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.

Genetics, health care, and public policy: an introduction to public health genetics

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Stewart, Alison

2007-01-01

... initiative About this book Further reading and resources Principles of public health The emergence of public health genetics The human genome project and 'genomic medicine' Community genetics Current developments in public health genetics Genomics and global health 2 Genetic science and technology Basic molecular genetics Genes and the geno...

Using indicators to determine the contribution of human rights to public health efforts

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Laura

2009-01-01

Abstract There is general agreement on the need to integrate human rights into health policies and programmes, although there is still reluctance to go beyond rhetorical acknowledgement of their assumed significance. To determine the actual value of human rights for the effectiveness of public health efforts requires clarity about what their incorporation looks like in practice and how to assess their contribution. Despite the pervasive use of indicators in the public health field, indicators that specifically capture human rights concerns are not well developed and those that exist are inconsistently used. Even though “health and human rights indicators” are increasingly being constructed, it is often the case that health indicators are used to draw conclusions about some interaction between human rights and health; or that law and policy or other indicators, traditionally the domain of the human rights community, are used to make conclusions about health outcomes. To capture the added value that human rights bring to health, the differences in the contributions offered by these indicators need to be understood. To determine the value of different measures for advancing programme effectiveness, improving health outcomes and promoting human rights, requires questioning the intended purpose behind the construction of an indicator, who uses it, the kind of indicator it is, the extent to which it provides information about vulnerable populations, as well as how the data are collected and used. PMID:19784452

Human rights of drug users according to public health professionals in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ventura, Carla A A; Mendes, Isabel A C; Trevizan, Maria A; Rodrigues, Driéli P

2013-03-01

Health is a basic human right, and drug use represents a severe influence on people's health. This qualitative study aimed to understand how health professionals in a public health-care team working with drug users in a city of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, perceive the human rights of these users and how these rights are being respected in health care. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 health professionals at the service under analysis. A thematic analysis of the interviews reveals the professionals' difficulty to define the concept of human right and contextualize these rights in their work environment. A deeper understanding of the right to health, however, represents an important premise for a more humanized care practice in health services to drug users.

Public health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berg, van den A.E.

2007-01-01

Agnes van den Berg wrote an essay about human health and nature, establishing that subject as an important policy argument in developing (urban) nature in the Netherlands. She studied the public balance of fear and fascination for nature, summarising benefits on human health. In this chapter, she

77 FR 52025 - Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Science Advisory Board; Exposure and Human Health...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-28

... Science Advisory Board; Exposure and Human Health Committee AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA... Office announces a public teleconference of the SAB Exposure and Human Health Committee to discuss its... hereby given that the SAB Exposure and Human Health Committee (EHHC) will hold a public teleconference to...

Public humanization policies: integrative literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreira, Márcia Adriana Dias Meirelles; Lustosa, Abdon Moreira; Dutra, Fernando; Barros, Eveline de Oliveira; Batista, Jaqueline Brito Vidal; Duarte, Marcella Costa Souto

2015-10-01

The study aimed to investigate the scientific literature on Public Humanization Policies, available in online periodicals, from 2009 to 2012, in the health field. This is an integrative literature review conducted in the Virtual Health Library databases: Latin-America and Caribbean Health Sciences (Lilacs) and the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and Portal Capes. Data were collected in July 2013. To this end, the following Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) were used: "Humanization of Care," "Public Policies," "National Humanization Policy". The sample consisted of 27 articles about the investigated theme. From the publications selected for the research, three categories emerged according to their respective approaches: National Human-ization Policy: history and processes involved in its implementation; National Humanization Policy: health professionals contribution; Humanization and in the care process. The study showed that the National Humanization Policy is an important benchmark in the development of health practices. For this reason, there is a pressing multiplication of related reflections on ways to promote human-ization in health services.

Human rights in patient care and public health-a common ground.

Science.gov (United States)

Peled-Raz, Maya

2017-01-01

Medical law and public health law have both served extensively as instruments of health protection and promotion-yet both are limited in their effect and scope and do not sufficiently cover nor supply a remedy to systematic, rather than anecdotal, mistreatments in the health care system. A possible solution to this deficiency may be found in the human rights in patient care legal approach. The concept of human rights in patient care is a reframing of international human rights law, as well as constitutional thought and tools, into a coherent approach aimed at the protection and furthering of both personal and communal health. It applies human rights discourse and human rights law onto the patient care setting while moving away from the narrow consumeristic view of health care delivery. By applying human rights in patient care approach, both national and international courts may and should serve as policy influencing instruments, protecting the rights of the most vulnerable and prejudiced against groups, which are want of a remedy through traditional patients' rights legal schemes.

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.

International financial institutions and human rights: implications for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Stubbs, Thomas; Kentikelenis, Alexander

2017-01-01

Serving as lender of last resort to countries experiencing unsustainable levels of public debt, international financial institutions have attracted intense controversy over the past decades, exemplified most recently by the popular discontent expressed in Eurozone countries following several rounds of austerity measures. In exchange for access to financial assistance, borrowing countries must settle on a list of often painful policy reforms that are aimed at balancing the budget. This practice has afforded international financial institutions substantial policy influence on governments throughout the world and in a wide array of policy areas of direct bearing on human rights. This article reviews the consequences of policy reforms mandated by international financial institutions on the enjoyment of human rights, focusing on the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. It finds that these reforms undermine the enjoyment of health rights, labour rights, and civil and political rights, all of which have deleterious implications for public health. The evidence suggests that for human rights commitments to be met, a fundamental reorientation of international financial institutions' activities will be necessary.

Understanding human resource management practices in Botswana's public health sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Seitio-Kgokgwe, Onalenna Stannie; Gauld, Robin; Hill, Philip C; Barnett, Pauline

2016-11-21

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the management of the public sector health workforce in Botswana. Using institutional frameworks it aims to document and analyse human resource management (HRM) practices, and make recommendations to improve employee and health system outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws from a large study that used a mixed methods approach to assess performance of Botswana's Ministry of Health (MOH). It uses data collected through document analysis and in-depth interviews of 54 key informants comprising policy makers, senior staff of the MOH and its stakeholder organizations. Findings Public health sector HRM in Botswana has experienced inadequate planning, poor deployment and underutilization of staff. Lack of comprehensive retention strategies and poor working conditions contributed to the failure to attract and retain skilled personnel. Relationships with both formal and informal environments affected HRM performance. Research limitations/implications While document review was a major source of data for this paper, the weaknesses in the human resource information system limited availability of data. Practical implications This paper presents an argument for the need for consideration of formal and informal environments in developing effective HRM strategies. Originality/value This research provides a rare system-wide approach to health HRM in a Sub-Saharan African country. It contributes to the literature and evidence needed to guide HRM policy decisions and practices.

The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute: Building Competencies for Public Health Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Jangho; Bernell, Stephanie; Tynan, Michael; Alvarado, Carla Sarai; Eversole, Tom; Mosbaek, Craig; Beathard, Candice

2015-01-01

The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute (PHPI) was designed to enhance public health policy competencies among state and local health department staff. The Oregon Health Authority funded the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University to develop the PHPI curriculum in 2012 and offer it to participants from 4 state public health programs and 5 local health departments in 2013. The curriculum interspersed short instructional sessions on policy development, implementation, and evaluation with longer hands-on team exercises in which participants applied these skills to policy topics their teams had selected. Panel discussions provided insights from legislators and senior Oregon health experts. Participants reported statistically significant increases in public health policy competencies and high satisfaction with PHPI overall. PMID:26066925

Human exposure to rabid free-ranging cats: a continuing public health concern in Pennsylvania.

Science.gov (United States)

Campagnolo, E R; Lind, L R; Long, J M; Moll, M E; Rankin, J T; Martin, K F; Deasy, M P; Dato, V M; Ostroff, S M

2014-08-01

Rabid free-ranging cats have been a public health concern in Pennsylvania since raccoon variant rabies first was recognized in the state in the early 1980s. Over the last decade, between 1.5 and 2.5% of cats submitted to Pennsylvania's state laboratories for rabies testing have been positive. In this report, we describe the extent of rabies in free-ranging cats in Pennsylvania. We also present two examples of human exposure to rabid free-ranging cats that occurred in Pennsylvania during 2010-2011 and the public health actions taken to address rabies exposure in the humans and animals. We then describe the concerns surrounding the unvaccinated and free-ranging cat population in Pennsylvania and possible options in managing this public and animal health problem. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Personalism for public health ethics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Petrini

2010-06-01

Full Text Available In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

Personalism for public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrini, Carlo; Gainotti, Sabina; Requena, Pablo

2010-01-01

In public health ethics, as in bioethics, utilitarian approaches usually prevail, followed by Kantian and communitarian foundations. If one considers the nature and core functions of public health, which are focused on a population perspective, utilitarianism seems still more applicable to public health ethics. Nevertheless, faulting additional protections towards the human person, utilitarianism doesn't offer appropriate solutions when conflicts among values do arise. Further criteria must be applied to protect the fundamental principles of respect for human life. Personalism offers similar advantages to utilitarianism but warrants more protection to the human person. We suggest a possible adaptation of personalism in the specific field of public health by means of four principles: absolute respect for life or principle of inviolability; subsidiarity and the "minimum" mandatory principle; solidarity; justice and non discrimination.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 2018 FEDERAL PHYSICAL ACITIVTY GUIDELINES

Science.gov (United States)

Title: Public Comment on Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Author: Wayne E. Cascio, Director, Environmental Public Health Division, US EPA Abstract: In the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines, the effects of air pollution and advers...

Occupational and public health considerations for work-hour limitations policy regarding public health workers during response to natural and human-caused disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Berkowitz, Murray R

2012-01-01

This article examines the occupational health considerations that might impact the health and wellbeing of public health workers during responses to natural (eg, floods and hurricanes) and human-caused (eg, terrorism, war, and shootings) disasters. There are a number of articles in the medical literature that argue the impact of how working long hours by house staff physicians, nurses, and first-responders may pose health and safety concerns regarding the patients being treated. The question examined here is how working long hours may pose health and/or safety concerns for the public health workers themselves, as well as to those in the communities they serve. The health problems related to sleep deprivation are reviewed. Current policies and legislations regarding work-hour limitations are examined. Policy implications are discussed.

The missing link between human ecology and public health: the case of cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Modonesi, Carlo; Oddone, Enrico; Panizza, Celestino; Imbriani, Marcello

2017-11-01

The primary role played by the 'ecological context' in clarifying the causes and dynamics of human health and disease is the topic of this article. It emphasizes that the challenging incidence of cancer and other diseases can be charged primarily to the effects of the worldwide dominant economic model. Human culture may act as a powerful force affecting the environment, biology and health of humans and other species. Human culture can be viewed as a special and extreme case of 'niche construction', where human-specific traits, technologies and beliefs act together. The feedback between human activities and the environment can promote different trends in public health. This should provide the opportunity to rethink the consequences that our economic model produces both on the environment and on physical, mental and social health of our species. Copyright© by Aracne Editrice, Roma, Italy.

A Synergistic Approach to Human Rights and Public Health Ethics: Effective or a Source of Conflict?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steinmetz-Wood, Madeleine

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Concerns over the growing disparities in health and wealth between members of society incited Stephanie Nixon and Lisa Forman, in their 2008 article Exploring synergies between human rights and public health ethics: A whole greater than the sum of its parts, to propose that the principles of human rights and public health ethics should be used in combination to develop norms for health action. This commentary reflects on the benefits as well as the difficulties that could arise from taking such an approach.

Human rights and political crisis in Brazil: Public health impacts and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Malta, Monica

2018-01-25

In 31 August 2016, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was impeached and replaced by her vice president Michel Temer. Herein, we examine how the conservative agenda of Mr Temer and his supporters is influencing key decisions in the human rights and public health arena in Brazil. The government's austerity agenda includes severe cuts in critical areas such as health, education and science, jeopardising well-known strategies such as the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) and nationwide cash transfer program, 'Bolsa Familia' - both benefited millions and were the largest of their kind in the world. Mr Temer's decisions show not only severe cuts in critical areas but also a political agenda that clearly demonstrates a broad shift away from the progressivism and social agenda presented and supported by its predecessors. Most vulnerable groups such as the LGBTQ community, women, people who use drugs and disenfranchised communities have been severely affected. Mr Temer's administration is putting Brazil far from its once nationwide goal to foster free and universal health care access and social equity for all its citizens. The near future for Brazil is unknown, but both national and international communities anticipate severe problems within the national human rights arena, if nothing changes. CCT: Conditional Cash Transfer; LGBTQ: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (and/or Questioning); SUS: Brazilian Public Health System.

From smallpox eradication to contemporary global health initiatives: enhancing human capacity towards a global public health goal.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarantola, Daniel; Foster, Stanley O

2011-12-30

The eradication of smallpox owes its success first and foremost to the thousands of lay health workers and community members who, throughout the campaign and across continents, took on the roles of advocates, educators, vaccinators, care providers and contributors to epidemic surveillance and containment. Bangladesh provides a good example where smallpox eradication and the capacity enhancement needed to achieve this goal resulted in a two-way mutually beneficial process. Smallpox-dedicated staff provided community members with information guidance, support and tools. In turn, communities not only created the enabling environment for smallpox program staff to perform their work but acquired the capacity to perform essential eradication tasks. Contemporary global health programmes can learn much from these core lessons including: the pivotal importance of supporting community aspirations, capacity and resilience; the critical need to enhance commitment, capacity and accountability across the workforce; and the high value of attentive human resources management and support. We owe to subsequent global disease control, elimination and eradication ventures recognition of the need for social and behavioural science to inform public health strategies; the essential roles that civil society organizations and public-private partnerships can play in public health discourse and action; the overall necessity of investing in broad-based health system strengthening; and the utility of applying human rights principles, norms and standards to public health policy and practice. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Public health advisory. 90.9 Section 90.9 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH... PROCEDURES § 90.9 Public health advisory. ATSDR may issue a public health advisory based on the findings of a...

Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Robert; Conerly, Octavia D.; Sander, William; Batt, Angela L.; Boone, J. Scott; Furlong, Edward T.; Glassmeyer, Susan T.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Mash, Heath

2017-01-01

The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or other U.S. regulatory agencies. This analysis shows that there is little public health concern for most of the contaminants detected in treated water from the 25 DWTPs participating in this study. For vanadium, the calculated Margin of Exposure (MOE) was less than the screening MOE in two DWTPs. For silicon, the calculated MOE was less than the screening MOE in one DWTP. Additional study, for example a national survey may be needed to determine the number of people ingesting vanadium and silicon above a level of concern. In addition, the concentrations of lithium found in treated water from several DWTPs are within the range previous research has suggested to have a human health effect. Additional investigation of this issue is necessary. Finally, new toxicological data suggest that exposure to manganese at levels in public water supplies may present a public health concern which will require a robust assessment of this information.

The next public health revolution: public health information fusion and social networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Ali S; Fleischauer, Aaron; Casani, Julie; Groseclose, Samuel L

2010-07-01

Social, political, and economic disruptions caused by natural and human-caused public health emergencies have catalyzed public health efforts to expand the scope of biosurveillance and increase the timeliness, quality, and comprehensiveness of disease detection, alerting, response, and prediction. Unfortunately, efforts to acquire, render, and visualize the diversity of health intelligence information are hindered by its wide distribution across disparate fields, multiple levels of government, and the complex interagency environment. Achieving this new level of situation awareness within public health will require a fundamental cultural shift in methods of acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating information. The notion of information "fusion" may provide opportunities to expand data access, analysis, and information exchange to better inform public health action.

[Productivity and academic assessment in the Brazilian public health field: challenges for Human and Social Sciences research].

Science.gov (United States)

Bosi, Maria Lúcia Magalhães

2012-12-01

This article analyzes some challenges for knowledge output in the human and social sciences in the public health field, under the current academic assessment model in Brazil. The article focuses on the qualitative research approach in human and social sciences, analyzing its status in comparison to the other traditions vying for hegemony in the public health field, conjugating the dialogue with the literature, especially the propositions pertaining to the social fields present in the work of Pierre Bourdieu, with elements concerning the field's dynamics, including some empirical data. Challenges identified in the article include hurdles to interdisciplinary dialogue and equity in the production of knowledge, based on recognition of the founding place of human and social sciences in the public health field. The article discusses strategies to reshape the current correlation of forces among centers of knowledge in public health, especially those capable of impacting the committees and agendas that define the accumulation of symbolic and economic capital in the field.

A review of public health problems of human trafficking in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigeria and other developing countries of Africa, south of Saharan are currently facing one of the most dehumanizing social and public health problems, human trafficking (HT). This can be termed modern slavery in which victims of HT are adopted, forced or coerced into labour and sexual exploitation, especially young girls ...

The Economic Crisis and Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Sidel

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The current global economic crisis seriously threatens the health of the public. Challenges include increases in malnutrition; homelessness and inadequate housing; unemployment; substance abuse, depression, and other mental health problems; mortality; child health problems; violence; environmental and occupational health problems; and social injustice and violation of human rights; as well as decreased availability, accessibility, and affordability of quality medical and dental care. Health professionals can respond by promoting surveillance and documentation of human needs, reassessing public health priorities, educating the public and policymakers about health problems worsened by the economic crisis, advocating for sound policies and programs to address these problems, and directly providing necessary programs and services.

Leveraging human capital to reduce maternal mortality in India: enhanced public health system or public-private partnership?

Science.gov (United States)

Krupp, Karl; Madhivanan, Purnima

2009-02-27

Developing countries are currently struggling to achieve the Millennium Development Goal Five of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. Many health systems are facing acute shortages of health workers needed to provide improved prenatal care, skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric services - interventions crucial to reducing maternal death. The World Health Organization estimates a current deficit of almost 2.4 million doctors, nurses and midwives. Complicating matters further, health workforces are typically concentrated in large cities, while maternal mortality is generally higher in rural areas. Additionally, health care systems are faced with shortages of specialists such as anaesthesiologists, surgeons and obstetricians; a maldistribution of health care infrastructure; and imbalances between the public and private health care sectors. Increasingly, policy-makers have been turning to human resource strategies to cope with staff shortages. These include enhancement of existing work roles; substitution of one type of worker for another; delegation of functions up or down the traditional role ladder; innovation in designing new jobs;transfer or relocation of particular roles or services from one health care sector to another. Innovations have been funded through state investment, public-private partnerships and collaborations with nongovernmental organizations and quasi-governmental organizations such as the World Bank. This paper focuses on how two large health systems in India--Gujarat and Tamil Nadu--have successfully applied human resources strategies in uniquely different contexts to the challenges of achieving Millennium Development Goal Five.

Leveraging human capital to reduce maternal mortality in India: enhanced public health system or public-private partnership?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madhivanan Purnima

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Developing countries are currently struggling to achieve the Millennium Development Goal Five of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. Many health systems are facing acute shortages of health workers needed to provide improved prenatal care, skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric services – interventions crucial to reducing maternal death. The World Health Organization estimates a current deficit of almost 2.4 million doctors, nurses and midwives. Complicating matters further, health workforces are typically concentrated in large cities, while maternal mortality is generally higher in rural areas. Additionally, health care systems are faced with shortages of specialists such as anaesthesiologists, surgeons and obstetricians; a maldistribution of health care infrastructure; and imbalances between the public and private health care sectors. Increasingly, policy-makers have been turning to human resource strategies to cope with staff shortages. These include enhancement of existing work roles; substitution of one type of worker for another; delegation of functions up or down the traditional role ladder; innovation in designing new jobs;transfer or relocation of particular roles or services from one health care sector to another. Innovations have been funded through state investment, public-private partnerships and collaborations with nongovernmental organizations and quasi-governmental organizations such as the World Bank. This paper focuses on how two large health systems in India – Gujarat and Tamil Nadu – have successfully applied human resources strategies in uniquely different contexts to the challenges of achieving Millennium Development Goal Five.

The Public Health Innovation Model: Merging Private Sector Processes with Public Health Strengths.

Science.gov (United States)

Lister, Cameron; Payne, Hannah; Hanson, Carl L; Barnes, Michael D; Davis, Siena F; Manwaring, Todd

2017-01-01

Public health enjoyed a number of successes over the twentieth century. However, public health agencies have arguably been ill equipped to sustain these successes and address the complex threats we face today, including morbidity and mortality associated with persistent chronic diseases and emerging infectious diseases, in the context of flat funding and new and changing health care legislation. Transformational leaders, who are not afraid of taking risks to develop innovative approaches to combat present-day threats, are needed within public health agencies. We propose the Public Health Innovation Model (PHIM) as a tool for public health leaders who wish to integrate innovation into public health practice. This model merges traditional public health program planning models with innovation principles adapted from the private sector, including design thinking, seeking funding from private sector entities, and more strongly emphasizing program outcomes. We also discuss principles that leaders should consider adopting when transitioning to the PHIM, including cross-collaboration, community buy-in, human-centered assessment, autonomy and creativity, rapid experimentation and prototyping, and accountability to outcomes.

The Public Health Innovation Model: Merging Private Sector Processes with Public Health Strengths

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cameron Lister

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Public health enjoyed a number of successes over the twentieth century. However, public health agencies have arguably been ill equipped to sustain these successes and address the complex threats we face today, including morbidity and mortality associated with persistent chronic diseases and emerging infectious diseases, in the context of flat funding and new and changing health care legislation. Transformational leaders, who are not afraid of taking risks to develop innovative approaches to combat present-day threats, are needed within public health agencies. We propose the Public Health Innovation Model (PHIM as a tool for public health leaders who wish to integrate innovation into public health practice. This model merges traditional public health program planning models with innovation principles adapted from the private sector, including design thinking, seeking funding from private sector entities, and more strongly emphasizing program outcomes. We also discuss principles that leaders should consider adopting when transitioning to the PHIM, including cross-collaboration, community buy-in, human-centered assessment, autonomy and creativity, rapid experimentation and prototyping, and accountability to outcomes.

An ecological public health approach to understanding the relationships between sustainable urban environments, public health and social equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bentley, Michael

2014-09-01

The environmental determinants of public health and social equity present many challenges to a sustainable urbanism-climate change, water shortages and oil dependency to name a few. There are many pathways from urban environments to human health. Numerous links have been described but some underlying mechanisms behind these relationships are less understood. Combining theory and methods is a way of understanding and explaining how the underlying structures of urban environments relate to public health and social equity. This paper proposes a model for an ecological public health, which can be used to explore these relationships. Four principles of an ecological public health-conviviality, equity, sustainability and global responsibility-are used to derive theoretical concepts that can inform ecological public health thinking, which, among other things, provides a way of exploring the underlying mechanisms that link urban environments to public health and social equity. Theories of more-than-human agency inform ways of living together (conviviality) in urban areas. Political ecology links the equity concerns about environmental and social justice. Resilience thinking offers a better way of coming to grips with sustainability. Integrating ecological ethics into public health considers the global consequences of local urban living and thus attends to global responsibility. This way of looking at the relationships between urban environments, public health and social equity answers the call to craft an ecological public health for the twenty-first century by re-imagining public health in a way that acknowledges humans as part of the ecosystem, not separate from it, though not central to it. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Climate Change and Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciesielski, Timothy

2017-05-01

It is clear that the public health community is concerned about the human health impacts of climate change, but are we inadvertently underestimating the scope of the problem and obfuscating potentially useful interventions by using a narrow intellectual frame in our discussions with policy makers? If we take a more holistic approach, we see that the public health impacts of climate change are only one subset of the enormous public health impacts of fossil fuel burning. This broader perspective can provide a more accurate and comprehensive assessment that is more useful for decision making in public policy settings.

Chemical Risk Assessment: Traditional vs Public Health ...

Science.gov (United States)

Preventing adverse health impacts from exposures to environmental chemicals is fundamental to protecting individual and public health. When done efficiently and properly, chemical risk assessment enables risk management actions that minimize the incidence and impacts of environmentally-induced diseases related to chemical exposure. However, traditional chemical risk assessment is faced with multiple challenges with respect to predicting and preventing disease in human populations, and epidemiological studies increasingly report observations of adverse health effects at exposure levels predicted from animal studies to be safe for humans. This discordance reinforces concerns about the adequacy of contemporary risk assessment practices (Birnbaum, Burke, & Jones, 2016) for protecting public health. It is becoming clear that to protect public health more effectively, future risk assessments will need to use the full range of available data, draw on innovative methods to integrate diverse data streams, and consider health endpoints that also reflect the range of subtle effects and morbidities observed in human populations. Given these factors, there is a need to reframe chemical risk assessment to be more clearly aligned with the public health goal of minimizing environmental exposures associated with disease. Preventing adverse health impacts from exposures to environmental chemicals is fundamental to protecting individual and public health. Chemical risk assessments

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.

The Partnership of Public Health and Anthropology.

Science.gov (United States)

Jelenc, Marjetka

2016-06-01

Public health focuses on health of the population and it is concerned with threats to health based on population health analysis. Anthropology covers most aspects that concern human beings. Both sciences converge on community and this fact represents a foundation for the partnership between public health and anthropology. Biological/medical anthropology is one of the highly developed fi elds of anthropology and the most important for public health.

Public Health Crisis in War and Conflict - Health Security in Aggregate.

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn, John; Zelený, Tomáš; Subramaniam, Rammika; Bencko, Vladimír

2017-03-01

Public health status of populations is multifactorial and besides other factors it is linked to war and conflict. Public health crisis can erupt when states go to war or are invaded; health security may be reduced for affected populations. This study reviews in aggregate multiple indices of human security, human development and legitimacy of the state in order to describe a predictable global health portrait. Paradigm shift of large global powers to that non-state actors and proxies impact regional influence through scaled conflict and present major global health challenges for policy makers. Small scale conflict with large scale violence threatens health security for at-risk populations. The paper concludes that health security is directly proportional to state security. Copyright© by the National Institute of Public Health, Prague 2017

Migration: a core public health ethics issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Wild, V; Dawson, A

2018-05-01

In this article, we outline the link between migration, public health and ethics. Discussing relevant arguments about migration from the perspective of public health and public health ethics. Critical review of theories and frameworks, case-based analysis and systematic identification and discussion of challenges. Migration is a core issue of public health ethics and must take a case-based approach: seeking to identify the specific ethical dimensions and vulnerabilities in each particular context. Public health as a practice, built upon the core value of justice, requires the protection and promotion of migrants' well-being (even if this produces tension with immigration services). Ethical analysis should take all phases of migration into account: before, during and after transit. We argue that migration policies, at least as they relate to migrants' well-being, should be founded upon a shared humanity, respect for human rights and on the idea that effective public health cannot and should not be confined within the borders and to the citizens of any host country. We make the case for migration to be seen as a core issue of public health ethics. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health and human rights education in U.S. schools of medicine and public health: current status and future challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Cotter, L Emily; Chevrier, Jonathan; El-Nachef, Wael Noor; Radhakrishna, Rohan; Rahangdale, Lisa; Weiser, Sheri D; Iacopino, Vincent

2009-01-01

Despite increasing recognition of the importance of human rights in the protection and promotion of health, formal human rights education has been lacking in schools of medicine and public health. Our objectives were: 1) to determine the nature and extent of health and human rights (HHR) education among schools of medicine (SOMs) and public health (SPHs); 2) to identify perceived barriers to implementing HHR curricula; 3) to learn about deans' interests and attitudes toward HHR education, and; 4) to identify factors associated with offering HHR education. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among deans of all accredited allopathic SOMs and SPHs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Seventy-one percent of U.S. SOMs and SPHs responded. Thirty-seven percent of respondents indicated that their schools offered some form of HHR education. Main barriers to offering HHR education included competition for time, lack of qualified instructors and lack of funding. Among schools not offering HHR education, 35% of deans were interested in offering HHR education. Seventy-six percent of all deans believed that it was very important or important to offer HHR education. Multiple regression analysis revealed that deans' attitudes were the most important factor associated with offering any HHR education. Findings indicate that though a majority of deans of SOMs and SPHs believe that knowledge about human rights is important in health practice and support the inclusion of HHR studies in their schools, HHR education is lacking at most of their institutions. These results and the growing recognition of the critical interdependence between health and human rights indicate a need for SOMs and SPHs to work towards formal inclusion of HHR studies in their curricula, and that HHR competency requirements be considered to overcome barriers to its inclusion.

Climate change and ecological public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodman, Benny

2015-02-17

Climate change has been identified as a serious threat to human health, associated with the sustainability of current practices and lifestyles. Nurses should expand their health promotion role to address current and emerging threats to health from climate change and to address ecological public health. This article briefly outlines climate change and the concept of ecological public health, and discusses a 2012 review of the role of the nurse in health promotion.

