MENTAL HEALTH: ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

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Muzdalifah M. Rahman

2015-02-01

of mental health, especially mental health needs to be developed with an Islamic perspective various studies and research, especially the development of mental health recovery means Islamic perspective.

Human rights, public health and medicinal cannabis use.

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Bone, Melissa; Seddon, Toby

2016-01-01

This paper explores the interplay between the human rights and drug control frameworks and critiques case law on medicinal cannabis use to demonstrate that a bona fide human rights perspective allows for a broader conception of 'health'. This broad conception, encompassing both medicalised and social constructionist definitions, can inform public health policies relating to medicinal cannabis use. The paper also demonstrates how a human rights lens can alleviate a core tension between the State and the individual within the drug policy field. The leading medicinal cannabis case in the UK highlights the judiciary's failure to engage with an individual's human right to health as they adopt an arbitrary, externalist view, focussing on the legality of cannabis to the exclusion of other concerns. Drawing on some international comparisons, the paper considers how a human rights perspective can lead to an approach to medicinal cannabis use which facilitates a holistic understanding of public health.

Transformative combinations: women's health and human rights.

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Yamin, A E

1997-01-01

From the human rights perspective proposed in this article, a woman's good or ill health reflects more than biology or individual behaviors; it reflects her enjoyment (or lack thereof) of fundamental human rights that enable her to exercise basic power over the course and quality of her life. The "structural" view of health that such a human rights perspective suggests is concerned first with identifying the effects of social, economic, and political relations on women's health and then with promoting "interventions" aimed at transforming the laws, institutions, and structures that deny women's rights and well-being. Yet, traditional human rights law and practice have been limited to narrowly defined abuses by public officials against individuals that fail to capture the most pervasive denials of women's rights, which, though rooted in systematic discrimination, are frequently played out in so-called "private" institutions, primarily within the family. The experiences of women's health advocates in addressing complex women's health issues makes it clear that women's lack of access to economic and political power in the public sphere creates the conditions under which they are discriminated against and physically and sexually abused in the private sphere. Combining the pragmatic understanding of women's health professionals with an expansive conception of human rights norms has the potential to transform the fields of women's health and human rights.

"More money for health - more health for the money": a human resources for health perspective

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Jones Iain

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background At the MDG Summit in September 2010, the UN Secretary-General launched the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health. Central within the Global Strategy are the ambitions of "more money for health" and "more health for the money". These aim to leverage more resources for health financing whilst simultaneously generating more results from existing resources - core tenets of public expenditure management and governance. This paper considers these ambitions from a human resources for health (HRH perspective. Methods Using data from the UK Department for International Development (DFID we set out to quantify and qualify the British government's contributions on HRH in developing countries and to establish a baseline.. To determine whether activities and financing could be included in the categorisation of 'HRH strengthening' we adopted the Agenda for Global Action on HRH and a WHO approach to the 'working lifespan' of health workers as our guiding frameworks. To establish a baseline we reviewed available data on Official Development Assistance (ODA and country reports, undertook a new survey of HRH programming and sought information from multilateral partners. Results In financial year 2008/9 DFID spent £901 million on direct 'aid to health'. Due to the nature of the Creditor Reporting System (CRS of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD it is not feasible to directly report on HRH spending. We therefore employed a process of imputed percentages supported by detailed assessment in twelve countries. This followed the model adopted by the G8 to estimate ODA on maternal, newborn and child health. Using the G8's model, and cognisant of its limitations, we concluded that UK 'aid to health' on HRH strengthening is approximately 25%. Conclusions In quantifying DFID's disbursements on HRH we encountered the constraints of the current CRS framework. This limits standardised measurement of ODA on HRH

"More money for health - more health for the money": a human resources for health perspective.

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Campbell, James; Jones, Iain; Whyms, Desmond

2011-07-15

At the MDG Summit in September 2010, the UN Secretary-General launched the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health. Central within the Global Strategy are the ambitions of "more money for health" and "more health for the money". These aim to leverage more resources for health financing whilst simultaneously generating more results from existing resources - core tenets of public expenditure management and governance. This paper considers these ambitions from a human resources for health (HRH) perspective. Using data from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) we set out to quantify and qualify the British government's contributions on HRH in developing countries and to establish a baseline.. To determine whether activities and financing could be included in the categorisation of 'HRH strengthening' we adopted the Agenda for Global Action on HRH and a WHO approach to the 'working lifespan' of health workers as our guiding frameworks. To establish a baseline we reviewed available data on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and country reports, undertook a new survey of HRH programming and sought information from multilateral partners. In financial year 2008/9 DFID spent £901 million on direct 'aid to health'. Due to the nature of the Creditor Reporting System (CRS) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) it is not feasible to directly report on HRH spending. We therefore employed a process of imputed percentages supported by detailed assessment in twelve countries. This followed the model adopted by the G8 to estimate ODA on maternal, newborn and child health. Using the G8's model, and cognisant of its limitations, we concluded that UK 'aid to health' on HRH strengthening is approximately 25%. In quantifying DFID's disbursements on HRH we encountered the constraints of the current CRS framework. This limits standardised measurement of ODA on HRH. This is a governance issue that will benefit from further

[People, the environment and health: the "Oneness" of human health from the perspective of universal life presented in "Changes"].

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Yang, Ke-Ping

2008-12-01

This paper aimed to expand the paradigm of nursing and expand the essential factors of nursing theories beyond "environment" to encompass universal life. While individuals live between the sky and earth, we are an inseparable part of the universe. "Health" is derived from a oneness that embraces the body, mind and spirit. The human body contains the wisdom of the universe, known in Chinese philosophy as the wisdom of "Changes". The body has its own consciousness and possesses great powers of self-healing. Healthiness is the original condition of life. Modern medicine assumes sickness to be a natural phenomenon, with the essential nature of "Changes" neglected as a universal law for maintaining health. Dr. Sun, a renowned physician from the Tang Dynasty, was quoted as saying "Knowing Changes is the prerequisite of knowing medicine." Another saying holds that, "Every word and every sentence in the Book of Changes is an indicator of medicine." Much emphasis has been placed on the relationship between "Changes" and "medicine" in the past. This paper elaborates the relationship between nature and human health in order to provide a clear understanding of the nature of true health, described from the perspectives of medicine and "Changes", an evaluation of modern medical science and the oneness of body-mind-spirit, which is the reality of health. The human body is thus a reflection of the mind and spirit, while the mind and spirit is the "inner body". The body is a highly intelligent organism that truly reflects our inner world. Our inner world is also displayed through physical symptoms. As human suffering is caused by separation from our inner life, the only path to enjoying a healthy and joyful life is to achieve a oneness between our body-mind-spirit. Such is a universal law, which is called "Changes" or "Oneness".

Human rights approach to health.

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Haigh, Fiona

2002-04-01

Adopting human rights approach to health carries many benefits, because it emphasizes the equality of all persons and their inherent right to health as the foundation of the health care system. It also argues that promotion and protection of health are fundamentally important social goals, focuses particularly on the needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, balances individual needs with the common good, and so forth. However, it also raises some practical issues, such as organization of interdisciplinary education and work, and different use of the language, which often goes unacknowledged. The relationship between human rights and health is a reciprocal one, and can be beneficial or harmful. For the relationship to be beneficial and successful, the differences between human rights and public health approach to health, centered around the perspective taking, attitudes, and abilities of health professionals, need to be acknowledged and reconciled, and the need for interdisciplinarity adequately fulfilled.

Health and human rights a South African perspective.

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Naidoo, Sudeshni

2014-01-01

General statements of basic entitlements are established as a guide for potential laws and regulations protecting human rights. Human rights are those claimed to belong to every individual regardless of nationality or position within society. The historical evolution of human rights relative to health in the Republic of South Africa is discussed.

The Human-Nature Relationship and Its Impact on Health: A Critical Review.

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Seymour, Valentine

2016-01-01

Within the past four decades, research has been increasingly drawn toward understanding whether there is a link between the changing human-nature relationship and its impact on people's health. However, to examine whether there is a link requires research of its breadth and underlying mechanisms from an interdisciplinary approach. This article begins by reviewing the debates concerning the human-nature relationship, which are then critiqued and redefined from an interdisciplinary perspective. The concept and chronological history of "health" is then explored, based on the World Health Organization's definition. Combining these concepts, the human-nature relationship and its impact on human's health are then explored through a developing conceptual model. It is argued that using an interdisciplinary perspective can facilitate a deeper understanding of the complexities involved for attaining optimal health at the human-environmental interface.

An economic perspective on oceans and human health

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Legat, Audrey; French, Veronica; McDonough, Niall

2016-01-01

Human health and wellbeing are intrinsically connected to our seas and oceans through a complex relationship comprising both positive and negative influences. Although significant public health impacts result from this relationship, the economic implications are rarely analysed. We reviewed the

Trust in health research relationships: accounts of human subjects.

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McDonald, Michael; Townsend, Anne; Cox, Susan M; Paterson, Natasha Damiano; Lafrenière, Darquise

2008-12-01

TRUST IS FUNDAMENTAL in health research, yet there is little empirical evidence that explores the meaning of trust from the perspective of human subjects. The analysis presented here focuses on how human subjects talked about trust in the in-depth interviews. It emerged from the accounts that trust could not be assumed in the research setting, rather it was portrayed as a dynamic concept, built and easily broken, characterized by reciprocity and negotiation. Human subjects were ambivalent about who, when, what, and how much to trust in the research endeavor. This paper adds a fresh perspective to the literature on trust, and so offers a currently neglected, and little understood dimension to the discourse around health research ethics.

A perspective on the history and evolution of an Oceans and Human Health "metadiscipline" in the USA.

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Sandifer, Paul A; Trtanj, Juli M; Collier, Tracy K

2013-05-01

We review recent history and evolution of Oceans and Human Health programs and related activities in the USA from a perspective within the Federal government. As a result of about a decade of support by the US Congress and through a few Federal agencies, notably the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, robust Oceans and Human Health (OHH) research and application activities are now relatively widespread, although still small, in a number of agencies and academic institutions. OHH themes and issues have been incorporated into comprehensive federal ocean research plans and are reflected in the new National Ocean Policy enunciated by Executive Order 13547. In just a decade, OHH has matured into a recognized "metadiscipline," with development of a small, but robust and diverse community of science and practice, incorporation into academic educational programs, regular participation in ocean and coastal science and public health societies, and active engagement with public health decision makers. In addition to substantial increases in scientific information, the OHH community has demonstrated ability to respond rapidly and effectively to emergency situations such as those associated with extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes, floods) and human-caused disasters (e.g., the Deep Water Horizon oil spill). Among many other things, next steps include development and implementation of agency health strategies and provision of specific services, such as ecological forecasts to provide routine early warnings for ocean health threats and opportunities for prevention and mitigation of these risks.

An Overview of Soils and Human Health

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Brevik, Eric C.

2013-04-01

Few people recognize the connection between soils and human health, even though soils are actually very important to health. Soils influence health through the nutrients taken up by plants and the animals that eat those plants, nutrients that are needed for adequate nutrition for growth and development. Soils can also act to harm human health in three major ways: i) toxic levels of substances or disease-causing organisms may enter the human food chain from the soil ii) humans can encounter pathogenic organisms through direct contact with the soil or inhaling dust from the soil, and iii) degraded soils produce nutrient-deficient foods leading to malnutrition. Soils have also been a major source of medicines. Therefore, soils form an integral link in the holistic view of human health. In this presentation, soils and their influence on human health are discussed from a broad perspective, including both direct influences of soils on health and indirect influences through things such as climate change, occupational exposure to soil amendments, and the role of soils in providing food security.

Unequal distribution of health human resource in mainland China: what are the determinants from a comprehensive perspective?

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Li, Dan; Zhou, Zhongliang; Si, Yafei; Xu, Yongjian; Shen, Chi; Wang, Yiyang; Wang, Xiao

2018-02-27

of health human resource. The tough issue of HHR inequality should be addressed by comprehensive measures from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Occupational Safety And Health (Osh From Islamic Perspective: A Conceptual Study

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Afifah Binti Ismail

2018-05-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This paper illustrates occupational safety and health (OSH based on Islamic perspective in human resource management. This paper has been written based on the following objectives; ato state the duty of employer to provide safety workplace and to concern on employee health; bto list out the management system of OSH based on Islamic perspective as preventive measure. A purely qualitative approach of literature review was done and Islamic OSH is derived from Islamic principles which are guide by Al-Quran and sunnah. The responsibility to preserve safety and health of employee does not only relies to the employer solely but involved all workers, the government and the authority bodies as the runner for the Occupational safety and Health Act  OSHA 1994, Islamic order’s and policy to be implemented in the organization. The Occupational Safety and Health Master Plan (OSHMP 2020 is a tremendous incentive by the Ministry of Human Resource to cope and minimize the number of accident and injuries in Malaysia.   Keywords: Islamic occupational safety and health, employee safety and health, Islamic management system of OSH

Human health impacts in the life cycle of future European electricity generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Treyer, Karin; Bauer, Christian; Simons, Andrew

2014-01-01

This paper presents Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based quantification of the potential human health impacts (HHI) of base-load power generation technologies for the year 2030. Cumulative Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions per kWh electricity produced are shown in order to provide the basis for comparison with existing literature. Minimising negative impacts on human health is one of the key elements of policy making towards sustainable development: besides their direct impacts on quality of life, HHI also trigger other impacts, e.g. external costs in the health care system. These HHI are measured using the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods “ReCiPe” with its three different perspectives and “IMPACT2002+”. Total HHI as well as the shares of the contributing damage categories vary largely between these perspectives and methods. Impacts due to climate change, human toxicity, and particulate matter formation are the main contributors to total HHI. Independently of the perspective chosen, the overall impacts on human health from nuclear power and renewables are substantially lower than those caused by coal power, while natural gas can have lower HHI than nuclear and some renewables. Fossil fuel combustion as well as coal, uranium and metal mining are the life cycle stages generating the highest HHI. - Highlights: • Life cycle human health impacts (HHI) due to electricity production are analysed. • Results are shown for the three ReCiPe perspectives and IMPACT2002+LCIA method. • Total HHI of nuclear and renewables are much below those of fossil technologies. • Climate change and human toxicity contribute most to total HHI. • Fossil fuel combustion and coal mining are the most polluting life cycle stages

Ethical issues regarding human cloning: a nursing perspective.

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Dinç, Leyla

2003-05-01

Advances in cloning technology and successful cloning experiments in animals raised concerns about the possibility of human cloning in recent years. Despite many objections, this is not only a possibility but also a reality. Human cloning is a scientific revolution. However, it also introduces the potential for physical and psychosocial harm to human beings. From this point of view, it raises profound ethical, social and health related concerns. Human cloning would have an impact on the practice of nursing because it could result in the creation of new physiological and psychosocial conditions that would require nursing care. The nursing profession must therefore evaluate the ethics of human cloning, in particular the potential role of nurses. This article reviews the ethical considerations of reproductive human cloning, discusses the main reasons for concern, and reflects a nursing perspective regarding this issue.

Access to Preventive Health Care for Undocumented Migrants: A Comparative Study of Germany, The Netherlands and Spain from a Human Rights Perspective

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Veronika Flegar

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The present study analyzes the preventive health care provisions for nationals and undocumented migrants in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain in light of four indicators derived from the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ General Comment 14 (GC 14. These indicators are (i immunization; (ii education and information; (iii regular screening programs; and (iv the promotion of the underlying determinants of health. It aims to answer the question of what preventive health care services for undocumented migrants are provided for in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain and how this should be evaluated from a human rights perspective. The study reveals that the access to preventive health care for undocumented migrants is largely insufficient in all three countries but most extensive in the Netherlands and least extensive in Germany. The paper concludes that a human rights-based approach to health law and policy can help to refine and concretize the individual rights and state obligations for the preventive health care of undocumented migrants. While the human rights framework is still insufficiently clear in some respects, the research concedes the added value of a rights-based approach as an evaluation tool, advocacy framework and moral principle to keep in mind when adopting or evaluating state policies in the health sector.

Is there really such a thing as "one health"? Thinking about a more than human world from the perspective of cultural anthropology.

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Wolf, Meike

2015-03-01

Today's era of globalization is characterized by intensified interspecies encounters, growing ecological concerns and the (re-)emergence of infectious diseases, manifesting themselves in the interplay of medical and biological, but also social, cultural and political processes. One health approaches - which combine multidisciplinary efforts to stimulate collaborations between different health professionals such as veterinarians, medical practitioners, biologists, and public health professionals - can be understood as a response to this complex interconnectedness. Integrating a social science perspective might prove beneficial to this endeavor. This essay locates the one health discussion on disease ecologies in a more than human world within recent developments in cultural and medical anthropology that focus on the entanglements between health and a multitude of animals, plants or microbes, as they are characteristic of a globalized modernity. The paper aims to examine the social dimensions of human-animal-disease-interactions, claiming that disease is a biocultural phenomenon and that social factors generally play a crucial role in the emergence, spread and management of (infectious) disease. Consequently, it will be argued that there is a need to rethink our objects of inquiry and any given assumptions of human health, the human body or the constitution of "the global" as such. Incorporating the social sciences into one health approaches can help address topics such as consumption patterns, human-animal behavior or environmental conflicts in a novel way and on a grander scale than ever before. Yet, a greater sensitivity to context may entail some skepticism about the idea of one health - not in spite of the complex entanglements between humans, environments, animals and pathogens, but precisely because of them. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human rights, public health and medicinal cannabis use

OpenAIRE

Bone, Melissa; Seddon, Toby

2015-01-01

This paper explores the interplay between the human rights and drug control frameworks, and critiques case law on medicinal cannabis use to demonstrate that a bona fide human rights perspective allows for a broader conception of ‘health’. This broad conception, encompassing both medicalised and social constructionist definitions, can inform public health policies relating to medicinal cannabis use. The paper also demonstrates how a human rights lens can alleviate a core tension between the St...

Promoting critical perspectives in mental health nursing education.

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McKie, A; Naysmith, S

2014-03-01

This paper explores themes relevant to mental health nursing using the example of one educational module of a nursing degree. The authors argue that the educational preparation of mental health nursing students in higher education must address certain contested philosophical, conceptual, social and ethical dimensions of contemporary mental health care practice. These themes are discussed within the context of a third-year mental health nursing module within a Scottish nursing degree programme. By interlinking epistemology and ontology, the notion of student as 'critical practitioner', involving the encouragement of 'critical thinking', is developed. This is shown via engagement with parallel perspectives of the sciences and the humanities in mental health. Narratives of student nurse engagement with selected literary texts demonstrate the extent to which issues of knowledge, self-awareness and personal development are central to a student's professional journey as they progress through an academic course. The paper concludes by suggesting that these 'critical perspectives' have important wider implications for curriculum design in nursing education. Insights from critical theory can equip nurse educators to challenge consumerist tendencies within contemporary higher education by encouraging them to remain knowledgeable, critical and ethically sensitive towards the needs of their students. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mental health of refugees: global perspectives.

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Abou-Saleh, Mohammed T; Christodoulou, George N

2016-11-01

Refugees have high rates of mental health morbidity as a result of conflict. However, their needs for mental healthcare and psychosocial support are often unmet, despite the efforts of professional and humanitarian organisations. The war refugee crisis is a global challenge that needs a global solution. We call on all governments, regional and international organisations to take responsible humanitarian actions to intervene and support people affected by these disasters and for all humanity to unite against the forces of injustice and degradation. The thematic papers in this issue report on the Syrian crisis from a variety of perspectives.

Health and human rights advocacy: perspectives from a Rwandan refugee camp.

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Pavlish, Carol; Ho, Anita; Rounkle, Ann-Marie

2012-07-01

Working at the bedside and within communities as patient advocates, nurses frequently intervene to advance individuals' health and well-being. However, the International Council of Nurses' Code of Ethics asserts that nurses should expand beyond the individual model and also promote a rights-enabling environment where respect for human dignity is paramount. This article applies the results of an ethnographic human rights study with displaced populations in Rwanda to argue for a rights-based social advocacy role for nurses. Human rights advocacy strategies include sensitization, participation, protection, good governance, and accountability. By adopting a rights-based approach to advocacy, nurses contribute to health agendas that include more just social relationships, equitable access to opportunities, and health-positive living situations for all persons.

Gambling and the Health of the Public: Adopting a Public Health Perspective.

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Korn, David A.; Shaffer, Howard J.

1999-01-01

During the last decade there has been an unprecedented expansion of legalized gambling throughout North America. Three primary forces appear to be motivating this growth: (1) the desire of governments to identify new sources of revenue without invoking new or higher taxes; (2) tourism entrepreneurs developing new destinations for entertainment and leisure; and (3) the rise of new technologies and forms of gambling (e.g., video lottery terminals, powerball mega-lotteries, and computer offshore gambling). Associated with this phenomenon, there has been an increase in the prevalence of problem and pathological gambling among the general adult population, as well as a sustained high level of gambling-related problems among youth. To date there has been little dialogue within the public health sector in particular, or among health care practitioners in general, about the potential health impact of gambling or gambling-related problems. This article encourages the adoption of a public health perspective towards gambling. More specifically, this discussion has four primary objectives:1. Create awareness among health professionals about gambling, its rapid expansion and its relationship with the health care system;2. Place gambling within a public health framework by examining it from several perspectives, including population health, human ecology and addictive behaviors;3. Outline the major public health issues about how gambling can affect individuals, families and communities;4. Propose an agenda for strengthening policy, prevention and treatment practices through greater public health involvement, using the framework of The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion as a guide.By understanding gambling and its potential impacts on the public's health, policy makers and health practitioners can minimize gambling's negative impacts and appreciate its potential benefits.

Human resources for health policies: a critical component in health policies

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Dussault Gilles

2003-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract In the last few years, increasing attention has been paid to the development of health policies. But side by side with the presumed benefits of policy, many analysts share the opinion that a major drawback of health policies is their failure to make room for issues of human resources. Current approaches in human resources suggest a number of weaknesses: a reactive, ad hoc attitude towards problems of human resources; dispersal of accountability within human resources management (HRM; a limited notion of personnel administration that fails to encompass all aspects of HRM; and finally the short-term perspective of HRM. There are three broad arguments for modernizing the ways in which human resources for health are managed: • the central role of the workforce in the health sector; • the various challenges thrown up by health system reforms; • the need to anticipate the effect on the health workforce (and consequently on service provision arising from various macroscopic social trends impinging on health systems. The absence of appropriate human resources policies is responsible, in many countries, for a chronic imbalance with multifaceted effects on the health workforce: quantitative mismatch, qualitative disparity, unequal distribution and a lack of coordination between HRM actions and health policy needs. Four proposals have been put forward to modernize how the policy process is conducted in the development of human resources for health (HRH: • to move beyond the traditional approach of personnel administration to a more global concept of HRM; • to give more weight to the integrated, interdependent and systemic nature of the different components of HRM when preparing and implementing policy; • to foster a more proactive attitude among human resources (HR policy-makers and managers; • to promote the full commitment of all professionals and sectors in all phases of the process. The development of explicit human resources

Social determinants and lifestyles: integrating environmental and public health perspectives.

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Graham, H; White, P C L

2016-12-01

Industrialization and urbanization have been associated with an epidemiological transition, from communicable to non-communicable disease, and a geological transition that is moving the planet beyond the stable Holocene epoch in which human societies have prospered. The lifestyles of high-income countries are major drivers of these twin processes. Our objective is to highlight the common causes of chronic disease and environmental change and, thereby, contribute to shared perspectives across public health and the environment. Integrative reviews focused on social determinants and lifestyles as two 'bridging' concepts between the fields of public health and environmental sustainability. We drew on established frameworks to consider the position of the natural environment within social determinants of health (SDH) frameworks and the position of social determinants within environmental frameworks. We drew on evidence on lifestyle factors central to both public health and environmental change (mobility- and diet-related factors). We investigated how public health's focus on individual behaviour can be enriched by environmental perspectives that give attention to household consumption practices. While SDH frameworks can incorporate the biophysical environment, their causal structure positions it as a determinant and one largely separate from the social factors that shape it. Environmental frameworks are more likely to represent the environment and its ecosystems as socially determined. A few frameworks also include human health as an outcome, providing the basis for a combined public health/environmental sustainability framework. Environmental analyses of household impacts broaden public health's concern with individual risk behaviours, pointing to the more damaging lifestyles of high-income households. The conditions for health are being undermined by rapid environmental change. There is scope for frameworks reaching across public health and environmental

Retention of health workers in Malawi: perspectives of health workers and district management.

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Manafa, Ogenna; McAuliffe, Eilish; Maseko, Fresier; Bowie, Cameron; MacLachlan, Malcolm; Normand, Charles

2009-07-28

Shortage of human resources is a major problem facing Malawi, where more than 50% of the population lives in rural areas. Most of the district health services are provided by clinical health officers specially trained to provide services that would normally be provided by fully qualified doctors or specialists. As this cadre and the cadre of enrolled nurses are the mainstay of the Malawian health service at the district level, it is important that they are supported and motivated to deliver a good standard of service to the population. This study explores how these cadres are managed and motivated and the impact this has on their performance. A quantitative survey measured health workers' job satisfaction, perceptions of the work environment and sense of justice in the workplace, and was reported elsewhere. It emerged that health workers were particularly dissatisfied with what they perceived as unfair access to continuous education and career advancement opportunities, as well as inadequate supervision. These issues and their contribution to demotivation, from the perspective of both management and health workers, were further explored by means of qualitative techniques.Focus group discussions were held with health workers, and key-informant interviews were conducted with members of district health management teams and human resource officers in the Ministry of Health. The focus groups used convenience sampling that included all the different cadres of health workers available and willing to participate on the day the research team visited the health facility. The interviews targeted district health management teams in three districts and the human resources personnel in the Ministry of Health, also sampling those who were available and agreed to participate. The results showed that health workers consider continuous education and career progression strategies to be inadequate. Standard human resource management practices such as performance appraisal and the

Retention of health workers in Malawi: perspectives of health workers and district management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MacLachlan Malcolm

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Shortage of human resources is a major problem facing Malawi, where more than 50% of the population lives in rural areas. Most of the district health services are provided by clinical health officers specially trained to provide services that would normally be provided by fully qualified doctors or specialists. As this cadre and the cadre of enrolled nurses are the mainstay of the Malawian health service at the district level, it is important that they are supported and motivated to deliver a good standard of service to the population. This study explores how these cadres are managed and motivated and the impact this has on their performance. Methods A quantitative survey measured health workers' job satisfaction, perceptions of the work environment and sense of justice in the workplace, and was reported elsewhere. It emerged that health workers were particularly dissatisfied with what they perceived as unfair access to continuous education and career advancement opportunities, as well as inadequate supervision. These issues and their contribution to demotivation, from the perspective of both management and health workers, were further explored by means of qualitative techniques. Focus group discussions were held with health workers, and key-informant interviews were conducted with members of district health management teams and human resource officers in the Ministry of Health. The focus groups used convenience sampling that included all the different cadres of health workers available and willing to participate on the day the research team visited the health facility. The interviews targeted district health management teams in three districts and the human resources personnel in the Ministry of Health, also sampling those who were available and agreed to participate. Results The results showed that health workers consider continuous education and career progression strategies to be inadequate. Standard human resource

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC398 in Humans and Pigs in Norway: A "One Health" Perspective on Introduction and Transmission.

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Grøntvedt, Carl Andreas; Elstrøm, Petter; Stegger, Marc; Skov, Robert Leo; Skytt Andersen, Paal; Larssen, Kjersti Wik; Urdahl, Anne Margrete; Angen, Øystein; Larsen, Jesper; Åmdal, Solfrid; Løtvedt, Siri Margrete; Sunde, Marianne; Bjørnholt, Jørgen Vildershøj

2016-12-01

 Emerging livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) persist in livestock populations and represent a reservoir for transmission to humans. Understanding the routes of introduction and further transmission is crucial to control this threat to human health.  All reported cases of livestock-associated MRSA (CC398) in humans and pigs in Norway between 2008 and 2014 were included. Data were collected during an extensive outbreak investigation, including contact tracing and stringent surveillance. Whole-genome sequencing of isolates from all human cases and pig farms was performed to support and expand the epidemiological findings. The national strategy furthermore included a "search-and-destroy" policy at the pig farm level.  Three outbreak clusters were identified, including 26 pig farms, 2 slaughterhouses, and 36 humans. Primary introductions likely occurred by human transmission to 3 sow farms with secondary transmission to other pig farms, mainly through animal trade and to a lesser extent via humans or livestock trucks. All MRSA CC398 isolated from humans without an epidemiological link to the outbreaks were genetically distinct from isolates within the outbreak clusters indicating limited dissemination to the general population.  This study identified preventable routes of MRSA CC398 introduction and transmission: human occupational exposure, trade of pigs and livestock transport vehicles. These findings are essential for keeping pig populations MRSA free and, from a "One Health" perspective, preventing pig farms from becoming reservoirs for MRSA transmission to humans. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Social robots from a human perspective

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Taipale, Sakari; Sapio, Bartolomeo; Lugano, Giuseppe; Fortunati, Leopoldina

2015-01-01

Addressing several issues that explore the human side of social robots, this book asks from a social and human scientific perspective what a social robot is and how we might come to think about social robots in the different areas of everyday life. Organized around three sections that deal with Perceptions and Attitudes to Social Robots, Human Interaction with Social Robots, and Social Robots in Everyday Life, the book explores the idea that even if technical problems related to robot technologies can be continuously solved from a machine perspective, what kind of machine do we want to have and use in our daily lives? Experiences from previously widely adopted technologies, such smartphones, hint that robot technologies could potentially be absorbed into the everyday lives of humans in such a way that it is the human that determines the human-machine interaction. In a similar way to how today’s information and communication technologies were first designed for professional/industrial use, but which soon wer...

New perspectives on probiotics in health and disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Banan-Mwine Daliri

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The gut microbiota continues to fascinate scientists in many realms when it is considered that humans contain 90% bacteria. Correlations between changes in composition and activity of the gut microbiota and common disorders such as cancer, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, oral health, etc. have been proposed. What is the real role of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics in influencing a healthy microbiota? Both in vitro evidences and in vivo clinical data have supported some of these new health claims, while recent molecular advancement has provided strong indications to support and justify the hypotheses. However, probiotics validity and health claims have continuously been rejected on the basis of “biomarker deficiency”. To battle the increase in health care costs, a preventive approach to medicine with the development of probiotics and prebiotics or symbiotic products is being advanced. This review discusses the potential beneficial effects of probiotics in preventing and treating certain diseases as well as current and future perspectives of probiotic research.

Perspectives on health.

Science.gov (United States)

Huch, M H

1991-01-01

On May 12, 1989, in Pittsburgh, six nurse leaders participated in a panel discussion on health at Discovery International, Inc.'s Nurse Theorist Conference. The participants were Imogene King, Nola Pender, Betty Neuman, Martha E. Rogers, Afaf Meleis and Rosemarie Rizzo Parse. The goal of the conferences was to present views on the meaning of health from different perspectives. The panel discussion provided the nurse leaders with an opportunity to engage in a dialogue about health. Five of the participants answered the questions posed and the conference keynote speaker Afaf Meleis responded. Four questions were posed to the panel relating to the meaning of health, the uniqueness of nursing, and nurse-person relationships. The dialogue of the panel discussion follows.

Human health issues for plutonium inhalation: Perspectives from laboratory animal studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muggenburg, B.A.; Hahn, F.F.; Guilmette, R.A.

1997-01-01

Since the first production of plutonium in the 1940s, potential health effects from plutonium have been a concern for humans. The few people exposed to plutonium and the relatively small intakes that have occurred, at least in the Western world, have resulted in very little direct information from human population studies. The Manhattan Project workers have been followed for decades, and few health effects have been observed. The situation is similar for the population of workers at the Rocky Flats facility. Some information is now being released from the former Soviet Union on selected worker populations who show biological effects, primarily pulmonary fibrosis and some increase in lung cancers

Monitoring and evaluation of human resources for health: an international perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gupta Neeru

2003-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the undoubted importance of human resources to the functions of health systems, there is little consistency between countries in how human resource strategies are monitored and evaluated. This paper presents an integrated approach for developing an evidence base on human resources for health (HRH to support decision-making, drawing on a framework for health systems performance assessment. Methods Conceptual and methodological issues for selecting indicators for HRH monitoring and evaluation are discussed, and a range of primary and secondary data sources that might be used to generate indicators are reviewed. Descriptive analyses are conducted drawing primarily on one type of source, namely routinely reported data on the numbers of health personnel and medical schools as covered by national reporting systems and compiled by the World Health Organization. Regression techniques are used to triangulate a given HRH indicator calculated from different data sources across multiple countries. Results Major variations in the supply of health personnel and training opportunities are found to occur by region. However, certain discrepancies are also observed in measuring the same indicator from different sources, possibly related to the occupational classification or to the sources' representation. Conclusion Evidence-based information is needed to better understand trends in HRH. Although a range of sources exist that can potentially be used for HRH assessment, the information that can be derived from many of these individual sources precludes refined analysis. A variety of data sources and analytical approaches, each with its own strengths and limitations, is required to reflect the complexity of HRH issues. In order to enhance cross-national comparability, data collection efforts should be processed through the use of internationally standardized classifications (in particular, for occupation, industry and education at the

Understanding health systems, health economies and globalization: the need for social science perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Susan F; Bisht, Ramila; Baru, Rama; Pitchforth, Emma

2012-08-31

The complex relationship between globalization and health calls for research from many disciplinary and methodological perspectives. This editorial gives an overview of the content trajectory of the interdisciplinary journal 'Globalization and Health' over the first six years of production, 2005 to 2010. The findings show that bio-medical and population health perspectives have been dominant but that social science perspectives have become more evident in recent years. The types of paper published have also changed, with a growing proportion of empirical studies. A special issue on 'Health systems, health economies and globalization: social science perspectives' is introduced, a collection of contributions written from the vantage points of economics, political science, psychology, sociology, business studies, social policy and research policy. The papers concern a range of issues pertaining to the globalization of healthcare markets and governance and regulation issues. They highlight the important contribution that can be made by the social sciences to this field, and also the practical and methodological challenges implicit in the study of globalization and health.

Perspectives on Neoliberalism for Human Service Professionals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gray, Mel; Dean, Mitchell; Agllias, Kylie

2015-01-01

This article provides an overview of recent perspectives on neoliberalism, which serve as a foundation for the assessment of neoliberalism's influence on human services practice. Conventionally, neoliberalism has been conceived of as an ideology, but more recent perspectives regard neoliberalism...... as an art of government, a thought collective, and an uneven but path-dependent process of regulatory development. We argue that these new perspectives have the potential to contribute to our critical capacity and open avenues for the analysis of contemporary transformations of public policy and its...

Gender norms as health harms: reclaiming a life course perspective on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Crockett, Cailin; Cooper, Bergen

2016-11-01

Despite their demographic significance and the lifetime impact of gender disparities on their health and rights, women considered older than reproductive age are excluded from most investments in global public health. While development policies linking human rights with access to sexual and reproductive healthcare have yielded progress towards improving the status of women and girls, older women have not benefited from these initiatives. Yet as women grow older, they experience a range of health conditions rooted in their reproductive biology - from ageing with fistula, to cervical and breast cancers. Current approaches to global women's health ignore these serious conditions, harming older women through the perpetuation of gender norms that construe women's health through a narrow reproductive lens. Meanwhile, older women are generally absent from global ageing discourse, which lacks a gender perspective, creating a dual invisibility as the field of global women's health presumes ageing women are accounted for. Reclaiming the sexual rights framework suggested by the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action, we call for the revision of global health policies to incorporate a life course approach to women's health as a matter of human rights. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Obesity and Associated Comorbidities in People and Companion Animals: A One Health Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandler, M; Cunningham, S; Lund, E M; Khanna, C; Naramore, R; Patel, A; Day, M J

2017-05-01

This article reviews the biology, prevalence and risks for obesity in people and companion dogs and cats, and explores the links between obesity and diabetes mellitus and cancer across these species. Obesity is a major healthcare problem in both human and veterinary medicine and there is an increasing prevalence of obesity in people and pets. In people and animals, obesity is a complex disorder involving diet, level of physical activity, behavioural factors, socioeconomic factors, environment exposures, genetics, metabolism and the microbiome. Pets and people share a number of obesity-related comorbidities. Obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus in people and in cats, but this association is not recognized in dogs. Obesity is a recognized risk factor for a number of human cancers, but there are fewer data available describing this association with canine neoplastic disease. One approach to addressing the problem of obesity is by taking a 'One Health' perspective. Comparative clinical research examining shared lifestyle and environmental risk factors and the reasons underlying species differences should provide new perspectives on the fundamental biology of obesity. One Health programmes involving human healthcare professionals and veterinarians could help address obesity with simple interventions at the community level. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Enhancing student perspectives of humanism in medicine: reflections from the Kalaupapa service learning project.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Winona K; Harris, Chessa C D; Mortensen, Kawika A; Long, Linsey M; Sugimoto-Matsuda, Jeanelle

2016-05-09

Service learning is endorsed by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) as an integral part of U.S. medical school curricula for future physicians. Service learning has been shown to help physicians in training rediscover the altruistic reasons for pursuing medicine and has the potential to enhance students' perspectives of humanism in medicine. The Kalaupapa service learning project is a unique collaboration between disadvantaged post-baccalaureate students with an underserved rural community. This study was conducted to determine whether the Kalaupapa service learning curricula enhanced student perspectives of humanism in medicine at an early stage of their medical training. Program participants between 2008 and 2014 (n = 41) completed written reflections following the conclusion of the service learning project. Four prompts guided student responses. Reflections were thematically analyzed. Once all essays were read, team members compared their findings to condense or expand themes and assess levels of agreement. Emerging themes of resilience and unity were prominent throughout the student reflections. Students expressed respect and empathy for the patients' struggles and strengths, as well as those of their peers. The experience also reinforced students' commitment to service, particularly to populations in rural and underserved communities. Students also gained a deeper understanding of the patient experience and also of themselves as future physicians. To identify and address underserved and rural patients' health care needs, training programs must prepare an altruistic health care workforce that embraces the humanistic element of medicine. The Kalaupapa service learning project is a potential curricular model that can be used to enhance students' awareness and perspectives of humanism in medicine.

One Health for a changing world: new perspectives from Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Andrew A; Scoones, Ian; Wood, James L N

2017-07-19

The concept of One Health, which aims to drive improvements in human, animal and ecological health through an holistic approach, has been gaining increasing support and attention in recent years. While this concept has much appeal, there are few examples where it has been successfully put into practice. This Special Issue explores the challenges in African contexts, with papers looking at the complex interactions between ecosystems, diseases and poverty dynamics; at underlying social and political dimensions; at the potentials for integrative modelling; and at the changes in policy and practice required to realise a One Health approach. This introductory paper offers an overview of the 11 papers, coming from diverse disciplinary perspectives, that each explore how a One Health approach can work in a world of social, economic and environmental change. © 2017 The Author(s).

Health insurance reform: labor versus health perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Ammar, Walid; Awar, May

2012-01-01

The Ministry of Labor (MOL) has submitted to the Council of Ministers a social security reform plan. The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) considers that health financing should be dealt with as part of a more comprehensive health reform plan that falls under its prerogatives. While a virulent political discussion is taking place, major stakeholders' inputs are very limited and civil society is totally put away from the whole policy making process. The role of the media is restricted to reproducing political disputes, without meaningful substantive debate. This paper discusses health insurance reform from labor market as well as public health perspectives, and aims at launching a serious public debate on this crucial issue that touches the life of every citizen.

Perspectives for integrating human and environmental exposure assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciffroy, P; Péry, A R R; Roth, N

2016-10-15

Integrated Risk Assessment (IRA) has been defined by the EU FP7 HEROIC Coordination action as "the mutual exploitation of Environmental Risk Assessment for Human Health Risk Assessment and vice versa in order to coherently and more efficiently characterize an overall risk to humans and the environment for better informing the risk analysis process" (Wilks et al., 2015). Since exposure assessment and hazard characterization are the pillars of risk assessment, integrating Environmental Exposure assessment (EEA) and Human Exposure assessment (HEA) is a major component of an IRA framework. EEA and HEA typically pursue different targets, protection goals and timeframe. However, human and wildlife species also share the same environment and they similarly inhale air and ingest water and food through often similar overlapping pathways of exposure. Fate models used in EEA and HEA to predict the chemicals distribution among physical and biological media are essentially based on common properties of chemicals, and internal concentration estimations are largely based on inter-species (i.e. biota-to-human) extrapolations. Also, both EEA and HEA are challenged by increasing scientific complexity and resources constraints. Altogether, these points create the need for a better exploitation of all currently existing data, experimental approaches and modeling tools and it is assumed that a more integrated approach of both EEA and HEA may be part of the solution. Based on the outcome of an Expert Workshop on Extrapolations in Integrated Exposure Assessment organized by the HEROIC project in January 2014, this paper identifies perspectives and recommendations to better harmonize and extrapolate exposure assessment data, models and methods between Human Health and Environmental Risk Assessments to support the further development and promotion of the concept of IRA. Ultimately, these recommendations may feed into guidance showing when and how to apply IRA in the regulatory decision

Human Geography Trains Diverse Perspectives on Global Development

Science.gov (United States)

Ahamer, Gilbert

2012-01-01

Purpose: Education for equity in global development and cultural diversity calls for professional capacity building to perceive diverse perspectives on complex procedures of globalisation. The discipline of human geography is such a "provider of perspectives". The purpose of this paper is to propose a historic series of how theories of geography…

Judicialization of Health: A Perspective of Effectiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Mota Estabel

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This work is scoped to synthesize the legalization of the right to health, and offer a perspective for shaping effectiveness. Using the inductive method and based on research literature and case law, at first a brief history of the right to health will be presented as well as some of the principles relating to fundamental precept. Per second, from a normative and jurisprudential approach, the right will be presented to health in the judiciary perspective, focused on the instruments already used (court decisions, the number of demands that concern the health issue, and public policies adopted by the judiciary both in its own sphere as administratively. Finally, emphasis shall be the various issues in the legal health procedure regarding the joint responsibility of federal entities and guidelines for proper conformation of the right to health, the effect of promoting citizenship and social justice.

