Health Effects and Public Health Concerns of Energy Drink Consumption in the United States: A Mini-Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Shaar, Laila; Vercammen, Kelsey; Lu, Chang; Richardson, Scott; Tamez, Martha; Mattei, Josiemer

2017-01-01

As energy drink consumption continues to grow worldwide and within the United States, it is important to critically examine the nutritional content and effects on population health of these beverages. This mini-review summarizes the current scientific evidence on health consequences from energy drink consumption, presents relevant public health challenges, and proposes recommendations to mitigate these issues. Emerging evidence has linked energy drink consumption with a number of negative health consequences such as risk-seeking behaviors, poor mental health, adverse cardiovascular effects, and metabolic, renal, or dental conditions. Despite the consistency in evidence, most studies are of cross-sectional design or focus almost exclusively on the effect of caffeine and sugar, failing to address potentially harmful effects of other ingredients. The negative health effects associated with energy drinks (ED) are compounded by a lack of regulatory oversight and aggressive marketing by the industry toward adolescents. Moreover, the rising trend of mixing ED with alcohol presents a new challenge that researchers and public health practitioners must address further. To curb this growing public health issue, policy makers should consider creating a separate regulatory category for ED, setting an evidence-based upper limit on caffeine, restricting sales of ED, and regulating existing ED marketing strategies, especially among children and adolescents.

Health Effects and Public Health Concerns of Energy Drink Consumption in the United States: A Mini-Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laila Al-Shaar

2017-08-01

Full Text Available As energy drink consumption continues to grow worldwide and within the United States, it is important to critically examine the nutritional content and effects on population health of these beverages. This mini-review summarizes the current scientific evidence on health consequences from energy drink consumption, presents relevant public health challenges, and proposes recommendations to mitigate these issues. Emerging evidence has linked energy drink consumption with a number of negative health consequences such as risk-seeking behaviors, poor mental health, adverse cardiovascular effects, and metabolic, renal, or dental conditions. Despite the consistency in evidence, most studies are of cross-sectional design or focus almost exclusively on the effect of caffeine and sugar, failing to address potentially harmful effects of other ingredients. The negative health effects associated with energy drinks (ED are compounded by a lack of regulatory oversight and aggressive marketing by the industry toward adolescents. Moreover, the rising trend of mixing ED with alcohol presents a new challenge that researchers and public health practitioners must address further. To curb this growing public health issue, policy makers should consider creating a separate regulatory category for ED, setting an evidence-based upper limit on caffeine, restricting sales of ED, and regulating existing ED marketing strategies, especially among children and adolescents.

Perceived public health effects of occupational and residential ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study was aimed at assessing the perceived public health effects of occupational and residential exposures to e-wastes in Alaba International and Computer Village markets, the two largest electronic markets in Lagos, Nigeria. A cross sectional, comparative study was carried out using questionnaire survey of randomly ...

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sameera S. Karnik

2014-01-01

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

Public health challenges in sun protection.

Science.gov (United States)

Eide, Melody J; Weinstock, Martin A

2006-01-01

Sunscreens are a popular choice for protection from ultraviolet radiation, and hence, important components in the public health campaign to reduce the burden of skin cancer. Public health messages in skin cancer prevention have been used effectively in educational campaigns. The benefits of sunscreen extend beyond skin cancer prevention into other aspects of health and disease prevention: sunscreen decreases the risk for sunburn during physical activity outdoors and seems not to increase the risk for osteoporosis. Public health efforts have laid a solid foundation on which to face the continuing challenge of promoting and developing effective public health campaigns and health policies that encourage sunscreen use, sun protection, and the primary prevention of skin cancer. In this article, the controversies, concerns, and challenges of sunscreen use as it relates to public health are discussed.

Public health leadership education in North America

OpenAIRE

Uno, Hideo; Zakariasen,Kenneth

2010-01-01

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

Blended learning is an effective strategy for acquiring competence in public health biostatistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Milic, Natasa; Masic, Srdjan; Bjegovic-Mikanovic, Vesna; Trajkovic, Goran; Marinkovic, Jelena; Milin-Lazovic, Jelena; Bukumiric, Zoran; Savic, Marko; Cirkovic, Andja; Gajic, Milan; Stanisavljevic, Dejana

2018-04-01

We sought to determine whether blended learning is an effective strategy for acquiring competence in public health biostatistics. The trial was conducted with 69 Masters' students of public health attending the School of Public Health at University of Belgrade. Students were exposed to the traditional and blended learning styles. Blended learning included a combination of face-to-face and distance learning methodologies integrated into a single course. Curriculum development was guided by competencies as suggested by the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER). Teaching methods were compared according to the final competence score. Forty-four students were enrolled in the traditional method of education delivery, and 25 to the blended learning format. Mean exam scores for the blended learning group were higher than for the on-site group for both the final statistics score (89.65 ± 6.93 vs. 78.21 ± 13.26; p  0.8). A blended learning approach is an attractive and effective way of acquiring biostatistics competence for Masters of Public Health (MPH) graduate students.

Advances in dental public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, R D

2001-07-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Hollederer, A; Wildner, M

2015-03-01

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

Developing public health performance measures to capture the effects of transportation facilities on multiple public health outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-15

Increasingly, federal transportation and public health agencies are working together to identify : transportation investments that improve public health. Investments in transportation : infrastructure represent one method to utilize transportation to...

Effectiveness of public health interventions in food safety: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, M E; Gardner, C E; Dwyer, J J; Isaacs, S M; Krueger, P D; Ying, J Y

1998-01-01

To summarize evidence on the effectiveness of public health interventions regarding food safety at restaurants, institutions, homes and other community-based settings. This systematic review of published and unpublished studies involved a comprehensive literature search, screening for relevance, quality assessment of relevant studies, data extraction and synthesis. The interventions identified in 15 studies included in this review were grouped into three categories: inspections, food handler training, and community-based education. The evidence suggests that: routine inspection (at least once per year) of food service premises is effective in reducing the risk of foodborne illness; food handler training can improve the knowledge and practices of food handlers; and selected community-based education programs can increase public knowledge of food safety. There is some evidence for the effectiveness of multiple public health interventions on food safety. Future research needs include evaluation of HACCP and community-based education programs.

Social media in public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Kass-Hout, Taha A; Alhinnawi, Hend

2013-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-03-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Oppen, M

1996-04-01

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

Consumption value theory and the marketing of public health: an effective formative research tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Douglas G; Byus, Kent

2002-01-01

Contemporary public health requires the support and participation of its constituency. This study assesses the capacity of consumption value theory to identify the basis of this support. A telephone survey design used simple random sampling of adult residents of Cherokee County, Oklahoma. Factor analysis and stepwise discriminant analysis was used to identify and classify personal and societal level support variables. Most residents base societal level support on epistemic values. Direct services clientele base their support on positive emotional values derived from personal contact and attractive programs. Residents are curious about public health and want to know more about the health department. Where marketing the effectiveness of public health programs would yield relatively little support, marketing health promotion activities may attract public opposition. This formative research tool suggests a marketing strategy for public health practitioners.

Leprosy: International Public Health Policies and Public Health Eras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niyi Awofeso

2011-09-01

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

Environmental Impacts of the U.S. Health Care System and Effects on Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Eckelman, Matthew J; Sherman, Jodi

2016-01-01

The U.S. health care sector is highly interconnected with industrial activities that emit much of the nation's pollution to air, water, and soils. We estimate emissions directly and indirectly attributable to the health care sector, and potential harmful effects on public health. Negative environmental and public health outcomes were estimated through economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA) modeling using National Health Expenditures (NHE) for the decade 2003-2013 and compared to national totals. In 2013, the health care sector was also responsible for significant fractions of national air pollution emissions and impacts, including acid rain (12%), greenhouse gas emissions (10%), smog formation (10%) criteria air pollutants (9%), stratospheric ozone depletion (1%), and carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic air toxics (1-2%). The largest contributors to impacts are discussed from both the supply side (EIOLCA economic sectors) and demand side (NHE categories), as are trends over the study period. Health damages from these pollutants are estimated at 470,000 DALYs lost from pollution-related disease, or 405,000 DALYs when adjusted for recent shifts in power generation sector emissions. These indirect health burdens are commensurate with the 44,000-98,000 people who die in hospitals each year in the U.S. as a result of preventable medical errors, but are currently not attributed to our health system. Concerted efforts to improve environmental performance of health care could reduce expenditures directly through waste reduction and energy savings, and indirectly through reducing pollution burden on public health, and ought to be included in efforts to improve health care quality and safety.

