Brigadier General James Stevens Simmons (1890-1954), Medical Corps, United States Army: a career in preventive medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Marble, Sanders

2012-02-01

James Simmons began his career in the US Army as a laboratory officer and his assignments progressed into tropical medicine research. His interests and work evolved into preventive medicine (PM, as the Army termed public health), and he took both a PhD and a Doctorate in Public Health. As the Army's leading PM officer he was appointed head of PM in 1940 and guided the Army's PM effort through World War II. His responsibility ran from gas masks through healthy nutrition and occupational health to an enormous variety of diseases; by the war's end, the breadth and importance of PM was reflected in the Preventive Medicine Division, having fully one-sixth of all military personnel at the Surgeon General's Office. Simmons used his strong professional credentials to tap into civilian medicine for expertise the Army lacked and he established organizations that survive to this day. After retirement, he sought to expand the field of public health and raise another generation of public health physicians.

Lifestyle medicine curriculum for a preventive medicine residency program: implementation and outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Nawaz, Haq; Petraro, Paul V; Via, Christina; Ullah, Saif; Lim, Lionel; Wild, Dorothea; Kennedy, Mary; Phillips, Edward M

2016-01-01

The vast majority of the healthcare problems burdening our society today are caused by disease-promoting lifestyles (e.g., physical inactivity and unhealthy eating). Physicians report poor training and lack of confidence in counseling patients on lifestyle changes. To evaluate a new curriculum and rotation in lifestyle medicine for preventive medicine residents. Training included didactics (six sessions/year), distance learning, educational conferences, and newly developed lifestyle medicine rotations at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, and the Integrative Medicine Center. We used a number of tools to assess residents' progress including Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs), self-assessments, and logs of personal health habits. A total of 20 residents participated in the lifestyle medicine training between 2010 and 2013. There was a 15% increase in residents' discussions of lifestyle issues with their patients based on their baseline and follow-up surveys. The performance of preventive medicine residents on OSCEs increased each year they were in the program (average OSCE score: PGY1 73%, PGY2 83%, PGY3 87%, and PGY4 91%, p=0.01). Our internal medicine and preliminary residents served as a control, since they did participate in didactics but not in lifestyle medicine rotations. Internal medicine and preliminary residents who completed the same OSCEs had a slightly lower average score (76%) compared with plural for resident, preventive medicine residents (80%). However, this difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.11). Incorporating the lifestyle medicine curriculum is feasible for preventive medicine training allowing residents to improve their health behavior change discussions with patients as well as their own personal health habits.

Lifestyle medicine curriculum for a preventive medicine residency program: implementation and outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Nawaz, Haq; Petraro, Paul V.; Via, Christina; Ullah, Saif; Lim, Lionel; Wild, Dorothea; Kennedy, Mary; Phillips, Edward M.

2016-01-01

Background The vast majority of the healthcare problems burdening our society today are caused by disease-promoting lifestyles (e.g., physical inactivity and unhealthy eating). Physicians report poor training and lack of confidence in counseling patients on lifestyle changes. Objective To evaluate a new curriculum and rotation in lifestyle medicine for preventive medicine residents. Methods Training included didactics (six sessions/year), distance learning, educational conferences, and newly developed lifestyle medicine rotations at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, and the Integrative Medicine Center. We used a number of tools to assess residents’ progress including Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs), self-assessments, and logs of personal health habits. Results A total of 20 residents participated in the lifestyle medicine training between 2010 and 2013. There was a 15% increase in residents’ discussions of lifestyle issues with their patients based on their baseline and follow-up surveys. The performance of preventive medicine residents on OSCEs increased each year they were in the program (average OSCE score: PGY1 73%, PGY2 83%, PGY3 87%, and PGY4 91%, p=0.01). Our internal medicine and preliminary residents served as a control, since they did participate in didactics but not in lifestyle medicine rotations. Internal medicine and preliminary residents who completed the same OSCEs had a slightly lower average score (76%) compared with plural for resident, preventive medicine residents (80%). However, this difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.11). Conclusion Incorporating the lifestyle medicine curriculum is feasible for preventive medicine training allowing residents to improve their health behavior change discussions with patients as well as their own personal health habits. PMID:27507540

Lifestyle medicine curriculum for a preventive medicine residency program: implementation and outcomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haq Nawaz

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background: The vast majority of the healthcare problems burdening our society today are caused by disease-promoting lifestyles (e.g., physical inactivity and unhealthy eating. Physicians report poor training and lack of confidence in counseling patients on lifestyle changes. Objective: To evaluate a new curriculum and rotation in lifestyle medicine for preventive medicine residents. Methods: Training included didactics (six sessions/year, distance learning, educational conferences, and newly developed lifestyle medicine rotations at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, and the Integrative Medicine Center. We used a number of tools to assess residents’ progress including Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs, self-assessments, and logs of personal health habits. Results: A total of 20 residents participated in the lifestyle medicine training between 2010 and 2013. There was a 15% increase in residents’ discussions of lifestyle issues with their patients based on their baseline and follow-up surveys. The performance of preventive medicine residents on OSCEs increased each year they were in the program (average OSCE score: PGY1 73%, PGY2 83%, PGY3 87%, and PGY4 91%, p=0.01. Our internal medicine and preliminary residents served as a control, since they did participate in didactics but not in lifestyle medicine rotations. Internal medicine and preliminary residents who completed the same OSCEs had a slightly lower average score (76% compared with plural for resident, preventive medicine residents (80%. However, this difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.11. Conclusion: Incorporating the lifestyle medicine curriculum is feasible for preventive medicine training allowing residents to improve their health behavior change discussions with patients as well as their own personal health habits.

[Personalized medicine, privatized medicine? legal and public health stakes].

Science.gov (United States)

Rial-Sebbag, Emmanuelle

2014-11-01

Personalized medicine is booming. It tends to provide a medical management "tailored" for groups of patients, or for one unique patient, but also to identify risk groups to develop public health strategies. In this context, some radicalization phenomenon can emerge, leading to not only personalized medicine but also privatized medicine, which can lead to a capture of the medical public resource. If the "privatization" of medicine is not limited to producing adverse effects, several potentially destabilizing phenomena for patients still remain. First, some objective factors, like the adjustment of scientific prerequisites, are emerging from personalized medicine practices (clinical trial, public health policy) and are interfering with the medical doctor/patient relationship. Another risk emerges for patients concomitantly to their demand for controlling their own health, in terms of patients' security although these risks are not clearly identified and not effectively communicated. These practices, related to a privatized medicine, develop within the healthcare system but also outside, and the government and legislators will have to take into account these new dimensions in drafting their future regulations and policies. © 2014 médecine/sciences – Inserm.

Teleophthalmology in preventive medicine

CERN Document Server

Michelson, Georg

2014-01-01

This book provides an up-to-date overview of the clinical applications, methods, and technologies of teleophthalmology within the field of preventive medicine. The ability of novel methods to detect the initial signs of neurodegenerative diseases on the basis of alterations in the retina is reviewed, and detailed attention is paid to the role of teleophthalmology in screening for vision-threatening diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration. A major part of the book is devoted to novel imaging methods and the latest information technologies, including advanced mobile communication and Web 2.0 applications in teleophthalmology. In addition, the initial projects of an interdisciplinary cooperation in preventive medicine are described. All of the authors are experienced in the scientific and practical aspects of teleophthalmology, including e-learning, and have produced a book that will meet the needs of all medical care providers interested in using teleophthalmology.

[Review of the approach to exercise behavior modification from the viewpoint of preventive medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Nomura, Takuo; Kouta, Munetsugu; Shigemori, Kenta; Yoshimoto, Yoshinobu; Sato, Atsushi

2008-05-01

The purpose of this study was to summarize the approaches to behavior modification for exercise from the viewpoint of preventive medicine. Articles were searched according to the particular field of preventive medicine, i.e., primary prevention, secondary prevention, tertiary prevention, and other fields of prevention. In the field of primary prevention for elderly people living at home, many fall prevention programs were found to have been carried out. In these studies, various programs were found to be effective if the exercise proved to be sufficient. Although some approaches were observed to be based on the productive aging theory and social capital, the number of such studies was small. In the field of secondary prevention, illness and functional disorders are prevented from becoming worse. It is therefore important for each individual to exercise by himself/herself and also acquire sufficient self-monitoring skills. Social capital is useful for learning good exercise habits. In the field of tertiary prevention, although exercise therapy is effective for improving physical functions and preventing disease recurrence in patients with chronic disease, some patients nevertheless find it difficult to continue such an exercise therapy. The approaches to behavior modification were extremely effective for patients with chronic disease. In other fields of preventive medicine, daily exercises such stair climbing are effective methods for reducing the risk of chronic disease and such a behavior modification may lead to a considerable public health gain. In the future, further studies with a many lines of evidence should be performed, and approaches based on behavioral science should be established.

Genomics in Public Health: Perspective from the Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ridgely Fisk Green

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The national effort to use genomic knowledge to save lives is gaining momentum, as illustrated by the inclusion of genomics in key public health initiatives, including Healthy People 2020, and the recent launch of the precision medicine initiative. The Office of Public Health Genomics (OPHG at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC partners with state public health departments and others to advance the translation of genome-based discoveries into disease prevention and population health. To do this, OPHG has adopted an “identify, inform, and integrate” model: identify evidence-based genomic applications ready for implementation, inform stakeholders about these applications, and integrate these applications into public health at the local, state, and national level. This paper addresses current and future work at OPHG for integrating genomics into public health programs.

Genomics in Public Health: Perspective from the Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Ridgely Fisk; Dotson, W David; Bowen, Scott; Kolor, Katherine; Khoury, Muin J

2015-01-01

The national effort to use genomic knowledge to save lives is gaining momentum, as illustrated by the inclusion of genomics in key public health initiatives, including Healthy People 2020, and the recent launch of the precision medicine initiative. The Office of Public Health Genomics (OPHG) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partners with state public health departments and others to advance the translation of genome-based discoveries into disease prevention and population health. To do this, OPHG has adopted an "identify, inform, and integrate" model: identify evidence-based genomic applications ready for implementation, inform stakeholders about these applications, and integrate these applications into public health at the local, state, and national level. This paper addresses current and future work at OPHG for integrating genomics into public health programs.

Internal Medicine Hospitalists' Perceived Barriers and Recommendations for Optimizing Secondary Prevention of Osteoporotic Hip Fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Eng Keong; Loh, Kah Poh; Goff, Sarah L

2017-12-01

Osteoporosis is a major public health concern affecting an estimated 10 million people in the United States. To the best of our knowledge, no qualitative study has explored barriers perceived by medicine hospitalists to secondary prevention of osteoporotic hip fractures. We aimed to describe these perceived barriers and recommendations regarding how to optimize secondary prevention of osteoporotic hip fracture. In-depth, semistructured interviews were performed with 15 internal medicine hospitalists in a tertiary-care referral medical center. The interviews were analyzed with directed content analysis. Internal medicine hospitalists consider secondary osteoporotic hip fracture prevention as the responsibility of outpatient physicians. Identified barriers were stratified based on themes including physicians' perception, patients' characteristics, risks and benefits of osteoporosis treatment, healthcare delivery system, and patient care transition from the inpatient to the outpatient setting. Some of the recommendations include building an integrated system that involves a multidisciplinary team such as the fracture liaison service, initiating a change to the hospital policy to facilitate inpatient care and management of osteoporosis, and creating a smooth patient care transition to the outpatient setting. Our study highlighted how internal medicine hospitalists perceive their role in the secondary prevention of osteoporotic hip fractures and what they perceive as barriers to initiating preventive measures in the hospital. Inconsistency in patient care transition and the fragmented nature of the existing healthcare system were identified as major barriers. A fracture liaison service could remove some of these barriers.

Ethical considerations in clinical research on herbal medicine for prevention of cardiovascular disease in the ageing.

Science.gov (United States)

Koonrungsesomboon, Nut; Karbwang, Juntra

2016-10-15

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the ageing is a major public health problem worldwide. The nature of most CVD is subclinical with pathological processes that can span over years. Use of preventive measures could be an appropriate approach to prevailing over CVD in the ageing, and herbal medicine is one of the promising preventive approaches and is currently of interest among medical societies. In the evidence-based era, herbal medicine is, however, often underestimated and approached with skepticism, mainly due to the paucity of scientific evidence. Properly designed clinical trials on herbal medicine for prevention of CVD in a geriatric population are thus of importance and of clinical value. To review ethical issues and discuss considerations when such research is proposed. Four ethical issues, including the scientific validity of research, risk-benefit assessments, subject selection and vulnerability, and informed consent, are structured and extensively discussed in this article. Ethical core considerations of prevention research of CVD on herbal medicine involve particular attention on the scientific validity of research, risk-benefit assessments, subject selection and vulnerability, and informed consent. These issues and considerations are keys, although they must be adapted to an individual research setting in which a clinical study is proposed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Assimilating Traditional Healing Into Preventive Medicine Residency Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Kesler, Denece O; Hopkins, L Olivia; Torres, Eliseo; Prasad, Arti

2015-11-01

Comprehensive cultural competency includes knowledge and awareness of culturally based healing and wellness practices. Healthcare providers should be aware of the individual patient's beliefs, culture, and use of culturally based health practices because patients may adopt such practices for general wellness or as adjunct therapies without the benefit of discussion with their healthcare provider. This article describes the culturally based traditional healing curriculum that has been implemented in the University of New Mexico Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Residency Program in order to fulfill this knowledge necessity. Curricular elements were added in a stepwise manner starting in 2011, with the full content as described implemented starting in 2013. Data were collected annually with evaluation of the full curriculum occurring in 2015. New Mexico has a diverse population base that includes predominantly Hispanic and Native American cultures, making the inclusion of curriculum regarding traditional healing practices very pertinent. Residents at the University of New Mexico were educated through several curricular components about topics such as Curanderismo, the art of Mexican Folk Healing. An innovative approach was used, with a compendium of training methods that included learning directly from traditional healers and participation in healing practices. The incorporation of this residency curriculum resulted in a means to produce physicians well trained in approaching patient care and population health with knowledge of culturally based health practices in order to facilitate healthy patients and communities. Copyright © 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Determinants of public trust in complementary and alternative medicine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schee, E. van der; Groenewegen, P.P.

2010-01-01

Background: In the Netherlands, public trust in conventional medicine is relatively high. There is reason to believe that public trust in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is rated lower. The aim of this study is to gain insight into public trust in CAM and the determinants that lie at

Preventable Admissions on a General Medicine Service: Prevalence, Causes and Comparison with AHRQ Prevention Quality Indicators-A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Krishna K; Vakharia, Nirav; Pile, James; Howell, Erik H; Rothberg, Michael B

2016-06-01

Rates of preventable admissions will soon be publicly reported and used in calculating performance-based payments. The current method of assessing preventable admissions, the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Preventable Quality Indicators (PQI) rate, is drawn from claims data and was originally designed to assess population-level access to care. To identify the prevalence and causes of preventable admissions by attending physician review and to compare its performance with the PQI tool in identifying preventable admissions. Cross-sectional survey. General medicine service at an academic medical center. Consecutive inpatient admissions from December 1-15, 2013. Survey of inpatient attending physicians regarding the preventability of the admissions, primary contributing factors and feasibility of prevention. For the same patients, the PQI tool was applied to determine the claims-derived preventable admission rate. Physicians rated all 322 admissions and classified 122 (38 %) as preventable, of which 31 (25 %) were readmissions. Readmissions were more likely to be rated preventable than other admissions (49 % vs. 35 %, p = 0.04). Application of the AHRQ PQI methodology identified 75 (23 %) preventable admissions. Thirty-one admissions (10 %) were classified as preventable by both methods, and the majority of admissions considered preventable by the AHRQ PQI method (44/78) were not considered preventable by physician assessment (K = 0.04). Of the preventable admissions, physicians assigned patient factors in 54 (44 %), clinician factors in 36 (30 %) and system factors in 32 (26 %). A large proportion of admissions to a general medicine service appeared preventable, but AHRQ's PQI tool was unable to identify these admissions. Before initiation of the PQI rate for use in pay-for-performance programs, further study is warranted.

Public health genomics and personalized prevention: lessons from the COGS project.

Science.gov (United States)

Pashayan, N; Hall, A; Chowdhury, S; Dent, T; Pharoah, P D P; Burton, H

2013-11-01

Using the principles of public health genomics, we examined the opportunities and challenges of implementing personalized prevention programmes for cancer at the population level. Our model-based estimates indicate that polygenic risk stratification can potentially improve the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of screening programmes. However, compared with 'one-size-fits-all' screening programmes, personalized screening adds further layers of complexity to the organization of screening services and raises ethical, legal and social challenges. Before polygenic inheritance is translated into population screening strategy, evidence from empirical research and engagement with and education of the public and the health professionals are needed. © 2013 The Association for the Publication of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Public health and precision medicine share a goal.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaithinathan, Asokan G; Asokan, Vanitha

2017-05-01

The advances made in genomics and molecular tools aid public health programs in the investigation of outbreaks and control of diseases by taking advantage of the precision medicine. Precision medicine means "segregating the individuals into subpopulations who vary in their disease susceptibility and response to a precise treatment" and not merely designing of drugs or creation of medical devices. By 2017, the United Kingdom 100,000 Genomes Project is expected to sequence 100,000 genomes from 70,000 patients. Similarly, the Precision Medicine Initiative of the United States plans to increase population-based genome sequencing and link it with clinical data. A national cohort of around 1 million people is to be established in the long term, to investigate the genetic and environmental determinants of health and disease, and further integrated to their electronic health records that are optional. Precision public health can be seen as administering the right intervention to the needy population at an appropriate time. Precision medicine originates from a wet-lab while evidence-based medicine is nurtured in a clinic. Linking the quintessential basic science research and clinical practice is necessary. In addition, new technologies to employ and analyze data in an integrated and dynamic way are essential for public health and precision medicine. The transition from evidence-based approach in public health to genomic approach to individuals with a paradigm shift of a "reactive" medicine to a more "proactive" and personalized health care may sound exceptional. However, a population perspective is needed for the precision medicine to succeed. © 2016 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

[SOCIAL IMPACT BONDS FOR HEALTH PROMOTION AND PREVENTIVE MEDICINE].

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Roni S; Moran, Daniel S; Fire, Gil

2018-01-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared obesity a global epidemic. WHO sheds much light on this matter in its publications on health promotion and preventative medicine. Lack of physical activity, an unbalanced diet and an unhealthy lifestyle are the leading causes of developing obesity and chronic diseases. In Israel, the growing rate of obesity is a reason for concern. About 500,000 diabetics, mainly as a result of obesity, live in Israel today and by 2030 the number is expected to rise to 2,000,000. Every third child born is expected to develop diabetes by the time they reach the age of 40 unless a profound change is made in health policy. The State of Israel recognizes its responsibility in promoting awareness against obesity as well as its role in prevention. In spite of the country's recognition of the problem, it still has not managed to implement long term solutions which address the issue. Therefore, creative and innovative solutions are called for. The social impact bond (SIB), a newly developed financial model is a possible solution. This model suggests the entry of private investors into the public sector, a field which is within the responsibility of the government. The private investor will be in charge of running a social program on a topic which will be finalized with the government. The private investor and the government will have a contract outlining the program and the criteria for the evaluation and the success of the program. To note, the private investor will only be paid according to the success of the program. Thus the purpose of SIB is in motion processes and is set to serve as a model for several years, and then the authorities will take over the responsibility and continue with the program that the SIB handled. In March 2016, a new SIB was launched in Israel to prevent Type 2 diabetes. This involves 2250 pre-diabetic adults who are at risk to develop Type 2 diabetes and will be identified by their Health Maintenance

Cancer Prevention in the Precision Medicine Era | Division of Cancer Prevention

Science.gov (United States)

Speaker | Timothy R. Rebbeck, PhD will present "Cancer Prevention in the Precision Medicine Era" on March 20, 2018, from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm at the NCI Shady Grove Campus. Learn more about this lecture.

[Environmental medicine in public health service--a social responsibility and its consequences].

Science.gov (United States)

Thriene, B

2001-02-01

The special committee for "Environmental Medicine" established by the Federal Association of Doctors in the German Public Health Service presents its paper entitled "Environmental Medicine in the Public Health Service--A Social Responsibility and its Consequences: Propositions with regard to the situation, aims, strategies, and opportunities for action". The paper includes core ideas and responsibilities in the public health service. It aims at providing a number of guidelines for implementing "Environment and Health" ("Umwelt und Gesundheit"), an action programme by the Federal Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Health, as well as "Health 21" ("Gesundheit 21"), the framework concept "Health for all" for the WHO's European Region. The paper also aims at initiating and facilitating steps for joint action by the Public Health Service. These theses were passed on to Mrs. Andrea Fischer, the Federal Minister of Health, during a meeting with the Board of the Association. In Germany, environment-related public health protection is well established in the Public Health Departments and state institutes/departments within the scope of public health provision and disease prevention. Typical responsibilities include environmental hygiene and environment-related medical services which have increased in importance. The range of responsibilities and its current political importance are a result of environment-related public health risks, the social situation of the population, also with regard to health issues, and the scope of responsibilities and competencies by doctors and staff in the public health departments. With the people's demands for health, quality of life and life expectancy, this need for action increases. In this paper, judicial, professional, and personal consequence are presented which arise as public health authorities assume these responsibilities.

Investigation for integration of the German Public Health Service in catastrophe and disaster prevention programs in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfenninger, E.; Koenig, S.; Himmelseher, S.

2004-01-01

This research project aimed at investigating the integration of the GPHS into the plans for civil defence and protection as well as catastrophe prevention of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following a comprehensive analysis of the current situation, potential proposals for an improved integrative approach will be presented. In view of the lack of topics relevant for medical care in disaster medicine in educational curricula and training programs for medical students and postgraduate board programs for public health physicians, a working group of the Civil Protection Board of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior already complained in their 'Report on execution of legal rules for protection and rescue of human life as well as restitution of public health after disaster' in 1999, that the integration of the GPHS into catastrophe and disaster prevention programs has insufficiently been solved. On a point-by-point approach, our project analysed the following issues: - Legislative acts for integration of the German Public Health Service into medical care in catastrophes and disasters to protect the civilian population of Germany and their implementation and execution. - Administrative rules and directives on state and district levels that show relationship to integration of the German Public Health Service into preparedness programs for catastrophe prevention and management and their implementation and execution. - Education and postgraduate training options for physicians and non-physician employees of the German Public health Service to prepare for medical care in catastrophes and disasters. - State of knowledge and experience of the German Public Health Service personnel in emergency and disaster medicine. - Evaluation of the German administrative catastrophe prevention authorities with regard to their integration of the German Public Health Service into preparedness programs for catastrophe prevention and management. - Development of a concept to remedy the

Towards medicines regulatory authorities' quality performance improvement: value for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Pejović, Gordana; Filipović, Jovan; Tasić, Ljiljana; Marinković, Valentina

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article is to explore the possibility of implementing total quality management (TQM) principles in national medicines regulatory authorities in Europe to achieve all public health objectives. Bearing in mind that medicines regulation is a governmental function that serves societal objectives to protect and promote public health, measuring the effective achievement of quality objectives related to public health is of utmost importance. A generic TQM model for meeting public health objectives was developed and was tested on 10 European national medicines regulatory authorities with different regulatory performances. Participating national medicines regulatory authorities recognised all TQM factors of the proposed model in implemented systems with different degrees of understanding. An analysis of responses was performed within the framework of two established criteria-the regulatory authority's category and size. The value of the paper is twofold. First, the new generic TQM model proposes to integrate four public health objectives with six TQM factors. Second, national medicines regulatory authorities were analysed as public organisations and health authorities to develop a proper tool for assessing their regulatory performance. The paper emphasises the importance of designing an adequate approach to performance measurement of quality management systems in medicines regulatory authorities that will support their public service missions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Public-private partnerships in translational medicine: concepts and practical examples.

Science.gov (United States)

Luijten, Peter R; van Dongen, Guus A M S; Moonen, Chrit T; Storm, Gert; Crommelin, Daan J A

2012-07-20

The way forward in multidisciplinary research according to former NIH's director Elias Zerhouni is to engage in predictive, personalized, preemptive and participatory medicine. For the creation of the optimal innovation climate that would allow for such a strategy, public-private partnerships have been widely proposed as an important instrument. Public-private partnerships have become an important instrument to expedite translational research in medicine. The Netherlands have initiated three large public-private partnerships in the life sciences and health area to facilitate the translation of valuable basic scientific concepts to new products and services in medicine. The focus of these partnerships has been on drug development, improved diagnosis and regenerative medicine. The Dutch model of public-private partnership forms the blueprint of a much larger European initiative called EATRIS. This paper will provide practical examples of public-private partnerships initiated to expedite the translation of new technology for drug development towards the clinic. Three specific technologies are in focus: companion diagnostics using nuclear medicine, the use of ultra high field MRI to generate sensitive surrogate endpoints based on endogenous contrast, and MRI guidance for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound mediated drug delivery. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bibliometric analysis of medicine - related publications on refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people: 2000 - 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Sweileh, Waleed M

2017-03-20

Wars and violent domestic conflicts have forced millions of people to move outside their homes. Meeting the basic health needs of those people requires an understanding of research activity and research output on this topic. The objective of this study was to shed light on the quantity and impact of medicine - related publications on refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people (IDP). Scopus database was used to retrieve required data. Specifically, the number of publications, top productive countries and institutions, highly cited articles, citation analysis, international collaboration, and journals involved in publishing articles on refugees, asylum seekers and IDP were reviewed and analyzed. The time span for the study was set from year 2000 to 2015. Two thousands five hundred and thirty publications were retrieved. The h-index of retrieved articles was 64. A steep rise in number of publications was noticed after 2011. Top productive countries were the United States of America, Australia and the United Kingdom. The American public health institute (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the United Nations refugee agency were among the top active organizations on this topic. Active journals in publishing on health of refugees, asylum seekers and IDP were those on mental health, psychology, public health and general medicine. Publications on Somali, Afghani, Iraqi, and Syrian refugees received a significant share of medicine-related publications. Analysis of publications based on region showed that publications on refugees from Middle East is rising sharply and is approaching those on African refugees. Bibliometric analysis reveals that research publications on refugees have been increasing in a dramatic way and articles are being published in journals with high impact factor and international reputation, not only in general medicine and public health, but also mental health and psychology journals. Analysis of publications related to

Veterinary Preventive Medicine Curriculum Development at Louisiana State University

Science.gov (United States)

Hubbert, William T.

1976-01-01

The program aims at training veterinarians, with interdepartmental faculty participation the rule rather than the exception. Included in the curriculum are: avian medicine, herd health management, veterinary public health, veterinary food hygiene, and regulatory veterinary medicine. (LBH)

Human rights, public health and medicinal cannabis use.

Science.gov (United States)

Bone, Melissa; Seddon, Toby

2016-01-01

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

Key-note speaker: Predictors of weight loss after preventive Health consultations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lous, Jørgen; Freund, Kirsten S

2018-01-01

Invited key-note speaker ved conferencen: Preventive Medicine and Public Health Conference 2018, July 16-17, London.......Invited key-note speaker ved conferencen: Preventive Medicine and Public Health Conference 2018, July 16-17, London....

Authorship Trends of Emergency Medicine Publications over the Last Two Decades.

Science.gov (United States)

Lammers, Richard; Simunich, Thomas; Ashurst, John

2016-05-01

With the recent merger of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) a heightened pressure for publication may become evident. Our objective was to determine whether there was a gap in the type of both medical degree designation and advanced degree designation among authorship in three United States-based academic emergency medicine journals. We reviewed the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Academic Emergency Medicine and Annals of Emergency Medicine for the type of degree designation that the first and senior authors had obtained for the years 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2014. A total of 2.48% of all authors held a degree in osteopathic medicine. Osteopathic physician first authors contributed to 3.26% of all publications while osteopathic physician senior authors contributed 1.53%. No statistical trend could be established for the years studied for osteopathic physicians. However, we noted an overall trend for increased publication for allopathic senior authors (p=0.001), allopathic first authors with a dual degree (p=0.003) and allopathic senior authors with a dual degree (p=0.005). For each journal studied, no statistical trend could be established for osteopathic first or senior authors but a trend was noted for allopathic first and senior authors in the Journal of Emergency Medicine (p-value=0.020 and 0.006). Of those with dual degrees, osteopathic physicians were in the minority with 1.85% of osteopathic first authors and 0.60% of osteopathic senior authors attaining a dual degree. No statistical trend could be established for increased dual degree publications for osteopathic physicians over the study period, nor could a statistical trend be established for any of the journals studied. Very few osteopathic physicians have published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Academic Emergency Medicine or Annals of Emergency Medicine over the last two decades. Despite a trend for increased

Traditional medicine and HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia: Herbal medicine and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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The accessibility and cultural acceptability of both herbal medicines and faith healing and the scarcity of ..... public healthcare system. ... Policy Framework and Integration of Traditional ..... discussion within partnerships and HIV prevention and.

Major Depression Can Be Prevented

Science.gov (United States)

Munoz, Ricardo F.; Beardslee, William R.; Leykin, Yan

2012-01-01

The 2009 Institute of Medicine report on prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders (National Research Council & Institute of Medicine, 2009b) presented evidence that major depression can be prevented. In this article, we highlight the implications of the report for public policy and research. Randomized controlled trials have shown…

Turkey's top publications in cardiovascular medicine in the past 25 years: evaluation of its impact.

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Onat, Altan

2017-12-01

To identify "genuine" publications from Turkey's institutions since 1992 that have cumulatively contributed the most to global cardiovascular medicine. Based on data from the Web of Science, 146 publications from Turkey were identified having received ≥50 citations as of late July, 2017. Papers with more than a minor share by international authors were excluded. Hundred and ten primary authors generated 147 medical papers which received ≥50 (interquartile range, 54; 86) citations. These articles corresponded in quality to the top 12% global papers. Half of the articles were published from 2002 to late 2007, with a median exposure period of 12 years. Peak performance was reached in 2004-'07, with a mean of 15-20 papers annually, which then regressed to five papers in 2008-'13, representing an estimated 50% decline. Cardiology generated 105 articles (20 in collaboration with other branches), cardiovascular surgery generated 27 articles, and pediatric cardiology generated 5 articles. Publications arose from 26 medical faculties, Gülhane Military Academy, and 9 hospitals not which were not academically affiliated. The performance of many related Turkish institutions was disappointing. Turkey's contribution to cardiovascular medicine has further declined slightly in the current assessment, particularly since 2007. To prevent a further gap in Turkey's contribution to the field, an undelayed return is needed by building an environment that allows focusing on research with a potential to contribute to medicine.

Prevention and Treatment of Flatulence From a Traditional Persian Medicine Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Larijani, Bagher; Esfahani, Mohammad Medhi; Moghimi, Maryam; Shams Ardakani, Mohammad Reza; Keshavarz, Mansoor; Kordafshari, Gholamreza; Nazem, Esmaiel; Hasani Ranjbar, Shirin; Mohammadi Kenari, Hoorieh; Zargaran, Arman

2016-04-01

The feeling of abdominal fullness, bloating, and movement of gas in the abdomen is a very uncomfortable sensation termed flatulence. Since flatulence is one of the most common gastrointestinal symptoms that is bothersome to patients, it is important to identify effective methods to resolve this issue. In modern medicine, management of flatulence is often not satisfactory. On the other hand, traditional systems of medicine can be considered good potential sources to find new approaches for preventing and treating flatulence. The aim of this study is to review flatulence treatments from a traditional Persian medicine (TPM) viewpoint. In this study, the reasons for flatulence and methods for its prevention and treatment are reviewed in traditional Persian medicine (TPM) texts and then related with evidence from modern medicine by searching in databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and IranMedex. From a traditional Persian scholar viewpoint, one of the most important causes of flatulence is an incorrect manner of eating; valuable advice to correct bad eating habits will be illustrated. In addition, traditional practitioners describe some herbs and vegetables as well as herbal compounds that are effective food additives to relieve flatulence. The anti-flatulent effect of most of these herbs has been experimentally verified using modern medicine. Attention to TPM can lead to the identification of new preventive and curative approaches to avoid and treat flatulence. In addition, Persian viewpoints from the medieval era regarding flatulence are historically important.

Prevention and Treatment of Flatulence From a Traditional Persian Medicine Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Larijani, Bagher; Esfahani, Mohammad Medhi; Moghimi, Maryam; Shams Ardakani, Mohammad Reza; Keshavarz, Mansoor; Kordafshari, Gholamreza; Nazem, Esmaiel; Hasani Ranjbar, Shirin; Mohammadi Kenari, Hoorieh; Zargaran, Arman

2016-01-01

Context The feeling of abdominal fullness, bloating, and movement of gas in the abdomen is a very uncomfortable sensation termed flatulence. Since flatulence is one of the most common gastrointestinal symptoms that is bothersome to patients, it is important to identify effective methods to resolve this issue. In modern medicine, management of flatulence is often not satisfactory. On the other hand, traditional systems of medicine can be considered good potential sources to find new approaches for preventing and treating flatulence. The aim of this study is to review flatulence treatments from a traditional Persian medicine (TPM) viewpoint. Evidence Acquisition In this study, the reasons for flatulence and methods for its prevention and treatment are reviewed in traditional Persian medicine (TPM) texts and then related with evidence from modern medicine by searching in databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and IranMedex. Results From a traditional Persian scholar viewpoint, one of the most important causes of flatulence is an incorrect manner of eating; valuable advice to correct bad eating habits will be illustrated. In addition, traditional practitioners describe some herbs and vegetables as well as herbal compounds that are effective food additives to relieve flatulence. The anti-flatulent effect of most of these herbs has been experimentally verified using modern medicine. Conclusions Attention to TPM can lead to the identification of new preventive and curative approaches to avoid and treat flatulence. In addition, Persian viewpoints from the medieval era regarding flatulence are historically important. PMID:27275398

History of “health risk” and its place in the development of preventive medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Е.Е. Shigan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The main stages of the introduction and development of preventive medicine and the term HEALTH RISK are described. The “risk” definition is related to the works by Max Fasmer and Frank Knight. The development of preventive medicine was also influenced by the works of scientists and physicians of the ancient world and the Middle Ages. Particular attention is paid to the appearance, formation and development of the medical school of Salerno, and the impact of its work and the activities of scientists and teachers on further development of prevention and treatment. The relationship of these two concepts and their history is shown. The author dwells on the prevention development in Russia, paying particular attention to domestic researchers, especially after the victory of the Great October Revolution. Works by N.A. Semashko, Z.P. Soloviev, G.V. Khlopin, A.N. Sysin and F.G. Krotkov played a huge role in the development of preventive medicine in Russia and in the world. The article also represents the prevention medicine development facts in the post-war years – the creation of large schools of medicine, aimed at the prevention of diseases and epidemiological studies of the risk incurred. The article also pays attention to the foundation of International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, some areas of its work, especially in relation to research on the health risks. The itegration at mathematical modeling and forecasting with medicine in general and health in particular, as well as the study of the health concepts of risks at individual nosological examples are written.

Celebrating Leadership in Public Health and Medicine

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... Navigation Bar Home Current Issue Past Issues Celebrating Leadership in Public Health and Medicine Friends of the ... a Distinguished Medical Science Award for his global leadership in cancer research and the development of combination ...

Human and veterinary medicine: the priority for public health synergies

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Adriano Mantovani

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The concepts of ‘one medicine’ and 'one ‘health’ are supported and visualised as a tree (medicine, placed on the fertile soil (basic sciences, which divides into the two major branches of human and veterinary medicine, connected by the large branch of public health; minor branches (specialisations depart from the three larger ones. The synergy between human and veterinary medicine is not only a must for public health, but also implies ethical considerations. The basic reasons requiring synergy are found in the common sharing of the environment, in the use of animal products by humans, in the common culture and in the many problems to be faced together. The long list of adversities requiring synergy is topped by zoonoses (intended both in the classic and in the extended sense and food safety that extends to many other items connected with nutrition, environment, human/animal coexistence and the management of public health; the entire quality of human life is affected. Human and veterinary medicine have a strong cultural background (many subject matters in common, but unfortunately the undergraduate and postgraduate education programme (with few important exceptions do not offer training in cooperation. The synergy between human and veterinary medicines is an indicator of 'good public health practice' and any obstacles to this collaboration should be identified and eliminated. The logo for a public health founded on synergy is drawn as an umbrella formed by the medical and veterinary activities, protecting the population (consumers and producers, the animals and their products and the environment from the possible adversities linked to health.

Sports Biostatistician: a critical member of all sports science and medicine teams for injury prevention.

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Casals, Martí; Finch, Caroline F

2017-12-01

Sports science and medicine need specialists to solve the challenges that arise with injury data. In the sports injury field, it is important to be able to optimise injury data to quantify injury occurrences, understand their aetiology and most importantly, prevent them. One of these specialty professions is that of Sports Biostatistician. The aim of this paper is to describe the emergent field of Sports Biostatistics and its relevance to injury prevention. A number of important issues regarding this profession and the science of sports injury prevention are highlighted. There is a clear need for more multidisciplinary teams that incorporate biostatistics, epidemiology and public health in the sports injury area. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Motivators and barriers for dog and cat owners and veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom to using preventative medicines.

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Belshaw, Zoe; Robinson, Natalie J; Dean, Rachel S; Brennan, Marnie L

2018-06-01

Routine use of preventative medicines is advocated as part of responsible dog and cat ownership. However, it has been suggested that the number of owners in the United Kingdom (UK) using preventative medicines to protect their pets is in decline. The aim of this novel study was to use a qualitative methodology to explore the attitudes of pet owners and veterinary surgeons in the UK to using preventative medicine products in dogs and cats. Preventative medicine was defined as "a drug or any other preparation used to prevent disease, illness or injury." Semi-structured interviews were conducted by telephone with owners and veterinary surgeons who had recently participated in a preventative healthcare consultation. Thematic analysis of transcribed recordings of these interviews identified four themes. This paper reports the theme related to motivators and barriers to using preventative medicines. Owners' understanding varied widely about the importance of preventative medicines for pets, as did their confidence in the safety of prescription products. A good relationship with their veterinary surgeon or practice, seeing adverts on the television about specific diseases, advice from a breeder and having personally seen infected animals appeared to be motivators for owners to use preventative medicines. Concern about adverse events and uncertainty about the necessity of using preventative medicines were barriers. Owners who trusted their veterinary surgeons to advise them on preventative medicine products described little use of alternative information sources when making preventative medicine choices. However, owners who preferred to do their own research described reading online opinions, particular in relation to the safety of preventative medicines, which they found confusing. In contrast, veterinary surgeons described broad confidence in the safety and efficacy of prescription preventative medicines and described protection of pet health as a strong motivator for

Estimated effects of adding universal public coverage of an essential medicines list to existing public drug plans in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Steven G; Li, Winny; Yau, Brandon; Persaud, Nav

2017-02-27

Canada's universal health care system does not include universal coverage of prescription drugs. We sought to estimate the effects of adding universal public coverage of an essential medicines list to existing public drug plans in Canada. We used administrative and market research data to estimate the 2015 shares of the volume and cost of prescriptions filled in the community setting that were for 117 drugs on a model list of essential medicines for Canada. We compared prices of these essential medicines in Canada with prices in the United States, Sweden and New Zealand. We estimated the cost of adding universal public drug coverage of these essential medicines based on anticipated effects on medication use and pricing. The 117 essential medicines on the model list accounted for 44% of all prescriptions and 30% of total prescription drug expenditures in 2015. Average prices of generic essential medicines were 47% lower in the US, 60% lower in Sweden and 84% lower in New Zealand; brand-name drugs were priced 43% lower in the US. Estimated savings from universal public coverage of these essential medicines was $4.27 billion per year (range $2.72 billion to $5.83 billion; 28% reduction) for patients and private drug plan sponsors, at an incremental government cost of $1.23 billion per year (range $373 million to $1.98 billion; 11% reduction). Our analysis showed that adding universal public coverage of essential medicines to the existing public drug plans in Canada could address most of Canadians' pharmaceutical needs and save billions of dollars annually. Doing so may be a pragmatic step forward while more comprehensive pharmacare reforms are planned. © 2017 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors.

Expiry of medicines in supply outlets in Uganda.

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Nakyanzi, Josephine Katabaazi; Kitutu, Freddy Eric; Oria, Hussein; Kamba, Pakoyo Fadhiru

2010-02-01

The expiry of medicines in the supply chain is a serious threat to the already constrained access to medicines in developing countries. We investigated the extent of, and the main contributing factors to, expiry of medicines in medicine supply outlets in Kampala and Entebbe, Uganda. A cross-sectional survey of six public and 32 private medicine outlets was done using semi-structured questionnaires. The study area has 19 public medicine outlets (three non-profit wholesalers, 16 hospital stores/pharmacies), 123 private wholesale pharmacies and 173 retail pharmacies, equivalent to about 70% of the country's pharmaceutical businesses. Our findings indicate that medicines prone to expiry include those used for vertical programmes, donated medicines and those with a slow turnover. Awareness about the threat of expiry of medicines to the delivery of health services has increased. We have adapted training modules to emphasize management of medicine expiry for pharmacy students, pharmacists and other persons handling medicines. Our work has also generated more research interest on medicine expiry in Uganda. Even essential medicines expire in the supply chain in Uganda. Sound coordination is needed between public medicine wholesalers and their clients to harmonize procurement and consumption as well as with vertical programmes to prevent duplicate procurement. Additionally, national medicine regulatory authorities should enforce existing international guidelines to prevent dumping of donated medicine. Medicine selection and quantification should be matched with consumer tastes and prescribing habits. Lean supply and stock rotation should be considered.

Bibliometric analysis of medicine-related publications on poverty (2005-2015).

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Sweileh, Waleed M; Al-Jabi, Samah W; Sawalha, Ansam F; AbuTaha, Adham S; Zyoud, Sa'ed H

2016-01-01

Poverty is a global problem. The war against poverty requires not only financial support, but also poverty-related research to pinpoint areas of high need of intervention. In line with international efforts to fight poverty and negative consequences, we carried out this study to give a bibliometric overview of medicine-related literature on poverty. Such a s study is an indicator of the extent of interaction of various international key players on the war against poverty-related health problems. Scopus was used to achieve the objective of this study. The time span set for this study was 2005-2015. Poverty-related articles under the subject area "Medicine" were used to give bibliometric indicators such as annual growth of publications, international collaboration, highly cited articles, active countries, institutions, journals, and authors. The total number of retrieved articles was 1583. The Hirsh-index of retrieved articles was 56. A modest and fluctuating increase was seen over the study period. Visualization map of retrieved articles showed that "HIV", infectious diseases, mental health, India, and Africa were most commonly encountered terms. No significant dominance of any particular author or journal was observed in retrieved articles. The United States of America had the largest share in the number of published articles. The World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Prevention and Control were among top active institutions/organizations. International collaboration was observed in less than one third of publications. Top cited articles focused on three poverty-related health issues, mainly, infectious diseases, malnutrition, and child development/psychology. Most of top articles were published in high impact journals. Data indicated that articles on poverty were published in high influential medical journals indicative of the importance of poverty as a global health problem. However, the number publications and the extent of international

Full-text publication of abstracts in emergency medicine in Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravn, Anne Katrine; Petersen, Dan Brun; Folkestad, Lars; Hallas, Peter; Brabrand, Mikkel

2014-05-24

Abstracts presented at medical conferences or scientific meetings should ideally be published as full-text articles in peer-reviewed journals after initial presentation and feedback regardless of the findings. The aim of this survey was to determine the publication rate of papers presented at the Danish Emergency Medicine Conferences in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Abstracts presented at the conferences were identified and authors contacted to obtain publication information. A further search was conducted using relevant databases. Publication rates for the 2009 and 2010 were approximately 30% (25-31.6%). The publication rate for the 2011 conference was 14.5% within 18 months with an additional 9% under review prior to publication. When comparing full-text publication rates from DEMC to previous international studies in EM Danish EM research community has similar publication rates. However, other more established specialties have higher publication levels. Knowledge of reasons for non-publication could lead to efforts to promote publication like funding; the possibility of discussion between authors and editors at conferences; "publication mentors"; and/or research courses provided by the Danish Society of Emergency Medicine.

Quality criteria for electronic publications in medicine.

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Schulz, S; Auhuber, T; Schrader, U; Klar, R

1998-01-01

This paper defines "electronic publications in medicine (EPM)" as computer based training programs, databases, knowledge-based systems, multimedia applications and electronic books running on standard platforms and available by usual distribution channels. A detailed catalogue of quality criteria as a basis for development and evaluation of EPMs is presented. The necessity to raise the quality level of electronic publications is stressed considering aspects of domain knowledge, software engineering, media development, interface design and didactics.

Training physician investigators in medicine and public health research.

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Gourevitch, Marc N; Jay, Melanie R; Goldfrank, Lewis R; Mendelsohn, Alan L; Dreyer, Benard P; Foltin, George L; Lipkin, Mack; Schwartz, Mark D

2012-07-01

We have described and evaluated the impact of a unique fellowship program designed to train postdoctoral, physician fellows in research at the interface of medicine and public health. We developed a rigorous curriculum in public health content and research methods and fostered linkages with research mentors and local public health agencies. Didactic training provided the foundation for fellows' mentored research initiatives, which addressed real-world challenges in advancing the health status of vulnerable urban populations. Two multidisciplinary cohorts (6 per cohort) completed this 2-year degree-granting program and engaged in diverse public health research initiatives on topics such as improving pediatric care outcomes through health literacy interventions, reducing hospital readmission rates among urban poor with multiple comorbidities, increasing cancer screening uptake, and broadening the reach of addiction screening and intervention. The majority of fellows (10/12) published their fellowship work and currently have a career focused in public health-related research or practice (9/12). A fellowship training program can prepare physician investigators for research careers that bridge the divide between medicine and public health.

National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH) is an academic center tasked with leading federal, and coordinating national, efforts to develop...