Health and environment: social science perspectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kopnina, H.; Keune, H.

2010-01-01

In this new book the authors examine the contribution of social scientists to the topics of health and environment. They present diverse perspectives on classical and contemporary debates by focusing on social scientific framing of environment and health, as well as on the potential contribution of

Climate Vulnerability and Human Migration in Global Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Grecequet, Martina; DeWaard, Jack; Hellmann, Jessica J.; Abel, Guy J.

2018-01-01

The relationship between climate change and human migration is not homogenous and depends critically on the differential vulnerability of population and places. If places and populations are not vulnerable, or susceptible, to climate change, then the climate–migration relationship may not materialize. The key to understanding and, from a policy perspective, planning for whether and how climate change will impact future migration patterns is therefore knowledge of the link between climate vulnerability and migration. However, beyond specific case studies, little is known about this association in global perspective. We therefore provide a descriptive, country-level portrait of this relationship. We show that the negative association between climate vulnerability and international migration holds only for countries least vulnerable to climate change, which suggests the potential for trapped populations in more vulnerable countries. However, when analyzed separately by life supporting sector (food, water, health, ecosystem services, human habitat, and infrastructure) and vulnerability dimension (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity), we detect evidence of a relationship among more, but not the most, vulnerable countries. The bilateral (i.e., country-to-country) migration show that, on average, people move from countries of higher vulnerability to lower vulnerability, reducing global risk by 15%. This finding is consistent with the idea that migration is a climate adaptation strategy. Still, ~6% of bilateral migration is maladaptive with respect to climate change, with some movement toward countries with greater climate change vulnerability. PMID:29707262

Climate Vulnerability and Human Migration in Global Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Grecequet, Martina; DeWaard, Jack; Hellmann, Jessica J; Abel, Guy J

2017-05-01

The relationship between climate change and human migration is not homogenous and depends critically on the differential vulnerability of population and places. If places and populations are not vulnerable, or susceptible, to climate change, then the climate-migration relationship may not materialize. The key to understanding and, from a policy perspective, planning for whether and how climate change will impact future migration patterns is therefore knowledge of the link between climate vulnerability and migration. However, beyond specific case studies, little is known about this association in global perspective. We therefore provide a descriptive, country-level portrait of this relationship. We show that the negative association between climate vulnerability and international migration holds only for countries least vulnerable to climate change, which suggests the potential for trapped populations in more vulnerable countries. However, when analyzed separately by life supporting sector (food, water, health, ecosystem services, human habitat, and infrastructure) and vulnerability dimension (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity), we detect evidence of a relationship among more, but not the most, vulnerable countries. The bilateral (i.e., country-to-country) migration show that, on average, people move from countries of higher vulnerability to lower vulnerability, reducing global risk by 15%. This finding is consistent with the idea that migration is a climate adaptation strategy. Still, ~6% of bilateral migration is maladaptive with respect to climate change, with some movement toward countries with greater climate change vulnerability.

Dealing with Human Death: The Floating Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenyon, Gary M.

1991-01-01

Explores approach to dealing with human death. Describes floating perspective, based on insights from Choron and Jaspers, as suggesting it is possible to deal with human death by refraining from taking ultimate position on the problem. Position encourages openness to death. Examines role of anxiety and describes possible meaningful outcomes of…

A current perspective on medical informatics and health sciences librarianship.

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Gerald J; Roderer, Nancy K; Assar, Soraya

2005-04-01

The article offers a current perspective on medical informatics and health sciences librarianship. The authors: (1) discuss how definitions of medical informatics have changed in relation to health sciences librarianship and the broader domain of information science; (2) compare the missions of health sciences librarianship and health sciences informatics, reviewing the characteristics of both disciplines; (3) propose a new definition of health sciences informatics; (4) consider the research agendas of both disciplines and the possibility that they have merged; and (5) conclude with some comments about actions and roles for health sciences librarians to flourish in the biomedical information environment of today and tomorrow. Boundaries are disappearing between the sources and types of and uses for health information managed by informaticians and librarians. Definitions of the professional domains of each have been impacted by these changes in information. Evolving definitions reflect the increasingly overlapping research agendas of both disciplines. Professionals in these disciplines are increasingly functioning collaboratively as "boundary spanners," incorporating human factors that unite technology with health care delivery.

Managers' perspectives on recruitment and human resource development practices in primary health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Lammintakanen, Johanna; Kivinen, Tuula; Kinnunen, Juha

2010-12-01

The aim of this study is to describe primary health care managers' attitudes and views on recruitment and human resource development in general and to ascertain whether there are any differences in the views of managers in the southern and northern regions of Finland. A postal questionnaire was sent to 315 primary health care managers, of whom 55% responded. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation according to the location of the health centre. There were few differences in managers' attitudes and views on recruitment and human resource development. In the southern region, managers estimated that their organization would be less attractive to employees in the future and they were more positive about recruiting employees abroad. Furthermore, managers in the northern region were more positive regarding human resource development and its various practices. Although the results are preliminary in nature, it seems that managers in different regions have adopted different strategies in order to cope with the shrinking pool of new recruits. In the southern region, managers were looking abroad to find new employees, while in the northern region, managers put effort into retaining the employees in the organization with different human resource development practices.

School health promotion--international perspectives and role of health care professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Prasla, Munira; Prasla, Shameer Ali

2011-01-01

Schools have great potential in health promotion; however, this is often neglected area and fewer efforts are done in exploring status of school health promotion in Pakistan. This paper attempts to outline brief historical background of school health promotion in Pakistan; presents critical review of some international school health promotion perspectives; and finally explore opportunities and role of healthcare professionals in Pakistan's context. A critical review of peer-reviewed literature divided into two broad themes of international perspectives on school health promotion, and role of healthcare professionals. Results are presented in cross-cutting themes and in narrative style. School health promotion is very diverse phenomenon, situated in respective cultural contexts. Programmes pesent a range of characteristics from focusing on integrated approach to health education to behavioural changes; and from involving youngsters to policy advocacy. Like the programmes, role of healthcare professionals is also varied and dynamic and without clearly defining their role, development of effective health promotion programmes is difficult. School health promotion could be facilitated by appropriate trainings for healthcare professionals and evidence-based policy changes.

The nexus between climate change, ecosystem services and human health: Towards a conceptual framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiabai, Aline; Quiroga, Sonia; Martinez-Juarez, Pablo; Higgins, Sahran; Taylor, Tim

2018-09-01

This paper addresses the impact that changes in natural ecosystems can have on health and wellbeing focusing on the potential co-benefits that green spaces could provide when introduced as climate change adaptation measures. Ignoring such benefits could lead to sub-optimal planning and decision-making. A conceptual framework, building on the ecosystem-enriched Driver, Pressure, State, Exposure, Effect, Action model (eDPSEEA), is presented to aid in clarifying the relational structure between green spaces and human health, taking climate change as the key driver. The study has the double intention of (i) summarising the literature with a special emphasis on the ecosystem and health perspectives, as well as the main theories behind these impacts, and (ii) modelling these findings into a framework that allows for multidisciplinary approaches to the underlying relations between human health and green spaces. The paper shows that while the literature based on the ecosystem perspective presents a well-documented association between climate, health and green spaces, the literature using a health-based perspective presents mixed evidence in some cases. The role of contextual factors and the exposure mechanism are rarely addressed. The proposed framework could serve as a multidisciplinary knowledge platform for multi-perspecitve analysis and discussion among experts and stakeholders, as well as to support the operationalization of quantitative assessment and modelling exercises. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

New perspectives on evolutionary medicine: the relevance of microevolution for human health and disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Rühli, Frank Jakobus; Henneberg, Maciej

2013-04-29

Evolutionary medicine (EM) is a growing field focusing on the evolutionary basis of human diseases and their changes through time. To date, the majority of EM studies have used pure theories of hominin macroevolution to explain the present-day state of human health. Here, we propose a different approach by addressing more empirical and health-oriented research concerning past, current and future microevolutionary changes of human structure, functions and pathologies. Studying generation-to-generation changes of human morphology that occurred in historical times, and still occur in present-day populations under the forces of evolution, helps to explain medical conditions and warns clinicians that their current practices may influence future humans. Also, analyzing historic tissue specimens such as mummies is crucial in order to address the molecular evolution of pathogens, of the human genome, and their coadaptations.

A perspective on the future public health practitioner.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanlon, Phil; Carlisle, Sandra; Hannah, Margaret; Lyon, Andrew; Reilly, David

2012-09-01

In the centuries following the Enlightenment, scientific and technological developments gave 'modern people' an unprecedented ability to understand, predict and control the natural world. This has brought health and social benefits unimaginable to our ancestors and sets us apart from all previous generations. Yet there is a wide-ranging body of evidence that suggests that modernity is now in decline, largely because its methods and mindset are increasingly recognized as unsustainable. Problems are manifest in the emergence of new public health epidemics such as obesity and addictive behaviours, the loss of well-being and increase in anxiety and depression in affluent society, and the persistence of ever-widening health and social inequalities at national and global levels. Still larger problems now confront us, such as climate change, peak oil and the loss of biodiversity, all of which are linked to the 'modern' way of life. We are potentially faced with the collapse of certain aspects of modern society: we are certainly faced with the prospect of inevitable change. While the broad public health community has an important role to play in developing workable solutions to such daunting problems, we argue that some profound changes will be needed in order for us to cope successfully. No blueprints for dealing with change exist, which means that we will need to learn our way into the future. In this paper we take a perspective on the role and nature of the future practitioner in public health and health promotion. We argue that future practitioners will need to develop new ways of thinking, being and doing; new perspectives and new forms of understanding the world. We believe our discipline - and people generally - to be capable of such development, as insights from multiple sources tell us that human nature is malleable, not fixed. We use this analysis to trace, as examples, the imagined lives of five women living in different eras over the course of history in a

Health inequalities--gender perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Ostrowska, Antonina

2012-01-01

Health inequalities have become recently one of the major concerns of European health policy. Observed differences in health status of men and women are also frequently discussed within this framework, and are becoming a subject of growing interest of researchers. Clinical and epidemiological researches document male-female health differences, trying to explain them within bio-medical model. However, apart of biological (sex) divergence, health inequalities reflect differences in social roles, social status and culturally established patterns and stereotypes of femininity and masculinity (gender differences). The article, using sociological perspective, attempts to show that observed differences in man's and women's health may be attributable to the differing sociocultural and structural arrangements, social support and lifestyle factors of both genders. As a result, many of these differences are of inequality character. Another dimension of inequality discussed in this article is the way man and women are treated by the institution of medicine.

Advancing Health Marketing Research and Policy Recommendations by Incorporating Source Perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackert, Michael; Guadagno, Marie; Champlin, Sara

2015-01-01

Communication researchers, recognizing the message sent is not necessarily the same as the message received, have incorporated the perspective of advertising professionals into the study of advertising effects. Health marketing research could similarly benefit from incorporating this largely absent perspective into the academic and policy debate surrounding the impact of advertising on health issues ranging from obesity to alcohol use. This commentary serves as a call to action to stakeholders in this academic and policy debate: focus on the perspective of advertising professionals to enrich health marketing and public health research in which advertising is the delivery vehicle for health messages.

Human genetic issues from scientific and Islamic perspectives | Alwi ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper aims at revealing the Human Genome Project (HGP) and human genetic issues arising from science and Islamic perspectives such as Darwin's evolutionary theory, human cloning and eugenics. Finally, issues arising from the applications of human genetic technology need to be addressed to the best possible ...

Human Rights in the World Health Organization: Views of the Director-General Candidates.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Benjamin Mason

2017-06-01

Before the 2017 election of the Director-General of WHO, and given the importance of human rights to global health governance through WHO, Health and Human Rights asked the three final candidates for their views on human rights, WHO's human rights mandate, and the role of human rights in WHO programming. These questions were developed by the author in collaboration with Audrey Chapman, Lisa Forman, Paul Hunt, Dainius Pūras, Javier Vasquez and Carmel Williams. Based on responses to these questions from each of the three candidates, this Perspective was originally published online on April 26, 2017. On May 23, 2017, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected Director-General and will begin his five-year term on July 1, 2017.

Understanding health systems, health economies and globalization: the need for social science perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murray Susan F

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract The complex relationship between globalization and health calls for research from many disciplinary and methodological perspectives. This editorial gives an overview of the content trajectory of the interdisciplinary journal ‘Globalization and Health’ over the first six years of production, 2005 to 2010. The findings show that bio-medical and population health perspectives have been dominant but that social science perspectives have become more evident in recent years. The types of paper published have also changed, with a growing proportion of empirical studies. A special issue on ‘Health systems, health economies and globalization: social science perspectives’ is introduced, a collection of contributions written from the vantage points of economics, political science, psychology, sociology, business studies, social policy and research policy. The papers concern a range of issues pertaining to the globalization of healthcare markets and governance and regulation issues. They highlight the important contribution that can be made by the social sciences to this field, and also the practical and methodological challenges implicit in the study of globalization and health.

One Health Perspectives on Emerging Public Health Threats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukhyun Ryu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases, including avian influenza, Ebola virus disease, and Zika virus disease have significantly affected humankind in recent years. In the premodern era, no distinction was made between animal and human medicine. However, as medical science developed, the gap between human and animal science grew deeper. Cooperation among human, animal, and environmental sciences to combat emerging public health threats has become an important issue under the One Health Initiative. Herein, we presented the history of One Health, reviewed current public health threats, and suggested opportunities for the field of public health through better understanding of the One Health paradigm.

Human-Computer Interaction The Agency Perspective

CERN Document Server

Oliveira, José

2012-01-01

Agent-centric theories, approaches and technologies are contributing to enrich interactions between users and computers. This book aims at highlighting the influence of the agency perspective in Human-Computer Interaction through a careful selection of research contributions. Split into five sections; Users as Agents, Agents and Accessibility, Agents and Interactions, Agent-centric Paradigms and Approaches, and Collective Agents, the book covers a wealth of novel, original and fully updated material, offering:   ü  To provide a coherent, in depth, and timely material on the agency perspective in HCI ü  To offer an authoritative treatment of the subject matter presented by carefully selected authors ü  To offer a balanced and broad coverage of the subject area, including, human, organizational, social, as well as technological concerns. ü  To offer a hands-on-experience by covering representative case studies and offering essential design guidelines   The book will appeal to a broad audience of resea...

The discursive production of professionals about humanizing health: singularity, rights and ethics1

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Rose Mary Costa Rosa Andrade; de Oliveira, Denize Cristina; Pereira, Eliane Ramos

2015-01-01

Objective: to describe the discursive production of professionals about the humanization of health. Method: qualitative study of descriptive approach, inspired by the social representation theory, with 24 professionals in the healthcare field, working in a university hospital with the established humanization policy. The selection of participants was conducted according to criteria of adequacy and diversity for an intentional sample. Data collection was conducted by semi-structured interviews. Results: through content analysis, three categories emerged, around which the analyses were conducted: "humanizing health as an act of accepting the other as unique", "humanizing health as a matter of right" and "humanizing health as an ethical issue". The discursive production of professionals is based on a perspective which is based on the humanist prospect with socio-historical bias. Conclusion: healthcare professionals must know the National Humanization Policy in order to provide quality care, promoting the meeting, welcoming and recognition of oneself, others and their profession in the political and socio-historical scenario of their country as a citizen, not only of rights, but also of obligations. PMID:26487145

The ethics of human genetic intervention: a postmodern perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Dyer, A R

1997-03-01

Gene therapy for a particular disease like Parkinson's involves ethical principles worked out for other diseases. The major ethical issues for gene therapy (and the corresponding ethical principles) are safety (nonmalfeasance), efficacy (beneficence), informed consent (autonomy), and allocation of resources (justice). Yet genetic engineering (germ-line interventions or interventions to enhance human potentialities) raises emotions and fears that might cause resistance to gene therapies. Looking at these technologies in a postmodern perspective helps one to appreciate the issues at stake in social and cultural change with a new technology such as gene therapy. While "modern" technology and ethics have focused on the autonomy of the individual, we are beginning to see a lessening of such emphasis on individualism and autonomy and more emphasis on the health of the population. Such a social change could cause technologies about which society may currently be cautious (such as human genetic interventions) to become more acceptable or even expected.

[Conceptualizing mental health into practice: considerations from the Latin American social medicine/collective health perspective].

Science.gov (United States)

Stolkiner, Alicia; Gómez, Sara Ardila

2012-01-01

The aim of this work is to discuss about the possibilities of a mental health definition from the perspective of the Latin American social medicine/collective health movement. Some relations between that movement and the mental health are pointed out. A historical analysis of that movement is presented. The conceptualizations of the health-sickness-care process are considered, emphasizing the complexity, rights perspective and the reference to life, in contrast with the objetivation/medicalization trend. Finally, these ideas are linked with the current debates on the Mental Health field.

Health care reform: can a communitarian perspective be salvaged?

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Callahan, Daniel

2011-10-01

The United States is culturally oriented more toward individual rights and values than to communitarian values. That proclivity has made it hard to develop a common good, or solidarity-based, perspective on health care. Too many people believe they have no obligation to support the health care of others and resist a strong role for government, higher taxation, or reduced health benefits. I argue that we need to build a communitarian perspective on the concept of solidarity, which has been the concept underlying European health care systems, by focusing not on individual needs, but rather, on those of different age groups--that is, what people need at different stages of life.

The management of health care service quality. A physician perspective.

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Bobocea, L; Gheorghe, I R; Spiridon, St; Gheorghe, C M; Purcarea, V L

2016-01-01

Applying marketing in health care services is presently an essential element for every manager or policy maker. In order to be successful, a health care organization has to identify an accurate measurement scale for defining service quality due to competitive pressure and cost values. The most widely employed scale in the services sector is SERVQUAL scale. In spite of being successfully adopted in fields such as brokerage and banking, experts concluded that the SERVQUAL scale should be modified depending on the specific context. Moreover, the SERVQUAL scale focused on the consumer's perspective regarding service quality. While service quality was measured with the help of SERVQUAL scale, other experts identified a structure-process-outcome design, which, they thought, would be more suitable for health care services. This approach highlights a different perspective on investigating the service quality, namely, the physician's perspective. Further, we believe that the Seven Prong Model for Improving Service Quality has been adopted in order to effectively measure the health care service in a Romanian context from a physician's perspective.

Primary health care to elderly people: Occupational Therapy actions perspectives

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Cassio Batista Alves

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In Brazil, Occupational Therapy (OT was legislated in 1969, and was introduced into the Primary Health Care (PHC in the 90s. At this level of care, the OT serves various stages of human development, including aging, in a perspective of care and active aging line, seeks to optimize opportunities for health, participation and safety, using clinical reasoning in order to plan, guide, conduct and reflect their actions in producing the line of care. This career considers human activities as part of the construction of the man himself as an expertise area and seeks to understand the relationships that the active human establishes in its life and health. This study aimed to verify the actions and identify the occupational therapy line of care with the elderly in APS. This is a qualitative study that used a semi-structured interview applied during April to May 2013 with six occupational therapists that cared for older people in the APS at Uberaba-MG. The data was analyzed using the Collective Subject Discourse (CSD technique. We observed that the OT actions to produce line of care for the elderly happen according to the general public care, whether individual or group, with the team during case discussions, referrals or work management and the territory during the territorial diagnosis and networks formation, all permeated by the principles of fairness, integrity, intersectoriality and clinical reasoning in OT.

Decentralization's impact on the health workforce: Perspectives of managers, workers and national leaders

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Kolehmainen-Aitken Riitta-Liisa

2004-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Designers and implementers of decentralization and other reform measures have focused much attention on financial and structural reform measures, but ignored their human resource implications. Concern is mounting about the impact that the reallocation of roles and responsibilities has had on the health workforce and its management, but the experiences and lessons of different countries have not been widely shared. This paper examines evidence from published literature on decentralization's impact on the demand side of the human resource equation, as well as the factors that have contributed to the impact. The elements that make such an impact analysis exceptionally complex are identified. They include the mode of decentralization that a country is implementing, the level of responsibility for the salary budget and pay determination, and the civil service status of transferred health workers. The main body of the paper is devoted to examining decentralization's impact on human resource issues from three different perspectives: that of local health managers, health workers themselves, and national health leaders. These three groups have different concerns in the human resource realm, and consequently, have been differently affected by decentralization processes. The paper concludes with recommendations regarding three key concerns that national authorities and international agencies should give prompt attention to. They are (1 defining the essential human resource policy, planning and management skills for national human resource managers who work in decentralized countries, and developing training programs to equip them with such skills; (2 supporting research that focuses on improving the knowledge base of how different modes of decentralization impact on staffing equity; and (3 identifying factors that most critically influence health worker motivation and performance under decentralization, and documenting the most cost-effective best

Decentralization's impact on the health workforce: Perspectives of managers, workers and national leaders.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolehmainen-Aitken, Riitta-Liisa

2004-05-14

Designers and implementers of decentralization and other reform measures have focused much attention on financial and structural reform measures, but ignored their human resource implications. Concern is mounting about the impact that the reallocation of roles and responsibilities has had on the health workforce and its management, but the experiences and lessons of different countries have not been widely shared. This paper examines evidence from published literature on decentralization's impact on the demand side of the human resource equation, as well as the factors that have contributed to the impact. The elements that make such an impact analysis exceptionally complex are identified. They include the mode of decentralization that a country is implementing, the level of responsibility for the salary budget and pay determination, and the civil service status of transferred health workers.The main body of the paper is devoted to examining decentralization's impact on human resource issues from three different perspectives: that of local health managers, health workers themselves, and national health leaders. These three groups have different concerns in the human resource realm, and consequently, have been differently affected by decentralization processes. The paper concludes with recommendations regarding three key concerns that national authorities and international agencies should give prompt attention to. They are (1) defining the essential human resource policy, planning and management skills for national human resource managers who work in decentralized countries, and developing training programs to equip them with such skills; (2) supporting research that focuses on improving the knowledge base of how different modes of decentralization impact on staffing equity; and (3) identifying factors that most critically influence health worker motivation and performance under decentralization, and documenting the most cost-effective best practices to improve them

Online surveillance of media health event reporting in Nepal: digital disease detection from a One Health perspective.

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Schwind, Jessica S; Norman, Stephanie A; Karmacharya, Dibesh; Wolking, David J; Dixit, Sameer M; Rajbhandari, Rajesh M; Mekaru, Sumiko R; Brownstein, John S

2017-09-21

Traditional media and the internet are crucial sources of health information. Media can significantly shape public opinion, knowledge and understanding of emerging and endemic health threats. As digital communication rapidly progresses, local access and dissemination of health information contribute significantly to global disease detection and reporting. Health event reports in Nepal (October 2013-December 2014) were used to characterize Nepal's media environment from a One Health perspective using HealthMap - a global online disease surveillance and mapping tool. Event variables (location, media source type, disease or risk factor of interest, and affected species) were extracted from HealthMap. A total of 179 health reports were captured from various sources including newspapers, inter-government agency bulletins, individual reports, and trade websites, yielding 108 (60%) unique articles. Human health events were reported most often (n = 85; 79%), followed by animal health events (n = 23; 21%), with no reports focused solely on environmental health. By expanding event coverage across all of the health sectors, media in developing countries could play a crucial role in national risk communication efforts and could enhance early warning systems for disasters and disease outbreaks.

Homeless health needs: shelter and health service provider perspective.

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Hauff, Alicia J; Secor-Turner, Molly

2014-01-01

The effects of homelessness on health are well documented, although less is known about the challenges of health care delivery from the perspective of service providers. Using data from a larger health needs assessment, the purpose of this study was to describe homeless health care needs and barriers to access utilizing qualitative data collected from shelter staff (n = 10) and health service staff (n = 14). Shelter staff members described many unmet health needs and barriers to health care access, and discussed needs for other supportive services in the area. Health service providers also described multiple health and service needs, and the need for a recuperative care setting for this population. Although a variety of resources are currently available for homeless health service delivery, barriers to access and gaps in care still exist. Recommendations for program planning are discussed and examined in the context of contributing factors and health care reform.

Fasting: Benefits and probable health harmfulness from the Islamic perspective

OpenAIRE

Mahdi Ebrahimi; Saeedeh Behrooznia

2015-01-01

Fasting is a form of Islamic worship to approach God.  There is a direct relationship between fasting, abstaining from eating and drinking, and an individual’s health as well as his ill-health. Therefore, it is of utmost importance in the Islamic perspective to weigh the spiritual benefits achieved through fasting against its probable harmfulness to an individual’s health. Regarding fasting, the Islamic perspective is based on spiritual and social goals whose achievement centers around fas...

Ethical issues in human reproduction: Islamic perspectives.

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Serour, G I

2013-11-01

Sexual and reproductive rights of women are essential components of human rights. They should never be transferred, renounced or denied for any reason based on race, religion, origin, political opinion or economic conditions. Women have the right to the highest attainable standard of health care for all aspects of their reproductive and sexual health (RSH). The principle of autonomy emphasizes the important role of women in the decision-making. Choices of women in reproduction, after providing evidence based information, should be respected. Risks, benefits and alternatives should be clearly explained before they make their free informed consent. Justice requires that all be treated with equal standard and have equal access to their health needs without discrimination or coercion. When resources are limited there is tension between the principle of justice and utility. Islamic perspectives of bioethics are influenced by primary Sharia namely the Holy Quran, authenticated traditions and saying of the Profit Mohamed (PBUH), Igmaa and Kias (analogy). All the contemporary ethical principles are emphasized in Islamic Shariaa, thus these principles should be observed when providing reproductive and sexual health services for Muslim families or communities. The Family is the basic unit in Islam. Safe motherhood, family planning, and quality reproductive and sexual health information and services and assisted reproductive technology are all encouraged within the frame of marriage. While the Shiaa sect permits egg donation, and surrogacy the Sunni sect forbids a third party contribution to reproduction. Harmful practices in RSH as FGM, child marriage and adolescent pregnancy are prohibited in Islam. Conscientious objection to treatment should not refrain the physician from appropriate referral.

Workshop: Towards an integrative European perspective on health human resources policy: how and why?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Batenburg, R.; Kuhlmann, E.

2013-01-01

Background: Across many countries, shortages and inefficient use of qualified healthcare staff – together with changes in the composition of the health professional workforce by age, gender and citizenship – have created an urgent call for health human resources policy, planning and management. In

Probiotics for human health –new innovations and emerging trends

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Grover Sunita

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract The role of the gut microbiome in human health and disease with a particular emphasis on therapeutic use of probiotics under specific medical conditions was mainly highlighted in 1st Annual conference of Probiotic Association of India (PAi and International Symposium on “Probiotics for Human Health - New Innovations and Emerging Trends” held on 27th-28th August, 2012 at New Delhi, India. There is increasing recognition of the fact that dysbiosis or alteration of this gut microbiome may be implicated in gastro-intestinal disorders including diarrheal diseases, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, life style diseases viz. Diabetes Mellitus-2 and obesity etc. This report summarizes the proceedings of the conference and the symposium comprehensively. Although, research on probiotics has been continuing for the past few decades, the subject has been currently the major focus of attention across the world due to recent advances and new developments in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and emergence of new generation of high through put sequencing technologies that have immensely helped in understanding the probiotic functionality and mode of action from nutritional and health perspectives. There is now sufficient evidence backed up with good quality scientific clinical data to suggest that probiotic interventions could indeed be effective in various types of diarrheal diseases, other chronic gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders like pouchitis, necrotizing entero-colitis, allergic responses and lactose intolerance etc. This report makes a modest attempt to give all the stake holders involved in development of probiotic based functional/health foods an overview of the current status of probiotics research at the Global and National level. The most crucial issues that emerged from the lead talks delivered by the eminent speakers from India and abroad were the major focus of discussions in different plenary

Law on advance health care directives: a medical perspective.

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Di Luca, A; Del Rio, A; Bosco, M; Di Luca, N M

2018-01-01

The paper's authors aim to elaborate on law 22 dicembre 2017, n. 219 , designed to regulate informed consent practices and advance health care directives", which has sparked a passionate debate centered on the substantial innovation achieved over the past decades in bio-medical science and at the same time, the noteworthy accomplishments made in enforcing human and personal rights. Within the paper, article three is delved into, which covers the creation of the so-called DAT ("Disposizioni anticipate di trattamento", advance health care directives), by which patients, in light of possible future incapacity to choose, can express their convictions and decisions on how to be treated and their consent or dissent to undergo treatments and procedures, including artificial nutrition and hydration. The authors peruse the new law's provisions through a medical perspective, and observe how they are heavily tilted towards patient choice, thus making doctors little more than mere tools of such decisions.

Access to health care as a human right in international policy: critical reflections and contemporary challenges.

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Castillo, Camilo Hernán Manchola; Garrafa, Volnei; Cunha, Thiago; Hellmann, Fernando

2017-07-01

Using the United Nations (UN) and its subordinate body, the World Health Organization (WHO), as a frame of reference, this article explores access to healthcare as a human right in international intergovernmental policies. First, we look at how the theme of health is treated within the UN, focusing on the concept of global health. We then discuss the concept of global health from a human rights perspective and go on to outline the debate surrounding universal coverage versus universal access as a human right, addressing some important ethical questions. Thereafter, we discuss universal coverage versus universal access using the critical and constructivist theories of international relations as a frame of reference. Finally, it is concluded that, faced with the persistence of huge global health inequalities, the WHO began to reshape itself, leaving behind the notion of health as a human right and imposing the challenge of reducing the wide gap that separates international intergovernmental laws from reality.

Perspectives of People Living with HIV on Access to Health Care: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

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Asghari, Shabnam; Maybank, Allison; Hurley, Oliver; Modir, Hilary; Farrell, Alison; Marshall, Zack; Kendall, Claire; Johnston, Sharon; Hogel, Matthew; Rourke, Sean B; Liddy, Clare

2016-05-18

Strategies to improve access to health care for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) have demonstrated limited success. Whereas previous approaches have been informed by the views of health providers and decision-makers, it is believed that incorporating patient perspectives into the design and evaluations of health care programs will lead to improved access to health care services. We aim to map the literature on the perspectives of PLHIV concerning access to health care services, to identify gaps in evidence, and to produce an evidence-informed research action plan to guide the Living with HIV program of research. This scoping review includes peer-reviewed and grey literature from 1946 to May 2014 using double data extraction. Variations of the search terms "HIV", "patient satisfaction", and "health services accessibility" are used to identify relevant literature. The search strategy is being developed in consultation with content experts, review methodologists, and a librarian, and validated using gold standard studies identified by those stakeholders. The inclusion criteria are (1) the study includes the perspectives of PLHIV, (2) study design includes qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, and (3) outcome measures are limited to patient satisfaction, their implied needs, beliefs, and desires in relation to access to health care. The papers are extracted by two independent reviewers, including quality assessment. Data is then collated, summarized, and thematically analyzed. A total of 12,857 references were retrieved, of which 326 documents were identified as eligible in pre-screening, and 64 articles met the inclusion criteria (56% qualitative studies, 38% quantitative studies and 6% mixed-method studies). Only four studies were conducted in Canada. Data synthesis is in progress and full results are expected in June, 2016. This scoping review will record and characterize the extensive body of literature on perspectives of PLHIV

Future perspectives on space psychology: Recommendations on psychosocial and neurobehavioural aspects of human spaceflight

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De La Torre, Gabriel G.; van Baarsen, Berna; Ferlazzo, Fabio; Kanas, Nick; Weiss, Karine; Schneider, Stefan; Whiteley, Iya

2012-12-01

Recently the psychological effects of space flight have gained in attention. In uncovering the psychological challenges that individuals and teams can face, we need research options that integrate psychosocial aspects with behavioral, performance, technical and environmental issues. Future perspectives in Space Psychology and Human Spaceflight are reviewed in this paper. The topics covered include psychosocial and neurobehavioural aspects, neurocognitive testing tools, decision making, autonomy and delayed communications, well being, mental health, situational awareness, and methodology. Authors were members of a European Space Agency (ESA) Research Topical Team on Psychosocial and Behavioral Aspects of Human Spaceflight. They discuss the different topics under a common perspective of a theoretical and practical framework, showing interactions, relationships and possible solutions for the different aspects and variables in play. Recommendations for every topic are offered and summarized for future research in the field. The different proposed research ideas can be accomplished using analogs and simulation experiments, short- and long-duration bed rest, and in-flight microgravity studies. These topics are especially important for future Moon and Mars mission design and training.

Assessing the universal health coverage target in the Sustainable Development Goals from a human rights perspective.

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Chapman, Audrey R

2016-12-15

The UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in September 2015, include a comprehensive health goal, "to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being at all ages." The health goal (SDG 3) has nine substantive targets and four additional targets which are identified as a means of implementation. One of these commitments, to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), has been acknowledged as central to the achievement of all of the other health targets. As defined in the SDGs, UHC includes financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services, and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. This article evaluates the extent to which the UHC target in the SDGs conforms with the requirements of the right to health enumerated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and other international human rights instruments and interpreted by international human rights bodies. It does so as a means to identify strengths and weaknesses in the framing of the UHC target that are likely to affect its implementation. While UHC as defined in the SDGs overlaps with human rights standards, there are important human rights omissions that will likely weaken the implementation and reduce the potential benefits of the UHC target. The most important of these is the failure to confer priority to providing access to health services to poor and disadvantaged communities in the process of expanding health coverage and in determining which health services to provide. Unless the furthest behind are given priority and strategies adopted to secure their participation in the development of national health plans, the SDGs, like the MDGs, are likely to leave the most disadvantaged and vulnerable communities behind.

Dancing Intercorporeality: A Health Humanities Perspective on Dance as a Healing Art.

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Purser, Aimie

2017-12-20

As a contribution to the burgeoning field of health humanities, this paper seeks to explore the power of dance to mitigate human suffering and reacquaint us with what it means to be human through bringing the embodied practice of dance into dialogue with the work of the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Merleau-Ponty's conceptualisation of subjectivity as embodied and of intersubjectivity as intercorporeality frees us from many of the constraints of Cartesian thinking and opens up a new way of thinking about how dance functions as a healing art through its ability to ground and reconnect us with self, world, and others--with our humanity. It is argued that through a Merleau-Pontian framework, we can come to appreciate the true potential of dance as a positive and deeply humanising experience, demonstrating how expressive arts practice understood through the lens of philosophical theory can open up new dimensions of understanding and experience in relation to well-being and self- (and other-) care.

What distinguishes the Gordon Research Conference on Oceans and Human Health? A retrospective 2008-2012.

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Doyle, John J

2013-05-01

This piece is being submitted as a short commentary for the special edition on Oceans and Human Health (OHH). It is written from the perspective of a student who has attended all three biennial Gordon Research Conferences and Seminars on OHH beginning in 2008.

Thinking About Education in Human Rights from an Ethical and Controversial Perspective

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Abraham Magendzo

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper delves into the relationship between the education in human rights and ethics from a controversial perspective. It is a direction that seeks to help people become active and participatory citizens in a pluralistic democracy. Three fundamental ethical principles are analyzed, and they allow teaching human rights through controversy: Human rights: a global ethics of human rights; human rights: an ethical minimum; human rights and moral pluralism. This article proposes to relate human rights education with the critical-dialogical pedagogy. In this perspective are identified four critical inquiry tools that serve to develop different dimensions for a critical understanding in the social sphere: the approach of the problem, the reflexive skepticism, the multiperspectivity, and systemic thinking.

Global climate change - a feasibility perspective of its effect on human health at a local scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michele Bernardi

2008-05-01

Full Text Available There are two responses to global climate change. First, mitigation, which actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester or store carbon in the short-term, and make development choices that will lead to low emissions in the long-term. Second, adaptation, which involves adjustments in natural or human systems and behaviours that reduce the risks posed by climate change to people’s lives and livelihoods. While the two are conceptually distinct, in practice they are very much interdependent, and both are equally urgent from a healthy population perspective. To define the policies to mitigate and to adapt to global climate change, data and information at all scales are the basic requirement for both developed and developing countries. However, as compared to mitigation, adaptation is an immediate concern for low-income countries and for small islands states, where the reduction of the emissions from greenhouse gases is not among their priorities. Adaptation is also highly location specific and the required ground data to assess the impacts of climate change on human health are not available. Climate data at high spatial resolution can be derived by various downscaling methods using historical and real-time meteorological observations but, particularly in low-income countries, the outputs are limited by the lack of ground data at the local level. In many of these countries, a negative trend in the number of meteorological stations as compared as to before 2000 is evident, while remotelysensed imagery becomes more and more available at high spatial and temporal resolution. The final consequence is that climate change policy options in the developing world are greatly jeopardized.

Students' perspectives to health care services in lithuania

OpenAIRE

Brancevič, Jolita

2016-01-01

Students' Perspectives to Health Care Services in Lithuania Introduction. The Rights of Patients and Compensation for the Damage to Their Health Act defines health care services as safe and effective means to take care of health, identify, diagnose and treat diseases and provide nursing services. The aims set out in a policy of health care services are fairly broad and, among others, include the improvement of both the quality and the availability of health care services. The issues of increa...

Health Promoting Pocket Parks in a Landscape Architectural Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peschardt, Karin Kragsig

This thesis presents how the health potential of pocket parks can be improved through design from a landscape architectural perspective. In developed countries, the densification of cities is a wide-spread tendency which often results in a compact city planning structure. People who live in dense...... promoting potential of nine pocket parks in Copenhagen. From a landscape architectural perspective the health potential is investigated based on both qualitative and quantitative methods. The study elucidates use, the restorative potential as well as how physical content within the pocket parks can...

On human health.

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van Spijk, Piet

2015-05-01

If it is true that health is a priority objective of medicine, then medical practice can only be successful if the meaning of the term "health" is known. Various attempts have been made over the years to define health. This paper proposes a new definition. In addition to current health concepts, it also takes into account the distinction between specifically human (great) health and health as the absence of disease and illness-i.e. small health. The feeling of leading a life that makes sense plays a key role in determining specifically human great health.

Asthma Symptoms in Early Childhood: A public health perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

E.H.D. Hafkamp-De Groen (Esther)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ This thesis focuses on asthma symptoms in early childhood. From a public health perspective, we aim to improve health and health-related quality of life through the prevention of asthma symptoms and by signaling, counselling or management of children who are at a high

Recipient design in human communication: simple heuristics or perspective taking?

Science.gov (United States)

Blokpoel, Mark; van Kesteren, Marlieke; Stolk, Arjen; Haselager, Pim; Toni, Ivan; van Rooij, Iris

2012-01-01

Humans have a remarkable capacity for tuning their communicative behaviors to different addressees, a phenomenon also known as recipient design. It remains unclear how this tuning of communicative behavior is implemented during live human interactions. Classical theories of communication postulate that recipient design involves perspective taking, i.e., the communicator selects her behavior based on her hypotheses about beliefs and knowledge of the recipient. More recently, researchers have argued that perspective taking is computationally too costly to be a plausible mechanism in everyday human communication. These researchers propose that computationally simple mechanisms, or heuristics, are exploited to perform recipient design. Such heuristics may be able to adapt communicative behavior to an addressee with no consideration for the addressee's beliefs and knowledge. To test whether the simpler of the two mechanisms is sufficient for explaining the "how" of recipient design we studied communicators' behaviors in the context of a non-verbal communicative task (the Tacit Communication Game, TCG). We found that the specificity of the observed trial-by-trial adjustments made by communicators is parsimoniously explained by perspective taking, but not by simple heuristics. This finding is important as it suggests that humans do have a computationally efficient way of taking beliefs and knowledge of a recipient into account.

Recipient design in human communication: Simple heuristics or perspective taking?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark eBlokpoel

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Humans have a remarkable capacity for tuning their communicative behaviors to different addressees, a phenomenon also known as recipient design. It remains unclear how this tuning of communicative behavior is implemented during live human interactions. Classical theories of communication postulate that recipient design involves perspective taking, i.e., the communicator selects her behavior based on her hypotheses about beliefs and knowledge of the recipient. More recently, researchers have argued that perspective taking is computationally too costly to be a plausible mechanism in everyday human communication. These researchers propose that computationally simple mechanisms, or heuristics, are exploited to perform recipient design. Such heuristics may be able to adapt communicative behavior to an addressee with no consideration for the addressee's beliefs and knowledge. To test whether the simpler of the two mechanisms is sufficient for explaining the `how' of recipient design we studied communicators' behaviors in the context of a non-verbal communicative task (the Tacit Communication Game, TCG. We found that the specificity of the observed trial-by-trial adjustments made by communicators is parsimoniously explained by perspective taking, but not by simple heuristics. This finding is important as it suggests that humans do have a computationally efficient way of taking beliefs and knowledge of a recipient into account.

The incorporation of gender perspective into Spanish health surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohlfs, Izabella; Borrell, Carme; Artazcoz, Lucia; Escribà-Agüir, Vicenta

2007-12-01

Most studies into social determinants of health conducted in Spain based on data from health surveys have focused on social class inequalities. This paper aims to review the progressive incorporation of gender perspective and sex differences into health surveys in Spain, and to suggest design, data collection and analytical proposals as well as to make policy proposals. Changes introduced into health surveys in Spain since 1995 to incorporate gender perspective are examined, and proposals for the future are made, which would permit the analysis of differences in health between women and men as a result of biology or because of gender inequalities. The introduction of gender perspective in health surveys requires the incorporation of questions related to family setting and reproductive work, workplace and society in general to detect gender differences and inequalities (for example, domestic work, intimate partner violence, discrimination, contract type or working hours). Health indicators reflecting differential morbidity and taking into account the different life cycle stages must also be incorporated. Analyses ought to be disaggregated by sex and interpretation of results must consider the complex theoretical frameworks explaining the differences in health between men and women based on sex differences and those related to gender. Analysis of survey data ought to consider the impact of social, political and cultural constructs of each society. Any significant modification in procedures for collection of data relevant to the study of gender will require systematic coordination between institutions generating the data and researchers who are trained in and sensitive to the topic.