Environmental Impacts of the U.S. Health Care System and Effects on Public Health.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew J Eckelman

Full Text Available The U.S. health care sector is highly interconnected with industrial activities that emit much of the nation's pollution to air, water, and soils. We estimate emissions directly and indirectly attributable to the health care sector, and potential harmful effects on public health. Negative environmental and public health outcomes were estimated through economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA modeling using National Health Expenditures (NHE for the decade 2003-2013 and compared to national totals. In 2013, the health care sector was also responsible for significant fractions of national air pollution emissions and impacts, including acid rain (12%, greenhouse gas emissions (10%, smog formation (10% criteria air pollutants (9%, stratospheric ozone depletion (1%, and carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic air toxics (1-2%. The largest contributors to impacts are discussed from both the supply side (EIOLCA economic sectors and demand side (NHE categories, as are trends over the study period. Health damages from these pollutants are estimated at 470,000 DALYs lost from pollution-related disease, or 405,000 DALYs when adjusted for recent shifts in power generation sector emissions. These indirect health burdens are commensurate with the 44,000-98,000 people who die in hospitals each year in the U.S. as a result of preventable medical errors, but are currently not attributed to our health system. Concerted efforts to improve environmental performance of health care could reduce expenditures directly through waste reduction and energy savings, and indirectly through reducing pollution burden on public health, and ought to be included in efforts to improve health care quality and safety.

Chiropractic care and public health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnson, Claire; Rubinstein, Sidney M; Côté, Pierre

2012-01-01

The purpose of this collaborative summary is to document current chiropractic involvement in the public health movement, reflect on social ecological levels of influence as a profession, and summarize the relationship of chiropractic to the current public health topics of: safety, health issues...... disorders? How can chiropractic use cognitive behavioral therapy to address chronic low back pain as a public health problem? What opportunities exist for doctors of chiropractic to more effectively serve the aging population? What is the role of ethics and the contribution of the chiropractic profession...

Public health and peace.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2002-04-01

important. The vital interplay between the informed public and efficient administration, however, can only exist in an open society. The link between democracy and health of the people, and between public health and economic welfare is real. The Public Health Collaboration in South Eastern Europe (PH-SEE) evolved just in time to reconnect and strengthen disrupted professional networks in the region as a prerequisite of effective public health action.

The Effect of Publicized Quality Information on Home Health Agency Choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Jeah Kyoungrae; Wu, Bingxiao; Kim, Hyunjee; Polsky, Daniel

2016-12-01

We examine consumers' use of publicized quality information in Medicare home health care markets, where consumer cost sharing and travel costs are absent. We report two findings. First, agencies with high quality scores are more likely to be preferred by consumers after the introduction of a public reporting program than before. Second, consumers' use of publicized quality information differs by patient group. Community-based patients have slightly larger responses to public reporting than hospital-discharged patients. Patients with functional limitations at the start of their care, at least among hospital-discharged patients, have a larger response to the reported functional outcome measure than those without functional limitations. In all cases of significant marginal effects, magnitudes are small. We conclude that the current public reporting approach is unlikely to have critical impacts on home health agency choice. Identifying and releasing quality information that is meaningful to consumers may help increase consumers' use of public reports. © The Author(s) 2015.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Majette, Gwendolyn Roberts

2011-01-01

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

Public health medicine: the constant dilemma.

Science.gov (United States)

Eskin, Frada

2002-03-01

There is a well-known quotation by the nineteenth-century sociologist Virchow (quoted in Ref. 1) that aptly captures the dilemma that has confronted public health medicine since the specialty was created as a discrete entity in 1848. Virchow said: 'Medicine is politics and social medicine is politics writ large!' What does this mean in relation to effective public health medicine practice and how is it likely to affect its future? There is increasingly limited freedom of expression within the current context of political correctness, central control and a rapidly burgeoning litigious climate. The purpose of this paper is to explore these issues and to propose a means of maintaining public health medicine integrity within a working environment where action is becoming rapidly constrained by political rigidity. An additional factor to be included in the dialogue is the current context within which public health physicians work. Because the majority of public health doctors are employed within the National Health Service (NHS), they are finding themselves being expected to take on tasks and responsibilities marginal to their essential purpose and function. For example, public health physicians spend a great deal of time involved in detailed deliberations about health service provision. Although there is a great deal of evidence to show that good quality health care provision positively affects the health of the individual, there is no evidence to show that this activity has any effect on the population's health status. The essence of public health medicine practice is the prevention of ill-health and the promotion of the health of the population and, consequently, attention needs to be focused on the root causes of disease. However, as these are outside the aegis of the NHS, public health medicine involvement in such issues as education, nutrition, housing, transport and poverty is regarded as marginal to the NHS corporate agenda.

Environment and public health; Environnement et sante publique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Escande, J P [Hopital Cochin, 75 - Paris (France); Cicolella, A [Institut National de l' Environnement Industriel et des Risques, 60 - Verneuil en Halatte (INERIS) (France); Hemon, D [Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM), 75 - Paris (France); and others

1999-06-01

These fourteen presentations on the public health effects of the pollution, showed the environment and life style modifications effects on the public health but also the difficulty to evaluate the risk assessment. This analysis brings information and opinion on the environment, the public health, the scientific representation, the evaluation paradigm, the press amplification, the public health policy choices and the risks of too severe regulations. (A.L.B.)

Economic evaluation of the air pollution effect on public health in China's 74 cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Li; Lei, Yalin; Pan, Dongyan; Yu, Chen; Si, Chunyan

2016-01-01

Air deterioration caused by pollution has harmed public health. The existing studies on the economic loss caused by a variety of air pollutants in multiple cities are lacking. To understand the effect of different pollutants on public health and to provide the basis of the environmental governance for governments, based on the dose-response relation and the willingness to pay, this paper used the latest available data of the inhalable particulate matter (PM10) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) from January 2015 to June 2015 in 74 cities by establishing the lowest and the highest limit scenarios. The results show that (1) in the lowest and highest limit scenario, the health-related economic loss caused by PM10 and SO2 represented 1.63 and 2.32 % of the GDP, respectively; (2) For a single city, in the lowest and the highest limit scenarios, the highest economic loss of the public health effect caused by PM10 and SO2 was observed in Chongqing; the highest economic loss of the public health effect per capita occurred in Hebei Baoding. The highest proportion of the health-related economic loss accounting for GDP was found in Hebei Xingtai. The main reason is that the terrain conditions are not conducive to the spread of air pollutants in Chongqing, Baoding and Xingtai, and the three cities are typical heavy industrial cities that are based on coal resources. Therefore, this paper proposes to improve the energy structure, use the advanced production process, reasonably control the urban population growth, and adopt the emissions trading system in order to reduce the economic loss caused by the effects of air pollution on public health.

Environmental noise pollution in the United States: developing an effective public health response.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammer, Monica S; Swinburn, Tracy K; Neitzel, Richard L

2014-02-01

Tens of millions of Americans suffer from a range of adverse health outcomes due to noise exposure, including heart disease and hearing loss. Reducing environmental noise pollution is achievable and consistent with national prevention goals, yet there is no national plan to reduce environmental noise pollution. We aimed to describe some of the most serious health effects associated with noise, summarize exposures from several highly prevalent noise sources based on published estimates as well as extrapolations made using these estimates, and lay out proven mechanisms and strategies to reduce noise by incorporating scientific insight and technological innovations into existing public health infrastructure. We estimated that 104 million individuals had annual LEQ(24) levels > 70 dBA (equivalent to a continuous average exposure level of >70 dBA over 24 hr) in 2013 and were at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Tens of millions more may be at risk of heart disease, and other noise-related health effects. Direct regulation, altering the informational environment, and altering the built environment are the least costly, most logistically feasible, and most effective noise reduction interventions. Significant public health benefit can be achieved by integrating interventions that reduce environmental noise levels and exposures into the federal public health agenda.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

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

Issues in public health

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sim, Fiona; McKee, Martin

2011-01-01

..., there is increasing understanding of the inevitable limits of individual health care and of the need to complement such services with effective public health strategies. Major improvements in people's health will come from controlling communicable diseases, eradicating environmental hazards, improving people's diets and enhancing the availability ...