Increasing the public health impact of evidence-based interventions in behavioral medicine: new approaches and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Buscemi, Joanna; Janke, E Amy; Kugler, Kari C; Duffecy, Jenna; Mielenz, Thelma J; St George, Sara M; Sheinfeld Gorin, Sherri N

2017-02-01

The dissemination and implementation of evidence-based behavioral medicine interventions into real world practice has been limited. The purpose of this paper is to discuss specific limitations of current behavioral medicine research within the context of the RE-AIM framework, and potential opportunities to increase public health impact by applying novel intervention designs and data collection approaches. The MOST framework has recently emerged as an alternative approach to development and evaluation that aims to optimize multicomponent behavioral and bio-behavioral interventions. SMART designs, imbedded within the MOST framework, are an approach to optimize adaptive interventions. In addition to innovative design strategies, novel data collection approaches that have the potential to improve the public-health dissemination include mHealth approaches and considering environment as a potential data source. Finally, becoming involved in advocacy via policy related work may help to improve the impact of evidence-based behavioral interventions. Innovative methods, if increasingly implemented, may have the ability to increase the public health impact of evidence-based behavioral interventions to prevent disease.

The IOC Centres of Excellence bring prevention to sports medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Engebretsen, Lars; Bahr, Roald; Cook, Jill L; Derman, Wayne; Emery, Carolyn A; Finch, Caroline F; Meeuwisse, Willem H; Schwellnus, Martin; Steffen, Kathrin

2014-09-01

The protection of an athlete's health and preventing injuries and illnesses in sport are top priorities for the IOC and its Medical Commission. The IOC therefore partners with selected research centres around the world and supports research in the field of sports medicine. This has enabled the IOC to develop an international network of expert scientists and clinicians in sports injury and disease prevention research. The IOC wants to promote injury and disease prevention and the improvement of physical health of the athlete by: (1) establishing long-term research programmes on injury and disease prevention (including studies on basic epidemiology, risk factors, injury mechanisms and intervention), (2) fostering collaborative relationships with individuals, institutions and organisations to improve athletes' health, (3) implementing and collaborating with applied, ongoing and novel research and development within the framework and long-term strategy of the IOC and (4) setting up knowledge translation mechanisms to share scientific research results with the field throughout the Olympic Movement and sports community and converting these results into concrete actions to protect the health of the athletes. In 2009, the IOC also identified four research centres that had an established track record in research, educational and clinical activities to achieve these ambitions: (1) the Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention (ACRISP), Australia; (2) the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (SIPRC), Canada; (3) the Clinical Sport and Exercise Medicine Research (CSEM), South Africa and (4) the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC), Norway. This paper highlights the work carried out by these four IOC Centres of Excellence over the past 6 years and their contribution to the world of sports medicine. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Lifestyle precision medicine: the next generation in type 2 diabetes prevention?

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Mutie, Pascal M; Giordano, Giuseppe N; Franks, Paul W

2017-09-22

The driving force behind the current global type 2 diabetes epidemic is insulin resistance in overweight and obese individuals. Dietary factors, physical inactivity, and sedentary behaviors are the major modifiable risk factors for obesity. Nevertheless, many overweight/obese people do not develop diabetes and lifestyle interventions focused on weight loss and diabetes prevention are often ineffective. Traditionally, chronically elevated blood glucose concentrations have been the hallmark of diabetes; however, many individuals will either remain 'prediabetic' or regress to normoglycemia. Thus, there is a growing need for innovative strategies to tackle diabetes at scale. The emergence of biomarker technologies has allowed more targeted therapeutic strategies for diabetes prevention (precision medicine), though largely confined to pharmacotherapy. Unlike most drugs, lifestyle interventions often have systemic health-enhancing effects. Thus, the pursuance of lifestyle precision medicine in diabetes seems rational. Herein, we review the literature on lifestyle interventions and diabetes prevention, describing the biological systems that can be characterized at scale in human populations, linking them to lifestyle in diabetes, and consider some of the challenges impeding the clinical translation of lifestyle precision medicine.

Violence defied? : A review of prevention of violence in public and semi-public domain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knaap, L.M. van der; Nijssen, L.T.J.; Bogaerts, S.

2006-01-01

This report provides a synthesis of 48 studies of the effects of the prevention of violence in the public and semi-public domain. The following research questions were states for this study:What measures for the prevention of violence in the public and semi-public domain are known and have been

Index of International Publications in Aerospace Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

Aerospace Medicine technical reports are available in full-text from the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute’s publications Web site: www.faa.gov/library...System in Space and Other Extreme Conditions. England – USA: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1991. Konstantinova IV, Petrov RV. Sistema Immuniteta v

Human rights, public health and medicinal cannabis use

OpenAIRE

Bone, Melissa; Seddon, Toby

2015-01-01

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

Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) position statement: restore CDC funding for firearms and gun violence prevention research.

Science.gov (United States)

Behrman, Pamela; Redding, Colleen A; Raja, Sheela; Newton, Tamara; Beharie, Nisha; Printz, Destiny

2018-02-21

The Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM) urges restoration of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding for firearms and gun violence prevention research. Gun violence in the United States is an important and costly public health issue in need of research attention. Unfortunately, there have been no concerted CDC-funded research efforts in this area since 1996, due to the passage of the Dickey Amendment. To remedy the information-gathering restrictions caused by the Dickey Amendment bans, it is recommended that Congress remove 'policy riders' on federal appropriations bills that limit firearms research at the CDC; expand NVDRS firearms-related data collection efforts to include all fifty states; fund CDC research on the risk and protective factors of gun use and gun violence prevention; fund research on evidence-based primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and treatment initiatives for communities that are seriously impacted by the effects of gun violence; and support the development of evidence-based policy and prevention recommendations for gun use and ownership.

Full text publication rates of studies presented at an international emergency medicine scientific meeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Jannet W M; Graham, Colin A

2011-09-01

The publication rate of full text papers following an abstract presentation at a medical conference is variable, and few studies have examined the situation with respect to international emergency medicine conferences. This retrospective study aimed to identify the publication rate of abstracts presented at the 2006 International Conference on Emergency Medicine (ICEM) held in Halifax, Canada. The full text publication rate was 33.2%, similar to previous emergency medicine meetings. English language barriers may play a role in the low publication rate seen.

Investigating preventive-medicine consultations in first-opinion small-animal practice in the United Kingdom using direct observation.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, N J; Brennan, M L; Cobb, M; Dean, R S

2016-02-01

Preventive-medicine consultations account for a large proportion of the veterinary caseload and previous research has suggested these consultations are fundamentally different from those in which the animal is presented for a specific health problem. There has been recent controversy around some aspects of preventive medicine for cats and dogs, and the full health benefits of the preventive-medicine consultation remain unclear. The aim of this study was to compare characteristics of the consultation and the problems discussed during the consultation between preventive-medicine consultations and other types of consultations. Data were gathered during direct observation of small-animal consultations in seven first-opinion practices in the United Kingdom. Data collected included type of clinical examination performed, patient signalment, and details of all problems discussed (including whether the problem was presenting or non-presenting, new or pre-existing, who had raised the problem, body system affected and whether an action was taken). A two-level multivariable logistic-regression model was developed, with canine and feline patients at Level 1 nested within consulting veterinary surgeons at Level 2, and a binary outcome variable of preventive-medicine consultation versus specific health-problem consultation. A total of 1807 patients were presented, of which 690 (38.2%) presented for a preventive-medicine consultation. Dogs were the most frequently presented species (n=1168; 64.6%) followed by cats (n=510; 28.2%), rabbits (n=86; 4.8%) and patients of other species (n=43; 2.4%). The five variables remaining in the multi-level model were whether multiple patients were presented, patient age, clinical examination type, weighing and number of problems discussed. Species, breed, sex, neutering status and practice did not remain in the final model. Many non-presenting problems, including both preventive-medicine problems and specific-health problems, were discussed and

Combining Footwear with Public Health Iconography to Prevent Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Paige, Sarah B; Friant, Sagan; Clech, Lucie; Malavé, Carly; Kemigabo, Catherine; Obeti, Richard; Goldberg, Tony L

2017-01-11

Shoes are effective for blocking soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) that penetrate the skin. Unfortunately, shoe-wearing is uncommon in many areas where STHs are prevalent, in part because local populations are unaware of the health benefits of wearing shoes. This is especially true in low-literacy populations, where information dissemination through written messages is not possible. We launched a public health intervention that combines a public health image with sandals. The image is a "lenticular image" that combines two alternating pictures to depict the efficacy of shoes for preventing STH infection. This image is adhered to the shoe, such that the message is linked directly to the primary means of prevention. To create a culturally appropriate image, we conducted five focus group discussions, each with a different gender and age combination. Results of focus group discussions reinforced the importance of refining public health messages well in advance of distribution so that cultural acceptability is strong. After the image was finalized, we deployed shoes with the image in communities in western Uganda where hookworm is prevalent. We found that the frequency of shoe-wearing was 25% higher in communities receiving the shoes than in control communities. Microscopic analyses of fecal samples for parasites showed a sustained reduction in infection intensity for parasites transmitted directly through the feet when people received shoes with a public health image. Our results show that combining culturally appropriate images with public health interventions can be effective in low-literacy populations. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

The practice and earnings of preventive medicine physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Salive, M E

1992-01-01

A shortage of preventive medicine (PM) physicians exists in the United States. Researchers know little about these physicians' earnings and practice characteristics. The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) mailed a survey to all self-identified PM physicians on the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Masterfile. A total of 3,771 (54%) responded; respondents' sex and region of residence were typical for PM physicians in general, with a slight excess of older physicians and those reporting board certification. A total of 2,664 (71%) were working full time, with median earnings of $85,000 (mean $90,000). Among full-time physicians, relatively higher earnings were associated with the following characteristics: male sex; age 45 to 64 years; major source of income from clinical, business, or industrial sources, rather than governmental or academic; and PM board certification. Full-time PM physicians earned much less than office-based private practitioners in several primary care specialties in 1989. The gap in earnings between PM specialists in government positions and those in the private sector is also substantial. Both disparities may require creative solutions.

The public production of medicines compared to the National Policy of Medicines and the burden of disease in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana Aragão Figueiredo

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The public production of medicines in Brazil by Government Pharmaceutical Laboratories has once again become the object of incentives, and Industrial Development Partnerships are one of the mechanisms adopted for the production of strategic medicines for the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS. Considering that burden-of-disease studies have been used as a tool to define priority and essential medicines, the article compares the product portfolios of the country’s Official Pharmaceutical Laboratories (OPL and the list of strategic medicines for the SUS and burden of disease in Brazil in 2008. Of the 205 strategic medicines for the SUS and 111 from the portfolios, 73% and 89%, respectively, are on the National List of Essential Medicines (RENAME 2014. Some strategic medicines for the SUS are already produced by OPL and feature the selection of cancer drugs and biologicals. The current study contributes to the discussion on the public production of medicines in light of the country’s current industrial policy and highlights the need to define priority drugs and the role of OPL in guaranteeing access to them.

Bullying Prevention for Public Health Practitioners

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2012-01-19

This podcast discusses bullying as a public health problem, and provides information and resources for public health practitioners.  Created: 1/19/2012 by National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC).   Date Released: 1/19/2012.

Preventing cancer: a community-based program for youths in public housing.

Science.gov (United States)

Strunin, Lee; Wulach, Laura; Yang, Grace J; Evans, Tegan C; Hamdan, Sami U; Davis, Gregory L; Bowen, Deborah J

2013-05-01

This article describes a feasibility study of a program that mentors boys aged 14-18 living in inner city public housing, engages them in a basketball league, and provides educational sessions on life skills and ways to resolve conflicts without violence. Such programs have the potential to engage adolescent males living in public housing in activities that reduce cancer-related behaviors and increase protective behaviors. We conducted a feasibility evaluation of the program, which included a survey of participants, interviews with coaches, and observations of games and practices. Lifetime and previous-30-day substance use was common among participants, and many were exposed to and had experienced various forms of violence. Keeping youths active helps prevent their joining gangs and using drugs. Youths from disadvantaged backgrounds are at a high risk for cancer because they are at greater risk for obesity and other adverse health-related conditions than are more affluent youths. Implementing and sustaining community programs for youths in public housing can reduce the effects of exposure to factors that put them at risk for cancer during adulthood: chronic poverty, lack of safe areas for recreation, easy access to alcohol and drugs, and exposure to violence. In addition, workshops to prevent substance use and violence and to teach leadership, sportsmanship, conflict resolution, and healthy youth development are needed for youths, coaches, and parents or guardians. Copyright © 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. 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.

Clinical preventive services in Guatemala: a cross-sectional survey of internal medicine physicians.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan E Corral

Full Text Available Guatemala is currently undergoing an epidemiologic transition. Preventive services are key to reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases, and smoking counseling and cessation are among the most cost-effective and wide-reaching strategies. Internal medicine physicians are fundamental to providing such services, and their knowledge is a cornerstone of non-communicable disease control.A national cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2011 to evaluate knowledge of clinical preventive services for non-communicable diseases. Interns, residents, and attending physicians of the internal medicine departments of all teaching hospitals in Guatemala completed a self-administered questionnaire. Participants' responses were contrasted with the Guatemalan Ministry of Health (MoH prevention guidelines and the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF recommendations. Analysis compared knowledge of recommendations within and between hospitals.In response to simulated patient scenarios, all services were recommended by more than half of physicians regardless of MoH or USPSTF recommendations. Prioritization was adequate according to the MoH guidelines but not including other potentially effective services (e.g. colorectal cancer and lipid disorder screenings. With the exception of colorectal and prostate cancer screening, less frequently recommended by interns, there was no difference in recommendation rates by level.Guatemalan internal medicine physicians' knowledge on preventive services recommendations for non-communicable diseases is limited, and prioritization did not reflect cost-effectiveness. Based on these data we recommend that preventive medicine training be strengthened and development of evidence-based guidelines for low-middle income countries be a priority.

Assessing the effectiveness of problem-based learning of preventive medicine education in China.

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Ding, Xiaojie; Zhao, Liping; Chu, Haiyan; Tong, Na; Ni, Chunhui; Hu, Zhibin; Zhang, Zhengdong; Wang, Meilin

2014-05-30

Problem-based learning (PBL) is defined as a student-centered pedagogy which can provide learners more opportunities for application of knowledge acquired from basic science to the working situations than traditional lecture-based learning (LBL) method. In China, PBL is increasingly popular among preventive medicine educators, and multiple studies have investigated the effectiveness of PBL pedagogy in preventive medicine education. A pooled analysis based on 15 studies was performed to obtain an overall estimate of the effectiveness of PBL on learning outcomes of preventive medicine. Overall, PBL was associated with a significant increase in students' theoretical examination scores (SMD = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.41-0.83) than LBL. For the attitude- and skill-based outcomes, the pooled PBL effects were also significant among learning attitude (OR = 3.62, 95% CI = 2.40-5.16), problem solved skill (OR = 4.80, 95% CI = 2.01-11.46), self-directed learning skill (OR = 5.81, 95% CI = 3.11-10.85), and collaborative skill (OR = 4.21, 95% CI = 0.96-18.45). Sensitivity analysis showed that the exclusion of a single study did not influence the estimation. Our results suggest that PBL of preventive medicine education in China appears to be more effective than LBL in improving knowledge, attitude and skills.

Public good provision and public bad prevention: The effect of framing.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sonnemans, J.; Schram, A.; Offermans, T.

1998-01-01

An experimental analysis of voluntary, binary contributions for step-level public goods/bads is presented. Alternatively, the situation is presented as the provision of a public good or the prevention of a public bad. From a strategic point of view, these presentations are equivalent. In early

Availability of medicines in public sector health facilities of two North Indian States.

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Prinja, Shankar; Bahuguna, Pankaj; Tripathy, Jaya Prasad; Kumar, Rajesh

2015-12-23

Access to free essential medicines is a critical component of universal health coverage. However availability of essential medicines is poor in India with more than two-third of the people having limited or no access. This has pushed up private out-of-pocket expenditure due to medicines. The states of Punjab and Haryana are in the process of institutionalizing drug procurement models to provide uninterrupted access to essential medicines free of cost in all public hospitals and health centres. We undertook this study to assess the availability of medicines in public sector health facilities in the 2 states. Secondly, we also ascertained the quality of storage and inventory management systems in health facilities. The present study was carried out in 80 public health facilities across 12 districts in Haryana and Punjab states. Overall, within each state 1 MC, 6 DHs, 11 CHCs and 22 PHCs were selected for the study. Drug procurement mechanisms in both the states were studied through document reviews and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders. Stock registers were reviewed to collect data on availability of a basket of essential medicines -92 at Primary Health Centre (PHC) level, 132 at Community Health Centre (CHC) level and 160 at tertiary care (District Hospital/Medical College) level. These essential medicines were selected based on the Essential Medicine List (EML) of the Department of Health (DOH). Overall availability of medicines was 45.2% and 51.1% in Punjab and Haryana respectively. Availability of anti-hypertensives was around 60% in both the states whereas for anti-diabetics it was 44% and 47% in Punjab and Haryana respectively. Atleast one drug in each of the categories including analgesic/antipyretic, anti-helminthic, anti-spasmodic, anti-emetic, anti-hypertensive and uterotonics were nearly universally available in public sector facilities. On the contrary, medicines such as thrombolytics, anti-cancer and endocrine medicines were available in less

Abstract to publication ratio for papers presented at scientific meetings: how does emergency medicine compare?

Science.gov (United States)

Walby, A; Kelly, A M; Georgakas, C

2001-12-01

The aims of the present study were to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented by Australasian emergency physicians at major emergency medicine meetings and to identify the site of publication of papers. All free paper abstracts presented (oral and poster) by Australasian emergency physicians and trainees at five Australasian College for Emergency Medicine/Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine and International Conference on Emergency Medicine meetings between 1995 and 1998 were identified retrospectively from conference programmes. In order to determine whether or not the abstract had been published, the PubMed database (http://www4.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/) was searched using the presenter's name and key words from the abstract. In addition, a hand search of the non-abstracted journal Emergency Medicine was conducted. Of the 207 free paper abstracts identified, 73 (35%) had been published as full articles. Papers were published in a variety of journals; however, Emergency Medicine accounted for almost half the published papers. The mean time between presentation and publication was 12.6 months (median 11 months). The abstract to publication rate for papers presented by Australasian emergency physicians and trainees at Australasian College for Emergency Medicine/Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine and International Conference on Emergency Medicine meetings is 35%, which is lower than that reported by some other established specialities, but comparable to rates reported for US-based national and international emergency medicine meetings. Future research should look at barriers to the publication of findings and ways to assist the publication process.

Research publications in medical journals (1992-2013) by family medicine authors - suez canal university-egypt.

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Abdulmajeed, Abdulmajeed A; Ismail, Mosleh A; Nour-Eldein, Hebatallah

2014-01-01

Research in family medicine (FM) provides an important contribution to its discipline. Family medicine research can contribute to many areas of primary care, ranging from the early diagnosis to equitable health care. Publication productivity is important in academic settings as a marker for career advancement. To describe the publications by family medicine researcher authors between 1992 and 2013. All full text, original articles published by family medicine researcher; author with affiliation to the Suez Canal University were collected using the internet and hand search. The journals that published for family medicine researcher authors were identified. Author characteristics were described. The trend of publications was described. All articles were analyzed for their characteristics, including the themes and study designs according to predefined criteria. Along 22 years, 149 research articles were published by 48 family medicine authors in 39 medical journals. The largest category in publications was related to Family physician/Health service (FP-HS, n = 52 articles), followed by 'Patient' category (n = 42). All the studies were quantitative; the largest group was represented by cross-sectional studies (76.5%). The publication productivity by family medicine researchers are going to be increased. FP-HS and patient topics were mostly addressed in publications. Cross-sectional studies exceeded any other designs. There is need to put more emphasis on intervention studies. Continuous assessment and improvement of FM research production and publication is recommended.

Review: Public perspectives on the utilization of human placentas in scientific research and medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshizawa, R S

2013-01-01

Placental tissues are frequently utilized by scientists studying pregnancy and reproduction and in diverse fields including immunology, stem cell research, genetics, cancer research, and tissue engineering, as well as by clinicians in many therapies. Though the utilization of the human placenta in science and medicine has benefitted many people, little is known about public perspectives of this phenomenon. This review addresses placental donation, collection, and utilization in science and medicine, focusing on public perspectives. Cultural values and traditions, ethical paradigms and concerns, public understandings of science and medicine, and political considerations may impact perceptions of the utilization of the placenta in science and medicine, but systematic study is lacking. It is argued that knowledge of public views gained from empirical investigation may underpin the development of collection protocols and research projects that are more responsive to public will, spur more extensive utilization in science and medicine of this unique organ, and/or aid in the realization of the mobilization of knowledge about the placenta for clinical and educational ends. New avenues for research on public perspectives of the placenta are proposed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 58411 - Center for Veterinary Medicine eSubmitter Workshop; Public Workshop; Request for Comments

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-24

...] Center for Veterinary Medicine eSubmitter Workshop; Public Workshop; Request for Comments AGENCY: Food... Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a public workshop entitled: ``Center for Veterinary Medicine... be emailed to all registrants. Contact Person: Charles Andres, Center for Veterinary Medicine (HFV...

Research publications in medical journals (1992-2013 by family medicine authors - Suez Canal University-Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdulmajeed A Abdulmajeed

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Research in family medicine (FM provides an important contribution to its discipline. Family medicine research can contribute to many areas of primary care, ranging from the early diagnosis to equitable health care. Publication productivity is important in academic settings as a marker for career advancement. Objective: To describe the publications by family medicine researcher authors between 1992 and 2013. Materials and Methods: All full text, original articles published by family medicine researcher; author with affiliation to the Suez Canal University were collected using the internet and hand search. The journals that published for family medicine researcher authors were identified. Author characteristics were described. The trend of publications was described. All articles were analyzed for their characteristics, including the themes and study designs according to predefined criteria. Results: Along 22 years, 149 research articles were published by 48 family medicine authors in 39 medical journals. The largest category in publications was related to Family physician/Health service (FP-HS, n = 52 articles, followed by ′Patient′ category (n = 42. All the studies were quantitative; the largest group was represented by cross-sectional studies (76.5%. Conclusions: The publication productivity by family medicine researchers are going to be increased. FP-HS and patient topics were mostly addressed in publications. Cross-sectional studies exceeded any other designs. There is need to put more emphasis on intervention studies. Continuous assessment and improvement of FM research production and publication is recommended.

Incommensurable Worldviews? Is Public Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicines Incompatible with Support for Science and Conventional Medicine?

Science.gov (United States)

Stoneman, Paul; Sturgis, Patrick; Allum, Nick; Sibley, Elissa

2013-01-01

Proponents of controversial Complementary and Alternative Medicines, such as homeopathy, argue that these treatments can be used with great effect in addition to, and sometimes instead of, ‘conventional’ medicine. In doing so, they accept the idea that the scientific approach to the evaluation of treatment does not undermine use of and support for some of the more controversial CAM treatments. For those adhering to the scientific canon, however, such efficacy claims lack the requisite evidential basis from randomised controlled trials. It is not clear, however, whether such opposition characterises the views of the general public. In this paper we use data from the 2009 Wellcome Monitor survey to investigate public use of and beliefs about the efficacy of a prominent and controversial CAM within the United Kingdom, homeopathy. We proceed by using Latent Class Analysis to assess whether it is possible to identify a sub-group of the population who are at ease in combining support for science and conventional medicine with use of CAM treatments, and belief in the efficacy of homeopathy. Our results suggest that over 40% of the British public maintain positive evaluations of both homeopathy and conventional medicine simultaneously. Explanatory analyses reveal that simultaneous support for a controversial CAM treatment and conventional medicine is, in part, explained by a lack of scientific knowledge as well as concerns about the regulation of medical research. PMID:23382836

Public attitudes towards prevention of obesity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Sikorski

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To investigate obesity prevention support in the German general public and to assess determinants of general prevention support as well as support of specific prevention measures. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional analysis of a telephone based representative German study (3,003 subjects (52.8% women, mean age 51.9, s.d.  = 18.0, range 18-97 years. Likert scale-based questions on general prevention support and support of specific measures were used. Furthermore willingness to take part in preventive programs and willingness to pay were assessed. Stigmatizing attitudes were assessed with the Fat Phobia Scale (FPS. Causation of obesity was differentiated in three dimensions (internal, e.g. lack of exercise; external, e.g. social surroundings; and genetic factors. RESULTS: Obesity prevention was perceived as possible (98.2%, however, almost exclusively lifestyle changes were named. Participants with higher stigmatizing attitudes were less likely to believe obesity prevention is possible. The majority of participants would take part in preventive programs (59.6% and pay at least partially themselves (86.9%. Factor analysis revealed three dimensions of preventive measures: promoting healthy eating, restrictive and financial, governmental prevention efforts. In regard to these, promoting healthy eating was the most supported measure. Higher age, female gender and external causation were associated with higher support for all three dimensions of preventive measures. Only for governmental regulation, higher age was associated with lower support. CONCLUSION: Obesity prevention support in Germany is high. Structural prevention efforts are supported by the majority of the general public in Germany. The vast majority proclaims willingness to pay themselves for programs of weight gain prevention. This could be an indication of higher perceived self-responsibility in the German system but also for risen "fear of fat" in the population due

[Employment opportunities and education needs of physicians with specialty training in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine.].

Science.gov (United States)

Fara, Gaetano M; Nardi, Giuseppe; Signorelli, Carlo; Fanti, Mila

2005-01-01

This survey was carried out under the sponsorship of the Italian Society of Hygiene (SItI), to evaluate the current professional position of physicians who completed their post-graduate professional training in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine in the years 2000 through 2003. An ad-hoc questionnaire was administered to 689 such specialists across Italy with a response rate of 40%. The results show that specialists in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine are generally satisfied with their professional choice though most specialists were found to have only temporary employment. Post-specialty training courses of major interest to specialists in Hygiene and Preventive medicine are those regarding occupational health, statistical analysis and epidemiology, and quality of health care.

Salt and its Role in Health and Disease Prevention from the Perspectives of Iranian Medicine and Modern Medicine.

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Mokhtari, Masoud; Vahid, Hamide

2016-05-01

Salt in Iranian medical sources is mentioned as Malh and has a special place in people's nutrition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of correct use of salt on health and disease prevention in the context of Iranian medicine and its comparison with modern medicine. This article reviews Iranian medicine references on the usage of salt and its benefits. Additionally, modern medicine references were searched to identify the dos and don'ts of salt consumption. Then the results from both approaches were compared and analyzed. The main application salt in Iranian medical resources includes usage in latif supplier, solvent, dryer, laxative of phlegm and melancholy, slimy moisture body repellent, opening obstruction of liver and spleen, aid in digestion, beneficial for seeds and corruption of foods, appetizing, cold foods reformer and improving the flavor of foods. On the other hand, the major benefits of salt according to modern medicine resources are; aiding the balance of electrolytes and fluids, carry nutrients into cells, regulation of acid-base balance, support transfer of nerve impulses, regulate blood pressure, and secretion of gastric acid. According to the Iranian medicine, the amount and type of salt to maintain health and prevent diseases is determined based on factors such as temperament, age, health and disease, season, and location. While a unique approach is not prescribed for every individual, in modern medicine resources, a fixed set of guidelines is recommended for all healthy individuals. Consequently, the modern medicine pays less attention to physiological, structural, and genetic issues. Considering the importance of salt and its undeniable impact on human health, it is apparent that additional research is required to determine factors affecting the actual amount of salt per person.

Preventive medicines: vaccination, prophylaxis of infectious diseases, disinfectants.

Science.gov (United States)

Heininger, Ulrich

2011-01-01

Immunizations belong to the most successful interventions in medicine. Like other drugs, vaccines undergo long periods of pre-clinical development, followed by careful clinical testing through study Phases I, II, and III before they receive licensure. A successful candidate vaccine will move on to be an investigational vaccine to undergo three phases of pre-licensure clinical trials in a stepwise fashion before it can be considered for approval, followed by an optional fourth phase of post-marketing assessment. The overall risk-benefit assessment of a candidate vaccine is very critical in making the licensure decision for regulatory authorities, supported by their scientific committees. It includes analyses of immunogenicity, efficacy, reactogenicity or tolerability, and safety of the vaccine. Public trust in vaccines is a key to the success of immunization programs worldwide. Maintaining this trust requires knowledge of the benefits and scientific understanding of real or perceived risks of immunizations. Under certain circumstances, pre- or post-exposure passive immunization can be achieved by administration of immunoglobulines. In terms of prevention of infectious diseases, disinfection can be applied to reduce the risk of transmission of pathogens from patient to patient, health-care workers to patients, patients to health-care workers, and objects or medical devices to patients.

Transformation and trends in preventive and social medicine education at the undergraduate level in a Brazilian medical school.

Science.gov (United States)

Forster, A C; Passos, A D; Dal-Fabbro, A L; Laprega, M R

2001-01-01

In the present study we discuss some transformations in undergraduate training in Preventive and Social Medicine in the Department of Social Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeiro Preto, University of So Paulo, from 1993 to 1999. Aspects of the relationship between medical training and the reorganization of local services of the Brazilian national health system, and between graduate teaching in Preventive and Social Medicine and medical education as a whole are discussed. The crisis in Preventive and Social Medicine and its influence of medical training are evaluated. Trends for the application of a body of knowledge of the specialty and for the relationship between the department and the medical school are discussed.

Crowdsourcing applications for public health.

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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.

Genomics as public health? Community genetics and the challenge of personalised medicine in Cuba.

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Gibbon, Sahra

2009-08-01

Making use of a comparative perspective on the emergence of 'breast cancer genetics' in the different cultural context of the UK and Cuba, this article examines the tensions between the modern promise of genomics as personalised medicine and a commitment to public health. Focusing primarily on the Cuba context and drawing on ethnographic research as part of a collaborative project working with genetic professionals and publics, the article examines the particular technologies, identities and socialities at stake in an emerging and evolving field of genetic medicine. It highlights how long-standing continuities in the commitment to the equitable provision of public health, particularly as this relates to 'family medicine', are central to understanding the scope and expansion of 'community genetics' interventions, even when at the level of local practice, public health is also now subject to the unequal dynamics of economic necessity through the working out of 'lo informal'. Illuminating the different ways agency, risk, responsibility, citizenship and activism get configured by and between publics and health professionals in Cuba, the article reveals the challenges and opportunities posed by predictive genomic medicine in relation to the dynamic and shifting terrain of public health.

Value-Based Health Care Delivery, Preventive Medicine and the Medicalization of Public Health

OpenAIRE

Vilhelmsson, Andreas

2017-01-01

The?real paradigm shift for healthcare is often stated to include a transition from accentuating health care production and instead emphasize patient value by moving to a??value-based health care delivery?. In this transition, personalized medicine is sometimes referred to as almost a panacea in solving the current and future health challenges.?In theory, the progress of precision medicine sounds uncontroversial and most welcomed with its promise of?a better healthcare for all, with real bene...

Family Medicine in a Consumer Age — Part 4: Preventive Medicine, Professional Satisfaction, and the Rise of Consumerism

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Morton M.

1977-01-01

In an attempt to find out if the physician perceives the same strengths and weaknesses in today's practice of family medicine as does the consumer, the Lay Advisory Committee of the College's B.C. Chapter initiated a survey of physicians' and consumers' attitudes. This article, the fourth and last in a series, presents some of the results of the survey as they relate to preventive-medicine, professional satisfaction and the rise of consumerism.

[What's new in internal medicine?

Science.gov (United States)

Fardet, L

2017-12-01

As it is practiced in France, internal medicine meets the Anglo-Saxon definition of the specialty, ie doctors "equipped to handle the broad and comprehensive spectrum of illnesses that affect adults, and are recognized as experts in diagnosis, in treatment of chronic illness, and in health promotion and disease prevention - they are not limited to one type of medical problem or organ system". This 2017 "What's new in internal medicine" will consist of 2 parts, a first part on significant publications in the field of systemic and autoimmune diseases and a second part on more diverse publications (HIV, cancer, pregnancy, well-being...) important for medicine in general and its different specialties. © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés.

Healthcare for the Healthy People: Miniaturization, Sensing and Actuation Trends and Needs in Preventive and Predictive Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto SANNA

2007-10-01

Full Text Available In modern medicine the role of prevention and prediction is acquiring an increasing market share, due to augmented awareness and interest of the population toward these issues, and to the recognition by public bodies that investing on prevention will be the only mean to afford economical sustainability in the future. Prediction must rely on the dynamic collection of several personal information, not only about the physical condition of the individual, but also about his/her behaviors and the environmental conditions. Prevention will increasingly imply the ability to modify the detected behaviors. However, monitoring these parameters and acting in response to undesired conditions requires a constant presence in people's everyday life. The target population for these services is healthy people that possibly won't spend too much in terms of time or money in invasive or costly solutions. For these reasons, we foresee an emerging role for sensing and actuation technologies able to provide miniaturization, pervasiveness and low costs.

[Public health competencies and contents in Spanish university degree programmes of Veterinary Medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Davó-Blanes, María Del Carmen; Vives-Cases, Carmen; Huerta, Belén

2017-04-19

To reach a consensus among public health faculty from various Spanish universities about the core public health competencies that should be integrated into the Veterinary Medicine degree training. The 3rd Forum of University Professors of Public Health was held at the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Cordoba (12-13 January 2016). Forty-two university professors and lecturers from nine Spanish universities with veterinary degrees participated in the forum. They were divided into five working groups during three working sessions to identify and classify core public health competencies for the Veterinary Medicine degree, propose public health contents for the identified competencies and organize such contents in thematic blocks. The results were discussed in different plenary sessions. The highest number of core competencies was identified in the activities related to the following public health functions: «Assessment of the population's health needs» and «Developing health policies». The final programme included basic contents organized into five units: 1) Fundamentals of public health; 2) Study and research in public health; 3) Production, animal health and environment; 4) Food security; and 5) Health education. The public health core competencies and contents identified in this Forum may be considered as a starting point to update public health training programmes for future veterinary professionals. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Globalizing the history of disease, medicine, and public health in Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

Espinosa, Mariola

2013-12-01

The history of Latin America, the history of disease, medicine, and public health, and global history are deeply intertwined, but the intersection of these three fields has not yet attracted sustained attention from historians. Recent developments in the historiography of disease, medicine, and public health in Latin America suggest, however, that a distinctive, global approach to the topic is beginning to emerge. This essay identifies the distinguishing characteristic of this approach as an attentiveness to transfers of contagions, cures, and medical knowledge from Latin America to the rest of the world and then summarizes a few episodes that demonstrate its promise. While national as well as colonial and neocolonial histories of Latin America have made important contributions to our understanding, works taking the global approach have the potential to contribute more directly to the decentering of the global history of disease, medicine, and public health.

Venous thromboembolism: the prevailing approach to diagnosis, prevention and treatment among Internal Medicine practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Markel, Arie; Gavish, Israel; Kfir, Hila; Rimbrot, Sofia

2017-02-01

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the third most common cause of death and the leading cause of sudden death in hospitalized medical patients. Despite the existence of guidelines for prevention and treatment of this disorder, their implementation in everyday life is not always accomplished. We performed a survey among directors of Internal Medicine departments in our country in order to evaluate their attitude and approach to this issue. A questionnaire with pertinent questions regarding prevention and treatment of VTE, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) was sent to each one of the directors of Internal Medicine Departments around the country. Sixty-nine out of 97 (71%) of the Internal Medicine departments directors responded the questionnaire. We found that several of the current guidelines were followed in a reasonable way. On the other hand, heterogeneity of responses was also present and the performance of current guidelines was imperfectly followed, and showed to be deficient in several aspects. An effort should be done in order to reemphasize and put in effect current guidelines for the prevention and treatment of VTE among hospitalists and Internal Medicine practitioners.

Publication Rate of Avian Medicine Conference Abstracts and Influencing Factors: 2011-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Doukaki, Christina; MedVet, Dr; Beaufrère, Hugues; Vet, Dr Med; Huynh, Minh

2018-06-01

International conferences on avian medicine and surgery aim to disseminate scientific and evidence-based information in the form of oral presentations and posters. Most manuscripts presented are printed in the conference proceedings as abstracts. Subsequent publication in a scientific peer-reviewed journal is the natural outcome of the research cycle, although studies have shown that the vast majority of conference abstracts are not published. The purpose of this study was to explore 1) the fate of abstracts presented in avian conferences (Association of Avian Veterinarians, European Association of Avian Veterinarians, International Conference on Avian Herpetological and Exotic Mammal Medicine) in the years 2011-2015, 2) assess the publication rate in peer-reviewed journals, 3) describe the time course of subsequent publication, and 4) identify factors associated with increased likelihood of publication. The results showed that 24% of conference abstracts were published within the next 2 years. Depending on the statistical model used, several factors were identified as associated with increased publication rate. North American papers seem to publish with more frequency (univariate model), while European papers had the opposite trend (multivariable model). Likewise, experimental studies were more prone to being published overall (univariate model), whereas retrospective observational studies had a lower rate of publication (multivariable model). Increasing the number of authors was also associated with increased publication rate. Most publications were published in the Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, which tends to suggest that this journal is the main journal of the specialty. Some parameters highlighted in this study may assist conference attendees to assess the likelihood of later publication.

Bullying Prevention: a Summary of the Report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine : Committee on the Biological and Psychosocial Effects of Peer Victimization: Lessons for Bullying Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Flannery, Daniel J; Todres, Jonathan; Bradshaw, Catherine P; Amar, Angela Frederick; Graham, Sandra; Hatzenbuehler, Mark; Masiello, Matthew; Moreno, Megan; Sullivan, Regina; Vaillancourt, Tracy; Le Menestrel, Suzanne M; Rivara, Frederick

2016-11-01

Long tolerated as a rite of passage into adulthood, bullying is now recognized as a major and preventable public health problem. The consequences of bullying-for those who are bullied, the perpetrators of bullying, and the witnesses-include poor physical health, anxiety, depression, increased risk for suicide, poor school performance, and future delinquent and aggressive behavior. Despite ongoing efforts to address bullying at the law, policy, and programmatic levels, there is still much to learn about the consequences of bullying and the effectiveness of various responses. In 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published a report entitled Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy and Practice, which examined the evidence on bullying, its impact, and responses to date. This article summarizes the report's key findings and recommendations related to bullying prevention.

Getting sports injury prevention on to public health agendas - addressing the shortfalls in current information sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Finch, Caroline F

2012-01-01

Public health policy is a successful population-level strategy for injury prevention but it is yet to be widely applied to the sports sector. Such policy is generally coordinated by government health departments concerned with the allocation of limited resources to health service delivery and preventive programs for addressing large community health issues. Prioritisation of sports injury prevention (SIP) requires high-quality evidence about the size of the problem and its public health burden; identification of at-risk vulnerable groups; confirmed effective prevention solutions; evidence of intervention cost-effectiveness; and quantification of both financial and policy implications of inaction. This paper argues that the major reason for a lack of sports injury policy by government departments for health or sport to date is a lack of relevant information available for policy makers to make their decisions. Key information gaps evident in Australia are used to highlight this problem. SIP policy does not yet rank highly because, relative to other health/injury issues, there is very little hard evidence to support: claims for its priority ranking, the existence of solutions that can be implemented and which will work, and potential cost-savings to government agencies. Moreover, policy action needs to be integrated across government portfolios, including sport, health and others. Until sports medicine research generates high-quality population-level information of direct relevance and importance to policy makers, especially intervention costing and implementation cost-benefit estimates, and fully engage in policy-informing partnerships, SIP will continue to be left off the public health agenda.

Fundamentals of risk/benefit analysis in radiation uses in preventive medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stieve, F.E.

1977-01-01

The term 'risk' stems from the insurance branch. It serves to estimate the probability of making statements about future events on the basis of events which have taken place. Risk estimations are increasingly being made in medicine, especially for determining the advantages and dangers brought to the population by preventive measures. The international radiation protection commission has, for some time, been expressing the dangers of ionising radiation in terms of risk and using these terms as basis for the dose limit values it determined for the professional and general population. This paper deals with possibilities of determining risks in preventive medicine. For doing this, acceptable risk values must be determined and risks resulting from diseases, esp. from those which were not recognized in time, must be compared with those resulting from the application of ionising radiation. (orig.) [de

Celebrating Leadership in Public Health and Medicine Friends of the National Library of Medicine (FNLM) | NIH ...

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... of this page please turn Javascript on. Celebrating Leadership in Public Health and Medicine Friends of the ... Hospital Dr. Braunwald was honored for his outstanding leadership and contributions to the world of cardiology as ...

Trends in publication on evidence-based antioxidative herbal medicines in management of diabetic nephropathy.

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Tabatabaei-Malazy, Ozra; Atlasi, Rasha; Larijani, Bagher; Abdollahi, Mohammad

2015-01-01

Recently, popularity and use of herbal medicine in treatment of diabetes have been increased. Since, oxidative stress is known as the main underlying pathophysiology of diabetes and its complications, the purpose of this bibliometric study is to assess the global scientific production analysis and developing its trend in field of antioxidative hypoglycemic herbal medicines and diabetic nephropathy focusing on the scientific publication numbers, citations, geographical distribution in the world and determining the main journal (source) in the field. Our search terms were "diabetes", "renal", "nephropathy", "herb", "Chinese medicine", "traditional medicine", and "antioxidant" from Scopus database until January 2015 and analysis of the distribution of words in the publication year, main journal (source) in the field, geographical distribution, documents' type and language, subject area, and h-index of citations were crried out. The Scopus analysis tools and VOSviewer software version 1.6.3 have been used for analysis. Within 1166 papers were published until year 2015, 78 studies were related to this topic in human. Increasing trend in number of related researches was shown. Fifty eight percent of the published papers were original articles, and the highest number was produced in 2013 with 21 documents. Top subject areas were medicine with global publication share of 71.8 %, and pharmacology was ranked the second (39.7 %). Iran was the first country with global publication. The total citation of the documents were 2518 times and h-index was 24. The highest cited paper was a review article with 336 citation number, and top source was "Journal of Medicinal Plants". Both of top authors and affiliation were from Iran; "Tehran University of Medical Sciences". Also, top author in the co-authorship mapping and clustering assessment was from Iran. Although, we found an ascending trend of scientific publications in field of antioxidative herbal medicine and diabetic

Complementary Role of Herbal Medicine and Exercise in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Management: A Review of Evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Veluswamy, Sundar Kumar; Babu, Abraham Samuel; Sundar, Lakshmi Manickavasagam

2017-01-01

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. Herbal medicine and exercise interventions have individually been shown to be effective in the prevention and management of CVD. However, the complementary roles of herbal medicine and exercise interventions for CVD prevention and management have not been adequately reported. 1. Identify studies analysing complementary roles of herbal medicine and exercise intervention in CVD prevention and management, 2. Identify herbs and exercise strategies that have been reported to exhibit complementary roles in CVD prevention and management, and 3. Summarize evidence of complementary roles of herbal medicine and exercise interventions for CVD prevention and management. PubMed, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched with a customised search strategy in May 2015. Two reviewers screened the search results for inclusion using pre-specified criteria. Data were extracted from full text of selected abstracts in a predetermined template by two reviewers and verified by the third reviewer when needed. A total of 35 titles were identified for full texts review after screening 827 abstracts. Data were extracted from 23 titles, representing 12 human studies and six animal studies. This review identified effects of 14 different herbs and 10 exercise strategies on over 18 CVD risk factors and markers. Complementary roles of herbal medicine and exercise were reported from five studies. Evidence of complementary role of herbal medicine and exercise is emerging from animal studies. More robust clinical studies on proven risk factors are needed before they can be recommended for clinical practice. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Public practice regarding disposal of unused medicines in Ireland.

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Vellinga, Akke; Cormican, Sarah; Driscoll, Jacqueline; Furey, Michelle; O'Sullivan, Mai; Cormican, Martin

2014-04-15

Over recent years, a global increase in the use of pharmaceutical products has been observed. EU directives state that "Member states shall ensure that appropriate collection systems are in place for medicinal products that are unused or have expired" (Directive 2001/83/EC and Directive 2004/27/EC). There is no published data on how people in Ireland dispose of unused medicines; therefore the purpose of this study is to establish baseline information on storage and disposal of medicines. Data was collected over two 2-week periods a year apart. People in the streets of Galway and Cork were approached randomly and invited to participate by filling out a questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 398 individuals (207 in Galway and 191 in Cork). Unused medicines were kept in the home by 88% of the respondents. The most cited reason for keeping unused medicines was "in case they are needed later" (68%). Of the respondents who had disposed of medicine in the past, 72% had done so inappropriately. Environmentally inappropriate disposal methods were through general waste disposal and via the sewage system. Interestingly, of the people who had received advice on disposal practices from a healthcare professional, 75% disposed of their medicine appropriately. There is little awareness among members of the public regarding appropriate ways to dispose of unused medicines. Our findings suggest that effective communication and established protocols will promote appropriate disposal practices. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attitudes to publicly funded obesity treatment and prevention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Thomas Bøker; Sandøe, Peter; Lassen, Jesper

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the Danish public’s support for publicly funded obesity treatment and prevention. It was also examined whether levels of support could be explained by dislike of obese people and / or the belief that those who are obese are personally responsible......, the perceived controllability of obesity, self-reported BMI, and additional attitudinal and sociodemographic characteristics. Public funding of some obesity treatments, such as weight-loss surgery, attracted only limited public support. A majority of the Danish public did support ‘softer’ treatment...... interventions and preventive initiatives. Attitudes to the treatment of obesity were clearly best predicted by the belief that individuals are personally responsible for their own obesity. Dislike of obese persons had no direct effect on the preference for collective treatment initiatives and only a small...

Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Statement on Plagiarism.

Science.gov (United States)

Asher, Shellie L; Iserson, Kenneth V; Merck, Lisa H

2017-10-01

The integrity of the research enterprise is of the utmost importance for the advancement of safe and effective medical practice for patients and for maintaining the public trust in health care. Academic societies and editors of journals are key participants in guarding scientific integrity. Avoiding and preventing plagiarism helps to preserve the scientific integrity of professional presentations and publications. The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Ethics Committee discusses current issues in scientific publishing integrity and provides a guideline to avoid plagiarism in SAEM presentations and publications. © 2017 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Role of Iranian Traditional Medicine in the Prevention of Respiratory Infectious Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Soroushzadeh, Sayed Mohammad Ali; Khiveh, Ali; Gerayelimalek, Valiollah

2016-05-01

In order to define appropriate plans for respiratory infectious diseases, in accordance with Iranian traditional medicine, one should cover the topic of "havae vabai". "Havae vabai" is related to the epidemics of respiratory infectious diseases. This study is a review of the role of Iranian traditional medicine in the prevention of respiratory infectious diseases .Resources of traditional medicine with the keyword "havae vabai" were reviewed in Noor digital library. The perspective of traditional medicine for the prevention of disease in "havae vabai" is based on self-recuperation and air modification. Items that are mentioned are; refine the surrounding air, move to a proper space, live in a house with no source of water like fountains and limited flow of air, air-drying, use air freshener, smell fruit sticks, use in-house plants, and place a cloth soaked with vinegar in front of the nose. For self-recuperation, reducing body moisture with proper foods and drugs or with vomiting, diarrhea, phlebotomy, wet-cupping, reduction in food and drink intake, avoiding sexual intercourse, bathing, heavy exercise, inactivity, overeating, hunger, thirst, milk, sweets, fish, fatty foods, fruits especially juicy fruits are recommended. The food that tends to have a sour taste, eating meat cooked with sour taste like vinegar is suggested. The use of the solutions offered in traditional medicine to control air is helpful as it can reduce epidemics, such as influenza; that yearly kills many patients with a heavy financial burden.