The population health perspective as a framework for studying child maltreatment outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonmyr, L; MacMillan, H L; Jamieson, E; Kelly, K

2002-01-01

The population health perspective (PHP) is commonly used in addressing a wide range of health issues. This article examines the strengths and limitations of the perspective. The determinants of health that are an integral part of the PHP are used as a framework in considering the range of outcomes associated with exposure to child maltreatment. Directions for further research are outlined.

Local health practices and the knowledge of medicinal plants in a Brazilian semi-arid region: environmental benefits to human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Zank, Sofia; Peroni, Nivaldo; de Araújo, Elcida Lima; Hanazaki, Natalia

2015-02-23

The concept of eco-cultural health considers the dynamic interaction between humans and ecosystems, emphasizing the implications of the health of the ecosystem for the health and well-being of human populations. Ethnobotanical studies focusing on folk medicine and medicinal plants can contribute to the field of eco-cultural health if they incorporate the perspective and local knowledge of communities. We investigated the local health practices in three rural communities living within the vicinity of a protected area of sustainable use in a semi-arid region of Brazil. We analyzed the opinions of local health experts on the elements that influence human health and on how the environment contributes to this influence. We also analyzed and compared the local knowledge of medicinal plants, as knowledge of this type is an important factor when considering the interaction between environmental and human health. We performed structured interviews and free-listings with 66 local health experts. We used content analysis to systematize the elements of the influences on human health. We compared the richness of the plants cited among communities and analyzed the differences among the three communities regarding the ways in which the plants were obtained and the environments in which plants were collected. The local experts identified several influences of the environment on human health. These influences can be associated with ecosystem services, such as climatic conditions, water and air quality, recreation and medicinal and food resources. We identified 192 medicinal plant species, most of which were gathered from wild ecosystems. The most important environments for the three communities were the plateau mountain and backyards. The informants had a broad and integrated view of health, perceiving the importance of conserving the environment within the National Forest of Araripe for the health and well-being of the local populations.

Analysis of eHealth Search Perspectives Among Female College Students in the Health Professions Using Q Methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Hanik, Bruce; Chaney, J. Don; Tennant, Bethany

2012-01-01

Background The current “Millennial Generation” of college students majoring in the health professions has unprecedented access to the Internet. Although some research has been initiated among medical professionals to investigate the cognitive basis for health information searches on the Internet, little is known about Internet search practices among health and medical professional students. Objective To systematically identify health professional college student perspectives of personal eHealth search practices. Methods Q methodology was used to examine subjective perspectives regarding personal eHealth search practices among allied health students majoring in a health education degree program. Thirteen (n = 13) undergraduate students were interviewed about their attitudes and experiences conducting eHealth searches. From the interviews, 36 statements were used in a structured ranking task to identify clusters and determine which specific perceptions of eHealth search practices discriminated students into different groups. Scores on an objective measure of eHealth literacy were used to help categorize participant perspectives. Results Q-technique factor analysis of the rankings identified 3 clusters of respondents with differing views on eHealth searches that generally coincided with participants’ objective eHealth literacy scores. The proficient resourceful students (pattern/structure coefficient range 0.56-0.80) described themselves as using multiple resources to obtain eHealth information, as opposed to simply relying on Internet search engines. The intermediate reluctant students (pattern/structure coefficient range 0.75-0.90) reported engaging only Internet search engines to locate eHealth information, citing undeveloped evaluation skills when considering sources of information located on the Internet. Both groups of advanced students reported not knowing how to use Boolean operators to conduct Internet health searches. The basic hubristic students

Remote sensing of ecosystem health: opportunities, challenges, and future perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhaoqin; Xu, Dandan; Guo, Xulin

2014-11-07

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1) scale issue; (2) transportability issue; (3) data availability; and (4) uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges.

Remote Sensing of Ecosystem Health: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhaoqin Li

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1 scale issue; (2 transportability issue; (3 data availability; and (4 uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges.

Remote Sensing of Ecosystem Health: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhaoqin; Xu, Dandan; Guo, Xulin

2014-01-01

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem is essential for maximizing sustainable ecological services of the best quality to human beings. Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific background on identifying ecological health indicators and correspondingly making effective conservation plans. At the same time, ecologists have asserted a strong need for spatially explicit and temporally effective ecosystem health assessments based on remote sensing data. Currently, remote sensing of ecosystem health is only based on one ecosystem attribute: vigor, organization, or resilience. However, an effective ecosystem health assessment should be a comprehensive and dynamic measurement of the three attributes. This paper reviews opportunities of remote sensing, including optical, radar, and LiDAR, for directly estimating indicators of the three ecosystem attributes, discusses the main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system, and provides some future perspectives. The main challenges to develop a remote sensing-based spatially-explicit comprehensive ecosystem health system are: (1) scale issue; (2) transportability issue; (3) data availability; and (4) uncertainties in health indicators estimated from remote sensing data. However, the Radarsat-2 constellation, upcoming new optical sensors on Worldview-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites, and improved technologies for the acquisition and processing of hyperspectral, multi-angle optical, radar, and LiDAR data and multi-sensoral data fusion may partly address the current challenges. PMID:25386759

Future time perspective and positive health practices in young adults: an extension.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahon, N E; Yarcheski, T J; Yarcheski, A

1997-06-01

A sample of 69 young adults attending a public university responded to the Future Time Perspective Inventory, two subscales of the Time Experience Scales (Fast and Slow Tempo), and the Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire in classroom settings. A statistically significant correlation (.52) was found between scores for future time perspective and the ratings for the practice of positive health behaviors in young adults. This correlation was larger than those previously found for middle and late adolescents. Scores on subscales of individual health practices and future time perspective indicated statistically significant correlations for five (.25 to .56) of the six subscales. Scores on neither Fast nor Slow Tempo were related to ratings of positive health practices or ratings on subscales measuring positive health practices.

A system engineer's Perspective on Human Errors For a more Effective Management of Human Factors in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yong-Hee; Jang, Tong-Il; Lee, Soo-Kil

2007-01-01

The management of human factors in nuclear power plants (NPPs) has become one of the burden factors during their operating period after the design and construction period. Almost every study on the major accidents emphasizes the prominent importance of the human errors. Regardless of the regulatory requirements such as Periodic Safety Review, the management of human factors would be a main issue to reduce the human errors and to enhance the performance of plants. However, it is not easy to find out a more effective perspective on human errors to establish the engineering implementation plan for preventing them. This paper describes a system engineer's perspectives on human errors and discusses its application to the recent study on the human error events in Korean NPPs

Stakeholder's perspective: Sustainability of a community health worker program in Afghanistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Najafizada, Said Ahmad Maisam; Labonté, Ronald; Bourgeault, Ivy Lynn

2017-02-01

The objectives of this study were two-fold: 1) to examine how different stakeholders define sustainability, and 2) to identify barriers to and facilitators of the sustainability of the Afghan CHW program. We interviewed 63 individual key informants, and conducted 11 focus groups [35 people] with policymakers, health managers, community health workers, and community members across Afghanistan. The participants were purposefully selected to provide a wide range of perspectives. Different stakeholders define sustainability differently. Policymakers emphasize financial resources; health managers, organizational operations; and community-level stakeholders, routine frontline activities. The facilitators they identify include integration into the health system, community support, and capable human resources. Barriers they noted include lack of financial resources, poor program design and implementation, and poor quality of services. Measures to ensure sustainability could be national revenue allocation, health-specific taxation, and community financing. Sustainability is complicated and has multiple facets. The plurality of understanding of sustainability among stakeholders should be addressed explicitly in the program design. To ensure sustainability, there is a need for a coordinated effort amongst all stakeholders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transition into the workplace: comparing health graduates' and organisational perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Arlene; Costa, Beth M

2017-02-01

Health graduates face personal and work-related stressors during the graduate year. The extent to which employers and health graduates have a shared understanding of graduate stressors is unclear but may impact graduate support and transition into the health profession. Aim and design: The aim of this exploratory qualitative study was to identify factors that impact health graduates' transition and integration into the workplace, comparing the perspectives of health graduates and organisational representatives. Individual and small group semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 medical and 26 nursing graduates and five organisational representatives from a regional health organisation in Victoria, Australia. A thematic analysis was undertaken on the data. Five main categories were identified: dealing with change, dealing with conflict, workload, taking responsibility and factors that influence performance. Similarities and differences in the perspectives of health graduates and organisational representatives were identified. These findings have implications for current graduate support programs.

Public Health Perspectives on Aquaculture.

Science.gov (United States)

Gormaz, Juan G; Fry, Jillian P; Erazo, Marcia; Love, David C

2014-01-01

Nearly half of all seafood consumed globally comes from aquaculture, a method of food production that has expanded rapidly in recent years. Increasing seafood consumption has been proposed as part of a strategy to combat the current non-communicable disease (NCD) pandemic, but public health, environmental, social, and production challenges related to certain types of aquaculture production must be addressed. Resolving these complicated human health and ecologic trade-offs requires systems thinking and collaboration across many fields; the One Health concept is an integrative approach that brings veterinary and human health experts together to combat zoonotic disease. We propose applying and expanding the One Health approach to facilitate collaboration among stakeholders focused on increasing consumption of seafood and expanding aquaculture production, using methods that minimize risks to public health, animal health, and ecology. This expanded application of One Health may also have relevance to other complex systems with similar trade-offs.

A Human-Robot Interaction Perspective on Assistive and Rehabilitation Robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Beckerle, Philipp; Salvietti, Gionata; Unal, Ramazan; Prattichizzo, Domenico; Rossi, Simone; Castellini, Claudio; Hirche, Sandra; Endo, Satoshi; Amor, Heni Ben; Ciocarlie, Matei; Mastrogiovanni, Fulvio; Argall, Brenna D; Bianchi, Matteo

2017-01-01

Assistive and rehabilitation devices are a promising and challenging field of recent robotics research. Motivated by societal needs such as aging populations, such devices can support motor functionality and subject training. The design, control, sensing, and assessment of the devices become more sophisticated due to a human in the loop. This paper gives a human-robot interaction perspective on current issues and opportunities in the field. On the topic of control and machine learning, approaches that support but do not distract subjects are reviewed. Options to provide sensory user feedback that are currently missing from robotic devices are outlined. Parallels between device acceptance and affective computing are made. Furthermore, requirements for functional assessment protocols that relate to real-world tasks are discussed. In all topic areas, the design of human-oriented frameworks and methods is dominated by challenges related to the close interaction between the human and robotic device. This paper discusses the aforementioned aspects in order to open up new perspectives for future robotic solutions.

Emissions during the BHP Billiton mozal aluminium smelter Fume Treatment Centre (FTC) rebuild – A human health perspective

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Wright, C

2011-02-01

Full Text Available some are probable human carcinogens. As a result MOZAL initiated a human health risk assessment (HHRA) study concerning this operation, in order to understand the potential health impacts on the surrounding communities, including Mahlampsene, Sikuama...

Optimizing Tailored Health Promotion for Older Adults : Understanding Their Perspectives on Healthy Living

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marcus-Varwijk, Anne Esther; Koopmans, Marg; Visscher, Tommy L S; Seidell, Jacob C; Slaets, Joris P J; Smits, Carolien H M

2017-01-01

Objective: This study explores older adults' perspectives on healthy living, and their interactions with professionals regarding healthy living. This perspective is necessary for health professionals when they engage in tailored health promotion in their daily work routines. Method: In a qualitative

Employer and Promoter Perspectives on the Quality of Health Promotion Within the Healthy Workplace Accreditation

Science.gov (United States)

Tung, Chen-Yin; Yin, Yun-Wen; Liu, Chia-Yun; Chang, Chia-Chen; Zhou, Yi-Ping

2017-01-01

Objectives: To explore the employers’ and promoters’ perspective of health promotion quality according to the healthy workplace accreditation. Methods: We assessed the perspectives of 85 employers and 81 health promoters regarding the quality of health promotion at their workplaces. The method of measurement referenced the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) quality criteria. Results: In the large workplaces, the accredited corporation employers had a higher impression (P workplace employers had a slightly higher perspective than non-accredited ones. Nevertheless, there were no differences between the perspectives of health promoters from different sized workplaces with or without accreditation (P > 0.05). Conclusions: It seems that employers’ perspectives of healthy workplace accreditation surpassed employers from non-accredited workplaces. Specifically, large accredited corporations could share their successful experiences to encourage a more involved workplace in small–medium workplaces. PMID:28691998

Initial community perspectives on the Health Service Extension Programme in Welkait, Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McAuliffe Eilish

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Health Service Extension Programme (HSEP is an innovative approach to addressing the shortfall in health human resources in Ethiopia. It has developed a new cadre of Health Extension Workers (HEWs, who are charged with providing the health and hygiene promotion and some treatment services, which together constitute the bedrock of Ethiopia's community health system. Methods This study seeks to explore the experience of the HSEP from the perspective of the community who received the service. A random sample of 60 female heads-of-household in a remote area of Tigray participated in a structured interview survey. Results Although Health Extension Workers (HEWs had visited them less frequently than planned, participants generally found the programme to be helpful. Despite this, their basic health knowledge was still quite poor regarding the major communicable diseases and their vectors. Participants felt the new HESP represented an improvement on previous health provision. HEWs were preferred over Traditional Birth Attendants for assistance with labour Conclusion While the introduction of HEWs has been a positive experience for women living at the study site, the frequency of visits, extent of effectively imparted health knowledge and affects of HEWs on other health providers needs to be further explored.

The diabetic from the health promotion perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cleide Chagas da Cunha Faria

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: To identify the overall health and living conditions of diabetes patients, the main risk factors for the disease as well as the complications, difficulties, expectations andproblems relating to health service monitoring, from the perspective of “Health Field”model. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted with 187 diabetes patientsof both sexes, living in the urban area and enrolled at five Primary Healthcare Units of amunicipality of Minas Gerais. Data was collected during home visits, applying an interviewform created for diabetes patients, based on data from human biology, environment, lifestyle and health services’ organization, elements of the adopted model. Data was analyzed descriptively and presented as frequencies, averages and percentages. Results: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, female gender, age above 60, married status, incomplete elementary school education, and monthly income of less than three minimum wages were prevalent. Of the participants, 71 (41.5% had abnormal glucose levels, 94 (55.1% had blood pressure higher than recommendations and 131 (70.1% were using oral hypoglycemic agents. Also,138 (73.8% did not exercise on a regular basis and 133 (71.1% were overweight or obese. Living with family was reported by 141 (75.4% participants and 100 (53.5% reported participating in meetings. The family was the main source of support for 96 (65.8% of them. Conclusions: The results raised discussions on the clinical conditions, expectations and difficulties experienced by the participants, and highlighted the challenge to be faced by healthcare professionals in order to maintain the compliance of healthcare users with the long-term treatment, typical of chronic conditions such as diabetes.

Health effects of Chernobyl: newer perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desai, Usha

1996-01-01

On the 26th of April 1986, the 4th unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the former Soviet Union exploded, following a scheduled but not-well-planned testing of a turbo-generator prior to a shutdown of the reactor. This led to a release of large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere, resulting in a cloud not only over in the Soviet Union, but due to prevailing meteorological condition, over the Eastern Europe as well. Over the past ten years, a large number of agencies in the areas of human health and hygiene, agriculture and veterinary sciences in addition to those involved in radiation protection and radiation safety have studied the impact of the accident. These studies were also extended to evaluate and mitigate the consequences. The accident has been a warning, and has provided lessons in mitigating the consequences of any industrial accident. Newer perspectives have emerged in the area of early diagnosis and treatment of the acute effects of radiation. Research in the areas of genetics, molecular biology and radiation biology will contribute to better medical care in future. (author). 3 tabs

The gender perspective in climate change and global health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Birgitta Evengård

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Population health is a primary goal of sustainable development. United Nations international conferences like the Beijing Platform for Action have highlighted the key role of women in ensuring sustainable development. In the context of climate change, women are affected the most while they display knowledge and skills to orient themselves toward climate adaptation activities within their societies. Objective: To investigate how the gender perspective is addressed as an issue in research and policy-making concerning climate change and global health. Methods: A broad literature search was undertaken using the databases Pubmed and Web of Science to explore the terms ‘climate change,’ ‘health,’ ‘gender,’ and ‘policy.’ Climate change and health-related policy documents of the World Health Organization (WHO and National Communications and National Adaptation Programs of Action reports submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of selected countries were studied. Assessment guidelines to review these reports were developed from this study's viewpoint. Results: The database search results showed almost no articles when the four terms were searched together. The WHO documents lacked a gender perspective in their approach and future recommendations on climate policies. The reviewed UN reports were also neutral to gender perspective except one of the studied documents. Conclusion: Despite recognizing the differential effects of climate change on health of women and men as a consequence of complex social contexts and adaptive capacities, the study finds gender to be an underrepresented or non-existing variable both in research and studied policy documents in the field of climate change and health.

Use of Traditional and Genetically Modified Probiotics in Human Health: What Does the Future Hold?

Science.gov (United States)

Bermúdez-Humarán, Luis G; Langella, Philippe

2017-09-01

Probiotics are live, nonpathogenic microorganisms that confer benefits to human health when administered in adequate amounts. Among the frequent proposed health benefits attributed to probiotics, their ability to interact with the host immune system is now well demonstrated. Although history has revealed that probiotics were part of fermented foods in the past, clinicians have started to use them therapeutically in regular diets. Moreover, the use of genetically modified probiotics to deliver molecules of therapeutic interest is gaining importance as an extension of the probiotic concept. This chapter summarizes some of the recent findings and perspectives on the use of both traditional and genetically modified probiotics to treat human diseases as well as what the future may hold concerning the use of these probiotics in humans.

Physical Education and Health: Global Perspectives and Best Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Ming-Kai, Ed.; Edginton, Christopher R.

2014-01-01

"Physical Education and Health: Global Perspectives and Best Practice" draws together global scholars, researchers, and practitioners to provide a review and analysis of new directions in physical education and health worldwide. The book provides descriptive information from 40 countries regarding contemporary practices, models, and…

Perspectives on sex education in relation to sexual health of teenagers in Zambia

OpenAIRE

Simalimbu, Brenda

2016-01-01

This research explores the perspectives on sex education in relation to sexual health of teenagers in Zambia. The research aimed at exploring the perspectives of various stakeholders (teenagers, parents, teachers, pastors and traditional counsellors) on the role of sex education to promote the sexual health of young people in Zambia. The study is guided by the theoretical perspectives of the sociology of childhood, which consider childhood as a social construct and children as ...

Social perspective: the missing element in mental health practice

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

U'Ren, Richard C

2011-01-01

.... ________________________________________________________________ Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication U'Ren, Richard, 1939- Social perspective : the missing element in mental health practice / Richard U'Ren...

[Swimming, physical activity and health: a historical perspective].

Science.gov (United States)

Conti, A A

2015-01-01

Swimming, which is the coordinated and harmonic movement of the human body inside a liquid medium by means of the combined action of the superior and inferior limbs, is a physical activity which is diffused throughout the whole world and it is practiced by healthy and non-healthy subjects. Swimming is one of the physical activities with less contraindications and, with limited exceptions, can be suggested to individuals of both sexes and of every age range, including the most advanced. Swimming requires energy both for the floating process and for the anterograde progression, with a different and variable osteo-arthro-muscular involvement according to the different styles. The energetic requirement is about four times that for running, with an overall efficiency inferior to 10%; the energetic cost of swimming in the female subject is approximately two thirds of that in the male subject. The moderate aerobic training typical of swimming is useful for diabetic and hypertensive individuals, for people with painful conditions of rachis, as also for obese and orthopaedic patients. Motor activity inside the water reduces the risk of muscular-tendinous lesions and, without loading the joints in excess, requires the harmonic activation of the whole human musculature. Swimming is an activity requiring multiple abilities, ranging from a sense of equilibrium to that of rhythm, from reaction speed to velocity, from joint mobility to resistance. The structured interest for swimming in the perspective of human health from the beginning of civilization, as described in this contribution, underlines the relevance attributed to this activity in the course of human history.

[Prescribing, the perspectives of health professionals].

Science.gov (United States)

Debout, Christophe; Lescot, Thomas; Loyer, Frédérique; Ambrosino, Florence

2016-10-01

While, in France, various health professionals are authorised to prescribe, they approach this activity in a different way, depending on the professional category to which they belong. The areas and products concerned are specific to each profession, and inevitably evolve. This article presents the different perspectives of a doctor, a midwife and a nurse. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Health care professionals' perspectives on the requirements ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Wilma ten Ham

Purpose: of the research: To explore and describe the perspectives of health .... promoting skin-to-skin contact, and exclusive breastfeeding .... ducted telephonically except for one face-to-face interview. ... tape recorded and field notes were kept of each interview. ... Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Prioritizing Zoonotic Diseases: Differences in Perspectives Between Human and Animal Health Professionals in North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, V; Sargeant, J M

2016-05-01

Zoonoses pose a significant burden of illness in North America. Zoonoses represent an additional threat to public health because the natural reservoirs are often animals, particularly wildlife, thus eluding control efforts such as quarantine, vaccination and social distancing. As there are limited resources available, it is necessary to prioritize diseases in order to allocate resources to those posing the greatest public health threat. Many studies have attempted to prioritize zoonoses, but challenges exist. This study uses a quantitative approach, conjoint analysis (CA), to overcome some limitations of traditional disease prioritization exercises. We used CA to conduct a zoonoses prioritization study involving a range of human and animal health professionals across North America; these included epidemiologists, public health practitioners, research scientists, physicians, veterinarians, laboratory technicians and nurses. A total of 699 human health professionals (HHP) and 585 animal health professionals (AHP) participated in this study. We used CA to prioritize 62 zoonotic diseases using 21 criteria. Our findings suggest CA can be used to produce reasonable criteria scores for disease prioritization. The fitted models were satisfactory for both groups with a slightly better fit for AHP compared to HHP (84.4% certainty fit versus 83.6%). Human-related criteria were more influential for HHP in their decision to prioritize zoonoses, while animal-related criteria were more influential for AHP resulting in different disease priority lists. While the differences were not statistically significant, a difference of one or two ranks could be considered important for some individuals. A potential solution to address the varying opinions is discussed. The scientific framework for disease prioritization presented can be revised on a regular basis by updating disease criteria to reflect diseases as they evolve over time; such a framework is of value allowing diseases of

Benefits from a geographers' perspective on human-water systems - the waterscape concept

Science.gov (United States)

Evers, Mariele; Höllermann, Britta; Almoradie, Adrian; Taft, Linda

2016-04-01

Recently a couple of theoretical foundations and concepts were developed such as hydro-sociology, hydro-economics and integrated water resources management in order to structure and process parameterizations of hydrological research and reflect human-water-interrelations. However, a remaining challenge in human-water-system research is that approaches like socio-hydrology still struggle to formalize hypotheses which are capable to capture the basic driving mechanisms of the dynamic human-water system beyond optimizing algorithms or the principle of optimality or entropy as the societal values and experiences may unfold diverging policy and society responses (cf. Troy et al. 2015). Another challenge that we see is the integration of physical and social sciences with regard to the different epistemologies and perspectives: positivist thinking common in natural sciences and engineering and constructivist conceptualisation common in the social sciences. Here, geographic research seeks to acknowledge multi-spatial perspectives of the different actors and entities and their integration into the physical system that needs mutual recognition of natural and social sciences concepts, theories and methods. We suggest for human-water system research a more geographic perspective, which we call waterscape concept. Water can be regarded as a key structuring element for landscape and its management and, hence, from our perspective, the dynamics in water resources and interrelation of actors and entities in its management also helps to better understand current landscape patterns, their developments and interrelations, respectively. By our definition, a waterscape includes sources and users of water, their interactions, feedbacks and external influencing factors. It is therefore not only the physical space but rather includes the arena of actors and entities interacting. Against this understanding, waterscapes are defined by reciprocal boundary conditions which allow integrating

Adding Perspective: Predicting Adolescent Sunscreen Use with an Extended Health Action Process Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Schüz, Natalie; Schüz, Benjamin; Eid, Michael

2016-07-01

Diseases such as skin cancer often have a very long latency period. For adolescents, especially, it may be difficult to grasp that current risk behavior is related to future health outcomes. This study examines the role of health-related time perspective (i.e. the degree to which short-term outcomes are discounted over long-time health benefits) within the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). More specifically, based on expectancy*value theory, we tested whether time perspective interacts with self-efficacy, the central variable in this approach. A longitudinal study with three measurement points across one year assessed 156 high school students. Data were analyzed using structural equation models. While time perspective had no direct association with sunscreen use intentions, there was an interaction effect with self-efficacy; the shorter the time perspective, the smaller the association of self-efficacy with intention. Intention in turn predicted planning and sunscreen use at Time 3 (one year later). In order to maximise the impact of early onset measures for skin cancer prevention targeting the motivation for sunscreen use in adolescents, time perspective should be addressed in comprehensive sun protection interventions. © 2016 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

An integrative discourse perspective on positive leadership in public health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Pietiläinen, Ville; Salmi, Ilkka

2017-02-06

Purpose This study aims to take a discursive view on positive leadership (PL). A positive approach has gained momentum in recent years as appropriate leadership practices are implemented in organizations. Despite the turn toward discursive approaches in organization studies, there is insufficient evidence supporting PL as a socially constructed experience. Design/methodology/approach The present study addresses an integrative discourse perspective for capturing the PL concept as a social process within the public health-care context. Findings Four meanings of PL are highlighted: role-taking, servicing, balancing and deciphering. Research limitations/implications The meanings shift the emphasis of certain PL definitions to a contextual interpretation. For scholars, the perspective demonstrates a multidimensional process approach in the desired organizational context as a counterbalance to one unanimously agreed-upon PL definition. Practical implications For leaders, an integrative discourse perspective offers tools for comprehending PL as a process: how to identify, negotiate and reconcile various PL meanings. Originality/value An integrative discourse perspective provides a novel perspective capturing the PL concept within the public health-care field.

Teaching history of medicine in the perspective of "medical humanities".

Science.gov (United States)

von Engelhardt, D

1999-03-01

The current interest in philosophical questions and ethical aspects of medicine turns attention towards the past and obtains suggestions and perspectives from previous descriptions and interpretations of sickness, therapy, and the relation between the patient and physician. Culture as therapy and therapy as culture are fundamental challenges for the present; physician, patient, and society, i.e., humans and humane medicine, need this dialogue, which should also be constitutive for teaching history of medicine. Through the separation of the natural sciences and the humanities, modern progress of medicine has produced many benefits but has, at the same time, raised many problems. Negative consequences of this development exist not only for the patient, but also for his personal environment and for the physician. In the course of modern history, there have been several reactions aimed at overcoming these one-sided tendencies: in the Renaissance, in the epoch of Romanticism and Idealism, and at the beginning and the end of the 19th century. This article outlines, with historical examples and contemporary reflections, the concept of teaching history of medicine in the perspective of "medical humanities".

When do humans spontaneously adopt another's visuospatial perspective?

Science.gov (United States)

Freundlieb, Martin; Kovács, Ágnes M; Sebanz, Natalie

2016-03-01

Perspective-taking is a key component of social interactions. However, there is an ongoing controversy about whether, when and how instances of spontaneous visuospatial perspective-taking occur. The aim of this study was to investigate the underlying factors as well as boundary conditions that characterize the spontaneous adoption of another person's visuospatial perspective (VSP) during social interactions. We used a novel paradigm, in which a participant and a confederate performed a simple stimulus-response (SR) compatibility task sitting at a 90° angle to each other. In this set-up, participants would show a spatial compatibility effect only if they adopted the confederate's VSP. In a series of 5 experiments we found that participants reliably adopted the VSP of the confederate, as long as he was perceived as an intentionally acting agent. Our results therefore show that humans are able to spontaneously adopt the differing VSP of another agent and that there is a tight link between perspective-taking and performing actions together. The results suggest that spontaneous VSP-taking can effectively facilitate and speed up spatial alignment processes accruing from dynamic interactions in multiagent environments. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Living in Two Cultures: Chinese Canadians' Perspectives on Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Chunlei; McGinn, Michelle K; Xu, Xiaojian; Sylvestre, John

2017-04-01

Chinese people have distinctive perspectives on health and illness that are largely unrecognized in Western society. The purpose of this descriptive study was to develop a profile of Chinese immigrants' beliefs and practices related to diet, mental and social health, and sexual health. A quantitative survey with descriptive and correlational analyses was employed to examine 100 first-generation Chinese immigrants living in four urban centres across Canada (Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and St. Catharines). Although most Chinese immigrants preferred a Chinese diet, where they resided affected the groceries they bought and the meals they ate. Almost all participants reported their mental health was important to them and most felt comfortable discussing mental health issues with others. However, only a third would see a psychiatrist if they believed they had a mental health problem. Most participants believed social relationships were important for their health. Only a small number of participants, however, preferred making friends with mainstream Caucasian Canadians. More men than women believed sexuality contributed to health and were comfortable talking about sexual health. Chinese immigrants should be encouraged to be more engaged in the larger community in order to fully integrate themselves into Canadian society while still being encouraged to retain their healthy practices. These findings may help educators and practitioners enhance their understandings of Chinese immigrants' perspectives on health and develop culturally competent education and services in health care and health promotion.

Contact and perspective taking improve humanness standards and perceptions of humanness of older adults and people with dementia: a cross-sectional survey study.

Science.gov (United States)

Miron, Anca M; McFadden, Susan H; Hermus, Nathan J; Buelow, Jennifer; Nazario, Amanda S; Seelman, Katarena

2017-10-01

No empirical work has systematically explored perceptions of humanness of people with dementia and of older adults and the variables that could improve these perceptions. We thus investigated the role of contact and perspective taking in improving perceptions of humanness of these social groups. To do so, we developed a new concept, humanness standards, defined as the amount of evidence of ability impairment needed to conclude that elderly people and those with dementia have lost personhood. We used a cross-sectional survey design (n = 619) to assess participants' humanness standards and perceptions of uniquely human characteristics and human nature characteristics of two social groups (people with dementia and older adults). Half the participants (n = 311) completed a survey about people with dementia and half (n = 308) assessed older adults. People with dementia were perceived as possessing humanness characteristics to a lesser extent than were older adults. For both groups, contact predicted enhanced perceptions of humanness characteristics. Participants' degree of contact with individuals with dementia also predicted humanness standards, but only under low perspective-taking conditions. As predicted, for older adults, participants set the highest humanness impairment thresholds in the high contact/high perspective-taking condition. We conclude that while social programs that bring persons with dementia and other individuals in contact could change humanness standards and perceptions of humanness characteristics of people with dementia, in the case of elderly adults, the contact must be supplemented by variables that facilitate taking the perspective of the person.

Patient safety trilogy: perspectives from clinical engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Gieras, Izabella; Sherman, Paul; Minsent, Dennis

2013-01-01

This article examines the role a clinical engineering or healthcare technology management (HTM) department can play in promoting patient safety from three different perspectives: a community hospital, a national government health system, and an academic medical center. After a general overview, Izabella Gieras from Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, CA, leads off by examining the growing role of human factors in healthcare technology, and describing how her facility uses clinical simulations in medical equipment evaluations. A section by Paul Sherman follows, examining patient safety initiatives from the perspective of the Veterans Health Administration with a focus on hazard alerts and recalls. Dennis Minsent from Oregon Health & Science University writes about patient safety from an academic healthcare perspective, and details how clinical engineers can engage in multidisciplinary safety opportunities.

A critical perspective on early communications concerning human health aspects of microplastics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rist, Sinja; Carney Almroth, Bethanie; Hartmann, Nanna B.

2018-01-01

exposure. We risk pulling the focus away from the root of the problem: the way in which we consume, use and dispose of plastics leading to their widespread presence in our everyday life and in the environment. Therefore we urge for a more careful and balanced discussion which includes these aspects.......Microplastic research in recent years has shown that small plastic particles are found almost everywhere we look. Besides aquatic and terrestrial environments, this also includes aquatic species intended for human consumption and several studies have reported their prevalence in other food products...... in certain products. While plastics can undoubtedly be hazardous to human health due to toxicity of associated chemicals or as a consequence of particle toxicity, the extent to which microplastics in individual food products and beverages contribute to this is debatable. Considering the enormous use...

Physicians' professional performance: an occupational health psychology perspective

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scheepers, Renée A.

2017-01-01

Physician work engagement is considered to benefit physicians' professional performance in clinical teaching practice. Following an occupational health psychology perspective, this PhD report presents research on how physicians' professional performance in both doctor and teacher roles can be

Biotechnology for development: Human and animal health perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yilma, Tilahun

2001-01-01

; training of scientists in the new technologies through graduate programs, postdoctoral fellowships, and workshops given in developing nations, and, specifically, the transfer of technologies in the development of recombinant vaccines and rapid diagnostic kits for improving both human and animal health. To illustrate these points, a few examples of the contributions of the ILMB are provided

Gestational diabetes mellitus in Tanzania : public health perspectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mwanri, A.W.

2015-01-01

Gestational diabetes mellitus in Tanzania – public health perspectives

Abstract

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as carbohydrate intolerance resulting in hyperglycaemia of variable severity with onset or

Potential disease transmission from wild geese and swans to livestock, poultry and humans: a review of the scientific literature from a One Health perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Elmberg, Johan; Berg, Charlotte; Lerner, Henrik; Waldenström, Jonas; Hessel, Rebecca

2017-01-01

There are more herbivorous waterfowl (swans and geese) close to humans, livestock and poultry than ever before. This creates widespread conflict with agriculture and other human interests, but also debate about the role of swans and geese as potential vectors of disease of relevance for human and animal health. Using a One Health perspective, we provide the first comprehensive review of the scientific literature about the most relevant viral, bacterial, and unicellular pathogens occurring in wild geese and swans. Research thus far suggests that these birds may play a role in transmission of avian influenza virus, Salmonella, Campylobacter , and antibiotic resistance. On the other hand, at present there is no evidence that geese and swans play a role in transmission of Newcastle disease, duck plague, West Nile virus, Vibrio, Yersinia, Clostridium, Chlamydophila , and Borrelia . Finally, based on present knowledge it is not possible to say if geese and swans play a role in transmission of Escherichia coli, Pasteurella, Helicobacter, Brachyspira, Cryptosporidium, Giardia , and Microsporidia. This is largely due to changes in classification and taxonomy, rapid development of identification methods and lack of knowledge about host specificity. Previous research tends to overrate the role of geese and swans as disease vectors; we do not find any evidence that they are significant transmitters to humans or livestock of any of the pathogens considered in this review. Nevertheless, it is wise to keep poultry and livestock separated from small volume waters used by many wild waterfowl, but there is no need to discourage livestock grazing in nature reserves or pastures where geese and swans are present. Under some circumstances it is warranted to discourage swans and geese from using wastewater ponds, drinking water reservoirs, and public beaches. Intensified screening of swans and geese for AIV, West Nile virus and anatid herpesvirus is warranted.

The Malnourished University Student: Health from the Student Perspective

OpenAIRE

Jones, Sandra Beth

2015-01-01

Over the first four years of college, students’ self-ratings on writing ability and motivation to perform well increase, while self-reports of physical and emotional health decrease during that same period (Astin, 1997). This qualitative investigation identifies and explains the environmental and cultural forces that shape and are shaped by health and wellness perspectives of students. Research questions for this investigation addressed students’ understandings of health and wellness and th...

Focus on health, motivation, and pride: A discussion of three theoretical perspectives on the rehabilitation of sick-listed people.

Science.gov (United States)

Svensson, Tommy; Björklund, Anita

2010-01-01

During the last decades sickness absence from work has become a great societal problem. Questions of how rehabilitation processes should become successful and how peoples' ability to work can be improved have become of great public interest. In this paper we discuss three well-known theoretical perspectives regarding their usefulness when it comes to research on rehabilitation for return to work. The three perspectives are: Antonovsky's salutogenic model of health, Kielhofner's model of human occupation and Scheff's sociological theory of "shame and pride". Each of these can be applied to increase understanding and knowledge concerning sickness absence and return to work. We discuss points of affinity among the three perspectives, as well as significant differences, and we propose that a very essential common denominator is the importance of self-experience.

Rural mental health workforce difficulties: a management perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, T; Sutton, K; Maybery, D

2010-01-01

The recruitment, retention and training of mental health workers is of major concern in rural Australia, and the Gippsland region of Victoria is no exception. Previous studies have identified a number of common factors in these workforce difficulties, including rurality, difficulties of access to professional development and training, and professional and personal isolation. However, those previous studies have often focused on medicine and been based on the perspectives of practitioners, and have almost ignored the perspectives of managers of rural mental health services. The study reported in this article sought to contribute to the development of a more sustainable and effective regional mental health workforce by complementing earlier insights with those of leading administrators, managers and senior clinicians in the field. The study took a qualitative approach. It conducted semi-structured in-person interviews with 24 managers of health/mental-health services and senior administrators and clinicians working in organisations of varying sizes in the public and private sectors. Thematic content analysis of the transcribed interviews identified core difficulties these managers experienced in the recruitment, retention and training of employees. The study found that some of the issues commonly resulting in difficulties in recruiting, retaining and developing a trained workforce in rural areas, such as rurality (implying personal and professional isolation, distances to deliver service and small organisations) and a general shortage of trained personnel, are significant in Gippsland. Through its focus on the perspectives of leaders in the management of rural mental health services, however, the study found other key issues that contribute to workforce difficulties. Many, including the unattractive nature of mental health work, the fragmented administration of the mental health system, short-term and tied funding, and shortcomings in training are external to

OLDER PEOPLE AND SPORT, LOOKING BEYOND THE HEALTH PERSPECTIVE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva VONCK

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper explores some important theoretical questions on the relationship between sports and older people, beyond the health perspective. Sport has been attributed numerous social functions and meanings. Also policymakers have experimented with the use of sport for social purposes. However, both research and poli cy initiatives are in general cons idered from a functional and instrumental point of view. Especially considering older people sport is mainly approached from a health perspective. A combination of insights from gerontology and sport sciences should help us gain a better view on how sport can contribute to the social integration of older people. This paper offers an extensive literature review focusing on formulating opportunities for further research about sport participation among older people.

Time for food: The impact of diet on gut microbiota and human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Na; Ju, Zhongjie; Zuo, Tao

There is growing recognition of the role of diet on modulating the composition and metabolic activity of the human gut microbiota, which in turn influence health. Dietary ingredients and food additives have a substantial impact on the gut microbiota and hence affect human health. Updates on current understanding of the gut microbiota in diseases and metabolic disorders are addressed in this review, providing insights into how this can be transferred from bench to bench side as gut microbes are integrated with food. The potency of microbiota-targeted biomarkers as a state-of-art tool for diagnosis of diseases was also discussed, and it would instruct individuals with healthy dietary consumption. Herein, recent advances in understanding the effect of diet on gut microbiota from an ecological perspective, and how these insights might promote health by guiding development of prebiotic and probiotic strategies and functional foods, were explored. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Frameworks matter: ecosocial and health and human rights perspectives on disparities in women's health--the case of tuberculosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Krieger, N; Gruskin, S

2001-01-01

Frameworks matter. To understand, intervene in, and improve the health of girls and women requires more than just good intentions and an eclectic list of "risk factors" or policy prescriptions, even if dressed up in notions of "gender." In this article, we present two frameworks-ecosocial and health and human rights-that, if considered singly and in combination, we believe could prove useful to furthering work on understanding and addressing societal patterns of health, disease, and well-being. After explicitly summarizing our theoretical stances, we sketch the kinds of questions these frameworks invite us to consider, with reference to a particular case example: women and tuberculosis. By taking on the challenge of articulating and applying our frameworks, separately and in relation to each other, we hope to deepen understanding and generate new ideas that can make a difference for the health of girls and women.

Educational Needs Assessment of Health Educator Teachers from the Perspective of Themselves and School Administrators in Kouhdasht

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tayyebeh Asadi Malek Abadi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background and Objective: Education is one of the strategic actions for human resources development. The purpose of education is improvement in functional outcomes and the knowledge, skills and attitude of staff. Appropriateness of organizational training and needs of employees predisposes improvement in potential capacity of employees and effectiveness and improvement of the performance of employees. The Purpose of this study was to explore the educational needs assessment of health educator teachers of Kouhdasht city from the perspective of administrators and themselves health educators.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-applied study all health educator teachers and administrators in high schools (primary and secondary in Koohdasht, Lorestan, Iran participated. The sample size consisted of 70 subjects (26 men and 44 women. Data were collected through the questionnaire that was based on Likert scale. Through task analysis, knowledge, skills and attitude of educators were extracted and examined validity and reliability of the questionnaire proved to be satisfactory. Descriptive methods, one sample T-test, independent T-test, Friedman test and analysis of variance were used for analysis.Results: Prioritize educational needs of health educator teachers from the perspective of themselves were life skills education, sex education (to girls/boys and common infectious diseases in adolescents. From the perspective of school administrators, these priorities were Knowledge of pharmaceutical information and their side effects, methods of prevention of drug abuse among adolescents and life skills education.Conclusion: Results of study showed significant differences between the existing and desired level of knowledge, skill and attitude of health educator teachers. Consideration the educational needs of employees and their involvement in the assessment process will be helpful.