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.

Risk-based estimate of effect of foodborne diseases on public health, Greece

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gkogka, E.; Reij, M.W.; Havelaar, A.H.; Zwietering, M.H.; Gorris, L.G.M.

2011-01-01

The public health effects of illness caused by foodborne pathogens in Greece during 1996–2006 was quantified by using publicly available surveillance data, hospital statistics, and literature. Results were expressed as the incidence of different disease outcomes and as disability-adjusted life years

Lighting and public health.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ierland, J. van & Schreuder, D.A.

1969-01-01

The following topics; are discussed with respect to public health: - the effect of visible and ultraviolet radiation upon man. - vision with respect to lighting. interior lighting. - artificial lighting of work environments. - day light and windows. - recommendations for lighting. public lighting. -

System impact research - increasing public health and health care system performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Malmivaara, Antti

2016-01-01

Interventions directed to system features of public health and health care should increase health and welfare of patients and population. To build a new framework for studies aiming to assess the impact of public health or health care system, and to consider the role of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and of Benchmarking Controlled Trials (BCTs). The new concept is partly based on the author's previous paper on the Benchmarking Controlled Trial. The validity and generalizability considerations were based on previous methodological studies on RCTs and BCTs. The new concept System Impact Research (SIR) covers all the studies which aim to assess the impact of the public health system or of the health care system on patients or on population. There are two kinds of studies in System Impact Research: Benchmarking Controlled Trials (observational) and Randomized Controlled Trials (experimental). The term impact covers in particular accessibility, quality, effectiveness, safety, efficiency, and equality. System Impact Research - creating the scientific basis for policy decision making - should be given a high priority in medical, public health and health economic research, and should also be used for improving performance. Leaders at all levels of health and social care can use the evidence from System Impact Research for the benefit of patients and population. Key messages The new concept of SIR is defined as a research field aiming at assessing the impacts on patients and on populations of features of public health and health and social care systems or of interventions trying to change these features. SIR covers all features of public health and health and social care system, and actions upon these features. The term impact refers to all effects caused by the public health and health and social care system or parts of it, with particular emphasis on accessibility, quality, effectiveness, adverse effects, efficiency, and equality of services. SIR creates the

Public health legal preparedness in Indian country.

Science.gov (United States)

Bryan, Ralph T; Schaefer, Rebecca McLaughlin; DeBruyn, Lemyra; Stier, Daniel D

2009-04-01

American Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments are sovereign entities with inherent authority to create laws and enact health regulations. Laws are an essential tool for ensuring effective public health responses to emerging threats. To analyze how tribal laws support public health practice in tribal communities, we reviewed tribal legal documentation available through online databases and talked with subject-matter experts in tribal public health law. Of the 70 tribal codes we found, 14 (20%) had no clearly identifiable public health provisions. The public health-related statutes within the remaining codes were rarely well integrated or comprehensive. Our findings provide an evidence base to help tribal leaders strengthen public health legal foundations in tribal communities.

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

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Hilton, Warren

2013-01-01

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

Keeping the "public" in schools of public health.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-03-01

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

Targeted marketing and public health.

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Grier, Sonya A; Kumanyika, Shiriki

2010-01-01

Targeted marketing techniques, which identify consumers who share common needs or characteristics and position products or services to appeal to and reach these consumers, are now the core of all marketing and facilitate its effectiveness. However, targeted marketing, particularly of products with proven or potential adverse effects (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, entertainment violence, or unhealthful foods) to consumer segments defined as vulnerable raises complex concerns for public health. It is critical that practitioners, academics, and policy makers in marketing, public health, and other fields recognize and understand targeted marketing as a specific contextual influence on the health of children and adolescents and, for different reasons, ethnic minority populations and other populations who may benefit from public health protections. For beneficial products, such understanding can foster more socially productive targeting. For potentially harmful products, understanding the nature and scope of targeted marketing influences will support identification and implementation of corrective policies.

Public health interventions: evaluating the economic evaluations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Forster

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Recent years have witnessed much progress in the incorporation of economic considerations into the evaluation of public health interventions. In England, the Centre for Public Health Excellence within the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence works to develop guidance for preventing illness and assessing which public health interventions are most effective and provide best value for money...

Chemical Risk Assessment: Traditional vs Public Health ...

Science.gov (United States)

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

Climate Change and Public Health Policy.

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Smith, Jason A; Vargo, Jason; Hoverter, Sara Pollock

2017-03-01

Climate change poses real and immediate impacts to the public health of populations around the globe. Adverse impacts are expected to continue throughout the century. Emphasizing co-benefits of climate action for health, combining adaptation and mitigation efforts, and increasing interagency coordination can effectively address both public health and climate change challenges.

The effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the health impact of climate change: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maha Bouzid

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Climate change is likely to be one of the most important threats to public health in the coming years. Yet despite the large number of papers considering the health impact of climate change, few have considered what public health interventions may be of most value in reducing the disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the disease burden of high priority climate sensitive diseases. METHODS AND FINDINGS: For each disease, we performed a systematic search with no restriction on date or language of publication on Medline, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane CENTRAL and SCOPUS up to December 2010 to identify systematic reviews of public health interventions. We retrieved some 3176 records of which 85 full papers were assessed and 33 included in the review. The included papers investigated the effect of public health interventions on various outcome measures. All interventions were GRADE assessed to determine the strength of evidence. In addition we developed a systematic review quality score. The interventions included environmental interventions to control vectors, chemoprophylaxis, immunization, household and community water treatment, greening cities and community advice. For most reviews, GRADE showed low quality of evidence because of poor study design and high heterogeneity. Also for some key areas such as floods, droughts and other weather extremes, there are no adequate systematic reviews of potential public health interventions. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we found the evidence base to be mostly weak for environmental interventions that could have the most value in a warmer world. Nevertheless, such interventions should not be dismissed. Future research on public health interventions for climate change adaptation needs to be concerned about quality in study design and should address the gap for floods, droughts and other extreme weather events that pose a risk to health.

The effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the health impact of climate change: a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouzid, Maha; Hooper, Lee; Hunter, Paul R

2013-01-01

Climate change is likely to be one of the most important threats to public health in the coming years. Yet despite the large number of papers considering the health impact of climate change, few have considered what public health interventions may be of most value in reducing the disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions to reduce the disease burden of high priority climate sensitive diseases. For each disease, we performed a systematic search with no restriction on date or language of publication on Medline, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane CENTRAL and SCOPUS up to December 2010 to identify systematic reviews of public health interventions. We retrieved some 3176 records of which 85 full papers were assessed and 33 included in the review. The included papers investigated the effect of public health interventions on various outcome measures. All interventions were GRADE assessed to determine the strength of evidence. In addition we developed a systematic review quality score. The interventions included environmental interventions to control vectors, chemoprophylaxis, immunization, household and community water treatment, greening cities and community advice. For most reviews, GRADE showed low quality of evidence because of poor study design and high heterogeneity. Also for some key areas such as floods, droughts and other weather extremes, there are no adequate systematic reviews of potential public health interventions. In conclusion, we found the evidence base to be mostly weak for environmental interventions that could have the most value in a warmer world. Nevertheless, such interventions should not be dismissed. Future research on public health interventions for climate change adaptation needs to be concerned about quality in study design and should address the gap for floods, droughts and other extreme weather events that pose a risk to health.