[Quaternary prevention: An attempt to avoid the excesses of Medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, María

2015-09-01

Seduced by technology, biometrics, practical guidelines and the use of medication, medicine has been driven away from the subject of its care. Quaternary prevention is, among other voices around the world, trying to denounce the consequent excesses of medical practice given by this situation. There are visible excesses, such as the long list of studies being performed on patients without indication, and others, much more subtle, as excessive prevention and the continuous and progressive medicalization of life itself that are rooted in our culture and demanded by a society that requests certainty at almost any cost. Quaternary prevention proposes a series of actions leaning towards avoiding and diminishing the damage produced by health care activities, in order to protect the subject of overdiagnosis and overtreatment; offering also ethical and viable alternatives in which the balance of risks and benefits (based on the best evidences) respects the autonomy of the subject by properly informing and allowing him to decide among the best options he has; altogether in a process that contemplates a rational and equitable use of resources. In order to achieve this, reliable sources of information and a medical education not dependent on industries related to technology or pharmaceuticals, are vital; in conjuction with a medicine that restablishes the subject as its main and central interest.

Gene–Environment Interactions in Preventive Medicine: Current Status and Expectations for the Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroto Narimatsu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The progression of many common disorders involves a complex interplay of multiple factors, including numerous different genes and environmental factors. Gene–environmental cohort studies focus on the identification of risk factors that cannot be discovered by conventional epidemiological methodologies. Such epidemiological methodologies preclude precise predictions, because the exact risk factors can be revealed only after detailed analyses of the interactions among multiple factors, that is, between genes and environmental factors. To date, these cohort studies have reported some promising results. However, the findings do not yet have sufficient clinical significance for the development of precise, personalized preventive medicine. Especially, some promising preliminary studies have been conducted in terms of the prevention of obesity. Large-scale validation studies of those preliminary studies, using a prospective cohort design and long follow-ups, will produce useful and practical evidence for the development of preventive medicine in the future.

Postneoliberal Public Health Care Reforms: Neoliberalism, Social Medicine, and Persistent Health Inequalities in Latin America.

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Hartmann, Christopher

2016-12-01

Several Latin American countries are implementing a suite of so-called "postneoliberal" social and political economic policies to counter neoliberal models that emerged in the 1980s. This article considers the influence of postneoliberalism on public health discourses, policies, institutions, and practices in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Social medicine and neoliberal public health models are antecedents of postneoliberal public health care models. Postneoliberal public health governance models neither fully incorporate social medicine nor completely reject neoliberal models. Postneoliberal reforms may provide an alternative means of reducing health inequalities and improving population health.

Ten Years of Medicinal Chemistry (2005-2014) in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry: Country of Contributors, Topics, and Public-Private Partnerships.

Science.gov (United States)

Costantino, Luca; Barlocco, Daniela

2016-08-25

This review analyzes the articles that have appeared during the past 10 years in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, the leading journal in the field of medicinal chemistry, to provide a picture of the changing trends in this research area. Our analysis involved the country of the corresponding author, assuming that he/she was the leader of the research group, the interaction between private and public sectors, and the research topics. This analysis provides information on the contributions to the journal of authors from each country and highlights the differences between the public and private sectors regarding the research topics pursued. Moreover, changes in the number of articles that describe work on hits, leads, or clinical candidates during these years have been correlated with the affiliation of the contributors (public or private). An analysis of top-cited articles that have appeared in the journal has also been included. The data will provide the basis for understanding the evolution that is taking place in medicinal chemistry.

A Comprehensive Fracture Prevention Strategy in Older Adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blain, H; Masud, T; Dargent-Molina, P

2016-01-01

Prevention of fragility fractures in older people has become a public health priority, although the most appropriate and cost-effective strategy remains unclear. In the present statement, the Interest Group on Falls and Fracture Prevention of the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society (EUGMS...

Effectively engaging stakeholders and the public in developing violence prevention messages.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyko, Jennifer A; Wathen, C Nadine; Kothari, Anita

2017-05-11

Preventing family violence requires that stakeholders and the broader public be involved in developing evidence-based violence prevention strategies. However, gaps exist in between what we know (knowledge), what we do (action), and the structures supporting practice (policy). We discuss the broad challenge of mobilizing knowledge-for-action in family violence, with a primary focus on the issue of how stakeholders and the public can be effectively engaged when developing and communicating evidence-based violence prevention messages. We suggest that a comprehensive approach to stakeholder and public engagement in developing violence prevention messages includes: 1) clear and consistent messaging; 2) identifying and using, as appropriate, lessons from campaigns that show evidence of reducing specific types of violence; and 3) evidence-informed approaches for communicating to specific groups. Components of a comprehensive approach must take into account the available research evidence, implementation feasibility, and the context-specific nature of family violence. While strategies exist for engaging stakeholders and the public in messaging about family violence prevention, knowledge mobilization must be informed by evidence, dialogue with stakeholders, and proactive media strategies. This paper will be of interest to public health practitioners or others involved in planning and implementing violence prevention programs because it highlights what is known about the issue, potential solutions, and implementation considerations.

King Chulalongkorn: biography and his activities in medicine and public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Charulukananan, Somrat; Sueblinvong, Tada

2003-06-01

King Rama V, or Chulalongkorn, was the fifth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty. He was one of the most beloved of the Thai kings due to his many activities including abolishing slavery without bloodshed and especially his skillful diplomacy which succeeded in steering Siam out of the grips of the colonial powers. His activities also included reform of the administration of the kingdom according to the European model and in bringing Siam into the modern era with such exquisite skills that he is still vividly remembered today. His reign also saw many developments in medicine and public health. The King's role in these areas, however, were clouded by his more visible activities in politics and diplomacy. The result is that the Thai public learned rather little about his role in these areas. This article aims at collecting this and to show the King's very important role in modernizing medicine and public health in Siam.

Bibliometric investigation on preventive medicine in North Korea: a coauthor and keyword network analysis.

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Jung, Minsoo

2013-01-01

This study examined the 2 preventive medicine journals in North Korea by using coauthor and keyword network analysis on the basis of medical informatics and bibliometrics. Used were the Journal of Chosun Medicine (JCM) and the Journal of Preventive Medicine (JPM) (from the first volume of 1997 to the fourth volume of 2006) as data. Extracted were 1734 coauthors from 1104 articles and 1567 coauthors from 1172 articles, respectively. Huge single components were extracted in the coauthor analysis, which indicated a tendency toward structuralization. However, the 2 journals differed in that JPM showed a relative tendency toward specialization, whereas JCM showed one toward generalization. Seventeen and 33 keywords were extracted from each journal in the keyword analysis; JCM mainly concerned pathological research, whereas JPM mainly concerned virus and basic medicine studies that were based on infection and immunity. In contrast to South Korea, North Korea has developed Juche medicine, which came from self-reliance ideology and gratuitous medical service. According to the present study, their ideology was embodied by the discovery of bacteria, study on immune system, and emphasis on pathology, on the basis of experimental epidemiology. However, insufficient research has been conducted thus far on population health and its related determinants.

Economic issues and public alcohol abuse prevention policies in France

Science.gov (United States)

Spach, Miléna

2016-10-19

Objective: To analyse the impact of the alcohol market on the implementation of strong-willed public alcohol abuse prevention policies based on a critical review of the literature. Method: Documentary research and analysis of the alcohol market economic data were performed. An overview of public alcohol abuse prevention policies was conducted from a historical perspective by distinguishing drunkenness control policies, protection of vulnerable populations, and the fight against drink driving and drinking in the workplace. Results: Public alcohol abuse prevention policies are primarily designed to reduce the harmful consequences of alcohol occurring as a result of a drinking episode (motor vehicle accident, highway accidents, etc.), while neglecting the long-term consequences (cancer, cirrhosis, etc.). Moreover, while taxation is one of the major public health tools used to reduce the costs of alcohol-related damage on society, the State exercises legislative and tax protection for alcoholic beverages produced in France. In particular, wine benefits from a lower tax rate than other stronger forms of alcohol (spirits, liquors, etc.). The economic weight of the alcohol market can provide an explanation for these public alcohol abuse prevention policies. Conclusion: In view of the mortality caused by alcohol abuse, France must implement a proactive public policy. An alcohol taxation policy based on the alcohol content, a minimum unit pricing for alcohol, or higher taxes on alcohol are public policies that could be considered in order to reduce alcohol-related mortality.

[Prevention of soil deterioration during cultivation of medicinal plants].

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Lan-ping; Huang, Lu-qi; Jiang, You-xu; Lv, Dong-mei

2006-05-01

This paper summarized the aspects of the soil deterioration due to continuous growth of medicinal plants, such as nutrition insufficient, pH variation, harmful salt accumulating, harmful microbe and allelopathic substance increasing, soil physics and chemistry properties variation. And the ways to prevent and rehabilitate the deteriorated soil was indicated, which included anti-adversity species selecting, scientific management such as whorl cropping, nutrient elements supplement, usage of physical methods, nutrient liquid cultivating and VAM inoculating etc.

Sepsis is a preventable public health problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Kempker, Jordan A; Wang, Henry E; Martin, Greg S

2018-05-06

There is a paradigm shift happening for sepsis. Sepsis is no longer solely conceptualized as problem of individual patients treated in emergency departments and intensive care units but also as one that is addressed as public health issue with population- and systems-based solutions. We offer a conceptual framework for sepsis as a public health problem by adapting the traditional model of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.

A Military Doctor Pioneer of the Preventive Medicine in Turkey: Colonel Dr. Huseyin Remzi Bey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dogan Ceyhan

2008-08-01

Full Text Available One of the most important turning points in Turkish History of Medicine is the transfer of Western / European medical knowledge to Ottoman medicine in 19th century. This knowledge is mostly transferred by government employed Ottoman citizens and aimed at improving the health status of the Ottoman State’s elites, troops and people. Most important contributions of transferring and popularizing the concepts of microbe and vaccination to Ottoman medicine, concerning both disease and preventive medicine, were made by a military doctor, “Colonel Dr. Huseyin Remzi Bey”. He served in a large spectrum of military and civilian health services from field medicine to professorship in higher educational institutes and made important contributions for education of modern medicine in Turkish language. He was a part of the Ottoman team visiting Pasteur to learn the rabies vaccine and given credit to be one of the first users of microbiological knowledge and applications in Ottoman Country. He also tried to disseminate the knowledge about health amongst people and wrote more than 50 manuscripts, most of them published as books or newspaper periodicals. He is a figure who made important contributions of the accumulation and distribution of modern medical knowledge, including preventive medicine, in Turkey. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2008; 7(4.000: 347-350

Medicine, morality, and the market.

Science.gov (United States)

Owen, D

1984-07-07

In extracts from a lecture given at McGill University, the author describes the rise of a marketing or corporate ethos in medicine, stemming from economic constraints and the demographic pressures of aging populations in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. To counter the trend to corporate rather than public policy making in medicine, he advocates a holistic approach to health care, a revival of interest in preventive health, and encouragement of the self-help movement. Owen calls for a reorientation of medical attitudes so that traditional moral values of medicine present a "counterweight to the mechanistic, technological, cost-effectiveness of the market place."

A public health approach to eating disorders prevention: it's time for public health professionals to take a seat at the table.

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, S Bryn

2012-10-09

The societal burden of eating disorders is clear, and though there is a compelling need for a public health approach to eating disorders prevention, public health professionals have yet to take up the challenge. The article lays out an argument for what steps need to be taken to bring a public health approach to eating disorders prevention. First, stock is taken of what the field has achieved so far, using tools from the prevention science literature, and, second, a research plan of action is offered that plays to the unique strengths of public health, drawing on a triggers-to-action framework from public health law. Minimal participation was found from public health professionals in eating disorders prevention research, and the vast majority of prevention research to date was found to be concentrated within the disciplines of psychology and psychiatry. Extreme disciplinary concentration of the research has led to a preponderance of individually targeted prevention strategies with little research focused on environmental targets, particularly at the macro level. New environmental initiatives are now emerging, such as a government-sponsored mass media anti-dieting campaign, and legal bans on extremely thin models in advertising, but for the most part, they have yet to be evaluated. A triggers-to-action framework, which focuses on evidentiary base, practical considerations, and political will, developed in public health law provides a basis for a strategic research plan for a public health approach to eating disorders prevention. There is enormous potential for growth in the scope and diversity of eating disorder prevention research strategies, particularly those targeting the macro environment. A public health approach will require a strategic plan for research that leverages the macro environment for prevention. The full engagement of public health professionals will bring to the field the much broader range of preventive strategies and perspectives needed to

Fragment-to-Lead Medicinal Chemistry Publications in 2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Christopher N; Erlanson, Daniel A; Jahnke, Wolfgang; Mortenson, Paul N; Rees, David C

2018-03-08

The popularity of fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is demonstrated by the number of recent successful fragment-to-lead (F2L) publications. This Miniperspective provides a tabulated summary of the F2L literature published in the year 2016, along with discussion of general trends. It uses the same format as our summary of the 2015 literature and is intended to be a resource for both FBDD practitioners and medicinal chemists in general.

FEATURES OF E-MEDICINE INTRODUCTION IN THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. O. Sinyenko

2017-03-01

Full Text Available It was discussed the possibilities and the reality of the e-medicine challenges through technology of public-private partnership (PPP. It is shown that the use of e-medicine is one of the most important levers of improving the quality of medical care in Ukraine. Taking into account that the computerization of health care is extremely expensive project its rapid implementation is possible for the widest possible PPP. It is believed that mobile medicine is the best example of modern PPP. It is postulated that for the effective control of the quality of medical care it should be created specialized expertise and advisory mechanisms in a specialized system of state control of the new system of electronic health systems with strictly defined principles such as objectivity, complimentarily, law and so on.

Prevention and health promotion from theory to practice: The interprofessional MeMPE Summer University for students of Medicine, Master of Public Health and Epidemiology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Idler, Nadja

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: During the 2015 summer semester of Munich’s Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU medical school, the pilot project “MeMPE Summer University – An Interprofessional Seminar on Prevention and Health Promotion” was implemented as a compulsory elective subject. In 90 teaching units of 45 minutes each, 20 students from the degree programs of Medicine, Master of Public Health and Master of Science Epidemiology (MeMPE completed modules in theoretical introduction, scientific project work as well as practical assignments and conference attendance.Methods: The project was evaluated by students using pre- and post-project questionnaires (26 and 57 items, evaluated on a Five-level Likert scale of 1=“fully agree” to 5=“fully disagree”. The evaluation interviews of the instruction participants were recorded, transcribed and analyzed according to Mayring’s qualitative content analysis.Results: Questionnaire response rate was 100 %. In pre/post comparison, the students reported an improvement in factual knowledge (pre median=3.0; post median=2.0; p<0.0001, in scientific work (pre median=3.0; post median=1.0; p<0.0001 and in interprofessional work (pre median=2.0; post median=1.0; p=0.024. In 18 interviews, the instructors largely expressed their motivation to participate in the project again.Conclusion: The MeMPE Summer University can serve as an example of best practice for interprofessional communication of prevention and health-promotion topics in theory and practice. The evaluation results show that the project enjoyed a high level of acceptance among students and instructors, and that it should be conducted in a revised version again in 2016.

Factors predicting publication of sexual medicine abstracts presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.

Science.gov (United States)

Berookhim, Boback M; Kaya, Yekta; Deveci, Serkan; Nelson, Christian J; Mulhall, John P

2013-10-01

At sexual medicine meetings throughout the world, hundreds of scientific abstracts are presented each year. To our knowledge, no previous studies have looked at the rate of publication of these studies in a peer-reviewed journal. To define the fate of abstracts presented at sexual medicine sessions at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) and to describe the factors predicting ultimate publication in scientific journals. All abstracts presented at the 2006 and 2007 AUA annual meeting were surveyed to find sexual medicine abstracts. Publication status as of October 2009 was assessed using the Medline database. Abstract parameters were recorded including number of authors, country of origin, clinical or basic research, and area of sexual research. Predictors of publication were analyzed using a multivariable model. Publication status of all sexual medicine abstracts presented at the 2006 and 2007 AUA annual meetings. A total of 208 sexual medicine abstracts were presented in 2006 and 2007. Fifty-one percent of these were published by October 2009. On univariate analysis, the predictors of publication in a peer-reviewed journal included the number of authors (r=0.22, Pacademic centers (RR 2.7, CI 1.7-4.3, Pacademic center (OR 5.9, CI 2.8-12.7, Pmedicine abstracts presented at the 2006 and 2007 annual AUA meetings have been published within 2 to 3 years of the date of presentation. Studies originating from academic centers were six times more likely to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. © 2013 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Trends in publications on complementary and alternative medicine in the medical literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Treister-Goltzman, Yulia; Peleg, Roni

2015-06-01

Public interest in and demand for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) services have increased in recent years throughout the Western world. The aim of the study was to assess trends in publications on CAM in the medical literature between 1963 and 2012 and to compare them with overall trends in publications on medical issues. A search of the literature was conducted on CAM and integrative medicine using the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines with key search terms. Articles on CAM began to appear in the medical literature 50 years ago. Over the years there has been an increase in the number of publications. On PubMed the increase was from 15,764 to 144,288 articles from 1963 to 2012. In the decade between 1963 and 1972 publications on CAM comprised 0.81% of all the articles appearing in PubMed. Over the course of the 50 years, the percentage increased more than twofold to 1.92% from 2003 to 2012. On Google Scholar there were 27,170 citations related to CAM between 1963 and 1972. This increased to 2,521,430 between 2003 and 2012. Over the last 50 years there has been an increase in scientific publications on CAM in general, and on specific CAM treatments in particular.

Trends in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Publications Over the Past 16 Years.

Science.gov (United States)

Mimouni, Michael; Cismariu-Potash, Keren; Ratmansky, Motti; Shaklai, Sharon; Amir, Hagay; Mimouni-Bloch, Aviva

2016-06-01

To test the hypothesis that the number of publications in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) has increased over the last 16 years in a linear fashion, and to compare the trends in publication between the pediatric and adult literature. We evaluated all MEDLINE articles from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2013, using Medical Subject Headings categories of rehabilitation. An age filter separated adult and pediatric articles. We divided articles into those with a low level of scientific evidence such as letters and editorials, and those with a high level of evidence such as controlled trials and meta-analyses. We used regression analysis to evaluate the effect of the year of publication on the number of publications of each type. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. Not applicable. MEDLINE reported a total of 98,501 adult publications and 30,895 pediatric publications during the evaluated period. There was a significant linear increase in the total number of publications in adult and pediatric rehabilitation publications with multiplication factors of 3.3 and 2.9, respectively. Importantly, publications with a high level of evidence showed larger multiplication factors compared with those with a low level of evidence (5.5 and 5.1 vs 2.1 and 2.0) for the adult and pediatric literature. The number of publications in the PMR field, especially those with a high level of scientific evidence, has increased linearly over the years, reflecting the rapid evolution of both adult and pediatric PMR. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment of general public perceptions toward traditional medicines used for aphrodisiac purpose in state of Penang, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassali, Mohamed Azmi; Saleem, Fahad; Shafie, Asrul Akmal; Al-Qazaz, Harith Khalid; Farooqui, Maryam; Aljadhey, Hisham; Atif, Muhammad; Masood, Imran

2012-11-01

The study aims to evaluate general public perceptions regarding the use of Traditional and Complementary Medicines (TCM) for aphrodisiac purposes. A questionnaire based, cross-sectional study was undertaken. Respondents were selected in the state of Penang, Malaysia. A total of 392 respondents were included in the study. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Chi Square/Fischer Exact tests were used where appropriate. Out of 392 respondents, 150 (38.26%) reported using specific Traditional medicines for aphrodisiac purposes. Most respondents (46.94%) agreed that aphrodisiac medicines were easily available t. Moreover, 40.31% of the respondents reported that traditional aphrodisiac medicines were cheaper than modern (prescription) medicines. This study highlights limited public knowledge regarding the use of traditional aphrodisiac medicine. Healthcare professionals should be aware of informal TCM usage when prescribing allopathic medicines. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Personalised Medicine and the Economy of Biotechnological Promise.

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Sturdy, Steve

2017-04-01

Rather than seek to distinguish hype from legitimate promise, it may be more helpful to think about personalised medicine as embodying a promissory economy which serves both to mobilize resources for research and - partly at least - to determine the ends to which that research is directed. Personalised medicine is a development of the larger promissory economy of medical biotechnology. As such, it systematically conflates public benefit with the pursuit of commercial and especially pharmaceutical interests. Consequently, research and development in personalised medicine tends to favour the production of expensive new treatments over unprofitable forms of prevention or more effective use of older therapies. A rebalancing of research priorities is needed to favour the pursuit of public benefit, even when it does not deliver private profits. This will in turn require sustained reflection, self-criticism and often self-denial on the part of public research funders and the scientists they support.

The experience of public participation in the prevention of corruption in Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Андрій Володимирович Білецький

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of empirical research experience of public participation in efforts to prevent corruption. The survey was conducted among ordinary citizens and members of the public anti-corruption organizations. It is stated that citizens are willing to passively or indirectly contribute to the preventive activity of other anti-corruption  subjects. At the same time, corruption prevention measures provided for anti-corruption legislation are fully executed by public organizations. Resistance and lack of understanding with the government, distrust of law enforcement officials and the imperfection of the legislation are the obstacles that hinder the public to effectively counter corruption in the state.

[New approaches in neurosurgery and hyperbaric medicine--the importance of preventive and industrial medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Kohshi, K; Munaka, M; Abe, H; Tosaki, T

1999-12-01

Neurosurgical patients have been mainly treated by surgical procedures over the past decades. In addition, hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy in neurosurgery has been used in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular diseases, head trauma, spinal damage, postoperative brain edema and others. However, the main therapeutic methods for neurosurgical diseases have changed dramatically due to developments in radiological techniques, such as radiosurgery and intravascular surgery. With changes in therapeutic methods, HBO therapy may become a very important treatment option for neurosurgical patients. For example, HBO therapy combined with radiotherapy (UOEH regimen) and anticoagulant therapy appear to be very effective in the treatments of malignant brain tumors and ischemic cerebrovascular diseases, respectively. On the other hand, medical examinations under hyper- and hypobaric environments have not yet been fully studied in the central nervous system compared to those in the cardiopulmonary systems. Moreover, the mechanisms of cerebral lesions in decompression sickness and acute mountain sickness remain unclear. Clinical neurologic approaches are very important in these fields. Hence, clinicians and researchers skilled in both neurosurgery and hyperbaric medicine will be required for advanced treatment and preventive and industrial medicine.

Homeopathic medicinal products for preventing and treating acute respiratory tract infections in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawke, Kate; van Driel, Mieke L; Buffington, Benjamin J; McGuire, Treasure M; King, David

2018-04-09

Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are common and may lead to complications. Most children experience between three and six ARTIs each year. Although these infections are self limiting, the symptoms can be distressing. Many treatments are used to control symptoms and shorten the duration of illness. They often have minimal benefit and may lead to adverse effects. Oral homeopathic medicinal products could play a role in the treatment of ARTIs for children if evidence for effectiveness is established. To assess the effectiveness and safety of oral homeopathic medicinal products compared with placebo or conventional therapy to prevent and treat acute respiratory tract infections in children. We searched CENTRAL (2017, Issue 11), which contains the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1946 to 27 November 2017), Embase (2010 to 27 November 2017), CINAHL (1981 to 27 November 2017), AMED (1985 to December 2014), CAMbase (searched 29 March 2018), British Homeopathic Library (searched 26 June 2013 - no longer operating). We also searched the WHO ICTRP and ClinicalTrials.gov trials registers (29 March 2018), checked references, and contacted study authors to identify additional studies. Double-blind, randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or double-blind cluster-RCTs comparing oral homeopathy medicinal products with identical placebo or self selected conventional treatments to prevent or treat ARTIs in children aged 0 to 16 years. We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. We included eight RCTs of 1562 children receiving oral homeopathic medicinal products or a control treatment (placebo or conventional treatment) for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Four treatment studies examined the effect on recovery from URTIs, and four studies investigated the effect on preventing URTIs after one to three months of treatment and followed up for the remainder of the year. Two treatment and two prevention studies

The great opportunity: Evolutionary applications to medicine and public health.

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Nesse, Randolph M; Stearns, Stephen C

2008-02-01

Evolutionary biology is an essential basic science for medicine, but few doctors and medical researchers are familiar with its most relevant principles. Most medical schools have geneticists who understand evolution, but few have even one evolutionary biologist to suggest other possible applications. The canyon between evolutionary biology and medicine is wide. The question is whether they offer each other enough to make bridge building worthwhile. What benefits could be expected if evolution were brought fully to bear on the problems of medicine? How would studying medical problems advance evolutionary research? Do doctors need to learn evolution, or is it valuable mainly for researchers? What practical steps will promote the application of evolutionary biology in the areas of medicine where it offers the most? To address these questions, we review current and potential applications of evolutionary biology to medicine and public health. Some evolutionary technologies, such as population genetics, serial transfer production of live vaccines, and phylogenetic analysis, have been widely applied. Other areas, such as infectious disease and aging research, illustrate the dramatic recent progress made possible by evolutionary insights. In still other areas, such as epidemiology, psychiatry, and understanding the regulation of bodily defenses, applying evolutionary principles remains an open opportunity. In addition to the utility of specific applications, an evolutionary perspective fundamentally challenges the prevalent but fundamentally incorrect metaphor of the body as a machine designed by an engineer. Bodies are vulnerable to disease - and remarkably resilient - precisely because they are not machines built from a plan. They are, instead, bundles of compromises shaped by natural selection in small increments to maximize reproduction, not health. Understanding the body as a product of natural selection, not design, offers new research questions and a framework for

['Judicialization' of public health policy for distribution of medicines].

Science.gov (United States)

Chieffi, Ana Luiza; Barata, Rita Barradas

2009-08-01

The supply of medicines in response to court orders or injunctions has become a common practice in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. This 'judicialization' of the health system clashes with basic principles of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS), such as equal opportunity to access health services. The aim of this paper is to analyze the legal action used to obtain medicines through the São Paulo State Health Department, from two main angles: judicialization of public policies and breach of the equity principle. This is a descriptive study of legal action taken to obtain medicines through the São State Health Department, as listed in the Electronic Court Docket System for the year 2006. Most cases were filed through private attorneys; 47% of the patients had obtained their prescriptions through private care; and 73% of the cases involved patients from the three wealthiest areas in the city of São Paulo. The data demonstrate that such legal action violates key principles of the SUS such as equity, thereby privileging individuals with higher purchasing power and more access to information.

How to anticipate the assessment of the public health benefit of new medicines?

Science.gov (United States)

Massol, Jacques; Puech, Alain; Boissel, Jean-Pierre

2007-01-01

The Public Health Benefit (PHB) of new medicines is a recent and French-specific criterion (October 1999 decree) which is often only partially documented in the transparency files due to a lack of timely information. At the time of the first reimbursement application for a new medicine to the "Transparency Committee", the file is exclusively based on data from randomised clinical trials. These data are generated from a global clinical development plan which was designed a long time before the new medicine's submission for reimbursement. And this plan does not systematically provide the data needed to assess the PHB. Thus, one easily understands the difficulty to anticipate and document this recent French criterion. In France, the PHB is both one of the necessary criteria for the reimbursement submission and an indicator for the national health policy management. Its assessment also helps to identify the needs and objectives of the post-registration studies (nowadays in the scope of responsibilities of the "Drug Economics Committee"). The assessment of the PHB criterion is carried through after the marketing authorization process and is an addition to it. To understand how to anticipate the assessment of the new medicines' PHB, one needs to consider how it differs from the preliminary step of the marketing authorization process. Whereas the evaluation for marketing authorization seeks to determine if the new medicine could be useful in a specific indication, the PHB assessment aims at quantifying the therapeutic benefit in a population, taking into account the reference treatments in this population. A new medicine receives a marketing authorization based on the data of the registration file which provides information on the clinical benefit of the new medicine in the populations of the trials and in the context of the trials. On the other side, the PHB looks at the effects of the new medicine at the scale of the general population, in real practice. The PHB

Characteristic Features and Contributory Factors in Fatal Ciguatera Fish Poisoning--Implications for Prevention and Public Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Thomas Y K

2016-04-01

In this review, the main objective was to describe the characteristic features of fatal ciguatera fish poisoning and identify contributory factors, with a view to promote prevention and public education. Ciguatera-related deaths, although rare, have been reported from the Pacific, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean regions. The clinical features were generally dominated by convulsions and coma, with various focal neurological signs. Several contributory factors could be identified, including consumption of ciguatoxin (CTX)-rich fish parts (viscera and head) in larger amounts, the most ciguatoxic fish species (e.g.,Gymnothorax flavimarginatus) and reef fish collected after storms and individuals' susceptibility. Mass ciguatera fish poisoning with mortalities also occurred when G. flavimarginatus and other ciguatoxic fish species were shared in gatherings and parties. The characteristic features of fatal ciguatera fish poisoning must be recognized early. The public should be repeatedly reminded to avoid eating the most ciguatoxic fish species and the CTX-rich parts of reef fish. To prevent mass poisoning in gatherings and parties, the most ciguatoxic fish species and potentially toxic fish species must be avoided. Particularly after hits by disastrous storms, it is important to monitor the toxicity of reef fish and the incidence rates of ciguatera. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Factors affecting dengue prevention practices: nationwide survey of the Malaysian public.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Ping Wong

Full Text Available Efforts to stamp dengue in many dengue endemic countries has met little success. There is a need to re-examine and understand how the public at large view the dengue prevention efforts. This study aimed to examine the demographic factors, theoretical constructs of the Health Belief Model and knowledge about dengue and how these influence the practice of dengue prevention.A national telephone survey was carried out with 2,512 individuals of the Malaysian public aged 18-60 years.The majority (73% of the Malaysian public had a total dengue prevention score of 51-100 (of a possible score of 1-100. Multivariate analysis suggests significant correlates of higher dengue prevention practices with demographic background, perception of susceptibility to dengue, perceived density of mosquitoes in the neighbourhood and knowledge about dengue. Households of lower income of which the majority (40.7% were from the rural areas, were associated with the highest odds [OR = 1.33; 95%CI = 1.09-1.67; p = 0.004] of dengue prevention. Dengue prevention practices were also less likely to be undertaken in neighbourhoods where the responders perceived there is no and/or low density of mosquitoes. Dengue prevention practices are also less likely to be practiced by skilled workers [OR = 0.78; 95%CI = 0.63-0.95; p = 0.029] compared to those unemployed. Higher perceived susceptibility to dengue was associated with higher dengue prevention practices and participants with higher dengue knowledge were found to have a higher level of involvement in dengue prevention practices.Results from the study suggest that in formulating approaches to contain dengue, strategies should be developed to cultivate dengue prevention practices among urban population and target areas with low density of mosquitoes where public perceived a less likely chance of getting dengue. Dengue prevention campaigns should focus on messages highlighting the risk of contracting dengue and education to increase

Responsibility of sport and exercise medicine in preventing and managing chronic disease: applying our knowledge and skill is overdue.

Science.gov (United States)

Matheson, Gordon O; Klügl, Martin; Dvorak, Jiri; Engebretsen, Lars; Meeuwisse, Willem H; Schwellnus, Martin; Blair, Steven N; van Mechelen, Willem; Derman, Wayne; Börjesson, Mats; Bendiksen, Fredrik; Weiler, Richard

2011-12-01

The rapidly increasing burden of chronic disease is difficult to reconcile with the large, compelling body of literature that demonstrates the substantial preventive and therapeutic benefits of comprehensive lifestyle intervention, including physical activity, smoking cessation and healthy diet. Physical inactivity is now the fourth leading independent risk factor for death caused by non-communicable chronic disease. Although there have been efforts directed towards research, education and legislation, preventive efforts have been meager relative to the magnitude of the problem. The disparity between our scientific knowledge about chronic disease and practical implementation of preventive approaches now is one of the most urgent concerns in healthcare worldwide and threatens the collapse of our health systems unless extraordinary change takes place. The authors believe that there are several key factors contributing to the disparity. Reductionism has become the default approach for healthcare delivery, resulting in fragmentation rather than integration of services. This, in turn, has fostered a disease-based rather than a health-based model of care and has produced medical school curricula that no longer accurately reflect the actual burden of disease. Trying to 'fit' prevention into a disease-based approach has been largely unsuccessful because the fundamental tenets of preventive medicine are diametrically opposed to those of disease-based healthcare. A clinical discipline within medicine is needed to adopt disease prevention as its own reason for existence. Sport and exercise medicine is well positioned to champion the cause of prevention by promoting physical activity. This article puts forward a strong case for the immediate, increased involvement of clinical sport and exercise medicine in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease and offers specific recommendations for how this may begin.

Public Health Models for Preventing Child Maltreatment: Applications From the Field of Injury Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Debbie; Lonne, Bob; Higgins, Daryl

2016-10-01

Contemporary approaches to child protection are dominated by individualized forensically focused interventions that provide limited scope for more holistic preventative responses to children at risk and the provision of support to struggling families and communities. However, in many jurisdictions, it is frequently shown, often through public inquiries and program reviews, that investigatory and removal approaches are failing in critically important ways, particularly regarding reducing the inequities that underpin neglect and abuse. Consequently, there have been increasing calls for a public health model for the protection of children, although there is often a lack of clarity as to what exactly this should entail. Yet, there are opportunities to learn from public health approaches successfully used in the field of injury prevention. Specifically, we advocate for the use of Haddon's Matrix, which provides a detailed theoretical and practical framework for the application of a comprehensive and integrated public health model to guide intervention program design and responses to child protection risk factors. A broad overview of the application of Haddon's Matrix's principles and methods is provided with examples of program and intervention design. It is argued that this framework provides the range of interventions necessary to address the complex social and structural factors contributing to inequity and the maltreatment of children. It also provides the foundation for a holistic and integrated system of prevention and intervention to contribute to system-level change and address child maltreatment. © The Author(s) 2016.

[Patient safety and errors in medicine: development, prevention and analyses of incidents].

Science.gov (United States)

Rall, M; Manser, T; Guggenberger, H; Gaba, D M; Unertl, K

2001-06-01

"Patient safety" and "errors in medicine" are issues gaining more and more prominence in the eyes of the public. According to newer studies, errors in medicine are among the ten major causes of death in association with the whole area of health care. A new era has begun incorporating attention to a "systems" approach to deal with errors and their causes in the health system. In other high-risk domains with a high demand for safety (such as the nuclear power industry and aviation) many strategies to enhance safety have been established. It is time to study these strategies, to adapt them if necessary and apply them to the field of medicine. These strategies include: to teach people how errors evolve in complex working domains and how types of errors are classified; the introduction of critical incident reporting systems that are free of negative consequences for the reporters; the promotion of continuous medical education; and the development of generic problem-solving skills incorporating the extensive use of realistic simulators wherever possible. Interestingly, the field of anesthesiology--within which realistic simulators were developed--is referred to as a model for the new patient safety movement. Despite this proud track record in recent times though, there is still much to be done even in the field of anesthesiology. Overall though, the most important strategy towards a long-term improvement in patient safety will be a change of "culture" throughout the entire health care system. The "culture of blame" focused on individuals should be replaced by a "safety culture", that sees errors and critical incidents as a problem of the whole organization. The acceptance of human fallability and an open-minded non-punitive analysis of errors in the sense of a "preventive and proactive safety culture" should lead to solutions at the systemic level. This change in culture can only be achieved with a strong commitment from the highest levels of an organization. Patient

A public health approach to eating disorders prevention: It’s time for public health professionals to take a seat at the table

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Austin S

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The societal burden of eating disorders is clear, and though there is a compelling need for a public health approach to eating disorders prevention, public health professionals have yet to take up the challenge. Discussion The article lays out an argument for what steps need to be taken to bring a public health approach to eating disorders prevention. First, stock is taken of what the field has achieved so far, using tools from the prevention science literature, and, second, a research plan of action is offered that plays to the unique strengths of public health, drawing on a triggers-to-action framework from public health law. Minimal participation was found from public health professionals in eating disorders prevention research, and the vast majority of prevention research to date was found to be concentrated within the disciplines of psychology and psychiatry. Extreme disciplinary concentration of the research has led to a preponderance of individually targeted prevention strategies with little research focused on environmental targets, particularly at the macro level. New environmental initiatives are now emerging, such as a government-sponsored mass media anti-dieting campaign, and legal bans on extremely thin models in advertising, but for the most part, they have yet to be evaluated. A triggers-to-action framework, which focuses on evidentiary base, practical considerations, and political will, developed in public health law provides a basis for a strategic research plan for a public health approach to eating disorders prevention. Summary There is enormous potential for growth in the scope and diversity of eating disorder prevention research strategies, particularly those targeting the macro environment. A public health approach will require a strategic plan for research that leverages the macro environment for prevention. The full engagement of public health professionals will bring to the field the much broader

Successful private-public funding of paediatric medicines research: lessons from the EU programme to fund research into off-patent medicines.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruggieri, L; Giannuzzi, V; Baiardi, P; Bonifazi, F; Davies, E H; Giaquinto, C; Bonifazi, D; Felisi, M; Chiron, C; Pressler, R; Rabe, H; Whitaker, M J; Neubert, A; Jacqz-Aigrain, E; Eichler, I; Turner, M A; Ceci, A

2015-04-01

The European Paediatric Regulation mandated the European Commission to fund research on off-patent medicines with demonstrated therapeutic interest for children. Responding to this mandate, five FP7 project calls were launched and 20 projects were granted. This paper aims to detail the funded projects and their preliminary results. Publicly available sources have been consulted and a descriptive analysis has been performed. Twenty Research Consortia including 246 partners in 29 European and non-European countries were created (involving 129 universities or public-funded research organisations, 51 private companies with 40 SMEs, 7 patient associations). The funded projects investigate 24 medicines, covering 10 therapeutic areas in all paediatric age groups. In response to the Paediatric Regulation and to apply for a Paediatric Use Marketing Authorisation, 15 Paediatric Investigation Plans have been granted by the EMA-Paediatric Committee, including 71 studies of whom 29 paediatric clinical trials, leading to a total of 7,300 children to be recruited in more than 380 investigational centres. Notwithstanding the EU contribution for each study is lower than similar publicly funded projects, and also considering the complexity of paediatric research, these projects are performing high-quality research and are progressing towards the increase of new paediatric medicines on the market. Private-public partnerships have been effectively implemented, providing a good example for future collaborative actions. Since these projects cover a limited number of off-patent drugs and many unmet therapeutic needs in paediatrics remain, it is crucial foreseeing new similar initiatives in forthcoming European funding programmes.

THE ROLE OF THE PREVENTIVE MEDICINE IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. A STUDY CASE ON THE PRIVATE MEDICINE SECTOR IN ORADEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Unita Lucian

2011-12-01

intercultural preventative medical approaches, and the good governance, policy relevance, and corporate social responsibility, and were analyzed mainly referring to the potential of the Romanian private medicine sector in preventive medicine. The conclusions of the paper reveal the fact that the region of Oradea is much above the average index of Romania when it comes to preventive medicine, but still behind the other EU Member States. So, the background for meeting the precondition for economic growth and sustainable development in Oradea was created, but there are still a lots to be done on short term, even because of the features of this area, which situates it at the top of the cancer diseases registered cases in the country.

Supporting the diffusion of healthy public policy in Canada: the Prevention Policies Directory.

Science.gov (United States)

Politis, Christopher E; Halligan, Michelle H; Keen, Deb; Kerner, Jon F

2014-01-01

Healthy public policy plays an essential role in a comprehensive public health approach to preventing cancer and chronic disease. Public policies spread through the 'policy diffusion' process, enabling governments to learn from another's enacted policy solutions. The Prevention Policies Directory (the Directory), an online database of municipal, provincial/territorial, and federal cancer and chronic disease prevention policies from across Canada, was developed to facilitate the diffusion of healthy public policies and support the work of prevention researchers, practitioners, and policy specialists. This information technology solution was implemented, through a participatory engagement approach, as a communication channel or policy knowledge transfer tool. It also addressed the intrinsic shortcomings of environmental scanning for policy surveillance and monitoring. A combination of quantitative web metrics and qualitative anecdotal evidence have illustrated that the Directory is becoming an important tool for healthy public policy surveillance and policy diffusion in Canada.

Navigating the evidentiary turn in public health: Sensemaking strategies to integrate genomics into state-level chronic disease prevention programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Senier, Laura; Smollin, Leandra; Lee, Rachael; Nicoll, Lauren; Shields, Michael; Tan, Catherine

2018-06-23

In the past decade, healthcare delivery has faced two major disruptions: the mapping of the human genome and the rise of evidence-based practice. Sociologists have documented the paradigmatic shift towards evidence-based practice in medicine, but have yet to examine its effect on other health professions or the broader healthcare arena. This article shows how evidence-based practice is transforming public health in the United States. We present an in-depth qualitative analysis of interview, ethnographic, and archival data to show how Michigan's state public health agency has navigated the turn to evidence-based practice, as they have integrated scientific advances in genomics into their chronic disease prevention programming. Drawing on organizational theory, we demonstrate how they managed ambiguity through a combination of sensegiving and sensemaking activities. Specifically, they linked novel developments in genomics to a long-accepted public health planning model, the Core Public Health Functions. This made cutting edge advances in genomics more familiar to their peers in the state health agency. They also marshaled state-specific surveillance data to illustrate the public health burden of hereditary cancers in Michigan, and to make expert panel recommendations for genetic screening more locally relevant. Finally, they mobilized expertise to help their internal colleagues and external partners modernize conventional public health activities in chronic disease prevention. Our findings show that tools and concepts from organizational sociology can help medical sociologists understand how evidence-based practice is shaping institutions and interprofessional relations in the healthcare arena. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Employment opportunities and job satisfaction in the field of Public Health: a survey among recent graduates of the Hygiene and Preventive Medicine residency in Italy].

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Soncini, Francesco; Odone, Anna; Lalic, Tijana; Miduri, Alessia; Paroni, Samuel; Vezzosi, Luigi; Privitera, Gaetano; Signorelli, Carlo

2017-01-01

We conducted an on-line survey among 255 specialists in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine in Italy who completed their training between October 2014 and July 2016, to assess their training experience, employment opportunities and current job satisfaction. Response rate was 49%. Mean age was 35 years. A high employment rate within two years from obtaining specialist qualification was reported by the 125 specialists who completed the questionnaire (76% are currently employed). The three main work settings of the participating specialists are hospital health directions (37%), universities (19%) and local Prevention Departments (16%). Two thirds (66%) have temporary positions and only 6% permanent positions. Job, pay, and training satisfaction are often below expectations with geographical differences that would need to be further investigated.

From “One Health” to “One Communication”: The Contribution of Communication in Veterinary Medicine to Public Health

OpenAIRE

Cipolla, Micaela; Bonizzi, Luigi; Zecconi, Alfonso

2015-01-01

Despite the fact that health communication is a discipline developed only recently, its importance in human medicine is well recognized. However, it is less considered in veterinary medicine, even if it has the potential to improve public health because of the role of veterinary medicine in public health. For this reason, an One Health approach is useful for communication as well. This approach leads to a “One Communication” concept, which is the result of the synergy in communicative efforts...

PRECISION MEDICINE - The Golden Gate for Detection, Treatment and Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Hampel, H; O'Bryant, S E; Castrillo, J I; Ritchie, C; Rojkova, K; Broich, K; Benda, N; Nisticò, R; Frank, R A; Dubois, B; Escott-Price, V; Lista, S

2016-12-01

During this decade, breakthrough conceptual shifts have commenced to emerge in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD) recognizing risk factors and the non-linear dynamic continuum of complex pathophysiologies amongst a wide dimensional spectrum of multi-factorial brain proteinopathies/neurodegenerative diseases. As is the case in most fields of medicine, substantial advancements in detecting, treating and preventing AD will likely evolve from the generation and implementation of a systematic precision medicine strategy. This approach will likely be based on the success found from more advanced research fields, such as oncology. Precision medicine will require integration and transfertilization across fragmented specialities of medicine and direct reintegration of Neuroscience, Neurology and Psychiatry into a continuum of medical sciences away from the silo approach. Precision medicine is biomarker-guided medicine on systems-levels that takes into account methodological advancements and discoveries of the comprehensive pathophysiological profiles of complex multi-factorial neurodegenerative diseases, such as late-onset sporadic AD. This will allow identifying and characterizing the disease processes at the asymptomatic preclinical stage, where pathophysiological and topographical abnormalities precede overt clinical symptoms by many years to decades. In this respect, the uncharted territory of the AD preclinical stage has become a major research challenge as the field postulates that early biomarker guided customized interventions may offer the best chance of therapeutic success. Clarification and practical operationalization is needed for comprehensive dissection and classification of interacting and converging disease mechanisms, description of genomic and epigenetic drivers, natural history trajectories through space and time, surrogate biomarkers and indicators of risk and progression, as well as considerations about the regulatory, ethical, political and

Life sciences: Nuclear medicine, radiation biology, medical physics, 1980-1994. International Atomic Energy Agency Publications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-11-01

The catalogue lists all sales publications of the IAEA dealing with Life Sciences issued during the period 1980-1994. The publications are grouped in the following chapters: Nuclear Medicine (including Radiopharmaceuticals), Radiation Biology and Medical Physics (including Dosimetry)

[Are there counterfeit medicines in Croatia?].