Learning from our apartheid past: human rights challenges for health professionals in contemporary South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin-Ragaven, L; London, L; De Gruchy, J

2000-01-01

Central to South Africa's democratic transformation have been attempts to understand how and why human rights abuses were common under apartheid. In testimony to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission evidence has emerged of a wide range of past complicity in human rights abuses by health professionals and their organisations. This has presented a major challenge to the health sector to develop ways to operationalize a commitment to human rights in the future. This paper argues that only after a process of self-reflection, both personal and institutional, which enables a thorough and accurate analysis of why things went so wrong, can the health sector effectively move forward. The authors' perspective draws on the submission to the TRC Health Sector Hearings by the Health and Human Rights Project in 1997, which provides a systemic and case-based analysis of the health sector's role in human rights abuses under apartheid. However, human rights responses have to take account of a changing national and global terrain in which human rights issues are no longer as morally absolute as previously encountered, and in which seemingly insuperable resource constraints, inimical economic policies, and the demobilization of civil society, are serious obstacles. Moreover, the politics of transformation has generated expediencies that threaten to rewrite history in ways that fundamentally cheapen human rights. To address this contradiction, the authors propose a set of objectives that places accountability of health professionals in a human rights framework. These objectives are intended to give substance to the main tasks facing the health sector--to develop and infuse the capacity to recognise and integrate both the 'new' and traditional human rights dilemmas, and to effect personal and institutional transformation. A matrix is presented, linking these objectives to key role players in the health sector and identifying activities specific for each role player. As the health

Time perspective and socioeconomic status: a link to socioeconomic disparities in health?

Science.gov (United States)

Guthrie, Lori C; Butler, Stephen C; Ward, Michael M

2009-06-01

Time perspective is a measure of the degree to which one's thinking is motivated by considerations of the future, present, or past. Time perspective has been proposed as a potential mediator of socioeconomic disparities in health because it has been associated with health behaviors and is presumed to vary with socioeconomic status. In this cross-sectional community-based survey of respondents recruited from hair salons and barber shops in a suburb of Washington DC, we examined the association between time perspective and both education level and occupation. We asked participants (N=525) to complete a questionnaire that included three subscales (future, present-fatalistic, and present-hedonistic) of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory. Participants with more formal education and those with professional occupations had higher scores on the future time perspective subscale, and lower scores on the present-fatalistic subscale, than participants with less formal education or a non-professional occupation. Present-fatalistic scores were also higher among participants whose parents had less formal education. Present-hedonistic scores were not associated with either education level or professional occupation. Time perspective scores were not independently associated with the likelihood of obesity, smoking, or exercise. In this community sample, future time perspective was associated with current socioeconomic status, and past-fatalistic time perspective was associated with both current and childhood socioeconomic status.

Indigenous Child Health in Brazil: The Evaluation of Impacts as a Human Rights Issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Coates, Anna R; Del Pino Marchito, Sandra; Vitoy, Bernardino

2016-06-01

Improving the health status of indigenous children is a long-standing challenge. Several United Nations committees have identified the health of indigenous peoples as a human rights concern. Addressing the health of indigenous children cannot be separated from their social, cultural, and historic contexts, and any related health program must offer culturally appropriate services and a community perspective broad enough to address the needs of children and the local worlds in which they live. Evaluations of programs must, therefore, address process as well as impacts. This paper assesses interventions addressing indigenous children's health in Brazil, ranging from those explicitly targeting indigenous children's health, such as the targeted immunization program for indigenous peoples, as well as more generalized programs, including a focus upon indigenous children, such as the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness. The paper discusses the tensions and complexities of ethnically targeted health interventions as well as the conceptual and methodological challenge of measuring the processes employed and their impact. The lessons learned, especially the need for countries to more systematically collect data and evaluate impacts using ethnicity as an analytical category, are drawn out with respect to ensuring human rights for all within health sector responses.

Cloning humans? Current science, current views, and a perspective from Christianity.

Science.gov (United States)

Brun, Rudolf B

2002-01-01

Therapeutic cloning is urgent and should be vigorously supported. To successfully argue for this position, the distinction between a human embryo and a human nuclear transplant may be helpful. Even if current technical difficulties should be solved, global legislation should prohibit cloning for the purpose of fabricating babies. This position originates from a view on human nature in general and from a Christian perspective in particular.

Public Health Perspectives of Preeclampsia in Developing Countries: Implication for Health System Strengthening

OpenAIRE

Kayode O. Osungbade; Olusimbo K. Ige

2011-01-01

Objectives. Review of public health perspectives of preeclampsia in developing countries and implications for health system strengthening. Methods. Literature from Pubmed (MEDLINE), AJOL, Google Scholar, and Cochrane database were reviewed. Results. The prevalence of preeclampsia in developing countries ranges from 1.8% to 16.7%. Many challenges exist in the prediction, prevention, and management of preeclampsia. Promising prophylactic measures like low-dose aspirin and calcium supplem...

Employer and Promoter Perspectives on the Quality of Health Promotion Within the Healthy Workplace Accreditation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tung, Chen-Yin; Yin, Yun-Wen; Liu, Chia-Yun; Chang, Chia-Chen; Zhou, Yi-Ping

2017-07-01

To explore the employers' and promoters' perspective of health promotion quality according to the healthy workplace accreditation. We assessed the perspectives of 85 employers and 81 health promoters regarding the quality of health promotion at their workplaces. The method of measurement referenced the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) quality criteria. In the large workplaces, the accredited corporation employers had a higher impression (P health promoters from different sized workplaces with or without accreditation (P > 0.05). It seems that employers' perspectives of healthy workplace accreditation surpassed employers from non-accredited workplaces. Specifically, large accredited corporations could share their successful experiences to encourage a more involved workplace in small-medium workplaces.

A perspective on the history of health and human rights: from the Cold War to the Gold War.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarantola, Daniel

2008-04-01

Through the end of the Cold War, public health policies were predominantly shaped and implemented by governments and these same governments committed themselves to meet their obligations for health under international and national laws. The post-Cold War era has witnessed the entry of new actors in public health and the sharing of power and influences with non-state actors, in particular the private sector and interest groups. This article examines the emergence of human rights and the rise of health on the international development agenda as the Cold War was ending. It highlights the convergence of health and human rights in academic and public discourse since the end of the Cold War in a context of political and economic shifts linked to the ongoing economic globalization. It describes opportunities and challenges for greater synergy between health and rights and proposes a role for health practitioners.

Time to get healthy: associations of time perspective with perceived health status and health behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Griva, Fay; Tseferidi, Sofia-Ioanna; Anagnostopoulos, Fotios

2015-01-01

The present study examined the associations of time perspective (TP) with health behaviors including smoking, exercise, and body mass index (BMI), and perceptions of health status after controlling for sociodemographic factors. Participants (N = 413) completed a web-based questionnaire that included a short version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, and reported their weight, height, smoking, and exercise frequency. Future TP was associated with more physical exercise, whereas past-negative and present-fatalistic dimensions were associated with higher BMI. Smoking was not associated with any of the TP dimensions. Additionally, all of the dimensions of TP were found to be associated with conceptually relevant perceptions of health status. Research on TP predominantly focuses on the future and the present orientation, but the findings of the present study suggest that all dimensions of TP should be used in health-related research. Also, issues regarding the role of the present-hedonistic dimension are discussed and directions for future research are proposed.

International Allied Health Education and Cross-Cultural Perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Makhdoom A.; Robinson, Thomas C.; Al Enezi, Naser

2002-01-01

Three issues in global relations should be addressed in international education: societal and academic interdependence, global-centric perspectives, and cultural respect. A model for international allied health education exchange includes the following aspects of both advisors and advisees: history, politics, economics, sociocultural environment,…

Emerging Ecological Approaches to Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health in the School Context: Next Steps from a Community Psychology Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Trickett, Edison J.; Rowe, Hillary L.

2012-01-01

In recent years, ecological perspectives have become more visible in prevention, health promotion, and public health within the school context. Individually based approaches to understanding and changing behavior have been increasingly challenged by these perspectives because of their appreciation for contextual influences on individual behavior.…

How evolutionary principles improve the understanding of human health and disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gluckman, Peter D; Low, Felicia M; Buklijas, Tatjana; Hanson, Mark A; Beedle, Alan S

2011-03-01

An appreciation of the fundamental principles of evolutionary biology provides new insights into major diseases and enables an integrated understanding of human biology and medicine. However, there is a lack of awareness of their importance amongst physicians, medical researchers, and educators, all of whom tend to focus on the mechanistic (proximate) basis for disease, excluding consideration of evolutionary (ultimate) reasons. The key principles of evolutionary medicine are that selection acts on fitness, not health or longevity; that our evolutionary history does not cause disease, but rather impacts on our risk of disease in particular environments; and that we are now living in novel environments compared to those in which we evolved. We consider these evolutionary principles in conjunction with population genetics and describe several pathways by which evolutionary processes can affect disease risk. These perspectives provide a more cohesive framework for gaining insights into the determinants of health and disease. Coupled with complementary insights offered by advances in genomic, epigenetic, and developmental biology research, evolutionary perspectives offer an important addition to understanding disease. Further, there are a number of aspects of evolutionary medicine that can add considerably to studies in other domains of contemporary evolutionary studies.

Human Exposure and Health

Science.gov (United States)

The ROE is divided into 5 themes: Air, Water, Land, Human Exposure and Health and Ecological Condition. From these themes, the report indicators address fundamental questions that the ROE attempts to answer. For human health there are 3 questions.

Reflections on the ethics of recruiting foreign-trained human resources for health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Labonté Ronald

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Developed countries' gains in health human resources (HHR from developing countries with significantly lower ratios of health workers have raised questions about the ethics or fairness of recruitment from such countries. By attracting and/or facilitating migration for foreign-trained HHR, notably those from poorer, less well-resourced nations, recruitment practices and policies may be compromising the ability of developing countries to meet the health care needs of their own populations. Little is known, however, about actual recruitment practices. In this study we focus on Canada (a country with a long reliance on internationally trained HHR and recruiters working for Canadian health authorities. Methods We conducted interviews with health human resources recruiters employed by Canadian health authorities to describe their recruitment practices and perspectives and to determine whether and how they reflect ethical considerations. Results and discussion We describe the methods that recruiters used to recruit foreign-trained health professionals and the systemic challenges and policies that form the working context for recruiters and recruits. HHR recruiters' reflections on the global flow of health workers from poorer to richer countries mirror much of the content of global-level discourse with regard to HHR recruitment. A predominant market discourse related to shortages of HHR outweighed discussions of human rights and ethical approaches to recruitment policy and action that consider global health impacts. Conclusions We suggest that the concept of corporate social responsibility may provide a useful approach at the local organizational level for developing policies on ethical recruitment. Such local policies and subsequent practices may inform public debate on the health equity implications of the HHR flows from poorer to richer countries inherent in the global health worker labour market, which in turn could influence

Reflections on the ethics of recruiting foreign-trained human resources for health.

Science.gov (United States)

Runnels, Vivien; Labonté, Ronald; Packer, Corinne

2011-01-20

Developed countries' gains in health human resources (HHR) from developing countries with significantly lower ratios of health workers have raised questions about the ethics or fairness of recruitment from such countries. By attracting and/or facilitating migration for foreign-trained HHR, notably those from poorer, less well-resourced nations, recruitment practices and policies may be compromising the ability of developing countries to meet the health care needs of their own populations. Little is known, however, about actual recruitment practices. In this study we focus on Canada (a country with a long reliance on internationally trained HHR) and recruiters working for Canadian health authorities. We conducted interviews with health human resources recruiters employed by Canadian health authorities to describe their recruitment practices and perspectives and to determine whether and how they reflect ethical considerations. We describe the methods that recruiters used to recruit foreign-trained health professionals and the systemic challenges and policies that form the working context for recruiters and recruits. HHR recruiters' reflections on the global flow of health workers from poorer to richer countries mirror much of the content of global-level discourse with regard to HHR recruitment. A predominant market discourse related to shortages of HHR outweighed discussions of human rights and ethical approaches to recruitment policy and action that consider global health impacts. We suggest that the concept of corporate social responsibility may provide a useful approach at the local organizational level for developing policies on ethical recruitment. Such local policies and subsequent practices may inform public debate on the health equity implications of the HHR flows from poorer to richer countries inherent in the global health worker labour market, which in turn could influence political choices at all government and health system levels.

Communicating health risks to the public: a global perspective

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hillier, Dawn

2006-01-01

... under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Communicating health risks to the public : a global perspective 1. Health risk communication I. Hillier, Dawn, 1950- 614.4'4 ISBN-13: 978-0-566-08672-4 ISBN-10: 0 566 08672 7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publ...

Conical Perspective Image of an Architectural Object Close to Human Perception

Science.gov (United States)

Dzwierzynska, Jolanta

2017-10-01

The aim of the study is to develop a method of computer aided constructing conical perspective of an architectural object, which is close to human perception. The conical perspective considered in the paper is a central projection onto a projection surface being a conical rotary surface or a fragment of it. Whereas, the centre of projection is a stationary point or a point moving on a circular path. The graphical mapping results of the perspective representation is realized directly on an unrolled flat projection surface. The projective relation between a range of points on a line and the perspective image of the same range of points received on a cylindrical projection surface permitted to derive formulas for drawing perspective. Next, the analytical algorithms for drawing perspective image of a straight line passing through any two points were formulated. It enabled drawing a perspective wireframe image of a given 3D object. The use of the moving view point as well as the application of the changeable base elements of perspective as the variables in the algorithms enable drawing conical perspective from different viewing positions. Due to this fact, the perspective drawing method is universal. The algorithms are formulated and tested in Mathcad Professional software, but can be implemented in AutoCAD and majority of computer graphical packages, which makes drawing a perspective image more efficient and easier. The presented conical perspective representation, and the convenient method of its mapping directly on the flat unrolled surface can find application for numerous advertisement and art presentations.

Tick-Borne Diseases in Turkey: A Review Based on One Health Perspective.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah Inci

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The importance of tick-borne diseases is increasing all over the world, including Turkey. Global warming, environmental and ecological changes and the existence of suitable habitats increase the impact of ticks and result in frequent emergence or re-emergence of tick-borne diseases (TBDs with zoonotic characteristics. In Turkey, almost 19 TBDs have been reported in animals and men, involving four protozoa (babesiosis, theileriosis, cytauxzoonosis, hepatozoonosis, one filarial nematode (acanthocheilonemasis, ten bacterial agents (anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, aegyptianellosis, tick-borne typhus, Candidatus Rickettsia vini, Lyme borreliosis, tick-borne relapsing fever [TBRF], tularaemia, bartonellosis, and hemoplasmosis, and four viral infections (tick-borne encephalitis [TBE], Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever [CCHF], louping-ill [LI], and lumpy skin disease [LSD]. The growing number of TBD cases, in particular the fatal viral epidemics in humans, have led to increased public awareness and concern against TBDs in recent years. The World Health Organization (WHO has developed a new political concept, called the "One Health" initiative, which is especially relevant for developing strategies against tick infestations and TBD control in humans and animals. It would be beneficial for Turkey to adopt this new strategy and establish specific research and control programs in coordination with international organizations like WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC to combat TBDs based on the "One Health Initiative" concept. In this article, we review the occurrence of primary TBDs in man and animals in Turkey in light of the "One Health" perspective.

Perspectives of female leaders on sense of coherence and mental health in an engineering environment

OpenAIRE

Mayer, Claude Hélène; Zyl, van, LE

2013-01-01

Orientation: Positive organisational behaviour impacts strongly on various individual and work-related outcomes. Gender perspectives in this paradigm have not yet been comprehensively researched. Research purpose: This article explores female perspectives on mental health and sense of coherence. The aim is to promote an understanding of gender-related subjective perceptions on mental health and sense of coherence from an emic perspective. Motivation for the study: Limited research exis...

Linear versus non-linear: a perspective from health physics and radiobiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gentner, N.E.; Osborne, R.V.

1998-01-01

There is a vigorous debate about whether or not there may be a 'threshold' for radiation-induced adverse health effects. A linear-no threshold (LNT) model allows radiation protection practitioners to manage putative risk consistently, because different types of exposure, exposures at different times, and exposures to different organs may be summed. If we are to argue to regulators and the public that low doses are less dangerous than we presently assume, it is incumbent on us to prove this. The question is, therefore, whether any consonant body of evidence exists that the risk of low doses has been over-estimated. From the perspectives of both health physics and radiobiology, we conclude that the evidence for linearity at high doses (and arguably of fairly small total doses if delivered at high dose rate) is strong. For low doses (or in fact, even for fairly high doses) delivered at low dose rate, the evidence is much less compelling. Since statistical limitations at low doses are almost always going to prevent a definitive answer, one way or the other, from human data, we need a way out of this epistemological dilemma of 'LNT or not LNT, that is the question'. To our minds, the path forward is to exploit (1) radiobiological studies which address directly the question of what the dose and dose rate effectiveness factor is in actual human bodies exposed to low-level radiation, in concert with (2) epidemiological studies of human populations exposed to fairly high doses (to obtain statistical power) but where exposure was protracted over some years. (author)

A new framework for assessing river ecosystem health with consideration of human service demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Zengliang; Zuo, Qiting; Shao, Quanxi

2018-06-01

In order to study river health status from harmonic relationship between human and natural environment, a river health evaluation method was proposed from the aspects of ecosystem integrity and human service demand, and the understanding of river health connotation. The proposed method is based on the harmony theory and two types of river health assessment methods (the forecasting model and index evaluation). A new framework for assessing river water health was then formed from the perspective of harmony and dynamic evolution between human service demand and river ecosystem integrity. As a case study, the method and framework were applied to the Shaying River Basin, a tributary of the most polluted Huaihe River Basin in China. The health status of the river's ecosystem and its effect on the mainstream of Huaihe River were evaluated based on water ecological experiment. The results indicated that: (1) the water ecological environment in Shaying River was generally poor and showed a gradual changing pattern along the river. The river health levels were generally "medium" in the upstream but mostly "sub-disease" in the midstream and downstream, indicating that the water pollution in Shaying River were mainly concentrated in the midstream and downstream; (2) the water pollution of Shaying River had great influence on the ecosystem of Huaihe River, and the main influencing factors were TN, followed by TP and COD Mn ; (3) the natural attribute of river was transferring toward to the direction of socialization due to the increasing human activities. The stronger the human activity intervention is, the faster the transfer will be and the more river's attributes will match with human service demand. The proposed framework contributes to the research in water ecology and environment management, and the research results can serve as an important reference for basin management in Shaying River and Huaihe River. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Design Features in Games for Health: Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Expert Perspectives.

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Kelley, Christina; Wilcox, Lauren; Ng, Wendy; Schiffer, Jade; Hammer, Jessica

2017-06-01

Games for health (G4H) aim to improve health outcomes and encourage behavior change. While existing theoretical frameworks describe features of both games and health interventions, there has been limited systematic investigation into how disciplinary and interdisciplinary stakeholders understand design features in G4H. We recruited 18 experts from the fields of game design, behavioral health, and games for health, and prompted them with 16 sample games. Applying methods including open card sorting and triading, we elicited themes and features (e.g., real-world interaction, game mechanics) around G4H. We found evidence of conceptual differences suggesting that a G4H perspective is not simply the sum of game and health perspectives. At the same time, we found evidence of convergence in stakeholder views, including areas where game experts provided insights about health and vice versa. We discuss how this work can be applied to provide conceptual tools, improve the G4H design process, and guide approaches to encoding G4H-related data for large-scale empirical analysis.

Perspectives of International Human Epigenome Consortium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae-Bum Bae

2013-03-01

Full Text Available As the International Human Epigenome Consortium (IHEC launched officially at the 2010 Washington meeting, a giant step toward the conquest of unexplored regions of the human genome has begun. IHEC aims at the production of 1,000 reference epigenomes to the international scientific community for next 7-10 years. Seven member institutions, including South Korea, Korea National Institute of Health (KNIH, will produce 25-200 reference epigenomes individually, and the produced data will be publically available by using a data center. Epigenome data will cover from whole genome bisulfite sequencing, histone modification, and chromatin access information to miRNA-seq. The final goal of IHEC is the production of reference maps of human epigenomes for key cellular status relevant to health and disease.

Multi-stakeholder perspectives in defining health-services quality in cataract care.

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Stolk-Vos, Aline C; van de Klundert, Joris J; Maijers, Niels; Zijlmans, Bart L M; Busschbach, Jan J V

2017-08-01

To develop a method to define a multi-stakeholder perspective on health-service quality that enables the expression of differences in systematically identified stakeholders' perspectives, and to pilot the approach for cataract care. Mixed-method study between 2014 and 2015. Cataract care in the Netherlands. Stakeholder representatives. We first identified and classified stakeholders using stakeholder theory. Participants established a multi-stakeholder perspective on quality of cataract care using concept mapping, this yielded a cluster map based on multivariate statistical analyses. Consensus-based quality dimensions were subsequently defined in a plenary stakeholder session. Stakeholders and multi-stakeholder perspective on health-service quality. Our analysis identified seven definitive stakeholders, as follows: the Dutch Ophthalmology Society, ophthalmologists, general practitioners, optometrists, health insurers, hospitals and private clinics. Patients, as dependent stakeholders, were considered to lack power by other stakeholders; hence, they were not classified as definitive stakeholders. Overall, 18 stakeholders representing ophthalmologists, general practitioners, optometrists, health insurers, hospitals, private clinics, patients, patient federations and the Dutch Healthcare Institute sorted 125 systematically collected indicators into the seven following clusters: patient centeredness and accessibility, interpersonal conduct and expectations, experienced outcome, clinical outcome, process and structure, medical technical acting and safety. Importance scores from stakeholders directly involved in the cataract service delivery process correlated strongly, as did scores from stakeholders not directly involved in this process. Using a case study on cataract care, the proposed methods enable different views among stakeholders concerning quality dimensions to be systematically revealed, and the stakeholders jointly agreed on these dimensions. The methods

What Constitutes Evidence in Human Rights-Based Approaches to Health? Learning from Lived Experiences of Maternal and Sexual Reproductive Health.

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Unnithan, Maya

2015-12-10

The impact of human rights interventions on health outcomes is complex, multiple, and difficult to ascertain in the conventional sense of cause and effect. Existing approaches based on probable (experimental and statistical) conclusions from evidence are limited in their ability to capture the impact of rights-based transformations in health. This paper argues that a focus on plausible conclusions from evidence enables policy makers and researchers to take into account the effects of a co-occurrence of multiple factors connected with human rights, including the significant role of "context" and power. Drawing on a subject-near and interpretive (in other words, with regard to meaning) perspective that focuses on the lived experiences of human rights-based interventions, the paper suggests that policy makers and researchers are best served by evidence arrived at through plausible, observational modes of ascertaining impact. Through an examination of what human rights-based interventions mean, based on the experience of their operationalization on the ground in culturally specific maternal and reproductive health care contexts, this paper contributes to an emerging scholarship that seeks to pluralize the concept of evidence and to address the methodological challenges posed by heterogeneous forms of evidence in the context of human rights as applied to health. Copyright © 2015 Unnithan. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

The human dimensions of climate change: A micro-level assessment of views from the ecological modernization, political economy and human ecology perspectives.

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Adua, Lazarus; York, Richard; Schuelke-Leech, Beth-Anne

2016-03-01

Understanding the manifold human and physical dimensions of climate change has become an area of great interest to researchers in recent decades. Using a U.S. nationally-representative data set and drawing on the ecological modernization, political economy, and human ecology perspectives, this study examines the impacts of energy efficiency technologies, affluence, household demographics, and biophysical characteristics on residential CO2 emissions. Overall, the study provides mixed support for the ecological modernization perspective. While several findings are consistent with the theory's expectation that modern societies can harness technology to mitigate human impacts on the environment, others directly contradict it. Also, the theory's prediction of an inverted U-shaped relationship between affluence and environmental impacts is contradicted. The evidence is somewhat more supportive of the political economy and human ecology perspectives, with affluence, some indicators of technology, household demographics, and biophysical characteristics emerging as important drivers of residential CO2 emissions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human action perspectives based on individual plant examination results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forester, J.; Thompson, C.; Drouin, M.; Lois, E.

1996-01-01

This paper provides perspectives on human actions gained from reviewing 76 individual plant examination (IPE) submittals. Human actions found to be important in boiling water reactors (BWRs) and in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) are presented and the events most frequently found important are discussed. Since there are numerous factors that can influence the quantification of human error probabilities (HEPs) and introduce significant variability in the resulting HEPs (which in turn can influence which events are found to be important), the variability in HEPs for similar events across IPEs is examined to assess the extent to which variability in results is due to real versus artifactual differences. Finally, similarities and differences in human action observations across BWRs and PWRs are examined

Hazardous properties and toxicological update of mercury: From fish food to human health safety perspective.

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Okpala, Charles Odilichukwu R; Sardo, Giacomo; Vitale, Sergio; Bono, Gioacchino; Arukwe, Augustine

2017-04-10

The mercury (Hg) poisoning of Minamata Bay of Japan widely activated a global attention to Hg toxicity and its potential consequences to the aquatic ecosystem and human health. This has resulted to an increased need for a dynamic assembly, contextualization, and quantification of both the current state-of-the-art and approaches for understanding the cause-and-effect relationships of Hg exposure. Thus, the objective of this present review is to provide both hazardous toxic properties and toxicological update of Hg, focusing on how it ultimately affects the aquatic biota to potentially produce human health effects. Primarily, we discussed processes that relate to Hg exposure, including immunological aspects and risk assessment, vulnerability, toxicokinetics, and toxicodynamics, using edible fish, swordfish (Xiphias gladius), as a model. In addition, we summarized available information about Hg concentration limits set by different governmental agencies, as recognized by national and international standardization authorities.

How Health Humanities Will Save the Life of the Humanities.

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Klugman, Craig M

2017-12-01

In the last decade, the humanities have been shrinking in number of students, percent of faculty, and in number of degrees awarded. Humanities students also earn lower salaries than their STEM-prepared peers. At the same time, the health humanities have been in ascendance over the last fifteen years. The number of majors, minors and certificates has increased 266% in that time frame, attracting large numbers of students and preparing future patients, lay caregivers, and health care providers to interact with a complicated and dehumanized medical system. In 1982, British philosopher and educator Stephen Toulmin declared that medicine saved philosophy from irrelevance and possibly extinction. I propose that the health humanities can serve a similar function to stave off the decline of the broader humanities. The health humanities can (1) model an applied approach for the broader humanities to attract student interest; (2) develop students' capacity for critical reading, writing and reflection about health and medicine in society, practice, and their own lives and (3) inoculate all students against the influence of medicine, whether through preparing pre-health students to navigate the hidden medical curriculum or preparing future patients to navigate the health care system.

(Public) Health and Human Rights in Practice.

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Annas, George J; Mariner, Wendy K

2016-02-01

Public health's reliance on law to define and carry out public activities makes it impossible to define a set of ethical principles unique to public health. Public health ethics must be encompassed within--and consistent with--a broader set of principles that define the power and limits of governmental institutions. These include human rights, health law, and even medical ethics. The human right to health requires governments not only to respect individual human rights and personal freedoms, but also, importantly, to protect people from harm from external sources and third parties, and to fulfill the health needs of the population. Even if human rights are the natural language for public health, not all public health professionals are comfortable with the language of human rights. Some argue that individual human rights--such as autonomy and privacy--unfairly limit the permissible means to achieve the goal of health protection. We argue that public health should welcome and promote the human rights framework. In almost every instance, this will make public health more effective in the long run, because the goals of public health and human rights are the same: to promote human flourishing. Copyright © 2016 by Duke University Press.

[Elderly human being with ostomy and environments of care: reflection on the perspective of complexity].

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Barros, Edaiane Joana Lima; Santos, Silvana Sidney Costa; Lunardi, Valéria Lerch; Lunardi Filho, Wilson Danilo

2012-01-01

This is discussion about the relationship between elderly human beings with ostomy and their environments care, under the perspective of Complexity Edgar Morin. An axis holds the reflection: environments of care for elderly humans with ostomy. In this sense, we present three types of environment that surround the context of elderly humans with ostomy: home environment, group environment and hospital environment. This brings, as a social contribution, a new look about resizing caring of elderly humans with ostomy in their environment. It is considered that the environment hosting this human being contains a diversity of feelings, emotions, experiences; it binds multiple meanings, from the Complexity perspective, about the relationship between the environment and the caring process.

Young people's perspectives on health-related risks

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Grace Elisabeth Spencer

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Drawing upon current socio-cultural understandings of risk, this study highlights the disjunction between the expert risk discourses that permeate official public health policy and practice, and young people’s own perspectives on health and risk. Data were collected from young people aged 14-16 years through the use of group and individual interviews in a school and community youth centre setting. Findings from this study question the saliency of expert-defined health-related risks to young people’s everyday lives. Young people in this study saw health as closely linked to ‘being happy’. Friendships and a sense of personal achievement were particularly important to participants’ health and well-being. When accounting for their participation in health-related practices identified as ‘risky’ in government policy – such as smoking, alcohol and substance use – young people emphasised the levels of pressure they experienced. Sources of pressure included arguments and bullying, school work, and negative stereotypes of young people in general. These areas indicated young people’s concerns that reach beyond the official prescriptions permeating current health policy.

Unleashing the power of human genetic variation knowledge: New Zealand stakeholder perspectives.

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Gu, Yulong; Warren, James Roy; Day, Karen Jean

2011-01-01

This study aimed to characterize the challenges in using genetic information in health care and to identify opportunities for improvement. Taking a grounded theory approach, semistructured interviews were conducted with 48 participants to collect multiple stakeholder perspectives on genetic services in New Zealand. Three themes emerged from the data: (1) four service delivery models were identified in operation, including both those expected models involving genetic counselors and variations that do not route through the formal genetic service program; (2) multiple barriers to sharing and using genetic information were perceived, including technological, organizational, institutional, legal, ethical, and social issues; and (3) impediments to wider use of genetic testing technology, including variable understanding of genetic test utilities among clinicians and the limited capacity of clinical genetic services. Targeting these problems, information technologies and knowledge management tools have the potential to support key tasks in genetic services delivery, improve knowledge processes, and enhance knowledge networks. Because of the effect of issues in genetic information and knowledge management, the potential of human genetic variation knowledge to enhance health care delivery has been put on a "leash."

Differences in nativity, age and gender may impact health behavior and perspectives among Asian Indians.

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Dhar, Sohini; Gor, Beverly; Banerjee, Deborah; Krishnan, Sunil; Dorai, V K; Jones, Lovell; Kabad, Kanchan; Naik, Lakshmi Rai; Legha, Sewa S; Pande, Mala

2017-07-03

Identify health perspectives among Asian Indians in greater Houston area, to guide a tailored community wide survey. Four focus groups of different ages, gender, and nativity were conducted at which participants were asked for their opinions about specific health topics. Key informant interviews were conducted with ten community leaders to validate focus group responses. Recordings from focus groups and key informant interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Diabetes, cancer, and hypertension were primary health concerns. Common themes were sedentary lifestyle and poor health literacy. Older participants were more accepting of having familial hypertension and high cholesterol. Women were more concerned about health of family members and dietary habits. Perspectives differed on eating habits, physical activity, use of Western medicine, and smoking based on nativity. Responses from key informant interviews validated focus group findings. Perspectives on health may differ among Asian Indians depending on gender, age, and nativity.

Tourism And Environment: Toward Promoting Sustainable Development Of Tourism: A Human Rights Perspective

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Ni Ketut Supasti Dharmawan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Tourism activities in era globalization bring positive and negative impacts especially for the host countries destination. To minimize the negative impacts it is very important to always promote the sustainable development of tourism including from a human rights perspective. This paper will discuss concerning who have responsibility to promote a human rights related with sustainable development of tourism. To explore the topic in this article, Author will study both international human rights instruments and environmental convention as well as the soft law regarding the tourism sector such as the UN WTO Global Code Of Ethics. The Law No. 10 Year 2009 concerning Indonesia Tourism Law is also part of legal material studied in this paper. There are national, international legal instruments of the human rights as well as UNWTO Global Codes of Ethics which can be utilized to promote sustainable tourism through human rights perspective. It is considered that all stakeholders have responsibility to promote sustainable development of tourism.

What Physical Health Means to Me: Perspectives of People with Mental Illness.

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Happell, Brenda; Ewart, Stephanie B; Platania-Phung, Chris; Bocking, Julia; Scholz, Brett; Stanton, Robert

2016-12-01

There are significant inequalities in physical health and life expectancy between people with and without a mental illness. Understanding perspectives of people with mental illness on personal meanings of physical health is essential to ensuring health services are aligned with consumer understandings, needs, and values. A qualitative exploratory study was undertaken involving focus groups with 31 consumers in The Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Participants were asked: "What does physical health mean to you?" Thematic analysis was applied to interview transcripts. Five themes are discussed, representing different emphases in the meaning of physical health: (1) physical and mental are interconnected, (2) absence of disease, (3) moving the body, (4) struggling for healthy diet, and (5) functioning and participation. Physical pain was a difficulty that arose across these themes. Mental health consumers see physical health as always connected with well-being. Nurses would benefit from been informed by consumer understandings of physical health. In addition, there should be more attention to quality of life measures of people with mental illness as these are more congruent with consumer perspectives on physical health than biomedical measures.

Mercury bioaccumulation in cartilaginous fishes from Southern New England coastal waters: Contamination from a trophic ecology and human health perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, David L.; Kutil, Nicholas J.; Malek, Anna J.; Collie, Jeremy S.

2014-01-01

This study examined total mercury (Hg) concentrations in cartilaginous fishes from Southern New England coastal waters, including smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis), spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), little skate (Leucoraja erinacea), and winter skate (L. ocellata). Total Hg in dogfish and skates were positively related to their respective body size and age, indicating Hg bioaccumulation in muscle tissue. There were also significant inter-species differences in Hg levels (mean ± 1 SD, mg Hg/kg dry weight, ppm): smooth dogfish (3.3 ± 2.1 ppm; n = 54) > spiny dogfish (1.1 ± 0.7 ppm; n = 124) > little skate (0.4 ± 0.3 ppm; n = 173) ~ winter skate (0.3 ± 0.2 ppm; n = 148). The increased Hg content of smooth dogfish was attributed to its upper trophic level status, determined by stable nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analysis (mean δ15N = 13.2 ± 0.7‰), and the consumption of high Hg prey, most notably cancer crabs (0.10 ppm). Spiny dogfish had depleted δ15N signatures (11.6 ± 0.8‰), yet demonstrated a moderate level of contamination by foraging on pelagic prey with a range of Hg concentrations, e.g., in order of dietary importance, butterfish (Hg = 0.06 ppm), longfin squid (0.17 ppm), and scup (0.11 ppm). Skates were low trophic level consumers (δ15N = 11.9-12.0‰) and fed mainly on amphipods, small decapods, and polychaetes with low Hg concentrations (0.05-0.09 ppm). Intra-specific Hg concentrations were directly related to δ15N and carbon (δ13C) isotope signatures, suggesting that Hg biomagnifies across successive trophic levels and foraging in the benthic trophic pathway increases Hg exposure. From a human health perspective, 87% of smooth dogfish, 32% of spiny dogfish, and < 2% of skates had Hg concentrations exceeding the US Environmental Protection Agency threshold level (0.3 ppm wet weight). These results indicate that frequent consumption of smooth dogfish and spiny dogfish may adversely affect human health, whereas skates present minimal risk. PMID

Guiding health promotion efforts with urban Inuit: a community-specific perspective on health information sources and dissemination strategies.

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McShane, Kelly E; Smylie, Janet K; Hastings, Paul D; Martin, Carmel M

2006-01-01

To develop a community-specific perspective of health information sources and dissemination strategies of urban Inuit to better guide health promotion efforts. Through a collaborative partnership with the Tungasuvvingat Inuit Family Resource Centre, a series of key informant interviews and focus groups were conducted to gather information on specific sources of health information, strategies of health information dissemination, and overall themes in health information processes. Distinct patterns of health information sources and dissemination strategies emerged from the data. Major themes included: the importance of visual learning, community Elders, and cultural interpreters; community cohesion; and the Inuit and non-Inuit distinction. The core sources of health information are family members and sources from within the Inuit community. The principal dissemination strategy for health information was direct communication, either through one-on-one interactions or in groups. This community-specific perspective of health information sources and dissemination strategies shows substantial differences from current mainstream models of health promotion and knowledge translation. Health promotion efforts need to acknowledge the distinct health information processes of this community, and should strive to integrate existing health information sources and strategies of dissemination with those of the community.

Energy efficiency as a unifying principle for human, environmental, and global health

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Fontana, Luigi; Atella, Vincenzo; Kammen, Daniel M

2013-01-01

A strong analogy exists between over/under consumption of energy at the level of the human body and of the industrial metabolism of humanity. Both forms of energy consumption have profound implications for human, environmental, and global health. Globally, excessive fossil-fuel consumption, and individually, excessive food energy consumption are both responsible for a series of interrelated detrimental effects, including global warming, extreme weather conditions, damage to ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, widespread pollution, obesity, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and other lethal chronic diseases. In contrast, data show that the efficient use of energy—in the form of food as well as fossil fuels and other resources—is vital for promoting human, environmental, and planetary health and sustainable economic development. While it is not new to highlight how efficient use of energy and food can address some of the key problems our world is facing, little research and no unifying framework exists to harmonize these concepts of sustainable system management across diverse scientific fields into a single theoretical body. Insights beyond reductionist views of efficiency are needed to encourage integrated changes in the use of the world’s natural resources, with the aim of achieving a wiser use of energy, better farming systems, and healthier dietary habits. This perspective highlights a range of scientific-based opportunities for cost-effective pro-growth and pro-health policies while using less energy and natural resources. PMID:24555053

Wealth, equity and health care: a critique of a "population health" perspective on the determinants of health. Critical Social Science Group.

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Poland, B; Coburn, D; Robertson, A; Eakin, J

1998-04-01

In this paper we examine the recent ascendancy of a "population health" perspective on the "determinants of health" in health policy circles as conceptualized by health economists and social epidemiologists such as Evans and Stoddart [Evans and Stoddart (1990) Producing health, consuming health care. Social Science & Medicine 31(12), 1347 1363]. Their view, that the financing of health care systems may actually be deleterious for the health status of populations by drawing attention away from the (economic) determinants of health, has arguably become the "core" of the discourse of "population health". While applauding the efforts of these and other members of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research for "pushing the envelope", we nevertheless have misgivings about their conceptualization of both the "problem" and its "solutions", as well as about the implications of their perspective for policy. From our critique, we build an alternative point of view based on a political economy perspective. We point out that Evans and Stoddart's evidence is open to alternative interpretations--and, in fact, that their conclusions regarding the importance of wealth creation do not directly reflect the evidence presented, and are indicative of an oversimplified link between wealth and health. Their view also lacks an explicit substantive theory of society and of social change, and provides convenient cover for those who wish to dismantle the welfare state in the name of deficit reduction. Our alternative to the "provider dominance" theory of Evans and Stoddart and colleagues stresses that the factors or forces producing health status, which Evans and Stoddart describe, are contained within a larger whole (advanced industrial capitalism) which gives the parts their character and shapes their interrelationships. We contend that this alternative view better explains both how we arrived at a situation in which health care systems are as costly or extensive as they are, and suggests

Human capital flight challenges within an equitable health system.

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Udonwa, N E

2007-01-01

The issue of human capital flight has been discussed at different forums with a consensus opinion that it has its merits and demerits to equitable health system. Most often one nation becomes a substantial net exporter of talent, leaving the provider nation at risk of depleting its natural supply of talent. This paper looks into the historical perspective of human capital flight or "brain drain", and its burden. It attempts to elucidate the various causes and suggested solutions. The paper's objective is to educate colleagues on the conceptual and contextual imperatives of the issue. Using a convenient sample of key informants who were medical colleagues in Nigeria relevant information was sourced from these colleagues, documents from the postgraduate medical college of Nigeria and the internet on maters relating to human capital flight and brain drain. Every year, thousands of qualified doctors, and other professionals leave Nigeria tempted by significantly higher wages, brighter prospects for employment and education, stability, food security. It appears that the potential exposure to different working conditions, resources and professional environments can be of advantage to the country, should Nigeria be able to recall these professionals. It also appears that necessary economic reforms that make staying at home rewarding, that is--good leadership, and policy planning that seriously looks into rural development, among other issues, are keys ingredients to reversing the trend in order to ensure a more equitable health system.

Teachers' Pedagogical Perspectives and Teaching Practices on Human Rights in Cyprus: An Empirical Exploration and Implications for Human Rights Education

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Zembylas, Michalinos; Charalambous, Constadina; Charalambous, Panayiota

2016-01-01

This paper describes a qualitative study that explored the understandings of human rights, pedagogical perspectives and practices in human rights teaching of three Greek-Cypriot elementary teachers. The study revealed some significant challenges in human rights teaching that seemed to be common for all three participating teachers. First, all of…

History of health informatics: a global perspective.

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Cesnik, Branko; Kidd, Michael R

2010-01-01

In considering a 'history' of Health Informatics it is important to be aware that the discipline encompasses a wide array of activities, products, research and theories. Health Informatics is as much a result of evolution as planned philosophy, having its roots in the histories of information technology and medicine. The process of its growth continues so that today's work is tomorrow's history. A 'historical' discussion of the area is its history to date, a report rather than a summation. As well as its successes, the history of Health Informatics is populated with visionary promises that have failed to materialise despite the best intentions. For those studying the subject or working in the field, the experiences of others' use of Information Technologies for the betterment of health care can provide a necessary perspective. This chapter starts by noting some of the major events and people that form a technological backdrop to Health Informatics and ends with some thoughts on the future. This chapter gives an educational overview of: * The history of computing * The beginnings of the health informatics discipline.

Health system strengthening in Myanmar during political reforms: perspectives from international agencies.

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Risso-Gill, Isabelle; McKee, Martin; Coker, Richard; Piot, Peter; Legido-Quigley, Helena

2014-07-01

Myanmar has undergone a remarkable political transformation in the last 2 years, with its leadership voluntarily transitioning from an isolated military regime to a quasi-civilian government intent on re-engaging with the international community. Decades of underinvestment have left the country underdeveloped with a fragile health system and poor health outcomes. International aid agencies have found engagement with the Myanmar government difficult but this is changing rapidly and it is opportune to consider how Myanmar can engage with the global health system strengthening (HSS) agenda. Nineteen semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with representatives from international agencies working in Myanmar to capture their perspectives on HSS following political reform. They explored their perceptions of HSS and the opportunities for implementation. Participants reported challenges in engaging with government, reflecting the disharmony between actors, economic sanctions and barriers to service delivery due to health system weaknesses and bureaucracy. Weaknesses included human resources, data and medical products/infrastructure and logistical challenges. Agencies had mixed views of health system finance and governance, identifying problems and also some positive aspects. There is little consensus on how HSS should be approached in Myanmar, but much interest in collaborating to achieve it. Despite myriad challenges and concerns, participants were generally positive about the recent political changes, and remain optimistic as they engage in HSS activities with the government.