(Public) Health and Human Rights in Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Annas, George J; Mariner, Wendy K

2016-02-01

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

Technological innovation and its effect on public health in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Preetinder Singh

2013-01-01

Background Good public health ensures an efficient work force. Organizations can ensure a prominent position on the global stage by staying on the leading edge of technological development. Public health and technological innovation are vital elements of prosperous economies. It is important to understand how these elements affect each other. This research study explored and described the relationship between these two critical elements/constructs. Methods Indicators representing technological innovation and public health were identified. Indicator data from 2000 to 2009 were collected from various US federal government sources, for the four US Census regions. The four US Census regions were then compared in terms of these indicators. Canonical correlation equations were formulated to identify combinations of the indicators that are strongly related to each other. Additionally, the cause–effect relationship between public health and technological innovation was described using the structural equation modeling technique. Results The four US Census regions ranked differently in terms of both type of indicators in a statistically significant manner. The canonical correlation analysis showed that the first set of canonical variables had a fairly strong relationship, with a magnitude > 0.65 at the 95% confidence interval, for all census regions. Structural equation modeling analysis provided β 12.98, for all census regions. The threshold Student’s t statistic was 1.98. Hence, it was found that the β values were significant at the 95% confidence interval, for all census regions. Discussion The results of the study showed that better technological innovation indicator scores were associated with better public health indicator scores. Furthermore, the study provided preliminary evidence that technological innovation shares causal relation with public health. PMID:23378771

Primary health care and public health: foundations of universal health systems.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Franklin

2015-01-01

The aim of this review is to advocate for more integrated and universally accessible health systems, built on a foundation of primary health care and public health. The perspective outlined identified health systems as the frame of reference, clarified terminology and examined complementary perspectives on health. It explored the prospects for universal and integrated health systems from a global perspective, the role of healthy public policy in achieving population health and the value of the social-ecological model in guiding how best to align the components of an integrated health service. The importance of an ethical private sector in partnership with the public sector is recognized. Most health systems around the world, still heavily focused on illness, are doing relatively little to optimize health and minimize illness burdens, especially for vulnerable groups. This failure to improve the underlying conditions for health is compounded by insufficient allocation of resources to address priority needs with equity (universality, accessibility and affordability). Finally, public health and primary health care are the cornerstones of sustainable health systems, and this should be reflected in the health policies and professional education systems of all nations wishing to achieve a health system that is effective, equitable, efficient and affordable. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Correcting for day of the week and public holiday effects: improving a national daily syndromic surveillance service for detecting public health threats.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckingham-Jeffery, Elizabeth; Morbey, Roger; House, Thomas; Elliot, Alex J; Harcourt, Sally; Smith, Gillian E

2017-05-19

As service provision and patient behaviour varies by day, healthcare data used for public health surveillance can exhibit large day of the week effects. These regular effects are further complicated by the impact of public holidays. Real-time syndromic surveillance requires the daily analysis of a range of healthcare data sources, including family doctor consultations (called general practitioners, or GPs, in the UK). Failure to adjust for such reporting biases during analysis of syndromic GP surveillance data could lead to misinterpretations including false alarms or delays in the detection of outbreaks. The simplest smoothing method to remove a day of the week effect from daily time series data is a 7-day moving average. Public Health England developed the working day moving average in an attempt also to remove public holiday effects from daily GP data. However, neither of these methods adequately account for the combination of day of the week and public holiday effects. The extended working day moving average was developed. This is a further data-driven method for adding a smooth trend curve to a time series graph of daily healthcare data, that aims to take both public holiday and day of the week effects into account. It is based on the assumption that the number of people seeking healthcare services is a combination of illness levels/severity and the ability or desire of patients to seek healthcare each day. The extended working day moving average was compared to the seven-day and working day moving averages through application to data from two syndromic indicators from the GP in-hours syndromic surveillance system managed by Public Health England. The extended working day moving average successfully smoothed the syndromic healthcare data by taking into account the combined day of the week and public holiday effects. In comparison, the seven-day and working day moving averages were unable to account for all these effects, which led to misleading smoothing

Public health system - current status and world experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreyeva І.А.

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In the review, the evolution of Public Health and global development tendencies of Public Health system have been discussed. Stages of formation of the updated concept, principles of Public Health organization and the role of various organizations have been shown in the connection with development of the global concept of "Health for All". A well-functioning public health system is primarily the result of multisectoral cooperation. The aim of modern Public Health is to provide conditions of access to appropriate and cost-effective health care for all population groups, including health promotion and disease prevention.

Public Health Autonomy: A Critical Reappraisal.

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Zimmerman, Frederick J

2017-11-01

The ethical principle of autonomy is among the most fundamental in ethics, and it is particularly salient for those in public health, who must constantly balance the desire to improve health outcomes by changing behavior with respect for individual freedom. Although there are some areas in which there is a genuine tension between public health and autonomy-childhood vaccine mandates, for example-there are many more areas where not only is there no tension, but public health and autonomy come down to the same thing. These areas of overlap are often rendered invisible by a thin understanding of autonomy. Better integrating newer theoretical insights about autonomy into applied ethics can make discussions of public health ethics more rigorous, incisive, and effective. Even more importantly, bringing modern concepts of autonomy into public health ethics can showcase the many areas in which public health and autonomy have the same goals, face the same threats, and can be mutually advanced by the same kinds of solutions. This article provides a schema for relational autonomy in a public health context and gives concrete examples of how autonomy can be served through public-health interventions. It marshals insights from sociology, psychology, and philosophy to advance a theory of autonomy and coercion that recognizes three potential threats to autonomy: threats to choice sets, threats to knowledge, and threats to preferences. © 2017 The Hastings Center.

[Evaluating health effects--a preventive medicine responsibility of public health offices. Summary of a workshop presentation by the public health services at the Travemünde federal congress 1989].

Science.gov (United States)

Wodarg, W

1989-11-01

It appears that Federal Public Health services are getting increasingly engaged in curative activities both in individual medicine and in medicine concerned with the general population. Public Health services are expected to draw attention to this fact and to demand that suitable methods be employed to ensure that all the people live in healthy conditions. Such environmental health protection should not be just a safety valve to "let off steam" if planning had been based on miscalculations and false appraisals--it should function in advance to prevent such social and political mishaps. A method is presented utilising the systematic scrutiny of the effects of projects on healthy as an interactive process. Since Public Health offices possess multidisciplinary competence, they are likely to cope with the multifarious problems of environmental medicine. They should act as though they were the attorneys of the population in respect of popular health demands, and must enlist competent staff capable of handling the pertinent problems. It has become apparent that the average citizen is most inclined to comply with the demands made on him by the environment if he becomes aware of the ecological linkups via his own experience. This is precisely where Public Health offices have important educational chances to accomplish their mission.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2015-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Celeste, Roger Keller; Warmling, Cristine Maria

2014-06-01

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

Opportunities for Public Relations Research in Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Wise, Kurt

2001-01-01

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

Obesity stigma: important considerations for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Puhl, Rebecca M; Heuer, Chelsea A

2010-06-01

Stigma and discrimination toward obese persons are pervasive and pose numerous consequences for their psychological and physical health. Despite decades of science documenting weight stigma, its public health implications are widely ignored. Instead, obese persons are blamed for their weight, with common perceptions that weight stigmatization is justifiable and may motivate individuals to adopt healthier behaviors. We examine evidence to address these assumptions and discuss their public health implications. On the basis of current findings, we propose that weight stigma is not a beneficial public health tool for reducing obesity. Rather, stigmatization of obese individuals threatens health, generates health disparities, and interferes with effective obesity intervention efforts. These findings highlight weight stigma as both a social justice issue and a priority for public health.

Systematic review of public health branding.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, W Douglas; Blitstein, Jonathan; Hersey, James C; Renaud, Jeanette; Yaroch, Amy L

2008-12-01

Brands build relationships between consumers and products, services, or lifestyles by providing beneficial exchanges and adding value to their objects. Brands can be measured through associations that consumers hold for products and services. Public health brands are the associations that individuals hold for health behaviors, or lifestyles that embody multiple health behaviors. We systematically reviewed the literature on public health brands; developed a methodology for describing branded health messages and campaigns; and examined specific branding strategies across a range of topic areas, campaigns, and global settings. We searched the literature for published studies on public health branding available through all relevant, major online publication databases. Public health branding was operationalized as any manuscripts in the health, social science, and business literature on branding or brands in health promotion marketing. We developed formalized decision rules and applied them in identifying articles for review. We initially identified 154 articles and reviewed a final set of 37, 10 from Africa, Australia, and Europe. Branded health campaigns spanned most of the major domains of public health and numerous communication strategies and evaluation methodologies. Most studies provided clear information on planning, development, and evaluation of the branding effort, while some provided minimal information. Branded health messages typically are theory based, and there is a body of evidence on their behavior change effectiveness, especially in nutrition, tobacco control, and HIV/AIDS. More rigorous research is needed, however, on how branded health messages impact specific populations and behaviors.