Science.gov (United States)

Tomić, Sinisa; Milcić, Neven; Sokolić, Milenko; Sucić, Anita Filipović; Martinac, Adrijana Ilić

2010-01-01

Counterfeit medicines are a growing problem in the world, for their use may endanger patient's health and therefore they pose an enormous public health risk. The manufacture of counterfeit medicines usually involves organised crime groups which place the counterfeit medicines on the market for reasons of profit. Detection and prevention of trade in counterfeit medicines requires close cooperation between medicine regulatory authorities, police, customs, judiciary and pharmaceutical industry. To this day, there have been no recorded cases of counterfeit medicines in the legal supply chain in Croatia. However, medicines without marketing authorisation in Croatia, originating from different countries, could be found on the illegal market. Most frequently, this includes medicines for the treatment of erectile dysfunction such as: sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil. In this study, 26 medicines for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, seized in illegal supply chain, were tested. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for identification and quantification of active substances in the tested samples. It was determined that 13 out of 26 samples did not comply with declared composition of medicine and quality specification. Furthermore, two samples did not contain declared active substance vardenafil and that may indicate that these medicines are counterfeit.

Overdependence on For-Profit Pharmacies: A Descriptive Survey of User Evaluation of Medicines Availability in Public Hospitals in Selected Nigerian States.

Science.gov (United States)

Ushie, Boniface Ayanbekongshie; Ugal, David Betelwhobel; Ingwu, Justin Agorye

2016-01-01

Lower availability of medicines in Nigerian public health facilities-the most affordable option for the masses-undermines global health reforms to improve access to health for all, especially the chronically ill and poor. Thus, a sizeable proportion of healthcare users, irrespective of purchasing power, buy medicines at higher costs from for-profit pharmacies. We examined user evaluation of medicine availability in public facilities and how this influences their choice of where to buy medicines in selected states-Cross River, Enugu and Oyo-in Nigeria. We approached and interviewed 1711 healthcare users using a semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire as they exited for-profit pharmacies after purchasing medicines. This ensured that both clients who had presented at health facilities (private/public) and those who did not were included. Information was collected on why respondents could not buy medicines at the hospitals they attended, their views of medicine availability and whether their choice of where to buy medicines is influenced by non-availability. Respondents' mean age was 37.7±14.4 years; 52% were males, 59% were married, 82% earned ≥NGN18, 000 (US$57.19) per month, and 72% were not insured. Majority (66%) had prescriptions; of this, 70% were from public facilities. Eighteen percent of all respondents indicated that all their medicines were usually available at the public facilities, most (29%), some (44%) and not always available (10%). Reasons for using for-profit pharmacies included: health workers attitudes (43%), referral by providers (43%); inadequate money to purchase all prescribed drugs (42%) and cumbersome processes for obtaining medicines. Lower availability of medicines has serious implications for healthcare behavior, especially because of poverty. It is crucial for government to fulfill its mandate of equitable access to care for all by making medicines available and cheap through reviving and sustaining the drug revolving

Differences in the availability of medicines for chronic and acute conditions in the public and private sectors of developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, Alexandra; Roubos, Ilse; Ewen, Margaret; Mantel-Teeuwisse, Aukje K; Leufkens, Hubertus G M; Laing, Richard O

2011-06-01

To investigate potential differences in the availability of medicines for chronic and acute conditions in low- and middle-income countries. Data on the availability of 30 commonly-surveyed medicines - 15 for acute and 15 for chronic conditions - were obtained from facility-based surveys conducted in 40 developing countries. Results were aggregated by World Bank country income group and World Health Organization region. The availability of medicines for both acute and chronic conditions was suboptimal across countries, particularly in the public sector. Generic medicines for chronic conditions were significantly less available than generic medicines for acute conditions in both the public sector (36.0% availability versus 53.5%; P = 0.001) and the private sector (54.7% versus 66.2%; P = 0.007). Antiasthmatics, antiepileptics and antidepressants, followed by antihypertensives, were the drivers of the observed differences. An inverse association was found between country income level and the availability gap between groups of medicines, particularly in the public sector. In low- and lower-middle income countries, drugs for acute conditions were 33.9% and 12.9% more available, respectively, in the public sector than medicines for chronic conditions. Differences in availability were smaller in the private sector than in the public sector in all country income groups. Current disease patterns do not explain the significant gaps observed in the availability of medicines for chronic and acute conditions. Measures are needed to better respond to the epidemiological transition towards chronic conditions in developing countries alongside current efforts to scale up treatment for communicable diseases.

Publication rate of abstracts presented at the emergency medicine congresses held by the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM) in 2011 and 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalkan, Asim; Kose, Ozkan; Bilir, Ozlem; Ersunan, Gokhan; Ozel, Deniz; Guler, Ferhat

2015-09-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the publication rate of the abstracts presented at the 6th Mediterranean Emergency Medicine Congress, 2011 and the 7th European Congress on Emergency Medicine, 2012. All abstracts, both posters and oral presentations, from the international emergency medicine congresses held by the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM) in 2011 and 2012 were identified. To establish whether these abstracts were subsequently published in peer-reviewed medical journals, the names of all the authors and the title of the abstracts were searched for in the databases of Clinical Key/Elsevier, EBSCO Discovery Service, MD Consult, Science Direct, Scopus, EMBASE, Medscape, Google Scholar and local ULAKBIM. The year of publication, consistency of author names and titles, the type of study, the journals in which papers were published and countries from which reports were submitted were all recorded. A total of 1721 abstracts were examined; 626 from 2011 (307 oral presentations and 319 posters) and 1095 from 2012 (154 oral presentations and 941 posters). Of all abstracts in 2011, 172 (27.5%) and of all abstracts in 2012, 265 (24.2%) were subsequently published as full-text reports in peer-reviewed journals. Of the 172 papers published in 2011, 152 (88.4%) were accepted by Science Citation Index (SCI) and/or SCI Expanded (SCI-E) journals and 155 (58.5%) of 265 papers were accepted by SCI and/or SCI-E journals in 2012 (p=0.0001). The publication rate of abstracts submitted to international emergency medicine congresses held by EUSEM over those 2 years was low compared with that of abstracts presented in other emergency medicine congresses. Presenters should be encouraged to send their studies to peer-reviewed journals. During the selection process by the scientific panel, constructive critics should be notified to the presenters instead of simply accepting or rejecting the studies that submitted to the congress, which may increase the

The role of community, state, territorial, and tribal public health in obesity prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Sommers, Janice K; Heiser, Claire

2013-01-01

This article explores how governmental public health authorities can contribute to public health efforts to address obesity by monitoring the prevalence of obesity and associated risk factors, investigating the contributing factors, informing the public, and working with the citizens in their jurisdiction to develop solutions that fit the needs and sensibilities of the people. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

First Consensus on Primary Prevention and Early Intervention in Aesthetic Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Landau, Marina; Anand, Chytra V; Besins, Thierry; Chao, Yates Yen Yu; Fabi, Sabrina Guillen; Gout, Uliana; Kerscher, Martina; Pavicic, Tatjana; Peng, Peter Hsien Li; Rzany, Berthold; Sattler, Gerhard; Tiryaki, Tunk; Waldorf, Heidi A; Braz, Andre

2017-09-01

Facial aging is a complex interplay of extrinsic and intrinsic factors leading to progressive changes in the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and bone. Clinical experience suggests that early aesthetic intervention may slow the signs of aging, but treatment in the absence of symptoms or with minimal signs of aging has not yet been properly addressed. To provide treatment recommendations for primary prevention and early intervention in individuals with no or minimal signs of aging. Fourteen specialists in aesthetic medicine convened over a full-day meeting under the guidance of a certified moderator. Tailored treatment recommendations have been provided for prevention and early intervention of fine wrinkles, static lines and folds, irregular pigmentation, laxity, and subcutaneous volume loss by protecting the epidermis, stimulating neocollagenesis, reducing hyperkinetic musculature, and reinforcing supporting structures. Preventive measures and early therapeutic interventions that may alter the course of facial aging were defined. Further studies are needed to support these recommendations with the best possible evidence. J Drugs Dermatol. 2017;16(9):846-854..

Breaking Boundaries: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Provider Framing of Preventive Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Vinita

2017-11-01

This textual examination extends understandings of how complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers constitute preventive care in their discourse by identifying the frame of breaking boundaries referencing relational, structural, and philosophical orientations in their practice with their clients. Analysis of semistructured, in-depth interviews with CAM providers ( n = 17) reveals that the frame of breaking boundaries was comprised of three themes: finding one's own strength; I don't prescribe, so I'm exploring; and ground yourself, and have an escape route. The themes describe preventive care by identifying how CAM providers negotiate their relational positionality in connecting with clients, structural positionality within the field of health care, and philosophical positionality within the ontological understandings that guide how health is defined and conceptualized. The study contributes toward enhancing diverse understandings of constituting preventive care in practice and suggests pragmatic implications for addressing biomedical provider communication with their patients seeking CAM care alongside conventional treatments.

The Paradigms of Public Health Practice: Lessons for Disciplinary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

UNIBEN

of public health exist – the government (public) health services on the one hand and the other ... misunderstanding of the entire meaning, practices, relations and efficient running of these ... science and act of preventing disease, ... of physical, mental and social well-being and ..... medicine at the Cambridge Medical School.

Relationship among Translational Medicine, Evidence-Based Medicine and Precision Medicine

OpenAIRE

Xin-en HUANG

2016-01-01

Translational medicine is a new concept in international medical field. It integrates experimental research results and clinical guidance into the optimal implementation criteria for promoting the prediction, prevention and treatment of diseases. Based on people’s higher demand for medicine and health, appearance of translational medicine changes the mode of medical research.Evidence-based medicine (EBM) refers to cautious and accurate application of the current best research evidence and com...

Causes of conflict and their potential prevention in a rehabilitation hospital

OpenAIRE

Darbutienė, Rita

2010-01-01

Management of public health CAUSES OF CONFLICT AND THEIR POTENTIAL PREVENTION IN A REHABILITATION HOSPITAL Rita Darbutiene Supervisor – doc. dr. Junona Almonaitene Kaunas University of Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Department of Health Management. Kaunas 2010. 79 p. Aim of study: to determine the attidute of the staff to conflicts occurring in the hospital, to work out a conflict prevention scheme. Goals of study: 1. To establish the most common causes of conflict ...

The healing properties of medicinal plants used in the Brazilian public health system: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Marmitt, Diorge Jônatas; Bitencourt, Shanna; Silva, Amanda do Couto E; Rempel, Claudete; Goettert, Márcia Inês

2018-06-01

The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the healing potential of medicinal plants belonging to the Brazilian National List of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the Unified Health System (RENISUS). PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were searched for relevant articles, regardless of the language, from 2010 to June 2016. Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility. Articles were included if they presented evidence of healing potential of medicinal plants. Only those available as full and open access texts were considered. A total of 1381 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 156 studies were considered eligible and were reviewed as full text. Following full analysis, 64 studies were included in this review. The studies covered 27 of the 71 plants belonging to RENISUS, nine of which are native to Brazil. In addition, two species are currently available in the Brazilian public health system as herbal medicine. This review may encourage and contribute to the appropriate use of medicinal plants in the public health system in Brazil.

Medicinal claims

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meulen, van der Bernd

2017-01-01

Under EU medicinal law, substances presented as having properties for treating or preventing disease are medicinal products by virtue of their presentation. EU food law prohibits attributing to any food the property of preventing, treating or curing a disease. However, if certain conditions are

Comparing Dental and Pharmacy Students’ Perceptions on Public Health and Preventive Health Care Course

Science.gov (United States)

Mandiracioglu, Aliye; Dogan, Fethi

2012-01-01

Objectives: A Public health course has an important role in the undergraduate education of pharmacy and dentistry in terms of emphasizing preventive care. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the views of pharmacy and dentistry students on a public health course and preventive health care. Methods: 173 students enrolled at Ege University, Faculties of Pharmacy and Dentistry completed a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis and replied to 18 Likert type question to determine their perceptions on a public health course and preventive health care. The comments of the students were reviewed and categorized into key themes. Results: SWOT analysis and the results of quantitative Likert type questions supported each other. According to the quantitative results, there was no significant difference between the scores of students from both schools in terms of their statements about the public health course and preventive care. Both groups of students mentioned the contribution of the public health course to their professions in the future. They also appreciated the importance of preventive care in the health services. PMID:22347604

In memoriam: Adriano Mantovani, DVM, 1926-2012, One of the world’s most prominent contributors to veterinary public health and a committed advocate of the importance of One Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anon.

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Adriano Mantovani was born in 1926 in Altedo, Malalbergo (Bologna. After graduating in veterinary medicine from Bologna University in 1948, he gained his Masters in public health from the University of Minnesota in 1952 and qualified to lecture in microbiology and immunology in 1957 and in parasitology in 1963.He held numerous positions over the years: Assistant, Aide and Vice‐Director of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Teramo(1949‐1962, Researcher at the Faculty of Medicine in Rome (1962-1965, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Prophylaxis and Veterinary Police Work at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Bologna, Director of the Institute of the same name (1965-1982 and Research Manager and Director of the Parasitology Laboratory at the Italian National Institute of Health and the WHO/FAO Collaboration Centre for Veterinary Public Health in Rome (1983-1991.He was active in numerous national and international organisations, including as a member of the National Health Council (1974-1982, Secretary of the World Federation of Parasitologists (1971-1987 and from 1972 President, Vice President or presenter in various WHO, FAO and OIE working groups. He worked in numerous countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America as an expert, presenter and lecturer. From 1978, the year in which the Mediterranean Zoonoses Control Plan was established, he was one of the major collaborators of the WHO Mediterranean Zoonoses Control Centre in Athens (MZCC. In 1989, he was the first Italian to be awarded the OIE’s international award for contributions to veterinary public health and in 2001 was publicly recognised by the MZCC for his many years of activities carried out to support the zoonoses control plan and promote well-being in the Mediterranean. He had been a member of the Italian National Guard’s Commission for Predicting and Preventing Great Risks since 1994. In 2002, he was presented with the Italian Parasitology

Evolutionary medicine--the quest for a better understanding of health, disease and prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Brüne, Martin; Hochberg, Ze'ev

2013-04-29

Clinical medicine has neglected the fact that the make-up of organs and body functions, as well as the human-specific repertoire of behaviors and defenses against pathogens or other potential dangers are the product of adaptation by natural and sexual selection. Even more, for many clinicians it does not seem straightforward to accept a role of evolution in the understanding of disease, let alone, treatment and prevention.Accordingly, this Editorial seeks to set the stage for an article collection that aims at dealing precisely with the question of why evolutionary aspects of health and disease are not only interesting, but necessary to improve clinical medicine.

Creating a pro-active health care system to combat chronic diseases in Sri Lanka: the central role of preventive medicine and healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagner, Michael; Arena, Ross; McNeil, Amy; Brahmam, Ginnela N V; Hills, Andrew P; De Silva, H Janaka; Karunapema, R P Palitha; Wijeyaratne, Chandrika N; Arambepola, Carukshi; Puska, Pekka

2016-10-01

The current burden and future escalating threat of chronic diseases, constitutes the major global public health challenge. In Sri Lanka, cardiovascular diseases account for the majority of annual deaths. Data from Sri Lanka also indicate a high incidence and prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes; 1 in 5 adults have elevated blood sugar in Sri Lanka. It is well established that chronic diseases share four primary behavioral risk factors: 1) tobacco use; 2) unhealthy diet; 3) physical inactivity; and 4) harmful use of alcohol. Evidence has convincingly shown that replacing these behavioral risk factors with the converse, healthy lifestyle characteristics, decrease the risk of poor outcomes associated with chronic disease by 60 to 80%. In essence, prevention or reversal of these behavioral risk factors with effective healthy lifestyle programing and interventions is the solution to the current chronic disease crisis. Expert commentary: Healthy lifestyle is medicine with global applicability, including Sri Lanka and the rest of the South Asia region. This policy statement will discuss the chronic disease crisis in Sri Lanka, its current policies and action implemented to promote healthy lifestyles, and further recommendations on preventive medicine and healthy lifestyle initiatives that are needed to move forward.

Measuring Value in Internal Medicine Residency Training Hospitals Using Publicly Reported Measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Schickedanz, Adam; Gupta, Reshma; Arora, Vineet M; Braddock, Clarence H

2018-03-01

Graduate medical education (GME) lacks measures of resident preparation for high-quality, cost-conscious practice. The authors used publicly reported teaching hospital value measures to compare internal medicine residency programs on high-value care training and to validate these measures against program director perceptions of value. Program-level value training scores were constructed using Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program hospital quality and cost-efficiency data. Correlations with Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine Annual Survey high-value care training measures were examined using logistic regression. For every point increase in program-level VBP score, residency directors were more likely to agree that GME programs have a responsibility to contain health care costs (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.18, P = .04), their faculty model high-value care (aOR 1.07, P = .03), and residents are prepared to make high-value medical decisions (aOR 1.07, P = .09). Publicly reported clinical data offer valid measures of GME value training.

Impact of Social Media on Prevention of Arterial Hypertension

OpenAIRE

Pushina, O.S.

2016-01-01

The results of the analysis of the impact of social media on the prevention of arterial hypertension are given. The current situation and the possibility of usage of social media for awareness, prevention and monitoring of public knowledge about arterial hypertension risk factors and healthy lifestyle, as well as the risks of penetration of social media in medicine is analyzed.

[Study on incompatibility of traditional Chinese medicines].

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Xin-sheng; Duan, Jin-ao; Hua, Hao-ming; Qian, Da-wei; Shang, Er-xin; Guo, Jian-ming

2015-04-01

The incompatibility of traditional Chinese medicines is related to the clinical medication safety, so has attracted wide attentions from the public. With the deepening of studies on the incompatibility of traditional Chinese medicines represented by 18 incompatible herbs, the incompatibility of theory traditional Chinese medicines has raised to new heights. From the origin of incompatibility theory of traditional Chinese medicines, relationship of herbs, harms of incompatible herbs and principle of prevention to toxic effects of specific incompatible medicines, the innovation and development of the traditional Chinese medicine incompatibility theory was explored. Structurally, the incompatibility of traditional Chinese medicines refers to the opposition of two herbs based on seven emotions and clinical experience. The combination of incompatible herbs may lead to human harms, especially latent harm and inefficacy of intervention medicines. The avoidance of the combination of incompatible herbs and the consideration of both symptoms and drug efficacy are the basic method to prevent adverse reactions. The recent studies have revealed five characteristics of incompatible herbs. Toxicity potentiation, toxication, efficacy reduction and inefficacy are the four manifestations of the incompatible relations. The material changes can reflect the effects of toxicity potentiation and toxication of opposite herbs. The accumulation of toxicity and metabolic changes are the basis for latent harms. The antagonistic effect of main efficacies and the coexistence of positive and negative effects are the distinctive part of the incompatibility. The connotation of incompatible herbs plays an important role in the innovation of the traditional Chinese medicine incompatibility theory.

From “One Health” to “One Communication”: The Contribution of Communication in Veterinary Medicine to Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Micaela Cipolla

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Despite the fact that health communication is a discipline developed only recently, its importance in human medicine is well recognized. However, it is less considered in veterinary medicine, even if it has the potential to improve public health because of the role of veterinary medicine in public health. For this reason, an One Health approach is useful for communication as well. This approach leads to a “One Communication” concept, which is the result of the synergy in communicative efforts both in human and in veterinary medicine. Our analysis explores the potential of communication in several veterinary fields: institutions, food safety, companion animal and food-producing animal practice, pharmacology and drugs, wildlife fauna and environment. In almost all the areas of veterinary activity communication can contribute to human health. It takes many forms and use several channels, and this variety of communicative opportunities represent a challenge for veterinarians. For this reason, the communication course should be included in the curricula of Veterinary Medicine Schools. As One Health, One Communication is a strategy for expanding collaborations in health communication and it will enhance public health.

A public health approach to eating disorders prevention: It’s time for public health professionals to take a seat at the table

OpenAIRE

Austin, S Bryn

2012-01-01

Abstract Background The societal burden of eating disorders is clear, and though there is a compelling need for a public health approach to eating disorders prevention, public health professionals have yet to take up the challenge. Discussion The article lays out an argument for what steps need to be taken to bring a public health approach to eating disorders prevention. First, stock is taken of what the field has achieved so far, using tools from the prevention science literature, and, secon...

A comprehensive fracture prevention strategy in older adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blain, H.; Masud, T.; Dargent-Molina, P.

2016-01-01

Prevention of fragility fractures in older people has become a public health priority, although the most appropriate and cost-effective strategy remains unclear. In the present statement, the Interest group on falls and fracture prevention of the European union geriatric medicine society (EUGMS...... of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis (ECCEO), outlines its views on the main points in the current debate in relation to the primary and secondary prevention of falls, the diagnosis and treatment of bone fragility, and the place of combined falls and fracture liaison services for fracture prevention in older people....

Balancing personalized medicine and personalized care.

Science.gov (United States)

Cornetta, Kenneth; Brown, Candy Gunther

2013-03-01

The current description of personalized medicine by the National Institutes of Health is "the science of individualized prevention and therapy." Although physicians are beginning to see the promise of genetic medicine coming to fruition, the rapid pace of sequencing technology, informatics, and computer science predict a revolution in the ability to care for patients in the near future. The enthusiasm expressed by researchers is well founded, but the expectations voiced by the public do not center on advancing technology. Rather, patients are asking for personalized care: a holistic approach that considers physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. This perspective considers psychological, religious, and ethical challenges that may arise as the precision of preventive medicine improves. Psychological studies already highlight the barriers to single gene testing and suggest significant barriers to the predictive testing envisioned by personalized medicine. Certain religious groups will likely mount opposition if they believe personalized medicine encourages embryo selection. If the technology prompts cost-containment discussions, those concerned about the sanctity of life may raise ethical objections. Consequently, the availability of new scientific developments does not guarantee advances in treatment because patients may prove unwilling to receive and act on personalized genetic information. This perspective highlights current efforts to incorporate personalized medicine and personalized care into the medical curriculum, genetic counseling, and other aspects of clinical practice. Because these efforts are generally independent, the authors offer recommendations for physicians and educators so that personalized medicine can be implemented in a manner that meets patient expectations for personalized care.

Assessment of the management factors that influence the development of preventive care in the New South Wales public dental service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masoe AV

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Angela V Masoe,1 Anthony S Blinkhorn,2 Jane Taylor,1 Fiona A Blinkhorn1 1Faculty of Health and Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Oral Health, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, 2Department of Population Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia Background: Oral diseases, particularly dental caries, remain one of the most common chronic health problems for adolescents, and are a major public health concern. Public dental services in New South Wales, Australia offer free clinical care and preventive advice to all adolescents under 18 years of age, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This care is provided by dental therapists and oral health therapists (therapists. It is incumbent upon clinical directors (CDs and health service managers (HSMs to ensure that the appropriate clinical preventive care is offered by clinicians to all their patients. The aims of this study were to 1 explore CDs’ and HSMs’ perceptions of the factors that could support the delivery of preventive care to adolescents, and to 2 record the strategies they have utilized to help therapists provide preventive care to adolescents. Subjects and methods: In-depth, semistructured interviews were undertaken with 19 CDs and HSMs from across NSW local health districts. A framework matrix was used to systematically code data and enable key themes to be identified for analysis. Results: The 19 CDs and HSMs reported that fiscal accountability and meeting performance targets impacted on the levels and types of preventive care provided by therapists. Participants suggested that professional clinical structures for continuous quality improvement should be implemented and monitored, and that an adequate workforce mix and more resources for preventive dental care activities would enhance therapists’ ability to provide appropriate levels of preventive care. CDs and HSMs stated that capitalizing on the strengths of visiting pediatric

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 3

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-04-06

This podcast is the third of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and University of North Carolina's Gene Matthews talk about how building credibility on preparedness issues can help develop support for initiatives around chronic disease prevention.  Created: 4/6/2009 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 4/6/2009.

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 5

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-04-06

This podcast is the fifth of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and University of North Carolina's Gene Matthews talk about how the economic downturn will increase the demands on public heath.  Created: 4/6/2009 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 4/6/2009.

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 6

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-04-06

This podcast is the sixth of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and Georgia State University's Michael Eriksen discuss whether the tobacco industry has forfeited its opportunity to participate in traditional public-private partnerships.  Created: 4/6/2009 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 4/6/2009.

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 1

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-04-06

This podcast is the first of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and University of North Carolina's Gene Matthews talk about the history of public health partnerships with the for profit sector.  Created: 4/6/2009 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 4/6/2009.

PRECISION MEDICINE - The Golden Gate for Detection, Treatment and Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Hampel, H.; O’Bryant, S.E.; Castrillo, J.I.; Ritchie, C.; Rojkova, K.; Broich, K.; Benda, N.; Nisticò, R.; Frank, R.A.; Dubois, B.; Escott-Price, V.; Lista, S.

2016-01-01

During this decade, breakthrough conceptual shifts have commenced to emerge in the field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) recognizing risk factors and the non-linear dynamic continuum of complex pathophysiologies amongst a wide dimensional spectrum of multi-factorial brain proteinopathies/neurodegenerative diseases. As is the case in most fields of medicine, substantial advancements in detecting, treating and preventing AD will likely evolve from the generation and implementation of a systematic precision medicine strategy. This approach will likely be based on the success found from more advanced research fields, such as oncology. Precision medicine will require integration and transfertilization across fragmented specialities of medicine and direct reintegration of Neuroscience, Neurology and Psychiatry into a continuum of medical sciences away from the silo approach. Precision medicine is biomarker-guided medicine on systems-levels that takes into account methodological advancements and discoveries of the comprehensive pathophysiological profiles of complex multi-factorial neurodegenerative diseases, such as late-onset sporadic AD. This will allow identifying and characterizing the disease processes at the asymptomatic preclinical stage, where pathophysiological and topographical abnormalities precede overt clinical symptoms by many years to decades. In this respect, the uncharted territory of the AD preclinical stage has become a major research challenge as the field postulates that early biomarker guided customized interventions may offer the best chance of therapeutic success. Clarification and practical operationalization is needed for comprehensive dissection and classification of interacting and converging disease mechanisms, description of genomic and epigenetic drivers, natural history trajectories through space and time, surrogate biomarkers and indicators of risk and progression, as well as considerations about the regulatory, ethical, political and

Selection of medicines in Chilean public hospitals: an exploratory study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Collao Juan F

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a growing interest in high income countries to control expenditure on medicines by improving the rationale for their selection. However, in middle income countries with differing priorities and needs, little attention has been paid to this issue. In this paper we explore the policies and processes for the selection and use of medicines in a group of hospitals in Chile, a middle income country which has recently joined the OECD. Methods A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. A national survey questionnaire was distributed to investigate the role and operation of PTCs (Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees. Interviews were conducted with key actors in the selection of medicines in large urban public hospitals. Results The national survey had an overall response rate of 42% (83 out of 196, whilst 7 out of 14 hospitals participated in the qualitative study. High complexity hospitals are large urban hospitals; all of which claim to have a working PTC. The pharmacy offices are mainly involved in dispensing medicines with little involvement in clinical duties. The interviews conducted suggest that the formulary of all the hospitals visited is no more than a stock list. PTCs are unable to influence the prescribing practices of doctors. Members do not feel prepared to challenge the opinions of specialists requesting a certain drug, and decisions are based primarily on costs. The inclusion of medicines in the clinical practice of hospitals is as a result of doctors bypassing the PTC and requesting the purchase of exceptional items, some of which are included in the formulary if they are widely used. Conclusions There is an urgent need to develop medicine policies in hospitals in Chile. The procedures used to purchase medicines need to be revised. Central guidance for PTCs could help ensure a more rational use of medicines. PTCs need to be empowered to design formularies which cover all the clinical

Selection of medicines in Chilean public hospitals: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Collao, Juan F; Smith, Felicity; Barber, Nick

2013-01-07

There is a growing interest in high income countries to control expenditure on medicines by improving the rationale for their selection. However, in middle income countries with differing priorities and needs, little attention has been paid to this issue. In this paper we explore the policies and processes for the selection and use of medicines in a group of hospitals in Chile, a middle income country which has recently joined the OECD. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. A national survey questionnaire was distributed to investigate the role and operation of PTCs (Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees). Interviews were conducted with key actors in the selection of medicines in large urban public hospitals. The national survey had an overall response rate of 42% (83 out of 196), whilst 7 out of 14 hospitals participated in the qualitative study. High complexity hospitals are large urban hospitals; all of which claim to have a working PTC. The pharmacy offices are mainly involved in dispensing medicines with little involvement in clinical duties.The interviews conducted suggest that the formulary of all the hospitals visited is no more than a stock list. PTCs are unable to influence the prescribing practices of doctors. Members do not feel prepared to challenge the opinions of specialists requesting a certain drug, and decisions are based primarily on costs. The inclusion of medicines in the clinical practice of hospitals is as a result of doctors bypassing the PTC and requesting the purchase of exceptional items, some of which are included in the formulary if they are widely used. There is an urgent need to develop medicine policies in hospitals in Chile. The procedures used to purchase medicines need to be revised. Central guidance for PTCs could help ensure a more rational use of medicines. PTCs need to be empowered to design formularies which cover all the clinical needs of doctors, training members in the analysis of scientific

[Institutional changes for the future of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine in Italy].

Science.gov (United States)

Faggioli, Antonio

2011-01-01

Following a brief overview of the initiatives undertaken since 2005 by the Italian Society of Hygiene (SitI) regarding he future of Hygiene and Public Health in Italy, the authors examine the latest proposals for renewing the organizational structure of the departments of Prevention, as well as for training programs and function of public health physicians. These changes, however, may be insufficient for a real renewal of public health, in the absence of institutional changes which would allocate administrative management of healthcare functions to local government, with community participation in health promotion. The planned establishment of "metropolitan cities" in 2012 is an opportunity for the SItI to show that the management of health administrative functions by the new local government organs is compatible with the institutional framework, is useful for achieving the objectives of health promotion and disease prevention, and facilitates health policy in local governments.

Essential Public Health Competencies for Medical Students: Establishing a Consensus in Family Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Morley, Christopher P; Rosas, Scott R; Mishori, Ranit; Jordan, William; Jarris, Yumi Shitama; Competencies Work Group, Family Medicine/Public Health; Prunuske, Jacob

2017-01-01

Phenomenon: The integration of public health (PH) competency training into medical education, and further integration of PH and primary care, has been urged by the U.S. Institute of Medicine. However, PH competencies are numerous, and no consensus exists over which competencies are most important for adoption by current trainees. Our objective was to conduct a group concept mapping exercise with stakeholders identifying the most important and feasible PH skills to incorporate in medical and residency curricula. We utilized a group concept mapping technique via the Concept System Global Max ( http://www.conceptsystems.com ), where family medicine educators and PH professionals completed the phrase, "A key Public Health competency for physicians-in-training to learn is …" with 1-10 statements. The statement list was edited for duplication and other issues; stakeholders then sorted the statements and rated them for importance and feasibility of integration. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were used to create a two-dimensional point map of domains of PH training, allowing visual comparison of groupings of related ideas and relative importance of these ideas. There were 116 nonduplicative statements (225 total) suggested by 120 participants. Three metacategories of competencies emerged: Clinic, Community & Culture, Health System Understanding, and Population Health Science & Data. Insights: We identified and organized a set of topics that serve as a foundation for the integration of family medicine and PH education. Incorporating these topics into medical education is viewed as important and feasible by family medicine educators and PH professions.

The role of public health in the prevention of war: rationale and competencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiist, William H; Barker, Kathy; Arya, Neil; Rohde, Jon; Donohoe, Martin; White, Shelley; Lubens, Pauline; Gorman, Geraldine; Hagopian, Amy

2014-06-01

In 2009 the American Public Health Association approved the policy statement, "The Role of Public Health Practitioners, Academics, and Advocates in Relation to Armed Conflict and War." Despite the known health effects of war, the development of competencies to prevent war has received little attention. Public health's ethical principles of practice prioritize addressing the fundamental causes of disease and adverse health outcomes. A working group grew out of the American Public Health Association's Peace Caucus to build upon the 2009 policy by proposing competencies to understand and prevent the political, economic, social, and cultural determinants of war, particularly militarism. The working group recommends that schools of public health and public health organizations incorporate these competencies into professional preparation programs, research, and advocacy.

Study of dose levels absorbed by members of the public in the nuclear medicine departments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabral, Geovanna Oliveira de Mello

2001-03-01

In nuclear Medicine, radioisotopes are bound to various compounds (called radiopharmaceuticals) for use in various diagnostic and therapeutic applications. These unsealed sources are administered in various forms to patients, who remain radioactive for hours or days, and represent a source of potential radiation exposure for others. Thus, in nuclear medicine departments, radiation protection of workers and members of the public, especially persons accompanying patients, must consider, this exposure. In Brazil, the Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN) establishes that, in nuclear medicine departments, the patients and persons accompanying should be separated each other. However, this rule is not always followed due to many factors such as physical and emotional conditions of patients. In this context, the aim of this study was the investigation of dose levels, which the persons accompanying patients are exposed to. For monitoring, thermoluminescent dosimeters were employed. The dosimeters were given to 380 persons who were accompanying patients in nuclear medicine departments. Exposure results were lower than 1 mSv. On the basis of CNEN rules, issues regarding stay conditions for members of the public in these departments are discussed. (author)

Balancing Herbal Medicine and Functional Food for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiometabolic Diseases through Modulating Gut Microbiota.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, Ming; Wang, Yue-Fei; Fan, Guan-Wei; Wang, Xiao-Ying; Xu, Shuang-Yong; Zhu, Yan

2017-01-01

It has become apparent that gut microbiota is closely associated with cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), and alteration in microbiome compositions is also linked to the host environment. Next generation sequencing (NGS) has facilitated in-depth studies on the effects of herbal medicine and functional food on gut microbiota. Both herbal medicine and functional food contain fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides, exerting prebiotics-like activities in the prevention and treatment of CMDs. The administrations of herbal medicine and functional food lead to increased the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella , while reducing phylum Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in gut. Both herbal medicine and functional food interact with gut microbiome and alter the microbial metabolites including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile acids (BAs) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which are now correlated with metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In addition, trimethylamine (TMA)-N-oxide (TMAO) is recently linked to atherosclerosis (AS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks. Moreover, gut-organs axes may serve as the potential strategy for treating CMDs with the intervention of herbal medicine and functional food. In summary, a balance between herbal medicine and functional food rich in fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides plays a vital role in modulating gut microbiota (phylum Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella ) through SCFAs, BAs, LPS and TMAO signaling regarding CMDs. Targeting gut-organs axes may serve as a new therapeutic strategy for CMDs by herbal medicine and functional food in the future. This review aims to summarize the balance between herbal medicine and functional food utilized for the prevention and

Balancing Herbal Medicine and Functional Food for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiometabolic Diseases through Modulating Gut Microbiota

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Lyu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available It has become apparent that gut microbiota is closely associated with cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs, and alteration in microbiome compositions is also linked to the host environment. Next generation sequencing (NGS has facilitated in-depth studies on the effects of herbal medicine and functional food on gut microbiota. Both herbal medicine and functional food contain fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides, exerting prebiotics-like activities in the prevention and treatment of CMDs. The administrations of herbal medicine and functional food lead to increased the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella, while reducing phylum Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in gut. Both herbal medicine and functional food interact with gut microbiome and alter the microbial metabolites including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs, bile acids (BAs and lipopolysaccharides (LPS, which are now correlated with metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD. In addition, trimethylamine (TMA-N-oxide (TMAO is recently linked to atherosclerosis (AS and cardiovascular disease (CVD risks. Moreover, gut-organs axes may serve as the potential strategy for treating CMDs with the intervention of herbal medicine and functional food. In summary, a balance between herbal medicine and functional food rich in fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides plays a vital role in modulating gut microbiota (phylum Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella through SCFAs, BAs, LPS and TMAO signaling regarding CMDs. Targeting gut-organs axes may serve as a new therapeutic strategy for CMDs by herbal medicine and functional food in the future. This review aims to summarize the balance between herbal medicine and functional food utilized for the prevention and

Balancing Herbal Medicine and Functional Food for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiometabolic Diseases through Modulating Gut Microbiota

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, Ming; Wang, Yue-fei; Fan, Guan-wei; Wang, Xiao-ying; Xu, Shuang-yong; Zhu, Yan

2017-01-01

It has become apparent that gut microbiota is closely associated with cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), and alteration in microbiome compositions is also linked to the host environment. Next generation sequencing (NGS) has facilitated in-depth studies on the effects of herbal medicine and functional food on gut microbiota. Both herbal medicine and functional food contain fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides, exerting prebiotics-like activities in the prevention and treatment of CMDs. The administrations of herbal medicine and functional food lead to increased the abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella, while reducing phylum Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in gut. Both herbal medicine and functional food interact with gut microbiome and alter the microbial metabolites including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bile acids (BAs) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which are now correlated with metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D), obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In addition, trimethylamine (TMA)-N-oxide (TMAO) is recently linked to atherosclerosis (AS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks. Moreover, gut-organs axes may serve as the potential strategy for treating CMDs with the intervention of herbal medicine and functional food. In summary, a balance between herbal medicine and functional food rich in fiber, polyphenols and polysaccharides plays a vital role in modulating gut microbiota (phylum Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, and genus Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella) through SCFAs, BAs, LPS and TMAO signaling regarding CMDs. Targeting gut-organs axes may serve as a new therapeutic strategy for CMDs by herbal medicine and functional food in the future. This review aims to summarize the balance between herbal medicine and functional food utilized for the prevention and treatment

Organizational capacity for chronic disease prevention: a survey of Canadian public health organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanusaik, Nancy; O'Loughlin, Jennifer L; Kishchuk, Natalie; Paradis, Gilles; Cameron, Roy

2010-04-01

There are no national data on levels of organizational capacity within the Canadian public health system to reduce the burden of chronic disease. Cross-sectional data were collected in a national survey (October 2004 to April 2005) of all 216 national, provincial and regional-level organizations engaged in chronic disease prevention through primary prevention or healthy lifestyle promotion. Levels of organizational capacity (defined as skills and resources to implement chronic disease prevention programmes), potential determinants of organizational capacity and involvement in chronic disease prevention programming were compared in western, central and eastern Canada and across three types of organizations (formal public health organizations, non-governmental organizations and grouped organizations). Forty percent of organizations were located in Central Canada. Approximately 50% were formal public health organizations. Levels of skill and involvement were highest for activities that addressed tobacco control and healthy eating; lowest for stress management, social determinants of health and programme evaluation. The few notable differences in skill levels by provincial grouping favoured Central Canada. Resource adequacy was rated low across the country; but was lowest in eastern Canada and among formal public health organizations. Determinants of organizational capacity (organizational supports and partnerships) were highest in central Canada and among grouped organizations. These data provide an evidence base to identify strengths and gaps in organizational capacity and involvement in chronic disease prevention programming in the organizations that comprise the Canadian public health system.

Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536): renaissance advocate of the public role of medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Albury, W R; Weisz, G M

2003-08-01

The great Renaissance scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam was a pioneering advocate of the importance of medicine for social as well as individual welfare. Erasmus' "Oration in praise of the art of medicine" (1518) illustrates his literary approach to this topic. Although the original version of his text did not address the state's role in promoting the health of the populace, Erasmus inserted new material on this topic into the "Oration" for a 1529 edition. This new material and references in some of his other writings from the same period indicate that it was in the 1520s that Erasmus first became a strong advocate of government intervention in public health matters. It is suggested that medical events in Erasmus' own life-his experiences both as a patient and as an observer of diseases-may explain why his interest in public health legislation increased significantly around this time.

Research in the fields of medicine in Slovenia – research potential, funding, and publications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stojan Pečlin

2012-09-01

Conclusions: The size of the human research potential in the fields of medicine in Slovenia is modest. The majority of researchers are also engaged in medical practice and education. Consequently, funds from public sources for research per researcher are low. Research fields of medicine primarly require an increase in human research resources, which can then provide a basis for a rise in funding and the impact of its research results becoming comparable to the EU and world averages.

The Precautionary Principle, Evidence-Based Medicine, and Decision Theory in Public Health Evaluation

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Fischer, Alastair J.; Ghelardi, Gemma

2016-01-01

The precautionary principle (PP) has been used in the evaluation of the effectiveness and/or cost-effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent future harms in a range of activities, particularly in the area of the environment. Here, we provide details of circumstances under which the PP can be applied to the topic of harm reduction in Public Health. The definition of PP that we use says that the PP reverses the onus of proof of effectiveness between an intervention and its comparator when the intervention has been designed to reduce harm. We first describe the two frameworks used for health-care evaluation: evidence-based medicine (EBM) and decision theory (DT). EBM is usually used in treatment effectiveness evaluation, while either EBM or DT may be used in evaluating the effectiveness of the prevention of illness. For cost-effectiveness, DT is always used. The expectation in Public Health is that interventions employed to reduce harm will not actually increase harm, where “harm” in this context does not include opportunity cost. That implies that an intervention’s effectiveness can often be assumed. Attention should therefore focus on its cost-effectiveness. This view is consistent with the conclusions of DT. It is also very close to the PP notion of reversing the onus of proof, but is not consistent with EBM as normally practiced, where the onus is on showing a new practice to be superior to usual practice with a sufficiently high degree of certainty. Under our definitions, we show that where DT and the PP differ in their evaluation is in cost-effectiveness, but only for decisions that involve potential catastrophic circumstances, where the nation-state will act as if it is risk-averse. In those cases, it is likely that the state will pay more, and possibly much more, than DT would allow, in an attempt to mitigate impending disaster. That is, the rules that until now have governed all cost-effectiveness analyses are shown not to apply to catastrophic

Public health, academic medicine, and the alcohol industry's corporate social responsibility activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Babor, Thomas F; Robaina, Katherine

2013-02-01

We explored the emerging relationships among the alcohol industry, academic medicine, and the public health community in the context of public health theory dealing with corporate social responsibility. We reviewed sponsorship of scientific research, efforts to influence public perceptions of research, dissemination of scientific information, and industry-funded policy initiatives. To the extent that the scientific evidence supports the reduction of alcohol consumption through regulatory and legal measures, the academic community has come into increasing conflict with the views of the alcohol industry. We concluded that the alcohol industry has intensified its scientific and policy-related activities under the general framework of corporate social responsibility initiatives, most of which can be described as instrumental to the industry's economic interests.

Challenges of medicines management in the public and private sector under Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme - A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashigbie, Paul G; Azameti, Devine; Wirtz, Veronika J

2016-01-01

Ghana established its National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2003 with the goal of ensuring more equitable financing of health care to improve access to health services. This qualitative study examines the challenges and consequences of medicines management policies and practices under the NHIS as perceived by public and private service providers. This study was conducted in health facilities in the Eastern, Greater Accra and Volta regions of Ghana between July and August 2014. We interviewed 26 Key Informants (KIs) from a purposively selected sample of public and private sector providers (government and mission hospitals, private hospitals and private standalone pharmacies), pharmaceutical suppliers and NHIS district offices. Data was collected using semi-structured interview guides which covered facility accreditation, reimbursement practices, medicines selection, purchasing and pricing of medicines, and utilization of medicines. Codes for data analysis were developed based on the study questions and also in response to themes that emerged from the transcripts and notes. Most KIs agreed that the introduction of the NHIS has increased access to and utilization of medicines by removing cost barriers for patients; however, some pointed out the increased utilization could also be corollary to moral hazard. Common concerns across all facilities were the delays in receiving NHIS reimbursements, and low reimbursement rates for medicines which result in providers asking patients to pay supplementary fees. KIs reported important differences between private and public sectors including weak separation of prescribing and dispensing and limited use of drugs and therapeutic committees in the private sector, the disproportionate effects of unfavorable reimbursement prices for medicines, and inadequate participation of the private sector providers (especially pharmacies and licensed chemical sellers) in the NHIS. Health providers generally perceive the NHIS to have had a

Current problems of prevention diagnosis and treatment of radiation sickness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gus'kova, A.K.

1986-01-01

Causes of increasing interest to the problems of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of radiation sickness are presented. On the basis of recent publications some new aspects as quantitative criteria in radiobiology, organization problems of medical aid at radiation incidents estimation of efficiency of preventive medicine and radiation sickness therapy, theoretical development of radiotherapy of different organs et al., are characterized

Preventive care delivered within Public Dental Service after caries risk assessment of young adults

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hänsel Petersson, G; Ericson, E; Twetman, S

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To study preventive care provided to young adults in relation to their estimated risk category over a 3-year period. METHODS: The amount and type of preventive treatment during 3 years was extracted from the digital dental records of 982 patients attending eight public dental clinics...... adults attending public dental service. Further research is needed how to reach those with the greatest need of primary and secondary prevention....

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.

Nuclear medicine applications: Summary of Panel 4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolf, A.P.

1988-01-01

Nuclear medicine is currently facing a desperate shortage of organic and inorganic chemists and nuclear pharmacists who also have advanced training in nuclear and radiochemistry. Ironically, this shortfall is occurring in the face of rapid growth and technological advances which have made the practice of nuclear medicine an integral part of the modern health care system. This shortage threatens to limit the availability of radiopharmaceuticals required in routine hospital procedures and to impede the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic agents. To redress this need and prevent a similar shortfall in the future, this panel recommends immediate action and a long-term commitment to the following: educating the public on the benefits of nuclear medicine; informing undergraduate and graduate chemistry students about career opportunities in nuclear medicine; offering upper level courses in nuclear and radiochemistry (including laboratory) in universities; establishing training centers and fellowships at the postgraduate level for specialized education in the aspects of nuclear and radiochemistry required by the nuclear medicine profession. 1 tab

The Role of Public Health in the Prevention of War: Rationale and Competencies

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, Kathy; Arya, Neil; Rohde, Jon; Donohoe, Martin; White, Shelley; Lubens, Pauline; Gorman, Geraldine; Hagopian, Amy

2014-01-01

In 2009 the American Public Health Association approved the policy statement, “The Role of Public Health Practitioners, Academics, and Advocates in Relation to Armed Conflict and War.” Despite the known health effects of war, the development of competencies to prevent war has received little attention. Public health’s ethical principles of practice prioritize addressing the fundamental causes of disease and adverse health outcomes. A working group grew out of the American Public Health Association’s Peace Caucus to build upon the 2009 policy by proposing competencies to understand and prevent the political, economic, social, and cultural determinants of war, particularly militarism. The working group recommends that schools of public health and public health organizations incorporate these competencies into professional preparation programs, research, and advocacy. PMID:24825229

Flexible technologies and smart clothing for citizen medicine, home healthcare, and disease prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Axisa, Fabrice; Schmitt, Pierre Michael; Gehin, Claudine; Delhomme, Georges; McAdams, Eric; Dittmar, André

2005-09-01

Improvement of the quality and efficiency of healthcare in medicine, both at home and in hospital, is becoming more and more important for patients and society at large. As many technologies (micro technologies, telecommunication, low-power design, new textiles, and flexible sensors) are now available, new user-friendly devices can be developed to enhance the comfort and security of the patient. As clothes and textiles are in direct contact with about 90% of the skin surface, smart sensors and smart clothes with noninvasive sensors are an attractive solution for home-based and ambulatory health monitoring. Moreover, wearable devices or smart homes with exosensors are also potential solutions. All these systems can provide a safe and comfortable environment for home healthcare, illness prevention, and citizen medicine.

