. And to cost-effectively reduce crime and loss, we really have to get it right or at least close. The fancy term for this in policing and medicine is dosage and diffusion. What we do, not just that we do it, is critical. We’ve got to engage with the asset, the space or place, and of course the offender. But how do we best do this? What are some evidence-based methods?
The Why Is Important
Before we do something, however, it is always important to think about and know, via evidence, why we’re doing something. Why do we want to deploy this tactic? What do we expect it to do? How will it do this? How does it really work in the field? We call this a logic model.
As the loss prevention experts for our employers, we should have a good understanding of how an investment we want to make will actually do what we say it will. And we need to know how much of our LP solution to deploy.
MARCH–APRIL 2017
Dr. Hayes is director of the Loss Prevention Research Council and coordinator of the Loss Prevention Research Team at the University of Florida. He can be reached at 321-303-6193 or via email at rhayes@lpresearch.org. © 2017 Loss Prevention Research Council
in a 2014 edition of Pharmacogenetics and Genomics: “The main mechanism of action of ibuprofen is the non-selective, reversible inhibition of the cyclooxygenase enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 (coded for by PTGS1 and PTGS2, respectively). Of the two enantiomers, S-ibuprofen is a more potent inhibitor of COX enzymes than R-ibuprofen, with a stronger inhibitory activity at COX-1 than COX-2 in vitro. COX-1 and COX-2 catalyze the first committed step in the synthesis of prostanoids–prostaglandin (PG) E2, PGD2, PGF2alpha, PGI2 (also known as prostacyclin), and thromboxane (Tx) A2–from arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is released from the cell membrane phospholipids by phospholipase A2, PLA2, encoded by PLA2G4A (cytosolic, calcium-dependent) and PLA2G2A (in platelets and synovial fluid). …” We certainly don’t need nor will probably ever have such a scientifically derived MOA, but as the loss prevention experts for our employers, we should have a good understanding of how an investment we want to make will actually do what we say it will. And we need to know how much of our LP solution to deploy. For Advil, a brand-name ibuprofen, the standard adult dosage is one tablet by mouth while symptoms persist, not to exceed six tablets in twenty-four hours unless directed by a doctor.
The How Is Important
We take a pain reliever to relive a headache because multiple randomized controlled trials demonstrate consistent efficacy. Further, how the medicine works to relieve pain—its mechanism of action or MOA—has been repeatedly identified. Doctors know not only that it generally works but also how it works to relieve pain. Here is ibuprofen’s MOA according to “PharmGKB Summary: Ibuprofen Pathways” by Mazaleuskaya and others
54
by Read Hayes, PhD, CPP
|
What, how, where, how much, how often, and how long we do something really matters. Our team suggests you consider several dosage dimensions when you’re looking to deploy a protective action: ■ Active. How do we do this, what does it look like, who should do it, how many do we need, and what else should I do to make this work better? ■ Spatial. Where across my chain, and where on my property? ■ Temporal. When do I deploy and for how long? And how often do I change things up? In this column this year, we’ll continue to discuss our findings on what works better than other options. We have new research findings around what, how much, where, when, and who—in other words, dosage.
Working Groups Make Us Go
Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) working groups are the primary way the organization supports retailer member improvement. Working groups get multiple retail experts, solution partners, LPRC staff, and others together monthly to set and discuss priority research and development needs and
LOSSPREVENTIONMEDIA.COM