Correcting for day of the week and public holiday effects: improving a national daily syndromic surveillance service for detecting public health threats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Buckingham-Jeffery

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background As service provision and patient behaviour varies by day, healthcare data used for public health surveillance can exhibit large day of the week effects. These regular effects are further complicated by the impact of public holidays. Real-time syndromic surveillance requires the daily analysis of a range of healthcare data sources, including family doctor consultations (called general practitioners, or GPs, in the UK. Failure to adjust for such reporting biases during analysis of syndromic GP surveillance data could lead to misinterpretations including false alarms or delays in the detection of outbreaks. The simplest smoothing method to remove a day of the week effect from daily time series data is a 7-day moving average. Public Health England developed the working day moving average in an attempt also to remove public holiday effects from daily GP data. However, neither of these methods adequately account for the combination of day of the week and public holiday effects. Methods The extended working day moving average was developed. This is a further data-driven method for adding a smooth trend curve to a time series graph of daily healthcare data, that aims to take both public holiday and day of the week effects into account. It is based on the assumption that the number of people seeking healthcare services is a combination of illness levels/severity and the ability or desire of patients to seek healthcare each day. The extended working day moving average was compared to the seven-day and working day moving averages through application to data from two syndromic indicators from the GP in-hours syndromic surveillance system managed by Public Health England. Results The extended working day moving average successfully smoothed the syndromic healthcare data by taking into account the combined day of the week and public holiday effects. In comparison, the seven-day and working day moving averages were unable to account for all

System impact research – increasing public health and health care system performance

Science.gov (United States)

Malmivaara, Antti

2016-01-01

Abstract Background Interventions directed to system features of public health and health care should increase health and welfare of patients and population. Aims To build a new framework for studies aiming to assess the impact of public health or health care system, and to consider the role of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and of Benchmarking Controlled Trials (BCTs). Methods The new concept is partly based on the author's previous paper on the Benchmarking Controlled Trial. The validity and generalizability considerations were based on previous methodological studies on RCTs and BCTs. Results The new concept System Impact Research (SIR) covers all the studies which aim to assess the impact of the public health system or of the health care system on patients or on population. There are two kinds of studies in System Impact Research: Benchmarking Controlled Trials (observational) and Randomized Controlled Trials (experimental). The term impact covers in particular accessibility, quality, effectiveness, safety, efficiency, and equality. Conclusions System Impact Research – creating the scientific basis for policy decision making - should be given a high priority in medical, public health and health economic research, and should also be used for improving performance. Leaders at all levels of health and social care can use the evidence from System Impact Research for the benefit of patients and population.Key messagesThe new concept of SIR is defined as a research field aiming at assessing the impacts on patients and on populations of features of public health and health and social care systems or of interventions trying to change these features.SIR covers all features of public health and health and social care system, and actions upon these features. The term impact refers to all effects caused by the public health and health and social care system or parts of it, with particular emphasis on accessibility, quality, effectiveness, adverse effects, efficiency

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2008-05-01

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

Service-learning: an integral part of undergraduate public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Cashman, Suzanne B; Seifer, Sarena D

2008-09-01

In 2003, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) described public health as "an essential part of the training of citizens," a body of knowledge needed to achieve a public health literate citizenry. To achieve that end, the IOM recommended that "all undergraduates should have access to education in public health." Service-learning, a type of experiential learning, is an effective and appropriate vehicle for teaching public health and developing public health literacy. While relatively new to public health, service-learning has its historical roots in undergraduate education and has been shown to enhance students' understanding of course relevance, change student and faculty attitudes, encourage support for community initiatives, and increase student and faculty volunteerism. Grounded in collaborative relationships, service-learning grows from authentic partnerships between communities and educational institutions. Through emphasizing reciprocal learning and reflective practice, service-learning helps students develop skills needed to be effective in working with communities and ultimately achieve social change. With public health's enduring focus on social justice, introducing undergraduate students to public health through the vehicle of service-learning as part of introductory public health core courses or public health electives will help ensure that our young people are able to contribute to developing healthy communities, thus achieving the IOM's vision.

Putting the public (back) into public health: leadership, evidence and action.

Science.gov (United States)

South, J; Connolly, A M; Stansfield, J A; Johnstone, P; Henderson, G; Fenton, K A

2018-03-13

There is a strong evidence-based rationale for community capacity building and community empowerment as part of a strategic response to reduce health inequalities. Within the current UK policy context, there are calls for increased public engagement in prevention and local decision-making in order to give people greater control over the conditions that determine health. With reference to the challenges and opportunities within the English public health system, this essay seeks to open debate about what is required to mainstream community-centred approaches and ensure that the public is central to public health. The essay sets out the case for a reorientation of public health practice in order to build impactful action with communities at scale leading to a reduction in the health gap. National frameworks that support local practice are described. Four areas of challenge that could potentially drive an implementation gap are discussed: (i) achieving integration and scale, (ii) effective community mobilization, (iii) evidencing impact and (iv) achieving a shift in power. The essay concludes with a call to action for developing a contemporary public health practice that is rooted in communities and offers local leadership to strengthen local assets, increase community control and reduce health inequalities.

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

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Stewart, Alison

2007-01-01

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

[Survey on public health nursing education-in the comparison of nursing education courses, universities, advanced courses for public health nurse with junior nursing colleges, and public health nursing school].

Science.gov (United States)

Hirano, Kayoko; Ikeda, Nobuko; Kanagawa, Katuko; Shiomi, Sigeki; Suzuki, Akira; Hirayama, Tomoko; Furuya, Akie; Ymazaki, Kyoko; Yasumura, Seiji

2005-08-01

Changes in public health nursing education have been consideration. Theses changes include a dramatic increase in the number of public health nurses (PHNs) who have enrolled for nursing courses at university. This study was conducted to assess the current status and future of public health nursing education as perceived by teachers and students at three types of schools: universities offering nursing courses, advanced courses for PHNs with junior nursing colleges, and public health nursing schools. Questionnaires were distributed to teachers and students by mail. The questions that were sent to teachers asked which subjects were required to become a certified PHN, which lecture methods were employed to teach public health-particularly community health assessment methods, and what was the level of awareness of the activities of PHNs. Students were asked about their motivation to be a PHN, their understanding of public health, their views of public health activities and their images of PHNs. Responses were analyzed and differences between questionnaires from different schools were noted. These included the number of subjects and the total number of hours spent doing practical training and field experience in universities and the other types of schools, and the number of teachers. Differences also were noted among students at three types of schools about their age, methods of public health activities, knowledge about activities undertaken by PHNs, and their images of PHNs. No differences were observed among the schools with respect to the students' conceptual understanding of public health. Student age, practical training and field experience were found to contribute to their level of understanding of public health and public health nursing. It is thus necessary to consider the teaching methods employed by universities that administer nursing courses and the effectiveness of courses offered by graduate schools.

RETRACTED: The Mediating Effect of Social Capital on the Relationship Between Public Health Managers' Transformational Leadership and Public Health Nurses' Organizational Empowerment in Korea Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soo Young Jun, MPH, RN

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal.The Editor-in-Chief and ANR editorial board have decided to retract this article because the scientific integrity of the content cannot be guaranteed. The article shows evidence of redundant publication and falsification of instruments.This article was a duplicate of a paper that had already been published in Journal of the Korean Data & Information Science Society Vol 29, No. 3, May 2017. doi 10.7465/jkdi.2017.28.3.585 The identical data collection period, study sample, variables, and instruments between these two papers show strong evidence of plagiarism. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited.This article is published based on a master’s thesis (Kim YE. The effects of the transformational leadership of managers perceived by public health nurses and their social capital on empowerment [master’s thesis]. Dague (Korea: Kyungpook National University; 2016. p. 1-57. and the author of this dissertation is deleted. Inappropriate use of master’s thesis without appropriate disclosure and/or citation was made.The instruments [Multifactor leadership questionnaire (Kim DW. The relationship between transformational leadership and quality of nurses' care Service with nurses' organization citizenship behavior as a moderator. Health Soc Welf Rev. 2011;31(2:206e36. Korean, social capital (Han JW, Woo HY, Ju ES, Lim SH, Han SS. Effects of nurses' social capital on turnover intention: focused on the mediating effects organizational commitment and organizational cynicism. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2013;43(4:517e25. https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2013.43.4.517. Korean, and Organizational empowerment (Oh EH, Chung BY. The effect of

Towards a public health profession

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foldspang, Anders

2015-01-01

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

Risk tradeoffs and public health protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charnley, G.