Traditional Medicines and Kidney Disease in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Opportunities and Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanifer, John W; Kilonzo, Kajiru; Wang, Daphne; Su, Guobin; Mao, Wei; Zhang, Lei; Zhang, La; Nayak-Rao, Shobhana; Miranda, J Jaime

2017-05-01

Traditional medicines are a principal form of health care for many populations, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and they have gained attention as an important means of health care coverage globally. In the context of kidney diseases, the challenges and opportunities presented by traditional medicine practices are among the most important considerations for developing effective and sustainable public health strategies. However, little is known about the practices of traditional medicines in relation to kidney diseases, especially concerning benefits and harms. Kidney diseases may be caused, treated, prevented, improved, or worsened by traditional medicines depending on the setting, the person, and the types, modes, and frequencies of traditional medicine use. Given the profound knowledge gaps, nephrology practitioners and researchers may be uniquely positioned to facilitate more optimal public health strategies through recognition and careful investigation of traditional medicine practices. Effective implementation of such strategies also will require local partnerships, including engaging practitioners and users of traditional medicines. As such, practitioners and researchers investigating kidney diseases may be uniquely positioned to bridge the cultural, social, historical, and biologic differences between biomedicine and traditional medicine, and they have opportunities to lead efforts in developing public health strategies that are sensitive to these differences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How do we want to grow old? Anti-ageing-medicine and the scope of public healthcare in liberal democracies.

Science.gov (United States)

Schweda, Mark; Marckmann, Georg

2013-09-01

Healthcare counts as a morally relevant good whose distribution should neither be left to the free market nor be simply imposed by governmental decisions without further justification. This problem is particularly prevalent in the current boom of anti-ageing medicine. While the public demand for medical interventions which promise a longer, healthier and more active and attractive life has been increasing, public healthcare systems usually do not cover these products and services, thus leaving their allocation to the mechanisms of supply and demand on the free market. This situation raises the question on which basis the underlying preferences for and claims to a longer, healthier life should be evaluated. What makes anti-ageing medicine eligible for public funding? In this article, we discuss the role of anti-ageing medicine with regard to the scope and limits of public healthcare. We will first briefly sketch the basic problem of justifying a particular healthcare scheme within the framework of a modern liberal democracy, focusing on the challenge anti-ageing interventions pose in this regard. In the next section, we will present and discuss three possible solutions to the problem, essentialistic, transcendental, and procedural strategies of defining the scope of public healthcare. We will suggest a procedural solution adopting essentialistic and transcendental elements and discuss its theoretical and practical implications with regard to anti-ageing medicine. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Human genomics projects and precision medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrasco-Ramiro, F; Peiró-Pastor, R; Aguado, B

2017-09-01

The completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) in 2001 opened the floodgates to a deeper understanding of medicine. There are dozens of HGP-like projects which involve from a few tens to several million genomes currently in progress, which vary from having specialized goals or a more general approach. However, data generation, storage, management and analysis in public and private cloud computing platforms have raised concerns about privacy and security. The knowledge gained from further research has changed the field of genomics and is now slowly permeating into clinical medicine. The new precision (personalized) medicine, where genome sequencing and data analysis are essential components, allows tailored diagnosis and treatment according to the information from the patient's own genome and specific environmental factors. P4 (predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory) medicine is introducing new concepts, challenges and opportunities. This review summarizes current sequencing technologies, concentrates on ongoing human genomics projects, and provides some examples in which precision medicine has already demonstrated clinical impact in diagnosis and/or treatment.

Challenges and opportunities of applying P4 medicine and traditional Chinese medicine for cancer treatment and prevention in the 21st century:Amedical oncologist’s perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edward H. Lin

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Being one of the deadliest diseases, cancer needs a stronger dose of P4 medicine (Predictive, Preventive, Personalized and Participatory first proposed by Dr. Hood and TCM intervention, as cancer treatment still largely relies on the decade-old cytotoxic chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. This overview uses colorectal cancer model to discuss pitfalls in current cancer prevention and treatment strategies, which saw many randomized phase III studies failing to meet the study primary endpoints or marginally meeting the study objectives. Complete sequencing of whole human genome provided much of the hopes as well as hypes for precision medicine, as genomic diversity, ever changing tumor mutation landscape, SNP and complex microRNA regulation from the intron region and epigenetics make genotype to phenotype correlation study increasingly challenging. As a participant of One hundred Persons Pioneers Project, I witnessed first hand how a comprehensive scientific wellness study that integrates whole genomics, microbiome, and metabolome nutrition along with comprehensive laboratory examinations can be used to diagnose pre-illness in all “healthy” participants. Pre-illness can be best intervened by none pharmaceutical means and traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM adept in restoring internal healing mechanisms, opening up the blocked network and balancing the five-elements homeostasis. Following TCM principles, we were able to design a therapy that effectively targets colon cancer stem cells and its microenvironment leading to more doubling of overall survival with reduction in overall toxicities. Pre-illness diagnosis, cancer immunotherapy, TCM medicine is about restoring internal healing power by letting go brakes on “good” immune systems to go after the “bad” cancer cells. Time is ripe to integrate our knowledge in genomics immune systems, stem cell biology, nutrition, inflammation, metabolism, systems medicine, and modern TCM to deliver a

Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices about public health nutrition among students of the University of Medicine in Tirana, Albania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolanda Hyska

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Aim: the aim of this survey was twofold: (i: to assess medical students’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding nutrition in general, in order to identify their level of competences in the field of nutrition which will be useful in their future role of providers/health care professionals, and; (ii to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the discipline of public health nutrition in order to identify the needs for improving the curriculum of this subject in all the branches of the University of Medicine in Tirana. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in June-July 2013 including a representative sample of 347 students at the University of Medicine in Tirana, Albania (61% females and 39% males; overall mean age: 23±2 years; response rate: 87%. A nutritional questionnaire, adopted according to the models used in previous international studies, was used to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices among the university students. Results: Overall, about one third of the students was not satisfied with the quality and quantity of nutritional education and demanded a more scientifically rigorous curriculum. In general, students’ knowledge about infant feeding practices was adequate. However, there were gaps in the students’ knowledge regarding the commencement of breastfeeding, or the duration of exclusive breast-feeding. Furthermore, there was evidence of an insufficient level of knowledge among students regarding diet and nutrition in general and their health impact, especially on development and prevention of chronic diseases. Conclusion: This survey identified significant gaps in the current curriculum of public health nutrition at the University of Medicine in Tirana. Our findings suggest the need for intervention programs to improve both the quantitative and the qualitative aspects of nutrition curricula in all the branches of the University of Medicine Tirana, in accordance with the

Traditional botanical medicine: an introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenbloom, Richard A; Chaudhary, Jayesh; Castro-Eschenbach, Diane

2011-01-01

The role of traditional medicine in the well-being of mankind has certainly journeyed a long way. From an ancient era, in which knowledge was limited to a few traditional healers and dominated by the use of whole plants or crude drugs, the science has gradually evolved into a complete healthcare system with global recognition. Technologic advancements have facilitated traditional science to deliver numerous breakthrough botanicals with potency equivalent to those of conventional drugs. The renewed interest in traditional medicine is mainly attributed to its ability to prevent disease, promote health, and improve quality of life. Despite the support received from public bodies and research organizations, development of botanical medicines continues to be a challenging process. The present article gives a summarized description of the various difficulties encountered in the development and evaluation of botanical drugs, including isolation of active compounds and standardization of plant ingredients. It indicates a future direction of traditional medicine toward evidence-based evaluation of health claims through well-controlled safety and efficacy studies.

An integrated approach to preventing cardiovascular disease: community-based approaches, health system initiatives, and public health policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tina Karwalajtys

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Tina Karwalajtys1, Janusz Kaczorowski2,31Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; 2Primary Care & Community Research, Child & Family Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada; 3Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaAbstract: Cardiovascular disease (CVD is largely the product of interactions among modifiable risk factors that are common in developed nations and increasingly of concern in developing countries. Hypertension is an important precursor to the development of CVD, and although detection and treatment rates have improved in recent years in some jurisdictions, effective strategies and policies supporting a shift in distribution of risk factors at the population level remain paramount. Challenges in managing cardiovascular health more effectively include factors at the patient, provider, and system level. Strategies to reduce hypertension and CVD should be population based, incorporate multilevel, multicomponent, and socioenvironmental approaches, and integrate community resources with public health and clinical care. There is an urgent need to improve monitoring and management of risk factors through community-wide, primary care-linked initiatives, increase the evidence base for community-based prevention strategies, further develop and evaluate promising program components, and develop new approaches to support healthy lifestyle behaviors in diverse age, socioeconomic, and ethnocultural groups. Policy and system changes are critical to reduce risk in populations, including legislation and public education to reduce dietary sodium and trans-fatty acids, food pricing policies, and changes to health care delivery systems to explicitly support prevention and management of CVD.Keywords: risk factors, blood pressure determination, community health services, community health planning, public health practice

Roundtable on the Prevention of Eating Disorders: The Catalan public policy initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Carracedo, David; Carretero, Cristina; Conesa, Alfons

2017-04-01

The field of prevention of body image problems and eating disorders has made major advances in recent years, particularly in the development and evaluation of prevention programmes. However, few programmes achieve good long-term results because, among other reasons, the sociocultural influences affecting the development of these problems do not stop. Moreover, accelerating progress in this field is required, transferring their impact onto a larger scale. These reasons justify the need to progress in the development of public policy interventions. This paper describes a recent Catalan initiative in this sphere: the Roundtable on the Prevention of Eating Disorders, made up of different public and private sectors of Catalan society. It specifically details the main actions carried out, such as: media campaigns to reduce weight-related teasing and encouraging self-esteem, encouraging family meals and promoting help-seeking among those affected; the creation of a new informative website about these matters in the Department of Health; the production of a Decalogue of Best Practices for the promotion of self-esteem and positive body image in social media and advertising; and actions to prevent the promotion of eating disorders on the Internet. The Roundtable is the most comprehensive Catalan (and Spanish) public policy activity undertaken until now for the prevention of eating disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can we prevent OA? Epidemiology and public health insights and implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Runhaar, Jos; Zhang, Yuqing

2018-05-01

This narrative review discusses the potential of prevention of OA in different stages of the disease. The theoretical background for primary prevention (i.e. prevention of occurrence of definite structural or clinical OA in subjects free of the disease) and secondary prevention (i.e. prevention of progression of the disease in subjects with pre-clinical pathological changes to the joint) is provided and evidence for effective strategies is discussed. Since direct evidence for the prevention of OA development and progression is scarce, indirect evidence enhancing our current knowledge on the potential of OA prevention is additionally discussed. Also, implications of preventive strategies for study design and public health are considered. Prevention of OA has great potential, but as deliberated in the current review, there are still large gaps in our current knowledge and the implications of preventive strategies for the development and progression of OA require consideration.

The Forensic Accountants' Skills and Ethics on Fraud Prevention in the Nigerian Public Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lateef Saheed Ademola

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The study investigates the required skills and ethics of the forensic accountant in preventing fraudulent practices in the Nigerian public sector. The primary source of data was utilized for data collection. Using the simple random sampling (SRS, a total of 300 questionnaires were administered; 163 were retrieved. The data obtained was analyzed using SmartPLS - for measurement and structural model. One of the major findings revealed that skills requirement was significant predator of fraud prevention as well as ethics requirement. This means that the higher the skills and ethics of the forensic accountant, the better is the fraud prevention. It is thus, recommended that forensic accounting services should be made statutory in the Nigerian public sector to help in preventing fraudulent practices. Hence the need to create awareness and expand the application of forensic accounting services in Nigerian public sector.

[The role of German official medicines control laboratories in combating counterfeit medicines].

Science.gov (United States)

Wiegard, Andrea; Heuermann, Matthias

2017-11-01

An official medicines control laboratory (OMCL) provides an important contribution to combat counterfeit and illegal medicines. The OMCL supports the competent authorities in controlling the quality of authorised medicinal products in the legal supply chain. For detecting counterfeit medicines in the legal supply chain, a risk-based approach in choice of products is conducted. Furthermore, the OMCL analyses suspicious medicines from the illegal supply chain for any other authority. The chemical analysis of a suspicious sample is needed to identify such a sample as a counterfeit medicine. The analytical results are fundamental for the evaluation of the legal status of the product and for the assessment of it's inherent hazard to public health. The global market of illegal medicines is rapidly changing. Therefore a good national and international working liaison and co-operation between laboratories and authorities is obligatory to protect public health. The OMCL provides important knowledge of new trends in counterfeit and illegal medicines. Hence, it is an essential part in surveillance of medicinal products. The efficient networking enables prompt official interventions. Thus, risks for the public health by substandard medicines were reduced. Beside the chemical analysis, the OMCL can help to raise public awareness about counterfeit and illegal medicines. In Germany, the risk of counterfeit medicines reaching patients through the legal supply chain is still low, but the possibility cannot be ignored.

Attempts at strategic thinking in occupational public health: the Lucas Lecture of 1987

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Millar, J D

1987-05-06

This lecture on strategic thinking in occupational public health stressed that attention must be directed toward the prevention of occupational diseases and injuries through an organized community effort. According to the speaker, such an aim encompasses the various disciplines involved in occupational medicine, safety, and nursing to include such avenues as clinical and social medicine and general public-health practice. A summary was offered of the development of public health and occupational health in the United States, as it grew from the level of state and local responsibility to become a concern of the Federal Government. Occupational medicine also grew at the business sector level with surgical services being established for injured workers at the job site and concerns over toxic exposures growing. The passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is discussed along with a brief review of new Federal agencies formed by the act. New efforts are being directed at hazard identification and risk assessment, and also at controlling the exposures through preventive or protective measures. Additional efforts are currently being made in the educational field.

Taking Bioinformatics to Systems Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

van Kampen, Antoine H C; Moerland, Perry D

2016-01-01

Systems medicine promotes a range of approaches and strategies to study human health and disease at a systems level with the aim of improving the overall well-being of (healthy) individuals, and preventing, diagnosing, or curing disease. In this chapter we discuss how bioinformatics critically contributes to systems medicine. First, we explain the role of bioinformatics in the management and analysis of data. In particular we show the importance of publicly available biological and clinical repositories to support systems medicine studies. Second, we discuss how the integration and analysis of multiple types of omics data through integrative bioinformatics may facilitate the determination of more predictive and robust disease signatures, lead to a better understanding of (patho)physiological molecular mechanisms, and facilitate personalized medicine. Third, we focus on network analysis and discuss how gene networks can be constructed from omics data and how these networks can be decomposed into smaller modules. We discuss how the resulting modules can be used to generate experimentally testable hypotheses, provide insight into disease mechanisms, and lead to predictive models. Throughout, we provide several examples demonstrating how bioinformatics contributes to systems medicine and discuss future challenges in bioinformatics that need to be addressed to enable the advancement of systems medicine.

The effect of fluorine and homeopathic medicines in rats fed cariogenic diet.

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, N T; Dalmeida, V; Pustiglione, M

2004-07-01

Although some sectors of dentistry have benefited from technological advances, dental caries is still a major problem. Prevention and treatment of dental caries by fluorine is considered a major advance in public health. Nevertheless fluorosis, caused by ingestion of excessive amounts of fluorine during the period of teeth formation, is of great concern. In accordance with the homeopathic doctrine, minimum doses of fluorine and other substances could prevent and/or treat caries. In this experiment, we compared the preventive action of fluorine and evaluated the effect of homeopathic medicines on the teeth of rats fed a cariogenic diet. None of the groups included in this study developed caries. However, microscopy revealed the presence of precipitate and/or deposit in the groups treated with homeopathic medicines. This phenomenon might be due to deposit in the dental surface or precipitation of bacterial plaque or calcium salts. It was not possible to identify the composition of the deposit/precipitate due for technical reasons. In one of the groups treated with homeopathic medicines fur loss was observed in 40% of animals. These reactions might be caused due to the action of the homeopathic medicines.

[Establishing the idea of holistic integrative medicine, optimizing the quality of health care service in prevention and treatment].

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xing-guo

2015-07-01

Under background of reductionism in the modern science, physiology and medicine are stepwise refined into system, organ, disease, cell and gene etc. Although clinical medicine, only service in whole human object, obviously brought tremendous progress, it also appeared obvious defects and limits at the same time. Professionalized and specialized medicine not only needs to be integrated from basics to clinical fields, but also from prevention, health management, clinical treatment and functional rehabilitation medicine. People are indivisible organic whole. Professionalization, translation and integration must be combined. In order to provide the best quality and optimized medical service for the Chinese people and to lead in the world, we have to strengthen professional and technical knowledge, and have to establish the holistic integrative medical philosophy for physiology and medicine too.

Harnessing and blending the power of two research networks to improve prevention science and public health practice

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderpool, Robin C.; Brownson, Ross C.; Mays, Glen P.; Crosby, Richard A.; Wyatt, Stephen W.

2015-01-01

Strategic collaborations are essential in moving public health research and practice forward1, particularly in light of escalating fiscal and environmental challenges facing the public health community. This commentary provides background and context for an emerging partnership between two national networks, Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) and Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs), to impact public health practice. Supported by CDC, PRCs are celebrating over 25 years of transdisciplinary applied prevention research grounded in community and stakeholder engagement. Public Health PBRNs, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, conduct innovative public health services and systems research with public health agencies and community partners to improve public health decision-making. By utilizing each of the networks’ respective strengths and resources, collaborative ventures between PRCs and Public Health PBRNs can enhance the translation of applied prevention research to evidence-based practice and empirically investigate novel public health practices developed in the field. Three current PRC-Public Health PBRNs projects are highlighted and future research directions are discussed. Improving the interconnectedness of prevention research and public health practice is essential to improve the health of the Nation. PMID:24237918

Competencies for public health and interprofessional education in accreditation standards of complementary and alternative medicine disciplines.

Science.gov (United States)

Brett, Jennifer; Brimhall, Joseph; Healey, Dale; Pfeifer, Joseph; Prenguber, Marcia

2013-01-01

This review examines the educational accreditation standards of four licensed complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) disciplines (naturopathic medicine, chiropractic health care, acupuncture and oriental medicine, and massage therapy), and identifies public health and other competencies found in those standards that contribute to cooperation and collaboration among the health care professions. These competencies may form a foundation for interprofessional education. The agencies that accredit the educational programs for each of these disciplines are individually recognized by the United States Department (Secretary) of Education. Patients and the public are served when healthcare practitioners collaborate and cooperate. This is facilitated when those practitioners possess competencies that provide them the knowledge and skills to work with practitioners from other fields and disciplines. Educational accreditation standards provide a framework for the delivery of these competencies. Requiring these competencies through accreditation standards ensures that practitioners are trained to optimally function in integrative clinical care settings. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Attitudes of Kuwaiti public towards the radiation risks of nuclear medicine diagnositic procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elgazzar, AH; Al-Ghani, HE; Collier, BD; Al-Saeedi, F; Al-Shammari, J; Mahmoud, AM; Omar, A

2004-01-01

Public perception of radiation risks of diagnostic imaging procedures differs from that of professionals working in the field. The perception probably varies among societies and may vary within the same society. The objective of this study is to determine the public perception in Kuwait represented by patients referred for nuclear medicine diagnostic studies. With the assistance of Arabic speaking investigators, 239 patients (139 males and 100 females) with a mean age of 37 years (Range of 15 to 90 years) completed a questionnaire about their opinion of radiation fear from the nuclear medicine procedures as well as their education, income, ability to speak English and foreign travel experience. Radiation phobia was measured by asking the patient to to the statement 'Radiation from nuclear medicine examination is likely to harm my body' by one of 5 choices, 1 strongly agree, 2 somewhat agree, 3 uncertain, 4 somewhat disagree, 5 strongly disagree. Responses 1 and 2 were classified as radiation phobia. Pearson correlation coefficient and logistic regression analysis were used for data analysis. Forty four percent of patients had radiation phobia. Only education significantly correlated with radiation phobia. Income, ability to speak English, age, gender or travel experience did not show significant correlation. Our study indicates that radiation phobia is common and is probably widespread throughout the society. Patient education should emphasize radiation benefits and actual risks and include the entire community. (authors)

Transport medicine, osteochondrosis, diagnostic, preventions of complications, physiotherapy, impulse magnetic stimulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Loboiko

2017-01-01

  Summary Offered us medical and rehabilitation complex using pulsed magnetic stimulation for the prevention and treatment of complications of destructive-degenerative disorders of the spine in patients with low back pain lumbar zone greatly increases the effectiveness sanogenetic mechanisms to improve trophic processes in the spinal segments, both in the area of formation of pathological disorders and in areas distal lower extremities. The positive dynamics of functioning structures spinal nerve under the influence of pulsed magnetic stimulation provides improved hemodynamic performance throughout the vascular bed in the lower extremities. It was established that the basis sanogenetic improve the mechanisms of blood vessels, are processes that define their tone, elasticity and adequacy of response to treatment and rehabilitation influence factors. High efficiency pulsed magnetic stimulation achieved by potentiating its effect on biological effects, which are formed in the body using standard treatments for osteoarthritis. Key words. Transport medicine, osteochondrosis, diagnostic, preventions of complications, physiotherapy, impulse magnetic stimulation.

The Brazilian medicinal chemistry from 1998 to 2008 in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters and European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry [A química medicinal brasileira de 1998 a 2008 nos periódicos Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters e European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

OpenAIRE

Bárbara Vasconcellos da Silva; Renato Saldanha Bastos; Angelo da Cunha Pinto

2009-01-01

In this article we present the Brazilian publications, the research groups involved, the contributions per states and the main diseases studied from 1998 to 2008 in the following periodicals: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters and European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Knowledge of Rabies Prevention in Vietnamese Public Health and Animal Health Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, K A T; Nguyen, H T T; Pham, T N; Van, K D; Hoang, T V; Olowokure, B

2016-11-01

Rabies is an invariably fatal, but preventable zoonotic disease. Despite a national programme for its prevention and control, the number of rabies associated deaths in Vietnam has increased in recent years. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in 2012 to assess and compare the knowledge, awareness and practices of 189 public health workers (PHW) and animal health workers (AHW) attending a joint training course for professionals from provinces in northern Vietnam with the highest number of deaths from rabies. Questionnaires facilitating self-evaluation were provided, and total knowledge scores were calculated (maximum 38 points) and categorized into: 'high' (>30 points), 'moderate' (21-30) and 'low' (animal health and public health professionals attending joint training activities aimed at strengthening rabies prevention and control. To ensure effective prevention and control of rabies requires that AHW and PHW not only coordinate and collaborate, but have a common knowledge and understanding of rabies prevention and control measures. This study provides important baseline data in a relatively unexplored area of research that can focus future interventions and research. © 2016 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Factors associated with local public health agency participation in obesity prevention in southern States.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatala, Jeffrey J; Fields, Tina T

2015-05-01

Obesity rates in the southern US states are higher than in other states. Historically, large-scale community-based interventions in the United States have not proven successful. With local public health agencies (LPHAs) tasked with prevention, their role in obesity prevention is important, yet little research exists regarding what predicts the participation of LPHAs. Cross-sectional data from the 2008 National Association of City and County Health Officials profile study and two public health conceptual frameworks were used to assess structural and environmental predictors of LPHA participation in obesity prevention. The predictors were compared between southern and nonsouthern states. Univariate and weighted logistic regressions were performed. Analysis revealed that more LPHAs in southern states were engaged in nearly all of the 10 essential public health functions related to obesity prevention compared with nonsouthern states. Presence of community-based organizations and staffing levels were the only significant variables in two of the six logistic regression models. This study provides insights into the success rates of the obesity prevention efforts of LPHAs in southern and nonsouthern states. Future research is needed to understand why and how certain structural elements and any additional factors influence LPHA participation in obesity prevention.

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 3

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

This podcast is the third of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and University of North Carolina's Gene Matthews talk about how building credibility on preparedness issues can help develop support for initiatives around chronic disease prevention.

Injury prevention and public health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David A. Sleet

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Injuries are one of the most under-recognized public health problems facing the world today. With more than 5 million deaths every year, violence and injuries account for 9% of global mortality, as many deaths as from HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis combined. Eight of the 15 leading causes of death for people ages 15 to 29 years are injury-related: road traffic injuries, suicides, homicides, drowning, burns, war injuries, poisonings and falls. For every death due to war, there are three deaths due to homicide and five deaths due to suicide. However, most violence happens to people behind closed doors and results not in death, but often in years of physical and emotional suffering [1]. Injuries can be classified by intent: unintentional or intentional. Traffic injuries, fire-related injuries, falls, drowning, and poisonings are most often classified as unintentional injuries; injuries due to assault, selfinflicted violence such as suicide, and war are classified as intentional injuries, or violence. Worldwide, governments and public and private partners are increasingly aware of the strains that unintentional injuries and violence place on societies. In response they are strengthening data collection systems, improving services for victims and survivors, and increasing prevention efforts [1].

A Brief Review of Therapeutic and Diagnostic Applications of Enema in Iranian Traditional Medicine and Other Complementary Medicines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamideh khorrampazouh

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Enema or ‘hoqne’ is a therapeutic approach used for a wide range of diseases in the Iranian traditional medicine. The use of this method dates back to thousands of years to Hippocrates and Galen. The aim of this study was to review the history of enema and its methods and indices in the Iranian medicine and other complementary medicine.Methods: This review study was conducted on the Iranian medicine textbooks and articles published in the international databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Embase, and Scopus, as well as the Iranian databases, such as SID and Magiran. The searching process was performed using the following keywords: ‘Hoqne’, ‘Enema’, ‘Vasta’, ‘Basta’, and ‘Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM’. There was no limitation regarding the publication data of the included studies.Result: In the Iranian medicine, the term “hoqne” is equivalent to enema. Enema is used in various diseases of the brain, respiratory system, digestive system, urogenital system, and musculoskeletal system, as well as systemic diseases. Enema is one of the five main therapies in the Indian medicine or Ayurveda. In other types of complementary medicine, including Chinese medicine, this procedure has therapeutic applications. Although enema has been recognized as a diagnostic method in modern medicine, it has been considered as a therapeutic approach in the recent years.Conclusion: According to the findings of the reviewed studies, enema is a major therapeutic focus in complementary medicine, part of which has been confirmed in the recent studies. Given the low side effects and high success rate of this treatment, it can be used as a supplemental therapy for the management of poisoning, febrile seizures, prolonged functional constipation, and chronic kidney disease, as well as the prevention of swelling. However, this theory requires further investigation and targeted clinical trials. This method has been

Medicinal Herbs Affecting Gray Hair in Iranian Traditional Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Rameshk, Maryam; Khandani, Shahram Kalantari; Raeiszadeh, Mahboobeh

2016-05-01

The presence of hair plays an important role in people's overall physical appearance and self-perception. As a result of increased life expectancy, the desire to look youthful plays a bigger role than ever.The use of medicinal plants is as old as mankind and the market will face many new products containing natural oils and herbs in coming years. In traditional Iranian medicine, many plants and herbal formulations are reported for hair growth as well as the improvement in hair quality. The aim of this article is to introduce effective medicinal plants in traditional Iranian medicine to prevent gray hair and advocate them as the new products. The present investigation is an overview study and has been codified by library search in the main sources of traditional Iranian medicine. In traditional Iranian medicine, three types of formulations are proposed to prevent gray hair, namely (i) treatment compounds, (ii) preventive compounds, and (iii) hair dyes to color gray hairs. Our search showed that the main parts of a plant that is used in the treatment and preventive compounds are seeds and fruits. These are primarily in the form of topical oil or oral compound (electuary). The majority of plant parts used in hair dyes is from the fruit and/or leaves. Natural products are highly popular and the use of plant extracts in formulations is on the rise. This is because synthetic based product may cause health hazards with several side effects. Considering the increased popularity of herbal drugs in hair care, it is worthwhile to conduct systemic investigation on the production and efficacy of these drugs. We trust that our investigation would encourage the use of traditional Iranian medicine in future hair care products.

Rural-Urban Differences in Access to Preventive Health Care Among Publicly Insured Minnesotans.

Science.gov (United States)

Loftus, John; Allen, Elizabeth M; Call, Kathleen Thiede; Everson-Rose, Susan A

2018-02-01

Reduced access to care and barriers have been shown in rural populations and in publicly insured populations. Barriers limiting health care access in publicly insured populations living in rural areas are not understood. This study investigates rural-urban differences in system-, provider-, and individual-level barriers and access to preventive care among adults and children enrolled in a public insurance program in Minnesota. This was a secondary analysis of a 2008 statewide, cross-sectional survey of publicly insured adults and children (n = 4,388) investigating barriers associated with low utilization of preventive care. Sampling was stratified with oversampling of racial/ethnic minorities. Rural enrollees were more likely to report no past year preventive care compared to urban enrollees. However, this difference was no longer statistically significant after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors (OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.00-1.88). Provider- and system-level barriers associated with low use of preventive care among rural enrollees included discrimination based on public insurance status (OR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.34-2.38), cost of care concerns (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.03-2.89) and uncertainty about care being covered by insurance (OR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.01-2.85). These and additional provider-level barriers were also identified among urban enrollees. Discrimination, cost of care, and uncertainty about insurance coverage inhibit access in both the rural and urban samples. These barriers are worthy targets of interventions for publicly insured populations regardless of residence. Future studies should investigate additional factors associated with access disparities based on rural-urban residence. © 2017 National Rural Health Association.

[ETHICS, MORALS AND SOCIETY IN PERSONALIZED MEDICINE].

Science.gov (United States)

Flugelman, Anath

2015-09-01

Following the completion of the human genome project, genomic medicine including personalized medicine, widely based on pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics, is rapidly developing. This breakthrough should benefit humankind thanks to tailoring the most appropriate prevention, interventions and therapies to each individual, minimizing adverse side effects, based on inter-personal genetic variety and polymorphism. Yet wide spectrum ethical, legal and social issues carry significant implications regarding individuals, families, society and public health. The main issues concern genomic information and autonomy, justice and equity, resources allocation and solidarity, challenging the traditional role of medicine and dealing with unlimited boundaries of knowledge. Those issues are not new nor exceptional to genomic medicine, yet their wide unlimited scope and implications on many aspects of life renders them crucial. These aspects will be discussed in light of Beauchamp and Childress' four principles: non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy and justice, and main moral philosophies, Kant's autonomy, Utilitarianism which promotes the common good, and Rawls' Theory of Justice.

Sports medicine clinical trial research publications in academic medical journals between 1996 and 2005: an audit of the PubMed MEDLINE database.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, A W

2008-11-01

To identify sports medicine-related clinical trial research articles in the PubMed MEDLINE database published between 1996 and 2005 and conduct a review and analysis of topics of research, experimental designs, journals of publication and the internationality of authorships. Sports medicine research is international in scope with improving study methodology and an evolution of topics. Structured review of articles identified in a search of a large electronic medical database. PubMed MEDLINE database. Sports medicine-related clinical research trials published between 1996 and 2005. Review and analysis of articles that meet inclusion criteria. Articles were examined for study topics, research methods, experimental subject characteristics, journal of publication, lead authors and journal countries of origin and language of publication. The search retrieved 414 articles, of which 379 (345 English language and 34 non-English language) met the inclusion criteria. The number of publications increased steadily during the study period. Randomised clinical trials were the most common study type and the "diagnosis, management and treatment of sports-related injuries and conditions" was the most popular study topic. The knee, ankle/foot and shoulder were the most frequent anatomical sites of study. Soccer players and runners were the favourite study subjects. The American Journal of Sports Medicine had the highest number of publications and shared the greatest international diversity of authorships with the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The USA, Australia, Germany and the UK produced a good number of the lead authorships. In all, 91% of articles and 88% of journals were published in English. Sports medicine-related research is internationally diverse, clinical trial publications are increasing and the sophistication of research design may be improving.

[Recognizing prevention and treatment of burn sepsis with the concept of holistic integrative medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Huan, J N

2017-04-20

Sepsis remains a major cause of death in severe burns. The effect of sepsis management is influenced by its complicated pathophysiologic changes. In order to improve the outcome of burn sepsis, the predisposing factor of sepsis after burn analyzed by advanced technology, the early prevention, antibiotics therapy, and combined treatment in severe burns with sepsis are discussed using the concept of holistic integrative medicine.

Medicine safety and children

Science.gov (United States)

... it is candy. What to Do If Your Child Takes Medicine If you think your child has taken medicine, call the poison control center ... blood pressure monitored. Preventing Medicine Mistakes When giving medicine to your young child, follow these safety tips: Use medicine made only ...

Public education in cancer prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Parijs, L G

1986-01-01

Life-style is now recognized as a main determinant of cancer risk. Public education is an important component of cancer control programmes and has been shown to be effective in leading to life-style changes. Four basic types of education programmes are reviewed: for increasing the public's awareness of cancer, for changing specific risk behaviour (such as stopping smoking), for learning self-examination skills (such as breast self-examination), and for promoting early cancer detection in the community.To change human behaviour it is best to approach the risk habit through the same forces that develop and sustain the habit. Simply giving information of an association between specific habits and cancer, even if repeated several times, will lead to increased public awareness and encourage some to make a minimal effort to change their behaviour, but in general the new habit does not persist and continuing and intensifying this approach are ineffective. An alternative strategy utilizes socially active forces to support the prevention practice and remove possible barriers to action. For example, an antismoking programme should create a favourable social image of the non-smoker. Although a culturally and socially relevant mass media campaign can influence knowledge and beliefs and induce people to participate in a screening activity, this needs to be supplemented over a period of time by personal contact methods, such as group discussions, telephone conversations and home visits, in order to promote a regular screening habit. Contrary to popular opinion, mass communication methods can be expensive on a per person cost-effectiveness basis because of low participation rates and weakness in sustaining healthy behaviour.

Master's and doctoral theses in family medicine and their publication output, Suez Canal University, Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Nour-Eldein, Hebatallah; Mansour, Nadia M; Abdulmajeed, Abdulmajeed A

2015-01-01

The completion of a thesis is a significant requirement for both a Master's and a doctorate degree in general practice/family medicine (GP/FM). A postgraduate thesis is a well-planned, time-intensive activity carried out over several years. The quality of the theses can be judged by the proportion of published papers. This study aimed to describe Master's and doctoral theses in family medicine and their publications between 1982 and 2014. GP/FM degree theses were reviewed at the Faculty of Medicine and central Suez Canal libraries. Several characteristics were extracted from each thesis relating to the main researcher, supervisors, themes, and study methods according to predefined criteria. Publications from the theses were described. Over 33 years, 208 theses were completed by 173 GP/FM researchers. The majority of the theses were for Master's degrees (84.1%). Regarding the study design, most of the degree theses were cross-sectional studies (76.9%). The adult population was targeted in 33.7% of research theses. Nonprobability sampling was used in 51%. Rural communities were the setting of research in 43.8%, and primary health center (PHC)-based studies in 59.1%. The "Patient" category exceeded the other categories (28.4%). Publication from theses started in the second decade of research production. Of the degree theses, 21.6% original articles were published. Only 13.3% of articles from theses were published in PubMed-indexed journals. The researcher was first author in 62.2% of published articles. The production of GP/FM theses and their publications are going to increase. Continuous assessment and planning for GP/FM studies are recommended.

Public opinion about condoms for HIV and STD prevention: a Midwestern state telephone survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Yarber, William L; Milhausen, Robin R; Crosby, Richard A; Torabi, Mohammad R

2005-09-01

Public opinion is important in determining condom and condom education policies in public high schools. A random telephone survey of 517 Indiana residents was conducted from July through October 2003 to assess public opinion about education on correct condom use for HIV and STD prevention; condom availability in Indiana public high schools; and issues related to condom use, effectiveness and promotion. Data were analyzed using bivariate and linear regression techniques. A majority of respondents strongly or somewhat agreed that instruction on correct condom use for HIV and STD prevention should be provided in public high schools (77%), classroom instruction should include condoms (71%), only medically accurate information about condoms should being given (94%) and the federal government should promote condoms (70%). Fewer than half (48%) strongly or somewhat agreed that condoms should be made available to teenagers in public high schools without parental permission. Nearly all (92%) considered condoms at least somewhat effective in preventing HIV and other STDs. Non-Republican party affiliation, younger age and condom use within the previous five years were each significantly associated with having positive opinions on many of the condom-related statements. Public opinion appears to support the provision of correct condom use information in Indiana public schools. Schools should consider providing only medically accurate information about condoms and including condoms in instruction so students can see and touch them.

Confronting zoonoses through closer collaboration between medicine and veterinary medicine (as 'one medicine').

Science.gov (United States)

Kahn, Laura H; Kaplan, Bruce; Steele, James H

2007-01-01

In the 19th century, the concept of 'one medicine' was embraced by leaders in the medical and veterinary medical communities. In the 20th century, collaborative efforts between medicine and veterinary medicine diminished considerably. While there have been some notable exceptions, such as Calvin W. Schwabe's proposal for unifying human and veterinary medicine and joint efforts by the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization to control zoonotic diseases, 'one medicine' has languished in the modern milieu of clinical care, public health, and biomedical research. Risks of zoonotic disease transmission are rarely discussed in clinical care which is of particular concern if humans and/or animals are immunosuppressed. Physicians and veterinarians should advise their patients and pet-owning clients that some animals should not be pets. The risk of zoonotic disease acquisition can be considerable in the occupational setting. Collaborative efforts in biomedical research could do much to improve human and animal health. As the threat of zoonotic diseases continues to increase in the 21st century, medicine and veterinary medicine must revive 'one medicine' in order to adequately address these challenges. 'One medicine' revival strategies must involve medical and veterinary medical education, clinical care, public health and biomedical research.

Primary prevention in public health: an analysis of basic assumptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratcliffe, J; Wallack, L

1985-01-01

The common definition of primary prevention is straightforward; but how it is transformed into a framework to guide action is based on personal and societal feelings and beliefs about the basis for social organization. This article focuses on the two contending primary prevention strategies of health promotion and health protection. The contention between the two strategies stems from a basic disagreement about disease causality in modern society. Health promotion is based on the "lifestyle" theory of disease causality, which sees individual health status linked ultimately to personal decisions about diet, stress, and drug habits. Primary prevention, from this perspective, entails persuading individuals to forgo their risk-taking, self-destructive behavior. Health protection, on the other hand, is based on the "social-structural" theory of disease causality. This theory sees the health status of populations linked ultimately to the unequal distribution of social resources, industrial pollution, occupational stress, and "anti-health promotion" marketing practices. Primary prevention, from this perspective, requires changing existing social and, particularly, economic policies and structures. In order to provide a basis for choosing between these contending strategies, the demonstrated (i.e., past) impact of each strategy on the health of the public is examined. Two conclusions are drawn. First, the health promotion strategy shows little potential for improving the public health, because it systematically ignores the risk-imposing, other-destructive behavior of influential actors (policy-makers and institutions) in society. And second, effective primary prevention efforts entail an "upstream" approach that results in far-reaching sociopolitical and economic change.

The Pipeline From Abstract Presentation to Publication in Pediatric Hospital Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann, Lisa E; Hall, Matthew; Kyler, Kathryn; Cochran, Joseph; Andrews, Annie L; Williams, Derek J; Wilson, Karen M; Shah, Samir S

2018-02-01

The annual Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) conference serves as a venue for the dissemination of research in this rapidly growing discipline. A measure of research validity is subsequent publication in peer-reviewed journals. To identify the publication rate of abstracts submitted to the 2014 PHM conference and determine whether presentation format was associated with subsequent journal publication or time to publication. We identified abstracts submitted to the 2014 PHM conference. Presentation formats included rejected abstracts and poster and oral presentations. Abstracts subsequently published in journals were identified by searching the author and abstract title in PubMed, MedEdPORTAL, and Google Scholar. We used logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models to determine if presentation format was associated with publication, time to publication, and publishing journal impact factor. Of 226 submitted abstracts, 19.0% were rejected, 68.0% were selected for posters, and 12.8% were selected for oral presentations; 36.3% were subsequently published within 30 months after the conference. Abstracts accepted for oral presentation had more than 7-fold greater odds of publication (adjusted odds ratio 7.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.6-23.5) and a 4-fold greater likelihood of publication at each month (adjusted hazard ratio 4.5; 95% CI, 2.1-9.7) compared with rejected abstracts. Median journal impact factor was significantly higher for oral presentations than other presentation formats (P presentation; however, the low overall publication rate may indicate that presented results are preliminary or signify a need for increased mentorship and resources for research development in PHM.

ACNP Public Education Program on nuclear medicine and related low-level waste issues. Final technical report, 7 July 1980-30 June 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The goal of the ACNP Public Education Program was to educate and inform the greatest number of people in the areas of radiation and health and, in turn, to gain the public's understanding of Nuclear Medicine. The related low-level waste issues also were incorporated into the program. To carry out the program's objectives and design to educate the public, the ACNP established a Speaker Bureau which consists of those members of the ACNP and the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) who go through the training seminars, conducted by ACNP, and are available to speak publicly about Nuclear Medicine and related low-level waste issues. In addition, the ACNP developed the necessary audiovisual and printed materials to be used in their own right or as supplemental tools. Promotion of the Speakers Bureau and the audiovisual materials to the media and other various public forums was undertaken

Suicide Prevention Programs in the Schools: A Review and Public Health Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, David N.; Eckert, Tanya L.; Mazza, James J.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of school-based suicide prevention programs from a public health perspective. A literature review of empirical studies examining school-based suicide prevention programs was conducted. Studies were required to contain information pertaining to the implementation and outcomes of a…

Society for Health Psychology (APA Division 38) and Society of Behavioral Medicine joint position statement on the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzpatrick, Stephanie L; Wilson, Dawn K; Pagoto, Sherry L

2017-06-01

Beginning in January 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to cover the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), also referred to as Medicare DPP. The American Psychological Association Society for Health Psychology (SfHP) and the Society for Behavioral Medicine (SBM) reviewed the proposed plan. SfHP and SBM are in support of the CMS decision to cover DPP for Medicare beneficiaries but have a significant concern that aspects of the proposal will limit the public health impact. Concerns include the emphasis on weight outcomes to determine continued coverage and the lack of details regarding requirements for coaches. SfHP and SBM are in strong support of modifications to the proposal that would remove the minimum weight loss stipulation to determine coverage and to specify type and qualifications of "coaches."

Complementary and alternative medicine for pediatric otitis media.

Science.gov (United States)

Levi, Jessica R; Brody, Robert M; McKee-Cole, Katie; Pribitkin, Edmund; O'Reilly, Robert

2013-06-01

To review the literature involving complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for pediatric otitis media. Multiple modalities are discussed, including prevention involving breastfeeding, nutrition, and vaccination; symptomatic treatment involving homeopathy, natural health products, and probiotics; manual manipulations involving osteopathy and chiropractics; and traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. The information presented will assist physicians in advising patients on their decision-making during the early stages of otitis media when antibiotics and surgery are not yet indicated. A systematic literature search was conducted through January 2012 in PubMed using MESH term "otitis media" in conjunction with "complementary therapies," "homeopathy," "manipulation, osteopathic," "manipulation, chiropractic," "acupuncture therapy," "probiotics," "naturopathy," and "xylitol." Theses searches yielded 163 unique results. Abstracts and titles were evaluated for relevance. Case reports, case series, randomized controlled trials, and basic science research were included. Publications not relevant to the discussion of alternative medicine in otitis media were excluded. Bibliographies were checked for further publications. Thirty-six unique publications were reviewed. Of all therapies in complementary and alternative medicine, only xylitol has been studied in well-designed, randomized, blinded trials; it is likely effective, but compliance limits its applicability. Management of acute otitis media begins with watchful waiting. Herbal eardrops may help relieve symptoms. Homeopathic treatments may help decrease pain and lead to faster resolution. Prevention should be emphasized with elimination of risk factors, such as second hand smoke and bottle-feeding, as well as maintaining nutrition and vaccinations. Vitamin supplementation may be helpful. Probiotics and xylitol may be beneficial as well. Traditional Chinese/Japanese therapies show promising results but remain

What evidence and support do state-level public health practitioners need to address obesity prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Leeman, Jennifer; Teal, Randall; Jernigan, Jan; Reed, Jenica Huddleston; Farris, Rosanne; Ammerman, Alice

2014-01-01

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Public health practitioners are distinctly positioned to promote the environmental changes essential to addressing obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other entities provide evidence and technical assistance to support this work, yet little is known about how practitioners use evidence and support as they intervene to prevent obesity. The study's purpose was to describe how practitioners and CDC project officers characterized the obesity prevention task, where practitioners accessed support and evidence, and what approaches to support and evidence they found most useful. APPROACH OR DESIGN: Mixed-methods, cross-sectional interviews, and survey. State-level public health obesity prevention programs. Public health practitioners and CDC project officers. We conducted 10 in-depth interviews with public health practitioners (n = 7) and project officers (n = 3) followed by an online survey completed by 62 practitioners (50% response rate). We applied content analysis to interview data and descriptive statistics to survey data. Practitioners characterized obesity prevention as uncertain and complex, involving interdependence among actors, multiple levels of activity, an excess of information, and a paucity of evidence. Survey findings provide further detail on the types of evidence and support practitioners used and valued. We recommend approaches to tailoring evidence and support to the needs of practitioners working on obesity prevention and other complex health problems.

Public Health, Academic Medicine, and the Alcohol Industry’s Corporate Social Responsibility Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Robaina, Katherine

2013-01-01

We explored the emerging relationships among the alcohol industry, academic medicine, and the public health community in the context of public health theory dealing with corporate social responsibility. We reviewed sponsorship of scientific research, efforts to influence public perceptions of research, dissemination of scientific information, and industry-funded policy initiatives. To the extent that the scientific evidence supports the reduction of alcohol consumption through regulatory and legal measures, the academic community has come into increasing conflict with the views of the alcohol industry. We concluded that the alcohol industry has intensified its scientific and policy-related activities under the general framework of corporate social responsibility initiatives, most of which can be described as instrumental to the industry’s economic interests. PMID:23237151

Public enemy number one: the US Advertising Council's first drug abuse prevention campaign.