Health care report cards: what about consumers' perspectives?

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McGee, J; Knutson, D

1994-10-01

Though the report card style is seen by many as a way to create better-informed consumers, very little is actually known about how consumers will respond to health care report cards. Report cards are only one of many factors that influence health care decision making. Much consumer-oriented effort and fine-tuning will be required to make report cards effective. Using the approach called "social marketing" as a framework, specific examples are used to outline some ideas for more intensive pursuit of consumers' perspectives in the design and distribution of report cards.

Analysis of eHealth Search Perspectives Among Female College Students in the Health Professions Using Q Methodology

OpenAIRE

Stellefson, Michael; Hanik, Bruce; Chaney, J. Don; Tennant, Bethany

2012-01-01

Background The current “Millennial Generation” of college students majoring in the health professions has unprecedented access to the Internet. Although some research has been initiated among medical professionals to investigate the cognitive basis for health information searches on the Internet, little is known about Internet search practices among health and medical professional students. Objective To systematically identify health professional college student perspectives of personal eHeal...

[Twenty years of bioethics in Mexico: development and perspectives of the National Bioethics Commission].

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz de Chávez-Guerrero, Manuel Hugo

2014-01-01

Bioethics in Mexico has a history that reveals the vision and ethical commitment of iconic characters in the fields of health sciences and humanities, leading to the creation of the National Bioethics Commission responsible for promoting a bioethics culture in Mexico. Its development and consolidation from the higher perspective of humanism had the aim to preserve health, life and its environment, while at the same time the bases of ethics and professional practice from different perspectives have been the building blocks of medical practice.

One health: The interface between veterinary and human health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kshitiz Shrestha

2018-01-01

Full Text Available One Health is an emerging global key concept integrating human and animal health through international research and policy. The complex relationships between the human and animal have resulted in a human-animal-environment interface since prehistorical times. The people, animals, plants, and the environment are so intrinsically linked that prevention of risks and the mitigation of effects of crises that originate at the interface between humans, animals, and their environments can only improve health and wellbeing. The “One Health” approach has been successfully implemented in numerous projects around the world. The containment of pandemic threats such as avian influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome within months of outbreak are few examples of successful applications of the One Health paradigm. The paper begins with a brief overview of the human-animal interface and continues with the socio-economic and public health impact caused by various zoonotic diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome, Influenza, and Ebola virus. This is followed by the role of “One Health” to deal the global problem by the global solution. It emphasizes the interdisciplinary collaboration, training for health professionals and institutional support to minimize global health threats due to infectious diseases. The broad definition of the concept is supposed to lead multiple interpretations that impede the effective implementation of One Health approach within veterinary profession, within the medical profession, by wildlife specialists and by environmentalists, while on the other side, it gives a value of interdisciplinary collaboration for reducing threats in human-animal-environment interface.

Influence resistance on human health

Science.gov (United States)

Abdul Harits, M.; Bahtiar, Yusuf; Achdan, M. Syahdani; Sunarno, .

2010-05-01

Health is an important part of human life. Every person in this world want healthy body, in other words free of any disease. When seeing the pattern of human life today is high activity, always eat instant foods and lack of exercise makes a very bad human health from year to year. Therefore, there is need for the health revolution that can keep human health in order to remain in the condition is always healthy. Eat healthy foods four plus five perfect diligent exercise is the real solution to maintain health. In addition also advisable to always check each month to the doctor so that our health can be controlled. Most people underestimate it, especially the routine checks once a month to the doctor, therefore I created a simple research that aims to get people to mengonytrol health at any time without having to check into the doctor. By utilizing the resistance in the human body's health so we can be controlled. By using a simple tool to measure human resistance by using the concept of the bridge. Bridge circuit used to convert impedance variations into voltage variations. One advantage of this circuit is the voltage produced can vary around 0. This means strengthening can be used to raise the voltage level so as sensitivity to variations in impedance also increases. Another application is the impedance measurement accuracy. The bridge is the simplest and most widely used is the Wheatstone bridge circuit. This circuit is used for signal conditioning applications where a sensor can change the resistance value when the process variable is changed.

Multidisciplinary perspectives on the history of human interactions with life in the ocean

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

MacDiarmid, Alison; MacKenzie, Brian; Ojaveer, Henn

2016-01-01

-term changes of affected species and define appropriate and realistic management targets. Second, increased multi-and trans-disciplinary effort is required to better understand the relative importance of different human demographic, technological, economic, and cultural drivers on the patterns, intensities......There is an essentially circular interaction between the human social system and the marine ecosystem. The Oceans Past V Conference "Multidisciplinary perspectives on the history of human interactions with life in the ocean" held in Tallinn, Estonia, in May 2015 was an opportunity...... for the presentation and discussion of papers on a diverse array of topics that examined this socio-ecological system from a historical perspective. Here we provide background to the disciplines participating in the conference and to the conference itself. We summarize the conference papers that appear in this special...

NASA Human Health and Performance Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Jeffrey R.

2012-01-01

In May 2007, what was then the Space Life Sciences Directorate, issued the 2007 Space Life Sciences Strategy for Human Space Exploration. In January 2012, leadership and key directorate personnel were once again brought together to assess the current and expected future environment against its 2007 Strategy and the Agency and Johnson Space Center goals and strategies. The result was a refined vision and mission, and revised goals, objectives, and strategies. One of the first changes implemented was to rename the directorate from Space Life Sciences to Human Health and Performance to better reflect our vision and mission. The most significant change in the directorate from 2007 to the present is the integration of the Human Research Program and Crew Health and Safety activities. Subsequently, the Human Health and Performance Directorate underwent a reorganization to achieve enhanced integration of research and development with operations to better support human spaceflight and International Space Station utilization. These changes also enable a more effective and efficient approach to human system risk mitigation. Since 2007, we have also made significant advances in external collaboration and implementation of new business models within the directorate and the Agency, and through two newly established virtual centers, the NASA Human Health and Performance Center and the Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. Our 2012 Strategy builds upon these successes to address the Agency's increased emphasis on societal relevance and being a leader in research and development and innovative business and communications practices. The 2012 Human Health and Performance Vision is to lead the world in human health and performance innovations for life in space and on Earth. Our mission is to enable optimization of human health and performance throughout all phases of spaceflight. All HH&P functions are ultimately aimed at achieving this mission. Our activities enable

General Practitioners' Perspective on eHealth and Lifestyle Change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brandt, Carl Joakim; Søgaard, Gabrielle Isidora; Clemensen, Jane

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND: Wearables, fitness apps, and patient home monitoring devices are used increasingly by patients and other individuals with lifestyle challenges. All Danish general practitioners (GPs) use digital health records and electronic health (eHealth) consultations on a daily basis, but how...... they perceive the increasing demand for lifestyle advice and whether they see eHealth as part of their lifestyle support should be explored further. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore GPs' perspectives on eHealth devices and apps and the use of eHealth in supporting healthy lifestyle behavior...... or in partnership with 1 to 4 colleagues and all use electronic patient health records for prescription, referral, and asynchronous electronic consultations. We performed qualitative, semistructured, individual in-depth interviews with the GPs in their own office about how they used eHealth and mHealth devices...

Human Health at the Beach

Science.gov (United States)

... and Research Centers Beaches Contact Us Share LEARN: Human Health at the Beach Swimming at beaches with pollution ... water pollution, there are other potential threats to human health at the beach to be aware of. The ...

Electronic Health Records Prospects in Egypt: A Demand-Side Perspective

OpenAIRE

Badran; Mona Farid

2017-01-01

The present study sheds light on the expected factors that would impact the Electronic Health Records (EHR) service in Egypt from the demand-side perspective, i.e. the health care consumer. This empirical study is motivated by the widespread use of EHR as a method of promoting health services globally, where it is considered as an efficiency enhancing, cost effective technology. Moreover, the healthcare sector in Egypt is gaining momentum, especially that the comprehensive healthcare and soci...

m-Health 2.0: New perspectives on mobile health, Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics.

Science.gov (United States)

Istepanian, Robert S H; Al-Anzi, Turki

2018-06-08

Mobile health (m-Health) has been repeatedly called the biggest technological breakthrough of our modern times. Similarly, the concept of big data in the context of healthcare is considered one of the transformative drivers for intelligent healthcare delivery systems. In recent years, big data has become increasingly synonymous with mobile health, however key challenges of 'Big Data and mobile health', remain largely untackled. This is becoming particularly important with the continued deluge of the structured and unstructured data sets generated on daily basis from the proliferation of mobile health applications within different healthcare systems and products globally. The aim of this paper is of twofold. First we present the relevant big data issues from the mobile health (m-Health) perspective. In particular we discuss these issues from the technological areas and building blocks (communications, sensors and computing) of mobile health and the newly defined (m-Health 2.0) concept. The second objective is to present the relevant rapprochement issues of big m-Health data analytics with m-Health. Further, we also present the current and future roles of machine and deep learning within the current smart phone centric m-health model. The critical balance between these two important areas will depend on how different stakeholder from patients, clinicians, healthcare providers, medical and m-health market businesses and regulators will perceive these developments. These new perspectives are essential for better understanding the fine balance between the new insights of how intelligent and connected the future mobile health systems will look like and the inherent risks and clinical complexities associated with the big data sets and analytical tools used in these systems. These topics will be subject for extensive work and investigations in the foreseeable future for the areas of data analytics, computational and artificial intelligence methods applied for mobile health

Can we rely on the antiretroviral treatment as the only means for human immunodeficiency virusprevention? A Public Health perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Mozalevskis, Antons; Manzanares-Laya, Sandra; García de Olalla, Patricia; Moreno, Antonio; Jacques-Aviñó, Constanza; Caylà, Joan A

2015-11-01

The evidence that supports the preventive effect of combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) in HIV sexual transmission suggested the so-called 'treatment as prevention' (TAP) strategy as a promising tool for slowing down HIV transmission. As the messages and attitudes towards condom use in the context of TAP appear to be somehow confusing, the aim here is to assess whether relying on cART alone to prevent HIV transmission can currently be recommended from the Public Health perspective. A review is made of the literature on the effects of TAP strategy on HIV transmission and the epidemiology of other sexual transmitted infections (STIs) in the cART era, and recommendations from Public Health institutions on the TAP as of February 2014. The evolution of HIV and other STIs in Barcelona from 2007 to 2012 has also been analysed. Given that the widespread use of cART has coincided with an increasing incidence of HIV and other STIs, mainly amongst men who have sex with men, a combination and diversified prevention methods should always be considered and recommended in counselling. An informed decision on whether to stop using condoms should only be made by partners within stable couples, and after receiving all the up-to-date information regarding TAP. From the public health perspective, primary prevention should be a priority; therefore relying on cART alone is not a sufficient strategy to prevent new HIV and other STIs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.

Enteric Protozoa in the Developed World: a Public Health Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Stephanie M.; Stark, Damien; Harkness, John

2012-01-01

Summary: Several enteric protozoa cause severe morbidity and mortality in both humans and animals worldwide. In developed settings, enteric protozoa are often ignored as a cause of diarrheal illness due to better hygiene conditions, and as such, very little effort is used toward laboratory diagnosis. Although these protozoa contribute to the high burden of infectious diseases, estimates of their true prevalence are sometimes affected by the lack of sensitive diagnostic techniques to detect them in clinical and environmental specimens. Despite recent advances in the epidemiology, molecular biology, and treatment of protozoan illnesses, gaps in knowledge still exist, requiring further research. There is evidence that climate-related changes will contribute to their burden due to displacement of ecosystems and human and animal populations, increases in atmospheric temperature, flooding and other environmental conditions suitable for transmission, and the need for the reuse of alternative water sources to meet growing population needs. This review discusses the common enteric protozoa from a public health perspective, highlighting their epidemiology, modes of transmission, prevention, and control. It also discusses the potential impact of climate changes on their epidemiology and the issues surrounding waterborne transmission and suggests a multidisciplinary approach to their prevention and control. PMID:22763633

Parent Perspectives on Community Mental Health Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Brookman-Frazee, Lauren; Baker-Ericzen, Mary; Stadnick, Nicole; Taylor, Robin

2012-01-01

The community mental health (CMH) system provides treatment for behavioral and psychiatric problems in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although parent stakeholder perspectives are important to improving care, these perspectives have not been systematically examined for this population in the CMH sector. Twenty-one semi-structured…

Linking human health and livestock health: a "one-health" platform for integrated analysis of human health, livestock health, and economic welfare in livestock dependent communities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S M Thumbi

Full Text Available For most rural households in sub-Saharan Africa, healthy livestock play a key role in averting the burden associated with zoonotic diseases, and in meeting household nutritional and socio-economic needs. However, there is limited understanding of the complex nutritional, socio-economic, and zoonotic pathways that link livestock health to human health and welfare. Here we describe a platform for integrated human health, animal health and economic welfare analysis designed to address this challenge. We provide baseline epidemiological data on disease syndromes in humans and the animals they keep, and provide examples of relationships between human health, animal health and household socio-economic status.We designed a study to obtain syndromic disease data in animals along with economic and behavioral information for 1500 rural households in Western Kenya already participating in a human syndromic disease surveillance study. Data collection started in February 2013, and each household is visited bi-weekly and data on four human syndromes (fever, jaundice, diarrhea and respiratory illness and nine animal syndromes (death, respiratory, reproductive, musculoskeletal, nervous, urogenital, digestive, udder disorders, and skin disorders in cattle, sheep, goats and chickens are collected. Additionally, data from a comprehensive socio-economic survey is collected every 3 months in each of the study households.Data from the first year of study showed 93% of the households owned at least one form of livestock (55%, 19%, 41% and 88% own cattle, sheep, goats and chickens respectively. Digestive disorders, mainly diarrhea episodes, were the most common syndromes observed in cattle, goats and sheep, accounting for 56% of all livestock syndromes, followed by respiratory illnesses (18%. In humans, respiratory illnesses accounted for 54% of all illnesses reported, followed by acute febrile illnesses (40% and diarrhea illnesses (5%. While controlling for household

Linking human health and livestock health: a "one-health" platform for integrated analysis of human health, livestock health, and economic welfare in livestock dependent communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Thumbi, S M; Njenga, M Kariuki; Marsh, Thomas L; Noh, Susan; Otiang, Elkanah; Munyua, Peninah; Ochieng, Linus; Ogola, Eric; Yoder, Jonathan; Audi, Allan; Montgomery, Joel M; Bigogo, Godfrey; Breiman, Robert F; Palmer, Guy H; McElwain, Terry F

2015-01-01

For most rural households in sub-Saharan Africa, healthy livestock play a key role in averting the burden associated with zoonotic diseases, and in meeting household nutritional and socio-economic needs. However, there is limited understanding of the complex nutritional, socio-economic, and zoonotic pathways that link livestock health to human health and welfare. Here we describe a platform for integrated human health, animal health and economic welfare analysis designed to address this challenge. We provide baseline epidemiological data on disease syndromes in humans and the animals they keep, and provide examples of relationships between human health, animal health and household socio-economic status. We designed a study to obtain syndromic disease data in animals along with economic and behavioral information for 1500 rural households in Western Kenya already participating in a human syndromic disease surveillance study. Data collection started in February 2013, and each household is visited bi-weekly and data on four human syndromes (fever, jaundice, diarrhea and respiratory illness) and nine animal syndromes (death, respiratory, reproductive, musculoskeletal, nervous, urogenital, digestive, udder disorders, and skin disorders in cattle, sheep, goats and chickens) are collected. Additionally, data from a comprehensive socio-economic survey is collected every 3 months in each of the study households. Data from the first year of study showed 93% of the households owned at least one form of livestock (55%, 19%, 41% and 88% own cattle, sheep, goats and chickens respectively). Digestive disorders, mainly diarrhea episodes, were the most common syndromes observed in cattle, goats and sheep, accounting for 56% of all livestock syndromes, followed by respiratory illnesses (18%). In humans, respiratory illnesses accounted for 54% of all illnesses reported, followed by acute febrile illnesses (40%) and diarrhea illnesses (5%). While controlling for household size, the

Climate change and human health: a One Health approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Patz, Jonathan A; Hahn, Micah B

2013-01-01

Climate change adds complexity and uncertainty to human health issues such as emerging infectious diseases, food security, and national sustainability planning that intensify the importance of interdisciplinary and collaborative research. Collaboration between veterinary, medical, and public health professionals to understand the ecological interactions and reactions to flux in a system can facilitate clearer understanding of climate change impacts on environmental, animal, and human health. Here we present a brief introduction to climate science and projections for the next century and a review of current knowledge on the impacts of climate-driven environmental change on human health. We then turn to the links between ecological and evolutionary responses to climate change and health. The literature on climate impacts on biological systems is rich in both content and historical data, but the connections between these changes and human health is less understood. We discuss five mechanisms by which climate changes impacts on biological systems will be felt by the human population: Modifications in Vector, Reservoir, and Pathogen Lifecycles; Diseases of Domestic and Wild Animals and Plants; Disruption of Synchrony Between Interacting Species; Trophic Cascades; and Alteration or Destruction of Habitat. Each species responds to environmental changes differently, and in order to predict the movement of disease through ecosystems, we have to rely on expertise from the fields of veterinary, medical, and public health, and these health professionals must take into account the dynamic nature of ecosystems in a changing climate.

Mental health nurses' perspective of workplace violence in Jordanian mental health hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Azzam, Manar; Al-Sagarat, Ahmad Yahya; Tawalbeh, Loai; Poedel, Robin J

2017-10-27

The purpose was to assess the mental health nurses' perspectives of workplace violence in mental health departments in Jordan. A cross-sectional correlation study was utilized to address the study's purposes. Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires from nurses working in governmental mental health departments in Jordan. The findings indicated that 80% of the respondents were victims of at least one violent act in the last 2 years. Verbal abuse was the most indicated type of violence. Patients were considered the main source of violence. Policies and legislations addressing workplace violence should be implemented, and nurses should be trained on using such policies. Hospital managers should create a safe work environment by enforcing effective security measures and maintaining adequate staffing. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Radiation in the human environment: health effects, safety and acceptability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, A.J.; Anderer, J.

1990-01-01

This paper reports selectively on three other aspects of radiation (used throughout to mean ionizing radiation) in the human environment: the human health effects of radiation, radiation safety policy and practices, and the acceptability of scientifically justified practices involving radiation exposures. Our argument is that the science of radiation biology, the judgemental techniques of radiation safety, and the social domain of radiation acceptability express different types of expertise that should complement - and not conflict with or substitute for - one another. Unfortunately, communication problems have arisen among these three communities and even between the various disciplines represented within a community. These problems have contributed greatly to the misperceptions many people have about radiation and which are frustrating a constructive dialogue on how radiation can be harnessed to benefit mankind. Our analysis seeks to assist those looking for a strategic perspective from which to reflect on their interaction with practices involving radiation exposures. (author)

Oceans and Human Health: Linking Ocean, Organism, and Human Health for Sustainable Management of Coastal Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Sandifer, P. A.; Trtanj, J.; Collier, T. K.

2012-12-01

Scientists and policy-makers are increasingly recognizing that sustainable coastal communities depend on healthy and resilient economies, ecosystems, and people, and that the condition or "health" of the coastal ocean and humans are intimately and inextricably connected. A wealth of ecosystem services provided by ocean and coastal environments are crucial for human survival and well being. Nonetheless, the health of coastal communities, their economies, connected ecosystems and ecosystem services, and people are under increasing threats from health risks associated with environmental degradation, climate change, and unwise land use practices, all of which contribute to growing burdens of naturally-occurring and introduced pathogens, noxious algae, and chemical contaminants. The occurrence, frequency, intensity, geographic range, and number and kinds of ocean health threats are increasing, with concomitant health and economic effects and eroding public confidence in the safety and wholesomeness of coastal environments and resources. Concerns in the research and public health communities, many summarized in the seminal 1999 NRC Report, From Monsoons to Microbes and the 2004 final report of the US Commission on Ocean Policy, resulted in establishment of a new "meta-discipline" known as Oceans and Human Health (OHH). OHH brings together practitioners in oceanography, marine biology, ecology, biomedical science, medicine, economics and other social sciences, epidemiology, environmental management, and public health to focus on water- and food-borne causes of human and animal illnesses associated with ocean and coastal systems and on health benefits of seafood and other marine products. It integrates information across multiple disciplines to increase knowledge of ocean health risks and benefits and communicate such information to enhance public safety. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach to ocean health threats and benefits, Congress passed the Oceans and

A Culture Of Health And Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Mariner, Wendy K; Annas, George J

2016-11-01

A culture of health can be seen as a social norm that values health as the nation's priority or as an appeal to improve the social determinants of health. Better population health will require changing social and economic policies. Effective changes are unlikely unless health advocates can leverage a framework broader than health to mobilize political action in collaboration with non-health sector advocates. We suggest that human rights-the dominant international source of norms for government responsibilities-provides this broader framework. Human rights, as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enforceable treaties, require governments to assure their populations nondiscriminatory access to food, water, education, work, social security, and a standard of living adequate for health and well-being. The policies needed to realize human rights also improve population health, well-being, and equity. Aspirations for human rights are strong enough to endure beyond inevitable setbacks to specific causes. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

A Survey on M2M Systems for mHealth: A Wireless Communications Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elli Kartsakli

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In the new era of connectivity, marked by the explosive number of wireless electronic devices and the need for smart and pervasive applications, Machine-to-Machine (M2M communications are an emerging technology that enables the seamless device interconnection without the need of human interaction. The use of M2M technology can bring to life a wide range of mHealth applications, with considerable benefits for both patients and healthcare providers. Many technological challenges have to be met, however, to ensure the widespread adoption of mHealth solutions in the future. In this context, we aim to provide a comprehensive survey on M2M systems for mHealth applications from a wireless communication perspective. An end-to-end holistic approach is adopted, focusing on different communication aspects of the M2M architecture. Hence, we first provide a systematic review ofWireless Body Area Networks (WBANs, which constitute the enabling technology at the patient’s side, and then discuss end-to-end solutions that involve the design and implementation of practical mHealth applications. We close the survey by identifying challenges and open research issues, thus paving the way for future research opportunities.

Health and Labour from the Perspective of Railway Dock workers in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valdecir Costa

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this study is to understand and analyse the perspective of dockworkers on health and labour at the Railway Dry Port of the Municipality of Uruguaiana in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS, Brazil. Sixteen dockworkers participated in the study under the methodological approach of qualitative research. The fieldwork was conducted through individual interviews by applying a semi-structured research script with open-ended questions. For the data analysis, the "discourse analysis" method was adopted, leading to the definition of five thematic categories of interpretation. From the perspective of dockworkers, dock work differs in both the weight of toil, which is hard and intense, and the sense of satisfaction regarding the collaborative and collective aspect of labour, emphasising the human side of labour. Several reports on work accidents and the identification of hazards that may be avoided by implementing changes in the organisation and work conditions were also noted.

Health and Labour from the Perspective of Railway Dock workers in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Valdecir; Souza, Katia Reis; Teixeira, Liliane Reis; Hedlund, Charles Jopar; Fernandes Filho, Luiz Antonio; Cardoso, Letícia Silveira

2015-04-01

The main goal of this study is to understand and analyse the perspective of dockworkers on health and labour at the Railway Dry Port of the Municipality of Uruguaiana in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. Sixteen dockworkers participated in the study under the methodological approach of qualitative research. The fieldwork was conducted through individual interviews by applying a semi-structured research script with open-ended questions. For the data analysis, the "discourse analysis" method was adopted, leading to the definition of five thematic categories of interpretation. From the perspective of dockworkers, dock work differs in both the weight of toil, which is hard and intense, and the sense of satisfaction regarding the collaborative and collective aspect of labour, emphasising the human side of labour. Several reports on work accidents and the identification of hazards that may be avoided by implementing changes in the organisation and work conditions were also noted.

Canadian governance of health research involving human subjects: is anybody minding the store?

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, M

2001-01-01

From an ethical perspective, good governance involves the translation of collective moral intentions into effective and accountable institutional actions. With respect to the use of human subjects in Canadian health research, I contend that there have been many good intentions but very little in the way of appropriate governance arrangements. Hence, the question, "who minds the store?" is especially acute with respect to the protection of vulnerable individuals and groups that are typically recruited as subjects for health research in Canada. Beyond diagnosing failures in governance and their causes, I offer suggestions for significant reforms, including evidence-based ethics assessment, independent oversight, and greater participation of research subjects in governance. I will close with some more general reflections on ethics, law, and governance.

Unnecessary work tasks and mental health: a prospective analysis of Danish human service workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Madsen, Ida E H; Tripathi, Manisha; Borritz, Marianne; Rugulies, Reiner

2014-11-01

According to the "stress-as-offense-to-self" perspective, work tasks that are considered unnecessary or unreasonable - so-called "illegitimate work tasks" - are likely to elicit stress-reactions. Previous studies, mostly cross-sectional, have shown that illegitimate tasks are associated with increased self-reported stress, cortisol, and counterproductive work behavior. In this article, we examine the prospective association between unnecessary work tasks, one type of illegitimate work tasks, and mental health among Danish human service workers. Further, we explore whether this association is modified by sex, age, occupational position, and baseline mental health status. The data were obtained from self-administered questionnaires from 1351 Danish human service workers in three waves of data-collection during 1999-2005. We measured unnecessary work tasks by a single item, and assessed mental health using the 5-item mental health inventory from the Short form 36 questionnaire. We analyzed data using multi-level modeling, adjusting for potential confounding by sex, age, cohabitation, occupational position, and baseline mental health. Unnecessary work tasks were prospectively associated with a decreased level of mental health. This association was stronger for employees with poor baseline mental health and tended to be more pronounced among older employees. Among participants with poor baseline mental health, the association was explained by neither psychological demands nor decision latitude. Our findings suggest that the prevention of unnecessary work tasks may benefit employee mental health, particularly among employees with pre-existing mental health problems.

Seaweed and human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Emma S; Allsopp, Philip J; Magee, Pamela J; Gill, Chris I R; Nitecki, Sonja; Strain, Conall R; McSorley, Emeir M

2014-03-01

Seaweeds may have an important role in modulating chronic disease. Rich in unique bioactive compounds not present in terrestrial food sources, including different proteins (lectins, phycobiliproteins, peptides, and amino acids), polyphenols, and polysaccharides, seaweeds are a novel source of compounds with potential to be exploited in human health applications. Purported benefits include antiviral, anticancer, and anticoagulant properties as well as the ability to modulate gut health and risk factors for obesity and diabetes. Though the majority of studies have been performed in cell and animal models, there is evidence of the beneficial effect of seaweed and seaweed components on markers of human health and disease status. This review is the first to critically evaluate these human studies, aiming to draw attention to gaps in current knowledge, which will aid the planning and implementation of future studies.

Informing Sexual Health Intervention Development in India: Perspectives of Daughters, Mothers, and Service Providers in Mumbai

Science.gov (United States)

Adelson, Emiliya; Maitra, Shubhada; Nastasi, Bonnie K.

2017-01-01

In India, girls face many challenges that pose a threat to their sexual health and psychological well-being. The authors explore sexual health from the perspectives of adolescent girls, mothers of adolescent girls, and service providers. Focus groups and interview data were analyzed to understand the unique and shared perspectives of stakeholders.…

Fasting: Benefits and probable health harmfulness from the Islamic perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdi Ebrahimi

2015-06-01

Medical science can determine the effects and consequences of thirst and hunger during the month of Ramadan. In the religious perspective, it has been emphasized that fasting is for achieving the divine virtue, and this shouldn’t be in conflict with maintaining man’s health. Therefore, the conditions in which there is the probability of harmfulness to man’s health due to fasting, man shouldn’t fast. As a result, medical science could recognize the conditions in which there is probable harmfulness to man’s health.

Can hospitals prohibit euthanasia? An analysis from a European human rights perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Tack, Sylvie

2011-06-01

At present, in four European countries euthanasia and/ or physician assisted suicide (PAS) are tolerated under strict legal conditions. However, in practice these patient groups are often deprived of the possibility to undergo such decisions. Particularly Catholic health care institutions have developed policies which restrict the internal application of the law. Yet, the legitimacy of such policies is questionable. From a European human rights perspective it can be defended that the freedom of association allows hospitals to develop policies elaborating their ethical stances on euthanasia and PAS. However, to respect the patient's right to self-determination the concerned hospitals should at least inform current and future patients about the restrictive policy and deal carefully with euthanasia and PAS requests. If a patient's wish remains seriously incompatible with the ethical stances of the hospital, at least reasonable and attainable alternatives (such as a referral to a tolerant regional hospital) should be offered.

Improving employee well-being through worksite health promotion? The employees' perspective

OpenAIRE

Nöhammer , Elisabeth; Stummer , Harald; Schusterschitz , Claudia

2010-01-01

Abstract Aim The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of worksite health promotion to improve individual well-being from the employees? perspective, analyze benefit categories and develop suggestions for future worksite health promotion program designs. Subjects and methods A questionnaire based on a qualitative study was distributed in four Austrian organizations to cover state-owned,...

Facilitating job retention for chronically ill employees: perspectives of line managers and human resource managers.

Science.gov (United States)

Haafkens, Joke A; Kopnina, Helen; Meerman, Martha G M; van Dijk, Frank J H

2011-05-17

Chronic diseases are a leading contributor to work disability and job loss in Europe. Recent EU policies aim to improve job retention among chronically ill employees. Disability and occupational health researchers argue that this requires a coordinated and pro-active approach at the workplace by occupational health professionals, line managers (LMs) and human resource managers (HRM). Little is known about the perspectives of LMs an HRM on what is needed to facilitate job retention among chronically ill employees. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore and compare the perspectives of Dutch LMs and HRM on this issue. Concept mapping methodology was used to elicit and map statements (ideas) from 10 LMs and 17 HRM about what is needed to ensure continued employment for chronically ill employees. Study participants were recruited through a higher education and an occupational health services organization. Participants generated 35 statements. Each group (LMs and HRM) sorted these statements into six thematic clusters. LMs and HRM identified four similar clusters: LMs and HRM must be knowledgeable about the impact of chronic disease on the employee; employees must accept responsibility for work retention; work adaptations must be implemented; and clear company policy. Thematic clusters identified only by LMs were: good manager/employee cooperation and knowledge transfer within the company. Unique clusters identified by HRM were: company culture and organizational support. There were both similarities and differences between the views of LMs and HRM on what may facilitate job retention for chronically ill employees. LMs perceived manager/employee cooperation as the most important mechanism for enabling continued employment for these employees. HRM perceived organizational policy and culture as the most important mechanism. The findings provide information about topics that occupational health researchers and planners should address in developing job retention

Facilitating job retention for chronically ill employees: perspectives of line managers and human resource managers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meerman Martha GM

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Chronic diseases are a leading contributor to work disability and job loss in Europe. Recent EU policies aim to improve job retention among chronically ill employees. Disability and occupational health researchers argue that this requires a coordinated and pro-active approach at the workplace by occupational health professionals, line managers (LMs and human resource managers (HRM. Little is known about the perspectives of LMs an HRM on what is needed to facilitate job retention among chronically ill employees. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore and compare the perspectives of Dutch LMs and HRM on this issue. Methods Concept mapping methodology was used to elicit and map statements (ideas from 10 LMs and 17 HRM about what is needed to ensure continued employment for chronically ill employees. Study participants were recruited through a higher education and an occupational health services organization. Results Participants generated 35 statements. Each group (LMs and HRM sorted these statements into six thematic clusters. LMs and HRM identified four similar clusters: LMs and HRM must be knowledgeable about the impact of chronic disease on the employee; employees must accept responsibility for work retention; work adaptations must be implemented; and clear company policy. Thematic clusters identified only by LMs were: good manager/employee cooperation and knowledge transfer within the company. Unique clusters identified by HRM were: company culture and organizational support. Conclusions There were both similarities and differences between the views of LMs and HRM on what may facilitate job retention for chronically ill employees. LMs perceived manager/employee cooperation as the most important mechanism for enabling continued employment for these employees. HRM perceived organizational policy and culture as the most important mechanism. The findings provide information about topics that occupational health

Alcohol advertising and public health: systems perspectives versus narrow perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Petticrew, M; Shemilt, I; Lorenc, T; Marteau, T M; Melendez-Torres, G J; O'Mara-Eves, A; Stautz, K; Thomas, J

2017-03-01

Alcohol consumption is influenced by a complex causal system of interconnected psychological, behavioural, social, economic, legal and environmental factors. These factors are shaped by governments (eg, licensing laws and taxation), by consumers (eg, patterns of alcohol consumption drive demand) and by alcohol industry practices, such as advertising. The marketing and advertising of alcoholic products contributes to an 'alcogenic environment' and is a modifiable influence on alcohol consumption and harm. The public health perspective is that there is sufficient evidence that alcohol advertising influences consumption. The alcohol industry disputes this, asserting that advertising only aims to help consumers choose between brands. We review the evidence from recent systematic reviews, including their theoretical and methodological assumptions, to help understand what conclusions can be drawn about the relationships between alcohol advertising, advertising restrictions and alcohol consumption. A wide evidence base needs to be drawn on to provide a system-level overview of the relationship between alcohol advertising, advertising restrictions and consumption. Advertising aims to influence not just consumption, but also to influence awareness, attitudes and social norms; this is because advertising is a system-level intervention with multiple objectives. Given this, assessments of the effects of advertising restrictions which focus only on sales or consumption are insufficient and may be misleading. For this reason, previous systematic reviews, such as the 2014 Cochrane review on advertising restrictions (Siegfried et al ) contribute important, but incomplete representations of 'the evidence' needed to inform the public health case for policy decisions on alcohol advertising. We conclude that an unintended consequence of narrow, linear framings of complex system-level issues is that they can produce misleading answers. Systems problems require systems perspectives

Global health in the European Union--a review from an agenda-setting perspective.

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Aluttis, Christoph; Krafft, Thomas; Brand, Helmut

2014-01-01

This review attempts to analyse the global health agenda-setting process in the European Union (EU). We give an overview of the European perspective on global health, making reference to the developments that led to the EU acknowledging its role as a global health actor. The article thereby focuses in particular on the European interpretation of its role in global health from 2010, which was formalised through, respectively, a European Commission Communication and European Council Conclusions. Departing from there, and based on Kingdon's multiple streams theory on agenda setting, we identify some barriers that seem to hinder the further establishment and promotion of a solid global health agenda in the EU. The main barriers for creating a strong European global health agenda are the fragmentation of the policy community and the lack of a common definition for global health in Europe. Forwarding the agenda in Europe for global health requires more clarification of the common goals and perspectives of the policy community and the use of arising windows of opportunity.

Independent older adults perspectives on oral health.

Science.gov (United States)

Khabra, K K; Compton, S M; Keenan, L P

2017-11-01

The purpose of this study was to explore oral health experiences from the perspective of older adults' living in community dwellings. The two objectives of this study were to identify facilitators and barriers to oral health care, and to determine how utilization of oral health services compares to utilization of other healthcare services. An interpretive descriptive methodology was employed with a purposive sample of 12 adults, aged 70 years or older. The inclusion criterion was English-speaking seniors residing in community dwellings. Community dwellings were defined as any housing outside of long-term care or other supportive living facilities. Semi-structured interviews were 30-80 min, audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Three researchers participated in the comparative analysis process to develop codes, generate categories, interpret patterns and construct themes. Three central themes surfacing from the data were as follows: life course influences on oral health, transparency in delivery of oral health services and interrelationships between oral health and overall health. Older adults in this study emphasized the value of establishing collaborative and trusting relationships between oral health practitioners and older adults. Oral health practitioners should be clear and transparent when communicating information about oral health costs and be cognizant of different circumstances from childhood to older adulthood that inhibit or promote routine utilization of oral health services. Including oral health services as part of interdisciplinary care teams could help promote understandings of the reciprocal relationship between oral health and general health and improve oral health status for older adults. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Global health-a circumpolar perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chatwood, Susan; Bjerregaard, Peter; Young, T Kue

2012-01-01

Global health should encompass circumpolar health if it is to transcend the traditional approach of the "rich North" assisting the "poor South." Although the eight Arctic states are among the world's most highly developed countries, considerable health disparities exist among regions across...... the Arctic, as well as between northern and southern regions and between indigenous and nonindigenous populations within some of these states. While sharing commonalities such as a sparse population, geographical remoteness, harsh physical environment, and underdeveloped human resources, circumpolar regions...... in the northern hemisphere have developed different health systems, strategies, and practices, some of which are relevant to middle and lower income countries. As the Arctic gains prominence as a sentinel of global issues such as climate change, the health of circumpolar populations should be part of the global...

Nonegalitarian Social Responsibility for Health: A Confucian Perspective on Article 14 of the UNESCO Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.

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Fan, Ruiping

2016-01-01

This essay offers a Confucian evaluation of Article 14 of the UNESCO Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, with a focus given to its statement that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being." It indicates that "a right to health" contained in the statement is open to two different interpretations, one radically egalitarian, another a decent minimum. It shows that Confucianism has strong moral considerations to reject the radical egalitarian interpretation, and argues that a Confucian nonegalitarian health distribution ethics of differentiated and graded love and obligation can reasonably be supported with a right to the decent minimum of health at the international level.

Nonegalitarian Social Responsibility for Health: A Confucian Perspective on Article 14 of the UNESCO: Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Ruiping

2016-06-01

This essay offers a Confucian evaluation of Article 14 of the UNESCO Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, with a focus given to its statement that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being." It indicates that "a right to health" contained in the statement is open to two different interpretations, one radically egalitarian, another a decent minimum. It shows that Confucianism has strong moral considerations to reject the radical egalitarian interpretation, and argues that a Confucian nonegalitarian health distribution ethics of differentiated and graded love and obligation can reasonably be supported with a right to the decent minimum of health at the international level.

Analysis of ehealth search perspectives among female college students in the health professions using Q methodology.

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Stellefson, Michael; Hanik, Bruce; Chaney, J Don; Tennant, Bethany

2012-04-27

The current "Millennial Generation" of college students majoring in the health professions has unprecedented access to the Internet. Although some research has been initiated among medical professionals to investigate the cognitive basis for health information searches on the Internet, little is known about Internet search practices among health and medical professional students. To systematically identify health professional college student perspectives of personal eHealth search practices. Q methodology was used to examine subjective perspectives regarding personal eHealth search practices among allied health students majoring in a health education degree program. Thirteen (n = 13) undergraduate students were interviewed about their attitudes and experiences conducting eHealth searches. From the interviews, 36 statements were used in a structured ranking task to identify clusters and determine which specific perceptions of eHealth search practices discriminated students into different groups. Scores on an objective measure of eHealth literacy were used to help categorize participant perspectives. Q-technique factor analysis of the rankings identified 3 clusters of respondents with differing views on eHealth searches that generally coincided with participants' objective eHealth literacy scores. The proficient resourceful students (pattern/structure coefficient range 0.56-0.80) described themselves as using multiple resources to obtain eHealth information, as opposed to simply relying on Internet search engines. The intermediate reluctant students (pattern/structure coefficient range 0.75-0.90) reported engaging only Internet search engines to locate eHealth information, citing undeveloped evaluation skills when considering sources of information located on the Internet. Both groups of advanced students reported not knowing how to use Boolean operators to conduct Internet health searches. The basic hubristic students (pattern/structure coefficient range 0

Chile: perspectives in school health.

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Langdon, M C; Gazmuri, C; Venegas, L

1990-09-01

The leading health problems of children and adolescents in Chile is reviewed. The Chilean educational system and how the system addresses its principal health problems are described. A school health program is described as well as other educational programs designed and developed by nongovernmental institutions which have a smaller coverage. Current research studies regarding growth and development, child morbidity, nutritional level, and mental health studies are reviewed. In addition, principal challenges that include developing more efficient ways of referring children, enriching the curriculum and teacher training, assigning school hours for health teachers, and enlarging coverage of the health care evaluation programs are outlined. Of special importance is developing prevention programs for parents and children using school and community leaders to prevent health problems in areas such as human sexuality education, decision-making, social abilities, and alcohol and drug abuse. Main efforts should be directed toward low-income families and children to improve life conditions.

Teachers' Perspectives on the Human-Nature Relationship: Implications for Environmental Education

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Antonio; Vasconcelos, Clara

2013-01-01

This study based on a theoretical framework of three main environmental perspectives in the human-nature relationship (anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism), aimed to identify their incidence in teachers involved with environmental projects when confronted with diverse environmental issues. 60 teachers drawn from four school cycles in…

Planetary health: protecting human health on a rapidly changing planet.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Samuel S

2018-12-23

The impact of human activities on our planet's natural systems has been intensifying rapidly in the past several decades, leading to disruption and transformation of most natural systems. These disruptions in the atmosphere, oceans, and across the terrestrial land surface are not only driving species to extinction, they pose serious threats to human health and wellbeing. Characterising and addressing these threats requires a paradigm shift. In a lecture delivered to the Academy of Medical Sciences on Nov 13, 2017, I describe the scale of human impacts on natural systems and the extensive associated health effects across nearly every dimension of human health. I highlight several overarching themes that emerge from planetary health and suggest advances in the way we train, reward, promote, and fund the generation of health scientists who will be tasked with breaking out of their disciplinary silos to address this urgent constellation of health threats. I propose that protecting the health of future generations requires taking better care of Earth's natural systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decision science a human-oriented perspective

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Mengov, George

2015-01-01

This book offers a new perspective on human decision-making by comparing the established methods in decision science with innovative modelling at the level of neurons and neural interactions. The book presents a new generation of computer models, which can predict with astonishing accuracy individual economic choices when people make them by quick intuition rather than by effort. A vision for a new kind of social science is outlined, whereby neural models of emotion and cognition capture the dynamics of socioeconomic systems and virtual social networks. The exposition is approachable by experts as well as by advanced students. The author is an Associate Professor of Decision Science with a doctorate in Computational Neuroscience, and a former software consultant to banks in the City of London.  .