1998-01-01

Full text of publication follows: over the last 25 years, the traditional command-and-control, chemical-by-chemical environmental medium-by-environmental medium, risk-by-risk approach to protecting public health from environmental risks has worked well to greatly improve the quality of our food, air, water, and workplaces, but we are now left with the more complex problems, like urban air pollution or personal dietary behavior, that a chemical-by-chemical approach is not going to solve. Because current environmental regulatory programs have curbed the 'low-hanging fruit' and because of today's emphasis on achieving risk reductions cost-effectively, new and creative public health-based approaches to risk management are needed. Since public concern about pollution-related disease become serious in the 1960's and 1970's and regulatory agencies and laws began to proliferate, the public health goals of environmental protection have been obscured. As a society, we have made a tradeoff between environmental health and public health. The public health foundation of environmental health protection has been obscured by legalistic, technical, centralized decision-making processes that have often mistaken hazard for risk. A greater focus on public health would help us to assess aggregate risks and to target risk management resources by focusing on a problem and then identifying what is causing the problem as a guide to determining how best to solve it. Most of our current approaches start with a cause and then try to eliminate it without determining the extent to which it actually may contribute to a problem, making it difficult to set priorities among risks or to evaluate the impact of risk management actions on public health. (author)

Informatics enables public health surveillance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott J. N McNabb

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Over the past decade, the world has radically changed. New advances in information and communication technologies (ICT connect the world in ways never imagined. Public health informatics (PHI leveraged for public health surveillance (PHS, can enable, enhance, and empower essential PHS functions (i.e., detection, reporting, confirmation, analyses, feedback, response. However, the tail doesn't wag the dog; as such, ICT cannot (should not drive public health surveillance strengthening. Rather, ICT can serve PHS to more effectively empower core functions. In this review, we explore promising ICT trends for prevention, detection, and response, laboratory reporting, push notification, analytics, predictive surveillance, and using new data sources, while recognizing that it is the people, politics, and policies that most challenge progress for implementation of solutions.

Workshop salutogenesis and the future of health promotion and public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindström, Bengt

2018-02-01

This presentation is a synthesis of a workshop on Salutogenesis and the Future of Health Promotion and Public Health at the Nordic Health Promotion Research Conference in June 2016. A brief historical review of Public Health and Health Promotion development in a Nordic perspective is included. However, the main thrust of the article is to present how the salutogenic theory and approach could strengthen society's organised efforts to prevent disease, promote health and prolong life. A critical view based on existing evidence is maintained through the presentation that arrives at the conclusion it would be worthwhile to invest in effective theory driven approaches to the development of Public Health and Health Promotion in the future.

History and evolution of surveillance in public health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Varun Kumar

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The modern concept of surveillance has evolved over the centuries. Public health surveillance provides the scientific database essential for decision making and appropriate public health action. It is considered as the best public health tool to prevent the occurrence of epidemics and is the backbone of public health programs and provides information so that effective action can be taken in controlling and preventing diseases of public health importance. This article reviews the history of evolution of public health surveillance from historical perspective: from Hippocrates, Black Death and quarantine, recording of vital events for the first time, first field investigation, legislations that were developed over time and modern concepts in public health surveillance. Eradication of small pox is an important achievement in public health surveillance but the recent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS and Influenza pandemics suggest still there is a room for improvement. Recently new global disease surveillance networks like FluNet and DengueNet were developed as internet sites for monitoring influenza and dengue information. In spite of these developments, global public health surveillance still remains unevenly distributed. There is a need for increased international cooperation to address the global needs of public health surveillance.

Energy policy and the public health

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wade, B.

1979-01-01

The various aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle and its effect on public health are described. For the U.K., it is shown that the maximum doses to an individual of the general public are well below the ICRP standards. For nuclear workers, the standard mortality ratio rate for UKAEA and BNFL workers is less than the national average and considerably less than that for miners, quarrymen and other industrial employees. The radiological risk to the general public from nuclear plant accidents is very small compared to the general hazards of life. In conclusion, the hazards involved in nuclear technology are no different in kind or in scale to those of existing technologies and indeed the radiological effects on health are better understood than the health risks associated with other technologies. (U.K.)

Identifying public health competencies relevant to family medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Bart J; Moloughney, Brent W; Iglar, Karl T

2011-10-01

Public health situations faced by family physicians and other primary care practitioners, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and more recently H1N1, have resulted in an increased interest to identify the public health competencies relevant to family medicine. At present there is no agreed-on set of public health competencies delineating the knowledge and skills that family physicians should possess to effectively face diverse public health challenges. Using a multi-staged, iterative process that included a detailed literature review, the authors developed a set of public health competencies relevant to primary care, identifying competencies relevant across four levels, from "post-MD" to "enhanced." Feedback from family medicine and public health educator-practitioners regarding the set of proposed "essential" competencies indicated the need for a more limited, feasible set of "priority" areas to be highlighted during residency training. This focused set of public health competencies has begun to guide relevant components of the University of Toronto's Family Medicine Residency Program curriculum, including academic half-days; clinical experiences, especially identifying "teachable moments" during patient encounters; resident academic projects; and elective public health agency placements. These competencies will also be used to guide the development of a family medicine-public health primer and faculty development sessions to support family medicine faculty facilitating residents to achieve these competencies. Once more fully implemented, an evaluation will be initiated to determine the degree to which these public health competencies are being achieved by family medicine graduates, especially whether they attained the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to effectively face diverse public health situations-from common to emergent. Copyright © 2011 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The right to public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, James

2016-06-01

Much work in public health ethics is shaped by an 'autonomy first' view, which takes it to be axiomatic that it is difficult to justify state interference in the lives of competent adults unless the behaviours interfered with are compromised in terms of their autonomy, or would wrongfully infringe on the autonomy of others. However, such an approach is difficult to square with much of traditional public heath practice. Recent years have seen running battles between those who assume that an 'autonomy first' approach is basically sound (and so much the worse for public health practice) and those who assume that public health practice is basically sound (and so much the worse for the 'autonomy first' approach). This paper aims to reconcile in a normatively satisfying way what is best about the 'autonomy first' approach with what is best about a standard public health approach. It develops a positive case for state action to promote and protect health as a duty that is owed to each individual. According to this view, the state violates individuals' rights if it fails to take cost-effective and proportionate measures to remove health threats from the environment. It is thus a mistake to approach public health in the way that 'autonomy first' accounts do, as primarily a matter of individual entitlements versus the common good. Too little state intervention in the cause of improving population health can violate individuals' rights, just as too much can. 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/

Prioritising public health: a qualitative study of decision making to reduce health inequalities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O'Flaherty Martin

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The public health system in England is currently facing dramatic change. Renewed attention has recently been paid to the best approaches for tackling the health inequalities which remain entrenched within British society and across the globe. In order to consider the opportunities and challenges facing the new public health system in England, we explored the current experiences of those involved in decision making to reduce health inequalities, taking cardiovascular disease (CVD as a case study. Methods We conducted an in-depth qualitative study employing 40 semi-structured interviews and three focus group discussions. Participants were public health policy makers and planners in CVD in the UK, including: Primary Care Trust and Local Authority staff (in various roles; General Practice commissioners; public health academics; consultant cardiologists; national guideline managers; members of guideline development groups, civil servants; and CVD third sector staff. Results The short term target- and outcome-led culture of the NHS and the drive to achieve "more for less", combined with the need to address public demand for acute services often lead to investment in "downstream" public health intervention, rather than the "upstream" approaches that are most effective at reducing inequalities. Despite most public health decision makers wishing to redress this imbalance, they felt constrained due to difficulties in partnership working and the over-riding influence of other stakeholders in decision making processes. The proposed public health reforms in England present an opportunity for public health to move away from the medical paradigm of the NHS. However, they also reveal a reluctance of central government to contribute to shifting social norms. Conclusions It is vital that the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of all new and existing policies and services affecting public health are measured in terms of their impact on the

Prioritising public health: a qualitative study of decision making to reduce health inequalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Orton, Lois C; Lloyd-Williams, Ffion; Taylor-Robinson, David C; Moonan, May; O'Flaherty, Martin; Capewell, Simon