Bioethics in Public Health Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matilde Peguero

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The bioethics study method concerns the duties and values that must be fulfilled for respect for life. The aim of this article is to provide a reflection on bioethics in public health actions. It is a review article that includes authors with different positions. Bioethics, despite its apparent individual focus, is vital to fulfil essential functions in public health, and to guarantee the right to health and respect for human dignity.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

PPACA and public health: creating a framework to focus on prevention and wellness and improve the public's health.

Science.gov (United States)

Majette, Gwendolyn Roberts

2011-01-01

PPACA epitomizes comprehensive health care reform legislation. Public health, disease prevention, and wellness were integral considerations in its development. This article reveals the author's personal experiences while working on the framework for health care reform in the United States Senate and reviews activity in the United States House of Representatives. This insider's perspective delineates PPACA's positive effect on public health by examining the infrastructure Congress designed to focus on prevention, wellness, and public health, with a particular focus on the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council; the National Prevention, Health Promotion, Public Health, and Integrative Health Care Strategy; and the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Council, strategy, and fund are especially important because they reflect compliance with some of the Institute of Medicine's recommendations to improve public health in the United States, as well as international health and human rights norms that protect the right to health. © 2011 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Soil and public health: invisible bridges

Science.gov (United States)

Pachepsky, Yakov

2017-04-01

Public health institutions, as ancient as civilizations itself, are intrinsically connected with soils. The massive body of the empirical knowledge about this connection has been accumulated. Recently unraveling the underlying mechanisms of this link has begun, and many of them appear to have the microbiological origin. The impressive progress in understanding the nexus between soil and health has been achieved by experimentation with preserved soil microbial systems functioning along with the metagenomic characterization. The objective of this work is to present an overview of some recent onsets. In the food safety arena, survival of human pathogens in soils has been related to the degree of soil eutrophication and/or related structure of soil microbial communities. Soil microbial systems affect the affinity of plants to internalizing pathogenic organisms. Pharmaceutical arsenals benefit from using field soil environment for developing antibiotics. Enzyme production by soil bacteria is used as the signal source for drug activation. Sanitary functions of sols are dependent on soil microbial system workings. The healthy living can be enhanced by the human immune system training received from direct contact with soils. The hygiene hypothesis considers the microbial input due to exposure to soil as the essential ecosystem service. The invisible links between soil and public health result in large-scale consequences. Examples of concurrent degradation of soil and public health are worth scrutinizing. Public health records can provide valuable sources of 'soil-public health' interactions. It may be worthwhile to examine current assessments of soil health from the public health standpoint. Soil management can be an efficient instrument of public health control.

A review of low-level air pollution and adverse effects on human health: implications for epidemiological studies and public policy

Science.gov (United States)

Olmo, Neide Regina Simões; do Nascimento Saldiva, Paulo Hilário; Braga, Alfésio Luís Ferreira; Lin, Chin An; de Paula Santos, Ubiratan; Pereira, Luiz Alberto Amador

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to review original scientific articles describing the relationship between atmospheric pollution and damage to human health. We also aimed to determine which of these studies mentioned public policy issues. Original articles relating to atmospheric pollution and human health published between 1995 and 2009 were retrieved from the PubMed database and analyzed. This study included only articles dealing with atmospheric pollutants resulting primarily from vehicle emissions. Three researchers were involved in the final selection of the studies, and the chosen articles were approved by at least two of the three researchers. Of the 84 non-Brazilian studies analyzed, 80 showed an association between atmospheric pollution and adverse effects on human health. Moreover, 66 showed evidence of adverse effects on human health, even at levels below the permitted emission standards. Three studies mentioned public policies aimed at changing emission standards. Similarly, the 29 selected Brazilian studies reported adverse associations with human health, and 27 showed evidence of adverse effects even at levels below the legally permitted emission standards. Of these studies, 16 mentioned public policies aimed at changing emission standards. Based on the Brazilian and non-Brazilian scientific studies that have been conducted, it can be concluded that, even under conditions that are compliant with Brazilian air quality standards, the concentration of atmospheric pollutants in Brazil can negatively affect human health. However, as little discussion of this topic has been generated, this finding demonstrates the need to incorporate epidemiological evidence into decisions regarding legal regulations and to discuss the public policy implications in epidemiological studies. PMID:21655765

Health Insurance Marketplace Public Use Files

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — A set of seven (7) public use files containing information on health insurance issuers participating in the Health Insurance Marketplace and certified qualified...

Public and Private Responsibility for Mental Health: Mental Health's Fourth Revolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Dokecki, Paul R.

Three revolutions in the history of mental health were identified by Nicholas Hobbs: the humane revolution, the scientific and therapeutic revolution, and the public health revolution. The shift of responsibilities for mental health and substance abuse services from the public to the private sector may constitute a fourth mental health revolution.…

What does social justice require for the public's health? Public health ethics and policy imperatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Gostin, Lawrence O; Powers, Madison

2006-01-01

Justice is so central to the mission of public health that it has been described as the field's core value. This account of justice stresses the fair disbursement of common advantages and the sharing of common burdens. It captures the twin moral impulses that animate public health: to advance human well-being by improving health and to do so particularly by focusing on the needs of the most disadvantaged. This Commentary explores how social justice sheds light on major ongoing controversies in the field, and it provides examples of the kinds of policies that public health agencies, guided by a robust conception of justice, would adopt.

A review of human milk banking and public health policy in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lording, Roslyn J

2006-11-01

Breastmilk is the perfect food for human infants. It is markedly different from, and uniquely superior to, artificial baby milk. Human milk banks are services which collect, screen, process and distribute donated breastmilk. Recipients are generally ill and premature infants whose mothers are unable to breastfeed them. This review of human milk banking in Australian public health policy draws from local and international research. This history of human milk banking and contemporary Australian policies, pertaining to breastfeeding and milk banking, are examined. Human milk banking is noted to be largely invisible from national breastfeeding policies. The barriers to establishing human milk banks in the Australian context are explored. Strategies which have helped generate support for human milk banking are discussed. International research has demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of banked donor milk. It is time for human milk banking to become an integral component of Australian breastfeeding policies, viewed as one of several initiatives to protect and support breastfeeding.

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.

Nanotechnology in global medicine and human biosecurity: private interests, policy dilemmas, and the calibration of public health law.

Science.gov (United States)

Faunce, Thomas A

2007-01-01

This paper considers how best to approach dilemmas posed to global health and biosecurity policy by increasing advances in practical applications of nanotechnology. The type of nano-technology policy dilemmas discussed include: (1) expenditure of public funds, (2) public-funded research priorities, (3) public confidence in government and science and, finally, (4) public safety. The article examines the value in this context of a legal obligation that the development of relevant public health law be calibrated against less corporate-influenced norms issuing from bioethics and international human rights.

Ethics in public health: call for shared moral public health literacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Maeckelberghe, Els L M; Schröder-Bäck, Peter

2017-10-01

Public Health (PH) in Europe has become much more vocal about its moral understandings since 1992. The rising awareness that PH issues were inseparable from issues of human rights and social justice almost self-evidently directed the agenda of EUPHA and the European Public Health (EPH)-conferences. Problems of cultural and behavioural change, and environmental issues on a global scale were also added. The Section Ethics in PH invited the EPH community to join in 'arm chair thinking': coming together at conferences not only to share the 'how' and 'what' of PH research, practices and policies but also the 'why'. Time has been reserved to genuinely discuss what moral values are at stake in the work of PH and to actively develop a moral language and framework for PH Ethics. The challenge for the next decades is to find ways to involve the general public in the cultivation of a shared moral PH literacy. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Epigenetics: relevance and implications for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozek, Laura S; Dolinoy, Dana C; Sartor, Maureen A; Omenn, Gilbert S

2014-01-01

Improved understanding of the multilayer regulation of the human genome has led to a greater appreciation of environmental, nutritional, and epigenetic risk factors for human disease. Chromatin remodeling, histone tail modifications, and DNA methylation are dynamic epigenetic changes responsive to external stimuli. Careful interpretation can provide insights for actionable public health through collaboration between population and basic scientists and through integration of multiple data sources. We review key findings in environmental epigenetics both in human population studies and in animal models, and discuss the implications of these results for risk assessment and public health protection. To ultimately succeed in identifying epigenetic mechanisms leading to complex phenotypes and disease, researchers must integrate the various animal models, human clinical approaches, and human population approaches while paying attention to life-stage sensitivity, to generate effective prescriptions for human health evaluation and disease prevention.

Food system policy, public health, and human rights in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Shannon, Kerry L; Kim, Brent F; McKenzie, Shawn E; Lawrence, Robert S

2015-03-18

The US food system functions within a complex nexus of social, political, economic, cultural, and ecological factors. Among them are many dynamic pressures such as population growth, urbanization, socioeconomic inequities, climate disruption, and the increasing demand for resource-intensive foods that place immense strains on public health and the environment. This review focuses on the role that policy plays in defining the food system, particularly with regard to agriculture. It further examines the challenges of making the food supply safe, nutritious, and sustainable, while respecting the rights of all people to have access to adequate food and to attain the highest standard of health. We conclude that the present US food system is largely unhealthy, inequitable, environmentally damaging, and insufficiently resilient to endure the impacts of climate change, resource depletion, and population increases, and is therefore unsustainable. Thus, it is imperative that the US embraces policy reforms to transform the food system into one that supports public health and reflects the principles of human rights and agroecology for the benefit of current and future generations.

Public perceptions of climate change as a human health risk: surveys of the United States, Canada and Malta.

Science.gov (United States)

Akerlof, Karen; Debono, Roberto; Berry, Peter; Leiserowitz, Anthony; Roser-Renouf, Connie; Clarke, Kaila-Lea; Rogaeva, Anastasia; Nisbet, Matthew C; Weathers, Melinda R; Maibach, Edward W

2010-06-01

We used data from nationally representative surveys conducted in the United States, Canada and Malta between 2008 and 2009 to answer three questions: Does the public believe that climate change poses human health risks, and if so, are they seen as current or future risks? Whose health does the public think will be harmed? In what specific ways does the public believe climate change will harm human health? When asked directly about the potential impacts of climate change on health and well-being, a majority of people in all three nations said that it poses significant risks; moreover, about one third of Americans, one half of Canadians, and two-thirds of Maltese said that people are already being harmed. About a third or more of people in the United States and Canada saw themselves (United States, 32%; Canada, 67%), their family (United States, 35%; Canada, 46%), and people in their community (United States, 39%; Canada, 76%) as being vulnerable to at least moderate harm from climate change. About one third of Maltese (31%) said they were most concerned about the risk to themselves and their families. Many Canadians said that the elderly (45%) and children (33%) are at heightened risk of harm, while Americans were more likely to see people in developing countries as being at risk than people in their own nation. When prompted, large numbers of Canadians and Maltese said that climate change can cause respiratory problems (78-91%), heat-related problems (75-84%), cancer (61-90%), and infectious diseases (49-62%). Canadians also named sunburn (79%) and injuries from extreme weather events (73%), and Maltese cited allergies (84%). However, climate change appears to lack salience as a health issue in all three countries: relatively few people answered open-ended questions in a manner that indicated clear top-of-mind associations between climate change and human health risks. We recommend mounting public health communication initiatives that increase the salience of the

Public Perceptions of Climate Change as a Human Health Risk: Surveys of the United States, Canada and Malta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Akerlof

2010-06-01

Full Text Available We used data from nationally representative surveys conducted in the United States, Canada and Malta between 2008 and 2009 to answer three questions: Does the public believe that climate change poses human health risks, and if so, are they seen as current or future risks? Whose health does the public think will be harmed? In what specific ways does the public believe climate change will harm human health? When asked directly about the potential impacts of climate change on health and well-being, a majority of people in all three nations said that it poses significant risks; moreover, about one third of Americans, one half of Canadians, and two-thirds of Maltese said that people are already being harmed. About a third or more of people in the United States and Canada saw themselves (United States, 32%; Canada, 67%, their family (United States, 35%; Canada, 46%, and people in their community (United States, 39%; Canada, 76% as being vulnerable to at least moderate harm from climate change. About one third of Maltese (31% said they were most concerned about the risk to themselves and their families. Many Canadians said that the elderly (45% and children (33% are at heightened risk of harm, while Americans were more likely to see people in developing countries as being at risk than people in their own nation. When prompted, large numbers of Canadians and Maltese said that climate change can cause respiratory problems (78–91%, heat-related problems (75–84%, cancer (61–90%, and infectious diseases (49–62%. Canadians also named sunburn (79% and injuries from extreme weather events (73%, and Maltese cited allergies (84%. However, climate change appears to lack salience as a health issue in all three countries: relatively few people answered open-ended questions in a manner that indicated clear top-of-mind associations between climate change and human health risks. We recommend mounting public health communication initiatives that increase the

Economic sanctions as human rights violations: reconciling political and public health imperatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Marks, S P

1999-10-01

The impact of economic sanctions on civilians has frequently been studied by public health specialists and specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). This commentary explores some of the difficulties of the claim that sanctions constitute violations of human rights. The deprivation suffered by civilian populations under sanctions regimes often are violations of economic, social, and cultural human rights; however, the attribution of responsibility for those violations to the "senders" of sanctions (the UN Security Council or the US government, for example) is difficult to sustain, particularly in light of the efforts made by these entities to provide for humanitarian exemptions and humanitarian aid. A more productive approach to avoiding civilian harm is to prefer, as a matter of policy, arms embargoes, severing of communications, and international criminal prosecutions over trade embargoes. Promising recommendations have been formulated regarding "smart sanctions," which target regimes rather than people, and "positive sanctions" in the form of incentives. Health and human rights professionals have specific and important tasks in implementing such a restructured approach to sanctions.

Globalization of public health law and ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, Myongsei

2012-09-01

The Constitution of the World Health Organization (1946) states that the "enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social position." The international legal framework for this right was laid by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and reaffirmed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966) and the Declaration of Alma-Ata (1978). In recent years, the framework has been developed on 10 key elements: national and international human rights, laws, norms, and standards; resource constraints and progressive realization; obligations of immediate effect; freedoms and entitlements; available, accessible, acceptable, and good quality; respect, protect, and fulfill; non-discrimination, equality, and vulnerability; active and informed participation; international assistance and cooperation; and monitoring and accountability. Whereas public health law plays an essential role in the protection and promotion of the right to health, the emergence of SARS (2003) highlighted the urgent need to reform national public health laws and international obligations relating to public health in order to meet the new realities of a globalized world, leading to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (2003) and the revision of the WHO International Health Regulations (2005). The Asian Institute for Bioethics and Health Law, in conjunction with the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare and the WHO International Digest of Health Legislation, conducted a comparative legal analysis of national public health laws in various countries through a project entitled Domestic Profiles of Public/Population Health Legislation (2006), which underscored the importance of recognizing the political and social contexts of distinct legal cultures, including Western, Asian, Islamic, and African.

[Common competencies and contents in public health in graduate programs].

Science.gov (United States)

Davó, M A Carmen; Vives-Cases, Carmen; Benavides, Fernando García; Alvarez-Dardet, Carlos; Segura-Benedicto, Andreu; Icart, Teresa; Astasio, Paloma; Gil, Angel; Ortiz, M Del Rocío; García, Angel; Ronda, Elena; Bosch, Félix

2011-01-01

To identify fundamental public health competencies and contents in nursing, pharmacy, teaching, medicine, human nutrition and dietetics, optics and optometry, labor relations and human resources, and social work in graduate programs and to formulate proposals for their improvement. The workshop on Public health contents in graduate programs in the XXI Menorca Public Health School was organized as follows: eight groups were set up, coordinated by 37 Spanish university teachers participating in the workshop and selected through key informants and snowball techniques. Two studies on public health professional competencies and the participants' own graduate programs were used to discuss public health professional competencies and contents and establish recommendations to improve public health programs. Each group worked on a particular degree course and the results were shared in plenary. Professional competencies for the three essential public health functions were indentified in all the degrees, except teaching, optics and optometry, and social work. Some of the competencies included in degrees in nursing, teaching, human nutrition and dietetics, and social work were rewritten to highlight the role of each type of professional in public health functions. The groups agreed on the introductory topics (basic concepts and health determinants) and intervention strategies. Common competencies and contents were identified in graduate programs. Updating public health contents in graduate programs would help to define and promote the profile of public health professionals. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

The impact of globalization on public health: implications for the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, K

2000-09-01

There has been substantial discussion of globalization in the scholarly and popular press yet limited attention so far among public health professionals. This is so despite the many potential impacts of globalization on public health. Defining public health broadly, as focused on the collective health of populations requiring a range of intersectoral activities, globalization can be seen to have particular relevance. Globalization, in turn, can be defined as a process that is changing the nature of human interaction across a wide range of spheres and along at least three dimensions. Understanding public health and globalization in these ways suggests the urgent need for research to better understand the linkages between the two, and effective policy responses by a range of public health institutions, including the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine. The paper is based on a review of secondary literature on globalization that led to the development of a conceptual framework for understanding potential impacts on the determinants of health and public health. The paper then discusses major areas of public health in relation to these potential impacts. It concludes with recommendations on how the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine might contribute to addressing these impacts through its various activities. Although there is growing attention to the importance of globalization to public health, there has been limited research and policy development in the United Kingdom. The UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine needs to play an active role in bringing relevant issues to the attention of policy makers, and encourage its members to take up research, teaching and policy initiatives. The potential impacts of globalization support a broader understanding and practice of public health that embraces a wide range of health determinants.

The built environment and public health

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lopez, Russ

2012-01-01

... human health and well-being. The author covers a wealth of topics including foundations, the joint history of public health and urban planning, transportation and land use, infrastructure and natural disasters, assessment tools...

[Intersectoral experience to bridge the gap between human resources in public health and the technical-operational level for Peruvian Voluntary Military Service members].

Science.gov (United States)

Romaní-Romaní, Franco; Curisinche-Rojas, Maricela; Arteaga, Norka Rojas; Lopez, Pedro Riega; Cabezas, César

2016-01-01

There is a gap between human resources and technical-operational education that limits the Peruvian health system's ability to implement public health interventions. The Peruvian Ministry of Health, through the National Health Institute and the Ministry of Defense, implemented a Public Health Training Program addressed to young full-time military servicemen, on the basis of the competency profile of a public health technician. The program consists of seven thematic units given in 390 hours, 200 of which correspond to classroom and field practices. Between July 2014 and December 2015, the program has been carried out in 10 venues of the three armed forces, training and certifying 405 young servicemen. The intervention provides the military service with an additional educational benefit, making it more appealing as a chance for development and opens up a line of work in the public health sector for young people in more remote areas. This experience seeks to increase public health-trained human resources to a technical-operational level. In collaboration with regional governments, graduates are expected to be welcomed and included in the public health system.

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

Public health implications of emerging zoonoses.

Science.gov (United States)

Meslin, F X; Stöhr, K; Heymann, D

2000-04-01

Many new, emerging and re-emerging diseases of humans are caused by pathogens which originate from animals or products of animal origin. A wide variety of animal species, both domestic and wild, act as reservoirs for these pathogens, which may be viruses, bacteria or parasites. Given the extensive distribution of the animal species affected, the effective surveillance, prevention and control of zoonotic diseases pose a significant challenge. The authors describe the direct and indirect implications for public health of emerging zoonoses. Direct implications are defined as the consequences for human health in terms of morbidity and mortality. Indirect implications are defined as the effect of the influence of emerging zoonotic disease on two groups of people, namely: health professionals and the general public. Professional assessment of the importance of these diseases influences public health practices and structures, the identification of themes for research and allocation of resources at both national and international levels. The perception of the general public regarding the risks involved considerably influences policy-making in the health field. Extensive outbreaks of zoonotic disease are not uncommon, especially as the disease is often not recognised as zoonotic at the outset and may spread undetected for some time. However, in many instances, the direct impact on health of these new, emerging or re-emerging zoonoses has been small compared to that of other infectious diseases affecting humans. To illustrate the tremendous indirect impact of emerging zoonotic diseases on public health policy and structures and on public perception of health risks, the authors provide a number of examples, including that of the Ebola virus, avian influenza, monkeypox and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Recent epidemics of these diseases have served as a reminder of the existence of infectious diseases and of the capacity of these diseases to occur unexpectedly in new

Health information: reconciling personal privacy with the public good of human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Gostin, L O

2001-01-01

The success of the health care system depends on the accuracy, correctness and trustworthiness of the information, and the privacy rights of individuals to control the disclosure of personal information. A national policy on health informational privacy should be guided by ethical principles that respect individual autonomy while recognizing the important collective interests in the use of health information. At present there are no adequate laws or constitutional principles to help guide a rational privacy policy. The laws are scattered and fragmented across the states. Constitutional law is highly general, without important specific safeguards. Finally, a case study is provided showing the important trade-offs that exist between public health and privacy. For a model public health law, see www.critpath.org/msphpa/privacy.

Public health emergencies in urban India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhabani Prasad Acharya

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Public health emergencies in urban India can be caused by natural or man-made disasters. Occurrence of a public health emergency adds to the already stretched health system. This paper looks into the public health emergency conditions in urban India, and our preparedness to tackle them. To address this composite threat to nation’s health and development, a concerted public health response is needed, that can ensure efficient delivery in emergency situations Public health emergency is an occurrence or eminent threat of an illness or health condition caused by bio-terrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or novel and highly fatal infectious agent or biological toxin, that possess a substantial risk of a significant number of human facilities or incidents or permanent or long–term disability (1. It is a condition that requires the government to declare a state of public health emergency. The declaration of a state of public health emergency permits the government to suspend state regulations,and change the functions of state agencies (2. Term “Urban” refers to perplexing variety of environments.  Health circumstances of small cities and town differ in many ways from larger cities and metros. Within cities, change in lifestyle of residents is observed. The urban system is often present with full array of health providers ranging from traditional healer, street drug seller to highly –trained surgeons (3.

75 FR 40842 - Public Health Service Act (PHS), Delegation of Authority

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-14

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Service Act (PHS), Delegation of Authority Notice is hereby given that I have delegated to the Director... Secretary of Health and Human Services under the following section under Title XXVI of the Public Health...

Crowdsourcing applications for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Brabham, Daren C; Ribisl, Kurt M; Kirchner, Thomas R; Bernhardt, Jay M

2014-02-01

Crowdsourcing is an online, distributed, problem-solving, and production model that uses the collective intelligence of networked communities for specific purposes. Although its use has benefited many sectors of society, it has yet to be fully realized as a method for improving public health. This paper defines the core components of crowdsourcing and proposes a framework for understanding the potential utility of crowdsourcing in the domain of public health. Four discrete crowdsourcing approaches are described (knowledge discovery and management; distributed human intelligence tasking; broadcast search; and peer-vetted creative production types) and a number of potential applications for crowdsourcing for public health science and practice are enumerated. © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine Published by American Journal of Preventive Medicine All rights reserved.

Medicine and public health in a multiethnic world

OpenAIRE

Bhopal, Raj

2009-01-01

Achievement of medical and public health goals requires mutual understanding between professionals and the public, a challenge in diverse societies. Despite their massive diversity humans belong to one species, with race and ethnicity used to subgroup/classify humans and manage diversity. Classifications are contextual and vary by time, place and classifier. As classifications show major variations in health status, and risk factors, research using race and ethnicity has accelerated....

Global Disease Detection-Achievements in Applied Public Health Research, Capacity Building, and Public Health Diplomacy, 2001-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Carol Y; Goryoka, Grace W; Henao, Olga L; Clarke, Kevin R; Salyer, Stephanie J; Montgomery, Joel M

2017-11-01

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established 10 Global Disease Detection (GDD) Program regional centers around the world that serve as centers of excellence for public health research on emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. The core activities of the GDD Program focus on applied public health research, surveillance, laboratory, public health informatics, and technical capacity building. During 2015-2016, program staff conducted 205 discrete projects on a range of topics, including acute respiratory illnesses, health systems strengthening, infectious diseases at the human-animal interface, and emerging infectious diseases. Projects incorporated multiple core activities, with technical capacity building being most prevalent. Collaborating with host countries to implement such projects promotes public health diplomacy. The GDD Program continues to work with countries to strengthen core capacities so that emerging diseases can be detected and stopped faster and closer to the source, thereby enhancing global health security.

Public Health 3.0: A Call to Action for Public Health to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century.

Science.gov (United States)

DeSalvo, Karen B; Wang, Y Claire; Harris, Andrea; Auerbach, John; Koo, Denise; O'Carroll, Patrick

2017-09-07

Public health is what we do together as a society to ensure the conditions in which everyone can be healthy. Although many sectors play key roles, governmental public health is an essential component. Recent stressors on public health are driving many local governments to pioneer a new Public Health 3.0 model in which leaders serve as Chief Health Strategists, partnering across multiple sectors and leveraging data and resources to address social, environmental, and economic conditions that affect health and health equity. In 2016, the US Department of Health and Human Services launched the Public Health 3.0 initiative and hosted listening sessions across the country. Local leaders and community members shared successes and provided insight on actions that would ensure a more supportive policy and resource environment to spread and scale this model. This article summarizes the key findings from those listening sessions and recommendations to achieve Public Health 3.0.

Graduate public health training in healthcare of refugee asylum seekers and clinical human rights: evaluation of an innovative curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Asgary, Ramin

2016-04-01

An innovative curriculum was developed to equip public health students with appropriate attitude and skills to address healthcare of asylum seekers. Implemented in 2005 the curriculum included: (1) didactic sessions covering epidemiology and health sequelae of torture, asylum laws, and approaches to identify survivors' healthcare needs; (2) panel discussions with survivors and advocates; and (3) participating in medico-legal process of asylum seeking. Complementary mixed methods evaluations included pre- and post-curriculum questionnaires, formal curriculum evaluations, final papers and oral presentations. 125 students participated. Students showed improved knowledge regrading sequelae of abuse and survivors' healthcare needs (P health and human rights careers. As an advocacy and cultural competency training in public health practice addressing healthcare of refugees domestically, this curriculum was well received and effective, and will also help students better serve other similar populations. Population case-based domestic opportunities to teach global health and health and human rights should be effectively utilized to develop a well-equipped global health corps.

Oceans and human health: Emerging public health risks n the marine environment

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, L.E.; Broad, K.; Clement, A.; Dewailly, E.; Elmir, S.; Knap, A.; Pomponi, S.A.; Smith, S.; Gabriele, H. Solo; Walsh, P.

2008-01-01

There has been an increasing recognition of the inter-relationship between human health and the oceans. Traditionally, the focus of research and concern has been on the impact of human activities on the oceans, particularly through anthropogenic pollution and the exploitation of marine resources. More recently, there has been recognition of the potential direct impact of the oceans on human health, both detrimental and beneficial. Areas identified include: global change, harmful algal blooms (HABs), microbial and chemical contamination of marine waters and seafood, and marine models and natural products from the seas. It is hoped that through the recognition of the inter-dependence of the health of both humans and the oceans, efforts will be made to restore and preserve the oceans. PMID:16996542

Soils and public health: the vital nexus

Science.gov (United States)

Pachepsky, Yakov

2015-04-01

Soils sustain life. They affect human health via quantity, quality, and safety of available food and water, and via direct exposure of individuals to soils. Throughout the history of civilization, soil-health relationships have inspired spiritual movements, philosophical systems, cultural exchanges, and interdisciplinary interactions, and provided medicinal substances of paramount impact. Given the climate, resource, and population pressures, understanding and managing the soil-health interactions becomes a modern imperative. We are witnessing a paradigm shift from recognizing and yet disregarding the 'soil-health' nexus complexity to parameterizing this complexity and identifying reliable controls. This becomes possible with the advent of modern research tools as a source of 'big data' on multivariate nonlinear soil systems and the multiplicity of health metrics. The phenomenon of suppression of human pathogens in soils and plants presents a recent example of these developments. Evidence is growing about the dependence of pathogen suppression on the soil microbial community structure which, in turn, is affected by the soil-plant system management. Soil eutrophication appears to create favorable conditions for pathogen survival. Another example of promising information-rich research considers links and feedbacks between the soil microbial community structure and structure of soil physical pore space. The two structures are intertwined and involved in the intricate self-organization that controls soil services to public health. This, in particular, affects functioning of soils as a powerful water filter and the capacity of this filter with respect to emerging contaminants in both 'green' and 'blue' waters. To evaluate effects of soil services to public health, upscaling procedures are needed for relating the fine-scale mechanistic knowledge to available coarse-scale information on soil properties and management. More needs to be learned about health effects of soils

The right to health, health systems development and public health policy challenges in Chad.