Science.gov (United States)

Niesen, Molly

2011-01-01

This article explores the Advertising Council's first national drug abuse prevention campaign in the 1970s. Scholarship thus far has demonstrated the ways in which the issue of drug abuse represented a chief political strategy for President Nixon. Evidence from major trade press publications, congressional hearings, and an array of archival sources suggest that this campaign was also part of a public relations crusade on behalf of the advertising industry in response to public criticism of its role in abetting a culture of drug dependence. These institutional and political pressures helped shape drug abuse prevention in the 1970 s and for the decades that followed. Copyright © 2011 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.

Natural occurrence of mycotoxins in medicinal plants: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashiq, Samina; Hussain, Mubbashir; Ahmad, Bashir

2014-05-01

Medicinal plants are widely used as home remedies and raw materials for the pharmaceutical industries. Herbal remedies are used in the prevention, treatment and cure of disorders and diseases since ancient times. However, use of medicinal herbs may not meet the requirements of quality, safety and efficacy. During harvesting, handling, storage and distribution, medicinal plants are subjected to contamination by various fungi, which may be responsible for spoilage and production of mycotoxins. The increasing consumption of medicinal plants has made their use a public health problem due to the lack of effective surveillance of the use, efficacy, toxicity and quality of these natural products. The increase in use of medicinal plants may lead to an increase in the intake of mycotoxins therefore contamination of medicinal plants with mycotoxins can contribute to adverse human health problems and therefore represents a special hazard. Numerous natural occurrences of mycotoxins in medicinal plants and traditional herbal medicines have been reported from various countries including Spain, China, Germany, India, Turkey and from Middle East as well. This review discusses the important mycotoxins and their natural occurrences in medicinal plants and their products. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Core principles of evolutionary medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Grunspan, Daniel Z; Nesse, Randolph M; Barnes, M Elizabeth; Brownell, Sara E

2018-01-01

Abstract Background and objectives Evolutionary medicine is a rapidly growing field that uses the principles of evolutionary biology to better understand, prevent and treat disease, and that uses studies of disease to advance basic knowledge in evolutionary biology. Over-arching principles of evolutionary medicine have been described in publications, but our study is the first to systematically elicit core principles from a diverse panel of experts in evolutionary medicine. These principles should be useful to advance recent recommendations made by The Association of American Medical Colleges and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to make evolutionary thinking a core competency for pre-medical education. Methodology The Delphi method was used to elicit and validate a list of core principles for evolutionary medicine. The study included four surveys administered in sequence to 56 expert panelists. The initial open-ended survey created a list of possible core principles; the three subsequent surveys winnowed the list and assessed the accuracy and importance of each principle. Results Fourteen core principles elicited at least 80% of the panelists to agree or strongly agree that they were important core principles for evolutionary medicine. These principles over-lapped with concepts discussed in other articles discussing key concepts in evolutionary medicine. Conclusions and implications This set of core principles will be helpful for researchers and instructors in evolutionary medicine. We recommend that evolutionary medicine instructors use the list of core principles to construct learning goals. Evolutionary medicine is a young field, so this list of core principles will likely change as the field develops further. PMID:29493660

Medicinal Plants: A Public Resource for Metabolomics and Hypothesis Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eve Syrkin Wurtele

2012-11-01

studied species. The database is publicly available and can be used by researchers in medicine and plant biology.

Recent Progress Toward Hydrogen Medicine: Potential of Molecular Hydrogen for Preventive and Therapeutic Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ohta, Shigeo

2011-01-01

Persistent oxidative stress is one of the major causes of most lifestyle-related diseases, cancer and the aging process. Acute oxidative stress directly causes serious damage to tissues. Despite the clinical importance of oxidative damage, antioxidants have been of limited therapeutic success. We have proposed that molecular hydrogen (H2) has potential as a “novel” antioxidant in preventive and therapeutic applications [Ohsawa et al., Nat Med. 2007: 13; 688-94]. H2 has a number of advantages as a potential antioxidant: H2 rapidly diffuses into tissues and cells, and it is mild enough neither to disturb metabolic redox reactions nor to affect reactive oxygen species (ROS) that function in cell signaling, thereby, there should be little adverse effects of consuming H2. There are several methods to ingest or consume H2, including inhaling hydrogen gas, drinking H2-dissolved water (hydrogen water), taking a hydrogen bath, injecting H2-dissolved saline (hydrogen saline), dropping hydrogen saline onto the eye, and increasing the production of intestinal H2 by bacteria. Since the publication of the first H2 paper in Nature Medicine in 2007, the biological effects of H2 have been confirmed by the publication of more than 38 diseases, physiological states and clinical tests in leading biological/medical journals, and several groups have started clinical examinations. Moreover, H2 shows not only effects against oxidative stress, but also various anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects. H2 regulates various gene expressions and protein-phosphorylations, though the molecular mechanisms underlying the marked effects of very small amounts of H2 remain elusive. PMID:21736547

The Prohibition of Medicinal Claims: Food in Fact But Medicinal Product in Law?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bremmers, H.J.; Meulen, van der B.M.J.; Waarts, Y.R.

2015-01-01

Under EU medicinal law, any substance or combination of substances presented as having properties for treating or preventing disease in human beings is a medicinal product by virtue of its presentation. Under EU food law it is prohibited to attribute to any food the property of preventing, treating

Precision medicine: In need of guidance and surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jian-Zhen; Long, Jun-Yu; Wang, An-Qiang; Zheng, Ying; Zhao, Hai-Tao

2017-07-28

Precision medicine, currently a hotspot in mainstream medicine, has been strongly promoted in recent years. With rapid technological development, such as next-generation sequencing, and fierce competition in molecular targeted drug exploitation, precision medicine represents an advance in science and technology; it also fulfills needs in public health care. The clinical translation and application of precision medicine - especially in the prevention and treatment of tumors - is far from satisfactory; however, the aims of precision medicine deserve approval. Thus, this medical approach is currently in its infancy; it has promising prospects, but it needs to overcome numbers of problems and deficiencies. It is expected that in addition to conventional symptoms and signs, precision medicine will define disease in terms of the underlying molecular characteristics and other environmental susceptibility factors. Those expectations should be realized by constructing a novel data network, integrating clinical data from individual patients and personal genomic background with existing research on the molecular makeup of diseases. In addition, multi-omics analysis and multi-discipline collaboration will become crucial elements in precision medicine. Precision medicine deserves strong support, and its development demands directed momentum. We propose three kinds of impetus (research, application and collaboration impetus) for such directed momentum toward promoting precision medicine and accelerating its clinical translation and application.

Medical Journalism and Emergency Medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeed Safari

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, many researches in the field of medicine are conducting all around the world and medical journalism is a way to share the results. In fact, dissemination of the related manuscripts can prevent the repetitive research or may even lead to conducting a better survey. Therefore high quality medical journals are considered as up-to-date resources for further investigations. Medical journals are propagating their papers in various media including television programs, newspapers, internet websites and different social media. So they can influence the government policy makers, health-care professionals and even public. Moreover, most researchers hear about medical discoveries for the first time through medical journals and their related social media. So as well a high quality journal can help to improve medical science, a journal of poor quality can be damaging and distorting. Indeed, popular journals have the power of inventing a “communication storm” to draw attention to a certain topic. Thus they have to respect the accepted international principles to prevent spreading inaccurate and misleading data. This paper aims to review the previous and current situation of medical journalism by focus on field of emergency medicine.

Perspectives of family medicine physicians on the importance of adolescent preventive care: a multivariate analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Jaime L; Aalsma, Matthew C; Gilbert, Amy L; Hensel, Devon J; Rickert, Vaughn I

2016-01-20

The study objective was to identify commonalities amongst family medicine physicians who endorse annual adolescent visits. A nationally weighted representative on-line survey was used to explore pediatrician (N = 204) and family medicine physicians (N = 221) beliefs and behaviors surrounding adolescent wellness. Our primary outcome was endorsement that adolescents should receive annual preventive care visits. Pediatricians were significantly more likely (p family medicine physicians, bivariate comparisons were conducted between those who endorsed an annual visit (N = 164) compared to those who did not (N = 57) with significant predictors combined into two multivariate logistic regression models. Model 1 controlled for: patient race, proportion of 13-17 year olds in provider's practice, discussion beliefs scale and discussion behaviors with parents scale. Model 2 controlled for the same first three variables as well as discussion behaviors with adolescents scale. Model 1 showed for each discussion beliefs scale topic selected, family medicine physicians had 1.14 increased odds of endorsing annual visits (p family medicine physicians had 1.15 increased odds of also endorsing the importance of annual visits (p Family medicine physicians that endorse annual visits are significantly more likely to affirm they hold strong beliefs about topics that should be discussed during the annual exam. They also act on these beliefs by talking to parents of teens about these topics. This group appears to focus on quality of care in thought and deed.

Canaries in the coal mine: Interpersonal violence, gang violence, and violent extremism through a public health prevention lens.

Science.gov (United States)

Eisenman, David P; Flavahan, Louise

2017-08-01

This paper asks what programmes and policies for preventing violent extremism (also called 'countering violent extremism', or CVE) can learn from the public health violence prevention field. The general answer is that addressing violent extremism within the wider domain of public health violence prevention connects the effort to a relevant field of research, evidence-based policy and programming, and a broader population reach. This answer is reached by examining conceptual alignments between the two fields at both the case-level and the theoretical level. To address extremist violence within the wider reach of violence prevention, having a shared model is seen as a first step. The World Health Organization uses the social-ecological framework for assessing the risk and protective factors for violence and developing effective public-health based programmes. This study illustrates how this model has been used for gang violence prevention and explores overlaps between gang violence prevention and preventing violent extremism. Finally, it provides policy and programme recommendations to align CVE with public health violence prevention.

Personalized medicine in psychiatry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wium-Andersen, Ida Kim; Vinberg, Maj; Kessing, Lars Vedel

2017-01-01

Background: Personalized medicine is a model in which a patient’s unique clinical, genetic, and environmental characteristics are the basis for treatment and prevention.  Aim, method, and results: This review aims to describe the current tools, phenomenological features, clinical risk factors......, and biomarkers used to provide personalized medicine. Furthermore, this study describes the target areas in which they can be applied including diagnostics, treatment selection and response, assessment of risk of side-effects, and prevention.  Discussion and conclusion: Personalized medicine in psychiatry....... The discussion proposes possible solutions to narrow this gap and to move psychiatric research forward towards personalized medicine....

Religion and Public Health: Moral Tradition as Both Problem and Solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozier, Michael

2017-06-01

Despite strong religious influence in the development of medicine and medical ethics, religion has been relatively absent in the rise of preventive medicine and population health. Episodic, clinical medicine has a powerful hold on the religious imagination in health care. Nevertheless, Hebrew Scripture, elements of rabbinical teaching, and modern concepts of social justice all can be used to inspire action in health care that goes beyond clinical medicine. The Christian tradition can call upon the corporal works of mercy, virtue ethics, and Catholic social teaching, as well as the modern history Catholic sisters in the U.S. to do the same. By considering the moral imperative for public health, Jewish and Christian individuals and organizations reaffirm the notion that the human person is both sacred and social. This article suggests a need for religious traditions to consider their moral traditions anew with an eye toward prevention and population health.

Characteristics of Successful Internal Medicine Resident Research Projects: Predictors of Journal Publication Versus Abstract Presentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Atreya, Auras R; Stefan, Mihaela; Friderici, Jennifer L; Kleppel, Reva; Fitzgerald, Janice; Rothberg, Michael B

2018-02-06

To identify the characteristics of successful research projects at an internal medicine residency program with an established research curriculum. The authors collected data about all research projects initiated by or involving medicine residents from 2006 to 2013 at Baystate Medical Center, using departmental files and institutional review board applications. Resident and mentor characteristics were determined using personnel files and Medline searches. Using multivariable models, the authors identified predictors of successful completion of projects using adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs). The primary outcome was manuscript publication by resident and secondary outcome was either publication or regional/national presentation. Finally, residents were surveyed to identify barriers and/or factors contributing to project completion. Ninety-four research projects were identified: 52 (55.3%) projects achieved the primary outcome and 72 (76.5%) met the secondary outcome, with overlap between categories. Most study designs were cross-sectional (41, 43.6%) or retrospective cohort (30, 31.9%). After adjustment, utilization of the epidemiology/biostatistical core (PR = 2.09; 95% CI: 1.36, 3.21), established publication record of resident (PR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.07), and resident with U.S. medical education (PR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.90) were associated with successful completion of projects. Mentor publication record (PR = 3.13) did not retain significance due to small sample size. Most respondents (65%) cited "lack of time" as a major project barrier. Programs seeking to increase resident publications should consider an institutional epidemiology/biostatistical core available to all residency research projects, and residents should choose experienced mentors with a track record of publications.

Towards equivalent health care of prisoners: European soft law and public health policy in Geneva.

Science.gov (United States)

Elger, Bernice S

2008-07-01

Prisoners have a right to health care and to be protected against inhumane and degrading treatment. Health care personnel and public policy makers play a central role in the protection of these rights and in the pursuit of public health goals. This article examines the legal framework for prison medicine in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland and provides examples of this framework that has shaped prisoners' medical care, including preventive measures. Geneva constitutes an intriguing example of how the Council of Europe standards concerning prison medicine have acquired a legal role in a Swiss canton. Learning how these factors have influenced implementation of prison medicine standards in Geneva may be helpful to public health managers elsewhere and encourage the use of similar strategies.

Sports celebrities and public health: Diego Maradona's influence on drug use prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, William J; de Matviuk, Marcela Alejandra Chavan

2010-06-01

Exposure to a sports celebrity through media and sporting events can have important influences on a public health issue associated with that celebrity. The battle against drug use by Argentinean soccer icon Diego Maradona has provoked concerns about drug abuse and prevention in Argentina, particularly among young people. The present study analyzes how two forms of involvement with Maradona affected the public's concern and perceptions of drug use after Maradona's drug-related health crisis in 2004. Results indicate that those who had a greater degree of parasocial interaction with Maradona were more likely to have an increased awareness of drug abuse, a greater personal concern about drug abuse, abstained from drug use, and more strongly support drug abuse prevention programs. In contrast, identification with Maradona had a mitigating effect on drug use prevention. Implications of these findings regarding the influence of sports celebrities on substance abuse are discussed.

To prevent, react, and rebuild: health research and the prevention of genocide.

Science.gov (United States)

Adler, Reva N; Smith, James; Fishman, Paul; Larson, Eric B

2004-12-01

To develop an approach to the primary prevention of genocide, based on established public health-based violence prevention methods derived from a variety of high-risk settings. (1) Peer-reviewed literature in the fields of public health, violence/injury prevention, medicine, economics, sociology, psychology, history, and genocide studies, (2) demographic and health data bases made available by governments and international organizations, (3) reports on recent episodes of genocide published by international and nongovernmental organizations, (4) newspaper and journalistic accounts of recent and past genocides, (5) archival testimonies of genocide victims and perpetrators, and (6) court transcripts of international genocide prosecutions. The research was conducted as a medical-historical policy analysis synthesizing data within the following framework: (1) Assessment of current violence and injury prevention models for suitability in the prevention of extreme, population-wide violence, (2) analysis of morbidity and mortality data to quantify the impact of genocide on the health of populations, (3) making an inventory of the known societal risk factors for genocidal violence, (4) identification of the theorized, modifiable attitudinal risk factors for genocidal behavior within a population health model, and (5) assessment of existing projects targeting primary violence and injury prevention in high risk jurisdictions, for future adaptation within a structured, public health approach. Mortality rates due to genocidal violence are far in excess of other public health emergencies including malaria and HIV/AIDS. The immediate and long-range health consequences of genocide include the sequelae of infectious diseases, organ system failure, and psychiatric disorders, conferring an increased burden of disease on affected populations for multiple subsequent generations. The impact of genocide on local health economies is catastrophic, and the opportunity costs of diverting

Technology for Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention of Cardiometabolic Disease in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Hameed, Safraj Shahul; Rawal, Ishita; Soni, Deepa; Ajay, Vamadevan S; Goenka, Shifalika; Prabhakaran, Dorairaj

2016-01-01

Cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) are a major cause of mortality, morbidity and disability worldwide. Among Indians, CMD onset is at a much younger age and is prevalent in all sections of the society. Prevention, control and management of CMD and its risk factors is a major public health challenge, and alternative approaches need to be explored and integrated into public health programs. Advancements in the fields of computers, electronics, telecommunication and medicine have resulted in the rapid development of health-related technology. In this paper we provide an overview of the major technological advances in diagnosis, treatment and prevention within the field of CMD in the last few decades. This non-exhaustive review focuses on the most promising technologies that the authors feel might be of relevance in the Indian context. Some of the techniques detailed include advances in imaging and mobile phone technology, surgical techniques, electronic health records, Nano medicine, telemedicine and decision support systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Participation as Target of Social Medicine and Nursing Care: - Legal Definition of Long-Term Care Dependency - Strategies to Prevent Long-Term Care Dependency].

Science.gov (United States)

Nüchtern, Elisabeth; Gansweid, Barbara; Gerber, Hans; von Mittelstaedt, Gert

2017-01-01

Objective: By the "Second Bill to Strengthen Long-Term Care", a new concept of long-term care dependency will be introduced, valid from 2017. Long-term care dependency according to Social Code XI will be defined covering more aspects than today. Therefore, the working group "Nursing Care" of the division "Social Medicine in Practice and Rehabilitation" in the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention presents their results after working on the social medicine perspective of the definition and prevention of long-term care dependency. Methods: Both the definition and strategies to prevent long-term care dependency are systematically taken into consideration from the point of view of social medicine on the basis of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), as long-term care dependency means a defined condition of disability. Results: Both the current and the new concept of long-term care dependency focus activity limitations. The perspective of social medicine considers the interactions of health condition, its effects on daily activities and personal as well as environmental factors. From this point of view approaches for social benefits concerning prevention and rehabilitation can be identified systematically so as to work against the development and progression of long-term care dependency. The reference to the ICF can facilitate the communication between different professions. The new "graduation" of long-term care dependency would allow an international "translation" referring to the ICF. Conclusion: Experts from the field of social medicine as well as those of nursing care, care-givers and nursing researchers have in common the objective that persons in need of nursing care can participate in as many aspects of life of importance to them in an autonomous and self-determined way. The point of view of social medicine on long-term care dependency is fundamental for all occupational groups that are involved and for their

Herbal Medicine Goshajinkigan Prevents Paclitaxel-Induced Mechanical Allodynia without Impairing Antitumor Activity of Paclitaxel

OpenAIRE

Bahar, Muh. Akbar; Andoh, Tsugunobu; Ogura, Keisuke; Hayakawa, Yoshihiro; Saiki, Ikuo; Kuraishi, Yasushi

2013-01-01

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a major dose-limiting side effect of commonly used chemotherapeutic agents. However, there are no effective strategies to treat the neuropathy. We examined whether Goshajinkigan, a herbal medicine, would prevent paclitaxel-induced allodynia without affecting the anticancer action in mice. Murine breast cancer 4T1 cells were inoculated into the mammary fat pad. Paclitaxel (10 and 20 mg/kg, intraperitoneal, alternate day from day 7 postinoculation) ...

IOM calls for transformation of attitudes toward pain and its prevention and management.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

The Institute of Medicine (IOM), the most influential health policy body in the United States, has published an extensive report calling for a cultural transformation of attitudes toward pain and its prevention and management. This report summarizes the IOM publication.

Public health interventions to protect against falsified medicines: a systematic review of international, national and local policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, William L; Doyle, Cormac; Halliwell-Ewen, Mycroft; Lambert, Gabriel

2016-12-01

Falsified medicines are deliberately fraudulent drugs that pose a direct risk to patient health and undermine healthcare systems, causing global morbidity and mortality. To produce an overview of anti-falsifying public health interventions deployed at international, national and local scales in low and middle income countries (LMIC). We conducted a systematic search of the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases for healthcare or pharmaceutical policies relevant to reducing the burden of falsified medicines in LMIC. Our initial search identified 660 unique studies, of which 203 met title/abstract inclusion criteria and were categorised according to their primary focus: international; national; local pharmacy; internet pharmacy; drug analysis tools. Eighty-four were included in the qualitative synthesis, along with 108 articles and website links retrieved through secondary searches. On the international stage, we discuss the need for accessible pharmacovigilance (PV) global reporting systems, international leadership and funding incorporating multiple stakeholders (healthcare, pharmaceutical, law enforcement) and multilateral trade agreements that emphasise public health. On the national level, we explore the importance of establishing adequate medicine regulatory authorities and PV capacity, with drug screening along the supply chain. This requires interdepartmental coordination, drug certification and criminal justice legislation and enforcement that recognise the severity of medicine falsification. Local healthcare professionals can receive training on medicine quality assessments, drug registration and pharmacological testing equipment. Finally, we discuss novel technologies for drug analysis which allow rapid identification of fake medicines in low-resource settings. Innovative point-of-purchase systems like mobile phone verification allow consumers to check the authenticity of their medicines. Combining anti

[Exploration and practice in the construction of curriculum on epidemiology in preventive medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Y M; Le, Y L; Yu, Y X; Wang, J B; Jin, M J; Tang, M L; Chen, K

2017-12-10

Epidemiology is one of main courses for undergraduate students majoring in preventive medicine. There are some limitations in the traditional epidemiology teaching, which is usually characterized in indoctrinated education: "lectured by the teachers and listened by the students." In Zhejiang University, staff of the epidemiology division tried to explore a new teaching mode as 'student-centered, teacher-leading, question-based, and combining with literature discussion and course practice.' After practicing for two years, students were inspired in learning initiatives, with teaching effectiveness obviously improved.

Prospective regenerative medicine therapies for obstetric trauma-induced fecal incontinence.

Science.gov (United States)

Parmar, Nina; Kumar, Lalit; Emmanuel, Anton; Day, Richard M

2014-01-01

Fecal incontinence is a major public health issue that has yet to be adequately addressed. Obstetric trauma and injury to the anal sphincter muscles are the most common cause of fecal incontinence. New therapies are emerging aimed at repair or regeneration of sphincter muscle and restoration of continence. While regenerative medicine offers an attractive option for fecal incontinence there are currently no validated techniques using this approach. Although many challenges are yet to be resolved, the advent of regenerative medicine is likely to offer disruptive technologies to treat and possibly prevent the onset of this devastating condition. This article provides a review on regenerative medicine approaches for treating fecal incontinence and a critique of the current landscape in this area.

Herbal Medicine Goshajinkigan Prevents Paclitaxel-Induced Mechanical Allodynia without Impairing Antitumor Activity of Paclitaxel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muh. Akbar Bahar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a major dose-limiting side effect of commonly used chemotherapeutic agents. However, there are no effective strategies to treat the neuropathy. We examined whether Goshajinkigan, a herbal medicine, would prevent paclitaxel-induced allodynia without affecting the anticancer action in mice. Murine breast cancer 4T1 cells were inoculated into the mammary fat pad. Paclitaxel (10 and 20 mg/kg, intraperitoneal, alternate day from day 7 postinoculation inhibited the tumor growth, and Goshajinkigan (1 g/kg, oral, daily from day 2 postinoculation did not affect the antitumor action of paclitaxel. Mechanical allodynia developed in the inoculated region due to tumor growth and in the hind paw due to paclitaxel-induced neuropathy. Paclitaxel-induced allodynia was markedly prevented by Goshajinkigan, although tumor-associated allodynia was not inhibited by Goshajinkigan. These results suggest that Goshajinkigan prevents paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy without interfering with the anti-cancer action of paclitaxel.

Growing up tobacco free: preventing nicotine addiction in children and youths

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lynch, Barbara S; Bonnie, Richard J

... on Preventing Nicotine Addiction in Children and Youths Division of Biobehavioral Sciences and Mental Disorders Institute of Medicine NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1994 i Copyrightthe cannot be not from book, paper however, version for formatting, original authoritative the typesetting-specific the as from created publication fil...

Skin cancer has a large impact on our public hospitals but prevention programs continue to demonstrate strong economic credentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Sophy T F; Carter, Rob; Heward, Sue; Sinclair, Craig

2017-08-01

While skin cancer is still the most common cancer in Australia, important information gaps remain. This paper addresses two gaps: i) the cost impact on public hospitals; and ii) an up-to-date assessment of economic credentials for prevention. A prevalence-based cost approach was undertaken in public hospitals in Victoria. Costs were estimated for inpatient admissions, using State service statistics, and outpatient services based on attendance at three hospitals in 2012-13. Cost-effectiveness for prevention was estimated from 'observed vs expected' analysis, together with program expenditure data. Combining inpatient and outpatient costs, total annual costs for Victoria were $48 million to $56 million. The SunSmart program is estimated to have prevented more than 43,000 skin cancers between 1988 and 2010, a net cost saving of $92 million. Skin cancer treatment in public hospitals ($9.20∼$10.39 per head/year) was 30-times current public funding in skin cancer prevention ($0.37 per head/year). At about $50 million per year for hospitals in Victoria alone, the cost burden of a largely preventable disease is substantial. Skin cancer prevention remains highly cost-effective, yet underfunded. Implications for public health: Increased funding for skin cancer prevention must be kept high on the public health agenda. Hospitals would also benefit from being able to redirect resources to non-preventable conditions. © 2017 The Authors.

Functional Food in Traditional Persian Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Zare, Roghayeh; Hosseinkhani, Ayda

2016-05-01

During the last decades, there have been great advancements in the field of preventive medicine. Research has demonstrated that nutrition plays a crucial role in the prevention of chronic diseases. The concept of functional food was first introduced in Japan during the 1980s. It proposes to consider food not only vital to survive, but also a mean for mental and physical well-being, contributing to the prevention and reduction of risk factors for diseases. However, there is evidence that the concept was believed by ancient physicians as well. One of the traditional systems of medicines is traditional Persian medicine (TPM). Rhazes said; "as long as a disease could be treated with food, medicine should be avoided". We carried out a review of Avicenna's Canon of medicine and Rhazes books for the definition of food and drug and similar concepts of functional food. We listed the identified concepts along with their examples. The classification of food and their therapeutic use were explained in Canon of medicine. Rhazes has a book called 'Manafe al-Aghziyeh', in which he writes about the medicinal benefits of different nutrition. Five concepts (food, drug, medicinal food, nutritional medicine and antidote or poison) were noted in these books. There are many recommendations on food for the prevention and treatment of diseases in TPM books, which can be the basis for novel research studies.

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 4

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-04-06

This podcast is the fourth of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and University of North Carolina's Gene Matthews talk about strategies that should serve as the cornerstone for partnership development.  Created: 4/6/2009 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 4/6/2009.

Public library consumer health information pilot project: results of a National Library of Medicine evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, F B; Lyon, B; Schell, M B; Kitendaugh, P; Cid, V H; Siegel, E R

2000-10-01

In October 1998, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) launched a pilot project to learn about the role of public libraries in providing health information to the public and to generate information that would assist NLM and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) in learning how best to work with public libraries in the future. Three regional medical libraries (RMLs), eight resource libraries, and forty-one public libraries or library systems from nine states and the District of Columbia were selected for participation. The pilot project included an evaluation component that was carried out in parallel with project implementation. The evaluation ran through September 1999. The results of the evaluation indicated that participating public librarians were enthusiastic about the training and information materials provided as part of the project and that many public libraries used the materials and conducted their own outreach to local communities and groups. Most libraries applied the modest funds to purchase additional Internet-accessible computers and/or upgrade their health-reference materials. However, few of the participating public libraries had health information centers (although health information was perceived as a top-ten or top-five topic of interest to patrons). Also, the project generated only minimal usage of NLM's consumer health database, known as MEDLINEplus, from the premises of the monitored libraries (patron usage from home or office locations was not tracked). The evaluation results suggested a balanced follow-up by NLM and the NN/LM, with a few carefully selected national activities, complemented by a package of targeted activities that, as of January 2000, are being planned, developed, or implemented. The results also highlighted the importance of building an evaluation component into projects like this one from the outset, to assure that objectives were met and that evaluative information was available on a timely basis, as was

Childhood socioeconomic position, young adult intelligence and fillings of prescribed medicine for prevention of cardiovascular disease in middle-aged men

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kriegbaum, Margit; Kildemoes, Helle Wallach; Rasmussen, Jeppe Nørgaard

2014-01-01

To explore the relationship between childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and filling of medicine prescriptions for prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), with young adult intelligence (IQ) as a potential mediator....

Herbal Medicines: from Traditional Medicine to Modern Experimental Approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bahram Rasoulian

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Academic writings indicate that the medicinal use of plants dates back to 4000 - 5000 B.C. (1. Utilization of medicinal herbs has indeed a long history not only in human's life, but also in animals and there are some interesting evidences about the animals' self-medication, in both the prevention and treatment of diseases (2-5. The World Health Organization (WHO has recognized the importance of traditional medicines and created strategies, guidelines and standards for botanical medicines (6, 7. A significant part of those traditional text dealing with medicine, which were appreciated by ancient scientific communities worldwide, such as The Canon of Medicine by Persian physician–philosopher Ibn Sina (or Avicenna, 980 to 1032 AD, is allocated to herbal medicines. The Canon explores nearly 500 medicinal plants and herbal drugs. It should be noted that this book was used as a medical textbook in Europe until the 17th century AD (8, 9. Although there are important evidences about using some kinds of experimental approaches in traditional medicine (8, the efficacy of such approaches is in doubt because it is generally agreed that they might have been part of physicians' personal experiences. Not only the demand for herbal drugs is growing in developing countries, but also there are some evidences that consumers in developed countries are becoming disillusioned with modern healthcare; hence, the demand for traditional alternatives including herbal medicines is increasing in developing countries (10. On the one hand, the increased interest in herbal medicines throughout the world (10, 11, on the other hand, the need for direct empirical evidence about the effectiveness of herbal medicines in the proper statistical society with the appropriate number and method, denote the significance of new studies about medicinal plants and publishing their results. Herbal Medicines Journal (eISSN: 2538-2144 reports valuable research results for researchers all

Scientific publications in critical care medicine journals from East Asia: A 10-year survey of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Zhenyu; Ou, Chongyang; Teng, Hongfei; Liu, Xiguang; Tang, Hongxin

2016-01-01

The quantity and quality of publications in critical care medicine from East Asia haven't been reported. This study aimed to investigate the contribution of publications from East Asia. Articles from China, Japan and South Korea in 2005 to 2014 were retrieved from Web of Science and Pubmed. The number of publications, impact factor, citation, and article types were analyzed. There were 3076 publications from East Asia (1720 from China, 913 from Japan, and 443 from South Korea). There were a significant decrease in publications from Japan (p = 0.024) and significant increases from China (p = 0.000) and South Korea (p = 0.009). From 2006, the number of articles from China exceed Japan. China had the highest total impact factor (6618.48) and citation (18416), followed by Japan (4566.03; 15440) and South Korea (1998.19; 5599). Japan had the highest mean impact factor (5.00) and citations (16.91), followed by South Korea (4.51; 12.64) and China (3.85; 10.71). China and South Korea`s contributions to critical care medicine had significant increases during the past 10 years, while Japan had a significant decrease. China was the most productive region in East Asia since 2006. Japan had the highest quality research output.

Public attitudes towards preventive genomics and personal interest in genetic testing to prevent disease: a survey study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeulen, E.; Henneman, L.; van El, C.G.; Cornel, M.C.

2014-01-01

Background: Genetic testing and family history assessment can be used as an aid in the prevention of common chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to determine public attitudes and interests towards offering genetic testing and family history-based risk assessment for common chronic disease

Ongoing Initiatives to Improve the Quality and Efficiency of Medicine Use within the Public Healthcare System in South Africa; A Preliminary Study

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Johanna C. Meyer

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: South Africa has an appreciable burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as high maternal, neonatal, and child morbidity. In recent years there have been significant strides with improving the public health system, and addressing current inequalities, with the right to health a constitutional provision in South Africa. Initiatives include the introduction of National Health Insurance, programmes to enhance access to medicines for patients with chronic diseases, as well as activities to improve care in hospitals, including improving pharmacovigilance. Consequently, the objective of this paper is to review ongoing initiatives within the public healthcare sector in South Africa and their influence to provide future direction.Method: Principally a structured review of current and planned activities.Results: There have been a number of major activities and initiatives surrounding the availability and access to medicines in the public system in recent years in South Africa. This includes a National Surveillance Centre and an innovative early warning system for the supply of medicines as well as the development of a National Health Care Pricing Authority and initiatives to improve contracting. There have also been developments to improve the supply chain including instigating Medicine Procurement Units in the provinces and enhancing forecasting capabilities. Access to medicines is improving though the instigation of stable chronic disease management initiatives to increase the number of external pick-up points for medicines. There are also ongoing programmes to enhance adherence to medicines as well as enhance adherence to the Standard Treatment Guidelines and the Essential Medicines List with their increasing availability. In addition, there is a movement to enhance the role of health technology assessment in future decision making. Hospital initiatives include increased focus on reducing antimicrobial resistance

Master′s and doctoral theses in family medicine and their publication output, Suez Canal University, Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hebatallah Nour-Eldein

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The completion of a thesis is a significant requirement for both a Master′s and a doctorate degree in general practice/family medicine (GP/FM. A postgraduate thesis is a well-planned, time-intensive activity carried out over several years. The quality of the theses can be judged by the proportion of published papers. Objective: This study aimed to describe Master′s and doctoral theses in family medicine and their publications between 1982 and 2014. Materials and Methods: GP/FM degree theses were  reviewed at the Faculty of Medicine and central Suez Canal libraries. Several characteristics were extracted from each thesis relating to the main researcher, supervisors, themes, and study methods according to predefined criteria. Publications from the theses were described. Results: Over 33 years, 208 theses were completed by 173 GP/FM researchers. The majority of the theses were for Master′s degrees (84.1%. Regarding the study design, most of the degree theses were cross-sectional studies (76.9%. The adult population was targeted in 33.7% of  research theses. Nonprobability sampling was used in 51%. Rural communities were the setting of research in 43.8%, and primary health center (PHC-based studies in 59.1%. The "Patient" category exceeded the other categories (28.4%. Publication from theses started in the second decade of research production. Of the degree theses, 21.6% original articles were published. Only 13.3% of articles from theses were published in PubMed-indexed journals. The researcher was first author in 62.2% of published articles. Conclusion: The production of GP/FM theses and their publications are going to increase. Continuous assessment and planning for GP/FM studies are recommended.

Functional Food in Traditional Persian Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Zare, Roghayeh; Hosseinkhani, Ayda

2016-01-01

Background: During the last decades, there have been great advancements in the field of preventive medicine. Research has demonstrated that nutrition plays a crucial role in the prevention of chronic diseases. The concept of functional food was first introduced in Japan during the 1980s. It proposes to consider food not only vital to survive, but also a mean for mental and physical well-being, contributing to the prevention and reduction of risk factors for diseases. However, there is evidence that the concept was believed by ancient physicians as well. One of the traditional systems of medicines is traditional Persian medicine (TPM). Rhazes said; “as long as a disease could be treated with food, medicine should be avoided” Methods: We carried out a review of Avicenna’s Canon of medicine and Rhazes books for the definition of food and drug and similar concepts of functional food. We listed the identified concepts along with their examples. Results: The classification of food and their therapeutic use were explained in Canon of medicine. Rhazes has a book called ‘Manafe al-Aghziyeh’, in which he writes about the medicinal benefits of different nutrition. Five concepts (food, drug, medicinal food, nutritional medicine and antidote or poison) were noted in these books. Conclusion: There are many recommendations on food for the prevention and treatment of diseases in TPM books, which can be the basis for novel research studies. PMID:27840499

Merging public relations with health communication in the context of university alcohol prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Brummette, John

2015-01-01

The scope of this study is to determine whether social norms marketing should be further evaluated according to its ability to serve as a public relations tactic for universities. Based on a framework of social norms theory and strategic issues management, this study uses a web-based survey with university parents (N = 173) to identify relationships among exaggerated parental misperceptions of student binge drinking, parental awareness of alcohol prevention programs, and parental perceptions of organizational legitimacy. Findings from this study are used to make the argument that health communication and public relations should be viewed as interrelated concepts in the context of university alcohol prevention.

Mapping the residual incidence of taeniasis and cysticercosis in Colombia, 2009-2013, using geographical information systems: Implications for public health and travel medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Morales, Alfonso J; Yepes-Echeverri, María Camila; Acevedo-Mendoza, Wilmer F; Marín-Rincón, Hamilton A; Culquichicón, Carlos; Parra-Valencia, Esteban; Cardona-Ospina, Jaime A; Flisser, Ana

In Colombia, taeniasis and cysticercosis have been significantly reduced over the past decades, however still reported with implications for public health and travel medicine. An observational, retrospective study, in which the incidence of taeniasis and cysticercosis (ICD-10 codes B68s/B69s) in Colombia, 2009-2013, was estimated based on data extracted from the Individual Health Records System (Registro Individual de Prestación de Servicios, RIPS) was performed. The Geographic Information System (GIS) generated national maps showing the distribution of taeniasis and cysticercosis by department by year. During the period, 3626 cases were reported (median 796/year), for a cumulative crude national rate of 7.7 cases/100,000pop; 58.2% corresponded to male; 57% were taeniasis due to T. solium, T. saginata, ocular cysticercosis and cysticerci in other organs. Bolivar, a touristic department, had the highest cumulated incidence rate (16.17 cases/100,000pop), as also evident across the map series developed in this study. Despite the limitations of this study, data presented provide recent estimates of national taeniasis and cysticercosis incidence in the country useful in public health and for travel medicine practitioners, as some highly touristic areas presented higher disease incidence. Improved control, particularly of taeniasis, should be an attainable goal, which among other strategies would require improved sanitation and health education to prevent transmission, but also enhanced surveillance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Public Health Genomics education in post-graduate schools of hygiene and preventive medicine: a cross-sectional survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ianuale, Carolina; Leoncini, Emanuele; Mazzucco, Walter; Marzuillo, Carolina; Villari, Paolo; Ricciardi, Walter; Boccia, Stefania

2014-10-10

The relevance of Public Health Genomics (PHG) education among public health specialists has been recently acknowledged by the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region. The aim of this cross-sectional survey was to assess the prevalence of post-graduate public health schools for medical doctors which offer PHG training in Italy. The directors of the 33 Italian public health schools were interviewed for the presence of a PHG course in place. We stratified by geographical area (North, Centre and South) of the schools. We performed comparisons of categorical data using the chi-squared test. The response rate was 73% (24/33 schools). Among respondents, 15 schools (63%) reported to have at least one dedicated course in place, while nine (38%) did not, with a significant geographic difference. Results showed a good implementation of courses in PHG discipline in Italian post-graduate public health schools. However further harmonization of the training programs of schools in public health at EU level is needed.

Vulnerabilities and rupture risk in the supply of materials and medicine on the supply chain in the Public Hospital

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Lilian de Fátima Silva

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Constant disruptions in the hospital supply chain caused by various sources of risk and vulnerability have been identified. This article aims to identify and analyze the main vulnerabilities that cause rupture risk in the supply of materials and medicines, on the supply chain in a public hospital in the city of Belo Horizonte. From qualitative research, we interviewed ten employees of the hospital and five suppliers. The interview script used was adapted from the model proposed by Mason-Jones and Towill (1988 and adapted by Bastos Junior (2007. As part of the results, it is possible to mention the risks of supply and the processes risk as being among those which were of more concern to the employees and the supply risks and control risk of more concern in the suppliers vision. It is inferred that more investment is necessary in the hospital supply chain management, given that the processes are based on the reaction to the risks rather than their prevention.

To Prevent, React, and Rebuild: Health Research and the Prevention of Genocide

Science.gov (United States)

Adler, Reva N; Smith, James; Fishman, Paul; Larson, Eric B

2004-01-01

Objective To develop an approach to the primary prevention of genocide, based on established public health-based violence prevention methods derived from a variety of high-risk settings. Data Sources (1) Peer-reviewed literature in the fields of public health, violence/injury prevention, medicine, economics, sociology, psychology, history, and genocide studies, (2) demographic and health data bases made available by governments and international organizations, (3) reports on recent episodes of genocide published by international and nongovernmental organizations, (4) newspaper and journalistic accounts of recent and past genocides, (5) archival testimonies of genocide victims and perpetrators, and (6) court transcripts of international genocide prosecutions. Study Design The research was conducted as a medical-historical policy analysis synthesizing data within the following framework: (1) Assessment of current violence and injury prevention models for suitability in the prevention of extreme, population-wide violence, (2) analysis of morbidity and mortality data to quantify the impact of genocide on the health of populations, (3) making an inventory of the known societal risk factors for genocidal violence, (4) identification of the theorized, modifiable attitudinal risk factors for genocidal behavior within a population health model, and (5) assessment of existing projects targeting primary violence and injury prevention in high risk jurisdictions, for future adaptation within a structured, public health approach. Principal Findings Mortality rates due to genocidal violence are far in excess of other public health emergencies including malaria and HIV/AIDS. The immediate and long-range health consequences of genocide include the sequelae of infectious diseases, organ system failure, and psychiatric disorders, conferring an increased burden of disease on affected populations for multiple subsequent generations. The impact of genocide on local health economies is

Personalized Lifestyle Medicine: Relevance for Nutrition and Lifestyle Recommendations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deanna M. Minich

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Public health recommendations for lifestyle modification, including diet and physical activity, have been widely disseminated for the prevention and treatment of disease. These guidelines are intended for the overall population without significant consideration for the individual with respect to one’s genes and environment. Personalized lifestyle medicine is a newly developed term that refers to an approach to medicine in which an individual’s health metrics from point-of-care diagnostics are used to develop lifestyle medicine-oriented therapeutic strategies for improving individual health outcomes in managing chronic disease. Examples of the application of personalized lifestyle medicine to patient care include the identification of genetic variants through laboratory tests and/or functional biomarkers for the purpose of designing patient-specific prescriptions for diet, exercise, stress, and environment. Personalized lifestyle medicine can provide solutions to chronic health problems by harnessing innovative and evolving technologies based on recent discoveries in genomics, epigenetics, systems biology, life and behavioral sciences, and diagnostics and clinical medicine. A comprehensive, personalized approach to medicine is required to promote the safety of therapeutics and reduce the cost of chronic disease. Personalized lifestyle medicine may provide a novel means of addressing a patient’s health by empowering them with information they need to regain control of their health.

[Physical activity as prevention and treatment resource of chronic diseases in the syllabus of Medicine and Sport Sciences at Spanish universities].

Science.gov (United States)

Calonge Pascual, Sergio; Casajús Mallén, José Antonio; González Gross, Marcela

2017-07-28

Currently, there is scientific evidence about the benefits of physical exercise over human health. The aim of this study was to review the curricula of Medicine and Sport Sciences at Spanish universities, specifically regarding the contents related to physical exercise in the promotion, prevention and treatment of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs). In a systematic way, all syllabus, programs and contents of the different subjects were reviewed for all Spanish universities which offer the Bachelors of Medicine and Sport Sciences. Total, compulsory and optional European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) were analyzed and added for each university. Practicum and Bachelor thesis were not considered. In the mean, Medicine studies dedicate 3.62% (2.38% mandatory and 1.20% optional) of the total 360 ECTS to these contents. In Sport Sciences studies, of the total 240 ECTS, 17.78% (9.87% mandatory and 7.92% optional) were identified as related to these areas of knowledge. Contents ranged from 36 to 4.5 ECTS in Medicine and from 48 to 28 ECTS in Sport Sciences. There is a great disparity between universities for both degrees among Spanish universities. Contents related to the efficient use of physical exercise for the prevention and treatment of non-communicable chronic diseases are scarce, especially in Medicine. Results indicate the need of increasing these contents in undergraduate studies and/or include them in Master or other programs.

Barriers and facilitators to implementation of the institute of medicine recommendations on preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among young people.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Mary E

2012-05-01

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the barriers and facilitators to implementation of the five overarching recommendations of the Institute of Medicine report and to consider the implications for nursing. Data were collected through use of a semi-structured interview of purposive sample of 22 key informants regarding the barriers and facilitators to implementation of the report's five major recommendations. The major barriers were competing priorities, lack of infrastructure for implementation, lack of public education regarding mental health and the effectiveness of prevention, stigma, and a paucity of facilitating factors. The facilitators were leadership, flexible resources, linkage to healthcare reform or other legislation, coordination across agencies and governmental levels, and additional research. The discussion focuses on ways of promoting facilitating factors and consideration of nursing's potential contributions in the areas of education, practice, and research. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

African American and Latino Enrollment Trends among Medicine, Law, Business, and Public Affairs Graduate Programs

Science.gov (United States)

de la Garza, Rodolfo; Moghadam, Sepehr Hejazi

2008-01-01

The purpose of this Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) report is twofold: to provide an analysis of the enrollment trends for African American and Latino students among graduate professional programs in the fields of medicine, business, law, and public affairs, and to present other relevant data pertaining to African American and Latino students…

Barriers towards the publication of academic drug trials. Follow-up of trials approved by the Danish Medicines Agency.

Science.gov (United States)

Berendt, Louise; Petersen, Lene Grejs; Bach, Karin Friis; Poulsen, Henrik Enghusen; Dalhoff, Kim

2017-01-01

To characterize and quantify barriers towards the publication of academic drug trials. We identified academic drug trials approved during a 3-year period (2004-2007) by the Danish Medicines Agency. We conducted a survey among the trial sponsors to describe the rates of initiation, completion, and publication, and the reasons for the failure to reach each of these milestones. Information on size and methodological characteristics of the trials was extracted from the EudraCT database, a prospective register of all approved clinical drug trials submitted to European medicines agencies since 2004. A total of 181 academic drug trials were eligible for inclusion, 139 of which participated in our survey (response rate: 77%). Follow-up time ranged from 5.1 to 7.9 years. Most trials were randomized controlled trials (73%, 95% CI 65-81%). Initiation and completion rates were 92% (95% CI: 88-97%) and 93% (95% CI: 89-97%) respectively. The publication rate of completed trials was 73% (95% CI: 62-79%). RCTs were published faster than non-RCTs (quartile time to publication 2.9 vs. 3.1 years, p = 0.0412). Many academic drug trials are left unpublished. Main barriers towards publication were related to the process from completion to publication. Hence, there is much to gain by facilitating the process from analysis to publication. Research institutions and funders should actively influence this process, e.g. by requiring the publication of trial results within a given time after completion.