Human health risks and socio-economic perspectives of arsenic exposure in Bangladesh: A scoping review.

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Rahman, M Azizur; Rahman, A; Khan, M Zaved Kaiser; Renzaho, Andre M N

2018-04-15

Arsenic contamination of drinking water, which can occur naturally or because of human activities such as mining, is the single most important public health issue in Bangladesh. Fifty out of the 64 districts in the country have arsenic concentration of groundwater exceeding 50µgL -1 , the Bangladeshi threshold, affecting 35-77 million people or 21-48% of the total population. Chronic arsenic exposure through drinking water and other dietary sources is an important public health issue worldwide affecting hundreds of millions of people. Consequently, arsenic poisoning has attracted the attention of researchers and has been profiled extensively in the literature. Most of the literature has focused on characterising arsenic poisoning and factors associated with it. However, studies examining the socio-economic aspects of chronic exposure of arsenic through either drinking water or foods remain underexplored. The objectives of this paper are (i) to review arsenic exposure pathways to humans; (ii) to summarise public health impacts of chronic arsenic exposure; and (iii) to examine socio-economic implications and consequences of arsenicosis with a focus on Bangladesh. This scoping review evaluates the contributions of different exposure pathways by analysing arsenic concentrations in dietary and non-dietary sources. The socio-economic consequences of arsenicosis disease in Bangladesh are discussed in this review by considering food habits, nutritional status, socio-economic conditions, and socio-cultural behaviours of the people of the country. The pathways of arsenic exposure in Bangladesh include drinking water, various plant foods and non-dietary sources such as soil. Arsenic affected people are often abandoned by the society, lose their jobs and get divorced and are forced to live a sub-standard life. The fragile public health system in Bangladesh has been burdened by the management of thousands of arsenicosis victims in Bangladesh. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc

Maltese Students' Perspectives about Their Experiences at School and Their Mental Health

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Askell-Williams, Helen; Cefai, Carmel; Fabri, Francis

2013-01-01

In this article we report Maltese primary and secondary students' perspectives about their school experiences and their mental health. Questionnaires were completed by 281 students. Relationships emerged between students' reports about their involvement in bullying, mental health status, and a range of typical features of school environments. A…

[The flexibilization of the Brazilian legislation on pesticides and the risks to human health: analysis of Bill of Law 3,200/2015].

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Mirella Dias; Cavendish, Thais Araújo; Bueno, Priscila Campos; Ervilha, Iara Campos; Gregório, Luisa De Sordi; Kanashiro, Natiela Beatriz de Oliveira; Rohlfs, Daniela Buosi; Carmo, Thenille Faria Machado do

2017-07-27

This article aims to contribute to a reflection on pesticides, based on the Brazilian legal framework, from the perspective of protecting human health and the environment. This initiative is due to successive attempts to flexibilize the regulation of pesticides in Brazil, through bills of law in progress in the Brazilian National Congress. An analysis of Bill of Law 3,200/2015 was carried out. This bill of law represents a major setback to the legislative achievements for the regulation of pesticides, in order to alert to the risks to human health from exposure to these products and aggravated by other similar proposals.

Barriers to health education in adolescents: health care providers' perspectives compared to high school adolescents.

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Abedian, Kobra; Shahhosseini, Zohreh

2015-11-01

Although adolescence is marked by profound and dynamic changes, it is virtually neglected by health care providers, by society, and even by most parents, teachers, and health professionals. The aim of this study was to investigate barriers to health education in adolescents from health care providers' views compared to teens. The study population consisted of 72 health care providers and 402 high school female students in Northern Iran in 2012. They completed a self-administered questionnaire about their views on barriers to adolescents' health education. It is revealed that the major barrier to adolescents' health education from a health care providers' perspective is "Lack of private room for adolescents' health education", while "Lack of adolescents' interest to content of educational programs" is a significantly greater barrier to health education among adolescents. The results suggest that for adolescent health education, specific strategies should be used in adolescent health promotion programs.

Uncertainties in human health risk assessment of environmental contaminants: A review and perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Zhaomin; Liu, Yanju; Duan, Luchun; Bekele, Dawit; Naidu, Ravi

2015-12-01

Addressing uncertainties in human health risk assessment is a critical issue when evaluating the effects of contaminants on public health. A range of uncertainties exist through the source-to-outcome continuum, including exposure assessment, hazard and risk characterisation. While various strategies have been applied to characterising uncertainty, classical approaches largely rely on how to maximise the available resources. Expert judgement, defaults and tools for characterising quantitative uncertainty attempt to fill the gap between data and regulation requirements. The experiences of researching 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) illustrated uncertainty sources and how to maximise available information to determine uncertainties, and thereby provide an 'adequate' protection to contaminant exposure. As regulatory requirements and recurring issues increase, the assessment of complex scenarios involving a large number of chemicals requires more sophisticated tools. Recent advances in exposure and toxicology science provide a large data set for environmental contaminants and public health. In particular, biomonitoring information, in vitro data streams and computational toxicology are the crucial factors in the NexGen risk assessment, as well as uncertainties minimisation. Although in this review we cannot yet predict how the exposure science and modern toxicology will develop in the long-term, current techniques from emerging science can be integrated to improve decision-making. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification and Prioritization of Relationships between Environmental Stressors and Adverse Human Health Impacts.

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Bell, Shannon M; Edwards, Stephen W

2015-11-01

There are > 80,000 chemicals in commerce with few data available describing their impacts on human health. Biomonitoring surveys, such as the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), offer one route to identifying possible relationships between environmental chemicals and health impacts, but sparse data and the complexity of traditional models make it difficult to leverage effectively. We describe a workflow to efficiently and comprehensively evaluate and prioritize chemical-health impact relationships from the NHANES biomonitoring survey studies. Using a frequent itemset mining (FIM) approach, we identified relationships between chemicals and health biomarkers and diseases. The FIM method identified 7,848 relationships between 219 chemicals and 93 health outcomes/biomarkers. Two case studies used to evaluate the FIM rankings demonstrate that the FIM approach is able to identify published relationships. Because the relationships are derived from the vast majority of the chemicals monitored by NHANES, the resulting list of associations is appropriate for evaluating results from targeted data mining or identifying novel candidate relationships for more detailed investigation. Because of the computational efficiency of the FIM method, all chemicals and health effects can be considered in a single analysis. The resulting list provides a comprehensive summary of the chemical/health co-occurrences from NHANES that are higher than expected by chance. This information enables ranking and prioritization on chemicals or health effects of interest for evaluation of published results and design of future studies. Bell SM, Edwards SW. 2015. Identification and prioritization of relationships between environmental stressors and adverse human health impacts. Environ Health Perspect 123:1193-1199; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409138.

Patient neglect in 21st century health-care institutions: a community health psychology perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Reader, Tom W; Gillespie, Alex; Mannell, Jenevieve

2014-01-01

Despite the technological and organisational advances of 21st century health-care systems, care scandals and burgeoning complaints from patients have raised concerns about patient neglect in hospitals. This article reviews the concept of patient neglect and the role of community health psychology in understanding its occurrence. Patient neglect has previously been conceptualised as a problem associated with hospital staff attitudes and behaviours, with regulation and training cited as solutions. Yet, a community health psychology perspective shows that the wider symbolic, material and relational aspects of care are crucial for understanding why patient neglect occurs and for outlining new solutions to augment existing interventions.

Challenges of Refugee Health Care: Perspectives of Medical Interpreters, Case Managers, and Pharmacists

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Fabiana Kotovicz

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Our objective was to identify perceived challenges in the provision of health care for refugees from the perspective of medical interpreters, case managers, and pharmacists working with refugee patients in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Methods: Two 60-minute focus groups were performed exploring challenges in refugee health care using a literature-based semi-structured protocol. Focus groups were transcribed and de-identified prior to independent analysis by two of the investigators. Using a memoing-process qualitative approach, major concepts, cross-cutting themes, and subthemes were established and ultimately developed a narrative. The project protocol was approved as not human subject research by the local institutional review board. Results: Four overarching themes regarding health care for refugee patients were identified: 1 difficulty balancing the dynamic of autonomy versus support for refugees; 2 educational needs of refugee families outpacing available resources; 3 challenges for refugees developing trust; and 4 diversity of cultures, education levels, and experiences among refugee families. Language barriers in accessing health care services and insufficient time to meet educational needs of refugees were major challenges outside of the clinic visit setting. Poor health literacy and difficulties communicating health needs and building trust within the interactive triad of refugee, physician, and interpreter impacted clinic visits. Conclusions: Refugee patients and other participants in refugee care work to navigate a complicated path to equitable health care for a vulnerable population. Continued pursuit of strategies that increase time allocation, education, and support for all parties are needed as we seek to improve health outcomes for newly arrived refugee families.

Marital Status, Marital Transitions, and Health: A Gendered Life Course Perspective*

OpenAIRE

Williams, Kristi; Umberson, Debra

2004-01-01

We work from a life course perspective to assess the impact of marital status and marital transitions on subsequent changes in the self-assessed physical health of men and women. Our results suggest three central conclusions regarding the association of marital status and marital transitions with self-assessed health. First, marital status differences in health appear to reflect the strains of marital dissolution more than they reflect any benefits of marriage. Second, the strains of marital ...

Biocultural perspectives on women's health.

Science.gov (United States)

1997-04-01

During the 1997 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a session was devoted to biocultural perspectives on women's health in developing countries. The topics covered included female circumcision conducted as part of the traditional wedding ceremony of the Rendille people of Kenya and the deleterious effect of sociocultural factors such as acceptance of premarital sexual intercourse and early child-bearing on the health of adolescent girls in West Africa. A study in Bangladesh sought information on women's health during pregnancy and lactation. Using 19,000 paired questionnaires and urine samples from 493 women representing all reproductive states, pregnancy-related sickness (such as nausea and vomiting) was correlated to hormone levels, maternal age, and fetal loss. Preliminary results contradict a popular belief that incidence of pregnancy-related sickness is associated with a lowered risk of early fetal loss. Another study in Bangladesh revealed that previous research indicating that women in Bangladesh experience menopause eight years sooner than US women was inaccurate. The two-year earlier onset of menopause found in Bangladesh is likely caused by stress-related anovulation. A preliminary literature review has also shown that Bangladeshi women lack significant amounts of phytoestrogens in their diet. Improved knowledge of biocultural factors is sought as a prerequisite for improving medical treatment in developed and developing countries.

Promotion of health and human functionality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Cristhina de Oliveira Brasil

2013-08-01

diverse environmental barriers, whether they are physical, geographic, technological, legal, among others(5. Such health problems that generated those impairments are harmful not only to the citizens but also to the State, since they burden the social security system (health, welfare and social security, leading to decreased quality of life, especially of those affected by such problems. Despite the finding of facts as the major expenses with medium and high complexity services in health, sickness benefit and early retirements that could have been avoided, one can perceive the lack of specific and properly planned actions, the implementation of which depends on political and administrative will and on a paradigm shift regarding the expanded focus on the etiology of all these health problems. And yet, no public policies are known in Brazil, to follow up, in a transversal and integral way, all the stages of the life cycle or to delineate the profile of functionality and the monitoring of the incidence of disabilities, but also, in particular, actions focused on future generations, based on the expanded concept of health proposed by WHO and defended in the principles and guidelines of SUS. Far more required than simply creating reintegration services is to avoid / prevent social restriction. Therefore, policies must be drawned with a new perspective on the human being, that respects the constitutional principles and guidelines of the NHS and meet the consequences of demographic and epidemiological transitions in order to promote health so that people live without major disabilities an increased life expectancy that has already been settled in Brazil. At the 13th National Conference on Health, the unprecedented proposal n.144 has been approved on Axis II - Public Policies for Health and Quality of Life: SUS in Social Security and the Pact for Health, along with the motion n. 84, aiming to develop and implement a national health functional policy crossing all health policies

Promotion of Health and Human Functionality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Cristhina de Oliveira Brasil

2013-03-01

environmental barriers, whether they are physical, geographic, technological, legal, among others(5.Such health problems that generated those impairments are harmful not only to the citizens but also to the State, since they burden the social security system (health, welfare and social security, leading to decreased quality of life, especially of those affected by such problems.Despite the finding of facts as the major expenses with medium and high complexity services in health, sickness benefit and early retirements that could have been avoided, one can perceive the lack of specific and properly planned actions, the implementation of which depends on political and administrative will and on a paradigm shift regarding the expanded focus on the etiology of all these health problems.And yet, no public policies are known in Brazil, to follow up, in a transversal and integral way, all the stages of the life cycle or to delineate the profile of functionality and the monitoring of the incidence of disabilities, but also, in particular, actions focused on future generations, based on the expanded concept of health proposed by WHO and defended in the principles and guidelines of SUS.Far more required than simply creating reintegration services is to avoid / prevent social restriction. Therefore, policies must be drawned with a new perspective on the human being, that respects the constitutional principles and guidelines of the NHS and meet the consequences of demographic and epidemiological transitions in order to promote health so that people live without major disabilities an increased life expectancy that has already been settled in Brazil.At the 13th National Conference on Health, the unprecedented proposal n.144 has been approved on Axis II - Public Policies for Health and Quality of Life: SUS in Social Security and the Pact for Health, along with the motion n. 84, aiming to develop and implement a national health functional policy crossing all health policies at their different

Public health nursing, ethics and human rights.

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Ivanov, Luba L; Oden, Tami L

2013-05-01

Public health nursing has a code of ethics that guides practice. This includes the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health, and the Scope and Standards of Public Health Nursing. Human rights and Rights-based care in public health nursing practice are relatively new. They reflect human rights principles as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied to public health practice. As our health care system is restructured and there are new advances in technology and genetics, a focus on providing care that is ethical and respects human rights is needed. Public health nurses can be in the forefront of providing care that reflects an ethical base and a rights-based approach to practice with populations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Future time perspective and health behaviors: temporal framing of self-regulatory processes in physical exercise and dietary behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Gellert, Paul; Ziegelmann, Jochen P; Lippke, Sonia; Schwarzer, Ralf

2012-04-01

Limitations in perceived lifetime can undermine long-term goal striving. Planning is supposed to translate intentions into health behaviors and to operate as a compensatory strategy to overcome goal striving deficits associated with a limited time perspective. Two longitudinal studies were conducted examining the compensatory role of planning: an online survey on fruit and vegetable consumption (N = 909; 16-78 years; follow-up at 4 months) and a questionnaire study on physical exercise in older adults (N = 289; 60-95 years, over a half-year period). Intentions, planning, and behavior were measured in a behavior-specific, future time perspective in a generic manner. Planning mediated between intentions and both health behaviors. Time perspective operated as a moderator, indicating that in individuals with a more limited time perspective, a stronger effect of planning on health behaviors emerged. Planning as a self-regulatory strategy may compensate for a limited time perspective.

The Nature of Geography and Its Perspectives in AP® Human Geography

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Murphy, Alexander B.; Hare, Phillip R.

2016-01-01

AP Human Geography students need to develop an understanding of what it means to examine the world around them from a geographic perspective. Focusing attention on geography's concern with spatial relationships, place characteristics, and geographic context helps student appreciate the nature of the discipline and the insights it offers. These…

Health and Health Care From the Perspective of Intimate Partner Violence Adult Female Victims in Shelters: Impact of IPV, Unmet Needs, Barriers, Experiences, and Preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Wadsworth, Pamela; Kothari, Catherine; Lubwama, Grace; Brown, Cathy L; Frank Benton, Jennifer

Intimate partner violence (IPV) predicts poor health for victims and their children, but little is known about the perspective of victims. This study reports the perspectives of adult female IPV victims about the impact of IPV on their health and barriers of health care access for themselves and their children. The majority rated their health as good to excellent (69%). However, 83.5% indicated that IPV negatively affected their health; 53.5% had unmet health care needs. Mental health care was the most common unmet need for women; children's unmet needs were immunizations and preventive care. Transportation difficulties posed the biggest barrier to health care access.

Practicing governance towards equity in health systems: LMIC perspectives and experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilson, Lucy; Lehmann, Uta; Schneider, Helen

2017-09-15

The unifying theme of the papers in this series is a concern for understanding the everyday practice of governance in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) health systems. Rather than seeing governance as a normative health system goal addressed through the architecture and design of accountability and regulatory frameworks, these papers provide insights into the real-world decision-making of health policy and system actors. Their multiple, routine decisions translate policy intentions into practice - and are filtered through relationships, underpinned by values and norms, influenced by organizational structures and resources, and embedded in historical and socio-political contexts. These decisions are also political acts - in that they influence who accesses benefits and whose voices are heard in decision-making, reinforcing or challenging existing institutional exclusion and power inequalities. In other words, the everyday practice of governance has direct impacts on health system equity.The papers in the series address governance through diverse health policy and system issues, consider actors located at multiple levels of the system and draw on multi-disciplinary perspectives. They present detailed examination of experiences in a range of African and Indian settings, led by authors who live and work in these settings. The overall purpose of the papers in this series is thus to provide an empirical and embedded research perspective on governance and equity in health systems.

Hormones and Antibiotics in Nature: A Laboratory Module Designed to Broaden Undergraduate Perspectives on Typically Human-Centered Topics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolyn F. Weber

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Bringing discovery-based research into undergraduate laboratory courses increases student motivation and learning gains over traditional exercises that merely teach technique or demonstrate well-documented phenomena. Laboratory experiences are further enhanced when they are designed to challenge student perspectives on topics relevant to their lives. To this end, a laboratory module on antibiotics and hormones, which are generally discussed in the context of human health, was developed for students to explore the multifaceted roles of antibiotics and hormones in nature (e.g. interspecies communication via reading primary scientific literature and performing discovery-based experiments. The main objective of this module was to increase the general biological literacy of students as determined by their ability to connect the Five Core Concepts of Biological Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Education: A Call to Action, 2011 to the topics “hormones” and “antibiotics” in pre- and postmodule surveys. After discussing unpublished research findings, cell biology students performed experiments demonstrating that: 1 fungi may promote fern growth via hormone production, 2 novel bacterial isolates in the genus Streptomyces produce antifungal compounds, and 3 subinhibitory antibiotic concentrations may enhance soil bacterial growth. The third finding provided evidence supporting a hypothesis framed in a scientific article that students read and discussed. Student perspectives on premodule surveys focused on roles of hormones and antibiotics in the human body (e.g. development, fighting infection, but their broadened postmodule perspectives encompassed the roles of these molecules in organismal communication and possibly the evolution of multicellularity.

Pushing the boundaries of research on human resources for health: fresh approaches to understanding health worker motivation.

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Bhatnagar, Aarushi; Scott, Kerry; Govender, Veloshnee; George, Asha

2018-04-01

A country's health workforce plays a vital role not only in serving the health needs of the population but also in supporting economic prosperity. Moreover, a well-funded and well-supported health workforce is vital to achieving universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goal 3 to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. This perspective article highlights the potential of underutilized health policy and systems research (HPSR) approaches for developing more effective human resources for health policy. The example of health worker motivation is used to showcase four types of HPSR (exploratory, influence, explanatory and emancipatory) that move beyond describing the extent of a problem. Most of the current literature aiming to understand determinants and dynamics of motivation is descriptive in nature. While this is an important basis for all research pursuits, it often gives little information about mechanisms to improve motivation and strategies for intervention. Motivation is an essential determinant of health worker performance, particularly for those working in difficult conditions, such as those facing many health workers in low- and middle-income countries. Motivation mediates health workforce performance in multiple ways: internally governing health worker behaviour; informing decisions on becoming a health worker; workplace location and ability to perform; and influencing willingness to engage politically. The four fresh research approaches described can help policy-makers better understand why health workers behave the way they do, how interventions can improve performance, the mechanisms that lead to change, and strategies for empowering health workers to be agents of change themselves.

Qualitative exploration of stakeholders' perspectives of involuntary admission under the Mental Health Act 2001 in Ireland.

Science.gov (United States)

Smyth, Siobhán; Casey, Dympna; Cooney, Adeline; Higgins, Agnes; McGuinness, David; Bainbridge, Emma; Keys, Mary; Georgieva, Irina; Brosnan, Liz; Beecher, Claire; Hallahan, Brian; McDonald, Colm; Murphy, Kathy

2017-12-01

There is international interest in, and continued concern about, the potential long-term impact of involuntary admission to psychiatric institutions, and the effect this coercive action has on a person's well-being and human rights. Involuntary detention in hospital remains a controversial process that involves stakeholders with competing concerns and who often describe negative experiences of the process, which can have long-lasting effects on the therapeutic relationship with service users. The aim of the present study was to explore the perspectives of key stakeholders involved in the involuntary admission and detention of people under the Mental Health Act 2001 in Ireland. Focus groups were used to collect data. Stakeholders interviewed were service users, relatives, general practitioners, psychiatrists, mental health nurses, solicitors, tribunal members, and police. Data were analysed using a general inductive approach. Three key categories emerged: (i) getting help; (ii) detention under the Act; and (iii) experiences of the tribunal process. This research highlights gaps in information and uncertainty about the involuntary admission process for stakeholders, but particularly for service users who are most affected by inadequate processes and supports. Mental health law has traditionally focussed on narrower areas of detention and treatment, but human rights law requires a greater refocussing on supporting service users to ensure a truly voluntary approach to care. The recent human rights treaty, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, is to guarantee a broad range of fundamental rights, such as liberty and integrity, which can be affected by coercive processes of involuntary admission and treatment. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Human Health Countermeasures (HHC) Element Management Plan: Human Research Program. Revision B

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Norsk, Peter; Baumann, David

2012-01-01

NASA s Human Research Program (HRP) is an applied research and technology program within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) that addresses human health and performance risk mitigation strategies in support of exploration missions. The HRP research and technology development is focused on the highest priority risks to crew health and safety with the goal of ensuring mission success and maintaining long-term crew health. Crew health and performance standards, defined by the NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer (CHMO), set the acceptable risk level for exploration missions. The HRP conducts research to inform these standards as well as provide deliverables, such as countermeasures, that ensure standards can be met to maximize human performance and mission success. The Human Health Countermeasures (HHC) Element was formed as part of the HRP to develop a scientifically-based, integrated approach to understanding and mitigating the health risks associated with human spaceflight. These health risks have been organized into four research portfolios that group similar or related risks. A fifth portfolio exists for managing technology developments and infrastructure projects. The HHC Element portfolios consist of: a) Vision and Cardiovascular; b) Exercise and Performance; c) Multisystem; d) Bone; and e) Technology and Infrastructure. The HHC identifies gaps associated with the health risks and plans human physiology research that will result in knowledge required to more fully understand risks and will result in validated countermeasures to mitigate risks.

Health and legal literacy for migrants: twinned strands woven in the cloth of social justice and the human right to health care.

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Vissandjée, Bilkis; Short, Wendy E; Bates, Karine

2017-04-13

Based on an analysis of published literature, this paper provides an over-view of the challenges associated with delivering on the right to access quality health care for international migrants to industrialized countries, and asks which group of professionals is best equipped to provide services that increase health and legal literacy. Both rights and challenges are approached from a social justice perspective with the aim of identifying opportunities to promote greater health equity. That is, to go beyond the legal dictates enshrined in principles of equality, and target as an ethical imperative a situation where all migrants receive the particular assistance they need to overcome the barriers that inhibit their equitable access to health care. This assistance is especially important for migrant groups that are further disadvantaged by differing cultural constructions of gender. Viewing the topic from this perspective makes evident a gap in both research literature and policy. The review has found that while health literacy is debated and enshrined as a policy objective, and consideration is given to improving legal literacy as a means of challenging social injustice in developing nations, however, no discussion has been identified that considers assisting migrants to gain legal literacy as a step toward achieving not only health literacy and improved health outcomes, but critical participation as members of their adoptive society. Increasing migrant health literacy, amalgamated with legal literacy, aids migrants to better access their human right to appropriate care, which in turn demonstrably assists in increasing social engagement, citizenship and productivity. However what is not evident in the literature, is which bureaucratic or societal group holds responsibility for assisting migrants to develop critical citizenship literacy skills. This paper proposes that a debate is required to determine both who is best placed to provide services that increase health

Perspectives of Family Members on Using Technology in Youth Mental Health Care: A Qualitative Study.

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Lal, Shalini; Daniel, Winnie; Rivard, Lysanne

2017-06-23

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are increasingly recognized as having an important role in the delivery of mental health services for youth. Recent studies have evaluated young people's access and use of technology, as well as their perspectives on using technology to receive mental health information, services, and support; however, limited attention has been given to the perspectives of family members in this regard. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of family members on the use of ICTs to deliver mental health services to youth within the context of specialized early intervention for a first-episode psychosis (FEP). Six focus groups were conducted with family members recruited from an early intervention program for psychosis. Twelve family members participated in the study (target sample was 12-18, and recruitment efforts took place over the duration of 1 year). A 12-item semistructured focus group guide was developed to explore past experiences of technology and recommendations for the use of technology in youth mental health service delivery. A qualitative thematic analysis guided the identification and organization of common themes and patterns identified across the dataset. Findings were organized by the following themes: access and use of technology, potential negative impacts of technology on youth in recovery, potential benefits of using technology to deliver mental health services to youth, and recommendations to use technology for (1) providing quality information in a manner that is accessible to individuals of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, (2) facilitating communication with health care professionals and services, and (3) increasing access to peer support. To our knowledge, this is among the first (or the first) to explore the perspectives of family members of youth being treated for FEP on the use of technology for mental health care. Our results highlight the importance of considering diverse experiences

Biodiversity, air quality and human health

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David J. Nowak; Sarah Jovan; Christina Branquinho; Sofia Augusto; Manuel C. Ribeiro; Conor E. Kretsch

2015-01-01

Air pollution is a significant problem in cities across the world. It affects human health and well-being, ecosystem health, crops, climate, visibility and human-made materials. Health effects related to air pollution include its impact on the pulmonary, cardiac, vascular and neurological systems (Section 2). Trees affect air quality through a number of means (Section...

New Developments in Mental Health and Community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel Fazenda

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The community mental health model implies a bio‐psycho‐social perspective of mental health/illness issues, as well as a set of values that advocate equity in service access, community treatment, respect for human rights, a recovery vision, promotion of independent living, social integration and user and family participation. In accordance with the priorities set by the European Union, mental health services must guarantee that these principles are applied in the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and promotion of mental health. Inter‐sector cooperation is an essential part of developing transversal policies that ensure society’s involvement in mental health promotion. Advances in community mental health in‐ dicate the relevance of considering human rights both in policy development and in practice, of the recovery perspective and of the need to promote the participation of user and carer organizations.

Aging and human sexual behavior: biocultural perspectives - a mini-review.

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Gray, Peter B; Garcia, Justin R

2012-01-01

In this mini-review, we consider an evolutionary biocultural perspective on human aging and sexuality. An evolutionary approach to senescence highlights the energetic trade-offs between fertility and mortality. By comparing humans to other primates, we situate human senescence as an evolutionary process, with shifts in postreproductive sexual behavior in this light. Age-related declines in sexual behavior are typical for humans but also highly contingent on the sociocultural context within which aging individuals express their sexuality. We briefly review some of the most comprehensive studies of aging and sexual behavior, both from the USA and cross-culturally. We frame these patterns with respect to the long-term relationships within which human sexual behavior typically occurs. Because sexuality is typically expressed within pair-bonds, sexual behavior sometimes declines in both members of a couple with age, but also exhibits sex-specific effects that have their roots in evolved sex differences. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Travelers' Health: Rabies

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... Fever Chapter 3 - Perspectives: Intradermal Rabies Preexposure Immunization Rabies Brett W. Petersen, Ryan M. Wallace, David R. ... animal. Box 3-04. World Health Organization, human rabies case definition Clinical case definition: a person presenting ...

Public health ethics and more-than-human solidarity.

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Rock, Melanie J; Degeling, Chris

2015-03-01

This article contributes to the literature on One Health and public health ethics by expanding the principle of solidarity. We conceptualise solidarity to encompass not only practices intended to assist other people, but also practices intended to assist non-human others, including animals, plants, or places. To illustrate how manifestations of humanist and more-than-human solidarity may selectively complement one another, or collide, recent responses to Hendra virus in Australia and Rabies virus in Canada serve as case examples. Given that caring relationships are foundational to health promotion, people's efforts to care for non-human others are highly relevant to public health, even when these efforts conflict with edicts issued in the name of public health. In its most optimistic explication, One Health aims to attain optimal health for humans, non-human animals and their shared environments. As a field, public health ethics needs to move beyond an exclusive preoccupation with humans, so as to account for moral complexity arising from people's diverse connections with places, plants, and non-human animals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The quest for a true One Health perspective of brucellosis

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One Health is an interdisciplinary collaboration aiming at mitigating risks to human health arising from microorganisms present in non-human animal species, which have the potential to be transmitted and cause disease in humans. Different degrees of scientific collaboration and sectoral integration ...

Home heating & human health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jongeneel, Sophie

2008-01-01

Human health is influenced by pollutants in the air. Since people spend over 80% of their time indoors, indoor air quality may be more related to health problems than outdoor air qual-ity. Indoor air quality is deteriorating because of energy conservation

Global health in the European Union – a review from an agenda-setting perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Aluttis, Christoph; Krafft, Thomas; Brand, Helmut

2014-01-01

This review attempts to analyse the global health agenda-setting process in the European Union (EU). We give an overview of the European perspective on global health, making reference to the developments that led to the EU acknowledging its role as a global health actor. The article thereby focusses in particular on the European interpretation of its role in global health from 2010, which was formalised through, respectively, a European Commission Communication and European Council Conclusions. Departing from there, and based on Kingdon's multiple streams theory on agenda setting, we identify some barriers that seem to hinder the further establishment and promotion of a solid global health agenda in the EU. The main barriers for creating a strong European global health agenda are the fragmentation of the policy community and the lack of a common definition for global health in Europe. Forwarding the agenda in Europe for global health requires more clarification of the common goals and perspectives of the policy community and the use of arising windows of opportunity. PMID:24560264

Soil, Food Security and Human Health

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Oliver, Margaret

2017-04-01

"Upon this handful of soil our survival depends. Husband it and it will grow food, our fuel, and our shelter and surround us with beauty. Abuse it and the soil will collapse and die, taking humanity with it" Vedas Sanskrit Scripture, 1500 BC. As the world's population increases issues of food security become more pressing as does the need to sustain soil fertility and to minimize soil degradation. Soil and land are finite resources, and agricultural land is under severe competition from many other uses. Lack of adequate food and food of poor nutritional quality lead to under-nutrition of different degrees, all of which can cause ill- or suboptimal-health. The soil can affect human health directly and indirectly. Direct effects of soil or its constituents result from its ingestion, inhalation or absorption. For example, hook worms enter the body through the skin and cause anaemia, and fungi and dust can be inhaled resulting in respiratory problems. The soil is the source of actinomycetes on which our earliest antibiotics are based (actinomycin, neomycin and streptomycin). Furthermore, it is a potential reservoir of new antibiotics with methods such as functional metagenomics to identify antibiotic resistant genes. Indirect effects of soil arise from the quantity and quality of food that humans consume. Trace elements can have both beneficial and toxic effects on humans, especially where the range for optimal intake is narrow as for selenium. Deficiencies of four trace elements, iodine, iron, selenium and zinc, will be considered because of their substantial effects on human health. Relations between soil and human health are often difficult to extricate because of the many confounding factors present such as the source of food, social factors and so on. Nevertheless, recent scientific understanding of soil processes and factors that affect human health are enabling greater insight into the effects of soil on our health. Multidisciplinary research that includes soil

The evolution of human rights in World Health Organization policy and the future of human rights through global health governance.

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Meier, B M; Onzivu, W

2014-02-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) was intended to serve at the forefront of efforts to realize human rights to advance global health, and yet this promise of a rights-based approach to health has long been threatened by political constraints in international relations, organizational resistance to legal discourses, and medical ambivalence toward human rights. Through legal research on international treaty obligations, historical research in the WHO organizational archives, and interview research with global health stakeholders, this research examines WHO's contributions to (and, in many cases, negligence of) the rights-based approach to health. Based upon such research, this article analyzes the evolving role of WHO in the development and implementation of human rights for global health, reviews the current state of human rights leadership in the WHO Secretariat, and looks to future institutions to reclaim the mantle of human rights as a normative framework for global health governance. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

School-Based Health Promotion Intervention: Parent and School Staff Perspectives

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Patino-Fernandez, Anna M.; Hernandez, Jennifer; Villa, Manuela; Delamater, Alan

2013-01-01

Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity is high, particularly among minority youth. The objective of this article was to evaluate parent and school staff perspectives of childhood health and weight qualitatively to guide the development of a school-based obesity prevention program for minority youth. Methods: Hispanic parents (N?=?9) of…

[Agrochemicals and human health: contributions of healthcare professionals].

Science.gov (United States)

de Siqueira, Soraia Lemos; Kruse, Maria Henriqueta Luce

2008-09-01

This paper focuses on the scientific production of health professionals, especially nurses, about agrochemicals and human health. The essay combines and presents information by means of literature review, with a view to acknowledge the contribution of each author and their use for the human health field. Thirty-two research articles, published in Brazilian journals, were located. The analysis of these articles highlights that healthcare professionals' contributions focus on human health, especially, workers' health and food quality. With a view to minimize the effects from agrochemicals on human and environmental health, the authors exposes action suggestions both for health professionals and for the institutions associated.

LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST CHILDREN WHO ARE VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN CIANJUR DISTRICT STUDIED BY HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE

OpenAIRE

Henny Nuraeny; Tanti Kirana Utami

2015-01-01

Trafficking in persons is a modern form of slavery. The eradication of human trafficking has been on the agenda in law enforcement because of its effects can interfere with social welfare. One form of trafficking in persons who lately is rampant child trafficking. The problems that can be studied is how the perspective of Human Rights in providing protection to children who are victims of trafficking and whether the implementation of legal protection for child victims of trafficki...

Social Determinants of Health from the Perspective of Women with Thalassemia: A Qualitative Study

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Aboo Torab Talebi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background and Objective: In recent years, social determinants of health have received much attention from researchers in the social sciences. One of the major problems of the health sector in developing countries is the unequal distribution of health which leads to inequalities in social status and living conditions of people. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the social determinants of health from the perspective of women with the Thalassemia disease.Materials and Methods: This study is a qualitative and thematic analysis. Participants in the study were 24 women with Thalassemia disease. The sampling method was purposeful. To collect qualitative data observation and participation, semi-structured interviews and study of the documents were used. For data analysis, thematic analysis and Wolcott method were used.Results: Social determinants of health from the perspective of women with thalassemia included economic factors (lack of interest-free banking facilities, health expenditure, social factors (inequality in employment, cultural factors (lack of awareness in society and health factors (inefficient health services.Conclusion: If the needs of disadvantaged people, women, and patients in the design and management of the health system be considered, health system performance would be desirable.

A note on the depreciation of the societal perspective in economic evaluation of health care.

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Johannesson, M

1995-07-01

It is common in cost-effectiveness analyses of health care to only include health care costs, with the argument that some fictive 'health care budget' should be used to maximize the health effects. This paper provides a criticism of the 'health care budget' approach to cost-effectiveness analysis of health care. It is argued that the approach is ad hoc and lacks theoretical foundation. The approach is also inconsistent with using a fixed budget as the decision rule for cost-effectiveness analysis. That is the case unless only costs that fall into a single annual actual budget are included in the analysis, which would mean that any cost paid by the patients should be excluded as well as any future cost changes and all costs that fall on other budgets. Furthermore the prices facing the budget holder should be used, rather than opportunity costs. It is concluded that the 'health care budget' perspective should be abandoned and the societal perspective reinstated in economic evaluation of health care.

NASA Space Flight Human-System Standard Human Factors, Habitability, and Environmental Health

Science.gov (United States)

Holubec, Keith; Connolly, Janis

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the history, and development of NASA-STD-3001, NASA Space Flight Human-System Standard Human Factors, Habitability, and Environmental Health, and the related Human Integration Design Handbook. Currently being developed from NASA-STD-3000, this project standard currently in review will be available in two volumes, (i.e., Volume 1 -- VCrew Health and Volume 2 -- Human Factors, Habitability, and Environmental Health) and the handbook will be both available as a pdf file and as a interactive website.

Human rights, health and the state in Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahman Redwanur M

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper broadly discusses the role of the State of Bangladesh in the context of the health system and human rights. The interrelation between human rights, health and development are well documented. The recognition of health as a fundamental right by WHO and subsequent approval of health as an instrument of welfare by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR and the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICSECR further enhances the idea. Moreover, human rights are also recognized as an expedient of human development. The state is entrusted to realize the rights enunciated in the ICSECR. Discussion In exploring the relationship of the human rights and health situation in Bangladesh, it is argued, in this paper, that the constitution and major policy documents of the Bangladesh government have recognized the health rights and development. Bangladesh has ratified most of the international treaties and covenants including ICCPR, ICESCR; and a signatory of international declarations including Alma-Ata, ICPD, Beijing declarations, and Millennium Development Goals. However the implementation of government policies and plans in the development of health institutions, human resources, accessibility and availability, resource distribution, rural-urban disparity, the male-female gap has put the health system in a dismal state. Neither the right to health nor the right to development has been established in the development of health system or in providing health care. Summary The development and service pattern of the health system have negative correlation with human rights and contributed to the underdevelopment of Bangladesh. The government should take comprehensive approach in prioritizing the health rights of the citizens and progressive realization of these rights.

Human and animal sentinels for shared health risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Rabinowitz, MD, MPH

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The tracking of sentinel health events in humans in order to detect and manage disease risks facing a larger population is a well accepted technique applied to influenza, occupational conditions and emerging infectious diseases. Similarly, animal health professionals routinely track disease events in sentinel animal colonies and sentinel herds. The use of animals as sentinels for human health threats, or of humans as sentinels for animal disease risk, dates back at least to the era when coal miners brought caged canaries into mines to provide early warning of toxic gases. Yet the full potential of linking animal and human health information to provide warning of such ‘shared risks’ from environmental hazards has not been realised. Reasons appear to include the professional segregation of human and animal health communities, the separation of human and animal surveillance data and evidence gaps in the linkages between human and animal responses to environmental health hazards. The ‘One Health initiative’ and growing international collaboration in response to pandemic threats, coupled with development in the fields of informatics and genomics, hold promise for improved sentinel event coordination in order to detect and reduce environmental health threats shared between species.

Strategic relevance and accountability expectations: new perspectives for health care information technology design.

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Tan, J K; Modrow, R E

1999-05-01

In this article, we discuss the traditional systems analysis perspective on end-user information requirements analysis and extend it to merge with the new accountability expectations perspective to guide the future planning and design of health organization information systems. Underlying the strategic relevance of health care information technology (HCIT) are three critical questions: (1) What is the ideal HCIT model for the health organization in terms of achieving strategic expertise and competitive advantage? Specifically, how does this model link industry performance standards with organizational performance and accountability expectations? (2) How should the limitations of past HCIT models be reconciled to the benefits presented by the superior arrangement of the ideal model in the context of changing accountability expectations? (3) How should alternative HCIT solutions be evaluated in light of evidence-based accountability and organizational performance benchmarking? Insights into these questions will ensure that health care managers, HCIT practitioners and researchers can continue to focus on the most critical issues in harnessing today's fast-paced changing technologies for evolving strategically relevant, performance-based health organization systems.

Shining evolutionary light on human sleep and sleep disorders.

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Nunn, Charles L; Samson, David R; Krystal, Andrew D

2016-01-01

Sleep is essential to cognitive function and health in humans, yet the ultimate reasons for sleep-i.e. 'why' sleep evolved-remain mysterious. We integrate findings from human sleep studies, the ethnographic record, and the ecology and evolution of mammalian sleep to better understand sleep along the human lineage and in the modern world. Compared to other primates, sleep in great apes has undergone substantial evolutionary change, with all great apes building a sleeping platform or 'nest'. Further evolutionary change characterizes human sleep, with humans having the shortest sleep duration, yet the highest proportion of rapid eye movement sleep among primates. These changes likely reflect that our ancestors experienced fitness benefits from being active for a greater portion of the 24-h cycle than other primates, potentially related to advantages arising from learning, socializing and defending against predators and hostile conspecifics. Perspectives from evolutionary medicine have implications for understanding sleep disorders; we consider these perspectives in the context of insomnia, narcolepsy, seasonal affective disorder, circadian rhythm disorders and sleep apnea. We also identify how human sleep today differs from sleep through most of human evolution, and the implications of these changes for global health and health disparities. More generally, our review highlights the importance of phylogenetic comparisons in understanding human health, including well-known links between sleep, cognitive performance and health in humans. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Foundation for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health.

Proposing a Health Humanities Minor: Some Lessons.

Science.gov (United States)

Engholm, Virginia Bucurel; Boria, Damon

2017-12-01

For those interested in developing baccalaureate programs in health humanities, this essay draws on our experience of developing a minor in health humanities to share insights on what to expect, strategies that work well, and how to deal with obstacles. These insights range from how to explain the concept of health humanities to stakeholders (faculty, administrators, and community partners) to how to decide where to house a health humanities program. We share our insights in a way that promises to translate well to different institutional contexts. That said, this paper is more relevant for institutional contexts where budgets are stressed and, consequently, proposals to invest in humanities programs are a difficult sell. This paper is divided into sections addressing how to (a) earn institutional support, (b) gain campus buy-in, (c) identify benefits of the proposed program, (d) decide where to house the program, (e) calculate program cost, and (f) secure external funding. We conclude with some final reflections on the current status of our program and why we are committed to health humanities education.