Science.gov (United States)

Azétsop, Jacquineau; Ochieng, Michael

2015-02-15

There is increasing consensus that the right to health can provide ethical, policy and practical groundings for health systems development. The goals of the right to health are congruent with those of health systems development, which are about strengthening health promotion organizations and actions so as to improve public health. The poor shape and performance of health systems in Chad question the extent of realization of the right to health. Due to its comprehensiveness and inclusiveness, the right to health has the potential of being an organizational and a normative backbone for public health policy and practice. It can then be understood and studied as an integral component of health systems development. This paper uses a secondary data analysis of existing documents by the Ministry of Public Health, Institut National de la Statistique, des Etudes Economiques et Démographiques (INSEED), the Ministry of Economy and Agence Française de Cooperation to analyze critically the shape and performance of health systems in Chad based on key concepts and components of the right to health contained in article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and on General Comment 14. The non-realization of the right to health, even in a consistently progressive manner, raises concerns about the political commitment of state officials to public health, about the justice of social institutions in ensuring social well-being and about individual and public values that shape decision-making processes. Social justice, democratic rule, transparency, accountability and subsidiarity are important groundings for ensuring community participation in public affairs and for monitoring the performance of public institutions. The normative ideals of health systems development are essentially democratic in nature and are rooted in human rights and in ethical principles of human dignity, equality, non-discrimination and social justice. These ideals are grounded

Eugenics and public health in American history.

Science.gov (United States)

Pernick, M S

1997-11-01

Supporters of eugenics, the powerful early 20th-century movement for improving human heredity, often attacked that era's dramatic improvements in public health and medicine for preserving the lives of people they considered hereditarily unfit. Eugenics and public health also battled over whether heredity played a significant role in infectious diseases. However, American public health and eugenics had much in common as well. Eugenic methods often were modeled on the infection control techniques of public health. The goals, values, and concepts of disease of these two movements also often overlapped. This paper sketches some of the key similarities and differences between eugenics and public health in the United States, and it examines how their relationship was shaped by the interaction of science and culture. The results demonstrate that eugenics was not an isolated movement whose significance is confined to the histories of genetics and pseudoscience, but was instead an important and cautionary part of past public health and a general medical history as well.

Bed Bug Epidemic: A Challenge to Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Ratnapradipa, Dhitinut; Ritzel, Dale O.; Haramis, Linn D.; Bliss, Kadi R.

2011-01-01

In recent years, reported cases of bed bug infestations in the U.S. and throughout the world have escalated dramatically, posing a global public health problem. Although bed bugs are not known to transmit disease to humans, they pose both direct and indirect public health challenges in terms of health effects, treatment, cost, and resource…

77 FR 4821 - Public Health Service Act, Non-competitive Replacement Award

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-31

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Public Health... is September 1, 2011, to August 31, 2012. Authority: Section 330I(d)(2) of the Public Health Service... health care systems in California. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Monica Cowan, Public Health Analyst...

Oceans and human health: Emerging public health risks n the marine environment

OpenAIRE

Fleming, L.E.; Broad, K.; Clement, A.; Dewailly, E.; Elmir, S.; Knap, A.; Pomponi, S.A.; Smith, S.; Gabriele, H. Solo; Walsh, P.

2006-01-01

There has been an increasing recognition of the inter-relationship between human health and the oceans. Traditionally, the focus of research and concern has been on the impact of human activities on the oceans, particularly through anthropogenic pollution and the exploitation of marine resources. More recently, there has been recognition of the potential direct impact of the oceans on human health, both detrimental and beneficial. Areas identified include: global change, harmful algal blooms ...

75 FR 39265 - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-08

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, Announces the... Prevention, Classifications and Public Health Data Standards, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 2337, Hyattsville, MD...

78 FR 53148 - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-28

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, Announces the... Administrator, Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, NCHS, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 2337...

78 FR 9055 - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-07

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, Announces the..., Medical Systems Administrator, Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, NCHS, 3311 Toledo...

[Health services research for the public health service (PHS) and the public health system].

Science.gov (United States)

Hollederer, A; Wildner, M

2015-03-01

There is a great need for health services research in the public health system and in the German public health service. However, the public health service is underrepresented in health services research in Germany. This has several structural, historical and disciplinary-related reasons. The public health service is characterised by a broad range of activities, high qualification requirements and changing framework conditions. The concept of health services research is similar to that of the public health service and public health system, because it includes the principles of multidisciplinarity, multiprofessionalism and daily routine orientation. This article focuses on a specified system theory based model of health services research for the public health system and public health service. The model is based on established models of the health services research and health system research, which are further developed according to specific requirements of the public health service. It provides a theoretical foundation for health services research on the macro-, meso- and microlevels in public health service and the public health system. Prospects for public health service are seen in the development from "old public health" to "new public health" as well as in the integration of health services research and health system research. There is a significant potential for development in a better linkage between university research and public health service as is the case for the "Pettenkofer School of Public Health Munich". © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

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

OpenAIRE

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 bio...

Realising social justice in public health law.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Marie; Thomson, Michael

2013-03-01

Law has played an important, but largely constitutive, role in the development of the public health enterprise. Thus, law has been central to setting up the institutions and offices of public health. The moral agenda has, however, been shaped to a much greater extent by bioethics. While social justice has been placed at the heart of this agenda, we argue that there has been little place within dominant conceptions of social justice for gender equity and women's interests which we see as crucial to a fully realised vision of social justice. We argue that, aside from particular interventions in the field of reproduction, public health practice tends to marginalise women-a claim we support by critically examining strategies to combat the HIV pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. To counter the marginalisation of women's interests, this article argues that Amartya Sen's capabilities approach has much to contribute to the framing of public health law and policy. Sen's approach provides an evaluative and normative framework which recognises the importance of both gender and health equity to achieving social justice. We suggest that domestic law and international human rights provisions, in particular the emerging human right to health, offer mechanisms to promote capabilities, and foster a robust and inclusive conception of social justice.

Ecological determinants of health: food and environment on human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Alice M L

2017-04-01

Human health and diseases are determined by many complex factors. Health threats from the human-animal-ecosystems interface (HAEI) and zoonotic diseases (zoonoses) impose an increasing risk continuously to public health, from those emerging pathogens transmitted through contact with animals, food, water and contaminated environments. Immense challenges forced on the ecological perspectives on food and the eco-environments, including aquaculture, agriculture and the entire food systems. Impacts of food and eco-environments on human health will be examined amongst the importance of human interventions for intended purposes in lowering the adverse effects on the biodiversity. The complexity of relevant conditions defined as factors contributing to the ecological determinants of health will be illuminated from different perspectives based on concepts, citations, examples and models, in conjunction with harmful consequential effects of human-induced disturbances to our environments and food systems, together with the burdens from ecosystem disruption, environmental hazards and loss of ecosystem functions. The eco-health literacy should be further promoting under the "One Health" vision, with "One World" concept under Ecological Public Health Model for sustaining our environments and the planet earth for all beings, which is coincidentally echoing Confucian's theory for the environmental ethics of ecological harmony.

75 FR 56549 - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-16

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Classifications and Public Health Data Standards Staff, Announces the... Public Health Data Standards Staff, NCHS, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 2337, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, e...

78 FR 14798 - Meeting of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-07

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... and Public Health (the ``Advisory Group''). The meeting will be open to the public. Information about...

77 FR 42313 - Recharter of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-18

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Corinne Graffunder... Integrative and Public Health (the ``Advisory Group'') within the Department of Health and Human Services. To...

Reframing climate change as a public health issue: an exploratory study of public reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Maibach, Edward W; Nisbet, Matthew; Baldwin, Paula; Akerlof, Karen; Diao, Guoqing

2010-06-01

Climate change is taking a toll on human health, and some leaders in the public health community have urged their colleagues to give voice to its health implications. Previous research has shown that Americans are only dimly aware of the health implications of climate change, yet the literature on issue framing suggests that providing a novel frame--such as human health--may be potentially useful in enhancing public engagement. We conducted an exploratory study in the United States of people's reactions to a public health-framed short essay on climate change. U.S. adult respondents (n = 70), stratified by six previously identified audience segments, read the essay and were asked to highlight in green or pink any portions of the essay they found "especially clear and helpful" or alternatively "especially confusing or unhelpful." Two dependent measures were created: a composite sentence-specific score based on reactions to all 18 sentences in the essay; and respondents' general reactions to the essay that were coded for valence (positive, neutral, or negative). We tested the hypothesis that five of the six audience segments would respond positively to the essay on both dependent measures. There was clear evidence that two of the five segments responded positively to the public health essay, and mixed evidence that two other responded positively. There was limited evidence that the fifth segment responded positively. Post-hoc analysis showed that five of the six segments responded more positively to information about the health benefits associated with mitigation-related policy actions than to information about the health risks of climate change. Presentations about climate change that encourage people to consider its human health relevance appear likely to provide many Americans with a useful and engaging new frame of reference. Information about the potential health benefits of specific mitigation-related policy actions appears to be particularly compelling. We

Public health emergencies and the public health/managed care challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenbaum, Sara; Skivington, Skip; Praeger, Sandra

2002-01-01

The relationship between insurance and public health is an enduring topic in public health policy and practice. Insurers share certain attributes with public health. But public health agencies operate in relation to the entire community that they are empowered by public law to serve and without regard to the insurance status of community residents; on the other hand, insurers (whether managed care or otherwise) are risk-bearing entities whose obligations are contractually defined and limited to enrolled members and sponsors. Public insurers such as Medicare and Medicaid operate under similar constraints. The fundamental characteristics that distinguish managed care-style insurance and public health become particularly evident during periods of public health emergency, when a public health agency's basic obligations to act with speed and flexibility may come face to face with the constraints on available financing that are inherent in the structure of insurance. Because more than 70% of all personal health care in the United States is financed through insurance, public health agencies effectively depend on insurers to finance necessary care and provide essential patient-level data to the public health system. Critical issues of state and federal policy arise in the context of the public health/insurance relations during public health emergencies. These issues focus on coverage and the power to make coverage decisions, as well as the power to define service networks and classify certain data as exempt from public reporting. The extent to which a formal regulatory approach may become necessary is significantly affected by the extent to which private entities themselves respond to the problem with active efforts to redesign their services and operations to include capabilities and accountability in the realm of public health emergency response.

Training public health superheroes: five talents for public health leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Day, Matthew; Shickle, Darren; Smith, Kevin; Zakariasen, Ken; Moskol, Jacob; Oliver, Thomas

2014-12-01

Public health leaders have been criticized for their policy stances, relationships with governments and failure to train the next generation. New approaches to the identification and training of public health leaders may be required. To inform these, lessons can be drawn from public health 'superheroes'; public health leaders perceived to be the most admired and effective by their peers. Members and Fellows of the UK Faculty of Public Health were contacted via e-newsletter and magazine and asked to nominate their 'Public Health Superhero'. Twenty-six responses were received, nominating 40 different people. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis, based on 'grounded theory', was conducted. Five leadership 'talents' for public health were identified: mentoring-nurturing, shaping-organizing, networking-connecting, knowing-interpreting and advocating-impacting. Talent-based approaches have been effective for leadership development in other sectors. These talents are the first specific to the practice of public health and align with some aspects of existing frameworks. An increased focus on identifying and developing talents during public health training, as opposed to 'competency'-based approaches, may be effective in strengthening public health leadership. Further research to understand the combination and intensity of talents across a larger sample of public health leaders is required. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Climate Change and Public Health Policy: Translating the Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marieta Braks

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Public health authorities are required to prepare for future threats and need predictions of the likely impact of climate change on public health risks. They may get overwhelmed by the volume of heterogeneous information in scientific articles and risk relying purely on the public opinion articles which focus mainly on global warming trends, and leave out many other relevant factors. In the current paper, we discuss various scientific approaches investigating climate change and its possible impact on public health and discuss their different roles and functions in unraveling the complexity of the subject. It is not our objective to review the available literature or to make predictions for certain diseases or countries, but rather to evaluate the applicability of scientific research articles on climate change to evidence-based public health decisions. In the context of mosquito borne diseases, we identify common pitfalls to watch out for when assessing scientific research on the impact of climate change on human health. We aim to provide guidance through the plethora of scientific papers and views on the impact of climate change on human health to those new to the subject, as well as to remind public health experts of its multifactorial and multidisciplinary character.

Climate change and public health policy: translating the science.

Science.gov (United States)

Braks, Marieta; van Ginkel, Rijk; Wint, William; Sedda, Luigi; Sprong, Hein

2013-12-19

Public health authorities are required to prepare for future threats and need predictions of the likely impact of climate change on public health risks. They may get overwhelmed by the volume of heterogeneous information in scientific articles and risk relying purely on the public opinion articles which focus mainly on global warming trends, and leave out many other relevant factors. In the current paper, we discuss various scientific approaches investigating climate change and its possible impact on public health and discuss their different roles and functions in unraveling the complexity of the subject. It is not our objective to review the available literature or to make predictions for certain diseases or countries, but rather to evaluate the applicability of scientific research articles on climate change to evidence-based public health decisions. In the context of mosquito borne diseases, we identify common pitfalls to watch out for when assessing scientific research on the impact of climate change on human health. We aim to provide guidance through the plethora of scientific papers and views on the impact of climate change on human health to those new to the subject, as well as to remind public health experts of its multifactorial and multidisciplinary character.

Climate Change and Public Health Policy: Translating the Science

Science.gov (United States)

Braks, Marieta; van Ginkel, Rijk; Wint, William; Sedda, Luigi; Sprong, Hein

2013-01-01

Public health authorities are required to prepare for future threats and need predictions of the likely impact of climate change on public health risks. They may get overwhelmed by the volume of heterogeneous information in scientific articles and risk relying purely on the public opinion articles which focus mainly on global warming trends, and leave out many other relevant factors. In the current paper, we discuss various scientific approaches investigating climate change and its possible impact on public health and discuss their different roles and functions in unraveling the complexity of the subject. It is not our objective to review the available literature or to make predictions for certain diseases or countries, but rather to evaluate the applicability of scientific research articles on climate change to evidence-based public health decisions. In the context of mosquito borne diseases, we identify common pitfalls to watch out for when assessing scientific research on the impact of climate change on human health. We aim to provide guidance through the plethora of scientific papers and views on the impact of climate change on human health to those new to the subject, as well as to remind public health experts of its multifactorial and multidisciplinary character. PMID:24452252

[Public health services between "new public health" and "new public management"].

Science.gov (United States)

Oppen, M

1996-04-01

Today, a substantial reorientation of the Public Health services in the Federal Republic of Germany is broadly seen necessary. Patterns of functional and organisational restructuring of Public Health services on the regional and the communal level are closely linked with concepts of prevention and health promotion. Hence, a number of agencies have already adopted new tasks and functions like comprehensive and transorganizational planning, coordination and evaluation as well as the establishment of new reporting systems. Presently, the transformation process from the bureaucratic mode of administering matters of health to a new Public Health orientation receives new impacts from the international "New Public Management" movement. Comparatively late, with the beginning of the 1990s, a growing number of German municipalities has introduced new concepts of administration. Local government administrations, of which the Public Health services are a part, follow the model of modern service organizations producing services in a more efficient, professionalized and consumer-oriented way. Specific elements of economising modernisation programmes like re-distribution of tasks, de-centralisation, extension of managerial capacities, setting of stimulating working conditions that provide employees with greater independence of action as well as career opportunities, are at the same time prerequisites for innovative strategies of health protection and coordination policies of Public Health services.

Climate change and health: new challenges for epidemiology and public health

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pascal, Mathilde; Beaudeau, Pascal; Laaidi, Karine; Pirard, Philippe; Vautard, Robert

2015-01-01

Climate change contributes to a rapid and deep modification of the environment. In the same time, other factors such as population increase, ageing or urbanization increase the vulnerability to various environmental and health risks. Chains of complex interactions are impacting populations' health and well-being. Developing prevention measures is an asset to reduce the health impacts of present climate change (through adaptation measures) and to limit the intensity of future impacts (through mitigation measures). Mitigation will result in major changes in several sectors, for instance housing, transports or agriculture. Taking into account the potential health impacts is important to avoid choices impairing human health, and to maximize health co-benefits. In this paper we propose a reflection on how present and future climate change in France challenges epidemiology and public health in the next few years. While many questions remain unanswered, there is a consensus on the importance of the links between climate change and human health, that can be summarized into three points: 1) climate change already impacts human health, 2) adaptation and mitigation are needed to reduce those impacts, 3) adaptation and mitigation can rely on immediate measures that would be beneficial for health and for climate. An integrated and interdisciplinary approach is essential to tackle the complexity of the issue, of its implications for public health, for research, surveillance and intervention. (authors)

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. G. Osipova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the role of sociology in the scientific management of society — namely — the social construction aimed at the prevention of adverse events and the creation of social realities desirable for the individual and society. One of the areas of social reality, as well as the most important sphere of social life which are subject to social construction is public health. Public health is considered as an integrated expression of the dynamics of individual levels of the health of all members of society. The author emphasizes that the public health of the people is formed by the interaction of two groups of factors — endogenous (sex, biological age, race, body type, heredity and type of the human nervous system and exogenous (natural and social factors. The last are created by people themselves in the course of their ability to live and are operated, that is socially designed. The author analyzes the negative processes related to public health, the most important of which is a complex situation in the health system, lack of faith in the possibility of human medicine. An equally important role belongs to the deterioration of environmental significant share of people’s living conditions and social stress. If earlier scientists did not specify, in what degree of threat of infringement of global ecosystems are connected with a state of health and features of diseases of the population now it is established that various forms of irreversible change of environment are directly dangerous to public health. From an antiquity the effect of discrepancy of the wished (abstractly and actually arising future wished (abstractly — effect of human activity is known: people wish one, however actually all terminates differently, practically, on the contrary. And these characteristics of a public sincere, mental condition can be extremely inconsistent in relation to knowledge. They are the basis of so-called “involuntary behaviors�

Qualitative research and dental public health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roslind Preethi George

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The use of Qualitative Research (QR methods are now getting common in various aspects of health and healthcare research and they can be used to interpret, explore, or obtain a deeper understanding of certain aspects of human beliefs, attitudes, or behavior through personal experiences and perspectives. The potential scope of QR in the field of dental public health is immense, but unfortunately, it has remained underutilized. However, there are a number of studies which have used this type of research to probe into some unanswered questions in the field of public health dentistry ranging from workforce issues to attitudes of patients. In recent health research, evidence gathered through QR methods provide understanding to the social, cultural, and economic factors affecting the health status and healthcare of an individual and the population as a whole. This study will provide an overview of what QR is and discuss its contributions to dental public health research.

A strategic approach to workforce development for local public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Bryant, Beverley; Ward, Megan

2017-11-09

In 2009, Peel Public Health set a vision to transform the work of public health from efficient delivery of public health services as defined by provincial mandate to the robust analysis of the health status of the local population and selection and implementation of programming to achieve best health outcomes. A strategic approach to the workforce was a key enabler. PPH is a public health unit in Ontario that serves 1.4 million people. An organization-wide strategic workforce development program was instituted. It is theory-based, evidence-informed and data-driven. A first step was a conceptual framework, followed by interventions in workforce planning, human resources management, and capacity development. The program was built on evidence reviews, theory, and public health core competencies. Interventions spread across the employee work-life span. Capacity development based on the public health core competencies is a main focus, particularly analytical capacity to support decision-making. Employees gain skill and knowledge in comprehensive population health. Leadership evolves as work shifts to the analysis of health status and development of interventions. Effective human resource processes ensure appropriate job design, recruitment and orientation. Analysis of the workforce leads to vigorous employee development to ensure a strong pool of potential leadership successors. Theory, research evidence, and data provide a robust foundation for workforce development. Competencies are important inputs to job descriptions, recruitment, training, and human resource processes. A comprehensive workforce development strategy enables the development of a skilled workforce capable of responding to the needs of the population it serves.

Leprosy: International Public Health Policies and Public Health Eras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niyi Awofeso

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Public health policies continue to play important roles in national and international health reforms. However, the influence and legacies of the public health eras during which such policies are formulated remain largely underappreciated. The limited appreciation of this relationship may hinder consistent adoption of public health policies by nation-states, and encumber disinvestment from ineffective or anachronistic policies. This article reviews seven public health eras and highlights how each era has influenced international policy formulation for leprosy control—“the fertile soil for policy learning”. The author reiterates the role of health leadership and health activism in facilitating consistency in international health policy formulation and implementation for leprosy control.

76 FR 67731 - Meeting of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-02

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public...

76 FR 26300 - Meeting of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-06

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public...

76 FR 58007 - Meeting of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-19

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public...

77 FR 15372 - Meeting of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-15

... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public...

Mobile Network Data for Public-Health: Opportunities and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuria eOliver

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The ubiquity of mobile phones worldwide is generating an unprecedented amount of human behavioral data both at an individual and aggregated levels. The study of this data as a rich source of information about human behavior emerged almost a decade ago. Since then it has grown into a fertile area of research named computational social sciences with a wide variety of applications in different fields such as social networks, urban and transport planning, economic development, emergency relief and, recently, public health. In this paper we briefly describe the state of the art on using mobile phone data for public health, and present the opportunities and challenges that this kind of data presents for public health.

Mobile Network Data for Public Health: Opportunities and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Nuria; Matic, Aleksandar; Frias-Martinez, Enrique

2015-01-01

The ubiquity of mobile phones worldwide is generating an unprecedented amount of human behavioral data both at an individual and aggregated levels. The study of this data as a rich source of information about human behavior emerged almost a decade ago. Since then, it has grown into a fertile area of research named computational social sciences with a wide variety of applications in different fields such as social networks, urban and transport planning, economic development, emergency relief, and, recently, public health. In this paper, we briefly describe the state of the art on using mobile phone data for public health, and present the opportunities and challenges that this kind of data presents for public health. PMID:26301211

[Forum: legitimacy, expansion, and sustainability of Social and Human Sciences in Public Health. Introduction].

Science.gov (United States)

Deslandes, Suely Ferreira

2012-12-01

The Forum debates current trends and challenges for teaching and research in this subfield and the prevailing criteria for evaluation of its academic output. The authors wager on the hypothesis that we are currently experiencing a clash between the consolidation of Social and Human Sciences in Public Health (with a well-defined identity, undeniable vigor in their research and proposals, and an important number of practitioners) and a bottleneck in training processes and iniquity and inadequacy in the institutional mechanisms for recognition of merit. The Forum presents four articles. The first, by Minayo, discusses the basic forms of knowledge for this training and those needed to analyze contemporary challenges in a globalized world, besides debating the interfaces and mediations between the biological and the social in a teaching proposal. The second, by Trad, provides a current portrait of the subfield's output. The third, by Deslandes & Iriart, presents theoretical and methodological trends in recently published studies, identifying their gaps and characteristics. Bosi, author of the fourth article, fuels the debate on the criteria for evaluation of academic output in the field and analyzes their consequences. The Postscript, by Nunes, reclaims and updates the debate on the construction of identities in the social and Human Sciences in Public Health.

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.

Reframing climate change as a public health issue: an exploratory study of public reactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baldwin Paula

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Climate change is taking a toll on human health, and some leaders in the public health community have urged their colleagues to give voice to its health implications. Previous research has shown that Americans are only dimly aware of the health implications of climate change, yet the literature on issue framing suggests that providing a novel frame - such as human health - may be potentially useful in enhancing public engagement. We conducted an exploratory study in the United States of people's reactions to a public health-framed short essay on climate change. Methods U.S. adult respondents (n = 70, stratified by six previously identified audience segments, read the essay and were asked to highlight in green or pink any portions of the essay they found "especially clear and helpful" or alternatively "especially confusing or unhelpful." Two dependent measures were created: a composite sentence-specific score based on reactions to all 18 sentences in the essay; and respondents' general reactions to the essay that were coded for valence (positive, neutral, or negative. We tested the hypothesis that five of the six audience segments would respond positively to the essay on both dependent measures. Results There was clear evidence that two of the five segments responded positively to the public health essay, and mixed evidence that two other responded positively. There was limited evidence that the fifth segment responded positively. Post-hoc analysis showed that five of the six segments responded more positively to information about the health benefits associated with mitigation-related policy actions than to information about the health risks of climate change. Conclusions Presentations about climate change that encourage people to consider its human health relevance appear likely to provide many Americans with a useful and engaging new frame of reference. Information about the potential health benefits of specific mitigation

Globalisation and global health governance: implications for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruk, Margaret E

2012-01-01

Globalisation is a defining economic and social trend of the past several decades. Globalisation affects health directly and indirectly and creates economic and health disparities within and across countries. The political response to address these disparities, exemplified by the Millennium Development Goals, has put pressure on the global community to redress massive inequities in health and other determinants of human capability across countries. This, in turn, has accelerated a transformation in the architecture of global health governance. The entrance of new actors, such as private foundations and multi-stakeholder initiatives, contributed to a doubling of funds for global health between 2000 and 2010. Today the governance of public health is in flux, with diminished leadership from multilateral institutions, such as the WHO, and poor coherence in policy and programming that undermines the potential for sustainable health gains. These trends pose new challenges and opportunities for global public health, which is centrally concerned with identifying and addressing threats to the health of vulnerable populations worldwide.

75 FR 27348 - Public Health Services Act; Delegation of Authority

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-14

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Services Act; Delegation of Authority Notice is hereby given that I have delegated to the Director, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR), with authority to redelegate, the authority to...

Building capacity without disrupting health services: public health education for Africa through distance learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igumbor Ehi

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract The human resources crisis in Africa is especially acute in the public health field. Through distance education, the School of Public Health of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, has provided access to master's level public health education for health professionals from more than 20 African countries while they remain in post. Since 2000, interest has increased overwhelmingly to a point where four times more applications are received than can be accommodated. This home-grown programme remains sensitive to the needs of the target learners while engaging them in high-quality learning applied in their own work contexts. This brief paper describes the innovative aspects of the programme, offering some evaluative indications of its impact, and reviews how the delivery of text-led distance learning has facilitated the realization of the objectives of public health training. Strategies are proposed for scaling up such a programme to meet the growing need in this essential area of health human resource capacity development in Africa.

Environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity: potential public health concerns.

Science.gov (United States)

Marczylo, Emma L; Jacobs, Miriam N; Gant, Timothy W

2016-09-01

Throughout our lives, epigenetic processes shape our development and enable us to adapt to a constantly changing environment. Identifying and understanding environmentally induced epigenetic change(s) that may lead to adverse outcomes is vital for protecting public health. This review, therefore, examines the present understanding of epigenetic mechanisms involved in the mammalian life cycle, evaluates the current evidence for environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity in human cohorts and rodent models and highlights the research considerations and implications of this emerging knowledge for public health and regulatory toxicology. Many hundreds of studies have investigated such toxicity, yet relatively few have demonstrated a mechanistic association among specific environmental exposures, epigenetic changes and adverse health outcomes in human epidemiological cohorts and/or rodent models. While this small body of evidence is largely composed of exploratory in vivo high-dose range studies, it does set a precedent for the existence of environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity. Consequently, there is worldwide recognition of this phenomenon, and discussion on how to both guide further scientific research towards a greater mechanistic understanding of environmentally induced epigenetic toxicity in humans, and translate relevant research outcomes into appropriate regulatory policies for effective public health protection.

Medicine and public health in a multiethnic world.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhopal, Raj

2009-09-01

Achievement of medical and public health goals requires mutual understanding between professionals and the public, a challenge in diverse societies. Despite their massive diversity humans belong to one species, with race and ethnicity used to subgroup/classify humans and manage diversity. Classifications are contextual and vary by time, place and classifier. As classifications show major variations in health status, and risk factors, research using race and ethnicity has accelerated. Medical sciences, including epidemiology, are learning fast to extract value from such data. Among the debatable issues is the value of the relative risk versus absolute risk approaches (the latter is gaining ground), and how to assess ethnicity and race (self-assignment is favoured in the UK and North America, country of birth in continental Europe). Racial and ethnic variations in disease and risk factors are often large and usually unexplained. There is a compelling case for ethnic monitoring, despite its difficulties, for tackling inequalities and as a foundation for research. Medical and public health goals require good data collected in a racism-free social environment. Health professionals need to find the benefits of exploring differences while avoiding social division. Advances in health care, public health and medical science will follow.

Bioethics and Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Víctor Penchaszadeh

2018-06-01

Full Text Available This article looks at the evolution of bioethics a discipline from its initial focus, concerned with issues of personal autonomy and the conflicts around the use of complex technology in medicine, to where it is now; focused on major population issues in public health, with a focus on equality, justice and the right to health. As part of this it considers the 18 guiding principles and issues in bioethics contained in the Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights of UNESCO.