Mobile satellite services for public safety, disaster mitigation and disaster medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Freibaum, Jerry

1990-01-01

Between 1967 and 1987 nearly three million lives were lost and property damage of $25 to $100 billion resulted form natural disasters that adversely affected more than 829 million people. The social and economic impacts have been staggering and are expected to grow more serious as a result of changing demographic factors. The role that the Mobile Satellite Service can play in the International Decade is discussed. MSS was not available for disaster relief operations during the recent Loma Prieta/San Francisco earthquake. However, the results of a review of the performance of seven other communication services with respect to public sector operations during and shortly after the earthquake are described. The services surveyed were: public and private telephone, mobile radio telephone, noncellular mobile radio, broadcast media, CB radio, ham radio, and government and nongovernment satellite systems. The application of MSS to disaster medicine, particularly with respect to the Armenian earthquake is also discussed.

Recent Scientific Studies of a Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tea, on Prevention of Chronic Diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung S. Yang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Green tea (綠茶 Lǜ Chá, made from the leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis, has traditionally been used as a medicine in China for thousands of years. According to the classical work of Li Shizhen (李時珍 Lǐ Shí Zhēn of the Ming Dynasty, “tea is cold and lowers the fire.” Since fire (inflammation causes many diseases, could tea be effective in the prevention of many diseases? The possible prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer, metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases has been studied with contemporary scientific methods, and the results are promising. The molecular mechanisms underlining these observations will be discussed in this presentation. One of the reasons for the failure to demonstrate a disease-preventive effect of tea in some epidemiological studies is the lower quantities of tea consumption in humans. Can we increase the quantity of tea consumption to harness its health benefits without causing gastrointestinal irritation? This is a topic for further research.

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 7

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-04-06

This podcast is the last installment of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and Georgia State University's Michael Eriksen discuss how some lessons learned in the tobacco control experience might be relevant for the obesity epidemic.  Created: 4/6/2009 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 4/6/2009.

Public-Private Partnerships in Chronic Disease Prevention-Part 2

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-04-06

This podcast is the second of a seven part series discussing public health partnerships with the private sector. In this segment, CDC's Elizabeth Majestic and University of North Carolina's Gene Matthews talk about sharing resources and forming relationships that address chronic diseases, as well as urgent health threats, such as terrorism.  Created: 4/6/2009 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 4/6/2009.

Daily Pill Can Prevent HIV PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2015-11-24

This 60 second public service announcement (PSA) is based on the November 24, 2015 CDC Vital Signs report. Preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a daily medicine that can be used to prevent getting HIV. PrEP is for people who don’t have HIV but who are at very high risk for getting it from sex or injection drug use. Unfortunately, many people who can benefit from PrEP aren’t taking it.  Created: 11/24/2015 by National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP).   Date Released: 11/24/2015.

Scientific publications in laboratory medicine from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan: A ten-year survey of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ding-Hua; Cui, Wei; Yao, Yun-Tai; Jiang, Qi-Qi

2010-10-09

We investigated scientific publications in laboratory medicine originating from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan over the past 10 years. The information about articles published in the included journals were determined by computer-searching on PubMed and data were extracted independently and analyzed in relation to the number of articles. From 2000 to 2009 there were 1166 articles published in laboratory medicine journals from the major Chinese regions (mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan). This exceeded Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France from 2005 onwards. Also, the number of articles from mainland China exceeded those from Hong Kong and Taiwan from 2004 onwards. The average impact factor (IF) from Hong Kong ranked the first, followed by mainland China, and then Taiwan. Clinica Chimica Acta seems to be the most popular laboratory medicine journal among Chinese authors. Over the past 10 years, Chinese authors have been more and more active in the field of laboratory medicine. Mainland China seems to have caught up to Hong Kong and Taiwan regarding publication of papers in this field. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicine Underlying the Prevention and Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoliang Li

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Parkinson's disease (PD, characterized with bradykinesia, static tremor, rigidity and disturbances in balance, is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Along with the largely aging population in the world, the incidence is increasing year by year, which imposes the negative impacts on patients, their families and the whole society. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM has a positive prospect for the prevention and cure of PD due to its advantages of less side effects and multi-target effects. At present, the pathogenesis of PD is not yet fully discovered. This paper elaborates the mechanisms of TCM underlying the prevention and treatment of PD with regards to the inhibition of oxidative stress, the regulation of mitochondrial dysfunction, the reduction of toxic excitatory amino acids (EAA, the inhibition of neuroinflammation, the inhibition of neuronal apoptosis, and the inhibition of abnormal protein aggregation.

Communication Concepts for Prevention and Early Intervention in Aesthetic Medicine: Consensus and Literature Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Gout, Uliana; Anand, Chytra V; Braz, Andre; Chao, Yates Yen Yu; Fabi, Sabrina Guillen; Kerscher, Martina; Landau, Marina; Pavicic, Tatjana; Peng, Peter Hsien Li; Rzany, Berthold; Sattler, Gerhard; Tiryaki, Tunk; Waldorf, Heidi A; Besins, Thierry

2017-09-01

Communication concepts relating to prevention and early intervention (P&E) within aesthetic medicine are poorly understood and highly underexplored. However, effective communication is a key criterion for successful outcomes. To introduce the framework for P&E communication strategies within a younger population and explore the barriers that may be encountered. A literature review on P&E communication strategies in aesthetic medicine and related topics of interest was conducted and used to construct a working framework that may be applied in clinical practice. Examination of existing literature revealed a need for a more structured communication framework for P&E encompassing up-to-date evidence-based learning and educational marketing that is tailored to individual needs and target populations. Message framing-the way in which a message is presented-is an important consideration in the dissemination of information to promote changes in health behaviour. A structured consultation is key to optimising patient engagement and ensures a tailored approach to understanding and catering to the specific needs of each patient. This is the first paper to discuss the communication concepts behind P&E within aesthetic medicine and paves the way for further research and focus in this significant field. J Drugs Dermatol. 2017;16(9):859-864..

Preventive Biomechanics: A Paradigm Shift With a Translational Approach to Injury Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Hewett, Timothy E; Bates, Nathaniel A

2017-09-01

Preventive medicine techniques have alleviated billions of dollars' worth of the economic burden in the medical care system through the implementation of vaccinations and screenings before the onset of disease symptoms. Knowledge of biomechanical tendencies has progressed rapidly over the past 20 years such that clinicians can identify, in healthy athletes, the underlying mechanisms that lead to catastrophic injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures. As such, preventive medicine concepts can be applied to noncontact musculoskeletal injuries to reduce the economic burden of sports medicine treatments and enhance the long-term health of athletes. To illustrate the practical medical benefits that could be gained from preventive biomechanics applied to the ACL as well as the need and feasibility for the broad implementation of these principles. Literature review. The recent literature pertinent to the screening and prevention of musculoskeletal injuries was reviewed and compiled into a clinical commentary on the current state and applicability of preventive biomechanics. Investigators have identified neuromuscular training protocols that screen for and correct the underlying biomechanical deficits that lead to ACL injuries. The literature shows that when athletes comply with these prescribed training protocols, the incidence of injuries is significantly reduced within that population. Such preventive biomechanics practices employ basic training methods that would be familiar to athletic coaches and have the potential to save billions of dollars in cost in sports medicine. The widespread implementation of preventive biomechanics concepts could profoundly affect the field of sports medicine with a minimum of initial investment.

Service-learning in higher education relevant to the promotion of physical activity, healthful eating, and prevention of obesity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard R Rosenkranz

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Service-learning is a type of experiential teaching and learning strategy combining classroom instruction and meaningful community service and guided activities for reflection. This educational approach has been used frequently in higher education settings, including an array of disciplines such as medicine, theology, public health, physical education, nutrition, psychology, anthropology, and sociology. The purpose of the present review paper was to provide guidance on the use of service-learning within higher education, relevant to the preventive medicine and public health topics of healthful eating, physical activity, and obesity prevention. In service-learning, coursework is structured to address community needs, and to benefit students through the real-world application of knowledge. The benefits for students include positive impacts on social skills, empathy, awareness, understanding, and concern regarding community issues, plus greater confidence and skills to work with diverse populations, increased awareness of community resources, improved motivation, and enhanced knowledge. Educational institutions may also benefit through improved "town and gown" relations, as strong ties, partnerships, and mutually beneficial activities take place. The present literature review describes several service-learning applications such as nutrition education for kids, dietary improvement for seniors, foodservice recipe modification on a college campus, an intergenerational physical activity program for nursing home residents, motor skill development in kindergarteners, organized elementary school recess physical activities, health education, and obesity prevention in children. From this review, service-learning appears to have great potential as a flexible component of academic coursework in the areas of preventive medicine and public health.

Service-learning in Higher Education Relevant to the Promotion of Physical Activity, Healthful Eating, and Prevention of Obesity.

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Rosenkranz, Richard R

2012-10-01

Service-learning is a type of experiential teaching and learning strategy combining classroom instruction and meaningful community service and guided activities for reflection. This educational approach has been used frequently in higher education settings, including an array of disciplines such as medicine, theology, public health, physical education, nutrition, psychology, anthropology, and sociology. The purpose of the present review paper was to provide guidance on the use of service-learning within higher education, relevant to the preventive medicine and public health topics of healthful eating, physical activity, and obesity prevention. In service-learning, coursework is structured to address community needs, and to benefit students through the real-world application of knowledge. The benefits for students include positive impacts on social skills, empathy, awareness, understanding, and concern regarding community issues, plus greater confidence and skills to work with diverse populations, increased awareness of community resources, improved motivation, and enhanced knowledge. Educational institutions may also benefit through improved "town and gown" relations, as strong ties, partnerships, and mutually beneficial activities take place. The present literature review describes several service-learning applications such as nutrition education for kids, dietary improvement for seniors, foodservice recipe modification on a college campus, an intergenerational physical activity program for nursing home residents, motor skill development in kindergarteners, organized elementary school recess physical activities, health education, and obesity prevention in children. From this review, service-learning appears to have great potential as a flexible component of academic coursework in the areas of preventive medicine and public health.

Community-based health efforts for the prevention of falls in the elderly

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan Hanley

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Alan Hanley1, Carmel Silke2, John Murphy31Department of Medicine, Letterkenny General Hospital, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Ireland; 2Department of Rheumatology, Our Lady's Hospital Manorhamilton, Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, Ireland; 3Department of Medicine, Castlebar, Co Mayo, IrelandAbstract: Falls are a major public health problem in the elderly population. The associated health care cost is great. It has therefore become an important public health matter to evaluate those interventions that might be effective in reducing the risk of falls. Risk factors that predict an increased risk of falling are described. We discuss interventions that can be employed in the community to reduce the risk of falls and associated injuries by discipline, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and physician-led interventions. We also discuss the cost-effectiveness of such interventions.Keywords: fall, fracture, prevention, public health

[Evolutionary medicine].

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Wjst, M

2013-12-01

Evolutionary medicine allows new insights into long standing medical problems. Are we "really stoneagers on the fast lane"? This insight might have enormous consequences and will allow new answers that could never been provided by traditional anthropology. Only now this is made possible using data from molecular medicine and systems biology. Thereby evolutionary medicine takes a leap from a merely theoretical discipline to practical fields - reproductive, nutritional and preventive medicine, as well as microbiology, immunology and psychiatry. Evolutionary medicine is not another "just so story" but a serious candidate for the medical curriculum providing a universal understanding of health and disease based on our biological origin. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Supply prescription filling and out-of-pocket expenditures on medicines in public hospitals in Mexico in 2009].

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Sesma-Vázquez, Sergio; Gómez-Dantés, Octavio; Wirtz, Veronika J; Castro-Tinoco, Manuel

2011-01-01

To analyze the availability of drugs in public hospitals, the prescription-filling patterns for in-patients when they are discharged and their out-of-pocket expenditure during their hospitalization. Using the National Satisfaction and Responsiveness Survey (ENSATA) 2009, which includes a representative sample of public hospitals in Mexico in 2009, the availability of 83 essential medicines in the hospital pharmacies at the day of visit, the proportion of prescriptions completely filled for patients when they are discharged and their out-of-pocket expenditure during their hospitalization were analyzed. A total of 26 271 patients in 160 public hospitals were interviewed. The mean availability of drugs was 82% for all hospitals, with the lowest availability for the Ministry of Health (SESA) hospitals (77%, with a range of 30 to 96%). Patients discharged at social security hospitals received in 97% of cases a complete prescription filling, while in SESA hospitals the average was only 56.2%, with a large variance among states (13 to 94%). The median inpatient spending was 150 pesos in national currency (1% spent over 10 000 pesos). The lack of medicines in public hospitals may increase in-patient morbidity and mortality and has an economic impact on household spending, particularly in those with scarce resources.

[Social medicine in medical faculties: realisation of the topic in the specialty "social medicine, occupational health"].

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Behmann, M; Bisson, S; Walter, U

2011-12-01

The 9 (th) Revision of German Medical Licensing Regulations for Physicians has come into effect on October 1 (st) 2003. Social medicine was separated into the fields "occupational health, social medicine" and the various cross-sectional modules: epidemiology, biometry, medical computer science; health economics, health-care system, public health; prevention, health promotion; rehabilitation, physical medicine, naturopathic treatment. This paper studies the realisation of teaching in the field social medicine at German medical faculties. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the German Association for Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP). A survey was conducted at 38 institutes of 36 German medical faculties. The written questionnaire contained mostly selection items in which chances and barriers of the field were queried with supply items. Information about time scale, general conditions and resources was aked for. On the basis of the guidelines of the DGSMP, the topics to be taught were evaluated concerning their relevance and integration into education. The response rate was 68% (n=26). Social insurance, basic principles, responsibility in the Social Security Code and the different providers were judged as the most important topics. There was a strong demand for lecturing material. 82% (n=18) of the faculties wished to have specific material, for example e-learning, examples, lesson plans, curricula and also textbooks. 91% (n=19) of the faculties requested an exchange of information between the faculties concerning educational contents, motivation of students and e-learning. The realisation of teaching is different between the faculties concerning the number of hours, teaching methods and number of students per year. The motivation of the students is one of the problems, but also the lack of acceptance within the clinic. Specific resources and exchange between the faculties are necessary concerning e-learning, which is offered at only few faculties so

ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN PREVENTING THE COUNTERFEIT MEDICINES ENTRY INTO THE WORLD MARKETS.

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Stukina, Valeryia; Dohnal, Jiri; Saloun, Jan

2016-09-01

30 years have passed since Conference of Experts on the Rational Use of Drugs was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 25 to 29 November 1985, where the problem of counterfeit medicines was mentioned as the international for the first time. The problem of counterfeit medicines is not only a major threat to public health and national and private economy, but also it is of great interest for key decision-making actors at the international level. The authors analyzed what has been done since that time by international organizations. Combating the counterfeiting of medicines cannot be successfully achieved by the health sector alone - World Health Organization (WHO), - so the efforts of the other United Nations (UN) organizations relevant to counterfeiting were in need and were studied in the article: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Trade Organization (WTO), World Customs Organization (WCO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), etc. Today WHO is unable to coordinate all their activities, so the few existing proposals for establishing a new mechanism of international cooperation have been examined. Will the MEDICRIME Convention that will enter into force on January 1, 2016 be the start of the new era in the combating with the counterfeit medicines? - the authors offered their vision on the international developments.

Drug quality in South Africa: perceptions of key players involved in medicines distribution.

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Patel, Aarti; Norris, Pauline; Gauld, Robin; Rades, Thomas

2009-01-01

Substandard medicines contribute to poor public health and affect development, especially in the developing world. However knowledge of how manufacturers, distributors and providers understand the concept of drug quality and what strategies they adopt to ensure drug quality is limited, particularly in the developing world. The purpose of this paper is to explore pharmaceutical manufacturers', distributors' and providers' perceptions of drug quality in South Africa and how they ensure the quality of drugs during the distribution process. The approach taken was qualitative data collection through key informant interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. Transcripts were analysed thematically in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban, South Africa. Participants were recruited purposefully from a South African pharmaceutical manufacturer, SA subsidiaries of international manufacturers, national distribution companies, national wholesaler, public and private sector pharmacists, and a dispensing doctor. In total, ten interviews were conducted. Participants described drug quality in terms of the product and the processes involved in manufacturing and handling the product. Participants identified purchasing registered medicines from licensed suppliers, use of standard operating procedures, and audits between manufacturer and distributor and/or provider as key strategies employed to protect medicine quality. Effective communication amongst all stakeholders, especially in terms of providing feedback regarding complaints about medicine quality, appears as a potential area of concern, which would benefit from further research. The paper hightlights that ensuring medicine quality should be a shared responsibility amongst all involved in the distribution process to prevent medicines moving from one distribution system (public) into another (private).

Core principles of evolutionary medicine: A Delphi study.

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Grunspan, Daniel Z; Nesse, Randolph M; Barnes, M Elizabeth; Brownell, Sara E

2018-01-01

Evolutionary medicine is a rapidly growing field that uses the principles of evolutionary biology to better understand, prevent and treat disease, and that uses studies of disease to advance basic knowledge in evolutionary biology. Over-arching principles of evolutionary medicine have been described in publications, but our study is the first to systematically elicit core principles from a diverse panel of experts in evolutionary medicine. These principles should be useful to advance recent recommendations made by The Association of American Medical Colleges and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to make evolutionary thinking a core competency for pre-medical education. The Delphi method was used to elicit and validate a list of core principles for evolutionary medicine. The study included four surveys administered in sequence to 56 expert panelists. The initial open-ended survey created a list of possible core principles; the three subsequent surveys winnowed the list and assessed the accuracy and importance of each principle. Fourteen core principles elicited at least 80% of the panelists to agree or strongly agree that they were important core principles for evolutionary medicine. These principles over-lapped with concepts discussed in other articles discussing key concepts in evolutionary medicine. This set of core principles will be helpful for researchers and instructors in evolutionary medicine. We recommend that evolutionary medicine instructors use the list of core principles to construct learning goals. Evolutionary medicine is a young field, so this list of core principles will likely change as the field develops further.

Mapping International University Partnerships Identified by East African Universities as Strengthening Their Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health Programs.

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Yarmoshuk, Aaron N; Guantai, Anastasia Nkatha; Mwangu, Mughwira; Cole, Donald C; Zarowsky, Christina

International university partnerships are recommended for increasing the capacity of sub-Saharan African universities. Many publications describe individual partnerships and projects, and tools are available for guiding collaborations, but systematic mappings of the basic, common characteristics of partnerships are scarce. To document and categorize the international interuniversity partnerships deemed significant to building the capacity of medicine, nursing, and public health programs of 4 East African universities. Two universities in Kenya and 2 in Tanzania were purposefully selected. Key informant interviews, conducted with 42 senior representatives of the 4 universities, identified partnerships they considered significant for increasing the capacity of their institutions' medicine, nursing, and public health programs in education, research, or service. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed. Partners were classified by country of origin and corresponding international groupings, duration, programs, and academic health science components. One hundred twenty-nine university-to-university partnerships from 23 countries were identified. Each university reported between 25 and 36 international university partners. Seventy-four percent of partnerships were with universities in high-income countries, 15% in low- and middle-income countries, and 11% with consortia. Seventy percent included medicine, 37% nursing, and 45% public health; 15% included all 3 programs. Ninety-two percent included an education component, 47% research, and 24% service; 12% included all 3 components. This study confirms the rapid growth of interuniversity cross-border health partnerships this century. It also finds, however, that there is a pool of established international partnerships from numerous countries at each university. Most partnerships that seek to strengthen universities in East Africa should likely ensure they have a significant education component. Universities should make

Travel medicine

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Aw, Brian; Boraston, Suni; Botten, David; Cherniwchan, Darin; Fazal, Hyder; Kelton, Timothy; Libman, Michael; Saldanha, Colin; Scappatura, Philip; Stowe, Brian

2014-01-01

Abstract Objective To define the practice of travel medicine, provide the basics of a comprehensive pretravel consultation for international travelers, and assist in identifying patients who might require referral to travel medicine professionals. Sources of information Guidelines and recommendations on travel medicine and travel-related illnesses by national and international travel health authorities were reviewed. MEDLINE and EMBASE searches for related literature were also performed. Main message Travel medicine is a highly dynamic specialty that focuses on pretravel preventive care. A comprehensive risk assessment for each individual traveler is essential in order to accurately evaluate traveler-, itinerary-, and destination-specific risks, and to advise on the most appropriate risk management interventions to promote health and prevent adverse health outcomes during travel. Vaccinations might also be required and should be personalized according to the individual traveler’s immunization history, travel itinerary, and the amount of time available before departure. Conclusion A traveler’s health and safety depends on a practitioner’s level of expertise in providing pretravel counseling and vaccinations, if required. Those who advise travelers are encouraged to be aware of the extent of this responsibility and to refer all high-risk travelers to travel medicine professionals whenever possible. PMID:25500599

Coverage of genomic medicine: information gap between lay public and scientists.

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Sugawara, Yuya; Narimatsu, Hiroto; Fukao, Akira

2012-01-01

The sharing of information between the lay public and medical professionals is crucial to the conduct of personalized medicine using genomic information in the near future. Mass media, such as newspapers, can play an important role in disseminating scientific information. However, studies on the role of newspaper coverage of genome-related articles are highly limited. We investigated the coverage of genomic medicine in five major Japanese newspapers (Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri, Sankei, and Nikkei) using Nikkei Telecom and articles in scientific journals in PubMed from 1995 to 2009. The number of genome-related articles in all five newspapers temporarily increased in 2000, and began continuously decreasing thereafter from 2001 to 2009. Conversely, there was a continuous increasing trend in the number of genome-related articles in PubMed during this period. The numbers of genome-related articles among the five major newspapers from 1995 to 2009 were significantly different (P = 0.002). Commentaries, research articles, and articles about companies were the most frequent in 2001 and 2003, when the number of genome-related articles transiently increased in the five newspapers. This study highlights the significant gap between newspaper coverage and scientific articles in scientific journals.

Predictive, Preventive and Personalised Medicine as the hardcore of ‘Horizon 2020’: EPMA position paper

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Golubnitschaja, Olga; Kinkorova, Judita; Costigliola, Vincenzo

2014-01-01

The European Association for Predictive, Preventive and Personalised Medicine (EPMA) considers acute problems in medical sciences as well as the quality and management of medical services challenging health care systems in Europe and worldwide. This actuality has motivated the representatives of EPMA to comment on the efforts in promoting an integrative approach based on multidisciplinary expertise to advance health care-related research and management. The current paper provides a global ove...

What do pharmaceutical industry professionals in Europe believe about involving patients and the public in research and development of medicines? A qualitative interview study.

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Parsons, Suzanne; Starling, Bella; Mullan-Jensen, Christine; Tham, Su-Gwan; Warner, Kay; Wever, Kim

2016-01-07

To explore European-based pharmaceutical industry professionals' beliefs about patient and public involvement (PPI) in medicines research and development (R&D). Pharmaceutical companies in the UK, Poland and Spain. 21 pharmaceutical industry professionals, four based in the UK, five with pan-European roles, four based in Spain and eight based in Poland. Qualitative interview study (telephone and face-to-face, semistructured interviews). All interviews were audio taped, translated (where appropriate) and transcribed for analysis using the Framework approach. 21 pharmaceutical industry professionals participated. Key themes were: beliefs about (1) whether patients and the public should be involved in medicines R&D; (2) the barriers and facilitators to PPI in medicines R&D and (3) how the current relationships between the pharmaceutical industry, patient organisations and patients influence PPI in medicines R&D. Although interviewees appeared positive about PPI, many were uncertain about when, how and which patients to involve. Patients and the public's lack of knowledge and interest in medicines R&D, and the pharmaceutical industry's lack of knowledge, interest and receptivity to PPI were believed to be key challenges to increasing PPI. Interviewees also believed that relationships between the pharmaceutical industry, patient organisations, patients and the public needed to change to facilitate PPI in medicines R&D. Existing pharmaceutical industry codes of practice and negative media reporting of the pharmaceutical industry were also seen as negative influences on these relationships. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Monographs for medicines on WHO's Model List of Essential Medicines.

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Roth, Lukas; Adler, Melissa; Jain, Tanvi; Bempong, Daniel

2018-06-01

To raise awareness about the importance of public pharmaceutical standards, identify if and, if so, where current pharmacopeias are falling short in the development of new and complete monographs and foster collaboration among the various pharmacopeias, to prioritize, develop and make available standards for those key medicines for which no complete monographs exist. In August 2017, we mined eight pharmacopeias to identify which of the 669 medicines in the 20th edition of the World Health Organization's Model List of Essential Medicines were covered by complete or incomplete monographs. The pharmacopeias we included were the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia, the British Pharmacopoeia, the Indian Pharmacopeia Commission, the International Pharmacopoeia, the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Mexican Pharmacopoeia, the Pharmacopeia of the People's Republic of China and the United States Pharmacopeia. For 99 (15%) of the medicines on the Model List, no monographs were available in any of the eight pharmacopeias investigated. Only 3% (1/30) of the cardiovascular medicines listed, but 28% (9/32) of the antiretroviral medicines and 23% (6/26) of the antimalarial medicines lacked monographs. There appear to be no public standards for many so-called essential medicines. To address this shortfall, a greater collaboration in the global health community is needed.

Eyes wide open: an essay on developing an engaged awareness in global medicine and public health.

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Ventres, William B; Fort, Meredith P

2014-10-28

There is a growing understanding of the role social determinants such as poverty, gender discrimination, racial prejudice, and economic inequality play on health and illness. While these determinants and effects may be challenging to identify in parts of high-income countries, they are patently obvious in many other areas of the world. How we react to these determinants and effects depends on what historical, cultural, ideological, and psychological characteristics we bring to our encounters with inequity, as well as how our feelings and thoughts inform our values and actions. To address these issues, we share a series of questions we have asked ourselves-United States' citizens with experience living and working in Central America-in relation to our encounters with inequity. We offer a conceptual framework for contemplating responses in hopes of promoting among educators and practitioners in medicine and public health an engaged awareness of how our every day work either perpetuates or breaks down barriers of social difference. We review key moments in our own experiences as global health practitioners to provide context for these questions. Introspective reflection can help professionals in global medicine and public health recognize the dynamic roles that they play in the world. Such reflection can bring us closer to appreciating the forces that have worked both for and in opposition to global health, human rights, and well-being. It can help us recognize how place, time, environment, and context form the social determination of health. It is from this holistic perspective of social relations that we can work to effect fair, equitable, and protective environments as they relate to global medicine and public health.

Fraud Prevention and Employee Rationalization in New York State Public Schools

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Slezak, Kathleen

2013-01-01

Prompted by frequent media reports of school fraud and a lack of relevant K-12 literature, this research study was designed to investigate current fraud prevention practices in public school districts in New York State. Using a "fraud triangle" model, an analysis of existing legislation and professional practice guidelines reveals that…

Awareness and attitude of the public toward personalized medicine in Korea

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Lee, Iyn-Hyang; Kang, Hye-Young; Suh, Hae Sun; Lee, Sukhyang; Oh, Eun Sil

2018-01-01

Objectives As personalized medicine (PM) is expected to greatly improve health outcomes, efforts have recently been made for its clinical implementation in Korea. We aimed to evaluate public awareness and attitude regarding PM. Methods We performed a self-administered questionnaire survey to 703 adults, who participated in the survey on a voluntary basis. The primary outcome measures included public knowledge, attitude, and acceptance of PM. We conducted multinomial multivariate logistic analysis for outcome variables with three response categories and performed multivariate logistic regression analyses for dichotomous outcome variables. Results Only 28% of participants had knowledge that genetic factors can contribute to inter-individual variations in drug response and the definition of PM (199 out of 702). Higher family income was correlated with greater knowledge concerning PM (OR = 3.76, p = 0.034). A majority of respondents preferred integrated pharmacogenomic testing over drug-specific testing and agreed to inclusion of pharmacogenomic testing in the national health examination (64% and 77%, respectively), but only 51% were willing to pay for it. Discussion Our results identify the urgent need for public education as well as the potential health disparities in access to PM. This study helps to frame policies for implementing PM in clinical practice. PMID:29451916

Herbal medicine use among hypertensive patients attending public and private health facilities in Freetown Sierra Leone.

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James, Peter Bai; Kamara, Halimatu; Bah, Abdulai Jawo; Steel, Amie; Wardle, Jon

2018-05-01

This study aimed to determine the prevalence, determinants and pattern of herbal medicine use among hypertensive patients in Freetown. We conducted a cross-sectional study among hypertensive patients attending public and private health facilities in Freetown, Sierra Leone between August and October 2016. We analyzed the data using SPSS version 24. We used Chi-square, Fisher exact two-tailed test and regression analysis for data analysis. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Out of 260 study participants, over half (n = 148, 56.9%) reported using herbal medicine for the treatment of hypertension alone or together with comorbid condition(s). The most commonly used herbal medicine among users were honey (n = 89, 33.3%), moringa (n = 80, 30.0%) and garlic (n = 73, 27.3%). No significant difference existed between users and non-users of herbal medicine with regards to socio-demographic and health-related factors. The majority (n = 241, 92.7%) of respondents considered herbal medicine beneficial if it was recommended by a healthcare provider yet 85.1% (n = 126) did not disclose their herbal medicine use to their health care provider. There is a high use of herbal medicines among hypertensive patients in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It is essential for healthcare providers to take heed of the findings of this study and routinely ask their patients about their herbal medicine use status. Such practice will provide the opportunity to discuss the benefits and risks of herbal medicine use with the aim of maximizing patient desired therapeutic outcomes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nutritional aspects to prevent heart diseases in traditional Persian medicine.

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Kordafshari, Gholamreza; Kenari, Hoorieh Mohammadi; Esfahani, Mohammad Mehdi; Ardakani, Mohammad Reza Shams; Keshavarz, Mansoor; Nazem, Esmaeil; Moghimi, Maryam; Zargaran, Arman

2015-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases are major health complications currently in various societies. Management of heart diseases as a prevention step or as treatment with low-cost procedures like lifestyle modifications including nutrition are important current trends. Although the term nutrition dates back to 2 past centuries, Persian physicians contributed to this term at least from 1000 years ago. Rhazes (865-925 AD) was one of the pioneers in this field. He preferred using foods in treating illnesses. "Foods and drinks" were 1 subject from 6 principles (Setteh Zarorieh) that Persian physicians believed can affect human health. In this review, we described some medieval Persian views on the role of nutrition in heart diseases and compare their prescriptions with current findings. Interestingly, current investigations mostly support Persian medicine principles. Historically, this work shows that the concept of nutrition in heart diseases has had a successful background at least from 1000 years ago in Persia. © The Author(s) 2014.

Lifestyle and precision diabetes medicine: will genomics help optimise the prediction, prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes through lifestyle therapy?

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Franks, Paul W; Poveda, Alaitz

2017-05-01

Precision diabetes medicine, the optimisation of therapy using patient-level biomarker data, has stimulated enormous interest throughout society as it provides hope of more effective, less costly and safer ways of preventing, treating, and perhaps even curing the disease. While precision diabetes medicine is often framed in the context of pharmacotherapy, using biomarkers to personalise lifestyle recommendations, intended to lower type 2 diabetes risk or to slow progression, is also conceivable. There are at least four ways in which this might work: (1) by helping to predict a person's susceptibility to adverse lifestyle exposures; (2) by facilitating the stratification of type 2 diabetes into subclasses, some of which may be prevented or treated optimally with specific lifestyle interventions; (3) by aiding the discovery of prognostic biomarkers that help guide timing and intensity of lifestyle interventions; (4) by predicting treatment response. In this review we overview the rationale for precision diabetes medicine, specifically as it relates to lifestyle; we also scrutinise existing evidence, discuss the barriers germane to research in this field and consider how this work is likely to proceed.

Traditional Chinese medicine for prevention and treatment of hepatocarcinoma: From bench to bedside

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Hu, Bing; Wang, Shuang-Shuang; Du, Qin

2015-01-01

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played a positive role in the management of hepatocarcinoma. Hepatocarcinoma patients may present Qi-stagnation, damp-heat, blood stasis, Qi-deficiency, Yin-deficiency and other TCM syndromes (Zheng). Modern treatments such as surgery, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and high intensity focus ultrasound treatment would influence the manifestation of TCM syndromes. Herbs with traditional efficacy of tonifying Qi, blood and Yin, soothing liver-Qi stagnation, clearing heat and detoxifying and dissolving stasis, have been demonstrated to be potent to prevent hepatocarcinogenesis. TCM has been widely used in all aspects of integrative therapy in hepatocarcinoma, including surgical resection, liver transplantation, TACE, local ablative therapies and even as monotherapy for middle-advanced stage hepatocarcinoma. Clinical practices have confirmed that TCM is effective to alleviate clinical symptoms, improve quality of life and immune function, prevent recurrence and metastasis, delay tumor progression, and prolong survival time in hepatocarcinoma patients. The effective mechanism of TCM against hepatocarcinoma is related to inducing apoptosis, autophagy, anoikis and cell senescence, arresting cell cycle, regulating immune function, inhibiting metastasis and angiogenesis, reversing drug resistance and enhancing effects of chemotherapy. Along with the progress of research in this field, TCM will contribute more to the prevention and treatment of hepatocarcinoma. PMID:26019736

A compendium of strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections in acute care hospitals: 2014 updates.

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Yokoe, Deborah S; Anderson, Deverick J; Berenholtz, Sean M; Calfee, David P; Dubberke, Erik R; Ellingson, Katherine D; Gerding, Dale N; Haas, Janet P; Kaye, Keith S; Klompas, Michael; Lo, Evelyn; Marschall, Jonas; Mermel, Leonard A; Nicolle, Lindsay E; Salgado, Cassandra D; Bryant, Kristina; Classen, David; Crist, Katrina; Deloney, Valerie M; Fishman, Neil O; Foster, Nancy; Goldmann, Donald A; Humphreys, Eve; Jernigan, John A; Padberg, Jennifer; Perl, Trish M; Podgorny, Kelly; Septimus, Edward J; VanAmringe, Margaret; Weaver, Tom; Weinstein, Robert A; Wise, Robert; Maragakis, Lisa L

2014-08-01

Since the publication of "A Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals" in 2008, prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) has become a national priority. Despite improvements, preventable HAIs continue to occur. The 2014 updates to the Compendium were created to provide acute care hospitals with up-to-date, practical, expert guidance to assist in prioritizing and implementing their HAI prevention efforts. They are the product of a highly collaborative effort led by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), and The Joint Commission, with major contributions from representatives of a number of organizations and societies with content expertise, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), the Society for Hospital Medicine (SHM), and the Surgical Infection Society (SIS).

Policies to restrict secondhand smoke exposure: American College of Preventive Medicine Position Statement.

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Jacobs, Michelle; Alonso, Alina M; Sherin, Kevin M; Koh, Yumi; Dhamija, Asha; Lowe, Andrea L

2013-09-01

Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure poses serious health risks for all nonsmokers, especially children and pregnant women. SHS is estimated to contribute to heart attacks in nonsmokers and nearly 53,800 deaths in the U.S. annually. A literature review of English-language articles was performed using PubMed, organizational websites, and pertinent review articles. Over the past 25 years, smokefree policies have protected nearly half the U.S. population from the adverse health effects of SHS. Smokefree policies have been shown to improve health outcomes with no consequences to local businesses. As of April 2013, a total of 24 states and 561 municipalities and territories, including the District of Columbia, New York City, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have established laws that require nonhospitality workplaces, restaurants, and bars to be 100% smokefree. Four other states-Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, and Nevada-have smokefree laws that cover restaurants but provide an exemption for stand-alone bars. At least 14 states have no smokefree laws. This paper describes the benefits of policies that reduce SHS and concludes with recommendations for future directions. The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) recommends expanded clean indoor air policies for workplaces, stand-alone bars, restaurants, and multi-use family housing such as apartment buildings. ACPM recommends clean air policies for all university campuses, secondary school campuses, primary schools, child care centers, and city landmarks to further shift social norms and protect the health of children, adolescents, and adults. ACPM recommends closing existing gaps in clean indoor air policies. Copyright © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[The role of the public health personnel in the Prevention Department (in the Hygiene Services and Public Health Care and Hygiene of Food and Nutrition): proposal for the future of public health care].

Science.gov (United States)

Brusaferro, Silvio; Marcolongo, Adriano; Schiava, Flavio; Bggio, Luca; Betta, Alberto; Buzzo, Armando; Cinquetti, Sandro; Coin, Paulo; Dal Fior, Tina; De Battisti, Fabio; De Marchi, Chiara; De Noni, Lucia; Donatoni, Luigi; Ferraresso, Anna; Gallo, Giovanni; Gallo, Lorenza; Gallo, Tolinda; Gottardello, Lorena; Menegon, Tiziana; Minuzzo, Michele; Paussi, Gianna; Pinna, Clara; Poli, Albino; Rossato, Luigi; Sbrogliò, Luca; Simeoni, Josef; Speccini, Manuela; Stoppato, Ugo; Superbi, Piero; Tardivo, Stefano; Urdich, Alessandro; Valsecchi, Massimo; Zamparo, Manuela

2008-01-01

A global and local discussion on Public Health relevance is taking place, including the future role and organization of its services. Noteworthy becomes the role played by Public Health Specialists. This work presents the results of a workshop, carried out following the Guilbert methodology, whose aim was to define Public Health Doctors functions and their related activities. The programme involved 30 professionals from Triveneto area (North Eastern Italy), working in Prevention Departments at National Health Service and Universities. The key-functions identified were: 1) Health status assessment and identification of community risk factors, 2) Health Promotion, 3) Prevention, 4) Protection, 5) Planning, 6) Communication, 7) Professional Training, 8) Alliances and resources for complex Public Health programs, 9) Crisis management in Public Health, 10) Research. For each function activities were identified, meaning concerning areas and contents that must be warranted by professionals. This experience allowed to share existing attitudes and experiences present in Triveneto area, and it can stand as a feasible instrument for different settings. Nevertheless, it appears mandatory explaining at each level in the society role and functions of Prevention Departments.

Behavioral and biological correlates of medicine use in type 2 diabetic patients attended by Brazilian public healthcare system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamile Sanches Codogno

2013-01-01

Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/1980-0037.2013v15n1p82 The relationship between physical activity and the use of medicines is not clear. The purpose of this study was to investigate this relationship between the level of physical activity and the use of medications by type 2 diabetic patients who were attended in the Brazilian public healthcare system. The sample was composed of 121 Brazilian diabetic patients, of both genders, attended by the public healthcare system. Body fat (estimated by anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance, physical activity (measured by Baecke’s questionnaire, and the participant’s use of medicines (during the 15 days before evaluation were assessed. There was a relationship between the use of medicines and: gender (r = 0.18; p = 0.045, body mass index (BMI (r = 0.22; p = 0.012, waist circumference (r = 0.19; p = 0.029, body fat percentage (r = 0.21; p = 0.016, age (r = 0.23; p = 0.009, and level of physical activity (r = -0.22; p = 0.012. Linear regression included in the multivariate model only age (β = 0.718; p = 0.057, BMI (β= 0.057; p = 0.022, and level of physical activity (β = -0.176; p = 0.044. In conclusion, physical activity decreases medicinal use independent of age or obesity.

Viewpoint: Prevention is missing: is China's health reform reform for health?

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Le; Zhang, Xiaoli; Tan, Tengfei; Cheng, Jingmin

2015-02-01

Ancient China emphasized disease prevention. As a Chinese saying goes, 'it is more important to prevent the disease than to cure it'. Traditional Chinese medicine posits that diseases can be understood, thus, prevented. In today's China, the state of people's health seems worse than in the past. Thus the Chinese government undertook the creation of a new health system. Alas, we believe the results are not very satisfactory. The government seems to have overlooked rational allocation between resources for treatment and prevention. Public investment has been gradually limited to the domain of treatment. We respond to this trend, highlighting the importance of prevention and call for government and policymakers to adjust health policy and work out a solution suitable for improving the health of China's people.

Predictive, Preventive and Personalised Medicine as the hardcore of ‘Horizon 2020’: EPMA position paper

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

The European Association for Predictive, Preventive and Personalised Medicine (EPMA) considers acute problems in medical sciences as well as the quality and management of medical services challenging health care systems in Europe and worldwide. This actuality has motivated the representatives of EPMA to comment on the efforts in promoting an integrative approach based on multidisciplinary expertise to advance health care-related research and management. The current paper provides a global overview of the problems related to medical services: pandemic scenario in the progression of common non-communicable diseases, delayed interventional approaches of reactive medicine, poor economy of health care systems, lack of specialised educational programmes, problematic ethical aspects of several treatments as well as inadequate communication among professional groups and policymakers. In the form of individual paragraphs, the article presents a consolidated position of PPPM professionals towards the new European programme ‘Horizon 2020’ providing the long-lasting instruments for scientific and technological progress in medical services and health care-related programmes. In the author's opinion, Horizon 2020 provides unlimited room for research and implementation in Predictive, Preventive and Personalised Medicine. However, the overall success of the programme strongly depends on the effective communication and consolidation of professionals relevant for PPPM as well as the communication quality with policymakers. Smart political decision is the prerequisite of the effective PPPM implementation in the health care sector. This position is focused on the patients' needs, innovative medical sciences, optimal health and disease management, expert recommendations for the relevant medical fields and optimal solutions which have a potential to advance health care services if the long-term strategies were to be effectively implemented as proposed here. PMID:24708704

Public preferences for vaccination and antiviral medicines under different pandemic flu outbreak scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubinstein, Helena; Marcu, Afrodita; Yardley, Lucy; Michie, Susan

2015-02-27

During the 2009-2010 A(H1N1) pandemic, many people did not seek care quickly enough, failed to take a full course of antivirals despite being authorised to receive them, and were not vaccinated. Understanding facilitators and barriers to the uptake of vaccination and antiviral medicines will help inform campaigns in future pandemic influenza outbreaks. Increasing uptake of vaccines and antiviral medicines may need to address a range of drivers of behaviour. The aim was to identify facilitators of and barriers to being vaccinated and taking antiviral medicines in uncertain and severe pandemic influenza scenarios using a theoretical model of behaviour change, COM-B. Focus groups and interviews with 71 members of the public in England who varied in their at-risk status. Participants responded to uncertain and severe scenarios, and to messages giving advice on vaccination and antiviral medicines. Data were thematically analysed using the theoretical framework provided by the COM-B model. Influences on uptake of vaccines and antiviral medicines - capabilities, motivations and opportunities - are part of an inter-related behavioural system and different components influenced each other. An identity of being healthy and immune from infection was invoked to explain feelings of invulnerability and hence a reduced need to be vaccinated, especially during an uncertain scenario. The identity of being a 'healthy person' also included beliefs about avoiding medicine and allowing the body to fight disease 'naturally'. This was given as a reason for using alternative precautionary behaviours to vaccination. This identity could be held by those not at-risk and by those who were clinically at-risk. Promoters and barriers to being vaccinated and taking antiviral medicines are multi-dimensional and communications to promote uptake are likely to be most effective if they address several components of behaviour. The benefit of using the COM-B model is that it is at the core of an

Improving global health governance to combat counterfeit medicines: a proposal for a UNODC-WHO-Interpol trilateral mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackey, Tim K; Liang, Bryan A

2013-10-31

Perhaps no greater challenge exists for public health, patient safety, and shared global health security, than fake/falsified/fraudulent, poor quality unregulated drugs, also commonly known as "counterfeit medicines", now endemic in the global drug supply chain. Counterfeit medicines are prevalent everywhere, from traditional healthcare settings to unregulated sectors, including the Internet. These dangerous medicines are expanding in both therapeutic and geographic scope, threatening patient lives, leading to antimicrobial resistance, and profiting criminal actors. Despite clear global public health threats, surveillance for counterfeit medicines remains extremely limited, with available data pointing to an increasing global criminal trade that has yet to be addressed appropriately. Efforts by a variety of public and private sector entities, national governments, and international organizations have made inroads in combating this illicit trade, but are stymied by ineffectual governance and divergent interests. Specifically, recent efforts by the World Health Organization, the primary international public health agency, have failed to adequately incorporate the broad array of stakeholders necessary to combat the problem. This has left the task of combating counterfeit medicines to other organizations such as UN Office of Drugs and Crime and Interpol in order to fill this policy gap. To address the current failure of the international community to mobilize against the worldwide counterfeit medicines threat, we recommend the establishment of an enhanced global health governance trilateral mechanism between WHO, UNODC, and Interpol to leverage the respective strengths and resources of these organizations. This would allow these critical organizations, already engaged in the fight against counterfeit medicines, to focus on and coordinate their respective domains of transnational crime prevention, public health, and law enforcement field operations. Specifically, by

Biofantasies: genetics and medicine in the print news media.

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, A

2001-04-01

The contemporary news media is an important site for exploring the diverse and complex cultural images of genetics and its medical possibilities, and of the mechanisms by which these images are (re) produced and sustained. This article investigates how the print news media 'frames' stories on genetics and medicine. It is based on a discourse analysis of articles appearing in three Australian newspapers in the late 1990s. Gene stories were found to be prominent in each of the newspapers, and to emphasise the medical benefits of genetic research. Stories frequently cite and quote scientists, who explain the nature and significance of the research and/or its implications for treatment or prevention. Many stories focus on new genetic discoveries, and portray genetic researchers as involved in a quest to unlock nature's secrets. Stories of hope, and depictions of geneticists as warriors or heroes, appear regularly. The positive vision of genetics is supported by the use of particular metaphors, accompanying illustrative material, 'human interest' stories, and reference to credible sources. There is rarely mention of the influence of non-genetic factors and 'multifactorial' interactions on disorders, or questioning of the goals, direction, methods, or value of genetic research. Scientists made extensive use of the media in their efforts to maintain a positive image of research in the face of public concerns about scientists 'going too far', following the announcement of the cloning of Dolly. Boundaries were drawn between 'therapeutic cloning'--implicitly defined as 'good', useful, and legitimate--and 'reproductive cloning'--seen as 'bad', dangerous, and illegitimate. By framing news stories as they do, the print news media are likely to exert a powerful influence on public responses to health problems. With new genetic technologies becoming more integrated in preventive medicine and public health, it is important to investigate how news stories help shape the agenda for

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...