Clinical management of canine leishmaniosis versus human leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum: Putting "One Health" principles into practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Miró, Guadalupe; López-Vélez, Rogelio

2018-04-30

The initiative One World, "One Health" tries to rapidly detect emerging or reemerging human and animal infectious diseases and prevent epidemiological situations such as deforestation, some agricultural practices or the appearance of new foci of leishmaniosis due to Leishmania infantum with alternative reservoirs. With this objective in mind, we here consider leishmaniosis in the Mediterranean basin and compare its current clinical management from two perspectives: that of a veterinarian specialized in infectious and parasitic diseases, and that of a physician specialized in infectious tropical diseases. We thus prepared a list of 10 key questions from epidemiology to control of the disease in both species: dogs and humans. This issue requires a concise and clear response to help animal and human health clinicians to improve their clinical management and understanding of this important zoonosis. Our ultimate aim is to update and bring together the information available backed by sound scientific evidence. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Human Rights and Health Services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skitsou, Alexandra; Bekos, Christos; Charalambous, George

2016-01-01

Background: It has been observed that health services provided to certain patients in Cyprus do not fully meet their human rights. Objective: This study was conducted to identify the main shortcomings of the Health System in Cyprus. Methodology: The relevant administrative decisions of the Ombuds......Background: It has been observed that health services provided to certain patients in Cyprus do not fully meet their human rights. Objective: This study was conducted to identify the main shortcomings of the Health System in Cyprus. Methodology: The relevant administrative decisions...... and their families to be essential. Conclusions: The paper concludes that implementing guidelines in accordance with international best practices, the establishment of at-home treatment and nursing facilities, counseling the mentally ill in a way that promotes their social integration and occupational rehabilitation......, ongoing education of health professionals along with relevant education of the community and the broad application of triage in the emergency departments will all contribute to delivering health services more effectively. Keywords: Cyprus, health services, patient rights...

Philosophical foundations of human rights

CERN Document Server

Liao, Matthew S

2015-01-01

What makes something a human right? What is the relationship between the moral foundations of human rights and human rights law? What are the difficulties of appealing to human rights? This book offers the first comprehensive survey of current thinking on the philosophical foundations of human rights. Divided into four parts, this book focusses firstly on the moral grounds of human rights, for example in our dignity, agency, interests or needs. 'Secondly, it looks at the implications that different moral perspectives on human rights bear for human rights law and politics. Thirdly, it discusses specific and topical human rights including freedom of expression and religion, security, health and more controversial rights such as a human right to subsistence. The final part discusses nuanced critical and reformative views on human rights from feminist, Kantian and relativist perspectives among others. The essays represent new and canonical research by leading scholars in the field. Each part is comprised of a set...

Continuity of care for children with complex chronic health conditions: parents' perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaw Nicola

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Continuity of care has been explored largely from academic and service provider perspectives, and in relation to adult patient/client groups. We interviewed parents of children with complex chronic health conditions to examine how their experiences and perceptions of continuity of care fit with these perspectives; and to identify the salient factors in the experience of, and factors contributing to, continuity in this population. Methods Parents of 47 elementary school-aged children with spina bifida, Down syndrome, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Duchenne muscular dystrophy or cystic fibrosis participated in semi-structured interviews. Parents described and mapped the pattern of their interactions with service providers over time in all domains relevant to their child's health, well-being, and development (medical, rehabilitational, educational, and social supportive services, with particular attention paid to their perceptions of connectedness or coherency in these interactions. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed thematically using a framework approach to impose structure regarding parents' perspectives on continuity of care. Results Existing academic concepts of relational, informational and management continuity were all discernable in parents' narratives. A thorough knowledge of the child on the part of service providers emerged as extremely important to parents; such knowledge was underpinned by continuity of personal relationships, principally, and also by written information. For this population, notions of continuity extend to the full range of service providers these children and families need to achieve optimal health status, and are not limited to physicians and nurses. Communication among providers was seen as integral to perceived continuity. Compartmentalization of services and information led to parents assuming a necessary, though at times, uncomfortable, coordinating role. Geographic factors

Linking Human Health and Livestock Health: A “One-Health” Platform for Integrated Analysis of Human Health, Livestock Health, and Economic Welfare in Livestock Dependent Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Thumbi, S. M.; Njenga, M. Kariuki; Marsh, Thomas L.; Noh, Susan; Otiang, Elkanah; Munyua, Peninah; Ochieng, Linus; Ogola, Eric; Yoder, Jonathan; Audi, Allan; Montgomery, Joel M.; Bigogo, Godfrey; Breiman, Robert F.; Palmer, Guy H.; McElwain, Terry F.

2015-01-01

Background For most rural households in sub-Saharan Africa, healthy livestock play a key role in averting the burden associated with zoonotic diseases, and in meeting household nutritional and socio-economic needs. However, there is limited understanding of the complex nutritional, socio-economic, and zoonotic pathways that link livestock health to human health and welfare. Here we describe a platform for integrated human health, animal health and economic welfare analysis designed to address this challenge. We provide baseline epidemiological data on disease syndromes in humans and the animals they keep, and provide examples of relationships between human health, animal health and household socio-economic status. Method We designed a study to obtain syndromic disease data in animals along with economic and behavioral information for 1500 rural households in Western Kenya already participating in a human syndromic disease surveillance study. Data collection started in February 2013, and each household is visited bi-weekly and data on four human syndromes (fever, jaundice, diarrhea and respiratory illness) and nine animal syndromes (death, respiratory, reproductive, musculoskeletal, nervous, urogenital, digestive, udder disorders, and skin disorders in cattle, sheep, goats and chickens) are collected. Additionally, data from a comprehensive socio-economic survey is collected every 3 months in each of the study households. Findings Data from the first year of study showed 93% of the households owned at least one form of livestock (55%, 19%, 41% and 88% own cattle, sheep, goats and chickens respectively). Digestive disorders, mainly diarrhea episodes, were the most common syndromes observed in cattle, goats and sheep, accounting for 56% of all livestock syndromes, followed by respiratory illnesses (18%). In humans, respiratory illnesses accounted for 54% of all illnesses reported, followed by acute febrile illnesses (40%) and diarrhea illnesses (5%). While controlling

Human dignity and sexual behavious � A theological perspective

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N Vorster

2005-10-01

Full Text Available This article compares the sex ethic of Scripture with the anthropological values that underlie modern sexual morality and gives guidelines for a responsible� sex ethics that can safeguard human dignity. As point of departure it states that the biblical view of sexuality must be understood from the perspective of creation and re-creation and not the fall. The creation narratives teach that humanity possesses qualities of sameness and difference that constitutes our being. Sexuality forms the dynamic which bonds the dialectic of sameness and difference into a unity of persons. The� article concludes that the� African concept of gender , the radical freedom concept of secular society, the utilitarian view of sex, and the postmodern view that sexual behaviour and marriage are social constructs, aggravate sexual promiscuity. In order to fight HIV/AIDS and preserve human dignity the exclusiveness of the sex act, the importance of faithfulness and the sanctity of marriage must be proclaimed.

Toward a Theoretical Model of Employee Turnover: A Human Resource Development Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Shari L.

2004-01-01

This article sets forth the Organizational Model of Employee Persistence, influenced by traditional turnover models and a student attrition model. The model was developed to clarify the impact of organizational practices on employee turnover from a human resource development (HRD) perspective and provide a theoretical foundation for research on…

Vertical funding, non-governmental organizations, and health system strengthening: perspectives of public sector health workers in Mozambique.

Science.gov (United States)

Mussa, Abdul H; Pfeiffer, James; Gloyd, Stephen S; Sherr, Kenneth

2013-06-14

In the rapid scale-up of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) treatment, many donors have chosen to channel their funds to non-governmental organizations and other private partners rather than public sector systems. This approach has reinforced a private sector, vertical approach to addressing the HIV epidemic. As progress on stemming the epidemic has stalled in some areas, there is a growing recognition that overall health system strengthening, including health workforce development, will be essential to meet AIDS treatment goals. Mozambique has experienced an especially dramatic increase in disease-specific support over the last eight years. We explored the perspectives and experiences of key Mozambican public sector health managers who coordinate, implement, and manage the myriad donor-driven projects and agencies. Over a four-month period, we conducted 41 individual qualitative interviews with key Ministry workers at three levels in the Mozambique national health system, using open-ended semi-structured interview guides. We also reviewed planning documents. All respondents emphasized the value and importance of international aid and vertical funding to the health sector and each highlighted program successes that were made possible by recent increased aid flows. However, three serious concerns emerged: 1) difficulties coordinating external resources and challenges to local control over the use of resources channeled to international private organizations; 2) inequalities created within the health system produced by vertical funds channeled to specific services while other sectors remain under-resourced; and 3) the exodus of health workers from the public sector health system provoked by large disparities in salaries and work. The Ministry of Health attempted to coordinate aid by implementing a "sector-wide approach" to bring the partners together in setting priorities, harmonizing planning, and coordinating

Interpreting the International Right to Health in a Human Rights-Based Approach to Health

OpenAIRE

Hunt, Paul

2016-01-01

Abstract This article tracks the shifting place of the international right to health, and human rights-based approaches to health, in the scholarly literature and United Nations (UN). From 1993 to 1994, the focus began to move from the right to health toward human rights-based approaches to health, including human rights guidance adopted by UN agencies in relation to specific health issues. There is a compelling case for a human rights-based approach to health, but it runs the risk of playing...

The human microbiota associated with overall health.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xiaofei; Wang, Zhujun; Zhang, Xuewu

2015-03-01

Human body harbors diverse microbes, the main components include bacteria, eukaryotes and viruses. Emerging evidences show that the human microbiota is intrinsically linked with overall health. The development of next-generation sequencing provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the complex microbial communities that are associated with the human body. Many factors like host genetics and environmental factors have a major impact on the composition and dynamic changes of human microbiota. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the relationship between human health and human microbiota (skin, nasal, throat, oral, vaginal and gut microbiota), then to focus on the factors modulating the composition of the microbiota and the future challenges to manipulate the microbiota for personalized health.

Pollination and Plant Resources Change the Nutritional Quality of Almonds for Human Health

Science.gov (United States)

Brittain, Claire; Kremen, Claire; Garber, Andrea; Klein, Alexandra-Maria

2014-01-01

Insect-pollinated crops provide important nutrients for human health. Pollination, water and nutrients available to crops can influence yield, but it is not known if the nutritional value of the crop is also influenced. Almonds are an important source of critical nutrients for human health such as unsaturated fat and vitamin E. We manipulated the pollination of almond trees and the resources available to the trees, to investigate the impact on the nutritional composition of the crop. The pollination treatments were: (a) exclusion of pollinators to initiate self-pollination and (b) hand cross-pollination; the plant resource treatments were: (c) reduced water and (d) no fertilizer. In an orchard in northern California, trees were exposed to a single treatment or a combination of two (one pollination and one resource). Both the fat and vitamin E composition of the nuts were highly influenced by pollination. Lower proportions of oleic to linoleic acid, which are less desirable from both a health and commercial perspective, were produced by the self-pollinated trees. However, higher levels of vitamin E were found in the self-pollinated nuts. In some cases, combined changes in pollination and plant resources sharpened the pollination effects, even when plant resources were not influencing the nutrients as an individual treatment. This study highlights the importance of insects as providers of cross-pollination for fruit quality that can affect human health, and, for the first time, shows that other environmental factors can sharpen the effect of pollination. This contributes to an emerging field of research investigating the complexity of interactions of ecosystem services affecting the nutritional value and commercial quality of crops. PMID:24587215

Perspectives on "Disease" and "Disability" in Child Health: The Case of Childhood Neurodisability.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Anton Rodney; Rosenbaum, Peter

2016-01-01

Chronic health conditions are often associated with what is termed disability. Traditional thinking has focused on diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases and disorders, with less attention to people's functional abilities and their contextual determinants. Understanding all of these factors is integral to addressing the predicaments and needs of persons with chronic conditions. However, these complementary yet distinct "worldviews" reflected in what we call disease and disability perspectives often remain, at best, only vaguely articulated. In this paper, we explore and expand on these perspectives in light of conceptual advances, specifically the framework of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, and their epistemic underpinnings with reference to Wilhelm Windelband's notions of nomothetic and idiographic types of knowledge. Our primary focus is the children with neurodisability - life-long conditions that onset early in life and have functional consequences that impact developmental trajectories. We critically review and analyze conceptual material, along with clinical and research evidence relevant to the experiential and clinical realities of this population, to demonstrate the limitations of a biomedically based diagnostic-therapeutic paradigm at the expense of a developmental and disability-oriented perspective. Our main aim in this paper is to argue for an explicit recognition of both disease and disability perspectives, and a more balanced and appropriate deployment of these concepts across the continuum of clinical services, research, policy-making and professional and public education in relation to children with neurodisability; we also provide concrete recommendations to advance this progressive strategy. The relevance of these aims and strategies, however, extends beyond this particular population.

I eat healthfully but I am not a freak. Consumers’ everyday life perspective on healthful eating

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouwman, L.I.; Molder, te H.F.M.; Koelen, M.A.; Woerkum, van C.M.J.

2009-01-01

The gap between the awareness and understanding of healthful eating on the one hand and actual eating practices on the other has been addressed in several ways in the literature. In this paper, we consider it from an everyday life perspective. Using discourse analysis, we analyse how Dutch consumers

Perspectives of rural health and human service practitioners following suicide prevention training programme in Australia: A thematic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Martin; Ferguson, Monika; Walsh, Sandra; Martinez, Lee; Marsh, Michael; Cronin, Kathryn; Procter, Nicolas

2018-05-01

There are well-established training programmes available to support health and human services professionals working with people vulnerable to suicide. However, little is known about involving people with lived experience in the delivery of suicide prevention training with communities with increased rates of suicide. The aim of this paper was to report on a formative dialogical evaluation that explored the views of health and human services workers with regard to a suicide prevention training programme in regional (including rural and remote areas) South Australia which included meaningful involvement of a person with lived experience in the development and delivery of the training. In 2015, eight suicide prevention training workshops were conducted with health and human services workers. All 248 participants lived and worked in South Australian regional communities. We interviewed a subsample of 24 participants across eight sites. A thematic analysis of the interviews identified five themes: Coproduction is key, It is okay to ask the question, Caring for my community, I can make a difference and Learning for future training. The overall meta-theme was "Involvement of a person with lived experience in suicide prevention training supports regional communities to look out for people at risk of suicide." This paper highlights the need for suicide prevention training and other workforce development programmes to include lived experience participation as a core component in development and delivery. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Environmental contaminants, ecosystems and human health

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Majumdar, S.K.; Miller, E.W.; Brenner, F.J. [eds.] [Lafayette College, Easton, PA (United States). Dept. of Biology

1995-12-31

The authors cover a variety of concerns regarding the adverse impacts of contaminants on ecosystems and human health. The twelve chapters in the first section of the text address the impact of contaminants on ecosystem function, and ten of the remaining twenty-two chapters are devoted to the effects of contaminants on human health. Part three presents eight case studies in humans, while the final four chapters provide the reader with an assessment of environmental problems and analyses. Two chapters, on the health effects of power plant generated air pollution and on black lung disease, have been abstracted separately for the IEA Coal Research CD-ROM.

Healthy working days: The (positive) effect of work effort on occupational health from a human capital approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Urtasun, Ainhoa; Nuñez, Imanol

2018-04-01

The neoclassic economic rationale has taken for granted that the effect of effort on health is negative. However, several studies in the field of occupational health and medicine claim that working is clearly better for health than non-working or being unemployed, as some psychological and physical condition may improve with work effort. This paper analyzes the effect of work effort on occupational health. The proposed human capital approach builds upon the classic economic perspective, that assumes a negative effect of effort on health, and extends it by allowing positive effects, as suggested by occupational researchers. Using a sample from 2010 of 20,000 European workers we find that, under adequate working conditions, the level of effort (measured in working hours) at which health starts to deteriorate is very high (120 h per week). However, if working conditions are not adequate, even a moderate effort (35 h per week) can harm workers health. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interprofessional collaboration at transition of care: perspectives of child and family health nurses and midwives.

Science.gov (United States)

Psaila, Kim; Schmied, Virginia; Fowler, Cathrine; Kruske, Sue

2015-01-01

To examine collaboration in the provision of universal health services for children and families in Australia from the perspective of midwives and child health and family health nurses. Collaboration is identified as a key concept contributing to families' smooth transition between maternity and child health services. However, evidence suggests that collaboration between services is often lacking. Few studies have explored how maternity and child health and family health services or professionals collaborate to facilitate a smooth transition. This study reports on data collected in phases 1 and 2 of a three-phase mixed-methods study investigating the feasibility of implementing a national approach to child health and family health services in Australia (Child Health: Researching Universal Services study). In phase 1, consultations (via discussion groups, focus groups and teleconferences) were held with 45 midwives and 60 child health and family health nurses. Themes identified were used to develop phase 2 surveys. In phase 2, 1098 child health and family health nurses and 655 midwives returned surveys. Midwives and child health and family health nurses reported 'some collaboration'. Midwives and child health and family health nurses indicated that collaboration was supported by having agreement on common goals and recognising and valuing the contributions of others. Organisational barriers such as poor communication and information transfer processes obstructed relationships. Good collaboration was reported more frequently when working with other professionals (such as allied health professionals) to support families with complex needs. This study provides information on the nature and extent of collaboration from the perspective of midwives and child health and family health nurses providing universal health services for children and families. Both professional groups emphasised the impact of service disconnection on families. However, their ability to negotiate

Integrating Public Health and Deliberative Public Bioethics: Lessons from the Human Genome Project Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Meagher, Karen M; Lee, Lisa M

2016-01-01

Public health policy works best when grounded in firm public health standards of evidence and widely shared social values. In this article, we argue for incorporating a specific method of ethical deliberation--deliberative public bioethics--into public health. We describe how deliberative public bioethics is a method of engagement that can be helpful in public health. Although medical, research, and public health ethics can be considered some of what bioethics addresses, deliberative public bioethics offers both a how and where. Using the Human Genome Project Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications program as an example of effective incorporation of deliberative processes to integrate ethics into public health policy, we examine how deliberative public bioethics can integrate both public health and bioethics perspectives into three areas of public health practice: research, education, and health policy. We then offer recommendations for future collaborations that integrate deliberative methods into public health policy and practice.

Health care consumer reports: an evaluation of employer perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Longo, Daniel R

2004-01-01

The proliferation of health care consumer reports (also known as "consumer guides," "report cards," and "performance reports") designed to assist consumers in making more informed health care decisions makes it vital to understand the perspective of employers who provide the vast majority of health insurance to the working population regarding the use of these reports. There is little empirical evidence on how consumer reports are used by employers to make health care purchasing decisions. This study fills that gap by surveying 154 businesses in Boone County, Missouri, regarding their evaluation of a consumer guide. The majority of employers surveyed indicate that the report will not have a direct effect on their health care purchasing decisions. However, they indicate that the reports are "positive and worthwhile" and their responses reflect a favorable view of the health care organization that developed and disseminated the report. Additionally, findings indicate that employers generally prefer consumer reports as a means to compare local health care institutions, rather than reviewing national averages to locate the same information. Report developers should take precautions to determine the intent of such reports, as they may not achieve the objective of changing employers' health care purchasing behavior.

Health, vital goals, and central human capabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Venkatapuram, Sridhar

2013-06-01

I argue for a conception of health as a person's ability to achieve or exercise a cluster of basic human activities. These basic activities are in turn specified through free-standing ethical reasoning about what constitutes a minimal conception of a human life with equal human dignity in the modern world. I arrive at this conception of health by closely following and modifying Lennart Nordenfelt's theory of health which presents health as the ability to achieve vital goals. Despite its strengths I transform Nordenfelt's argument in order to overcome three significant drawbacks. Nordenfelt makes vital goals relative to each community or context and significantly reflective of personal preferences. By doing so, Nordenfelt's conception of health faces problems with both socially relative concepts of health and subjectively defined wellbeing. Moreover, Nordenfelt does not ever explicitly specify a set of vital goals. The theory of health advanced here replaces Nordenfelt's (seemingly) empty set of preferences and society-relative vital goals with a human species-wide conception of basic vital goals, or 'central human capabilities and functionings'. These central human capabilities come out of the capabilities approach (CA) now familiar in political philosophy and economics, and particularly reflect the work of Martha Nussbaum. As a result, the health of an individual should be understood as the ability to achieve a basic cluster of beings and doings-or having the overarching capability, a meta-capability, to achieve a set of central or vital inter-related capabilities and functionings. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Preliminary perspectives on DNA collection in anti-human trafficking efforts.

Science.gov (United States)

Katsanis, Sara H; Kim, Joyce; Minear, Mollie A; Chandrasekharan, Subhashini; Wagner, Jennifer K

2014-01-01

Forensic DNA methodologies have potential applications in the investigation of human trafficking cases. DNA and relationship testing may be useful for confirmation of biological relationship claims in immigration, identification of trafficked individuals who are missing persons, and family reunification of displaced individuals after mass disasters and conflicts. As these applications rely on the collection of DNA from non-criminals and potentially vulnerable individuals, questions arise as to how to address the ethical challenges of collection, security, and privacy of collected samples and DNA profiles. We administered a survey targeted to victims' advocates to gain preliminary understanding of perspectives regarding human trafficking definitions, DNA and sex workers, and perceived trust of authorities potentially involved in DNA collection. We asked respondents to consider the use of DNA for investigating adoption fraud, sex trafficking, and post-conflict child soldier cases. We found some key differences in perspectives on defining what qualifies as "trafficking." When we varied terminology between "sex worker" and "sex trafficking victim" we detected differences in perception on which authorities can be trusted. Respondents were supportive of the hypothetical models proposed to collect DNA. Most were favorable of DNA specimens being controlled by an authority outside of law enforcement. Participants voiced concerns focused on privacy, misuse of DNA samples and data, unintentional harms, data security, and infrastructure. These preliminary data indicate that while there is perceived value in programs to use DNA for investigating cases of human trafficking, these programs may need to consider levels of trust in authorities as their logistics are developed and implemented.

Sudbury soils study : industry perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, G.

2009-01-01

This presentation presented the industry perspective of a soils study conducted by Vale Inco to assess the risk of mining activities in the Sudbury region to human health and the environment. The study was comprised of extensive soil collection and analysis; a review of historical soils data; and extensive human health and ecological risk assessments. Extensive sampling was also conducted on air, dust, and locally-produced foods. The human health risk assessment (HHRA) study was conducted and administered by a multi-stakeholder technical committee attended by the public. A public advisory committee was also formed by Vale Inco to disseminate scientific information to the community. Scientific data obtained in the study were also peer-reviewed by an independent expert review panel comprised of leading specialists in human health, toxicology, speciation, and risk assessment. The study showed that the identified risks were over-estimated in the interest of protecting human health. The study demonstrated to the mining company that multi-stakeholder risk assessments with community involvement are expensive and time-consuming. Risk assessment methods and standard practices are conservative, and may determine risks that aren't always attributable to the proponent. It was concluded that risk assessment progress and results must be clearly and frequently communicated with the public. The presentation emphasized that companies must take time to listen to the public and consider the priorities of communities in the region. tabs., figs

Health ATMs in Saudi Arabia: A Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Aldosari, Bakheet

2017-06-01

Health ATMs are terminals which are connected to a centrally located database storing patients' electronic healthcare records (EHR). These machines are capable of collecting information in a far superior fashion than humans and are also able to rectify obsolete data in a manner that humans are generally not inclined to. The main goal of this study is to assess the importance of adopting health ATMs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which can improve the confidence of patients, reward health self-management, and achieve positive health outcomes through their easy-to-use applications that are secure and accessible through various devices. Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) analysis was used to assess the efficiency of adopting health ATMs in KSA and reveal the said characteristics. Three focus groups assembled in the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam during the period 2013-2014. The groups consisted of individuals experienced in the function of health ATMs. It was found that the sector possessed a number of strengths that would help it in reaching the goals outlined therein, thereby achieving successful outcomes. Health ATMs could be a promising new advancement in the field of health if the project were to be planned and implemented correctly. Their benefits would consequently reach organizational and national levels. It is, therefore, crucial to educate the project managers about the benefits of learning from others as well as educating them about the needs and the requirements of the concerned organization.

Integrating mental health into primary care: a global perspective

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Funk, Michelle

2008-01-01

... for mental disorders is enormous 4. Primary care for mental health enhances access 5. Primary care for mental health promotes respect of human rights 6. Primary care for mental health is affordab...

Seniors' perspectives on care: a case study of the Alex Seniors health clinic, Calgary.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Marta; Rypien, Candace; Drummond, Neil; Harasym, Patricia; Nixon, Lara

2015-02-25

Primary care initiatives face an imperative to not only reduce barriers to care for their patients but also to uniquely accommodate the complex needs of at-risk patient populations. Patient-centered multidisciplinary care team models for primary care, like the Alex Seniors Clinic, are one approach for providing comprehensive care for marginalized seniors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore patient perspectives on the responsiveness of the Alex Seniors Clinic to their stated health needs. Themes reflected participants' perspectives on factors impacting their health needs as vulnerable seniors as well as on the measures that the Alex Seniors Clinic has taken to meet those needs. Factors impacting health included: the nature of their relationships to the physical environment in which they lived, the nature of the relationships they had to others in that environment, and independence and autonomy. Participants identified accessibility, respect and support, and advocacy as the ways in which the clinic was working to address those health needs. While respect and support, as well as advocacy, effectively addressed some patient needs, participants felt that accessibility problems continue to be health-related barriers for clinic patients. This may be due to the fact that issues of accessibility reflect larger community and social problems. Nevertheless, it is only through engaging the patient community for input on clinic approaches that an understanding can be gained of how closely a clinic's care goals are currently aligning with patient perspectives of the care and services they receive.

Public and patient involvement in quantitative health research: A statistical perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannigan, Ailish

2018-06-19

The majority of studies included in recent reviews of impact for public and patient involvement (PPI) in health research had a qualitative design. PPI in solely quantitative designs is underexplored, particularly its impact on statistical analysis. Statisticians in practice have a long history of working in both consultative (indirect) and collaborative (direct) roles in health research, yet their perspective on PPI in quantitative health research has never been explicitly examined. To explore the potential and challenges of PPI from a statistical perspective at distinct stages of quantitative research, that is sampling, measurement and statistical analysis, distinguishing between indirect and direct PPI. Statistical analysis is underpinned by having a representative sample, and a collaborative or direct approach to PPI may help achieve that by supporting access to and increasing participation of under-represented groups in the population. Acknowledging and valuing the role of lay knowledge of the context in statistical analysis and in deciding what variables to measure may support collective learning and advance scientific understanding, as evidenced by the use of participatory modelling in other disciplines. A recurring issue for quantitative researchers, which reflects quantitative sampling methods, is the selection and required number of PPI contributors, and this requires further methodological development. Direct approaches to PPI in quantitative health research may potentially increase its impact, but the facilitation and partnership skills required may require further training for all stakeholders, including statisticians. © 2018 The Authors Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The role of biomarkers in evaluating human health concerns from fungal contaminants in food.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Paul C; Flannery, Brenna; Isitt, Catherine; Ali, Mariyam; Pestka, James

2012-06-01

Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites that globally contaminate an estimated 25 % of cereal crops and thus exposure is frequent in many populations. Aflatoxins, fumonisins and deoxynivalenol are amongst those mycotoxins of particular concern from a human health perspective. A number of risks to health are suggested including cancer, growth faltering, immune suppression and neural tube defects; though only the demonstrated role for aflatoxin in the aetiology of liver cancer is widely recognised. The heterogeneous distribution of mycotoxins in food restricts the usefulness of food sampling and intake estimates; instead biomarkers provide better tools for informing epidemiological investigations. Validated exposure biomarkers for aflatoxin (urinary aflatoxin M(1), aflatoxin-N7-guaunine, serum aflatoxin-albumin) were established almost 20 years ago and were critical in confirming aflatoxins as potent liver carcinogens. Validation has included demonstration of assay robustness, intake v. biomarker level, and stability of stored samples. More recently, aflatoxin exposure biomarkers are revealing concerns of growth faltering and immune suppression; importantly, they are being used to assess the effectiveness of intervention strategies. For fumonisins and deoxynivalenol these steps of development and validation have significantly advanced in recent years. Such biomarkers should better inform epidemiological studies and thus improve our understanding of their potential risk to human health.

Older People's Perspectives on Health, Physical Activity and Nutritional Behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila Alizadeh

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Approaches for investigating health-promoting lifestyle generally focus on physical activ­ity and regular diet. To explore the perspectives of Iranian elders regarding health, healthy eating and physical activity (PA this study was conducted in 2012. Methods: Participants in this qualitative study were selected through purposeful sampling. Ten focus groups were conducted with 60 older adults in 3 elderly centers in Tehran. A moderator’s guideline that consisted of general and specific questions was used. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysis was performed using conventional content analysis. Results: Participants explained their perspectives regarding health, healthy eating and PA in the follow­ing 5 categories: meaning of health was represented based on issues such as absence of pain and disor­der, complete body wellbeing, staying away from hazards, complete individual satisfaction, experiencing positive events, effective communication, faithfulness and trust in God. The healthy eating category was featured by adequate eating, age balanced diet, refraining from under or over nutrition and sensible consumption of fruits and vegetables. The PA was described - according to the level of performing outdoor activities or household tasks. Expressions about the perceived benefits and barriers of healthy eating and PA were aligned the two remaining categories. Conclusions: Participants have referred to the association between both PA and dietary practices and health. Understanding how older people define physical activity and nutritional behavior and recognition of the most important perceived benefits and barriers that might contribute to have a healthy eating or adequate PA profile could procure insight into the type of interventions that are required to promote healthy lifestyle among Iranian older adults.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: A UNIVERSALISTIC PERSPECTIVE APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loo-See Beh

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The universalistic perspective of human resource management practices perceives that a set of practices can achieve competitive advantage and firm performance. This study sought to investigate the relationship between best human resource practices and firm performance. A descriptive survey research design was used to gather primary data using self-administered questionnaire. The study population (n=312 was comprised of non-executives, executives, managers, and top management from seven major insurance firms at headquarters in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The study found that performance appraisal, internal communication, SHRM alignment in the organization, and career planning were the human resource management best practices.

Exploring the implications of social change for human development: perspectives, issues and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xinyin

2015-02-01

Researchers have investigated the implications of social change for human development from different perspectives. The studies published in this special section were conducted within Greenfield's theoretical framework (2009). The findings concerning links between specific sociodemographic features (e.g., commercial activities, schooling) and individual cognition and social behaviour are particularly interesting because they tap the underlying forces that drive human development. To further understand the issues in these studies and in the field, a pluralist-constructive perspective is discussed, which emphasises the integration of diverse values and practices in both Western and non-Western societies and its effects on the development of sophisticated competencies in individual adaptation to the changing global community. In addition, several issues are highlighted and some suggestions are provided for future explorations in this field. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

Barriers to implementation of workplace health interventions: an economic perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherniack, Martin; Lahiri, Supriya

2010-09-01

To identify insurance related, structural, and workplace cultural barriers to the implementation of effective preventive and upstream clinical interventions in the working age adult population. Analysis of avoided costs from perspective of health economics theory and from empiric observations from large studies; presentation of data from our own cost-plus model on integrating health promotion and ergonomics. We identify key avoided costs issues as a misalignment of interests between employers, insurers, service institutions, and government. Conceptual limitations of neoclassical economics are attributable to work culture and supply-driven nature of health care. Effective valuation of avoided costs is a necessary condition for redirecting allocations and incentives. Key content for valuation models is discussed.

Selenium and Human Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Abedi

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Selenium is an essential element for human health and it is toxic at high concentrations. Selenium is a constituent component of selenoproteins that have enzymatic and structural roles in human biochemistry. Selenium is a best antioxidant and catalyst for production of thyroid hormone. This element has the key role in the immune function; prevention of AIDS progression and the deactivity of toxins. Furthermore, selenium is essential for sperm motility and can reduce abortions. Selenium deficiency was also associated with adverse mood states. The findings regarding cardiovascular disease risk related to selenium deficiency is unclear, though other conditions such as vascular inflammation, oxidative stress and selenium deficiency can cause this disease too. Moreover, consuming of 60 mg of selenium per day may be associated with reduction of cancer risk. In this study, a review of studies has been performed on the biochemical function of selenium toxicity, and its effects on human health. Furthermore, certain identified cancers associated with selenium have been discussed to absorb more attention to the status of this element and also as a guide for further studies. Selenium plays the dual character (useful and harmful in human health, and then it is necessary to determine the concentration of this element in body fluids and tissues. An appropriate method for routine measurement of selenium in clinical laboratories is electro thermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS with very low detection limit and good precision.

Exploring the meaning of health security for disaster resilience through people's perspectives in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Ray-Bennett, Nibedita S; Collins, Andrew; Bhuiya, Abbas; Edgeworth, Ross; Nahar, Papreen; Alamgir, Fariba

2010-05-01

There has been significant interest in the rhetoric of health security in recent years from both global and local perspectives. Understanding health in the context of disaster vulnerability presents an opportunity to examine how improved health might reduce the effects of environmental disasters and other crises. To this end, a project was implemented in Bangladesh to establish the potential of a health security approach for disaster resilience amongst people living in high risk environments. This paper explores what we might mean by health security through engaging community level perspectives in the southeast coastal belt of Bangladesh, an area prone to cyclone and flood. This has been examined with respect to variation in gender and wealth of households. Household surveys, interviews and focus group discussions were some of the methods used to collect data. The findings show that health related coping strategies and agentive capabilities in the context of impending crises vary from one micro-context to the next. This suggests a dynamic and integrative resilience that could be built on further, but one which remains remote from wider discourses on health security. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regular-fat dairy and human health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Astrup, Arne; Bradley, Beth H Rice; Brenna, J Thomas

2016-01-01

In recent history, some dietary recommendations have treated dairy fat as an unnecessary source of calories and saturated fat in the human diet. These assumptions, however, have recently been brought into question by current research on regular fat dairy products and human health. In an effort to......, cheese and yogurt, can be important components of an overall healthy dietary pattern. Systematic examination of the effects of dietary patterns that include regular-fat milk, cheese and yogurt on human health is warranted....

Health implications of human trafficking.

Science.gov (United States)

Richards, Tiffany A

2014-01-01

Freedom is arguably the most cherished right in the United States. But each year, approximately 14,500 to 17,500 women, men and children are trafficked into the United States for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation. Human trafficking has significant effects on both physical and mental health. This article describes the features of human trafficking, its physical and mental health effects and the vital role nurses can play in providing care to this vulnerable population. © 2014 AWHONN.

Perspectives on Games, Computers, and Mental Health: Questions about Paradoxes, Evidences, and Challenges

OpenAIRE

Desseilles, Martin

2016-01-01

In the field of mental health, games and computerized games present questions about paradoxes, evidences, and challenges. This perspective article offers perspectives and personal opinion about these questions, evidences, and challenges with an objective of presenting several ideas and issues in this rapidly developing field. First, games raise some questions in the sense of the paradox between a game and an issue, as well as the paradox of using an amusing game to treat a serious pathology. ...

Interpersonal influence among public health leaders in the United States department of health and human services.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Jenine K; Carothers, Bobbi J; Wald, Lana M; Shelton, Sarah C; Leischow, Scott J

2012-02-17

In public health, interpersonal influence has been identified as an important factor in the spread of health information, and in understanding and changing health behaviors. However, little is known about influence in public health leadership. Influence is important in leadership settings, where public health professionals contribute to national policy and practice agendas. Drawing on social theory and recent advances in statistical network modeling, we examined influence in a network of tobacco control leaders at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Fifty-four tobacco control leaders across all 11 agencies in the DHHS were identified; 49 (91%) responded to a web-based survey. Participants were asked about communication with other tobacco control leaders, who influenced their work, and general job characteristics. Exponential random graph modeling was used to develop a network model of influence accounting for characteristics of individuals, their relationships, and global network structures. Higher job ranks, more experience in tobacco control, and more time devoted to tobacco control each week increased the likelihood of influence nomination, as did more frequent communication between network members. Being in the same agency and working the same number of hours per week were positively associated with mutual influence nominations. Controlling for these characteristics, the network also exhibited patterns associated with influential clusters of network members. Findings from this unique study provide a perspective on influence within a government agency that both helps to understand decision-making and also can serve to inform organizational efforts that allow for more effective structuring of leadership.

Interpersonal influence among public health leaders in the United States Department of Health and Human Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenine K. Harris

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Background. In public health, interpersonal influence has been identified as an important factor in the spread of health information, and in understanding and changing health behaviors. However, little is known about influence in public health leadership. Influence is important in leadership settings, where public health professionals contribute to national policy and practice agendas. Drawing on social theory and recent advances in statistical network modeling, we examined influence in a network of tobacco control leaders at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS. Design and Methods. Fifty-four tobacco control leaders across all 11 agencies in the DHHS were identified; 49 (91% responded to a web-based survey. Participants were asked about communication with other tobacco control leaders, who influenced their work, and general job characteristics. Exponential random graph modeling was used to develop a network model of influence accounting for characteristics of individuals, their relationships, and global network structures. Results. Higher job ranks, more experience in tobacco control, and more time devoted to tobacco control each week increased the likelihood of influence nomination, as did more frequent communication between network members. Being in the same agency and working the same number of hours per week were positively associated with mutual influence nominations. Controlling for these characteristics, the network also exhibited patterns associated with influential clusters of network members. Conclusions. Findings from this unique study provide a perspective on influence within a government agency that both helps to understand decision-making and also can serve to inform organizational efforts that allow for more effective structuring of leadership.

Phenomenological perspectives on self-care in aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Söderhamn, Olle

2013-01-01

Self-care is a central concept in health care and may be considered as a means to maintain, restore, and improve one's health and well-being. When performed effectively, self-care contributes not only to human functioning but also to human structural integrity and human development (ie, to a dynamic and holistic state of health). Self-care as a clinical concept is relevant for health care professionals, and it should be meaningful to investigate it at a philosophical level and to further elaborate upon this concept. The aim of this article is to discuss and elaborate upon a phenomenological perspective on self-care in aging that is relevant for the health sciences. Self-care may be preliminarily regarded as a fundamental perspective for the conscious older individual, and as a way of being in the world with both the objective body and with the lived body. The lived body is the personal center of perception and the field of action, and it is also the center of self-care. The potentiality or ability for self-care activity and self-care activity itself are structures given to perception, with self-care ability as an integral part of the lived body. The actualization of self-care ability comes about through a certain meaning, which can be regarded as an important driving force. It is constituted by communication, a healthy lifestyle, and by building meaning and socializing. Successful self-care involves having contacts with the health care system, being conscious of a sound lifestyle, being physically and mentally active, being engaged, having social contacts with family and others, as well as being satisfied, positive, and being able to look forward. One fundamental cornerstone is serenity on behalf of the individual. Self-care can facilitate transitions, and it may also be an outcome of transitions.

Implementation of municipal health promoting projects in primary schools: teachers perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordin, Lone Lindegard

2013-01-01

. The project is funded by the Danish Ministry of Science, University of Aarhus and Silkeborg municipality, and involves 5 primary schools, 23 teachers and 233 pupils from 7th to 9 class. The project is positioned within the critical approach to school health education and health promotion, developed......Implementation of municipally health promoting projects' in primary schools: teachers perspective Research question This paper discusses the findings from a qualitative research, that aimed to investigate how teachers in primary schools implemented municipal health promoting projects focusing...... that there is a “gap” between policy and practice according to aim, content and methods, and that teachers practice can be explained as coping mechanism. The key findings include: • Teachers practice is closer to traditional health education than critical health education. • Teachers priorities the mandatory teaching...

Assessing responsiveness of health care services within a health insurance scheme in Nigeria: users' perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammed, Shafiu; Bermejo, Justo Lorenzo; Souares, Aurélia; Sauerborn, Rainer; Dong, Hengjin

2013-12-01

Responsiveness of health care services in low and middle income countries has been given little attention. Despite being introduced over a decade ago in many developing countries, national health insurance schemes have yet to be evaluated in terms of responsiveness of health care services. Although this responsiveness has been evaluated in many developed countries, it has rarely been done in developing countries. The concept of responsiveness is multi-dimensional and can be measured across various domains including prompt attention, dignity, communication, autonomy, choice of provider, quality of facilities, confidentiality and access to family support. This study examines the insured users' perspectives of their health care services' responsiveness. This retrospective, cross-sectional survey took place between October 2010 and March 2011. The study used a modified out-patient questionnaire from a responsiveness survey designed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Seven hundred and ninety six (796) enrolees, insured for more than one year in Kaduna State-Nigeria, were interviewed. Generalized ordered logistic regression was used to identify factors that influenced the users' perspectives on responsiveness to health services and quantify their effects. Communication (55.4%), dignity (54.1%), and quality of facilities (52.0%) were rated as "extremely important" responsiveness domains. Users were particularly contented with quality of facilities (42.8%), dignity (42.3%), and choice of provider (40.7%). Enrolees indicated lower contentment on all other domains. Type of facility, gender, referral, duration of enrolment, educational status, income level, and type of marital status were most related with responsiveness domains. Assessing the responsiveness of health care services within the NHIS is valuable in investigating the scheme's implementation. The domains of autonomy, communication and prompt attention were identified as priority areas for action to improve

Galactooligosaccharides: production, health benefits, application to foods and perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Elizabeth Cavalcante Fai

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Synthesized from lactose transgalactosylation, galactooligosaccharides are non-digestible carbohydrates classified as prebiotic ingredients of high added value. Recently studies associate potential health benefits and disease prevention properties to these oligosaccharides. This review involves production aspects and physicochemical properties of these compounds, correlated to their physiological effects and application in food industry. It was also presented some of the physiological effect and the perspectives for these non-conventional sugars from current viewpoint.