Partners in Public Health: Public Health Collaborations With Schools of Pharmacy, 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

DiPietro Mager, Natalie A; Ochs, Leslie; Ranelli, Paul L; Kahaleh, Abby A; Lahoz, Monina R; Patel, Radha V; Garza, Oscar W; Isaacs, Diana; Clark, Suzanne

To collect data on public health collaborations with schools of pharmacy, we sent a short electronic survey to accredited and preaccredited pharmacy programs in 2015. We categorized public health collaborations as working or partnering with local and/or state public health departments, local and/or state public health organizations, academic schools or programs of public health, and other public health collaborations. Of 134 schools, 65 responded (49% response rate). Forty-six (71%) responding institutions indicated collaborations with local and/or state public health departments, 34 (52%) with schools or programs of public health, and 24 (37%) with local and/or state public health organizations. Common themes of collaborations included educational programs, community outreach, research, and teaching in areas such as tobacco control, emergency preparedness, chronic disease, drug abuse, immunizations, and medication therapy management. Interdisciplinary public health collaborations with schools of pharmacy provide additional resources for ensuring the health of communities and expose student pharmacists to opportunities to use their training and abilities to affect public health. Examples of these partnerships may stimulate additional ideas for possible collaborations between public health organizations and schools of pharmacy.

Public Health Crisis Preparedness and Response in Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hye-Young; Oh, Mi-Na; Park, Yong-Shik; Chu, Chaeshin; Son, Tae-Jong

2013-01-01

Since the 2006 Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan according to the World Health Organization’s recommendation, the Republic of Korea has prepared and periodically evaluated the plan to respond to various public health crises including pandemic influenza. Korea has stockpiled 13,000,000 doses of antiviral drugs covering 26% of the Korean population and runs 519 isolated beds in 16 medical institutions. The division of public health crisis response in Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in charge of responding to public health crises caused by emerging infectious diseases including severe acute respiratory syndrome, avian influenza human infection, and pandemic influenza. Its job description includes preparing for emerging infectious diseases, securing medical resources during a crisis, activating the emergency response during the crisis, and fortification of capabilities of public health personnel. It could evolve into a comprehensive national agency to deal with public health crisis based on the experience of previous national emerging infectious diseases. PMID:24298444

CDC National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is a system of integrated health, exposure, and hazard information and data from a variety of national,...

The private partners of public health: public-private alliances for public good.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnell, Sharon; Bryant, Carol; Harris, Jeff; Campbell, Marci Kramish; Lobb, Ano; Hannon, Peggy A; Cross, Jeffrey L; Gray, Barbara

2009-04-01

We sought to convey lessons learned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) about the value and challenges of private-sector alliances resulting in innovative health promotion strategies. Several PRCs based in a variety of workplace and community settings contributed. We conducted interviews with principal investigators, a literature review, and a review of case studies of private-sector alliances in a microbusiness model, a macrobusiness model, and as multiparty partnerships supporting public health research, implementation, and human resource services. Private-sector alliances provide many advantages, particularly access to specialized skills generally beyond the expertise of public health entities. These skills include manufacturing, distribution, marketing, business planning, and development. Alliances also allow ready access to employee populations. Public health entities can offer private-sector partners funding opportunities through special grants, data gathering and analysis skills, and enhanced project credibility and trust. Challenges to successful partnerships include time and resource availability and negotiating the cultural divide between public health and the private sector. Critical to success are knowledge of organizational culture, values, mission, currency, and methods of operation; an understanding of and ability to articulate the benefits of the alliance for each partner; and the ability and time to respond to unexpected changes and opportunities. Private-public health alliances are challenging, and developing them takes time and resources, but aspects of these alliances can capitalize on partners' strengths, counteract weaknesses, and build collaborations that produce better outcomes than otherwise possible. Private partners may be necessary for program initiation or success. CDC guidelines and support materials may help nurture these alliances.

Earth Science and Public Health: Proceedings of the Second National Conference on USGS Health-Related Research

Science.gov (United States)

Buxton, Herbert T.; Griffin, Dale W.; Pierce, Brenda S.

2007-01-01

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. As the Nation?s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency, the USGS can play a significant role in providing scientific knowledge and information that will improve our understanding of the relations of environment and wildlife to human health and disease. USGS human health-related research is unique in the Federal government because it brings together a broad spectrum of natural science expertise and information, including extensive data collection and monitoring on varied landscapes and ecosystems across the Nation. USGS can provide a great service to the public health community by synthesizing the scientific information and knowledge on our natural and living resources that influence human health, and by bringing this science to the public health community in a manner that is most useful. Partnerships with health scientists and managers are essential to the success of these efforts. USGS scientists already are working closely with the public health community to pursue rigorous inquiries into the connections between natural science and public health. Partnering agencies include the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Public Health Service, and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Collaborations between public

Work environments for healthy and motivated public health nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Naoko; Yamamoto, Takeshi; Kitaike, Tadashi

2016-01-01

Objectives By defining health as mental health and productivity and performance as work motivation, the study aimed to identify work environments that promote the health and motivation of public health nurses, using the concept of a healthy work organizations, which encompasses the coexistence of excellent health for each worker and the productivity and performance of the organization.Methods Self-administered questionnaires were sent to 363 public health nurses in 41 municipal public health departments in Chiba prefecture. The questions were comprised of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) for mental health and the Morale Measurement Scale (5 items) for work motivation. Demographic data, workplace attributes, workload, and workplace environment were set as independent variables. The Comfortable Workplace Survey (35 items in 7 areas) was used to assess workers' general work environments. The "Work Environment for Public Health Nurses" scale (25 items) was developed to assess the specific situations of public health nurses. While aggregation was carried out area by area for the general work environment, factor analysis and factor-by-factor aggregation were used for public health nurse-specific work environments. Mental health and work motivation results were divided in two based on the total scores, which were then evaluated by t-tests and χ(2) tests. Items that showed a significant correlation were analyzed using logistic regression.Results The valid responses of 215 participants were analyzed (response rate: 59.2%). For the general work environment, high scores (the higher the score, the better the situation) were obtained for "contributions to society" and "human relationships" and low scores were obtained for "career building and human resource development." For public health nurse-specific work environments, high scores were obtained for "peer support," while low scores were obtained for "easy access to advice and training" and

42 CFR 137.142 - What is a “significant danger” or “risk” to the public health?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What is a âsignificant dangerâ or âriskâ to the public health? 137.142 Section 137.142 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE...

Undergraduate Public Health Majors: Why They Choose Public Health or Medicine?

Science.gov (United States)

Hilton, Warren

2013-01-01

This mixed methods study examined the relationship between the motivations for attending college of undergraduate students with a focus on students with a public health major, and their desire to pursue graduate training in public health and subsequently, public health careers. The study highlighted the current public health workforce shortage and…

Emotional Life: Exploring Contradictions in Health Behavior Through Creative Writing in Public Health Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Saffran, Lise

2017-09-01

Weaving personal experience with literature on social determinants and health humanities, the author argues that including art and literature in public health education will benefit efforts to integrate health care and public health by reminding practitioners that communities are composed of individuals with complicated and often contradictory impulses. She argues that those whose work involves planning interventions and reviewing population data also need to perform the tasks of mental flexibility, of imagination, to think about the people behind the numbers. Together with colleagues at the University of Missouri, the author researches the role of creative writing and imagination in reducing HIV stigma and finds hopeful signs in student responses that they are prepared to consider the contradictions present in human behavior if they are given the opportunity to reflect deeply upon them. Creative writing, literature, and art belong in public health education, she argues, because that is how we make space for emotion in our lives and how we connect with the emotional lives of others.

Keeping the "public" in schools of public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Freudenberg, Nicholas; Klitzman, Susan; Diamond, Catherine; El-Mohandes, Ayman

2015-03-01

In this article, we compared the characteristics of public and private accredited public health training programs. We analyzed the distinct opportunities and challenges that publicly funded schools of public health face in preparing the nation's public health workforce. Using our experience in creating a new, collaborative public school of public health in the nation's largest urban public university system, we described efforts to use our public status and mission to develop new approaches to educating a workforce that meets the health needs of our region and contributes to the goal of reducing health inequalities. Finally, we considered policies that could protect and strengthen the distinct contributions that public schools of public health make to improving population health and reducing health inequalities.

Prominent Human Health Impacts from Several Marine Microbes: History, Ecology, and Public Health Implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. K. Bienfang

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper overviews several examples of important public health impacts by marine microbes and directs readers to the extensive literature germane to these maladies. These examples include three types of dinoflagellates (Gambierdiscus spp., Karenia brevis, and Alexandrium fundyense, BMAA-producing cyanobacteria, and infectious microbes. The dinoflagellates are responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and paralytic shellfish poisoning, respectively, that have plagued coastal populations over time. Research interest on the potential for marine cyanobacteria to contribute BMAA into human food supplies has been derived by BMAA's discovery in cycad seeds and subsequent implication as the putative cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex among the Chamorro people of Guam. Recent UPLC/MS analyses indicate that recent reports that BMAA is prolifically distributed among marine cyanobacteria at high concentrations may be due to analyte misidentification in the analytical protocols being applied for BMAA. Common infectious microbes (including enterovirus, norovirus, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia cause gastrointestinal and skin-related illness. These microbes can be introduced from external human and animal sources, or they can be indigenous to the marine environment.

Rethinking schools of public health: a strategic alliance model.

Science.gov (United States)

Moloughney, Brent W; Skinner, Harvey A

2006-01-01

Canada is in the midst of rejuvenation of public health organizations, mandates and infrastructure. Major planning exercises are underway regarding public health human resources, where academic institutions have a key role to play. To what extent could schools of public health be part of the solution? Many universities across Canada are considering or in the process of implementing MPH programs (some 17 programs planned and/or underway) and possible schools of public health. However, concerns are raised about critical mass, quality and standards. We encourage innovation and debate about ways to enhance collaborative and structural arrangements for education programs. A school of public health model might emerge from this, but so too might other models. Also, novel types of organizational structure need consideration. One example is a "strategic alliance" model that is broad-based, integrative and adaptive--building on the interdisciplinary focus needed for addressing public health concerns in the 21st century. From our perspective, the central question is: what (new) types of organizational structures and, equally important, collaborative networks will enable Canada to strengthen its public health workforce so that it may better address local and global challenges to public health?

A framework for the integration of ecosystem and human health in public policy: two case studies with infectious agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koren, H.S.; Crawford-Brown, Douglas

2004-01-01

Despite that a significant body of published literature exists in the complex area of interconnection among the environment, ecosystems, and human activity, relatively little attention has been paid to the integration and analysis of ecological and human health data in the form of a conceptual model. Human and ecological health protection generally have been treated as separate domains of policy, with significant differences in both the analytic methods used to characterize risks and the policies developed for risk reduction. Understanding the relationships among population growth, development, natural resource use, the environment, human health, and ecosystems is an important area of both scientific inquiry and environmental policy. The present paper focuses on the development of a conceptual model for understanding disease causation, particularly infectious disease, and the implications of such a model for public policy. The conceptual model incorporates ecological and human health risk assessment information applied to case studies of two infectious diseases. This article takes an initial step toward formalizing the conceptual model so that research and assessment procedures can be developed

Linking the oceans to public health: current efforts and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kite-Powell, Hauke L; Fleming, Lora E; Backer, Lorraine C; Faustman, Elaine M; Hoagland, Porter; Tsuchiya, Ami; Younglove, Lisa R; Wilcox, Bruce A; Gast, Rebecca J

2008-11-07

We review the major linkages between the oceans and public health, focusing on exposures and potential health effects due to anthropogenic and natural factors including: harmful algal blooms, microbes, and chemical pollutants in the oceans; consumption of seafood; and flooding events. We summarize briefly the current state of knowledge about public health effects and their economic consequences; and we discuss priorities for future research.We find that:* There are numerous connections between the oceans, human activities, and human health that result in both positive and negative exposures and health effects (risks and benefits); and the study of these connections comprises a new interdisciplinary area, "oceans and human health."* The state of present knowledge about the linkages between oceans and public health varies. Some risks, such as the acute health effects caused by toxins associated with shellfish poisoning and red tide, are relatively well understood. Other risks, such as those posed by chronic exposure to many anthropogenic chemicals, pathogens, and naturally occurring toxins in coastal waters, are less well quantified. Even where there is a good understanding of the mechanism for health effects, good epidemiological data are often lacking. Solid data on economic and social consequences of these linkages are also lacking in most cases.* The design of management measures to address these risks must take into account the complexities of human response to warnings and other guidance, and the economic tradeoffs among different risks and benefits. Future research in oceans and human health to address public health risks associated with marine pathogens and toxins, and with marine dimensions of global change, should include epidemiological, behavioral, and economic components to ensure that resulting management measures incorporate effective economic and risk/benefit tradeoffs.

The Digital Distribution of Public Health News Surrounding the Human Papillomavirus Vaccination: A Longitudinal Infodemiology Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahoney, L Meghan; Tang, Tang; Ji, Kai; Ulrich-Schad, Jessica

2015-01-01

New media changes the dissemination of public health information and misinformation. During a guest appearance on the Today Show, US Representative Michele Bachmann claimed that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines could cause "mental retardation". The purpose of this study is to explore how new media influences the type of public health information users access, as well as the impact to these platforms after a major controversy. Specifically, this study aims to examine the similarities and differences in the dissemination of news articles related to the HPV vaccination between Google News and Twitter, as well as how the content of news changed after Michele Bachmann's controversial comment. This study used a purposive sampling to draw the first 100 news articles that appeared on Google News and the first 100 articles that appeared on Twitter from August 1-October 31, 2011. Article tone, source, topics, concerns, references, publication date, and interactive features were coded. The intercoder reliability had a total agreement of .90. Results indicate that 44.0% of the articles (88/200) about the HPV vaccination had a positive tone, 32.5% (65/200) maintained a neutral tone, while 23.5% (47/200) presented a negative tone. Protection against diseases 82.0% (164/200), vaccine eligibility for females 75.5% (151/200), and side effects 59.0% (118/200) were the top three topics covered by these articles. Google News and Twitter articles significantly differed in article tone, source, topics, concerns covered, types of sources referenced in the article, and uses of interactive features. Most notably, topic focus changed from public health information towards political conversation after Bachmann's comment. Before the comment, the HPV vaccine news talked more often about vaccine dosing (Ppolitics (P=.01) and talked more about HPV vaccine eligibility for males (P=.01). This longitudinal infodemiology study suggests that new media influences public health communication

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Evolutionary public health: introducing the concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Jonathan C K; Nesse, Randolph M; Sear, Rebecca; Johnstone, Rufus A; Stearns, Stephen C

2017-07-29

The emerging discipline of evolutionary medicine is breaking new ground in understanding why people become ill. However, the value of evolutionary analyses of human physiology and behaviour is only beginning to be recognised in the field of public health. Core principles come from life history theory, which analyses the allocation of finite amounts of energy between four competing functions-maintenance, growth, reproduction, and defence. A central tenet of evolutionary theory is that organisms are selected to allocate energy and time to maximise reproductive success, rather than health or longevity. Ecological interactions that influence mortality risk, nutrient availability, and pathogen burden shape energy allocation strategies throughout the life course, thereby affecting diverse health outcomes. Public health interventions could improve their own effectiveness by incorporating an evolutionary perspective. In particular, evolutionary approaches offer new opportunities to address the complex challenges of global health, in which populations are differentially exposed to the metabolic consequences of poverty, high fertility, infectious diseases, and rapid changes in nutrition and lifestyle. The effect of specific interventions is predicted to depend on broader factors shaping life expectancy. Among the important tools in this approach are mathematical models, which can explore probable benefits and limitations of interventions in silico, before their implementation in human populations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transformative combinations: women's health and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

The human genome as public: Justifications and implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayefsky, Michelle J

2017-03-01

Since the human genome was decoded, great emphasis has been placed on the unique, personal nature of the genome, along with the benefits that personalized medicine can bring to individuals and the importance of safeguarding genetic privacy. As a result, an equally important aspect of the human genome - its common nature - has been underappreciated and underrepresented in the ethics literature and policy dialogue surrounding genetics and genomics. This article will argue that, just as the personal nature of the genome has been used to reinforce individual rights and justify important privacy protections, so too the common nature of the genome can be employed to support protections of the genome at a population level and policies designed to promote the public's wellbeing. In order for public health officials to have the authority to develop genetics policies for the sake of the public good, the genome must have not only a common, but also a public, dimension. This article contends that DNA carries a public dimension through the use of two conceptual frameworks: the common heritage (CH) framework and the common resource (CR) framework. Both frameworks establish a public interest in the human genome, but the CH framework can be used to justify policies aimed at preserving and protecting the genome, while the CR framework can be employed to justify policies for utilizing the genome for the public benefit. A variety of possible policy implications are discussed, with special attention paid to the use of large-scale genomics databases for public health research. © Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

[Blind alleys and misconceptions in public health].

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, H E

1995-07-01

The concept of hygiene was created in the 19th century although Hippocrates had already conceived an influence of atmosphere, soil and water on human health. The concept of a public health organisation, however, is a fairly recent one. Environmental and social hygiene were the two poles of the new discipline that focussed on public health. However, the ideologies of capitalism, communism and socialism as well as of social darwinism and "survival of the elite" discredited social hygiene. The decline of totalitarianism was associated with a "loss of face" of state-controlled medicine, including social hygiene. Both the post-World War II German constitution and the previous German statutory health insurance ordinance had blocked it, and hence, no Federal bill on public health was carried. The consequences of this disregard of public health are poor protection by vaccination, a gap in compulsory notification and in epidemics control and high rates of nosocomial infections. Absolutely no development of the science of epidemiology was possible whereas that of medical microbiology is choked by the system now in existence. There is a great misconception within individual hygiene by identifying it merely with cleanliness. Hygiene became a synonym for cleanliness, although that had evolved during a long cultural sociological process centuries before hygiene was established. The modern evolution of the science of hygiene shows the danger that emphasis on healthy lifestyles or on environmental protection may result in regulations and finally in a tyranny that may threaten the liberty of human rights. The so-called "principle of concern" is an example of such irrationality because there is no sensible proportion between risk and expense.

Human rights approach to health.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Public Policy and Health Informatics.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Katherine

2018-04-05

To provide an overview of the history of electronic health policy and identify significant laws that influence health informatics. US Department of Health and Human Services. The development of health information technology has influenced the process for delivering health care. Public policy and regulations are an important part of health informatics and establish the structure of electronic health systems. Regulatory bodies of the government initiate policies to ease the execution of electronic health record implementation. These same bureaucratic entities regulate the system to protect the rights of the patients and providers. Nurses should have an overall understanding of the system behind health informatics and be able to advocate for change. Nurses can utilize this information to optimize the use of health informatics and campaign for safe, effective, and efficient health information technology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The need for public-health veterinarians as seen by future employers.

Science.gov (United States)

Maccabe, Andrew T; Matchett, Karin E; Hueston, William D

2008-01-01

Future employers of veterinarians working in public health see a fast-growing demand. Emerging zoonotic diseases, bio-security threats, and food-safety problems all require the expertise of veterinarians with a focus on complex, global problems that span both human and animal health. The Public Health Task Force of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges convened a group of stakeholders representing various branches of the US federal government, state and local governments, and professional societies to discuss their needs for public-health veterinarians. This article discusses those needs, the broader societal needs that require veterinarians with public-health expertise, and the implications of these for educational programs to train DVMs in public-health issues.

PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN HUMANS AND WILDLIFE: EMERGING ISSUES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aldo Pacheco Ferreira

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Persistent organic pollutants persevere in the environment for a long time, are toxic to humans and/or wildlife, and have a resilient propensity to bioaccumulate in the food chain. Due to its chemical stability, their lipid solubility, and its ubiquitous prevalence in environmental, these pollutants are disposed to long-range transport. The success of modern societies is in part based on extensive achievements of chemistry with a systematic development of products in medicine, agriculture, and in almost all manufacturing industry sectors and materials for daily use. Although, these chemicals unequivocally contribute to the quality of life for billions of human beings, however, the negative impacts to environment and health are an important issue for ostensible monitoring. Social and environmental benefits should not be ignored, in spite of economic forces.The recognition that prevention is the best method to mitigate the risk of diseases to public health related to the environment, mainly driven by technological development, becomes essential the individuation and quantification of toxicological endpoints for systematic monitoring of these emerging pollutants.

Geomatics and public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaishankar, R; Jhonson, C P

2006-01-01

Geomatics technology has tremendous potential to address public health issues particularly under the present circumstances of global climate change and climate or technology induced human migration, which result in an increase in the geographical extent and re-emergence of vector-borne diseases. The authors present an overview of the science of geomatics, describe the potential impacts of climate change on vector-borne diseases and review the applications of remote sensing for disease vector surveillance.

Where Public Health Meets Human Rights: Integrating Human Rights into the Validation of the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-12-01

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.

Merging Air Quality and Public Health Decision Support Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hudspeth, W. B.; Bales, C. L.

2003-12-01

The New Mexico Air Quality Mapper (NMAQM) is a Web-based, open source GIS prototype application that Earth Data Analysis Center is developing under a NASA Cooperative Agreement. NMAQM enhances and extends existing data and imagery delivery systems with an existing Public Health system called the Rapid Syndrome Validation Project (RSVP). RSVP is a decision support system operating in several medical and public health arenas. It is evolving to ingest remote sensing data as input to provide early warning of human health threats, especially those related to anthropogenic atmospheric pollutants and airborne pathogens. The NMAQM project applies measurements of these atmospheric pollutants, derived from both remotely sensed data as well as from in-situ air quality networks, to both forecasting and retrospective analyses that influence human respiratory health. NMAQM provides a user-friendly interface for visualizing and interpreting environmentally-linked epidemiological phenomena. The results, and the systems made to provide the information, will be applicable not only to decision-makers in the public health realm, but also to air quality organizations, demographers, community planners, and other professionals in information technology, and social and engineering sciences. As an accessible and interactive mapping and analysis application, it allows environment and health personnel to study historic data for hypothesis generation and trend analysis, and then, potentially, to predict air quality conditions from daily data acquisitions. Additional spin off benefits to such users include the identification of gaps in the distribution of in-situ monitoring stations, the dissemination of air quality data to the public, and the discrimination of local vs. more regional sources of air pollutants that may bear on decisions relating to public health and public policy.

[Brazilian bibliographical output on public oral health in public health and dentistry journals].

Science.gov (United States)

Celeste, Roger Keller; Warmling, Cristine Maria

2014-06-01

The scope of this paper is to describe characteristics of the scientific output in the area of public oral health in journals on public health and dentistry nationwide. The Scopus database of abstracts and quotations was used and eight journals in public health, as well as ten in dentistry, dating from 1947 to 2011 were selected. A research strategy using key words regarding oral health in public health and key words about public health in dentistry was used to locate articles. The themes selected were based on the frequency of key words. Of the total number of articles, 4.7% (n = 642) were found in oral health journals and 6.8% (n = 245) in public health journals. Among the authors who published most, only 12% published in both fields. There was a percentile growth of public oral health publications in dentistry journals, though not in public health journals. In dentistry, only studies indexed as being on the topic of epidemiology showed an increase. In the area of public health, planning was predominant in all the phases studied. Research to evaluate the impact of research and postgraduate policies in scientific production is required.

Towards Integration of Ecosystem and Human Health: A Novel Conceptual Framework to Operationalise Ecological Public Health and to Incorporate Distal and Proximal Effects of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Reis, S.; Fleming, L. E.; Beck, S.; Austen, M.; Morris, G.; White, M.; Taylor, T. J.; Orr, N.; Osborne, N. J.; Depledge, M.

2014-12-01

Conceptual models for problem framing in environmental (EIA) and health impact assessment (HIA) share similar concepts, but differ in their scientific or policy focus, methodologies and underlying causal chains, and the degree of complexity and scope. The Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework used by the European Environment Agency, the OECD and others and the Integrated Science for Society and the Environment (ISSE) frameworks are widely applied in policy appraisal and impact assessments. While DPSIR is applied across different policy domains, the ISSE framework is used in Ecosystem Services assessments. The modified Driver-Pressure-State-Exposure-Effect-Action (DPSEEA) model extends DPSIR by separating exposure from effect, adding context as a modifier of effect, and susceptibility to exposures due to socio-economic, demographic or other determinants. While continuously evolving, the application of conceptual frameworks in policy appraisals mainly occurs within established discipline boundaries. However, drivers and environmental states, as well as policy measures and actions, affect both human and ecosystem receptors. Furthermore, unintended consequences of policy actions are seldom constrained within discipline or policy silos. Thus, an integrated conceptual model is needed, accounting for the full causal chain affecting human and ecosystem health in any assessment. We propose a novel model integrating HIA methods and ecosystem services in an attempt to operationalise the emerging concept of "Ecological Public Health." The conceptual approach of the ecosystem-enriched DPSEEA model ("eDPSEEA") has stimulated wide-spread debates and feedback. We will present eDPSEEA as a stakeholder engagement process and a conceptual model, using illustrative case studies of climate change as a starting point, not a complete solution, for the integration of human and ecosystem health impact assessment as a key challenge in a rapidly changing world. Rayner G and

Ophthalmic public health; the way ahead.

Science.gov (United States)

Heidary, F; Rahimi, A; Gharebaghi, R

2012-01-01

Visual sciences have been progressing quickly in recent decades through globalization phenomenon. An enormous change has taken place in ocular health issues, however, there are various problems facing ophthalmic public health worldwide. In the previous years, the World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness in partnership launched the global initiative to eradicate avoidable blindness by the year 2020, VISION 2020 the Right to Sight. It has concentrated on the prevention of blindness disability and recognized a health issue-sight as a human right. In view of challenges ahead of visual sciences, close collaboration between international agencies at the global level to implement new strategies and monitor the progress will be mandatory. In these circumstances non-governmental organizations should not be neglected. World Sight Day 2012 would be a great opportunity to be a focus on importance of visual impairment as an important public health issue and discovering new challenges ahead.

Harmful Algal Blooms and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Grattan, Lynn M.; Holobaugh, Sailor; Morris, J. Glenn

2015-01-01

The five most commonly recognized Harmful Algal Bloom related illnesses include Ciguatera poisoning, Paralytic Shellfish poisoning, Neurotoxin Shellfish poisoning, Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning and Amnesic Shellfish poisoning. Although they are each the product of different toxins, toxin assemblages or HAB precursors these clinical syndromes have much in common. Exposure occurs through the consumption of fish or shellfish; routine clinical tests are not available for diagnosis; there is no known antidote for exposure; and the risk of these illnesses can negatively impact local fishing and tourism industries. Thus, illness prevention is of paramount importance to minimize human and public health risks. To accomplish this, close communication and collaboration is needed among HAB scientists, public health researchers and local, state and tribal health departments at academic, community outreach, and policy levels. PMID:27616971

Harmful Algal Blooms and Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Grattan, Lynn M; Holobaugh, Sailor; Morris, J Glenn

2016-07-01

The five most commonly recognized Harmful Algal Bloom related illnesses include Ciguatera poisoning, Paralytic Shellfish poisoning, Neurotoxin Shellfish poisoning, Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning and Amnesic Shellfish poisoning. Although they are each the product of different toxins, toxin assemblages or HAB precursors these clinical syndromes have much in common. Exposure occurs through the consumption of fish or shellfish; routine clinical tests are not available for diagnosis; there is no known antidote for exposure; and the risk of these illnesses can negatively impact local fishing and tourism industries. Thus, illness prevention is of paramount importance to minimize human and public health risks. To accomplish this, close communication and collaboration is needed among HAB scientists, public health researchers and local, state and tribal health departments at academic, community outreach, and policy levels.

Opportunities for Public Relations Research in Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Wise, Kurt

2001-01-01

Considers how communication researchers have developed a solid body of knowledge in the health field but know little about the activities of public relations practitioners in public health bodies. Suggests that public relations scholarship and practice have much to offer the field of public health in helping public health bodies meet their…

Paradigm shifts in disability and health: toward more ethical public health research.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Katherine E; Raymaker, Dora M

2013-12-01

Disability is often considered a health outcome disproportionately experienced by minority groups. It is also possible to view people with disabilities as a minority group that itself experiences health disparities. Calls to reduce these disparities necessitate the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in research, although resulting ethical issues can thwart scientific progress. Using disability rights principles can help address ethical challenges and promote safe, respectful public health research. Examples include applying human rights frameworks, providing accommodations, attending to power, countering legacies of deficits-based models of disability, and transforming access to science more broadly. Collectively, these strategies can encourage broader engagement in safe, respectful, inclusive public health research aimed at promoting the health and well-being of people with developmental disabilities.