2011-10-20

The public health system in England is currently facing dramatic change. Renewed attention has recently been paid to the best approaches for tackling the health inequalities which remain entrenched within British society and across the globe. In order to consider the opportunities and challenges facing the new public health system in England, we explored the current experiences of those involved in decision making to reduce health inequalities, taking cardiovascular disease (CVD) as a case study. We conducted an in-depth qualitative study employing 40 semi-structured interviews and three focus group discussions. Participants were public health policy makers and planners in CVD in the UK, including: Primary Care Trust and Local Authority staff (in various roles); General Practice commissioners; public health academics; consultant cardiologists; national guideline managers; members of guideline development groups, civil servants; and CVD third sector staff. The short term target- and outcome-led culture of the NHS and the drive to achieve "more for less", combined with the need to address public demand for acute services often lead to investment in "downstream" public health intervention, rather than the "upstream" approaches that are most effective at reducing inequalities. Despite most public health decision makers wishing to redress this imbalance, they felt constrained due to difficulties in partnership working and the over-riding influence of other stakeholders in decision making processes. The proposed public health reforms in England present an opportunity for public health to move away from the medical paradigm of the NHS. However, they also reveal a reluctance of central government to contribute to shifting social norms. It is vital that the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of all new and existing policies and services affecting public health are measured in terms of their impact on the social determinants of health and health inequalities. Researchers

Pigs in Public Health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Mette N.

2017-01-01

of public health, made me re-evaluate both what ‘public’ and what ‘health’ means in public health. In this commentary I provide a short personal account of that intellectual journey. I argue that entanglements between species make it urgent that public health scholars investigate the moral, socio......Animals are rare topics in public health science texts and speech despite the fact that animal bodies and lives are woven into the health of human populations, and vice versa. Years of ethnographic and documentary research – following pigs and their humans in and out of biomedical research – made......-economic, material, and bacterial passages between humans and animals that constitute the various publics of public health and profoundly shape the health of human and animal populations in a globalized world....

The broad scope of health effects from chronic arsenic exposure: update on a worldwide public health problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Naujokas, Marisa F; Anderson, Beth; Ahsan, Habibul; Aposhian, H Vasken; Graziano, Joseph H; Thompson, Claudia; Suk, William A

2013-03-01

Concerns for arsenic exposure are not limited to toxic waste sites and massive poisoning events. Chronic exposure continues to be a major public health problem worldwide, affecting hundreds of millions of persons. We reviewed recent information on worldwide concerns for arsenic exposures and public health to heighten awareness of the current scope of arsenic exposure and health outcomes and the importance of reducing exposure, particularly during pregnancy and early life. We synthesized the large body of current research pertaining to arsenic exposure and health outcomes with an emphasis on recent publications. Locations of high arsenic exposure via drinking water span from Bangladesh, Chile, and Taiwan to the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level (MCL) in drinking water is 10 µg/L; however, concentrations of > 3,000 µg/L have been found in wells in the United States. In addition, exposure through diet is of growing concern. Knowledge of the scope of arsenic-associated health effects has broadened; arsenic leaves essentially no bodily system untouched. Arsenic is a known carcinogen associated with skin, lung, bladder, kidney, and liver cancer. Dermatological, developmental, neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular, immunological, and endocrine effects are also evident. Most remarkably, early-life exposure may be related to increased risks for several types of cancer and other diseases during adulthood. These data call for heightened awareness of arsenic-related pathologies in broader contexts than previously perceived. Testing foods and drinking water for arsenic, including individual private wells, should be a top priority to reduce exposure, particularly for pregnant women and children, given the potential for life-long effects of developmental exposure.

Migration: a core public health ethics issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Wild, V; Dawson, A

2018-05-01

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

A multistate examination of partnership activity among local public health systems using the National Public Health Performance Standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Priscilla A; Curtis, Amy B; Hall-Downey, Laura; Moonesinghe, Ramal

2012-01-01

This study examines whether partnership-related measures in the second version of the National Public Health Performance Standards (NPHPS) are useful in evaluating level of activity as well as identifying latent constructs that exist among local public health systems (LPHSs). In a sample of 110 LPHSs, descriptive analysis was conducted to determine frequency and percentage of 18 partnership-related NPHPS measures. Principal components factor analysis was conducted to identify unobserved characteristics that promote effective partnerships among LPHSs. Results revealed that 13 of the 18 measures were most frequently reported at the minimal-moderate level (conducted 1%-49% of the time). Coordination of personal health and social services to optimize access (74.6%) was the most frequently reported measure at minimal-moderate levels. Optimal levels (conducted >75% of the time) were reported most frequently in 2 activities: participation in emergency preparedness coalitions and local health departments ensuring service provision by working with state health departments (67% and 61% of respondents, respectively) and the least optimally reported activity was review partnership effectiveness (4% of respondents). Factor analysis revealed categories of partnership-related measures in 4 domains: resources and activities contributing to relationship building, evaluating community leadership activities, research, and state and local linkages to support public health activities. System-oriented public health assessments may have questions that serve as proxy measures to examine levels of interorganizational partnerships. Several measures from the NPHPS were useful in establishing a national baseline of minimal and optimal activity levels as well as identifying factors to enhance the delivery of the 10 essential public health services among organizations and individuals in public health systems.

Resource allocation in public health practice: a national survey of local public health officials.

Science.gov (United States)

Baum, Nancy M; DesRoches, Catherine; Campbell, Eric G; Goold, Susan Dorr

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to gain an empirical understanding of the types of allocation decisions local health officials (LHOs) make and the factors that influence those allocation decisions. We conducted a national survey of LHOs in the United States in 2008 to 2009. The sample was stratified by the size of the population served by the department. We merged our data with data from the 2008 National Association of County and City Health Officials Profile survey. Descriptive statistics were generated using weighted data. Our final sample size was 608 respondents, with an average of 10 years experience. The LHOs reported little shifting of resources among population groups but greater capacity to redirect staffing time. Less than half of LHOs reported using economic analyses or conducting needs assessments when setting priorities. Having sole provider status in a community strongly influenced LHOs' allocation decisions. In addition, the effectiveness of activities, previous budget allocations, and input from boards of health were influential factors in allocation decisions. Public expectations were moderately to very influential, but direct public input had a low impact on allocation decisions. Survey findings provide a clearer understanding of how LHOs fulfill their obligations as stewards of public health resources and ensure effective activities and access to needed services. It may be useful to assess the value of more structured allocation methods (eg, decision frameworks) in the allocation process. Expanding opportunities for public engagement in priority setting may also be valuable for difficult allocation decisions.

Profile of Public Health Leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2016-01-01

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

Public Health Departments

Data.gov (United States)

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

Patterns in PARTNERing across Public Health Collaboratives

Science.gov (United States)

Bevc, Christine A.; Retrum, Jessica H.; Varda, Danielle M.

2015-01-01

Inter-organizational networks represent one of the most promising practice-based approaches in public health as a way to attain resources, share knowledge, and, in turn, improve population health outcomes. However, the interdependencies and effectiveness related to the structure, management, and costs of these networks represents a critical item to be addressed. The objective of this research is to identify and determine the extent to which potential partnering patterns influence the structure of collaborative networks. This study examines data collected by PARTNER, specifically public health networks (n = 162), to better understand the structured relationships and interactions among public health organizations and their partners, in relation to collaborative activities. Combined with descriptive analysis, we focus on the composition of public health collaboratives in a series of Exponential Random Graph (ERG) models to examine the partnerships between different organization types to identify the attribute-based effects promoting the formation of network ties within and across collaboratives. We found high variation within and between these collaboratives including composition, diversity, and interactions. The findings of this research suggest common and frequent types of partnerships, as well as opportunities to develop new collaborations. The result of this analysis offer additional evidence to inform and strengthen public health practice partnerships. PMID:26445053

Patterns in PARTNERing across Public Health Collaboratives.