The Market for Hospital Medicine in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hostenkamp, Gisela

2012-01-01

Pharmaceutical expenditure growth has outpaced GDP and healthcare expenditure growth rates in Denmark as in most OECD countries for the last decade. A major part of this increase was due to high growth rates in specialist areas that are typically located in hospital settings. Yet the market...... for hospital medicines and their procurement are still poorly understood. The present paper characterises the market for hospital medicines in Denmark in terms of its organisation and developments between 2005 and 2009. In Denmark hospital medicines are publicly financed and procurement is centrally organised....... 98% of all medicines administered at Danish public hospitals are purchased through a public procurement agency by means of public tenders. Using data on actual contract prices we decompose pharmaceutical expenditure growth into the contributions from newly introduced medicines, price and volume...

Analysis - what is legal medicine?

Science.gov (United States)

Beran, Roy G

2008-04-01

Legal medicine addresses the interface between medicine and law in health care. The Australian College of Legal Medicine (ACLM) established itself as the peak body in legal and forensic medicine in Australia. It helped establish the Expert Witness Institute of Australia (EWIA), the legal medicine programme at Griffith University and contributes to government enquiries. Public health, disability assessment, competing priorities of privacy verses notification and determination of fitness for a host of pursuits are aspects of legal medicine. Complementing the EWIA, the ACLM runs training programmes emphasising legal medicine skills additional to clinical practice, advocating clinical relevance. Assessment of athletes' fitness and ensuring that prohibited substances are not inadvertently prescribed represent a growing area of legal medicine. Ethical consideration of health care should respect legal medicine principles rather than armchair commentary. International conventions must be respected by legal medicine and dictate physicians' obligations. The NSW courts imposed a duty to provide emergency medical care. Migration and communicable diseases are aspects of legal medicine. Police surgeons provide a face to legal medicine (which incorporates forensic medicine) underpinning its public perception of specialty recognition. Legal medicine deserves its place as a medical specialty in its own right.

Understanding public confidence in government to prevent terrorist attacks.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baldwin, T. E.; Ramaprasad, A,; Samsa, M. E.; Decision and Information Sciences; Univ. of Illinois at Chicago

2008-04-02

A primary goal of terrorism is to instill a sense of fear and vulnerability in a population and to erode its confidence in government and law enforcement agencies to protect citizens against future attacks. In recognition of its importance, the Department of Homeland Security includes public confidence as one of the principal metrics used to assess the consequences of terrorist attacks. Hence, a detailed understanding of the variations in public confidence among individuals, terrorist event types, and as a function of time is critical to developing this metric. In this exploratory study, a questionnaire was designed, tested, and administered to small groups of individuals to measure public confidence in the ability of federal, state, and local governments and their public safety agencies to prevent acts of terrorism. Data was collected from three groups before and after they watched mock television news broadcasts portraying a smallpox attack, a series of suicide bomber attacks, a refinery explosion attack, and cyber intrusions on financial institutions, resulting in identity theft. Our findings are: (a) although the aggregate confidence level is low, there are optimists and pessimists; (b) the subjects are discriminating in interpreting the nature of a terrorist attack, the time horizon, and its impact; (c) confidence recovery after a terrorist event has an incubation period; and (d) the patterns of recovery of confidence of the optimists and the pessimists are different. These findings can affect the strategy and policies to manage public confidence after a terrorist event.

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.

Public opinion on motor vehicle-related injury prevention policies: a systematic review of a decade of research.

Science.gov (United States)

Debinski, Beata; Clegg Smith, Katherine; Gielen, Andrea

2014-01-01

Legislation is an effective strategy for reducing road-related fatalities and injuries. Public opinion can be an impetus for passing new laws and can affect the success of their implementation, but little is known about the current state of public opinion toward existing and proposed road-related policies in the United States. This review describes the scope and results of research on public support for state- and local-level evidence-based motor vehicle- and bicycle-related policies. We identify gaps in our understanding of public support for these policies. Published U.S. literature and all reports from the NHTSA from the past decade (2003-2012) were searched for data on opinions about existing or proposed policies related to motor vehicle or bicycle injury prevention. Twenty-six studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In all, studies reported public opinion about 7 injury prevention topic areas: all-terrain vehicles (n = 1), automated enforcement with red light and speed cameras (n = 5), distracted driving (n = 4), drinking and driving (n = 5), graduated driver licensing (n = 7), helmets (n = 7), and seat belts (n = 4). Twenty-three studies focused only on one topic, and 3 sought public opinion about multiple topic areas. The studies revealed generally high levels of support for injury prevention policies in all topic areas. Fifteen studies collected information from national samples, and only 7 studies reported data from the state (n = 5) or local (n = 2) level. There is a relatively small evidence base on public opinion related to motor vehicle- and bicycle-related evidence-based policies; even less is less known for state- or county-specific policies. The findings of this review suggest that the public's opinion toward injury prevention legislation is generally favorable. This information can be used to communicate with the media and policy makers to reinforce the need for effective policy solutions to continuing motor vehicle injury problems. More research

Daily Pill Can Prevent HIV PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

This 60 second public service announcement (PSA) is based on the November 24, 2015 CDC Vital Signs report. Preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a daily medicine that can be used to prevent getting HIV. PrEP is for people who don’t have HIV but who are at very high risk for getting it from sex or injection drug use. Unfortunately, many people who can benefit from PrEP aren’t taking it.

Barriers towards the publication of academic drug trials. Follow-up of trials approved by the Danish Medicines Agency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berendt, Louise; Petersen, Lene Grejs; Bach, Karin Friis

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To characterize and quantify barriers towards the publication of academic drug trials. STUDY DESIGN: We identified academic drug trials approved during a 3-year period (2004-2007) by the Danish Medicines Agency. We conducted a survey among the trial sponsors to describe the rates...... of initiation, completion, and publication, and the reasons for the failure to reach each of these milestones. Information on size and methodological characteristics of the trials was extracted from the EudraCT database, a prospective register of all approved clinical drug trials submitted to European medicines...... agencies since 2004. RESULTS: A total of 181 academic drug trials were eligible for inclusion, 139 of which participated in our survey (response rate: 77%). Follow-up time ranged from 5.1 to 7.9 years. Most trials were randomized controlled trials (73%, 95% CI 65-81%). Initiation and completion rates were...

[Publications of medical thesis defended in Lille school of medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Benotmane, Ilies; Glatz, Nicolas; Bihan, Solenn; Legrand, Fanny; Gosset, Didier; Boulanger, Eric

2012-07-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the future, in terms of scientific publication, of medical thesis (MT) defended in the Medical School of Lille 2 University (MSL2U) between January 1st, 2001 and December 31st, 2007. The collection of MT published as a corresponding scientific article was realized from PubMed(®). For every corresponding article, we determined the journal Impact Factor (IF), the language of publication and the rank of the student and his MT director in the author list. Analyses were also realized according to the group of speciality of the TM. In all, 11.3% of the 2150 MT defended in the MSL2U were followed up by a scientific publication. The average IF was 2.32 with a median at 1.75 and extreme values from 0 to 14.78. Seventy percent of the articles were published in English. The rank of the student was placed before his MT director (2.06 vs. 3.15). The MT defended by students in the field of medical specialities presented the highest rate of publication (25.1%). The general medicine was the second speciality the most productive in term of number of published articles (n=49) after medical specialities (n=103). The MT director and the PhD students must be more motivated to publish their results. The value of 11.3% could be considered as weak but, because of a huge lack of references, it is impossible to compare our results to those of other French medical schools. It remains important to reform the objectives and the modalities of the writing of a MT: should we not have to turn to thesis called "on article"? Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Health significance of metal exposures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grandjean, Philippe

2007-01-01

and written by well-respected authorities in the range of topics covered, Maxcy-Rosenau-Last Public Health and Preventive Medicine is also an outstanding guide to additional resources of information in preparing for the board exam in preventative medicine and public health. The new edition of Maxcy......An extensive, in-depth look at public health and preventive medicine topics from experts in the field This trusted one-stop resource is a completely up-to-date, all-in-one public health and preventive medicine guide. Sponsored by the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine and edited......-Rosenau-Last Public Health and Preventive Medicine has been completely updated to encompass many new diseases, conditions, and policy issues that continue to dramatically shape-and expand the influence of-public health and preventive medicine. New to this Edition: Important coverage of new diseases, conditions...

Monographs for medicines on WHO’s Model List of Essential Medicines

Science.gov (United States)

Adler, Melissa; Jain, Tanvi; Bempong, Daniel

2018-01-01

Abstract Objective To raise awareness about the importance of public pharmaceutical standards, identify if and, if so, where current pharmacopeias are falling short in the development of new and complete monographs and foster collaboration among the various pharmacopeias, to prioritize, develop and make available standards for those key medicines for which no complete monographs exist. Methods In August 2017, we mined eight pharmacopeias to identify which of the 669 medicines in the 20th edition of the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines were covered by complete or incomplete monographs. The pharmacopeias we included were the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia, the British Pharmacopoeia, the Indian Pharmacopeia Commission, the International Pharmacopoeia, the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, the Mexican Pharmacopoeia, the Pharmacopeia of the People’s Republic of China and the United States Pharmacopeia. Findings For 99 (15%) of the medicines on the Model List, no monographs were available in any of the eight pharmacopeias investigated. Only 3% (1/30) of the cardiovascular medicines listed, but 28% (9/32) of the antiretroviral medicines and 23% (6/26) of the antimalarial medicines lacked monographs. Conclusion There appear to be no public standards for many so-called essential medicines. To address this shortfall, a greater collaboration in the global health community is needed.

P4 Medicine versus Hippocrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Pulciani, Simonetta; Di Lonardo, Anna; Fagnani, Corrado; Taruscio, Domenica

2017-01-01

Hippocrates was the first to raise awareness of medicine as a science. He asserted the body being a unified whole and emphasized the importance of preventive and predictive medicine, spurring physicians to foster patient collaboration. Recent achievements today have permitted a new approach "P4 medicine" - Predictive, Preventive, Personalized and Participatory - with the aim of depicting an individual's health history and molecular profile in determining the best medical intervention in maintaining or restoring wellbeing. There is a link, which brings together Hippocrates and P4 Medicine. This review will elaborate further this statement, considering the scientific achievements that paved the way for recent medical approaches. Emphasis will be given to the social impact of new diagnostic and therapeutic protocols, considering their costs and their success probabilities.

Are essential medicines in Malaysia accessible, affordable and available?

Science.gov (United States)

Saleh, Kamaruzaman; Ibrahim, Mohamed I M

2005-12-01

To assess the pharmaceutical sector to know whether people have access to essential medicines. The study was conducted in 20 public health clinics, five public district drug stores and 20 private retail pharmacies selected randomly in five different areas randomly selected (four states and a federal territory). The methodology used was adopted from the World Health Organization study protocol. The degree of attainment of the strategic pharmaceutical objectives of improved access is measured by a list of tested indicators. Access is measured in terms of the availability and affordability of essential medicines, especially to the poor and in the public sector. The first survey in the public health clinics and public district drug stores gathered information about current availability of essential medicines, prevalence of stock-outs and affordability of treatment (except drug stores). The second survey assessed affordability of treatment in public health clinics and private retail pharmacies. Availability, stock-out duration, percent of medicines dispensed, accessibility and affordability of key medicines. The average availability of key medicines in the public health clinics for the country was 95.4%. The average stock-out duration of key medicines was 6.5 days. However, average availability of key medicines in the public district drug stores was 89.2%; with an average stock-out duration of 32.4 days. Medicines prescribed were 100% dispensed to the patients. Average affordability for public health clinics was 1.5 weeks salary and for the private pharmacies, 3.7 weeks salary. The present pharmaceutical situation in the context of essential medicines list implementation reflected that the majority of the population in Malaysia had access to affordable essential medicines. If medicines need to be obtained from the private sector, they are hardly affordable. Although the average availability of essential medicines in Malaysia was high being more than 95.0%, in certain

Piper betel Linn (betel vine), the maligned Southeast Asian medicinal plant possesses cancer preventive effects: time to reconsider the wronged opinion.

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, Manoj P; Thilakchand, Karadka Ramdas; Palatty, Princy L; Rao, Prathima; Rao, Suresh; Bhat, Harshith P; Baliga, Manjeshwar Shrinath

2011-01-01

Since antiquity, Piper betel Linn (betel vine; family Piperaceae) has been an important medicinal agent in the various traditional and folk systems of medicine in Southeast Asia countries. The leaves are the most valued plant part and in the past were routinely used as a chewing agent to prevent halitosis. The leaves are also supposed to harden the gum, conserve the teeth and to prevent indigestion, bronchitis, constipation, congestion, coughs and asthma. Innumerable scientific studies have validated the ethnomedicinal claims. Betel leaves are an integral component of the betel quid that consists of areca nut (Areca catechu Linn.), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L) and slaked lime; a highly abused agent with carcinogenic properties. Regular chewing of betel quid is associated mainly with oral cancer and detail studies with individual constituents of the quid have shown that both tobacco and areca nut are carcinogenic, while slaked lime is shown to promote the process of carcinogenesis. However unlike other constituents of the betel quid, the betel leaves devoid carcinogenic effects and on the contrary possesses cancer preventive effects including against the carcinogens present in tobacco. This review for the first time provides information on cancer preventive effects and also addresses the various mechanisms which might be involved.

Blood Pressure Medicines Don’t Work If People Don’t Take Them PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2016-09-13

This 60 second public service announcement is based on the September 2016 CDC Vital Signs report. Blood pressure medicines don’t work if people don’t take them. Learn how health care systems can work with patients to make taking medicines easier.  Created: 9/13/2016 by National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP).   Date Released: 9/13/2016.

Islamic medicine and evolutionary medicine: a comparative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Saniotis, Arthur

2012-01-01

The advent of evolutionary medicine in the last two decades has provided new insights into the causes of human disease and possible preventative strategies. One of the strengths of evolutionary medicine is that it follows a multi-disciplinary approach. Such an approach is vital to future biomedicine as it enables for the infiltration of new ideas. Although evolutionary medicine uses Darwinian evolution as a heuristic for understanding human beings' susceptibility to disease, this is not necessarily in conflict with Islamic medicine. It should be noted that current evolutionary theory was first expounded by various Muslim scientists such as al-Jāḥiẓ, al-Ṭūsī, Ibn Khaldūn and Ibn Maskawayh centuries before Darwin and Wallace. In this way, evolution should not be viewed as being totally antithetical to Islam. This article provides a comparative overview of Islamic medicine and Evolutionary medicine as well as drawing points of comparison between the two approaches which enables their possible future integration.

A scoping review of the public health impact of vitamin D-fortified dairy products for fracture prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiligsmann, Mickael; Neuprez, Audrey; Buckinx, Fanny; Locquet, Médéa; Reginster, Jean-Yves

2017-12-01

Dairy products are rich in nutrients that positively influence bone health and hence fracture risk, and have therefore been recommended and used for fracture prevention. To help decision makers to efficiently allocate scare resources, it is further important to assess the public health and economic impact of any health intervention. In recent years, several studies have been conducted to estimate the public health and/or economic impact of dairy products but no overview is currently available. This article aims therefore to summarize evidence and review articles that estimated the public health and/or economic impact of vitamin D-fortified dairy products for fracture prevention. A literature review was conducted using PubMed to identify original studies that assessed the public health and/or economic impact of dairy products (or of calcium/vitamin D supplementation) for fracture prevention up to January 15, 2017. Seven articles were identified. Different strategies were used by the authors to model the economic/public health impact of dairy products. The four studies assessing the public health impact of dairy products revealed a substantial benefit in terms of fracture prevented, life years, disability-adjusted life years and/or quality-adjusted life years gained. Studies assessing the cost-effectiveness revealed that the use of dairy products is generally cost-effective in the general population aged above 70 years, and from the age of 60 years in populations at high risk of fractures. This systematic review suggests that the use of dairy products could substantially reduce the burden of osteoporotic fractures and seem to be an economically beneficial strategy.

Youth Gambling Prevention: Can Public Service Announcements Featuring Celebrity Spokespersons Be Effective?

Science.gov (United States)

Shead, N. Will; Walsh, Kelly; Taylor, Amy; Derevensky, Jeffrey L.; Gupta, Rina

2011-01-01

Children and adolescents are at increased risk of developing gambling problems compared to adults. A review of successful prevention campaigns targeting drinking and driving, smoking, unprotected sex, and drug use suggests that public service announcements (PSAs) featuring celebrity spokespersons have strong potential for raising awareness of the…

Overview of the Publications From the Anthroposophic Medicine Outcomes Study (AMOS): A Whole System Evaluation Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamre, Harald Johan; Kiene, Helmut; Ziegler, Renatus; Tröger, Wilfried; Meinecke, Christoph; Schnürer, Christof; Vögler, Hendrik; Glockmann, Anja; Kienle, Gunver Sophia

2014-01-01

Anthroposophic medicine is a physician-provided complementary therapy system that was founded by Rudolf Steiner and Ita Wegman. Anthroposophic therapy includes special medicinal products, artistic therapies, eurythmy movement exercises, and special physical therapies. The Anthroposophic Medicine Outcomes Study (AMOS) was a prospective observational multicenter study of 1631 outpatients starting anthroposophic therapy for anxiety disorders, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, low back pain, migraine, and other chronic indications under routine conditions in Germany. AMOS INCORPORATED TWO FEATURES PROPOSED FOR THE EVALUATION OF INTEGRATIVE THERAPY SYSTEMS: (1) a sequential approach, starting with the whole therapy system (use, safety, outcomes, perceived benefit), addressing comparative effectiveness and proceeding to the major system components (physician counseling, anthroposophic medicinal products, art therapy, eurythmy therapy, rhythmical massage therapy) and (2) a mix of different research methods to build an information synthesis, including pre-post analyses, prospective comparative analyses, economic analyses, and safety analyses of individual patient data. AMOS fostered two methodological innovations for the analysis of single-arm therapy studies (combined bias suppression, systematic outcome comparison with corresponding cohorts in other studies) and the first depression cost analysis worldwide comparing primary care patients treated for depression vs depressed patients treated for another disorder vs nondepressed patients. A total of 21 peer-reviewed publications from AMOS have resulted. This article provides an overview of the main research questions, methods, and findings from these publications: anthroposophic treatment was safe and was associated with clinically relevant improvements in symptoms and quality of life without cost increase; improvements were found in all age, diagnosis, and therapy modality groups and were

The academic trend of Oriental Medicine during the Japanese colonial period as observed through the publication of medical books

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KIM Nam-il

2006-06-01

Full Text Available This thesis examines the academical trend of Oriental Medicine in the Japanese colonial period observed through medical books published during the Japanese colonial period.This is a period in which Western Medicine was introduced,and due to the lean-to-one-side policy by the Japanese, Western Medicine became the mainstream medical science while Oriental Medicine was pushed to the outskirts.Even after all this,the academic activity was flourishing during this period compared to any other periods. This article is divided into various chapters each with its own theme in order to understand the academic trend of Oriental Medicine during the Japanese colonial period.Focusing on the publication of medical books, this article is divided and observed according to various themes such as the study of Dong-Eui-Bo-Gam(東醫寶鑑,the study of Bang-Yak-Hap- Pyeun(方藥合編,the study of Sang-Han-Ron(傷寒論,the study of Sa-sang (四象constitutional medicine,the study of Eui-Hak-Ip-Mun (醫學入門,the study about Bu-Yang-Ron(扶陽論,On-Bo-Ron(溫補論,and pediatrics, compromise between Western and Oriental Medicine,the study of experience medicine,the study of acupuncture and moxibustion,and etc.

[Mind-body approach in the area of preventive medicine: focusing on relaxation and meditation for stress management].

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Yunesik

2010-09-01

Emotional support and a stress management program should be simultaneously provided to clients as effective preventive services for healthy behavioral change. This study was conducted to review various relaxation and meditation intervention methods and their applicability for a preventive service program. The author of this paper tried to find various relaxation and meditation programs through a literature review and program searching and to introduce them. The 'Relaxation Response' and 'Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)' are the most the widely used meditative programs in mainstream medical systems. Abdominal breathing, Progressive Musclular Relaxation (PMR), Relaxative Imagery, Autogenic Training (AT) and Biofeedback are other well-known techniques for relaxation and stress management. I have developed and implemented some programs using these methods. Relaxation and meditation classes for cancer patients and a meditation based stress coping workshop are examples of this program. Relaxation and meditation seem to be good and effective methods for primary, secondary and tertiary preventive service programs. Program development and standardization and further study are needed for more and wider use of the mind-body approach in the preventive service area of medicine.

Eurycoma longifolia: Medicinal Plant in the Prevention and Treatment of Male Osteoporosis due to Androgen Deficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadia Mohd Effendy

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Osteoporosis in elderly men is now becoming an alarming health issue due to its relation with a higher mortality rate compared to osteoporosis in women. Androgen deficiency (hypogonadism is one of the major factors of male osteoporosis and it can be treated with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT. However, one medicinal plant, Eurycoma longifolia Jack (EL, can be used as an alternative treatment to prevent and treat male osteoporosis without causing the side effects associated with TRT. EL exerts proandrogenic effects that enhance testosterone level, as well as stimulate osteoblast proliferation and osteoclast apoptosis. This will maintain bone remodelling activity and reduce bone loss. Phytochemical components of EL may also prevent osteoporosis via its antioxidative property. Hence, EL has the potential as a complementary treatment for male osteoporosis.

[Progress in precision medicine: a scientific perspective].

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Wang, B; Li, L M

2017-01-10

Precision medicine is a new strategy for disease prevention and treatment by taking into account differences in genetics, environment and lifestyles among individuals and making precise diseases classification and diagnosis, which can provide patients with personalized, targeted prevention and treatment. Large-scale population cohort studies are fundamental for precision medicine research, and could produce best evidence for precision medicine practices. Current criticisms on precision medicine mainly focus on the very small proportion of benefited patients, the neglect of social determinants for health, and the possible waste of limited medical resources. In spite of this, precision medicine is still a most hopeful research area, and would become a health care practice model in the future.

A Química Medicinal Brasileira de 1998 a 2008 nos Periódicos Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters e European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

OpenAIRE

Renato S. Bastos; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Bárbara V. da Silva; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Angelo C. Pinto; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

2009-01-01

Neste artigo apresentamos as publicações brasileiras, os pesquisadores envolvidos, a contribuição por estado da federação e as principais doenças estudadas no período de 1998 a 2008 nas revistas Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters e European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.  DOI: 10.5935/1984-6835.20090009  In this article we present the Brazilian publications, the research groups involved, the contributions per st...

Violence Prevention at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School. Summary Brief

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Fontaine, Jocelyn; Debus-Sherrill, Sara; Downey, P. Mitchell; Lowry, Samantha S.

2010-01-01

This summary brief is based on research conducted by the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center on the violence prevention activities taking place at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School during the 2008-2009 school year. Researchers from the Justice Policy Center conducted an assessment of the school's violence prevention…

Precision Medicine and Men's Health.

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Mata, Douglas A; Katchi, Farhan M; Ramasamy, Ranjith

2017-07-01

Precision medicine can greatly benefit men's health by helping to prevent, diagnose, and treat prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, infertility, hypogonadism, and erectile dysfunction. For example, precision medicine can facilitate the selection of men at high risk for prostate cancer for targeted prostate-specific antigen screening and chemoprevention administration, as well as assist in identifying men who are resistant to medical therapy for prostatic hyperplasia, who may instead require surgery. Precision medicine-trained clinicians can also let couples know whether their specific cause of infertility should be bypassed by sperm extraction and in vitro fertilization to prevent abnormalities in their offspring. Though precision medicine's role in the management of hypogonadism has yet to be defined, it could be used to identify biomarkers associated with individual patients' responses to treatment so that appropriate therapy can be prescribed. Last, precision medicine can improve erectile dysfunction treatment by identifying genetic polymorphisms that regulate response to medical therapies and by aiding in the selection of patients for further cardiovascular disease screening.

Educating Masters of Public Health Students on Tobacco Control and Prevention: An Integrated Curriculum Approach

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Lowe, John; Aquilino, Mary; Abramsohn, Erin

2007-01-01

Objectives: Comprehensive training in the area of tobacco control and prevention has not been available to public health students receiving professional degrees. This study describes findings of a project designed to develop and evaluate an integrated approach to the education of Masters of Public Health (MPH) students at the University of Iowa…

Annals of African Medicine

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Annals of African Medicine is published by the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria and the Annals of African Medicine Society. The Journal is intended to serve as a medium for the publication of research findings in the broad field of Medicine in Africa and other developing countries, and ...

The effect of copayments for prescriptions on adherence to prescription medicines in publicly insured populations; a systematic review and meta-analysis.

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Sinnott, Sarah-Jo; Buckley, Claire; O'Riordan, David; Bradley, Colin; Whelton, Helen

2013-01-01

Copayments are intended to decrease third party expenditure on pharmaceuticals, particularly those regarded as less essential. However, copayments are associated with decreased use of all medicines. Publicly insured populations encompass some vulnerable patient groups such as older individuals and low income groups, who may be especially susceptible to medication non-adherence when required to pay. Non-adherence has potential consequences of increased morbidity and costs elsewhere in the system. To quantify the risk of non-adherence to prescribed medicines in publicly insured populations exposed to copayments. The population of interest consisted of cohorts who received public health insurance. The intervention was the introduction of, or an increase, in copayment. The outcome was non-adherence to medications, evaluated using objective measures. Eight electronic databases and the grey literature were systematically searched for relevant articles, along with hand searches of references in review articles and the included studies. Studies were quality appraised using modified EPOC and EHPPH checklists. A random effects model was used to generate the meta-analysis in RevMan v5.1. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using the I(2) test; p>0.1 indicated a lack of heterogeneity. Seven out of 41 studies met the inclusion criteria. Five studies contributed more than 1 result to the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis included 199,996 people overall; 74,236 people in the copayment group and 125,760 people in the non-copayment group. Average age was 71.75 years. In the copayment group, (verses the non-copayment group), the odds ratio for non-adherence was 1.11 (95% CI 1.09-1.14; P = medicines in publicly insured populations where copayments for medicines are necessary. Policy-makers should be wary of potential negative clinical outcomes resulting from non-adherence, and also possible knock-on economic repercussions.

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...

76 FR 71348 - Role of Naloxone in Opioid Overdose Fatality Prevention; Public Workshop; Request for Comments

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-17

... discussion about the potential value of making naloxone more widely available outside of conventional medical... registration on the day of the public workshop will be based on space availability. If registration reaches..., is an injectable medicine that can rapidly reverse the overdose of either prescription (e.g., Oxy...

Race, Medicine, and Colonial Rule in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea.

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Cameron-Smith, Alexander

2013-01-01

Public health in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea shared characteristics with regimes in other colonial territories. The protection of European health and ensuring a supply of efficient indigenous labour were the principle aims of the public health regime. Measures to control infectious disease focused on racial segregation of urban spaces, surveillance, and control of indigenous mobility. Yet, if the mandate did not systemically encourage projects in preventive health and social medicine, wider public engagement with the international discourse of indigenous welfare and uplift surrounding it at times shaped colonial administration indirectly. One Director of Public Health in New Guinea, Raphael Cilento, invoked the terms of the mandate during acrimonious debates over nutrition in the 1920s that led to significant changes to rations included in the Native Labour Ordinance.

The subjectively perceived quality of postgraduate medical training in integrative medicine within the public healthcare systems of Germany and Switzerland: the example of anthroposophic hospitals

OpenAIRE

Heusser, Peter; Eberhard, Sabine; Berger, Bettina; Weinzirl, Johannes; Orlow, Pascale

2014-01-01

Background Integrative medicine (IM) integrates evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) with conventional medicine (CON). Medical schools offer basic CAM electives but in postgraduate medical training (PGMT) little has been done for the integration of CAM. An exception to this is anthroposophic medicine (AM), a western form of CAM based on CON, offering an individualized holistic IM approach. AM hospitals are part of the public healthcare systems in Germany and Switzerland...

Complementary alternative medicine and nuclear medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Werneke, Ursula; McCready, V.Ralph

2004-01-01

Complementary alternative medicines (CAMs), including food supplements, are taken widely by patients, especially those with cancer. Others take CAMs hoping to improve fitness or prevent disease. Physicians (and patients) may not be aware of the potential side-effects and interactions of CAMs with conventional treatment. Likewise, their known physiological effects could interfere with radiopharmaceutical kinetics, producing abnormal treatment responses and diagnostic results. Nuclear medicine physicians are encouraged to question patients on their intake of CAMs when taking their history prior to radionuclide therapy or diagnosis. The potential effect of CAMs should be considered when unexpected therapeutic or diagnostic results are found. (orig.)

[Public health, prevention and federalism: insights from the implementation of the federal law on health insurance].

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Rüefli, Christian; Sager, Fritz

2004-01-01

In 1996, the new Swiss law on health care insurance (KVG) introduced the coverage of certain preventive measures. This provided an opportunity to include research-based public health issues in federal health policy. The present article examines the problems with which the realization of those goals in a Federalist health care system with strong cantonal autonomy as it is found in Switzerland was confronted. Comparative qualitative case studies design (vaccination of school age children and screening-mammography). Switzerland's federalist health care system strongly hinders the realisation of the Confederation's public health goals. Prevention falls into the cantons' autonomy and the federal KVG (Krankenversicherungsgesetz; Health insurance law) only regulates the coverage of the services provided, but does not contain any instruments to assure implementation in consistency with the policy goals. Under those circumstances, conflicts of interest between the implementing actors, varying cantonal preferences, and scarce resources block the implementation of public health goals. The results imply stronger leadership of the Confederation in prevention policy and an improved consideration of implementation aspects in approving new measures to obligatory insurance coverage.

Personality and Longevity: Knowns, Unknowns, and Implications for Public Health and Personalized Medicine

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Chapman, Benjamin P.; Roberts, Brent; Duberstein, Paul

2011-01-01

We review evidence for links between personality traits and longevity. We provide an overview of personality for health scientists, using the primary organizing framework used in the study of personality and longevity. We then review data on various aspects of personality linked to longevity. In general, there is good evidence that higher level of conscientiousness and lower levels of hostility and Type D or “distressed” personality are associated with greater longevity. Limited evidence suggests that extraversion, openness, perceived control, and low levels of emotional suppression may be associated with longer lifespan. Findings regarding neuroticism are mixed, supporting the notion that many component(s) of neuroticism detract from life expectancy, but some components at some levels may be healthy or protective. Overall, evidence suggests various personality traits are significant predictors of longevity and points to several promising directions for further study. We conclude by discussing the implications of these links for epidemiologic research and personalized medicine and lay out a translational research agenda for integrating the psychology of individual differences into public health and medicine. PMID:21766032

75 FR 33983 - Establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-16

... integrative health-care strategy that incorporates the most effective and achievable means of improving the... smoking cessation, proper nutrition, appropriate exercise, mental health, behavioral health, substance-use... 13544 of June 10, 2010 Establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council...

THE ROLE OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE AND MARKETING IN PROMOTING OF ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGNS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alina-Costina LUCA

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In Europe, according to official statistics (ec.europa.eu the percentage of smokers is about 29% of the population, and smoking still remains the main reason underlying the deaths and illnesses that could have been prevented. In the past 12 months, 31% of EU smokers have tried to quit smoking. In this gloomy context, the European Commission already has a tradition in preventing and stopping smoking, in addition to the broader tobacco control: in recent years have been organized numerous campaigns that aim to inform the European public about the problems caused by consumption tobacco, increasing awareness of the dangers of smoking, thus contributing to the long-term objective proposed by the Commission as "Europe free from tobacco smoke."

A Web-Based Lifestyle Medicine Curriculum: Facilitating Education About Lifestyle Medicine, Behavioral Change, and Health Care Outcomes

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Xiao, Ryan C; Sannidhi, Deepa; McBride, Yasamina; McCargo, Tracie; Stern, Theodore A

2017-01-01

Background Lifestyle medicine is the science and application of healthy lifestyles as interventions for the prevention and treatment of disease, and has gained significant momentum as a specialty in recent years. College is a critical time for maintenance and acquisition of healthy habits. Longer-term, more intensive web-based and in-person lifestyle medicine interventions can have a positive effect. Students who are exposed to components of lifestyle medicine in their education have improvements in their health behaviors. A semester-long undergraduate course focused on lifestyle medicine can be a useful intervention to help adopt and sustain healthy habits. Objective To describe a novel, evidence based curriculum for a course teaching the concepts of Lifestyle Medicine based on a web-based course offered at the Harvard Extension School. Methods The course was delivered in a web-based format. The Lifestyle Medicine course used evidence based principles to guide students toward a “coach approach” to behavior change, increasing their self-efficacy regarding various lifestyle-related preventive behaviors. Students are made to understand the cultural trends and national guidelines that have shaped lifestyle medicine recommendations relating to behaviors. They are encouraged to engage in behavior change. Course topics include physical activity, nutrition, addiction, sleep, stress, and lifestyle coaching and counseling. The course addressed all of the American College of Preventive Medicine/American College of Lifestyle Medicine competencies save for the competency of office systems and technologies to support lifestyle medicine counseling. Results The course was well-received, earning a ranking of 4.9/5 at the school. Conclusions A novel, semester-long course on Lifestyle Medicine at the Harvard Extension School is described. Student evaluations suggest the course was well-received. Further research is needed to evaluate whether such a course empowers students to

Traditional Chinese and western medicine for the prevention of deep venous thrombosis after lower extremity orthopedic surgery: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

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Zhu, Shibai; Song, Yi; Chen, Xi; Qian, Wenwei

2018-04-10

Chinese herbal medicine has traditionally been considered to promote blood circulation to remove obstruction in the channels and clear pathogenic heat to drain dampness effects. We conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate its benefits for the prevention of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) after lower extremity orthopedic surgery. Relevant, published studies were identified using the following keywords: lower extremity orthopedic surgery, arthroplasty, joint replacement, fracture, traditional Chinese and western medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, deep venous thrombosis (DVT), and Venous thromboembolism (VTE). The following databases were used to identify the literature consisting of RCTs with a date of search of 31 May 2017: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of knowledge, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, the Chongqing VIP Database, the Chinese Biomedical Database, and the Wanfang Database (including three English and four Chinese databases). All relevant data were collected from studies meeting the inclusion criteria. The outcome variables were the incidence rate of DVT, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), and D-dimer; subcutaneous hematoma; and other reported outcomes. RevMan5.2. software was adopted for the meta-analysis. A total of 20 published studies (1862 cases) met the inclusion criteria. The experimental group, 910 patients (48.87%), received the Chinese herbal medicine or traditional Chinese and western medicine for prevention of DVT; the control group, 952 patients (51.13%), received the standard western treatment. The meta-analysis showed that traditional Chinese and western medicine therapy reduced the incidence rates of DVT significantly when compared with controls (risk ratio [RR] = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.54; P < 0.00001), and the D-dimer was lower in the experimental group (P = 0.01). Besides, the incidence rate of subcutaneous hematoma was lower in the experimental group (P < 0

Overview of radiation protection programme in nuclear medicine facility for diagnostic procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, Ezzeldein Mohammed Nour Mohammed

2015-02-01

This project was conducted to review Radiation Protection Program in Nuclear Medicine facility for diagnostic procedures which will provide guide for meeting the standard and regulatory requirements in diagnostic nuclear medicine. The main objective of this project is to keep dose to staff, patient and public as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). The specific objectives were to review the Radiation Protection Program (RPP) in diagnostic nuclear medicine and to make some recommendation for improving the level of radiation protection in diagnostic nuclear medicine that will help to control normal exposure and prevent or mitigate potential exposure. The methodology used is review of various documents. The review showed that if the Radiation Protection Program is inadequate it leads to unjustified exposure to radiation. Finally, this study stated some recommendations that if implemented could improve the level of radiation protection in nuclear medicine department. One of the most important recommendations is that a qualified Radiation Protection Officer (RPO) should be appointed to lay down and oversee a radiation protection in the nuclear medicine department. The RPO must be given the full authority and the adequate time to enable him to perform his duties effectively. (au)

Persian Medicine in the World of Research; Review of Articles on Iranian Traditional Medicine.

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Moeini, Reihaneh; Gorji, Narjes

2016-05-01

Due to negligence, Persian (Iranian) traditional medicine has had a weak presence in the world of research for a long time. However, in recent years, a variety of activates by research and faculty centers have created awareness and a platform to introduce and promote Persian medicine to the world. The aim of this study is to present and analyze scientific achievements of Persian medicine in the world of research. Articles were collected from PubMed database using keywords such as "Persian medicine", "Persian traditional medicine", "Iranian medicine", and "Iranian traditional medicine". All data were classified based on the type of research (review, intervention, case reports, etc.), the field of study (neurology, cardiovascular, metabolic, historical studies, etc.), publication year, and journal type. A total of 501 articles were identified until the end of 2015, comprising of 222 reviews and 219 interventional (108 animal, 57 clinical and 54 cellular). Most studies were on neurology (20.1%), gastroenterology (14.5%), and cardiovascular diseases (10.4%). The publications in 2015 and 2014 had the highest hit rate with 139 and 132 articles, respectively, with 1:2 publication ratio between foreign and Iranian journals. The most published articles, both foreign and Iranian, were in "Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine" and "Iranian Red Crescent Medicine" journals. The contribution of foreign authors was 5%. The primary focus of the articles was on "Basic concepts of Persian medicine", "Healthy lifestyle according to Persian medicine", and "Historical aspects", by 3.1%, 2.9%, and 6.7%, respectively. During the last 2 years, the number of articles published in Persian (Iranian) medicine, particularly clinical studies had significant growth in comparison with the years before. The tendency of foreign researchers to use the keywords "Iranian" or "Persian" medicine is notable. This research was only based on the designated keyword and other keywords were

The Regulation of Medicines in Croatia - a Contribution to Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilić Martinac, A

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The regulatory system for medicinal products includes the existence of a legislative framework and a medicines agency as the regulatory body. The legislative framework for medicinal products has been amended several times so as to align it with the EU acquis communautaire, where medicinal products represent one of the best regulated and aligned areas. For the purpose of regulating the Croatian medicines market, the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices was established in 2003 to implement the procedure of granting marketing authorisation for medicinal products, to supervise the adverse reactions of medicinal products, to conduct laboratory tests of the quality of medicines and vaccines sampled from the market, to issue licences for the manufacture and distribution of medicinal products, to monitor medicine consumption, and to inform about medicines and promote their rational use. Medical devices are regulated under a special act, and the Agency conducts entries into the register in that field and carries out vigilance over medical devices. In this way, products intended for health care on the Croatian market are of the appropriate quality, safety and efficacy, and are under the constant supervision of the competent body that assesses their risk-to-benefit ratio. Upon accession of the Republic of Croatia to full membership in the European Union, the Agency will be included in the European authorisation procedures for medicines, such as the centralised procedure in the European Medicines Agency (EMA, and above all, the mutual recognition procedure and decentralised procedure in which the role of the agencies of EU Member States is greater. This article gives an overview of the most important regulatory activities in the field of medicinal products, and the readiness of the Agency to function in the future integrated European regulatory area.

Traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use by HIV patients a decade after public sector antiretroviral therapy roll out in South Africa: a cross sectional study.

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Nlooto, Manimbulu; Naidoo, Panjasaram

2016-05-17

The roll out of antiretroviral therapy in the South African public health sector in 2004 was preceded by the politicisation of HIV-infection which was used to promote traditional medicine for the management of HIV/AIDS. One decade has passed since; however, questions remain on the extent of the use of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) by HIV-infected patients. This study therefore aimed at investigating the prevalence of the use of African traditional medicine (ATM), complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) by adult patients in the eThekwini and UThukela Health Districts, South Africa. A cross- sectional study was carried out at 8 public health sector antiretroviral clinics using interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaires. These were completed from April to October 2014 by adult patients who had been on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least three months. Use of TCAM by patients was analysed by descriptive statistics using frequency and percentages with standard error. Where the associated relative error was equal or greater to 0.50, the percentage was rejected as unstable. A p-value public health sector, the use of TCAM is still prevalent amongst a small percentage of HIV infected patients attending public healthcare sector antiretroviral clinics. Further research is needed to explore reasons for use and health benefits or risks experienced by the minority that uses both conventional antiretroviral therapy with TCAM.

Implementation of a competency-based medical education approach in public health and epidemiology training of medical students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Dankner

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is increasing agreement among medical educators regarding the importance of improving the integration between public health and clinical education, understanding and implementation of epidemiological methods, and the ability to critically appraise medical literature. The Sackler School of Medicine at Tel-Aviv University revised its public health and preventive medicine curriculum, during 2013–2014, according to the competency-based medical education (CBME approach in training medical students. We describe the revised curriculum, which aimed to strengthen competencies in quantitative research methods, epidemiology, public health and preventive medicine, and health service organization and delivery. Methods We report the process undertaken to establish a relevant 6-year longitudinal curriculum and describe its contents, implementation, and continuous assessment and evaluation. Results Central competencies included: epidemiology and statistics for appraisal of the literature and implementation of research; the application of health promotion principles and health education strategies in disease prevention; the use of an evidence-based approach in clinical and public health decision making; the examination and analysis of disease trends at the population level; and knowledge of the structure of health systems and the role of the physician in these systems. Two new courses, in health promotion, and in public health, were added to the curriculum, and the courses in statistics and epidemiology were joined. Annual evaluation of each course results in continuous revisions of the syllabi as needed, while we continue to monitor the whole curriculum. Conclusions The described revision in a 6 year-medical school training curriculum addresses the currently identified needs in public health. Ongoing feedback from students, and re-evaluation of syllabus by courses teams are held annually. Analysis of student’s written feedbacks

78 FR 4295 - Engaging in Public Health Research on the Causes and Prevention of Gun Violence

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-22

... Public Health Research on the Causes and Prevention of Gun Violence Memorandum for the Secretary of Health and Human Services In addition to being a law enforcement challenge, gun violence is also a... violence and the successful efforts in place for preventing the misuse of firearms. Taking these steps will...

When medicine rediscovered its social roots.

Science.gov (United States)

Fathalla, M F

2000-01-01

This article reviews the 1952 paper by Dugald Baird on preventive medicine in obstetrics, and comments on its significance from a modern day perspective. It notes that the paper is a public health classic in the sense that it attempts to bring back the social perspective to the practice of medicine. It also highlights the impact of social factors on the health of mothers and children and gives voice to women's perceptions of modern medical practice. Over the past few decades, it has been shown that poverty is not an insurmountable barrier to health when the policies are right; that gender is a health determinant; and that improvement in perinatal health needs more than improvement in socioeconomic conditions. In view of such, there is evidence that most health professionals are willing to concede that a major proportion of ill health results from socioeconomic factors and that there are limitations to what modern medicine can achieve without social interventions. However, there is no consensus discerned on the implication of these facts for the health profession. The need for the profession to study the effect on health of actions taken or not taken outside the health sector and to disseminate this information is highlighted.

Medical Services: Preventive Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

1990-10-15

those at risk. Isoniazid (INH)administered orally is normally used for preventive therapy (300 mg daily for adults and 10 to 14 mg/kg body weight not to...netting, and insecticide aerosols; by taking approved chemoprophylaxis; and by wearing the uniform properly. d. Enteric disease by using iodine tablets ...National stock number: 6850–00–985–7166 Description: Water purification tablet , iodine, 50’s Unit/Issue: BT Allowance: 400 Authority: CTA 8–100 Notes: 1

The genomic applications in practice and prevention network.

Science.gov (United States)

Khoury, Muin J; Feero, W Gregory; Reyes, Michele; Citrin, Toby; Freedman, Andrew; Leonard, Debra; Burke, Wylie; Coates, Ralph; Croyle, Robert T; Edwards, Karen; Kardia, Sharon; McBride, Colleen; Manolio, Teri; Randhawa, Gurvaneet; Rasooly, Rebekah; St Pierre, Jeannette; Terry, Sharon

2009-07-01

The authors describe the rationale and initial development of a new collaborative initiative, the Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention Network. The network convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health includes multiple stakeholders from academia, government, health care, public health, industry and consumers. The premise of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention Network is that there is an unaddressed chasm between gene discoveries and demonstration of their clinical validity and utility. This chasm is due to the lack of readily accessible information about the utility of most genomic applications and the lack of necessary knowledge by consumers and providers to implement what is known. The mission of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention Network is to accelerate and streamline the effective integration of validated genomic knowledge into the practice of medicine and public health, by empowering and sponsoring research, evaluating research findings, and disseminating high quality information on candidate genomic applications in practice and prevention. Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention Network will develop a process that links ongoing collection of information on candidate genomic applications to four crucial domains: (1) knowledge synthesis and dissemination for new and existing technologies, and the identification of knowledge gaps, (2) a robust evidence-based recommendation development process, (3) translation research to evaluate validity, utility and impact in the real world and how to disseminate and implement recommended genomic applications, and (4) programs to enhance practice, education, and surveillance.

Annual report of the regional public health authorities in the Slovak Republic. Year 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-07-01

A brief account of activities carried out by the regional public health authorities of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic (UVZ SR) in 2011 is presented. These activities are reported under the headings: (1) The environment; (2) Preventive occupational medicine; (3)Hygiene of nutrition, food safety and cosmetic products; (4) Hygiene of children and youth; (5) Epidemiology; (6) Objectivization of factors of living conditions; (7) Medical microbiology; (8) Health promotion; (9) Health protection against radiation; (10) Complaints and petitions; (11) Medical informatics and biostatistics; (12) Lectures and publications.

Annual report of the regional public health authorities in the Slovak Republic. Year 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-02-01

A brief account of activities carried out by the regional public health authorities of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic (UVZ SR) in 2012 is presented. These activities are reported under the headings: (1) The environment; (2) Preventive occupational medicine; (3) Hygiene of nutrition, food safety and cosmetic products; (4) Hygiene of children and youth; (5) Epidemiology; (6) Objectivization of factors of living conditions; (7) Medical microbiology; (8) Health promotion; (9) Health protection against radiation; (10) Complaints and petitions; (11) Medical informatics and biostatistics; (12) Lectures and publications.

Risk Factors, Processes and Risk Management within a Public Health Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamás Szentes

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Besides clinical medicine, which is in the process of constant and fast development, the focus is increasingly on public health services, which should be well prepared for reducing or keeping under control the dangers induced by the growing social burden of disease. Continuous risk management is represented by these services that are specially designed to prevent diseases and health damages. The grounds for the planning and implementation of public health services are constituted by risk factor management and assessment by means of adopting a unified approach.

Association between Organizational Capacity and Involvement in Chronic Disease Prevention Programming among Canadian Public Health Organizations

Science.gov (United States)