The public health implications of pathogens in polluted aquatic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The public health implications of pathogens in polluted aquatic ecosystems: a review. ... Pathogen contamination in water sources and related diseases constitute ... of public water supply and most importantly, increased rate of human mortality. ... illnesses related to respiratory, gastrointestinal and dermatological systems, ...

Ethics in public health research: privacy and public health at risk: public health confidentiality in the digital age.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Julie; Frieden, Thomas R; Bherwani, Kamal M; Henning, Kelly J

2008-05-01

Public health agencies increasingly use electronic means to acquire, use, maintain, and store personal health information. Electronic data formats can improve performance of core public health functions, but potentially threaten privacy because they can be easily duplicated and transmitted to unauthorized people. Although such security breaches do occur, electronic data can be better secured than paper records, because authentication, authorization, auditing, and accountability can be facilitated. Public health professionals should collaborate with law and information technology colleagues to assess possible threats, implement updated policies, train staff, and develop preventive engineering measures to protect information. Tightened physical and electronic controls can prevent misuse of data, minimize the risk of security breaches, and help maintain the reputation and integrity of public health agencies.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

One Health approach: A platform for intervention in emerging public health challenges of Kerala state

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Sukumaran

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The authors, key functionaries in the Kerala state public health system, review the communicable disease scenario of the state for the past 4 years, and in the background of the One Health concept, opines that the re-emerged discipline is perfectly in tune with the current challenges of the state. The unique model of Kerala state is witnessing newer challenges in its public health arena: The rapidly increasing migrant workforce from relatively poorer states of India, rapid urbanization and its consequent stress on public health, unsolved issues of urban waste disposal, reemergence of many communicable diseases like malaria, more so, the falciparum type, emergence of many zoonotic diseases like Lyme disease, scrub typhus, and Kyasanur forest disease etc. Conventional zoonotic infections such as anthrax and brucellosis remain potential threat for human health as well. Rabies continued to cause major concern from mortality point of view, as well as major drainer of state’s budget every year. Leptospirosis has remained major burden among the communicable disease for the past 10 years, and the annual incidence ranged from 2 to 7 per 100,000 population. Having a large section of its people working in various agriculture and animal rearing occupations, the state has all risk factors for propagation of Leptospirosis, but lacks interdisciplinary collaboration in its control and prevention area, the author highlights major avenues for collaboration. Japanese encephalitis appeared as an epidemic in 2011 in two of the southern districts in Kerala, one of the districts being famous tourist spot for both humans, as well as migrant birds. There is ample scope for collaborative research on the source of the virus, and in the subsequent years, the disease had been detected in more districts. Lyme disease was reported for the first time in India, from one of the districts in Kerala, promptly investigated by a joint team from Human Public Health and Veterinary

[Terrorism, public health and health services].

Science.gov (United States)

Arcos González, Pedro; Castro Delgado, Rafael; Cuartas Alvarez, Tatiana; Pérez-Berrocal Alonso, Jorge

2009-01-01

Today the terrorism is a problem of global distribution and increasing interest for the international public health. The terrorism related violence affects the public health and the health care services in an important way and in different scopes, among them, increase mortality, morbidity and disability, generates a context of fear and anxiety that makes the psychopathological diseases very frequent, seriously alters the operation of the health care services and produces important social, political and economic damages. These effects are, in addition, especially intense when the phenomenon takes place on a chronic way in a community. The objective of this paper is to examine the relation between terrorism and public health, focusing on its effects on public health and the health care services, as well as to examine the possible frames to face the terrorism as a public health concern, with special reference to the situation in Spain. To face this problem, both the public health systems and the health care services, would have to especially adapt their approaches and operational methods in six high-priority areas related to: (1) the coordination between the different health and non health emergency response agencies; (2) the reinforcement of the epidemiological surveillance systems; (3) the improvement of the capacities of the public health laboratories and response emergency care systems to specific types of terrorism as the chemical or biological terrorism; (3) the mental health services; (4) the planning and coordination of the emergency response of the health services; (5) the relations with the population and mass media and, finally; (6) a greater transparency in the diffusion of the information and a greater degree of analysis of the carried out health actions in the scope of the emergency response.

Peer-reviewed public health journals from Arabic-speaking countries: An updated snapshot.

OpenAIRE

Aboul-Enein, BH; Bernstein, J; Bowser, JE

2017-01-01

There is a positive association between availability of regional peer-reviewed public health information systems and progressive change in community and population health. The objective of this brief report was to identify public health journals in Arabic-speaking countries actively publishing as of 2016. We conducted an electronic search in several electronic database records for public health journals using a combination of search terms. We excluded journals that focused on human medicine, ...

Towards a public health profession

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foldspang, Anders

2015-01-01

in the theoretical as well as the practical potential of the public health professional. Thus, he and she must be able to perform, what WHO Europe has developed as Essential Public Health Operations (EPHOs).3 This, in turn, implies that the public health professional possesses the set of intellectual (knowledge...... endorsed by WHO Europe’s member states as the basis for the public health education in Europe.5 The sections of the lists include: Public health methods; Population health and: Its social and economic determinants, and: Its material environmental determinants; Man-made interventions and systems, namely...... Health policy, health economics, organizational theory, health legislation, and public health leadership and management; Health promotion—health education, health protection, disease prevention; public health ethics. This should form the central part of the basis for all public health professionals...

Science and social responsibility in public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Weed, Douglas L; McKeown, Robert E

2003-01-01

Epidemiologists and environmental health researchers have a joint responsibility to acquire scientific knowledge that matters to public health and to apply the knowledge gained in public health practice. We examine the nature and source of these social responsibilities, discuss a debate in the epidemiological literature on roles and responsibilities, and cite approaches to environmental justice as reflective of them. At one level, responsibility refers to accountability, as in being responsible for actions taken. A deeper meaning of responsibility corresponds to commitment to the pursuit and achievement of a valued end. Epidemiologists are committed to the scientific study of health and disease in human populations and to the application of scientific knowledge to improve the public's health. Responsibility is also closely linked to reliability. Responsible professionals reliably perform the tasks they set for themselves as well as the tasks society expects them to undertake. The defining axiom for our approach is that the health of the public is a social good we commit ourselves to pursue, thus assuming an obligation to contribute to its achievement. Epidemiologists cannot claim to be committed to public health as a social good and not accept the responsibility of ensuring that the knowledge gained in their roles as scientists is used to achieve that good. The social responsibilities of environmental health researchers are conspicuous in the environmental justice movement, for example, in community-based participatory research. Responsibility is an ethical concept particularly well suited to frame many key aspects of the ethics of our profession. PMID:14602514

75 FR 42362 - Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research for Which Public Health...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-21

... Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or the Department), including the HHS Public Health Service (PHS... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 42 CFR Part 50 45 CFR Part 94 [Docket Number NIH-2010-0001] RIN 0925-AA53 Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research for Which Public...

Comprehensive effective and efficient global public health surveillance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McNabb Scott JN

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract At a crossroads, global public health surveillance exists in a fragmented state. Slow to detect, register, confirm, and analyze cases of public health significance, provide feedback, and communicate timely and useful information to stakeholders, global surveillance is neither maximally effective nor optimally efficient. Stakeholders lack a globa surveillance consensus policy and strategy; officials face inadequate training and scarce resources. Three movements now set the stage for transformation of surveillance: 1 adoption by Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO of the revised International Health Regulations (IHR[2005]; 2 maturation of information sciences and the penetration of information technologies to distal parts of the globe; and 3 consensus that the security and public health communities have overlapping interests and a mutual benefit in supporting public health functions. For these to enhance surveillance competencies, eight prerequisites should be in place: politics, policies, priorities, perspectives, procedures, practices, preparation, and payers. To achieve comprehensive, global surveillance, disparities in technical, logistic, governance, and financial capacities must be addressed. Challenges to closing these gaps include the lack of trust and transparency; perceived benefit at various levels; global governance to address data power and control; and specified financial support from globa partners. We propose an end-state perspective for comprehensive, effective and efficient global, multiple-hazard public health surveillance and describe a way forward to achieve it. This end-state is universal, global access to interoperable public health information when it’s needed, where it’s needed. This vision mitigates the tension between two fundamental human rights: first, the right to privacy, confidentiality, and security of personal health information combined with the right of sovereign, national entities

Comprehensive effective and efficient global public health surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

McNabb, Scott J N

2010-12-03

At a crossroads, global public health surveillance exists in a fragmented state. Slow to detect, register, confirm, and analyze cases of public health significance, provide feedback, and communicate timely and useful information to stakeholders, global surveillance is neither maximally effective nor optimally efficient. Stakeholders lack a globa surveillance consensus policy and strategy; officials face inadequate training and scarce resources.Three movements now set the stage for transformation of surveillance: 1) adoption by Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) of the revised International Health Regulations (IHR[2005]); 2) maturation of information sciences and the penetration of information technologies to distal parts of the globe; and 3) consensus that the security and public health communities have overlapping interests and a mutual benefit in supporting public health functions. For these to enhance surveillance competencies, eight prerequisites should be in place: politics, policies, priorities, perspectives, procedures, practices, preparation, and payers.To achieve comprehensive, global surveillance, disparities in technical, logistic, governance, and financial capacities must be addressed. Challenges to closing these gaps include the lack of trust and transparency; perceived benefit at various levels; global governance to address data power and control; and specified financial support from globa partners.We propose an end-state perspective for comprehensive, effective and efficient global, multiple-hazard public health surveillance and describe a way forward to achieve it. This end-state is universal, global access to interoperable public health information when it's needed, where it's needed. This vision mitigates the tension between two fundamental human rights: first, the right to privacy, confidentiality, and security of personal health information combined with the right of sovereign, national entities to the ownership and stewardship

Nutrition, health and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Brundtland, G H

1999-07-01

This paper presents the speech delivered by Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of WHO, on issues related to nutrition from a health and a human rights perspective. According to Brundtland, nutrition is a universal factor that both affects and defines the health of all people. It affects not only growth and physical development of a child, but also his cognitive and social development. However, inequity, poverty, underdevelopment, as well as inadequate access to food, health and care still exist which have resulted to the deaths of millions of children and left many more suffering from diseases. Poverty has also been identified as the main obstacle to the attainment of health. The existence of structural poverty and ill health eventually leads to poor development, which includes poor nutrition, poor health, and poor human rights. The impact of poverty on health is further worsened by discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, language, or religion. To address this issue, the WHO will renew their focus on the political and legal links between health and human rights. A human rights perspective provides the international community with an opportunity to support the development of public health policies and practices that promote healthy nutrition as a center of all social and economic development.

Legal protection of public health through control over genetically modified food.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutorova, Nataliya; Batyhina, Olena; Trotska, Maryna

2018-01-01

Introduction: Science is constantly being developed which leads to both positive and negative changes in public health and the environment. One of the results of scientific progress is introduction of food based on genetically modified organisms whose effects on human health, to date, remain scantily studied and are ambiguous. The aim: to determine how human health can be influenced by food production based on genetically modified organisms. Materials and methods: international acts, data of international organizations and conclusions of scientists have been examined and used in the study. The article also summarizes information from scientific journals and monographs from a medical and legal point of view with scientific methods. This article is based on dialectical, comparative, analytic, synthetic and comprehensive research methods. Conclusions: Genetically modified organisms are specific human-made organisms being a result of using modern biotechnology techniques. They have both positive and negative effects on human health and the environment. The main disadvantage is not sufficient study of them in various spheres of public life.

Public health metaphors in Australian policy on asylum seekers.

Science.gov (United States)

Koutroulis, Glenda

2009-02-01

To analyse the way in which a public health metaphor has been incorporated into Australian political practice to justify the exclusion or mistreatment of unwelcome non-citizens, giving particular attention to recent asylum seekers. Starting with a personal experience of working in an immigration detention centre and then drawing on media reports and published scholarship, I critique political rhetoric and policy on asylum seekers, arguing that the significance of a public health metaphor lies in its effectiveness in persuading the public that refugees and asylum seekers are a moral contaminant that threatens the nation and has to be contained. Acceptance of the metaphor sanctions humanly degrading inferences, policies and actions. Public health professionals therefore have a responsibility to challenge the political use of public health and associated metaphors. Substituting the existing metaphor for one that is more morally acceptable could help to redefine refugees and asylum seekers more positively and promote compassion in political leaders and the community.

[Modern-day slavery as a public health issue].

Science.gov (United States)

Leão, Luís Henrique da Costa

2016-12-01

Modern-day slave labor is one of the most pernicious and persistent social problems in Brazil. In the light of the need to implement a national occupational health policy, this paper discusses slave labor as a public health concern, highlighting possibilities for broadening strategies for vigilance and comprehensive care for this specific working population. Exploratory qualitative research was carried out based on the "social construction of reality" proposed by Lenoir, Berger and Luckmann. The investigation consisted of a theoretical review of modern-day slave labor on the national and international scene within the scope of the human, social and public health sciences and an analysis of social and political practices to tackle modern-day slave labor was conducted in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Semi-structured individual and group interviews with workers and representatives of social movements and public institutions were organized. The results reveal the theoretical and practical dimensions of slave labor and its relations with the health field and highlight the role and potential of public health in the enhancing of vigilance practices and health care of workers subjected to these chronic social conditions.

Institutional capacity for health systems research in East and Central African Schools of Public Health: strengthening human and financial resources

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Despite its importance in providing evidence for health-related policy and decision-making, an insufficient amount of health systems research (HSR) is conducted in low-income countries (LICs). Schools of public health (SPHs) are key stakeholders in HSR. This paper, one in a series of four, examines human and financial resources capacities, policies and organizational support for HSR in seven Africa Hub SPHs in East and Central Africa. Methods Capacity assessment done included document analysis to establish staff numbers, qualifications and publications; self-assessment using a tool developed to capture individual perceptions on the capacity for HSR and institutional dialogues. Key informant interviews (KIIs) were held with Deans from each SPH and Ministry of Health and non-governmental officials, focusing on perceptions on capacity of SPHs to engage in HSR, access to funding, and organizational support for HSR. Results A total of 123 people participated in the self-assessment and 73 KIIs were conducted. Except for the National University of Rwanda and the University of Nairobi SPH, most respondents expressed confidence in the adequacy of staffing levels and HSR-related skills at their SPH. However, most of the researchers operate at individual level with low outputs. The average number of HSR-related publications was only capacity. This study underscores the need to form effective multidisciplinary teams to enhance research of immediate and local relevance. Capacity strengthening in the SPH needs to focus on knowledge translation and communication of findings to relevant audiences. Advocacy is needed to influence respective governments to allocate adequate funding for HSR to avoid donor dependency that distorts local research agenda. PMID:24888371

Profile of Public Health Leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Little, Ruth Gaskins; Greer, Annette; Clay, Maria; McFadden, Cheryl

2016-01-01

Public health leaders play pivotal roles in ensuring the population health for our nation. Since 2000, the number of schools of public health has almost doubled. The scholarly credentials for leaders of public health in academic and practice are important, as they make decisions that shape the future public health workforce and important public health policies. This research brief describes the educational degrees of deans of schools of public health and state health directors, as well as their demographic profiles, providing important information for future public health leadership planning. Data were extracted from a database containing information obtained from multiple Web sites including academic institution Web sites and state government Web sites. Variables describe 2 sets of public health leaders: academic deans of schools of public health and state health directors. Deans of schools of public health were 73% males and 27% females; the PhD degree was held by 40% deans, and the MD degree by 33% deans. Seventy percent of deans obtained their terminal degree more than 35 years ago. State health directors were 60% males and 40% females. Sixty percent of state health directors had an MD degree, 4% a PhD degree, and 26% no terminal degree at all. Sixty-four percent of state health directors received their terminal degree more than 25 years ago. In addition to terminal degrees, 56% of deans and 40% of state health directors held MPH degrees. The findings call into question competencies needed by future public health professionals and leadership and the need to clarify further the level of public health training and degree type that should be required for leadership qualifications in public health.

Public Health Departments

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — State and Local Public Health Departments in the United States Governmental public health departments are responsible for creating and maintaining conditions that...

The portrayal of natural environment in the evolution of the ecological public health paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Coutts, Christopher; Forkink, Annet; Weiner, Jocelyn

2014-01-10

This paper explores the conceptualization of the natural environment in an evolving ecological public health paradigm. The natural environment has long been recognized as essential to supporting life, health, and wellbeing. Our understanding of the relationship between the natural environment and health has steadily evolved from one of an undynamic environment to a more sophisticated understanding of ecological interactions.  This evolution is reflected in a number of ecological public health models which demonstrate the many external and overlapping determinants of human health. Six models are presented here to demonstrate this evolution, each model reflecting an increasingly ecological appreciation for the fundamental role of the natural environment in supporting human health. We conclude that after decades of public health's acceptance of the ecological paradigm, we are only now beginning to assemble knowledge of sophisticated ecological interdependencies and apply this knowledge to the conceptualization and study of the relationship between the natural environment and the determinants of human health.

[Virtual Campus of Public Health: six years of human resources education in Mexico].

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos Herrera, Igor; Alfaro Alfaro, Noé; Fonseca León, Joel; García Sandoval, Cristóbal; González Castañeda, Miguel; López Zermeño, María Del Carmen; Benítez Morales, Ricardo

2014-11-01

This paper discusses the gestation process, implementation methodology, and results obtained from the initiative to use e-learning to train human resources for health, six years after the launch of the Virtual Campus of Public Health of the University of Guadalajara (Mexico); the discussion is framed by Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) standards and practices. This is a special report on the work done by the institutional committee of the Virtual Campus in western Mexico to create an Internet portal that follows the guidelines of the strategic model established by Nodo México and PAHO for the Region of the Americas. This Virtual Campus began its activities in 2007, on the basis of the use of free software and institutional collaboration. Since the initial year of implementation of the node, over 500 health professionals have been trained using virtual courses, the node's educational platform, and a repository of virtual learning resources that are interoperable with other repositories in Mexico and the Region of the Americas. The University of Guadalajara Virtual Campus committee has followed the proposed model as much as possible, thereby achieving most of the goals set in the initial work plan, despite a number of administrative challenges and the difficulty of motivating committee members.

Enhancing the Teaching of Evolution in Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Omenn, Gilbert S

2011-12-01

Public health courses are emerging as popular undergraduate offerings, especially at universities with schools of public health. It is important to note that evolution has shaped the burden of disease in the modern world in which we practice and educate for public health. Human cultures and technologies have modified life on Planet Earth and have co-evolved with myriad other species, including microorganisms, plant and animal sources of food, invertebrate vectors of disease, and intermediate bird, mammal, and primate hosts. Molecular mechanisms of evolution have produced differential resistance or susceptibility to infectious agents, including malaria, plague, smallpox, TB, measles, and diarrheal and respiratory diseases. The domestication of sheep and cattle led to natural selection in favor of human populations able to digest milk throughout life through persistence into adulthood of lactase enzyme expression in the intestine, a major story of anthropology. The emergence of a "Western diet" of dairy, refined cereal grains, refined sugars, vegetable oils, alcoholic beverages, salt, and omega-6-rich meats has dramatically altered glycemic load, fatty acid composition, macro-nutrients, acid-base balance, sodium/potassium ratio, and fiber content. This is a major story of nutrition and disease. The results include epidemics of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, certain cancers, and bowel, inflammatory, and autoimmune disorders. Another interesting phenomenon is the selection of excessive hemostatic activity from platelets and the plasma clotting proteins; what was protective against death from bleeding after injuries among hunter-gatherers or from pregnancy-related hemorrhage now contributes to thrombosis underlying heart attacks and strokes. Conversely, there is little pressure against hemostasis and thrombosis since deaths from these causes occur mostly after the reproductive years of life. Learning about

Skin diseases highlighting essential global public health priorities.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrone, Aldo; Toma, Luigi; Franco, Gennaro

2005-05-01

Which are the essential global public health activities that should be carried out in order to attain the largest impact on poverty reduction and health improvement in the world? Since its foundation in 2001 the Human Mobile Population Committee (HMPC) has continued to devote its efforts to finding answers to this question, with a particular focus on the skin diseases of the Human Mobile Population (HMP) and other groups of disadvantaged people. In this article we present the model of socio-sanitary activity in the field of Migration, Poverty and Health of the Department of Preventive Medicine of Migration, Tourism and Tropical Dermatology (Dept.) at San Gallicano Institute--Research Institute for Hospitalization and Treatment (IRCCS)--in Rome (Italy). The activities of this dermatological centre are in the spirit of the HMPC's aims and we are of the opinion that this model is not only ethically valid, but also practically and economically convenient, and that there is evidence that our experience is worth repeating, in as many situations as possible, in the interest of public health.

76 FR 16776 - Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-25

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and... a meeting is scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and... advice to the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health (the ``Council''). The Advisory...

One Health and EcoHealth in Ontario: a qualitative study exploring how holistic and integrative approaches are shaping public health practice in Ontario.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Zee; Middleton, Dean; Morrison, Karen

2012-05-16

There is a growing recognition that many public health issues are complex and can be best understood by examining the relationship between human health and the health of the ecosystems in which people live. Two approaches, One Health and Ecosystem Approaches to Health (EcoHealth), can help us to better understand these intricate and complex connections, and appear to hold great promise for tackling many modern public health dilemmas. Although both One Health and EcoHealth have garnered recognition from numerous health bodies in Canada and abroad, there is still a need to better understand how these approaches are shaping the practice of public health in Ontario.The purpose of this study was to characterize how public health actors in Ontario are influenced by the holistic principles which underlie One Health and EcoHealth, and to identify important lessons from their experiences. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants from the public health sphere in Ontario. Participants encompassed diverse perspectives including infectious disease, food systems, urban agriculture, and environmental health. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis to identify major themes and patterns. Four major themes emerged from the interviews: the importance of connecting human health with the environment; the role of governance in promoting these ideas; the value of partnerships and collaborations in public health practice; and the challenge of operationalizing holistic approaches to public health. Overall study participants were found to be heavily influenced by concepts couched in EcoHealth and One Health literature, despite a lack of familiarity with these fields. Although One Health and EcoHealth are lesser known approaches in the public health sphere, their holistic and systems-based principles were found to influence the thoughts, values and experiences of public health actors interviewed in this study. This

Healthy publics: enabling cultures and environments for health

Science.gov (United States)

Hinchliffe, Stephen; Jackson, Mark A.; Wyatt, Katrina; Barlow, Anne E.; Barreto, Manuela; Clare, Linda; Depledge, Michael H.; Durie, Robin; Fleming, Lora E.; Groom, Nick; Morrissey, Karyn; Salisbury, Laura; Thomas, Felicity

2018-01-01

Despite extraordinary advances in biomedicine and associated gains in human health and well-being, a growing number of health and well-being related challenges have remained or emerged in recent years. These challenges are often ‘more than biomedical’ in complexion, being social, cultural and environmental in terms of their key drivers and determinants, and underline the necessity of a concerted policy focus on generating healthy societies. Despite the apparent agreement on this diagnosis, the means to produce change are seldom clear, even when the turn to health and well-being requires sizable shifts in our understandings of public health and research practices. This paper sets out a platform from which research approaches, methods and translational pathways for enabling health and well-being can be built. The term ‘healthy publics’ allows us to shift the focus of public health away from ‘the public’ or individuals as targets for intervention, and away from the view that culture acts as a barrier to efficient biomedical intervention, towards a greater recognition of the public struggles that are involved in raising health issues, questioning what counts as healthy and unhealthy and assembling the evidence and experience to change practices and outcomes. Creating the conditions for health and well-being, we argue, requires an engaged research process in which public experiments in building and repairing social and material relations are staged and sustained even if, and especially when, the fates of those publics remain fragile and buffeted by competing and often more powerful public formations. PMID:29862036

Strengthening public health research for improved health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique Gea-Izquierdo

2012-08-01

prophylaxis methods. The multidisciplinary and multi-center approach in research will provide a better understanding of the processes and quality solutions. The implementation of strategies that encourage the promotion of research will lead to the establishment of joint action lines, allowing a general approach in enhancing biomedical research. In this sense and for social improvement, awareness of researchers in encouraging the detection of social problems is especially relevant. As mentioned it’s estimate the need for establish an adequate framework for public health research in loss-making countries, with results that impact on the advancement of the welfare of the people, advocating to take appropriate actions by the governments and health authorities. Therefore, the primary purpose must be to protect and improve the health of people. This specific aim is positioned on the border between basic research and development, so the contribution of ideas from clinical practice should be used in the treatment of health problems and advance of the prevention. At the same time, promotion of public health training habits will contribute to a better knowledge transfer and implementation of healthy behaviors to collaborate towards the development. There’s an extraordinary opportunity for the establishment of public health research, through the primary consideration of major health problems and providing workable solutions that contribute to improve the existing situation. Overcoming health challenges undoubtedly lead to advance in sustainability in the twenty-first century, producing a social benefit, promoting the progress of humanity in technological and communicative processes, and equity. The competition between research groups should be understood as a mechanism for constructive approach with the ultimate aim to improve society. In turn, the latter must understand and appreciate the progress made through biomedical research, so an effort to scientific communication and

Feminism and public health nursing: partners for health.

Science.gov (United States)

Leipert, B D

2001-01-01

It is a well-known fact that nursing and feminism have enjoyed an uneasy alliance. In recent years, however, nursing has begun to recognize the importance of feminism. Nevertheless, the literature still rarely addresses the relevance of feminism for public health nursing. In this article, I articulate the relevance of feminism for public health nursing knowledge and practice. First, I define and describe feminism and public health nursing and then I discuss the importance of feminism for public health nursing practice. The importance of feminism for the metaparadigm concepts of public health nursing is then reviewed. Finally, I examine several existing challenges relating to feminism and public health nursing research, education, and practice. The thesis of this article is that feminism is vitally important for the development of public health nursing and for public health care.

Peer-reviewed public health journals from Arabic-speaking countries: An updated snapshot.

Science.gov (United States)

Aboul-Enein, Basil H; Bernstein, Joshua; Bowser, Jacquelyn E

2017-02-01

There is a positive association between availability of regional peer-reviewed public health information systems and progressive change in community and population health. The objective of this brief report was to identify public health journals in Arabic-speaking countries actively publishing as of 2016. We conducted an electronic search in several electronic database records for public health journals using a combination of search terms. We excluded journals that focused on human medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, and other discipline-specific or clinical health professions. We identified twenty-five public health journals for review. Five journals were interrupted or discontinued. Only three journals had a consistent, uninterrupted active publication history of greater than 20 years. Most journals were not in the regional native language. Introduction of regional public health-dedicated journals with in-print and electronic availability and also to be published in region-native languages may require interdisciplinary partnerships. Region-wide public health journals such as the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal could serve as an ideal model for the establishment of additional local and regional public health journals in Arabic-speaking countries.

The public health response to 'do-it-yourself' urbanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Sibbald, Shannon L; Graham, Ross; Gilliland, Jason

2017-09-01

Greater understanding of the important and complex relationship between the built environment and human health has made 'healthy places' a focus of public health and health promotion. While current literature concentrates on creating healthy places through traditional decision-making pathways (namely, municipal land use planning and urban design processes), this paper explores do-it-yourself (DIY) urbanism: a movement circumventing traditional pathways to, arguably, create healthy places and advance social justice. Despite being aligned with several health promotion goals, DIY urbanism interventions are typically illegal and have been categorized as a type of civil disobedience. This is challenging for public health officials who may value DIY urbanism outcomes, but do not necessarily support the means by which it is achieved. Based on the literature, we present a preliminary approach to health promotion decision-making in this area. Public health officials can voice support for DIY urbanism interventions in some instances, but should proceed cautiously.

Mycobacterial Species Identification and Public Health Implications ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mycobacterial Species Identification and Public Health Implications of Tuberculosis Among Nomadic Pastoralists in Three Local Governments of Plateau State, North ... Bovine and human tuberculosis is endemic in Nigeria, and apart from meat inspection at the abattoir, which is not very effective, no control measures are ...

Clean Slate transportation and human health risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-02-01

Public concern regarding activities involving radioactive material generally focuses on the human health risk associated with exposure to ionizing radiation. This report describes the results of a risk analysis conducted to evaluate risk for excavation, handling, and transport of soil contaminated with transuranics at the Clean Slate sites. Transportation risks were estimated for public transport routes from the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) to the Envirocore disposal facility or to the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) for both radiological risk and risk due to traffic accidents. Human health risks were evaluated for occupational and radiation-related health effects to workers. This report was generated to respond to this public concern, to provide an evaluation of the risk, and to assess feasibility of transport of the contaminated soil for disposal

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Occurrence of human pathogenic Clostridium botulinum among healthy dairy animals: an emerging public health hazard.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel-Moein, Khaled A; Hamza, Dalia A

2016-01-01

The current study was conducted to investigate the occurrence of human pathogenic Clostridium botulinum in the feces of dairy animals. Fecal samples were collected from 203 apparently healthy dairy animals (50 cattle, 50 buffaloes, 52 sheep, 51 goats). Samples were cultured to recover C. botulinum while human pathogenic C. botulinum strains were identified after screening of all C. botulinum isolates for the presence of genes that encode toxins type A, B, E, F. The overall prevalence of C. botulinum was 18.7% whereas human pathogenic C. botulinum strains (only type A) were isolated from six animals at the rates of 2, 2, 5.8, and 2% for cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats, respectively. High fecal carriage rates of C. botulinum among apparently healthy dairy animals especially type A alarm both veterinary and public health communities for a potential role which may be played by dairy animals in the epidemiology of such pathogen.