Metal metabolism in laboratory animals and human tissues as investigated by neutron activation analysis: current status and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabbioni, E.; Pietra, R.; Marafante, E.

1982-01-01

The definition of dose-response relationships in man is the essential requisite to set scientifically health protection standards for the evaluation of a safe level exposure of humans to heavy metals. The derivation of these relationships requires sequential multidisciplinary informations including data on metabolic patterns and biochemical effects in mammals. Unfortunately, sufficient data are not available to establish dose-response curves expecially in long term-low level exposure conditions and a need exists to gather such informations for each metal on absorption, distribution and excretion in laboratory animals and humans. This paper: (1) discuss main problems related to the use of neutron activation analysis (NAA) in metallobiochemistry of present levels of trace elements; (2) report data on the current applications of NAA in metallobiochemistry in relation to the work carried out in the context of a project Heavy Metal Pollution of CEC JRC - Ispra. Applications deal with in vivo studies on laboratory animals, in vitro studies on biochemical systems and experiments on tissues of human origin; (3) discuss the perspectives of the use of the nuclear techniques in the environmental toxicology. (author)

The population health approach in historical perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Szreter, Simon

2003-03-01

The origin of the population health approach is an historic debate over the relationship between economic growth and human health. In Britain and France, the Industrial Revolution disrupted population health and stimulated pioneering epidemiological studies, informing the early preventive public health movement. A century-long process of political adjustment between the forces of liberal democracy and propertied interests ensued. The 20th-century welfare states resulted as complex political mechanisms for converting economic growth into enhanced population health. However, the rise of a "neoliberal" agenda, denigrating the role of government, has once again brought to the fore the importance of prevention and a population health approach to map and publicize the health impacts of this new phase of "global" economic growth.

Health care multidisciplinary teams: The sociotechnical approach for an integrated system-wide perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsilio, Marta; Torbica, Aleksandra; Villa, Stefano

The current literature on the enabling conditions of multidisciplinary teams focuses on the singular dimensions of the organizations (i.e., human resources, clinical pathways, objects) without shedding light on to the way in which these organizational factors interact and mutually influence one another. Drawing on a system perspective of organizations, the authors analyze the organizational patterns that promote and support multidisciplinary teams and how they interrelate and interact to enforce the organization work system. The authors develop a modified sociotechnical system (STS) model to understand how the two dimensions of technical (devices/tools, layout/organization of space, core process standardization) and social (organizational structure, management of human resources and operations) can facilitate the implementation of multidisciplinary teams in health care. The study conducts an empirical analysis based on a sample of hospital adopters of transcatheter aortic valve implantation using the revised STS model. The modified STS model applied to the case studies improves our understanding of the critical implementation factors of a multidisciplinary approach and the importance of coordinating radical changes in the technical and the social subsystems of health care organizations. The analysis informs that the multidisciplinary effort is not a sequential process and that the interplay between the two subsystems needs to be managed efficaciously as an integrated organizational whole to deliver the goals set. Hospital managers must place equal focus on the closely interrelated technical and social dimensions by investing in (a) shared layouts and spaces that cross the boundaries of the specialized health care units, (b) standardization of the core processes through the implementation of local clinical pathways, (c) structured knowledge management mechanisms, (d) the creation of clinical directorates, and (e) the design of a planning and budgeting system that

[Gender perspective in health care teaching: a pending task].

Science.gov (United States)

Arcos, Estela; Poblete, Johanna; Molina Vega, Irma; Miranda, Christian; Zúñiga, Yanira; Fecci, Ester; Rodríguez, Laura; Márquez, Myriam; Ramírez, Miguel

2007-06-01

Gender must be considered in the design and implementation of health policies to safeguard equity and accomplish sanitary objectives. To identify gender perspective in the curricula of five health care careers in the Universidad Austral de Chile. To identify the situation of women in the teaching profile of such curricula. An exploratory and descriptive study with a critical reading of the structure of the programs of 217 courses. Revision of official academic registries. Gender is usually not included in the curricula of health care careers. The generic language conceals female academics and students. There was a scarce inclusion of cross sectional issues such as collaborative work, interpersonal and democratic relationship, equity and critical analysis. There were no differences in academic achievements between female and male students. The contractual profile of female academics reproduces the gender inequity of the work market. The inclusion of gender is a pending task in the training of health care professionals.

The special programme of research in human reproduction: forty years of activities to achieve reproductive health for all.

Science.gov (United States)

Benagiano, Giuseppe; d'Arcangues, Catherine; Harris Requejo, Jennifer; Schafer, Alessandra; Say, Lale; Merialdi, Mario

2012-01-01

The Special Programme of Research in Human Reproduction (HRP), co-sponsored by the UNDP, UNFPA, WHO, and the World Bank, is celebrating 40 years of activities with an expansion of its mandate and new co-sponsors. When it began, in 1972, the main focus was on evaluating the acceptability, effectiveness, and safety of existing fertility-regulating methods, as well as developing new, improved modalities for family planning. In 1994, HRP not only made major contributions to the Plan of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD); it also broadened its scope of work to include other aspects of health dealing with sexuality and reproduction, adding a specific perspective on gender issues and human rights. In 2002, HRP's mandate was once again broadened to include sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS and in 2003 it was further expanded to research activities on preventing violence against women and its many dire health consequences. Today, the work of the Programme includes research on: the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents, women, and men; maternal and perinatal health; reproductive tract and sexually transmitted infections (including HIV/AIDS); family planning; infertility; unsafe abortion; sexual health; screening for cancer of the cervix in developing countries, and gender and reproductive rights. Additional activities by the Programme have included: fostering international cooperation in the field of human reproduction; the elaboration of WHO's first Global Reproductive Health Strategy; work leading to the inclusion of ICPD's goal 'reproductive health for all by 2015' into the Millennium Development Goal framework; the promotion of critical interagency statements on the public health, legal, and human rights implications of female genital mutilation and gender-biased sex selection. Finally, HRP has been involved in the creation of guidelines and tools, such as the 'Medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use

Health and the environment in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kramers PGN

1992-01-01

In this report the relation between the environment and human health is considered in a broad perspective. The starting point is a concept of "health" as an entity determined by endogenous and exogenous factors. Four categories of exogenous factors can be identified: (1) the physical

Exploring the barriers to implementing National Health Insurance in South Africa: The people's perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R V Passchier

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This article explores the challenges of implementing the proposed National Health Insurance for South Africa (SA, based on the six building blocks of the World Health Organization Health System Framework. In the context of the current SA health system, leadership, finance, workforce, technologies, information and service delivery are explored from the perspective of the people at ground level. Through considerations such as these, the universal health coverage goals of health equity, efficiency, responsiveness and financial risk protection, might be realised.

Exploring the barriers to implementing National Health Insurance in South Africa: The people's perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Passchier, R V

2017-09-22

This article explores the challenges of implementing the proposed National Health Insurance for South Africa (SA), based on the six building blocks of the World Health Organization Health System Framework. In the context of the current SA health system, leadership, finance, workforce, technologies, information and service delivery are explored from the perspective of the people at ground level. Through considerations such as these, the universal health coverage goals of health equity, efficiency, responsiveness and financial risk protection, might be realised.

Accessibility and acceptability of the Department of Veteran Affairs health care: diverse veterans' perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Damron-Rodriguez, JoAnn; White-Kazemipour, Whitney; Washington, Donna; Villa, Valentine M; Dhanani, Shawkat; Harada, Nancy D

2004-03-01

Diverse veteran's perspectives on the accessibility and acceptability of the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) health services are presented. The qualitative methodology uses 16 focus groups (N = 178) stratified by war cohort (World War II and Korean Conflict versus Vietnam War and Persian Gulf War) and four ethnic/racial categories (African American, Asian American, European American, Hispanic American). Five themes emerged regarding veterans' health care expectations: (1) better information regarding available services, (2) sense of deserved benefits, (3) concern about welfare stigma, (4) importance of physician attentiveness, and (5) staff respect for patients as veterans. Although veterans' ethnic/racial backgrounds differentiated their military experiences, it was the informants' veteran identity that framed what they expected of VA health services. Accessibility and acceptability of VA health care is related to veterans' perspectives of the nature of their entitlement to service. Provider education and customer service strategies should consider the identified factors to increase access to VA as well as improve veterans' acceptance of the care.

[Status and actualization of tasks to improve the scientific-methodological and regulatory frameworks in the field of human ecology and environmental health].

Science.gov (United States)

Rakhmanin, Iu A; Sinitsyna, O O

2013-01-01

Contemporary factors that affect the health of the population have been analyzed. There was shown the growing activity of chemical pollution of the environment. Therefore, in order to prevent the growth of negative health and environment consequences caused by increased levels of exposure to chemicals preventive potential for solutions of this complex problem and all strenuous efforts to assist possibly of the sound management of the chemicals should be enhanced. Problematic issues of harmonization of the Russian normative and guidance documents have been actualized. Perspective directions of science development in the field of human ecology and environmental health are suggested.

Occupational Health Psychology in Romania: Managers' and employees' needs and perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virga, Delia

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Occupational Health Psychology (OHP in Romania is now emerging, in the practitioner’s and educational field. The risk management paradigm provides a framework for this paper. The analysis focus is on presenting the perception of current national approach related to stressors and processes that threat employee’s and organizational health. Further, we compare the employees’ and managers’ perspective on OHP issues looking, in Romania and other European countries. Finally we conclude and address OHP challenges and opportunities in Romania.

Where Public Health Meets Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Kiragu, Karusa; Sawicki, Olga; Smith, Sally; Brion, Sophie; Sharma, Aditi; Mworeko, Lilian; Iovita, Alexandrina

2017-01-01

Abstract In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a process for validation of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and syphilis by countries. For the first time in such a process for the validation of disease elimination, WHO introduced norms and approaches that are grounded in human rights, gender equality, and community engagement. This human rights-based validation process can serve as a key opportunity to enhance accountability for human rights protection by evaluating EMTCT programs against human rights norms and standards, including in relation to gender equality and by ensuring the provision of discrimination-free quality services. The rights-based validation process also involves the assessment of participation of affected communities in EMTCT program development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. It brings awareness to the types of human rights abuses and inequalities faced by women living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV and syphilis, and commits governments to eliminate those barriers. This process demonstrates the importance and feasibility of integrating human rights, gender, and community into key public health interventions in a manner that improves health outcomes, legitimizes the participation of affected communities, and advances the human rights of women living with HIV. PMID:29302179

Human resources for health in Europe

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McKee, Martin; Dubois, Carl-Ardy; Nolte, Ellen

2006-01-01

... systems in the field of personnel. The authors also identify which strategies are most likely to lead to the optimal management of health professionals in the future. Human Resources for Health in Europe is key reading for health policymakers and postgraduates taking courses in health services management, health policy and health economics. It is also ...

[Occupational health and immigration: skills, perspectives and areas of intervention].

Science.gov (United States)

Porru, S; Arici, C

2011-01-01

The occupational physician (OP) has nowadays to face health and safety of migrant workers on new ethical, scientific, epidemiologic and legislative basis. Objective of our contribution is to describe area of interventions and perspectives in good medical practices for OP when dealing with migrant workers. Risk assessment should focus on differences of immigrants versus natives as regards exposures and effects, quality of and access to health services, organizational issues. Health surveillance should take into account cultural, educational, religious, life style differences, as well as susceptibility; time must be dedicated by the OP to search and evaluate such differences. Counselling, health promotion and case management are part of good medical practice. The professional role of the OP is depicted, trying to identify weaknesses and strengths, as well as priorities for intervention especially in applied research. In conclusion, migrant workers may suffer from occupational health inequalities. By means of good medical practices in risk assessment, health surveillance, fitness for work and health promotion, OP can proactively improve migrant workers' health and guarantee same levels of protection and prevention in workplaces as for the natives.

Assessing health in agriculture--towards a common research framework for soils, plants, animals, humans and ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Vieweger, Anja; Döring, Thomas F

2015-02-01

In agriculture and food systems, health-related research includes a vast diversity of topics. Nutritional, toxicological, pharmacological, epidemiological, behavioural, sociological, economic and political methods are used to study health in the five domains of soils, plants, livestock, humans and ecosystems. An idea developed in the early founding days of organic agriculture stated that the health of all domains is one and indivisible. Here we show that recent research reveals the existence and complex nature of such health links among domains. However, studies of health aspects in agriculture are often separated by disciplinary boundaries. This restrains the understanding of health in agricultural systems. Therefore we explore the opportunities and limitations of bringing perspectives together from the different domains. We review current approaches to define and assess health in agricultural contexts, comparing the state of the art of commonly used approaches and bringing together the presently disconnected debates in soil science, plant science, veterinary science and human medicine. Based on a qualitative literature analysis, we suggest that many health criteria fall into two paradigms: (1) the Growth Paradigm, where terms are primarily oriented towards continued growth; (2) the Boundary Paradigm, where terms focus on maintaining or coming back to a status quo, recognising system boundaries. Scientific health assessments in agricultural and food systems need to be explicit in terms of their position on the continuum between Growth Paradigm and Boundary Paradigm. Finally, we identify areas and concepts for a future direction of health assessment and research in agricultural and food systems. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Maternal care of undocumented pregnant women under the Fees Act (Medical) for Foreigners 1951. Perspectives of health and non-health actors

OpenAIRE

Loo, Pei Shan

2017-01-01

With the unprecedented international migration around the world, policies that restrict immigrants' health care access have become prevailing. In 2014, the amendment to The Fees Act (Medical) for Foreigners 1951 had further hindered the health care access of undocumented pregnant women. This qualitative study aimed to obtain perspectives of health and non-health actors regarding the implications of the amendment to the undocumented pregnant women. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted...

'Only connect': the case for public health humanities.

Science.gov (United States)

Saffran, Lise

2014-12-01

Humanities in health has until now been primarily understood to mean humanities in medicine and has generally failed to include public health. I will argue in this paper that the common justifications for the former--including increased empathy among practitioners--are at least as applicable, if not more, to the latter. Growing emphasis on the social determinants of health and cultural competency in public health require public health students and professionals to develop a nuanced understanding of the influence of social context on health behaviour and to empathise with people in difficult circumstances. Literary fiction has been demonstrated to have an impact on skills related to empathy and social intelligence. Further, translating epidemiological evidence into public policy is a core task of public health and there is a growing body of research to indicate that statistical evidence is more persuasive when combined with narrative evidence. In this article I explore similarities and differences between proposed humanities in public health and programmes in humanities in medicine and highlight research gaps and possible implications of a more expansive view of humanities in health. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Optimization of human, animal, and environmental health by using the One Health approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sleeman, Jonathan M; DeLiberto, Thomas; Nguyen, Natalie

2017-08-31

Emerging diseases are increasing burdens on public health, negatively affecting the world economy, causing extinction of species, and disrupting ecological integrity. One Health recognizes that human, domestic animal, and wildlife health are interconnected within ecosystem health and provides a framework for the development of multidisciplinary solutions to global health challenges. To date, most health-promoting interventions have focused largely on single-sector outcomes. For example, risk for transmission of zoonotic pathogens from bush-meat hunting is primarily focused on human hygiene and personal protection. However, bush-meat hunting is a complex issue promoting the need for holistic strategies to reduce transmission of zoonotic disease while addressing food security and wildlife conservation issues. Temporal and spatial separation of humans and wildlife, risk communication, and other preventative strategies should allow wildlife and humans to co-exist. Upstream surveillance, vaccination, and other tools to prevent pathogen spillover are also needed. Clear multi-sector outcomes should be defined, and a systems-based approach is needed to develop interventions that reduce risks and balance the needs of humans, wildlife, and the environment. The ultimate goal is long-term action to reduce forces driving emerging diseases and provide interdisciplinary scientific approaches to management of risks, thereby achieving optimal outcomes for human, animal, and environmental health.

Optimization of human, animal, and environmental health by using the One Health approach

Science.gov (United States)

Sleeman, Jonathan M.; DeLiberto, Thomas; Nguyen, Natalie T.

2017-01-01

Emerging diseases are increasing burdens on public health, negatively affecting the world economy, causing extinction of species, and disrupting ecological integrity. One Health recognizes that human, domestic animal, and wildlife health are interconnected within ecosystem health and provides a framework for the development of multidisciplinary solutions to global health challenges. To date, most health-promoting interventions have focused largely on single-sector outcomes. For example, risk for transmission of zoonotic pathogens from bush-meat hunting is primarily focused on human hygiene and personal protection. However, bush-meat hunting is a complex issue promoting the need for holistic strategies to reduce transmission of zoonotic disease while addressing food security and wildlife conservation issues. Temporal and spatial separation of humans and wildlife, risk communication, and other preventative strategies should allow wildlife and humans to co-exist. Upstream surveillance, vaccination, and other tools to prevent pathogen spillover are also needed. Clear multi-sector outcomes should be defined, and a systems-based approach is needed to develop interventions that reduce risks and balance the needs of humans, wildlife, and the environment. The ultimate goal is long-term action to reduce forces driving emerging diseases and provide interdisciplinary scientific approaches to management of risks, thereby achieving optimal outcomes for human, animal, and environmental health.

Health outcomes are about choices and values: an economic perspective on the health outcomes movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiell, A

1997-01-01

The aim of the health outcomes movement is to reorientate health services so that the spotlight shines less on what is done and more on what is achieved. The health outcomes movement, thus far, has been most successful in addressing what appear to be technical questions relating to the measurement and analysis of health outcomes and in placing their routine use on the agenda of clinical practice and health services planning. If there is one lesson to be drawn from an economic perspective, however, it is that health outcomes are about values and not just technicalities. The need to make choices forces one to consider whether what is achieved is also what is most valued. The success of health service delivery, be it at a clinical, planning or systems level, must therefore be measured against agreed objectives. It follows that time must be taken to establish what patients and the community want from their health services and what each is prepared to give up to achieve its ends. Value judgements are unavoidable. The challenge lies not in measuring the outcomes of health interventions but in deciding what the objectives of the health system ought to be.

[Transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals from the perspective of the social determinants of health and health equity].

Science.gov (United States)

Urbina-Fuentes, Manue; Jasso-Gutiérrez, Luis; Schiavon-Ermani, Raffaela; Lozano, Rafael; Finkelman, Jacobo

2017-01-01

The United Nations Declaration of 2000 agreed on eight millennium development goals (MDGs) to be met in 2015. The results show that poverty continues through population growth and advances in both rich and poor countries are threatened by economic crises and inequities in geographic areas and population groups within countries. In a globalized world with great social and economic inequalities, from the perspective of the social determinants of health (SDH), the relevance of the new 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) is greater. Faced with the health challenges in our country to achieve SDGs, the symposium "The transition from MDGs to SDGs from the perspective of SDH and health equity" was presented at the XLIV Congress of the National Academy of Medicine. The presentations dealt with five important aspects of the transition in Mexico: background and context; the current state of the MDGs in childhood; the impact on gender equity and adolescent fertility; the health system and the theme of environmental health and were presented by Dr. Raffaela Schiavon, Jacobo Finkelman, Luis Jasso and Rafael Lozano.

The New HIT: Human Health Information Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Tiffany I; Goldstein, Mary K; Musen, Mark A; Cronkite, Ruth; Chen, Jonathan H; Gottlieb, Assaf; Leitersdorf, Eran

2017-01-01

Humanism in medicine is defined as health care providers' attitudes and actions that demonstrate respect for patients' values and concerns in relation to their social, psychological and spiritual life domains. Specifically, humanistic clinical medicine involves showing respect for the patient, building a personal connection, and eliciting and addressing a patient's emotional response to illness. Health information technology (IT) often interferes with humanistic clinical practice, potentially disabling these core aspects of the therapeutic patient-physician relationship. Health IT has evolved rapidly in recent years - and the imperative to maintain humanism in practice has never been greater. In this vision paper, we aim to discuss why preserving humanism is imperative in the design and implementation of health IT systems.

EVA Health and Human Performance Benchmarking Study

Science.gov (United States)

Abercromby, A. F.; Norcross, J.; Jarvis, S. L.

2016-01-01

Multiple HRP Risks and Gaps require detailed characterization of human health and performance during exploration extravehicular activity (EVA) tasks; however, a rigorous and comprehensive methodology for characterizing and comparing the health and human performance implications of current and future EVA spacesuit designs does not exist. This study will identify and implement functional tasks and metrics, both objective and subjective, that are relevant to health and human performance, such as metabolic expenditure, suit fit, discomfort, suited postural stability, cognitive performance, and potentially biochemical responses for humans working inside different EVA suits doing functional tasks under the appropriate simulated reduced gravity environments. This study will provide health and human performance benchmark data for humans working in current EVA suits (EMU, Mark III, and Z2) as well as shirtsleeves using a standard set of tasks and metrics with quantified reliability. Results and methodologies developed during this test will provide benchmark data against which future EVA suits, and different suit configurations (eg, varied pressure, mass, CG) may be reliably compared in subsequent tests. Results will also inform fitness for duty standards as well as design requirements and operations concepts for future EVA suits and other exploration systems.

A Brief History of Soils and Human Health Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Brevik, Eric C.; Sauer, Thomas J.

2013-04-01

The idea that there are links between soils and human health is an ancient one. The Bible depicts Moses as understanding that fertile soil was essential to the well-being of his people in approximately 1400 B.C. as they entered Canaan, and in 400 B.C. Hippocrates provided a list of things that should be considered in a proper medical evaluation, including the ground. Moving into the 18th and 19th Centuries, some North American farmers have been documented as recognizing a link between soils and human vitality. However, the recognition of links between soils and human health by these early people was based on casual observations leading to logical conclusions rather than scientific investigation. In the 1900s the idea that soils influence human health gained considerable traction. At least three chapters in the 1938 USDA Yearbook of Agriculture included recognition of the importance of soil as the origin of many of the mineral elements necessary for human health and in the 1957 USDA Yearbook of Agriculture scientists realized that soils were not only important in the supply of essential nutrients, but that they could also supply toxic levels of elements to the human diet. The U.S. Department of Agriculture established the Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research Unit (PSNRU) on the Cornell University campus in 1940 with a mission to conduct research at the interface of human nutrition and agriculture to improve the nutritional quality and health-promoting properties of food crops. A major human health breakthrough in 1940 was the isolation of antibiotic compounds from soil organisms by the research group at Rutgers University lead by Selman Waksman. Soil microorganisms create antibiotic compounds in an effort to gain a competitive advantage in the soil ecosystem. Humans have been able to isolate those compounds and use them advantageously in the fight against bacterial infections. Waksman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1952, the only soil

Transforming Life: A Broad View of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Concept from an Ecological Justice Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Prescott, Susan L; Logan, Alan C

2016-11-03

The influential scientist Rene J. Dubos (1901-1982) conducted groundbreaking studies concerning early-life environmental exposures (e.g., diet, social interactions, commensal microbiota, housing conditions) and adult disease. However, Dubos looked beyond the scientific focus on disease, arguing that " mere survival is not enough ". He defined mental health as fulfilling human potential, and expressed concerns about urbanization occurring in tandem with disappearing access to natural environments (and elements found within them); thus modernity could interfere with health via "missing exposures". With the advantage of emerging research involving green space, the microbiome, biodiversity and positive psychology, we discuss ecological justice in the dysbiosphere and the forces-financial inequity, voids in public policy, marketing and otherwise-that interfere with the fundamental rights of children to thrive in a healthy urban ecosystem and learn respect for the natural environment. We emphasize health within the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) rubric and suggest that greater focus on positive exposures might uncover mechanisms of resiliency that contribute to maximizing human potential. We will entrain our perspective to socioeconomic disadvantage in developed nations and what we have described as "grey space"; this is a mental as much as a physical environment, a space that serves to insidiously reinforce unhealthy behavior, compromise positive psychological outlook and, ultimately, trans-generational health. It is a dwelling place that cannot be fixed with encephalobiotics or the drug-class known as psychobiotics.

Searching for social capital: historical perspectives on health, poverty and culture.

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Welshman, John

2006-11-01

Social capital has been seen as having a positive effect on health, and the concept of social capital has been viewed as of central importance to debates about healthy, sustainable communities. More generally, behaviour and its relationship with health has become much more central to policy-making, as illustrated in the Choosing Health White Paper (2005), and the concept of social capital has been one influence on the concept of social exclusion. Robert Putnam's arguments, both those expressed in Making Democracy Work (1993) and the revised version seen in Bowling Alone (2000) have been taken up by numerous social scientists and policy-makers. But despite the explicitly historical perspective that Putnam employs in Bowling Alone in particular, the history of social capital remains rather neglected in the available literature. This article is concerned with providing a historical perspective on social capital, especially the ways in which social investigators have viewed the relationships between health, poverty and behaviour. The article puts social capital alongside that of 'underclass' concepts such as the culture of poverty thesis, and examines how the latter has been invented and reinvented in the U.K. and the U.S.A. over the last 120 years. It argues that there are important similarities between the culture of poverty and social capital, but also significant differences, and these have implications for current policy initiatives. One way of analysing concepts like social capital and social exclusion more rigorously is by locating them within this longer-term history of social investigation, in which debates about health, poverty, and culture have been of

Income, Wealth and Health Inequalities - A Scottish Social Justice Perspective.

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Molony, Elspeth; Duncan, Christine

2016-01-01

This paper considers health inequalities through a social justice perspective. The authors draw on a variety of existing sources of evidence, including experiential, scientific and contextual knowledge. The authors work with NHS Health Scotland, a national Health Board working to reduce health inequalities and improve health. Working closely with the Scottish Government and with a variety of stakeholders across different sectors, NHS Health Scotland's vision for a fairer, healthier Scotland is founded on the principles of social justice. The paper takes social justice as the starting point and explores what it means for two interlinked paradigms of social injustice-health inequality and income inequality. Utilising the wealth of evidence synthesised by NHS Health Scotland as well as drawing on the writings and evidence of philosophers, epidemiologists, the Scottish Government and international bodies, the authors explore the links between income and wealth inequality, social justice, the right to health and health inequalities. The paper ends by considering the extent to which there is appetite for social change in Scotland by considering the attitudes of the people of Scotland and of Britain to poverty, inequality and welfare.

Terroir as a Concept to Improve Human Health

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Brevik, Eric C.; Steffan, Joshua J.; Burgess, Lynn C.; Cerdà, Artemi; Pereg, Lily

2017-04-01

Soil is important to human health because of the ability of healthy soils to supply nutrients through food products, medications derived from soil, its ability to clean water, and for many other positive reasons. On the other hand, degraded soils can have negative impacts on human health through processes such as dust generation and by acting as a point of human contact with heavy metals, organic chemicals, and pathogens. Despite the definite links between soil and human health, it is likely that most people don't think about soil when considering human health issues. In fact, there appears to be a disconnect between most people in our modern society and soil, and when people do notice soil it often seems to be in a negative context, leading to terms such as "soiled", "dirty", "dirt poor", etc. People pay attention to and care for things that matter to them, and creating a more positive public image of soil has the possibility of improving human health by leading to careful and caring treatment of the soil resource. The concept of terroir is a good example of a setting within which soils have a more positive image. While terroir originally established a connection between those who love wine and the soils that produce those wines, the concept has been expanded to many additional products such as cacao, cheese, coffee, fruits, olive oil, and vegetables. If the terroir concept could be expanded to include additional products that are important to people and expanded into parts of the world where it is not currently well known, that may provide an increased positive perception of soil, and thereby indirectly improve human health. It may even be possible to provide a terroir link to direct health benefits, such as medications derived from a given soil environment, and therefore provide a very focused emphasis on soil and human health issues. Therefore, we advocate a concerted effort to expand the terroir concept as a means to improve overall human health.

Role of Plastics on Human Health.

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Kumar, Pramod

2018-05-01

Plastics, currently the universal workhorse materials of modern economy, because of their low cost and varied functional properties are posing serious threat to environment and consumer's health in many direct and indirect ways. Rising concern about the impact of plastics on environment and human health, has forced the industry to look for alternatives. This review studies current understanding of benefits and concerns surrounding use of plastics, reviews literature about health effects in humans and discusses the current state of evidence, as well as future research trends. There is increasing concern regarding additives in plastics to which most people are exposed, such as phthalates, bisphenol A or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), and their detection in humans, leading to harmful impact on health. The studies are divided, among many other issues on the fact of considering these additives as carcinogens or toxicants, but there is a consensus that these chemicals have the ability to alter the endocrine system. Human data are limited compared to large body of experimental evidence documenting reproductive or developmental toxicity in relation to these compounds in animals. The concentrations of these additives in young children, a segment particularly sensitive to exogenous insults, are typically higher, indicating the need to decrease exposure to these compounds. The rapid increase in usage of plastics and increased awareness about its health hazard has lent urgency to the whole issue.

Integrating complementary and alternative medicine into mainstream healthcare services: the perspectives of health service managers.

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Singer, Judy; Adams, Jon

2014-05-22

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly included within mainstream integrative healthcare (IHC) services. Health service managers are key stakeholders central to ensuring effective integrative health care services. Yet, little research has specifically investigated the role or perspective of health service managers with regards to integrative health care services under their management. In response, this paper reports findings from an exploratory study focusing exclusively on the perspectives of health service managers of integrative health care services in Australia regarding the role of CAM within their service and the health service managers rational for incorporating CAM into clinical care. Health service managers from seven services were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the health service managers. The services addressed trauma and chronic conditions and comprised: five community-based programs including drug and alcohol rehabilitation, refugee mental health and women's health; and two hospital-based specialist services. The CAM practices included in the services investigated included acupuncture, naturopathy, Western herbal medicine and massage. Findings reveal that the health service managers in this study understand CAM to enhance the holistic capacity of their service by: filling therapeutic gaps in existing healthcare practices; by treating the whole person; and by increasing healthcare choices. Health service managers also identified CAM as addressing therapeutic gaps through the provision of a mind-body approach in psychological trauma and in chronic disease management treatment. Health service managers describe the addition of CAM in their service as enabling patients who would otherwise not be able to afford CAM to gain access to these treatments thereby increasing healthcare choices. Some health service managers expressly align the notion of treating the whole person

Perspective: A new model of leadership performance in health care.

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Souba, Wiley

2011-10-01

Current leadership models are based largely on concepts and explanations, which provide limited access to the being and actions of an effective leader in health care. Rather than teaching leadership from a theoretical vantage point, the ontological perspective teaches leadership as it is lived and experienced. When one exercises leadership "as lived," concurrently informed by theories, one performs at one's best. A distinctive feature of the ontological approach resides in its capacity to disclose human ways of being and acting that limit our freedom to lead effectively as our natural self-expression. Ontological leadership maintains that our worldviews and mental maps affect the way we lead and are shaped by and accessible through language--hence, to lead more effectively, mastery of a new conversational domain of leadership is required. This emerging model of leadership performance reveals that (1) our actions as leaders are correlated with the way in which the leadership situation we are dealing with occurs for us, and (2) this "occurring" is shaped by the context we bring to that situation. Master leaders use language to recontextualize their leadership challenges so that their naturally correlated ways of being and acting can emerge, resulting in effective leadership. When leaders linguistically unveil limiting contexts, they are freed up to create new contexts that shift the way leadership challenges occur for them. This provides leaders--physicians, scientists, educators, executives--with new opportunity sets (previously unavailable) for exercising exemplary leadership. The ontological approach to leadership offers a powerful framework for tackling health care's toughest challenges.

LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST CHILDREN WHO ARE VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN CIANJUR DISTRICT STUDIED BY HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henny Nuraeny

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Trafficking in persons is a modern form of slavery. The eradication of human trafficking has been on the agenda in law enforcement because of its effects can interfere with social welfare. One form of trafficking in persons who lately is rampant child trafficking. The problems that can be studied is how the perspective of Human Rights in providing protection to children who are victims of trafficking and whether the implementation of legal protection for child victims of trafficking in Cianjur is in line with the concept of human rights. This study uses normative juridical approach and specification of descriptive analysis. Results from this study is the protection of child victims of trafficking in persons has been referred to the concept of human rights which the regional government make policies on prevention of trafficking, rehabilitation, counseling and empowerment of victims of human trafficking.

eHealth research from the user's perspective.

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Hesse, Bradford W; Shneiderman, Ben

2007-05-01

The application of information technology (IT) to issues of healthcare delivery has had a long and tortuous history in the United States. Within the field of eHealth, vanguard applications of advanced computing techniques, such as applications in artificial intelligence or expert systems, have languished in spite of a track record of scholarly publication and decisional accuracy. The problem is one of purpose, of asking the right questions for the science to solve. Historically, many computer science pioneers have been tempted to ask "what can the computer do?" New advances in eHealth are prompting developers to ask "what can people do?" How can eHealth take part in national goals for healthcare reform to empower relationships between healthcare professionals and patients, healthcare teams and families, and hospitals and communities to improve health equitably throughout the population? To do this, eHealth researchers must combine best evidence from the user sciences (human factors engineering, human-computer interaction, psychology, and usability) with best evidence in medicine to create transformational improvements in the quality of care that medicine offers. These improvements should follow recommendations from the Institute of Medicine to create a healthcare system that is (1) safe, (2) effective (evidence based), (3) patient centered, and (4) timely. Relying on the eHealth researcher's intuitive grasp of systems issues, improvements should be made with considerations of users and beneficiaries at the individual (patient-physician), group (family-staff), community, and broad environmental levels.

Plastic and Human Health: A Micro Issue?

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Wright, Stephanie L; Kelly, Frank J

2017-06-20

Microplastics are a pollutant of environmental concern. Their presence in food destined for human consumption and in air samples has been reported. Thus, microplastic exposure via diet or inhalation could occur, the human health effects of which are unknown. The current review article draws upon cross-disciplinary scientific literature to discuss and evaluate the potential human health impacts of microplastics and outlines urgent areas for future research. Key literature up to September 2016 relating to accumulation, particle toxicity, and chemical and microbial contaminants was critically examined. Although microplastics and human health is an emerging field, complementary existing fields indicate potential particle, chemical and microbial hazards. If inhaled or ingested, microplastics may accumulate and exert localized particle toxicity by inducing or enhancing an immune response. Chemical toxicity could occur due to the localized leaching of component monomers, endogenous additives, and adsorbed environmental pollutants. Chronic exposure is anticipated to be of greater concern due to the accumulative effect that could occur. This is expected to be dose-dependent, and a robust evidence-base of exposure levels is currently lacking. Although there is potential for microplastics to impact human health, assessing current exposure levels and burdens is key. This information will guide future research into the potential mechanisms of toxicity and hence therein possible health effects.

The Pan American Health Organization and the mainstreaming of human rights in regional health governance.

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Meier, Benjamin Mason; Ayala, Ana S

2014-01-01

In the absence of centralized human rights leadership in an increasingly fragmented global health policy landscape, regional health offices have stepped forward to advance the rights-based approach to health. Reviewing the efforts of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), this article explores the evolution of human rights in PAHO policy, assesses efforts to mainstream human rights in the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (PASB), and analyzes the future of the rights-based approach through regional health governance, providing lessons for other regional health offices and global health institutions. This article explores PAHO's 15-year effort to mainstream human rights through PASB technical units, national capacity-building, the Inter-American human rights system, and the PAHO Directing Council. Through documentary analysis of PAHO policies and semi-structured interviews with key PASB stakeholders, the authors analyze the understandings and actions of policymakers and technical officers in implementing human rights through PAHO governance. Analyzing the themes arising from this narrative, the authors examine the structural role of secretariat leadership, state support, legal expertise, and technical unit commitment in facilitating a rights-based approach to the health in the Americas. Human rights are increasingly framing PAHO efforts, and this analysis of the structures underlying PAHO's approach provides an understanding of the institutional determinants of the rights-based approach to health, highlighting generalizable themes for the mainstreaming of human rights through regional health governance. With this regional-level understanding of health governance, future national-level research can begin to understand the causal forces linking regional human rights work with national policy reforms and public health outcomes. © 2014 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Learning essentials: what graduates of mental health nursing programmes need to know from an industry perspective.

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McAllister, Margaret; Happell, Brenda; Flynn, Trudi

2014-12-01

To explore the perspectives of nursing directors in mental health in Queensland, Australia, regarding the skills and attributes of graduates of comprehensive nursing programme to provide an industry perspective and thus augment knowledge from theoretical and professional dimensions. There is a worldwide shortage of appropriately qualified nurses with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to work effectively in mental health services. Within Australia, this has been well documented since the introduction of comprehensive nursing education. The underrepresentation of mental health content in undergraduate curricula has been identified as the primary reason for nursing graduates not being adequately prepared for practice in this field. To date, this issue has primarily been addressed from the perspective of university academics, with the voice of industry relatively silent in the published literature. Qualitative exploratory. In-depth telephone interviews with Director of Nursing (Mental Health) in Queensland, Australia. The concerns of participants were expressed in six main themes: (1) foundational knowledge of mental health and disorders, (2) recovery-oriented skills, (3) physical as well as mental health skills, (4) therapeutic strategies, (5) resilience and self-development and (6) advanced knowledge and skills. The education of comprehensive nursing education needs to be reviewed as a matter of priority to ensure graduates with the attributes required to provide high-quality care for consumers of mental health services. A skilled and knowledgeable workforce is an essential component of high-quality mental health services. Research highlighting the current deficits and issues is therefore of the highest priority. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Perspectives of Puerto Rican Adults about Heart Health and a Potential Community Program.

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Todorova, Irina L G; Tejada, Shirley; Castaneda-Sceppa, Carmen

Puerto Ricans are the second largest Hispanic group in the U.S. and older adults have significant health disparities. Educational programs that address heart disease risk for this population have rarely been developed and implemented. To address this gap, the Heart Healthy Initiative for Puerto Rican adults is being developed. To develop it as a participatory program, the community members were asked about their perspectives. Five focus groups with 28 participants, aged 45-60, were conducted, transcribed and analyzed using Thematic Analysis. In-depth analysis of meanings of health promoting behaviors, in the context of cultural beliefs and values was carried out. The following themes were identified: Health as balance and integration; Health as connection of self, connection with others; Cultural meanings of lifestyle choices; Stresses and struggles. Participants suggested that the program should have significant variety and a holistic perspective, be sensitive to different needs and motivations, stimulate mutual understanding and shared cultural meanings. The program needs to support lifestyle changes which maximally preserve traditions and to introduce multi-level changes. The identified cultural meanings of diet, physical activity and relationships were taken into account to develop the educational curriculum.

Oceans and Human Health (OHH): a European perspective from the Marine Board of the European Science Foundation (Marine Board-ESF).

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Moore, Michael N; Depledge, Michael H; Fleming, Lora; Hess, Philipp; Lees, David; Leonard, Paul; Madsen, Lise; Owen, Richard; Pirlet, Hans; Seys, Jan; Vasconcelos, Vitor; Viarengo, Aldo

2013-05-01

The oceans and coastal seas provide mankind with many benefits including food for around a third of the global population, the air that we breathe and our climate system which enables habitation of much of the planet. However, the converse is that generation of natural events (such as hurricanes, severe storms and tsunamis) can have devastating impacts on coastal populations, while pollution of the seas by pathogens and toxic waste can cause illness and death in humans and animals. Harmful effects from biogenic toxins produced by algal blooms (HABs) and from the pathogens associated with microbial pollution are also a health hazard in seafood and from direct contact with water. The overall global burden of human disease caused by sewage pollution of coastal waters has been estimated at 4 million lost person-years annually. Finally, the impacts of all of these issues will be exacerbated by climate change. A holistic systems approach is needed. It must consider whole ecosystems, and their sustainability, such as integrated coastal zone management, is necessary to address the highly interconnected scientific challenges of increased human population pressure, pollution and over-exploitation of food (and other) resources as drivers of adverse ecological, social and economic impacts. There is also an urgent and critical requirement for effective and integrated public health solutions to be developed through the formulation of politically and environmentally meaningful policies. The research community required to address "Oceans & Human Health" in Europe is currently very fragmented, and recognition by policy makers of some of the problems, outlined in the list of challenges above, is limited. Nevertheless, relevant key policy issues for governments worldwide include the reduction of the burden of disease (including the early detection of emerging pathogens and other threats) and improving the quality of the global environment. Failure to effectively address these issues

Place-focused physical activity research, human agency, and social justice in public health: taking agency seriously in studies of the built environment.

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Blacksher, Erika; Lovasi, Gina S

2012-03-01

Built environment characteristics have been linked to health outcomes and health disparities. However, the effects of an environment on behavior may depend on human perception, interpretation, motivation, and other forms of human agency. We draw on epidemiological and ethical concepts to articulate a critique of research on the built environment and physical activity. We identify problematic assumptions and enumerate both scientific and ethical reasons to incorporate subjective perspectives and public engagement strategies into built environment research and interventions. We maintain that taking agency seriously is essential to the pursuit of health equity and the broader demands of social justice in public health, an important consideration as studies of the built environment and physical activity increasingly focus on socially disadvantaged communities. Attention to how people understand their environment and navigate competing demands can improve the scientific value of ongoing efforts to promote active living and health, while also better fulfilling our ethical obligations to the individuals and communities whose health we strive to protect. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Precision Medicine and Advancing Genetic Technologies—Disability and Human Rights Perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aisling de Paor

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Scientific and technological developments are propelling genetics and genetic technologies into the public sphere. Scientific and technological innovation is becoming more refined, resulting in an increase in the availability and use of genetic testing, and other cutting edge genetic technologies, including gene editing. These genetic advances not only signal a growing trend towards precision medicine, but also provoke consideration of the protection of genetic information as an emerging human rights concern. Particular ethical and legal issues arise from a disability perspective, including the potential for discrimination and privacy violations. In consideration of the intersection of genetics and disability, this article highlights the significant concerns raised as genetic science and technology advances, and the consequences for disability rights, particularly the core concepts of non-discrimination, and respect for diversity and difference. On examining international human rights perspectives, it looks particularly at the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and how it may be used to guide best practice in this area. With an acknowledgement of historical abuses of genetic science, this article highlights the need to maintain caution as to the potential consequences of advancing genetic technologies on persons with disabilities and indeed on society as a whole.