75 FR 52355 - Draft National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures Work Group Reports...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-25

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Draft National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures Work Group Reports; Opportunity for Public Comment AGENCY.../nationalconversation/work_groups.html . For additional information on the National Conversation on Public Health and...

Feminism and public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, W A

2006-06-01

This paper sketches an account of public health ethics drawing upon established scholarship in feminist ethics. Health inequities are one of the central problems in public health ethics; a feminist approach leads us to examine not only the connections between gender, disadvantage, and health, but also the distribution of power in the processes of public health, from policy making through to programme delivery. The complexity of public health demands investigation using multiple perspectives and an attention to detail that is capable of identifying the health issues that are important to women, and investigating ways to address these issues. Finally, a feminist account of public health ethics embraces rather than avoids the inescapable political dimensions of public health.

Public health and Plowshare

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Terrill, Jr, J G [Consumer Protection and Environmental Health Service, U.S. PubIic Health Service, Washington, DC (United States)

1969-07-01

The protection of public health and safety is a principal area of concern in any application of nuclear energy. A health and safety analysis must be conducted and reviewed by appropriate agencies and the final results made available to interested agencies and groups, both public and private, prior to the application. This is especially important for the Plowshare Program - the peaceful uses of nuclear explosives - where the public is to be the ultimate beneficiary. Because public health must be a primary concern in the Plowshare Program, it is essential that the potential risk be weighed against the expected benefits to the public. Public health agencies must play an increasingly important role in the planning and operational stages of the peaceful applications of nuclear explosives and in the final stage of consumer use of Plowshare-generated products. There are many long term and long distance ramifications of the Plowshare Program, such a the potential radiological contamination of consumer products that may reach the consumer at long times after the event or at great distances from the site of the event. Criteria for evaluating public exposure to radiation from these products need to be developed based on sound scientific research. Standards for radioactivity in consumer products must be developed in relation to potential exposure of the public. Above all, a clear benefit to the public with a minimum of risk must be shown. The major purpose of this Symposium on the Public Health Aspects of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear-Explosives is to focus attention on the health and safety aspects, present the results of safety analyses accomplished to date and other information necessary to an understanding of the public health aspects, and to identify areas where additional research is required. A general overview of the total symposium content is presented with emphasis on the relationship of the topics to public health. (author)

Public health and Plowshare

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terrill, J.G. Jr.

1969-01-01

The protection of public health and safety is a principal area of concern in any application of nuclear energy. A health and safety analysis must be conducted and reviewed by appropriate agencies and the final results made available to interested agencies and groups, both public and private, prior to the application. This is especially important for the Plowshare Program - the peaceful uses of nuclear explosives - where the public is to be the ultimate beneficiary. Because public health must be a primary concern in the Plowshare Program, it is essential that the potential risk be weighed against the expected benefits to the public. Public health agencies must play an increasingly important role in the planning and operational stages of the peaceful applications of nuclear explosives and in the final stage of consumer use of Plowshare-generated products. There are many long term and long distance ramifications of the Plowshare Program, such a the potential radiological contamination of consumer products that may reach the consumer at long times after the event or at great distances from the site of the event. Criteria for evaluating public exposure to radiation from these products need to be developed based on sound scientific research. Standards for radioactivity in consumer products must be developed in relation to potential exposure of the public. Above all, a clear benefit to the public with a minimum of risk must be shown. The major purpose of this Symposium on the Public Health Aspects of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear-Explosives is to focus attention on the health and safety aspects, present the results of safety analyses accomplished to date and other information necessary to an understanding of the public health aspects, and to identify areas where additional research is required. A general overview of the total symposium content is presented with emphasis on the relationship of the topics to public health. (author)

The Use of 'No Evidence' Statements in Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louise Cummings

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Public health communication makes extensive use of a linguistic formulation that will be called the “no evidence” statement. This is a written or spoken statement of the form “There is no evidence that P” where P stands for a proposition that typically describes a human health risk. Danger lurks in these expressions for the hearer or reader who is not logically perspicacious, as arguments that use them are only warranted under certain conditions. The extent to which members of the public are able to determine what those conditions are will be considered by examining data obtained from 879 subjects. The role of “no evidence” statements as cognitive heuristics in public health reasoning is considered.

Probiotics and prebiotics: prospects for public health and nutritional recommendations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sanders, Mary Ellen; Lenoir-Wijnkoop, Irene; Salminen, Seppo; Merenstein, Daniel J.; Gibson, Glenn R.; Petschow, Bryon W.; Nieuwdorp, Max; Tancredi, Daniel J.; Cifelli, Christopher J.; Jacques, Paul; Pot, Bruno

2014-01-01

Probiotics and prebiotics are useful interventions for improving human health through direct or indirect effects on the colonizing microbiota. However, translation of these research findings into nutritional recommendations and public health policy endorsements has not been achieved in a manner

[Parmentier hygiene and public health].

Science.gov (United States)

Lafont, O

2014-05-01

The legend about Parmentier is quite reductive when it limits his activity to the promotion of potato. This military pharmacist intended mainly to make science serve human being, whatever could be his various activities. Actor of the foundation of food chemistry, reorganizer of military pharmacy, he has always been highly concerned with hygiene and public health. He then studied the quality of water, particularly in the case of river Seine, or the purity of air, especially in hospitals. The affair of Dunkerque exhumations or that of cesspools, or the utilisation of human excrements in agriculture were parts of the occurrences for which he had the opportunity to find a scientific approach allowing to solve the difficult questions that were asked to him, for the best benefit of public health. The exhaustive study he published in "Bulletin de pharmacie" for the conservation of meat shows that he did not ignore anything about freezing of food in order to preserve it. It is necessary not to forget the important role he played, as soon as he were informed of Jenner's discovery, for the diffusion of vaccination in France. It is simply astounding to observe how modern were the questions he solved and how intense was his spirit of dedication to the public good, when exerting his functions in "Comité de Salubrité de la Seine" or "Conseil de Santé des Armées", as well as outside these prestigious institutions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Risks and concerns regarding transgenic food and human health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orlando Acosta

2002-07-01

Full Text Available The transgenic technology in agriculture has recently been in the center of an intense debate between two radically opposite points of view. Some non-government organizations (NGO consider this technology as dangerous for human health, environment and economics of developing countries. On the contrary, the scientific community has been publicly supportive of this technology, suggesting that education is the key to gaining the public acceptance. Although genetically modified (GM plants for food use might have the potential to provide benefits in food quality, nutrition, health and environment, GM plants need additional considerations related with biosafety. Despite there is not evidence that GM foods are more dangerous to human health than conventional food it is necessary to test GM food following the best scientific methodology available. This review focuses on the potential effects that GM food might have on human health.

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.

Human Rights and the Political Economy of Universal Health Care

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Abstract Health system financing is a critical factor in securing universal health care and achieving equity in access and payment. The human rights framework offers valuable guidance for designing a financing strategy that meets these goals. This article presents a rights-based approach to health care financing developed by the human right to health care movement in the United States. Grounded in a human rights analysis of private, market-based health insurance, advocates make the case for public financing through progressive taxation. Financing mechanisms are measured against the twin goals of guaranteeing access to care and advancing economic equity. The added focus on the redistributive potential of health care financing recasts health reform as an economic policy intervention that can help fulfill broader economic and social rights obligations. Based on a review of recent universal health care reform efforts in the state of Vermont, this article reports on a rights-based public financing plan and model, which includes a new business tax directed against wage disparities. The modeling results suggest that a health system financed through equitable taxation could produce significant redistributive effects, thus increasing economic equity while generating sufficient funds to provide comprehensive health care as a universal public good. PMID:28559677

Development of an online tool for public health: the European Public Health Law Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Basak, P

2011-09-01

The European Public Health Law Network was established in 2007 as part of the European Union (EU) co-funded Public Health Law Flu project. The aims of the website consisted of designing an interactive network of specialist information and encouraging an exchange of expertise amongst members. The website sought to appeal to academics, public health professionals and lawyers. The Public Health Law Flu project team designed and managed the website. Registered network members were recruited through publicity, advertising and word of mouth. Details of the network were sent to health organizations and universities throughout Europe. Corresponding website links attracted many new visitors. Publications, news, events and a pandemic glossary became popular features on the site. Although the website initially focused only on pandemic diseases it has grown into a multidisciplinary website covering a range of public health law topics. The network contains over 700 publications divided into 28 public health law categories. News, events, front page content, legislation and the francophone section are updated on a regular basis. Since 2007 the website has received over 15,000 views from 156 countries. Newsletter subscribers have risen to 304. There are now 723 followers on the associated Twitter site. The European Public Health Law Network has been a successful and innovative site in the area of public health law. Interest in the site continues to grow. Future funding can contribute to a bigger site with interactive features and pages in a wider variety of languages to attract a wider global audience. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Public health and peace.

Science.gov (United States)

Laaser, Ulrich; Donev, Donco; Bjegović, Vesna; Sarolli, Ylli

2002-04-01

The modern concept of public health, the New Public Health, carries a great potential for healthy and therefore less aggressive societies. Its core disciplines are health promotion, environmental health, and health care management based on advanced epidemiological methodologies. The main principles of living together in healthy societies can be summarized as four ethical concepts of the New Public Health essential to violence reduction equity, participation, subsidiarity, and sustainability. The following issues are discussed as violence determinants: the process of urbanization; type of neighborhood and accommodation, and consequent stigmatization; level of education; employment status; socialization of the family; women's status; alcohol and drug consumption; availability of the firearms; religious, ethnic, and racial prejudices; and poverty. Development of the health systems has to contribute to peace, since aggression, violence, and warfare are among the greatest risks for health and the economic welfare. This contribution can be described as follows: 1) full and indiscriminate access to all necessary services, 2) monitoring of their quality, 3) providing special support to vulnerable groups, and 4) constant scientific and public accountability of the evaluation of the epidemiological outcome. Violence can also destroy solidarity and social cohesion of groups, such as family, team, neighborhood, or any other social organization. Durkheim coined the term anomie for a state in which social disruption of the community results in health risks for individuals. Health professionals can make a threefold contribution to peace by 1) analyzing the causal interrelationships of violence phenomena, 2) curbing the determinants of violence according to the professional standards, and 3) training professionals for this increasingly important task. Because tolerance is an essential part of an amended definition of health, monitoring of the early signs of public intolerance is

Public Health's Falling Share of US Health Spending.

Science.gov (United States)

Himmelstein, David U; Woolhandler, Steffie

2016-01-01

We examined trends in US public health expenditures by analyzing historical and projected National Health Expenditure Accounts data. Per-capita public health spending (inflation-adjusted) rose from $39 in 1960 to $281 in 2008, and has fallen by 9.3% since then. Public health's share of total health expenditures rose from 1.36% in 1960 to 3.18% in 2002, then fell to 2.65% in 2014; it is projected to fall to 2.40% in 2023. Public health spending has declined, potentially undermining prevention and weakening responses to health inequalities and new health threats.

Public health ethics: asylum seekers and the case for political action.

Science.gov (United States)

McNeill, Paul M

2003-10-01

This paper is a case study in public health ethics. It considers whether there is a basis in ethics for political action by health professionals and their associations in response to inhumane treatment. The issue arises from Australia's treatment of asylum seekers and the charge that this treatment has been both immoral and inhumane. This judgement raises several questions of broader significance in bioethics and of significance to the emerging field of public health ethics. These questions relate to the role of health professionals in response to inhumane treatment of people in their charge; to the discipline of public health in light of a growing recognition of its ethical basis; and the role of public health and bioethical associations in response to ethical issues arising in a political context. It is argued that, in serious cases of humanitarian and human rights abuses affecting health and well-being, there is a case for political action by health professionals, academic and professional institutions, and associations of public health and ethics.

WILDLIFE HEALTH AND PUBLIC TRUST RESPONSIBILITIES FOR WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

Science.gov (United States)

Decker, Daniel J; Schuler, Krysten; Forstchen, Ann B; Wild, Margaret A; Siemer, William F

2016-10-01

A significant development in wildlife management is the mounting concern of wildlife professionals and the public about wildlife health and diseases. Concurrently, the wildlife profession is reexamining implications of managing wildlife populations as a public trust and the concomitant obligation to ensure the quality (i.e., health) and sustainability of wildlife. It is an opportune time to emphasize the importance of wildlife health, specifically to advocate for comprehensive and consistent integration of wildlife health in wildlife management. We summarize application of public trust ideas in wildlife population management in the US. We argue that wildlife health is essential to fulfilling public trust administration responsibilities with respect to wildlife, due to the central responsibility of trustees for ensuring the well-being of wildlife species (i.e., the core resources of the trust). Because both health of wildlife and risk perceptions regarding threats posed by wildlife disease to humans and domestic animals are issues of growing concern, managing wildlife disease and risk communication vis-à-vis wildlife health is critical to wildlife trust administration. We conclude that wildlife health professionals play a critical role in protecting the wildlife trust and that current conditions provide opportunities for important contributions by wildlife health professionals in wildlife management.

Transportation and public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Litman, Todd

2013-01-01

This article investigates various ways that transportation policy and planning decisions affect public health and better ways to incorporate public health objectives into transport planning. Conventional planning tends to consider some public health impacts, such as crash risk and pollution emissions measured per vehicle-kilometer, but generally ignores health problems resulting from less active transport (reduced walking and cycling activity) and the additional crashes and pollution caused by increased vehicle mileage. As a result, transport agencies tend to undervalue strategies that increase transport system diversity and reduce vehicle travel. This article identifies various win-win strategies that can help improve public health and other planning objectives.

Integrating human health into environmental impact assessment: an unrealized opportunity for environmental health and justice.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatia, Rajiv; Wernham, Aaron

2008-08-01

The National Environmental Policy Act and related state laws require many public agencies to analyze and disclose potentially significant environmental effects of agency actions, including effects on human health. In this paper we review the purpose and procedures of environmental impact assessment (EIA), existing regulatory requirements for health effects analysis, and potential barriers to and opportunities for improving integration of human health concerns within the EIA process. We use statutes, regulations, guidelines, court opinions, and empirical research on EIA along with recent case examples of integrated health impact assessment (HIA)/EIA at both the state and federal level. We extract lessons and recommendations for integrated HIA/EIA practice from both existing practices as well as case studies. The case studies demonstrate the adequacy, scope, and power of existing statutory requirements for health analysis within EIA. The following support the success of integrated HIA/EIA: a proponent recognizing EIA as an available regulatory strategy for public health; the openness of the agency conducting the EIA; involvement of public health institutions; and complementary objectives among community stakeholders and health practitioners. We recommend greater collaboration among institutions responsible for EIA, public health institutions, and affected stakeholders along with guidance, resources, and training for integrated HIA/EIA practice.

Public health systems under attack in Canada: Evidence on public health system performance challenges arbitrary reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Guyon, Ak'ingabe; Perreault, Robert

2016-10-20

Public health is currently being weakened in several Canadian jurisdictions. Unprecedented and arbitrary cuts to the public health budget in Quebec in 2015 were a striking example of this. In order to support public health leaders and citizens in their capacity to advocate for evidence-informed public health reforms, we propose a knowledge synthesis of elements of public health systems that are significantly associated with improved performance. Research consistently and significantly associates four elements of public health systems with improved productivity: 1) increased financial resources, 2) increased staffing per capita, 3) population size between 50,000 and 500,000, and 4) specific evidence-based organizational and administrative features. Furthermore, increased financial resources and increased staffing per capita are significantly associated with improved population health outcomes. We contend that any effort at optimization of public health systems should at least be guided by these four evidence-informed factors. Canada already has existing capacity in carrying out public health systems and services research. Further advancement of our academic and professional expertise on public health systems will allow Canadian public health jurisdictions to be inspired by the best public health models and become stronger advocates for public health's resources, interventions and outcomes when they need to be celebrated or defended.

78 FR 60283 - Guidance for Temporary Reassignment of State and Local Personnel During a Public Health Emergency

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-01

... Personnel During a Public Health Emergency AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... and Local Personnel during a Public Health Emergency.'' Section 201 of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 (PAHPRA), Public Law 113-5, amends section 319 of the Public Health...

Comparing types of local public health agencies in North Carolina.

Science.gov (United States)

Markiewicz, Milissa; Moore, Jill; Foster, Johanna H; Berner, Maureen; Matthews, Gene; Wall, Aimee

2013-01-01

Some states are considering restructuring local public health agencies (LPHAs) in hopes of achieving long-term efficiencies. North Carolina's experience operating different types of LPHAs, such as county health departments, district health departments, public health authorities, and consolidated human services agencies, can provide valuable information to policy makers in other states who are examining how best to organize their local public health system. To identify stakeholders' perceptions of the benefits and challenges associated with different types of LPHAs in North Carolina and to compare LPHA types on selected financial, workforce, and service delivery measures. Focus groups and key informant interviews were conducted to identify stakeholders' perceptions of different LPHA types. To compare LPHA types on finance, workforce, and service delivery measures, descriptive statistical analyses were performed on publicly available quantitative data. North Carolina. Current and former state and local public health practitioners, county commissioners, county managers, assistant managers, state legislators, and others. In addition to identifying stakeholders' perceptions of LPHA types, proportion of total expenditures by funding source, expenditures per capita by funding source, full-time equivalents per 1000 population, and percentage of 127 tracked services offered were calculated. Stakeholders reported benefits and challenges of all LPHA types. LPHA types differ with regard to source of funding, with county health departments and consolidated human services agencies receiving a greater percentage of their funding from county appropriations than districts and authorities, which receive a comparatively larger percentage from other revenues. Types of LPHAs are not entirely distinct from one another, and LPHAs of the same type can vary greatly from one another. However, stakeholders noted differences between LPHA types-particularly with regard to district health

Transitions in state public health law: comparative analysis of state public health law reform following the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Benjamin Mason; Hodge, James G; Gebbie, Kristine M

2009-03-01

Given the public health importance of law modernization, we undertook a comparative analysis of policy efforts in 4 states (Alaska, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Nebraska) that have considered public health law reform based on the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act. Through national legislative tracking and state case studies, we investigated how the Turning Point Act's model legal language has been considered for incorporation into state law and analyzed key facilitating and inhibiting factors for public health law reform. Our findings provide the practice community with a research base to facilitate further law reform and inform future scholarship on the role of law as a determinant of the public's health.

Situational awareness in public health preparedness settings

Science.gov (United States)

Mirhaji, Parsa; Michea, Yanko F.; Zhang, Jiajie; Casscells, Samuel W.

2005-05-01

September 11 2001 attacks and following Anthrax mailings introduced emergent need for developing technologies that can distinguish between man made and natural incidents in the public health level. With this objective in mind, government agencies started a funding effort to foster the design, development and implementation of such systems on a wide scale. But the outcomes have not met the expectations set by the resources invested. Multiple elements explain this phenomenon: As it has been frequent with technology, introduction of new surveillance systems to the workflow equation has occurred without taking into consideration the need for understanding and inclusion of deeper personal, psychosocial, organizational and methodological concepts. The environment, in which these systems are operating, is complex, highly dynamic, uncertain, risky, and subject to intense time pressures. Such 'difficult' environments are very challenging to the human as a decision maker. In this paper we will challenge these systems from the perspective of human factors design. We will propose employment of systematic situational awareness research for design and implementation of the next generation public health preparedness infrastructures. We believe that systems designed based on results of such analytical definition of the domain enable public health practitioners to effectively collect the most important cues from the environment, process, interpret and understand the information in the context of organizational objectives and immediate tasks at hand, and use that understanding to forecast the short term and long term impact of the events in the safety and well being of the community.

[Problems and ethical challenges in public health communication].

Science.gov (United States)

Loss, J; Nagel, E

2009-05-01

Health communication, e.g., mass media campaigns, patient information leaflets or websites, plays an important role in public health. It contributes to citizen empowerment and helps them make informed decisions in health matters. However, public health communication can lead to adverse effects on both individual and societal level, e.g., by inaccurate or partial information, discriminatory messages, scandalizing coverage or inadequate tailoring to relevant target groups. It seems important to suggest ethical criteria for health information, e.g., (1) accuracy, completeness and balance, (2) transparency, (3) participation of the target group, (4) respect for human dignity, (5) social justice and equity, (6) appropriateness. Thoughtfulness is important in order not to stigmatize population subgroups. In addition, it is laborious to comprehensively and correctly present benefits and risks of a certain health behavior. Marketing principles guide how to 'sell' a certain health behavior, but health campaigns should not manipulate target persons for the sake of a population health aim. It remains unclear, however, how the different providers of health information can be held ethically responsible.

Knowledge-based public health situation awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Mirhaji, Parsa; Zhang, Jiajie; Srinivasan, Arunkumar; Richesson, Rachel L.; Smith, Jack W.

2004-09-01

There have been numerous efforts to create comprehensive databases from multiple sources to monitor the dynamics of public health and most specifically to detect the potential threats of bioterrorism before widespread dissemination. But there are not many evidences for the assertion that these systems are timely and dependable, or can reliably identify man made from natural incident. One must evaluate the value of so called 'syndromic surveillance systems' along with the costs involved in design, development, implementation and maintenance of such systems and the costs involved in investigation of the inevitable false alarms1. In this article we will introduce a new perspective to the problem domain with a shift in paradigm from 'surveillance' toward 'awareness'. As we conceptualize a rather different approach to tackle the problem, we will introduce a different methodology in application of information science, computer science, cognitive science and human-computer interaction concepts in design and development of so called 'public health situation awareness systems'. We will share some of our design and implementation concepts for the prototype system that is under development in the Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Informatics Research, in the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. The system is based on a knowledgebase containing ontologies with different layers of abstraction, from multiple domains, that provide the context for information integration, knowledge discovery, interactive data mining, information visualization, information sharing and communications. The modular design of the knowledgebase and its knowledge representation formalism enables incremental evolution of the system from a partial system to a comprehensive knowledgebase of 'public health situation awareness' as it acquires new knowledge through interactions with domain experts or automatic discovery of new knowledge.

Risk communication: climate change as a human-health threat, a survey of public perceptions in Malta.

Science.gov (United States)

DeBono, Roberto; Vincenti, Karen; Calleja, Neville

2012-02-01

Scientific evidence shows that climate change is very likely the product of human behaviour and lifestyle. The effects of climate change on human health are diverse in nature and range from direct effects due to extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods and storms, to indirect effects such as those caused by water and food shortages. A telephone survey was conducted between January and February 2009, on a stratified representative random sample of the Maltese population over the age of 18 years (N = 310,819). Five hundred and forty-three individuals successfully participated in the survey giving a response rate of 92.7%. The respondent sample was very similar to the target population by gender (P = 0.977), age (P = 0.767) and district (P = 0.812). The results of the study demonstrate a very strong relationship between the perception of climate change as a threat to health and well-being, support for climate change mitigation policy and a willingness to implement measures to address climate change. The findings of this study show that the perception that climate change may claim lives, cause disease, reduce the standard of living and worsen water shortages, may be the strongest driver behind support for climate change mitigation policy and a willingness to act. It is recommended that, in order to gain more public support, climate change campaigns and risk communication strategies should frame climate change as a threat to human health and general well-being.

Genetically modified plants and human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Key, Suzie; Ma, Julian K-C; Drake, Pascal Mw

2008-06-01

Genetically modified (or GM) plants have attracted a large amount of media attention in recent years and continue to do so. Despite this, the general public remains largely unaware of what a GM plant actually is or what advantages and disadvantages the technology has to offer, particularly with regard to the range of applications for which they can be used. From the first generation of GM crops, two main areas of concern have emerged, namely risk to the environment and risk to human health. As GM plants are gradually being introduced into the European Union there is likely to be increasing public concern regarding potential health issues. Although it is now commonplace for the press to adopt 'health campaigns', the information they publish is often unreliable and unrepresentative of the available scientific evidence. We consider it important that the medical profession should be aware of the state of the art, and, as they are often the first port of call for a concerned patient, be in a position to provide an informed opinion. This review will examine how GM plants may impact on human health both directly - through applications targeted at nutrition and enhancement of recombinant medicine production - but also indirectly, through potential effects on the environment. Finally, it will examine the most important opposition currently facing the worldwide adoption of this technology: public opinion.

Aligning smoke management with ecological and public health goals

Science.gov (United States)

Jonathan W. Long; Leland W. Tarnay; Malcolm P. North

2017-01-01

Past and current forest management affects wildland fire smoke impacts on downwind human populations. However, mismatches between the scale of benefits and risks make it difficult to proactively manage wildland fires to promote both ecological and public health. Building on recent literature and advances in modeling smoke and health effects, we outline a framework to...

Educating the future public health workforce: do schools of public health teach students about the private sector?

Science.gov (United States)

Rutkow, Lainie; Traub, Arielle; Howard, Rachel; Frattaroli, Shannon

2013-01-01

Recent surveys indicate that approximately 40% of graduates from schools of public health are employed within the private sector or have an employer charged with regulating the private sector. These data suggest that schools of public health should provide curricular opportunities for their students--the future public health workforce--to learn about the relationship between the private sector and the public's health. To identify opportunities for graduate students in schools of public health to select course work that educates them about the relationship between the private sector and public health. We systematically identified and analyzed data gathered from publicly available course titles and descriptions on the Web sites of accredited schools of public health. Data were collected in the United States. The sample consisted of accredited schools of public health. Descriptions of the number and types of courses that schools of public health offer about the private sector and identification of how course descriptions frame the private sector relative to public health. We identified 104 unique courses with content about the private sector's relationship to public health. More than 75% of accredited schools of public health offered at least 1 such course. Nearly 25% of identified courses focused exclusively on the health insurance industry. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed 5 frames used to describe the private sector, including its role as a stakeholder in the policy process. Schools of public health face a curricular gap, with relatively few course offerings that teach students about the relationship between the private sector and the public's health. By developing new courses or revising existing ones, schools of public health can expose the future public health workforce to the varied ways public health professionals interact with the private sector, and potentially influence students' career paths.

Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health Graduate Training Awards ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

IDRC's Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health (Ecohealth) program initiative ... Each grant will consist of CA $15 000 for field research and up to CA $4 000 for ... Nutrition, health policy, and ethics in the age of public-private partnerships.

Translating the human right to water and sanitation into public policy reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, Benjamin Mason; Kayser, Georgia Lyn; Kestenbaum, Jocelyn Getgen; Amjad, Urooj Quezon; Dalcanale, Fernanda; Bartram, Jamie

2014-12-01

The development of a human right to water and sanitation under international law has created an imperative to implement human rights in water and sanitation policy. Through forty-three interviews with informants in international institutions, national governments, and non-governmental organizations, this research examines interpretations of this new human right in global governance, national policy, and local practice. Exploring obstacles to the implementation of rights-based water and sanitation policy, the authors analyze the limitations of translating international human rights into local water and sanitation practice, concluding that system operators, utilities, and management boards remain largely unaffected by the changing public policy landscape for human rights realization. To understand the relevance of human rights standards to water and sanitation practitioners, this article frames a research agenda to ensure that human rights aspirations lead to public policy reforms and public health outcomes.

Public health and primary care: struggling to "win friends and influence people".

Science.gov (United States)

Mayes, Rick; McKenna, Sean

2011-01-01

Why are the goals of public health and primary care less politically popular and financially supported than those of curative medicine? A major part of the answer to this question lies in the fact that humans often worry wrongly by assessing risk poorly. This reality is a significant obstacle to the adequate promotion of and investment in public health, primary care, and prevention. Also, public health's tendency to infringe on personal privacy-as well as to call for difficult behavioral change-often sparks intense controversy and interest group opposition that discourage broader political support. Finally, in contrast to curative medicine, both the cost-benefit structure of public health (costs now, benefits later) and the way in which the profession operates make it largely invisible to and, thus, underappreciated by the general public. When curative medicine works well, most everybody notices. When public health and primary care work well, virtually nobody notices.

[Contexts, impasses and challenges for training Public Health workers in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

de Almeida Filho, Naomar Monteiro

2013-06-01

An introductory comment is made on the historical background, institutional impasses and curriculum challenges for training Public Health workers in Brazil. Initially, a thesis is proposed, namely that the Brazilian state has not fulfilled its responsibility to ensure quality public services for the population, with access and equity, shaping "the four perversions of Brazilian education." Secondly, it analyzes the public health system, which is theoretically universal, but being underfunded and with acknowledged shortcomings, contributes to the increase in social exclusion. Lastly, it highlights the need for new models for training people who are technologically competent, suitable for teamwork, creative, autonomous, problem-solving, engaged in health promotion, open to social participation and committed to the humanization of health.

Why Do People Work in Public Health? Exploring Recruitment and Retention Among Public Health Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeager, Valerie A; Wisniewski, Janna M; Amos, Kathleen; Bialek, Ron

2016-01-01

The public health workforce is critical to the functioning of the public health system and protection of the population's health. Ensuring a sufficient workforce depends on effectively recruiting and retaining workers. This study examines factors influencing decisions to take and remain in jobs within public health, particularly for workers employed in governmental public health. This cross-sectional study employed a secondary data set from a 2010 national survey of US public health workers. Survey respondents were included in this study if they responded to at least 1 survey item related to recruitment and retention. A total of 10 859 survey responses fit this criterion. Data examined demographics of public health workers and factors that influenced decisions to take jobs in and remain in public health. Job security (β = 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28-0.56) and competitive benefits (β = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.28-0.70) were significantly and positively associated with governmental employees' decisions to take positions with their current employers compared with public health workers employed by other types of organizations. The same finding held with regard to retention: job security (β = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.23-0.57) and competitive benefits (β = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.24-0.83). Two personal factors, personal commitment to public service (β = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.17-0.42) and wanted a job in the public health field (β = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.18-0.69), were significantly and positively related to governmental employees deciding to remain with their current employers. It is important to recognize the value of competitive benefits for both current and potential employees. Public health agencies should maintain these if possible and make the value of these benefits known to policy makers or other agencies setting these benefit policies. Job security associated with governmental public health jobs also appears to offer public health an advantage in recruiting and retaining employees.

An economic perspective on oceans and human health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

Human trafficking and exploitation: A global health concern.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Cathy; Kiss, Ligia

2017-11-01

In this collection review, Cathy Zimmerman and colleague introduce the PLOS Medicine Collection on Human Trafficking, Exploitation and Health, laying out the magnitude of the global trafficking problem and offering a public health policy framework to guide responses to trafficking.

Public mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindert, Jutta; Bilsen, Johan; Jakubauskiene, Marija

2017-10-01

Public mental health (PMH) is a major challenge for public health research and practice. This article is organized in six parts. First, we will highlight the significance of PMH; second, we will define mental health and mental disorders; third, we identify and describe determinants of mental health and mental disorders on which we worked in the past 10 years since the establishment of the PMH section such as social determinants and violence. Fourth, we will describe the development of the EUPHA PMH section and provide details on vulnerable groups in the field of PMH, on violence as a main determinant and on suicide as an outcome which affects all countries in the European region. Fifth, we describe policy and practice implications of the development of PMH and highlight the European dimension of PMH. We will conclude this article by providing an outlook on potential further development of PMH as regards research and policy and practice. Finally, we hope that the EUPHA PMH section will contribute to public health in the next 25 years and we can contribute to improvement of PMH in Europe. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Social media in public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Kass-Hout, Taha A; Alhinnawi, Hend

2013-01-01

While social media interactions are currently not fully understood, as individual health behaviors and outcomes are shared online, social media offers an increasingly clear picture of the dynamics of these processes. Social media is becoming an increasingly common platform among clinicians and public health officials to share information with the public, track or predict diseases. Social media can be used for engaging the public and communicating key public health interventions, while providing an important tool for public health surveillance. Social media has advantages over traditional public health surveillance, as well as limitations, such as poor specificity, that warrant additional study. Social media can provide timely, relevant and transparent information of public health importance; such as tracking or predicting the spread or severity of influenza, west nile virus or meningitis as they propagate in the community, and, in identifying disease outbreaks or clusters of chronic illnesses. Further work is needed on social media as a valid data source for detecting or predicting diseases or conditions. Also, whether or not it is an effective tool for communicating key public health messages and engaging both, the general public and policy-makers.

76 FR 38399 - Assessing the Current Research, Policy, and Practice Environment in Public Health Genomics

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-30

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [Docket Number CDC-2011-0008] Assessing the Current Research, Policy, and Practice Environment in Public Health... information helpful to assess the current research, policy, and practice environment in public health genomics...

The influence of environment and human rights in the business – the concept of public health – case study on noise pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Dudová

2013-01-01

Full Text Available With the competitive global environment raises the question of responsibility in business and maintaining certain legal standards and responsibilities of corporations. Especially discussed is the question of human rights and business impacts on the environment. These factors are surprisingly closely related. They meet in an area, which is referred as “public health”. This concept is widely reflected both in the UN and in the legislation of many countries, but Czech legal arrangement is still not conceptually solved. However, in the debate about increasing corporate responsibility for their actions, we must take into account the protection of the health risk factors, respectively negative environmental effects. This right to public health is enforceable in a certain number of cases. It is therefore necessary to strictly distinguish some of the issues relating to liability for personal injury in the context of human rights. Problem is always to prove a causal nexus between the injury to health and adverse environmental impacts arising in connection with the business or operating a business.

Climate Change and Public Health Surveillance: Toward a Comprehensive Strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Moulton, Anthony Drummond; Schramm, Paul John

Climate change poses a host of serious threats to human health that robust public health surveillance systems can help address. It is unknown, however, whether existing surveillance systems in the United States have adequate capacity to serve that role, nor what actions may be needed to develop adequate capacity. Our goals were to review efforts to assess and strengthen the capacity of public health surveillance systems to support health-related adaptation to climate change in the United States and to determine whether additional efforts are warranted. Building on frameworks issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we specified 4 core components of public health surveillance capacity relevant to climate change health threats. Using standard methods, we next identified and analyzed multiple assessments of the existing, relevant capacity of public health surveillance systems as well as attempts to improve that capacity. We also received information from selected national public health associations. Multiple federal, state, and local public health agencies, professional associations, and researchers have made valuable, initial efforts to assess and strengthen surveillance capacity. These efforts, however, have been made by entities working independently and without the benefit of a shared conceptual framework or strategy. Their principal focus has been on identifying suitable indicators and data sources largely to the exclusion of other core components of surveillance capacity. A more comprehensive and strategic approach is needed to build the public health surveillance capacity required to protect the health of Americans in a world of rapidly evolving climate change. Public health practitioners and policy makers at all levels can use the findings and issues reviewed in this article as they lead design and execution of a coordinated, multisector strategic plan to create and sustain that capacity.

Climate Change and Public Health Surveillance: Toward a Comprehensive Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Moulton, Anthony Drummond; Schramm, Paul John

2017-01-01

Context Climate change poses a host of serious threats to human health that robust public health surveillance systems can help address. It is unknown, however, whether existing surveillance systems in the United States have adequate capacity to serve that role, nor what actions may be needed to develop adequate capacity. Objective Our goals were to review efforts to assess and strengthen the capacity of public health surveillance systems to support health-related adaptation to climate change in the United States and to determine whether additional efforts are warranted. Methods Building on frameworks issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we specified 4 core components of public health surveillance capacity relevant to climate change health threats. Using standard methods, we next identified and analyzed multiple assessments of the existing, relevant capacity of public health surveillance systems as well as attempts to improve that capacity. We also received information from selected national public health associations. Findings Multiple federal, state, and local public health agencies, professional associations, and researchers have made valuable, initial efforts to assess and strengthen surveillance capacity. These efforts, however, have been made by entities working independently and without the benefit of a shared conceptual framework or strategy. Their principal focus has been on identifying suitable indicators and data sources largely to the exclusion of other core components of surveillance capacity. Conclusions A more comprehensive and strategic approach is needed to build the public health surveillance capacity required to protect the health of Americans in a world of rapidly evolving climate change. Public health practitioners and policy makers at all levels can use the findings and issues reviewed in this article as they lead design and execution of a coordinated, multisector strategic

Assessing the public health impact of using poison center data for public health surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Alice; Law, Royal; Lyons, Rebecca; Choudhary, Ekta; Wolkin, Amy; Schier, Joshua

2017-12-13

The National Poison Data System (NPDS) is a database and surveillance system for US poison centers (PCs) call data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) use NPDS to identify incidents of potential public health significance. State health departments are notified by CDC of incidents identified by NPDS to be of potential public health significance. Our objective was to describe the public health impact of CDC's notifications and the use of NPDS data for surveillance. We described how NPDS data informed three public health responses: the Deepwater Horizon incident, national exposures to laundry detergent pods, and national exposures to e-cigarettes. Additionally, we extracted survey results of state epidemiologists regarding NPDS incident notification follow-up from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016 to assess current public health application of NPDS data using Epi Info 7.2 and analyzed data using SAS 9.3. We assessed whether state health departments were aware of incidents before notification, what actions were taken, and whether CDC notifications contributed to actions. NPDS data provided evidence for industry changes to improve laundry detergent pod containers safety and highlighted the need to regulate e-cigarette sale and manufacturing. NPDS data were used to improve situational awareness during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Of 59 health departments and PCs who responded to CDC notifications about anomalies (response rate = 49.2%), 27 (46%) reported no previous awareness of the incident, and 20 (34%) said that notifications contributed to public health action. Monitoring NPDS data for anomalies can identify emerging public health threats and provide evidence-based science to support public health action and policy changes.

Human trafficking and exploitation: A global health concern.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cathy Zimmerman

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In this collection review, Cathy Zimmerman and colleague introduce the PLOS Medicine Collection on Human Trafficking, Exploitation and Health, laying out the magnitude of the global trafficking problem and offering a public health policy framework to guide responses to trafficking.

Salud pública global: un desafío a los límites de la salud internacional a propósito de la epidemia de influenza humana A Global public health: international health is tested to its limits by the human influenza A epidemic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Álvaro Franco-Giraldo

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This article comes from the intense international pressure that follows a near-catastrophy, such as the human influenza A H1N1 epidemic, and the limited resources for confronting such events. The analysis covers prevailing 20th century trends in the international public health arena and the change-induced challenges brought on by globalization, the transition set in motion by what has been deemed the "new" international public health and an ever-increasing focus on global health, in the context of an international scenario of shifting risks and opportunities and a growing number of multinational players. Global public health is defined as a public right, based on a new appreciation of the public, a new paradigm centered on human rights, and altruistic philosophy, politics, and ethics that undergird the changes in international public health on at least three fronts: redefining its theoretical foundation, improving world health, and renewing the international public health system, all of which is the byproduct of a new form of governance. A new world health system, directed by new global public institutions, would aim to make public health a global public right and face a variety of staggering challenges, such as working on public policy management on a global scale, renewing and democratizing the current global governing structure, and conquering the limits and weaknesses witnessed by international health.

The public health leadership certificate: a public health and primary care interprofessional training opportunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Matson, Christine C; Lake, Jeffrey L; Bradshaw, R Dana; Matson, David O

2014-03-01

This article describes a public health leadership certificate curriculum developed by the Commonwealth Public Health Training Center for employees in public health and medical trainees in primary care to share didactic and experiential learning. As part of the program, trainees are involved in improving the health of their communities and thus gain a blended perspective on the effectiveness of interprofessional teams in improving population health. The certificate curriculum includes eight one-credit-hour didactic courses offered through an MPH program and a two-credit-hour, community-based participatory research project conducted by teams of trainees under the mentorship of health district directors. Fiscal sustainability is achieved by sharing didactic courses with MPH degree students, thereby enabling trainees to take advantage of a reduced, continuing education tuition rate. Public health employee and primary care trainees jointly learn knowledge and skills required for community health improvement in interprofessional teams and gain an integrated perspective through opportunities to question assumptions and broaden disciplinary approaches. At the same time, the required community projects have benefited public health in Virginia.

The effects of terrorism on adult mental health: a public health preparedness approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sameera S. Karnik

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Terrorism is a disruptive man-made disaster event challenging human health and wellbeing. It is a hostile activity which brings about much casualty, even death. It not only causes physical casualties but also brings about psychological morbidity and can lead to long term mental disorders. The effects of terrorist attacks on people’s psychological health covers a wide range such as acute stress symptoms to long term disorders like Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD. The psychological disorder due to traumatic distress is treated with psychotherapies such as psychosocial intervention, psychological debriefing, psychological first aid care, psychological counseling services, and psychoeducation. Government is supporting state and local public health departments to develop efficient public health preparedness planning programs in case of emergency situations. There are some newer approaches working towards enhancing health security and managing responses to a psychological impact of a disaster event like a terrorist attack.

A continuing education preference survey of public health graduates.

Science.gov (United States)

Berman, S J; Perkocha, V A; Novotny, T E

1995-01-01

Continuing education (CE) is a vital component in strengthening the public health work force, and its importance has been emphasized by the Institute of Medicine and the Council for Education in Public Health. A CE preference survey was undertaken of alumni of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health (UCB-SPH). Questionnaires were mailed to a one-third random sample of 1,500 graduates from 1981-1992 who currently reside in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Region IX. A response rate of 57% was achieved. Results of the survey show that CE activities are highly desired among respondents. Overall, 58% of respondents prefer a half-day to one-day seminar format during regular business hours, as opposed to night classes. They prefer a traditional didactic classroom presentation that is within one hour's automobile travel. The optimal setting for CE courses would be at the University of California, Berkeley, or in-house at their institution. Subject areas of interest noted by respondents are health policy development, communication in public health, community involvement, and research. Schools of public health may respond to the CE needs of their alumni through a variety of channels, including the mainstreaming of CE as part of a school's teaching responsibility, special seminars or institutes, extension courses through the larger university system, distance-based learning, and through a separately funded for-profit CE activity.

Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Castillo-Salgado

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo-Salgado, Carlos

2015-11-01

Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

Public health and terrorism preparedness: cross-border issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Debra; Leitheiser, Aggie; Atchison, Christopher; Larson, Susan; Homzik, Cassandra

2005-01-01

On December 15, 2003, the Centers for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa convened the "Public Health and Terrorism Preparedness: Cross-Border Issues Roundtable." The purpose of the roundtable was to gather public health professionals and government agency representatives at the state, provincial, and local levels to identify unmet cross-border emergency preparedness and response needs and develop strategies for addressing these needs. Representatives from six state and local public health departments and three provincial governments were invited to identify cross-border needs and issues using a nominal group process. The result of the roundtable was identification of the needs considered most important and most doable across all the focus groups. The need to collaborate on and exchange plans and protocols among agencies was identified as most important and most doable across all groups. Development of contact protocols and creation and maintenance of a contact database was also considered important and doable for a majority of groups. Other needs ranked important across the majority of groups included specific isolation and quarantine protocols for multi-state responses; a system for rapid and secure exchange of information; specific protocols for sharing human resources across borders, including emergency credentials for physicians and health care workers; and a specific protocol to coordinate Strategic National Stockpile mechanisms across border communities.

Advances in dental public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, R D

2001-07-01

Dental public health has been defined as 'the science and art of preventing oral diseases, promoting oral health and improving the quality of life through the organised efforts of society'. Dental practitioners most often have the oral health of individual patients as their primary focus but the aim of public health is to benefit populations. Early developments in dental public health were concerned largely with demonstrating levels of disease and with treatment services. With greater appreciation of the nature of oral health and disease, and of their determinants has come recognition of the need for wider public health action if the effects of prevention and oral health promotion are to be maximized.

[Current and future competencies for public health professionals].

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez, Dolors; Berenguera, Anna; Pujol-Ribera, Enriqueta; Capella, Jordina; Peray, Josep Lluís de; Roma, Josep

2013-01-01

To identify current and future competencies (managers and technicians) for public health professionals in Catalonia (Spain). Qualitative research with a phenomenological approach. Between November 2009 and February 2010, 31 semistructured interviews were completed with public health professionals working in Catalonia. We purposely used a theoretical sample to include the maximum multiplicity of discourses. We conducted a thematic content analysis. We obtained a wide range of current professional competencies, as well as those required for the future, classified according to professional profile. The participants highlighted transversal competencies, such as the importance of sharing a general theoretical framework of the discipline and the institution. Among the most frequently reported competencies were knowledge management, communication skills, teamwork, multidisciplinary and intersectoral orientation, legal knowledge, computer skills and languages, particularly English. It was also important for individual professionals to have specific skills in their areas of activity. In terms of differences between managers and technicians, the study showed that technicians prioritize management skills concerning human and material resources, while managers emphasize organizational and professional public health expertise. There is a need for transversal and specific competencies in distinct areas. Public health is a multidisciplinary field, which collaborates with a wide range of professionals and organizations. Copyright © 2012 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Health needs and public health functions addressed in scientific publications in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Benie-Bi, J; Cambon, L; Grimaud, O; Kivits, J; Alla, F

2013-09-01

To describe the reporting of public health research in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa (FSA). A bibliometric research study of scientific public health publications in FSA, which includes 24 countries and approximately 260 million people. Two researchers analysed original articles published in 2007 in the medical or social sciences fields and indexed in Scopus. At least one co-author of articles had to be based in FSA. The analysis focused on research field, public health function (WHO classification), FSA country author's affiliation, language, journal type and global burden of disease (WHO classification). Of 1047 articles retrieved by the search, 212 were from the public health field. The number of articles per country varied from 0 to 36. Public health functions examined were health service research (24.5%), health monitoring (27.4%), prevention (15%) and legislation (0.5%). The distribution of health needs described in the articles was close to that of the WHO data for Africa for 2004: infectious and parasitic diseases (70% vs 54%), maternal and perinatal conditions (15% vs 17%), non-communicable diseases (15.6% vs 21%), and injuries (0.5% vs 8%). The areas reported in published articles from sub-Saharan Africa reflect the health needs distribution in Africa; however, the number of publications is low, particularly for prevention. In light of the current focus on evidence-based public health, this study questions whether the international scientific community adequately considers the expertise and perspectives of African researchers and professionals. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wildfire smoke exposure and human health: Significant gaps in research for a growing public health issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Carolyn; Tesfaigzi, Yohannes; Bassein, Jed A; Miller, Lisa A

2017-10-01

Understanding the effect of wildfire smoke exposure on human health represents a unique interdisciplinary challenge to the scientific community. Population health studies indicate that wildfire smoke is a risk to human health and increases the healthcare burden of smoke-impacted areas. However, wildfire smoke composition is complex and dynamic, making characterization and modeling difficult. Furthermore, current efforts to study the effect of wildfire smoke are limited by availability of air quality measures and inconsistent air quality reporting among researchers. To help address these issues, we conducted a substantive review of wildfire smoke effects on population health, wildfire smoke exposure in occupational health, and experimental wood smoke exposure. Our goal was to evaluate the current literature on wildfire smoke and highlight important gaps in research. In particular we emphasize long-term health effects of wildfire smoke, recovery following wildfire smoke exposure, and health consequences of exposure in children. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessing entrepreneurship in governmental public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Peter D; Wasserman, Jeffrey; Wu, Helen W; Lauer, Johanna R

2015-04-01

We assessed the feasibility and desirability of public health entrepreneurship (PHE) in governmental public health. Using a qualitative case study approach with semistructured interview protocols, we conducted interviews between April 2010 and January 2011 at 32 local health departments (LHDs) in 18 states. Respondents included chief health officers and senior LHD staff, representatives from national public health organizations, health authorities, and public health institutes. Respondents identified PHE through 3 overlapping practices: strategic planning, operational efficiency, and revenue generation. Clinical services offer the strongest revenue-generating potential, and traditional public health services offer only limited entrepreneurial opportunities. Barriers include civil service rules, a risk-averse culture, and concerns that PHE would compromise core public health values. Ongoing PHE activity has the potential to reduce LHDs' reliance on unstable general public revenues. Yet under the best of circumstances, it is difficult to generate revenue from public health services. Although governmental public health contains pockets of entrepreneurial activity, its culture does not sustain significant entrepreneurial activity. The question remains as to whether LHDs' current public revenue sources are sustainable and, if not, whether PHE is a feasible or desirable alternative.

Health-Related Education for Sustainability: Public Health Workforce Needs and the Role of Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick, Rebecca; Kingsley, Jonathan; Capetola, Teresa

2016-01-01

Public health practitioners have important roles to play in addressing environmental sustainability imperatives that have an impact on human health. Yet, to date, the extent to which practitioners are willing and able to address these issues is an understudied subject. This article draws on the findings of two qualitative studies involving 49…

Public health educational comprehensiveness: The strategic rationale in establishing networks among schools of public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Otok, Robert; Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Foldspang, Anders

2017-11-01

The establishment and continuing development of a sufficient and competent public health workforce is fundamental for the planning, implementation, evaluation, effect and ethical validity of public health strategies and policies and, thus, for the development of the population's health and the cost-effectiveness of health and public health systems and interventions. Professional public health strategy-making demands a background of a comprehensive multi-disciplinary curriculum including mutually, dynamically coherent competences - not least, competences in sociology and other behavioural sciences and their interaction with, for example, epidemiology, biostatistics, qualitative methods and health promotion and disease prevention. The size of schools and university departments of public health varies, and smaller entities may run into problems if seeking to meet the comprehensive curriculum challenge entirely by use of in-house resources. This commentary discusses the relevance and strength of establishing comprehensive curriculum development networks between schools and university departments of public health, as one means to meet the comprehensiveness challenge. This commentary attempts to consider a two-stage strategy to develop complete curricula at the bachelor and master's as well as PhD levels.

77 FR 58143 - Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (ITFAR): An Update of A Public Health Action...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-19

...-2012-0011] Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance (ITFAR): An Update of A Public Health...), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments... Federal agencies in accomplishing activities outlined in ``A Public Health Action Plan to Combat...

Seeing through the public health smoke-screen in drug policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Csete, Joanne; Wolfe, Daniel

2017-05-01

In deliberations on drug policy in United Nations fora, a consensus has emerged that drug use and drug dependence should be treated primarily as public health concerns rather than as crimes. But what some member states mean by "public health approach" merits scrutiny. Some governments that espouse treating people who use drugs as "patients, not criminals" still subject them to prison-like detention in the name of drug-dependence treatment or otherwise do not take measures to provide scientifically sound treatment and humane social support to those who need them. Even drug treatment courts, which the U.S. and other countries hold up as examples of a public health approach to drug dependence, can serve rather to tighten the hold of the criminal justice sector on concerns that should be addressed in the health sector. The political popularity of demonisation of drugs and visibly repressive approaches is an obvious challenge to leadership for truly health-oriented drug control. This commentary offers some thoughts for judging whether a public health approach is worthy of the name and cautions drug policy reformers not to rely on facile commitments to health approaches that are largely rhetorical or that mask policies and activities not in keeping with good public health practise. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A potential Human Rights Act in Queensland and inclusion of the right to health.

Science.gov (United States)

Brolan, Claire E; Herron, Lisa; Carney, Anna; Fritz, Eva M; James, Judy; Margetts, Miranda

2018-04-01

To identify the level of public support for a Human Rights Act for Queensland (HRAQ) and for inclusion of the right to health by participants in a public inquiry process. We reviewed the 492 written submissions to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee's Inquiry into a potential HRAQ and the transcripts documenting the public hearings held by the Committee in 2016. A total of 465 written submissions were analysed; 419 (90%) were for a HRAQ. More than 80% of the 'for' submissions advocated the right to health's inclusion. At the seven public hearings, 72 persons made verbal submissions and most supported a HRAQ. Five major themes were identified in our synthesis of the public hearing transcripts. Three related specifically to health and human rights: 1) the need to consider the holistic health and human rights of Indigenous Queenslanders and Indigenous Queensland communities; 2) instilling a human rights culture in Queensland; and 3) access to health care and the underlying determinants of health. The other two themes related to the conduct of the Inquiry: 4) the importance of community participation in developing a HRAQ; and 5) concerns about the public consultation processes. This study found strong support in the majority of submissions for the Queensland Parliament to draft and enact a HRAQ, and for the inclusion of the right to health in such legislation. Implications for public health: The Queensland Parliament's enactment of a HRAQ that expressly included the right to health would increase the accountability and transparency of government health (and related) decision making and resource allocation, and would better identify and address health inequities across the state. This Act is imperative for improving the health and wellbeing of all Queenslanders, particularly rural and remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders. © 2017 The Authors.

[Technogenic environmental pollution and the public health: analysis and prognosis].

Science.gov (United States)

Savilov, E D; Anganova, E V; Ilina, S V; Stepanenko, L A

2016-01-01

Technogenic risk factors are very aggressive for a human health. Due to the progressive increase in environmental pollution the problem of the adverse impact of these factors on the health of both the human population as a whole, and individual groups every year is becoming increasingly important. At that the influence of anthropogenic pollution on the various manifestations of infectious pathology in the scientific literature is presented very modestly. In this paper there is presented a review of research devoted to the problem of the interrelationship of man-made pollution of the environment and public health.

Preventing disasters: public health vulnerability reduction as a sustainable adaptation to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Keim, Mark E

2011-06-01

Global warming could increase the number and severity of extreme weather events. These events are often known to result in public health disasters, but we can lessen the effects of these disasters. By addressing the factors that cause changes in climate, we can mitigate the effects of climate change. By addressing the factors that make society vulnerable to the effects of climate, we can adapt to climate change. To adapt to climate change, a comprehensive approach to disaster risk reduction has been proposed. By reducing human vulnerability to disasters, we can lessen--and at times even prevent--their impact. Human vulnerability is a complex phenomenon that comprises social, economic, health, and cultural factors. Because public health is uniquely placed at the community level, it has the opportunity to lessen human vulnerability to climate-related disasters. At the national and international level, a supportive policy environment can enable local adaptation to disaster events. The purpose of this article is to introduce the basic concept of disaster risk reduction so that it can be applied to preventing and mitigating the negative effects of climate change and to examine the role of community-focused public health as a means for lessening human vulnerability and, as a result, the overall risk of climate-related disasters.

GIS and Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefania Bertazzon

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This Special Issue on GIS and public health is the result of a highly selective process, which saw the participation of some 20 expert peer-reviewers and led to the acceptance of one half of the high-quality submissions received over the past year. Many threads link these papers to each other and, indeed, to our original call for papers, but the element that most clearly emerges from these works is the inextricable connection between public health and the environment. Indeed, GIS analysis of public health simply cannot disregard the geospatial dimension of environmental resources and risks. What consistently emerges from these analyses is that current geospatial research can only scratch the surface of the complex interactions of spatial resources, risks, and public health. In today’s world, or at least in the developed world, researchers and practitioners can count on virtually endless data, on inexpensive computational power, and on seamless connectivity. In this research environment, these papers point to the need for improved analytical tools, covering concepts, representation, modeling and reliability. These works are important contributions that help us to identify what advances in geospatial analysis can better address the complex interactions of public health with our physical and cultural environment, and bridge research and practice, so that geospatial analyses can inform public health policy making. [...

Mental health in prisons: A public health agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, A

2009-01-01

Mental illness affects the majority of prisoners. Mental health issues are beginning to take a central position in the development of prison health services, reflecting this burden of disease. This change in focus is not before time. But prison mental health services cannot exist in isolation. Public health systems should lead provision of care for patients with acute and severe illness. A whole prison approach to health and, specifically, mental health will offer the greatest likelihood that offenders will thrive, benefit from imprisonment, and lead law-abiding lives after release. Public awareness of the scale and commitment of prisons to mental health and illness, and understanding of prisons' role in society, are necessary developments that would protect and enhance public mental health, as well as creating a healthier and safer society. This article draws on recent reviews, information and statements to set out a public health agenda for mental health in prisons.

[Human papillomavirus testing in cervical cancer screening at a public health service of Santiago, Chile].

Science.gov (United States)

Terrazas, Solana; Ibáñez, Carolina; Lagos, Marcela; Poggi, Helena; Brañes, Jorge; Barriga, María Isabel; Cartagena, Jaime; Núñez, Felipe; González, Francisca; Cook, Paz; Van De Wyngard, Vanessa; Ferreccio, Catterina

2015-01-01

Molecular techniques for human papillomavirus (HPV) detection have a good performance as screening tests and could be included in cervical cancer early detection programs. We conducted a population-based trial comparing HPV detection and Papanicolaou as primary screening tests, in a public health service in Santiago, Chile. To describe the experience of implementing this new molecular test and present the main results of the study. Women aged 25 to 64 enrolled in three public health centers were invited to participate. In all women, samples were collected for Papanicolaou and HPV DNA testing, and naked-eye visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid was performed. Women with any positive screening test were referred to the local area hospital for diagnostic confirmation with colposcopy and biopsy of suspicious lesions. Screening results were obtained for 8265 women, of whom 931 (11.3%) were positive to any test. The prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) was 1.1%; nine women had invasive cervical cancer. Sensitivities for the detection of CIN2+ were 22.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 16.4-29.2) for Papanicolaou and 92.7% (95% CI 84.4-96.8) for HPV testing; specificities were 98.9% (95% CI 98.7-99.0) and 92.0% (95% CI 91.4-92.6) respectively. This experience showed that the implementation of a molecular test for cervical cancer screening is not a major challenge in Chile: it was well accepted by both the health team and the participants, and it may improve the effectiveness of the screening program.

Academic dental public health diplomates: their distribution and recommendations concerning the predoctoral dental public health faculty.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaste, L M; Sadler, Z E; Hayes, K L; Narendran, S; Niessen, L C; Weintraub, J A

1998-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the representation of academically based diplomates of the American Board of Dental Public Health (ABDPH) and to identify their perceptions on the training of dental public health predoctoral faculty. Data were collected by a mailed, self-administered, 13-item questionnaire. The population was the 48 diplomates of the ABDPH as of March 1997 associated with academic institutions. Twenty of the 55 US dental schools had a diplomate of the ABDPH with a mean of 1.8 diplomates per school with a diplomate. An average of 4.5 full-time faculty members per school were associated with teaching dental public health. A master's degree in public health (MPH) was the most frequently suggested educational requirement for dental public health faculty. Continuing education courses were training needs perceived for dental public health faculty. The lack of time, money, and incentives, along with perceived rigidity of requirements for board certification, were reported as major barriers for faculty becoming dental public health board certified. Numerous challenges confront the development of a strong dental public health presence in US dental schools. These challenges include, among others, insufficient numbers of academic dental public health specialists and insufficient motivations to encourage promising candidates to pursue specialty status.

Antimicrobial resistance: A global emerging threat to public health systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferri, Maurizio; Ranucci, Elena; Romagnoli, Paola; Giaccone, Valerio

2017-09-02

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) became in the last two decades a global threat to public health systems in the world. Since the antibiotic era, with the discovery of the first antibiotics that provided consistent health benefits to human medicine, the misuse and abuse of antimicrobials in veterinary and human medicine have accelerated the growing worldwide phenomenon of AMR. This article presents an extensive overview of the epidemiology of AMR, with a focus on the link between food producing-animals and humans and on the legal framework and policies currently implemented at the EU level and globally. The ways of responding to the AMR challenges foresee an array of measures that include: designing more effective preventive measures at farm level to reduce the use of antimicrobials; development of novel antimicrobials; strengthening of AMR surveillance system in animal and human populations; better knowledge of the ecology of resistant bacteria and resistant genes; increased awareness of stakeholders on the prudent use of antibiotics in animal productions and clinical arena; and the public health and environmental consequences of AMR. Based on the global nature of AMR and considering that bacterial resistance does not recognize barriers and can spread to people and the environment, the article ends with specific recommendations structured around a holistic approach and targeted to different stakeholders.

75 FR 8085 - National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-23

... Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research SUMMARY: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is requesting public comment on a revision to the definition of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in the ``National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research'' (Guidelines). On July 7, 2009, NIH...

75 FR 13137 - National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-18

... Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research SUMMARY: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is extending the public comment period on a revision to the definition of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in the ``National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research'' (Guidelines). Due to a...

The Thalassemia International Federation: a global public health paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elpidoforos S. Soteriades

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Many international organizations are struggling today to coordinate limited economic and human resources in support of governments’ efforts to advance public health around the world. The United Nations and the World Health Organization, along with others play a pivotal role in this global effort. Furthermore, during the past few decades an increasingly higher percentage of global efforts on public health are carried out by specific health initiatives, international projects and non-governmental patient-oriented organizations. The Thalassemia International Federation (TIF is one such organization focusing on the control of thalassemia around the world. The current paper aims at presenting a comprehensive overview of the mission, goals, objectives and activities of this organization. Our ultimate goal is to highlight TIF’s public health paradigm and diffuse its success at an international levels for others to follow. TIF is devoted to disseminating information, knowledge, experience and best practices around the world to empower patients with thalassemia and their relatives, support health professionals providing care to such patients and promote national and international policies, which secure equal access to quality care for all patients with thalassemia.

Impact of leishmaniasis on public health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. B Camargo

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Leishmaniasis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by protozoans of the genus Leishmania transmitted by insects known as phlebotomines, which are found in wild or urban environments. It affects domestic and wild animals and transmission to man happens by accident. The disease occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas, mainly in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. There are two forms that affect man: American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL and American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL. The latter is caused by three species of Leishmania: Leishmania (Leishmania donovani, Leishmania (Leishmania infantum, and Leishmania (Leishmania chagasi, which are grouped in the Leishmania (Leishmania donovani complex. Wild reservoir hosts of L. chagasi known so far are foxes and marsupials. In domestic environment, dogs are the most important reservoir hosts and sources of infection to the vectors Lutzomyia longipalpis. Leishmaniasis is difficult to control, causing epidemic outbreaks, thus being an important public health problem. Due to lesions caused by the mucocutaneous type and the severity of those caused by the visceral type in humans, visceral leishmaniasis is one of the main public health concerns. This paper is part of the monograph presented at the end of the residency program in the field of Zoonosis and Public Health at the School of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, São Paulo State University, UNESP, Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil, in 2005.

Responding to the public health consequences of the Ukraine crisis: an opportunity for global health diplomacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackey, Tim K; Strathdee, Steffanie A

2015-01-01

Peace and stability in Eastern Europe is now at a crossroads with the rapidly deteriorating foreign policy crisis continuing to unfold in the Ukraine. However, largely overlooked in the context of other foreign policy and diplomatic priorities are the serious public health consequences for the region following the annexation of Crimea and the subsequent decision to ban opioid substitution therapy in the disputed territory. On 1 May 2014, the Republic of Crimea officially announced it would end access to opioid substitution therapy, an essential harm reduction tool recognized by international organizations and virtually all other European countries. The policy development marks a critical reversal in the region's fight against its growing HIV epidemic and also threatens years of public health gains aimed at providing evidence-based and integrated treatment approaches to combat drug dependence and HIV. Beyond these risks, the Ukrainian conflict could also negatively impact control of other infectious diseases that are converging with HIV and injection drug use, such as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and hepatitis C virus. The continuing conflict is also likely to have a significant negative impact on Ukraine's fragile public health system leading to even worse population health outcomes than currently experienced by the country. In response to this crisis, the application of global health diplomacy principles represents a possible route of advocacy to ensure that HIV prevention, humane treatment of substance using populations, and improving public health outcomes in the region are pursued among concerned international stakeholders. In order to be effective, global health diplomacy efforts must be coordinated and advocated in all forms of diplomatic engagement, including at the core, multistakeholder and informal levels and through existing channels such as the different human rights bodies of the United Nations as well as amongst other actors. Hence, the Ukraine

Australian bat lyssavirus: implications for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, Joshua R; McCall, Bradley J; Hutchinson, Penny; Powell, Jodie; Vaska, Vikram L; Nourse, Clare

2014-12-11

Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) infection in humans is rare but fatal, with no proven effective therapy. ABLV infection can be prevented by administration of a post-exposure prophylaxis regimen of human rabies immunoglobulin and rabies vaccine. All Australian bats (flying foxes and microbats) should be considered to be carrying ABLV unless proven otherwise. Any bat-related injury (bite, scratch or mucosal exposure to bat saliva or neural tissue) should be notified immediately to the relevant public health unit - no matter how small the injury or how long ago it occurred. Human-to-human transmission of ABLV has not been reported but is theoretically possible. Standard infection control precautions should be employed when managing patients with suspected or confirmed ABLV infection.

Utility and justice in public health.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKay, Kathryn

2017-12-11

Many public health practitioners and organizations view themselves as engaged in the promotion or achievement of equity. However, discussions around public health frequently assume that practitioners and policy-makers take a utilitarian approach to this work. I argue that public health is better understood as a social justice endeavor. I begin by presenting the utility view of public health and then discuss the equity view. This is a theoretical argument, which should help public health to justify interventions for communicable and non-communicable diseases equally, and which contributes to breaking down the 'old/new' public health divide. This argument captures practitioners' views of the work they are engaged in and allows for the moral and policy justification of important interventions in communicable and non-communicable diseases. Systemic interventions are necessary to remedy high rates of disease among certain groups and, generally, to improve the health of entire populations. By viewing diseases as partly the result of failures of health protective systems in society, public health may justify interventions in communicable and non-communicable diseases equally. Public health holds a duty to improve the health of the worst-off in society; by prioritizing this group, the health of the whole community may improve. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Greening Australia's public health system: the role of public hospitals in responding to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Primozic, Lauren

2010-05-01

Climate change is one of the most important social, economic, ecological and ethical issues of the 21st century. The effects of climate change on human health are now widely accepted as a genuine threat and the Australian Government has initiated policy and legislative responses. In addition, in the 2009-2010 budget the Australian Government has committed A$64 billion to public health and hospital reform. But will this Commonwealth funding support--and should it support--the government's high-profile climate change policy? Does Commonwealth funding translate to an obligation to support Commonwealth policies? This article explores the role of public hospitals as champions and role models of the Australian Government's climate change policy and how this might be done without detracting from the primary purpose of public hospital funding: improving patient care.

Critical perspectives in public health

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Green, Judith; Labonte, Ronald N

2008-01-01

... the contemporary roles of 'critical voices' in public health research and practice from a range of disciplines and contexts. The book covers many of the pressing concerns for public health practitioners and researchers, including: * * * * * the implications of new genetic technologies for public health; the impact of globalisation on local practice...

Ohio Appalachia public health department personnel: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine availability, and acceptance and concerns among parents of male and female adolescents

OpenAIRE

Oldach, Benjamin R.; Katz, Mira L.

2012-01-01

Public health departments (n=48) serving the 32 counties of Ohio Appalachia were contacted to determine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine availability and to assess patient and parental attitudes, perceived barriers, and decisional differences about vaccination for male and female adolescents. Nurses or nursing supervisors in 46 of 48 health departments agreed to participate with 45 (97.8%) reporting that HPV vaccines were available for males and females. HPV vaccination barriers reported mo...

Development of Systematic Knowledge Management for Public Health: A Public Health Law Ontology

Science.gov (United States)

Keeling, Jonathan

2012-01-01

The Institute of Medicine has stated that legal structures and the authority vested in health agencies and other partners within the public health system are essential to improving the public's health. Variation between the laws of different jurisdictions within the United States allows for natural experimentation and research into their…

Public health leadership education in North America

OpenAIRE

Uno, Hideo; Zakariasen,Kenneth

2010-01-01

Hideo Uno, Kenneth ZakariasenDepartment of Public Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, CanadaAbstract: Public health leadership is one of the priority disciplines public health professionals need to learn well if they are to deal with demanding public health issues effectively and efficiently. This article looks at the trends in public health leadership education by reviewing the literature and using the Internet to explore the public health leadershi...

Conceptualizing ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH - Public health management and leadership perspectives

OpenAIRE

Orvik, Arne

2016-01-01

The thesis introduces a new conceptual model of organizational health and discusses its implications for public health management and leadership. It is developed with reference to organizational theories and ideologies, including New Public Management, the use of which has coincided with increasing workplace health problems in health care organizations. The model is based on empirical research and theories in the fields of public health, health care organization and management, and institutio...

Private sector, human resources and health franchising in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Prata, Ndola; Montagu, Dominic; Jefferys, Emma

2005-04-01

In much of the developing world, private health care providers and pharmacies are the most important sources of medicine and medical care and yet these providers are frequently not considered in planning for public health. This paper presents the available evidence, by socioeconomic status, on which strata of society benefit from publicly provided care and which strata use private health care. Using data from The World Bank's Health Nutrition and Population Poverty Thematic Reports on 22 countries in Africa, an assessment was made of the use of public and private health services, by asset quintile groups, for treatment of diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections, proxies for publicly subsidized services. The evidence and theory on using franchise networks to supplement government programmes in the delivery of public health services was assessed. Examples from health franchises in Africa and Asia are provided to illustrate the potential for franchise systems to leverage private providers and so increase delivery-point availability for public-benefit services. We argue that based on the established demand for private medical services in Africa, these providers should be included in future planning on human resources for public health. Having explored the range of systems that have been tested for working with private providers, from contracting to vouchers to behavioural change and provider education, we conclude that franchising has the greatest potential for integration into large-scale programmes in Africa to address critical illnesses of public health importance.

Private sector, human resources and health franchising in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Prata, Ndola; Montagu, Dominic; Jefferys, Emma

2005-01-01

In much of the developing world, private health care providers and pharmacies are the most important sources of medicine and medical care and yet these providers are frequently not considered in planning for public health. This paper presents the available evidence, by socioeconomic status, on which strata of society benefit from publicly provided care and which strata use private health care. Using data from The World Bank's Health Nutrition and Population Poverty Thematic Reports on 22 countries in Africa, an assessment was made of the use of public and private health services, by asset quintile groups, for treatment of diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections, proxies for publicly subsidized services. The evidence and theory on using franchise networks to supplement government programmes in the delivery of public health services was assessed. Examples from health franchises in Africa and Asia are provided to illustrate the potential for franchise systems to leverage private providers and so increase delivery-point availability for public-benefit services. We argue that based on the established demand for private medical services in Africa, these providers should be included in future planning on human resources for public health. Having explored the range of systems that have been tested for working with private providers, from contracting to vouchers to behavioural change and provider education, we conclude that franchising has the greatest potential for integration into large-scale programmes in Africa to address critical illnesses of public health importance. PMID:15868018

Journalists and public health professionals: challenges of a symbiotic relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Lubens, Pauline

2015-02-01

Journalists and health professionals share a symbiotic relationship during a disease outbreak as both professions play an important role in informing the public's perceptions and the decisions of policy makers. Although critics in the United States have focused on US reporters and media outlets whose coverage has been sensationalist and alarmist, the discussion in this article is based on the ideal--gold standard--for US journalists. Journalists perform three primary functions during times of health crises: disseminating accurate information to the public, medical professionals, and policy makers; acting as the go-between for the public and decision makers and health and science experts; and monitoring the performance of institutions responsible for the public health response. A journalist's goal is to responsibly inform the public in order to optimize the public health goals of prevention while minimizing panic. The struggle to strike a balance between humanizing a story and protecting the dignity of patients while also capturing the severity of an epidemic is harder in the era of the 24-7 news cycle. Journalists grapple with dueling pressures: confirming that their information is correct while meeting the demand for rapid updates. Just as health care professionals triage patients, journalists triage information. The challenge going forward will be how to get ahead of the story from the onset, racing against the pace of digital dissemination of misinformation by continuing to refine the media-science relationship.

[The fight against bacterial resistance, a public health priority].

Science.gov (United States)

Carlet, Jean

2015-01-01

The increase in the number of antibiotic resistant bacteria represents a major danger for the health of humans and animals. Combined with an almost complete absence of new antibiotics, it is one of the most alarming public health issues of our time. Measures must be taken in order to control the use of these drugs and safeguard their effectiveness. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

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.

CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program in Action: Case Studies From State and Local Health Departments.

Science.gov (United States)

Eatman, Shana; Strosnider, Heather M

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) is a multidisciplinary collaboration that involves the ongoing collection, integration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data from environmental hazard monitoring, human exposure surveillance, and health effects surveillance. With a renewed focus on data-driven decision-making, the CDC's Tracking Program emphasizes dissemination of actionable data to public health practitioners, policy makers, and communities. The CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network), a Web-based system with components at the national, state, and local levels, houses environmental public health data used to inform public health actions (PHAs) to improve community health. This article serves as a detailed landscape on the Tracking Program and Tracking Network and the Tracking Program's leading performance measure, "public health actions." Tracking PHAs are qualitative statements addressing a local problem or situation, the role of the state or local Tracking Program, how the problem or situation was addressed, and the action taken. More than 400 PHAs have been reported by funded state and local health departments since the Tracking Program began collecting PHAs in 2005. Three case studies are provided to illustrate the use of the Tracking Program resources and data on the Tracking Network, and the diversity of actions taken. Through a collaborative network of experts, data, and tools, the Tracking Program and its Tracking Network are actively informing state and local PHAs. In a time of competing priorities and limited funding, PHAs can serve as a powerful tool to advance environmental public health practice.

ABORTION IN BRAZIL: IMPACTS OF ILLEGALITY IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanessa Cruz Santos

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Abortion in Brazil provides public health impacts, mainly due to the high rate of maternal morbidity and mortality, because it most often occurs in an illegal practice and / or unsafe, because of the illegality of abortion in certain situations in the country. Therefore, it is an issue that refers to the various reflections, such as legal, moral, cultural, socio-economic and bioethical. Given the above, the study aims to address about abortion in Brazil and the impacts of illegality in public health. Study of literature review, descriptive and discursive, held in the database SciELO sites and governmental and non-governmental organizations. It was evident that the illegality of abortion in Brazil is harmful to the health of women who resort to unsafe practices and / or illegal, a violation of human rights, the women’s autonomy, as well as providing public health impacts, and sometimes this actually happens because the deficit in quality of care, specifically to sexual and reproductive health, as the actions of Family Planning. It is considered that the way of abortion in Brazil requires modifications, especially with regard to legislative and bioethics conflicts.

Liberalism and Public Health Ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajczi, Alex

2016-02-01

Many public health dilemmas involve a tension between the promotion of health and the rights of individuals. This article suggests that we should resolve the tension using our familiar liberal principles of government. The article considers the common objections that (i) liberalism is incompatible with standard public health interventions such as anti-smoking measures or intervention in food markets; (2) there are special reasons for hard paternalism in public health; and (3) liberalism is incompatible with proper protection of the community good. The article argues that we should examine these critiques in a larger methodological framework by first acknowledging that the right theory of public health ethics is the one we arrive at in reflective equilibrium. Once we examine the arguments for and against liberalism in that light, we can see the weaknesses in the objections and the strength of the case for liberalism in public health. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Animal-Assisted Therapy for Improving Human Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sibel Cevizci

2009-06-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT or Pet Therapy is an adjunctive therapy by taking advantage of human and animal interaction, activate the physiological and psychological mechanisms, initiate positive changes improving health in metabolism. In recent years, this interaction are in use to treat psychological and psychiatric disorders such as stress, depression, loneliness, pervasive developmental disorders affect negatively to human health. Furthermore, AAT has been increasingly used to improve quality of life, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, chronic illnesses such as cancer and AIDS. The aim of this paper is to identify AAT by reviewing human and animal interaction, evaluate how AAT has a scientific background from past to now. Also, we aim to give some information about the risks, institutional applications, some factors referring AAT’s mechanism of action and chronic diseases, psychological and physical improvements provided with animal assisted therapies. The therapy results will be evaluated more advisable providing AAT is being applied with public health specialist, veterinarian, physician, psychologist, psychiatrist and veterinary public health experts who are monitor applications. Especially, the psychosomatic effects result from physical, emotional and play mechanism of action of HDT can be used for improving quality of life in individuals with chronic diseases. In Turkey, there is no any investigation which have been performed in this scientific field. It is quitely important to evaluate the benefits of this therapy accurately and to select various methods proper to diseases. Consequently, it is obvious that AAT will be considered by the healthcare services as a supportive therapy process for improving human health in Turkey and needs further studies. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2009; 8(3.000: 263-272

Postgraduate and research programmes in Medicine and Public Health in Rwanda: an exciting experience about training of human resources for health in a limited resources country.

Science.gov (United States)

Kakoma, Jean Baptiste

2016-01-01

The area of Human Resources for Health (HRH) is the most critical challenge for the achievement of health related development goals in countries with limited resources. This is even exacerbated in a post conflict environment like Rwanda. The aim of this commentary is to report and share the genesis and outcomes of an exciting experience about training of qualified health workers in medicine and public health as well as setting - up of a research culture for the last nine years (2006 - 2014) in Rwanda. Many initiatives have been taken and concerned among others training of qualified health workers in medicine and public health. From 2006 to 2014, achievements were as follows: launching and organization of 8 Master of Medicine programmes (anesthesiology, family and community medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, otorhinolaryngology, pediatrics, psychiatry and surgery) and 4 Master programmes in public health (MPH, MSc Epidemiology, MSc Field Epidemiology & Laboratory Management, and Master in Hospital and Healthcare Administration); training to completion of more than 120 specialists in medicine, and 200 MPH, MSc Epidemiology, and MSc Field Epidemiology holders; revival of the Rwanda Medical Journal; organization of graduate research training (MPhil and PhD); 3 Master programmes in the pipeline (Global Health, Health Financing, and Supply Chain Management); partnerships with research institutions of great renown, which contributed to the reinforcement of the institutional research capacity and visibility towards excellence in leadership, accountability, and self sustainability. Even though there is still more to be achieved, the Rwanda experience about postgraduate and research programmes is inspiring through close interactions between main stakeholders. This is a must and could allow Rwanda to become one of the rare examples to other more well-to-do Sub - Saharan countries, should Rwanda carry on doing that.

Enhancing crisis leadership in public health emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Deitchman, Scott

2013-10-01

Reviews of public health emergency responses have identified a need for crisis leadership skills in health leaders, but these skills are not routinely taught in public health curricula. To develop criteria for crisis leadership in public health, published sources were reviewed to identify attributes of successful crisis leadership in aviation, public safety, military operations, and mining. These sources were abstracted to identify crisis leadership attributes associated with those disciplines and compare those attributes with crisis leadership challenges in public health. Based on this review, the following attributes are proposed for crisis leadership in public health: competence in public health science; decisiveness with flexibility; ability to maintain situational awareness and provide situational assessment; ability to coordinate diverse participants across very different disciplines; communication skills; and the ability to inspire trust. Of these attributes, only competence in public health science is currently a goal of public health education. Strategies to teach the other proposed attributes of crisis leadership will better prepare public health leaders to meet the challenges of public health crises.

78 FR 20666 - Food and Drug Administration/National Institutes of Health/National Science Foundation Public...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-05

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0345] Food and Drug Administration/National Institutes of Health/ National Science Foundation Public Workshop... public workshop; request for comments. SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing its...

Conceptualizing ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH - Public health management and leadership perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Orvik, Arne

The thesis introduces a new conceptual model of organizational health and discusses its implications for public health management and leadership. It is developed with reference to organizational theories and ideologies, including New Public Management, the use of which has coincided with increasing...... as the disintegration of such values. Possible implications for public health management and leadership include four different forms. The application of the conceptual model can potentially draw attention to value conflicts and help to clarify contradictory, institutional logics. It can also potentially support health...... workplace health problems in health care organizations. The model is based on empirical research and theories in the fields of public health, health care organization and management, and institutional theory. It includes five dimensions and defines organizational health in terms of how an organization...

Sudbury soils study : human health and ecological risk assessment : a case study in science, process and perception

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wren, C.

2009-01-01

This presentation discussed the public relations and public opinion strategies used as part of a soils study conducted to assess the risk of mining activities in the Sudbury region to human health and the environment. The human health risk assessment (HHRA) study was conducted and administered by a multi-stakeholder technical committee attended by the public. 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. A public advisory committee was formed to disseminate scientific information to the community. Scientific data obtained in the study were reviewed by experts in various fields. Results of 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. It was concluded that the HHRA's findings were generally accepted by the public. tabs., figs

Integrating ethics in public health education: the process of developing case studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Tulchinsky, Theodore; Jennings, Bruce; Viehbeck, Sarah

2015-01-01

The study of ethics in public health became a societal imperative following the horrors of pre World War II eugenics, the Holocaust, and the Tuskegee Experiment (and more recent similar travesties). International responses led to: the Nuremberg Doctors' Trials, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CCPCG, 1948), which includes sanctions against incitement to genocide. The Declaration of Geneva (1948) set forth the physician's dedication to the humanitarian goals of medicine, a declaration especially important in view of the medical crimes which had just been committed in Nazi Germany. This led to a modern revision of the Hippocratic Oath in the form of the Declaration of Helsinki (1964) for medical research ethical standards, which has been renewed periodically and adopted worldwide to ensure ethical research practices. Public health ethics differs from traditional biomedical ethics in many respects, specifically in its emphasis on societal considerations of prevention, equity, and population-level issues. Health care systems are increasingly faced with the need to integrate clinical medicine with public health and health policy. As health systems and public health evolve, the ethical issues in health care also bridge the gap between the separation of bioethics and public health ethics in the past. These complexities calls for the inclusion of ethics in public health education curricula and competencies across the many professions in public health, in the policy arena, as well as educational engagement with the public and the lay communities and other stakeholders.

Surfing the net for public health resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Angell, C; Hemingway, A; Hartwell, H

2011-08-01

To identify public health open educational resources (OER) available online, map the identified OER to The Public Health Skills and Career Framework (PHSCF), and triangulate these findings with public health practitioners. Systematic online search for public health OER. An online search was undertaken using a pre-defined set of search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Public health OER were then mapped against the UK PHSCF. The findings of the search were discussed with public health specialists to determine whether or not they used these resources. A number of public health OER were identified, located on 42 websites from around the world. Mapping against the UK PHSCF demonstrated a lack of coverage in some areas of public health education. It was noted that many of the OER websites identified were not those generally used in practice, and those sites preferred by public health specialists were not identified by the online search. Public health OER are available from a number of providers, frequently universities and government organizations. However, these reflect a relatively small pool of original OER providers. Tagging of websites does not always identify their public health content. In addition, users of public health OER may not use search engines to identify resources but locate them using other means. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intercultural competency in public health: a call for action to incorporate training into public health education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia eFleckman

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Due to increasing national diversity, programs addressing cultural competence have multiplied in U.S. medical training institutions. Little progress has been made to translate cultural competency training from the clinical setting into the public health setting where the focus is on population-based health, preventative programming, and epidemiological and behavioral research. The need for culturally relevant public health programming and culturally sensitive public health research is more critical than ever. Awareness of differing cultural roles needs to be included in all processes of planning, implementation and evaluation. In focusing on community-based health program planning and research, cultural competence implies that it is possible for public health professionals to completely know another culture, whereas intercultural competence implies it is a dual-sided process. Public health professionals need a commitment toward intercultural competence and skills that demonstrate flexibility, openness and self-reflection so that cultural learning is possible. In this article, the authors recommend a number of elements to develop, adapt and strengthen intercultural competence education in public health educational institutions.

Organizational factors influencing successful primary care and public health collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Valaitis, Ruta; Meagher-Stewart, Donna; Martin-Misener, Ruth; Wong, Sabrina T; MacDonald, Marjorie; O'Mara, Linda

2018-06-07

Public health and primary care are distinct sectors within western health care systems. Within each sector, work is carried out in the context of organizations, for example, public health units and primary care clinics. Building on a scoping literature review, our study aimed to identify the influencing factors within these organizations that affect the ability of these health care sectors to collaborate with one another in the Canadian context. Relationships between these factors were also explored. We conducted an interpretive descriptive qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 74 key informants from three provinces, one each in western, central and eastern Canada, and others representing national organizations, government, or associations. The sample included policy makers, managers, and direct service providers in public health and primary care. Seven major organizational influencing factors on collaboration were identified: 1) Clear Mandates, Vision, and Goals; 2) Strategic Coordination and Communication Mechanisms between Partners; 3) Formal Organizational Leaders as Collaborative Champions; 4) Collaborative Organizational Culture; 5) Optimal Use of Resources; 6) Optimal Use of Human Resources; and 7) Collaborative Approaches to Programs and Services Delivery. While each influencing factor was distinct, the many interactions among these influences are indicative of the complex nature of public health and primary care collaboration. These results can be useful for those working to set up new or maintain existing collaborations with public health and primary care which may or may not include other organizations.

The State Public Health Laboratory System.

Science.gov (United States)

Inhorn, Stanley L; Astles, J Rex; Gradus, Stephen; Malmberg, Veronica; Snippes, Paula M; Wilcke, Burton W; White, Vanessa A

2010-01-01

This article describes the development since 2000 of the State Public Health Laboratory System in the United States. These state systems collectively are related to several other recent public health laboratory (PHL) initiatives. The first is the Core Functions and Capabilities of State Public Health Laboratories, a white paper that defined the basic responsibilities of the state PHL. Another is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Laboratory System (NLS) initiative, the goal of which is to promote public-private collaboration to assure quality laboratory services and public health surveillance. To enhance the realization of the NLS, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) launched in 2004 a State Public Health Laboratory System Improvement Program. In the same year, APHL developed a Comprehensive Laboratory Services Survey, a tool to measure improvement through the decade to assure that essential PHL services are provided.