Science.gov (United States)

Bevc, Christine A; Retrum, Jessica H; Varda, Danielle M

2015-10-05

Inter-organizational networks represent one of the most promising practice-based approaches in public health as a way to attain resources, share knowledge, and, in turn, improve population health outcomes. However, the interdependencies and effectiveness related to the structure, management, and costs of these networks represents a critical item to be addressed. The objective of this research is to identify and determine the extent to which potential partnering patterns influence the structure of collaborative networks. This study examines data collected by PARTNER, specifically public health networks (n = 162), to better understand the structured relationships and interactions among public health organizations and their partners, in relation to collaborative activities. Combined with descriptive analysis, we focus on the composition of public health collaboratives in a series of Exponential Random Graph (ERG) models to examine the partnerships between different organization types to identify the attribute-based effects promoting the formation of network ties within and across collaboratives. We found high variation within and between these collaboratives including composition, diversity, and interactions. The findings of this research suggest common and frequent types of partnerships, as well as opportunities to develop new collaborations. The result of this analysis offer additional evidence to inform and strengthen public health practice partnerships.

Patterns in PARTNERing across Public Health Collaboratives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine A. Bevc

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Inter-organizational networks represent one of the most promising practice-based approaches in public health as a way to attain resources, share knowledge, and, in turn, improve population health outcomes. However, the interdependencies and effectiveness related to the structure, management, and costs of these networks represents a critical item to be addressed. The objective of this research is to identify and determine the extent to which potential partnering patterns influence the structure of collaborative networks. This study examines data collected by PARTNER, specifically public health networks (n = 162, to better understand the structured relationships and interactions among public health organizations and their partners, in relation to collaborative activities. Combined with descriptive analysis, we focus on the composition of public health collaboratives in a series of Exponential Random Graph (ERG models to examine the partnerships between different organization types to identify the attribute-based effects promoting the formation of network ties within and across collaboratives. We found high variation within and between these collaboratives including composition, diversity, and interactions. The findings of this research suggest common and frequent types of partnerships, as well as opportunities to develop new collaborations. The result of this analysis offer additional evidence to inform and strengthen public health practice partnerships.

Recommendations for international gambling harm-minimisation guidelines: comparison with effective public health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gainsbury, Sally M; Blankers, Matthijs; Wilkinson, Claire; Schelleman-Offermans, Karen; Cousijn, Janna

2014-12-01

Problem gambling represents a significant public health problem, however, research on effective gambling harm-minimisation measures lags behind other fields, including other addictive disorders. In recognition of the need for consistency between international jurisdictions and the importance of basing policy on empirical evidence, international conventions exist for policy on alcohol, tobacco, and illegal substances. This paper examines the evidence of best practice policies to provide recommendations for international guidelines for harm-minimisation policy for gambling, including specific consideration of the specific requirements for policies on Internet gambling. Evidence indicates that many of the public health policies implemented for addictive substances can be adapted to address gambling-related harms. Specifically, a minimum legal age of at least 18 for gambling participation, licensing of gambling venues and activities with responsible gambling and consumer protection strategies mandated, and brief interventions should be available for those at-risk for and experiencing gambling-related problems. However, there is mixed evidence on the effectiveness of limits on opening hours and gambling venue density and increased taxation to minimise harms. Given increases in trade globalisation and particularly the global nature of Internet gambling, it is recommended that jurisdictions take actions to harmonise gambling public health policies.

A qualitative study of health information technology in the Canadian public health system

OpenAIRE

Zinszer, Kate; Tamblyn, Robyn; Bates, David W; Buckeridge, David L

2013-01-01

Background: Although the adoption of health information technology (HIT) has advanced in Canada over the past decade, considerable challenges remain in supporting the development, broad adoption, and effective use of HIT in the public health system. Policy makers and practitioners have long recognized that improvements in HIT infrastructure are necessary to support effective and efficient public health practice. The objective of this study was to identify aspects of health information technol...

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-01-01

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cameron Lister

2017-08-01

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

Scaring the Public: Fear Appeal Arguments in Public Health Reasoning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louise Cummings

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The study of threat and fear appeal arguments has given rise to a sizeable literature. Even within a public health context, much is now known about how these arguments work to gain the public’s compliance with health recommendations. Notwithstanding this level of interest in, and examination of, these arguments, there is one aspect of these arguments that still remains unexplored. That aspect concerns the heuristic function of these arguments within our thinking about public health problems. Specifically, it is argued that threat and fear appeal arguments serve as valuable shortcuts in our reasoning, particularly when that reasoning is subject to biases that are likely to diminish the effectiveness of public health messages. To this extent, they are rationally warranted argument forms rather than fallacies, as has been their dominant characterization in logic.

Feminism and public health nursing: partners for health.

Science.gov (United States)

Leipert, B D

2001-01-01

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

Evaluating community-based public health leadership training.

Science.gov (United States)

Ceraso, Marion; Gruebling, Kirsten; Layde, Peter; Remington, Patrick; Hill, Barbara; Morzinski, Jeffrey; Ore, Peggy

2011-01-01

Addressing the nation's increasingly complex public health challenges will require more effective multisector collaboration and stronger public health leadership. In 2005, the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute launched an annual, year-long intensive "community teams" program. The goal of this program is to develop collaborative leadership and public health skills among Wisconsin-based multisectoral teams mobilizing their communities to improve public health. To measure the scope of participation and program impacts on individual learning and practice, including application of new knowledge and collective achievements of teams on coalition and short-term community outcomes. End-of-year participant program evaluations and follow-up telephone interviews with participants 20 months after program completion. Community-based public health leadership training program. Sixty-eight participants in the Community Teams Program during the years 2006 to 2007 and 2007 to 2008. Professional diversity of program participants; individual learning and practice, including application of new knowledge; and collective achievements of teams, including coalition and short-term community outcomes. Participants in the Community Teams Program represent a diversity of sectors, including nonprofit, governmental, academic, business, and local public health. Participation increased knowledge across all public health and leadership competency areas covered in the program. Participating teams reported outcomes, including increased engagement of community leadership, expansion of preventive services, increased media coverage, strengthened community coalitions, and increased grant funding. Evaluation of this community-based approach to public health leadership training has shown it to be a promising model for building collaborative and public health leadership skills and initiating sustained community change for health improvement.

Adapting online learning for Canada's Northern public health workforce

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marnie Bell

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Background . Canada's North is a diverse, sparsely populated land, where inequalities and public health issues are evident, particularly for Aboriginal people. The Northern public health workforce is a unique mix of professional and paraprofessional workers. Few have formal public health education. From 2009 to 2012, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC collaborated with a Northern Advisory Group to develop and implement a strategy to strengthen public health capacity in Canada's 3 northern territories. Access to relevant, effective continuing education was identified as a key issue. Challenges include diverse educational and cultural backgrounds of public health workers, geographical isolation and variable technological infrastructure across the north. Methods . PHAC's Skills Online program offers Internet-based continuing education modules for public health professionals. In partnership with the Northern Advisory Group, PHAC conducted 3 pilots between 2008 and 2012 to assess the appropriateness of the Skills Online program for Northern/Aboriginal public health workers. Module content and delivery modalities were adapted for the pilots. Adaptations included adding Inuit and Northern public health examples and using video and teleconference discussions to augment the online self-study component. Results . Findings from the pilots were informative and similar to those from previous Skills Online pilots with learners in developing countries. Online learning is effective in bridging the geographical barriers in remote locations. Incorporating content on Northern and Aboriginal health issues facilitates engagement in learning. Employer support facilitates the recruitment and retention of learners in an online program. Facilitator assets included experience as a public health professional from the north, and flexibility to use modified approaches to support and measure knowledge acquisition and application, especially for First Nations, Inuit and

Adapting online learning for Canada's Northern public health workforce.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Marnie; MacDougall, Karen

2013-01-01

Canada's North is a diverse, sparsely populated land, where inequalities and public health issues are evident, particularly for Aboriginal people. The Northern public health workforce is a unique mix of professional and paraprofessional workers. Few have formal public health education. From 2009 to 2012, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) collaborated with a Northern Advisory Group to develop and implement a strategy to strengthen public health capacity in Canada's 3 northern territories. Access to relevant, effective continuing education was identified as a key issue. Challenges include diverse educational and cultural backgrounds of public health workers, geographical isolation and variable technological infrastructure across the north. PHAC's Skills Online program offers Internet-based continuing education modules for public health professionals. In partnership with the Northern Advisory Group, PHAC conducted 3 pilots between 2008 and 2012 to assess the appropriateness of the Skills Online program for Northern/Aboriginal public health workers. Module content and delivery modalities were adapted for the pilots. Adaptations included adding Inuit and Northern public health examples and using video and teleconference discussions to augment the online self-study component. Findings from the pilots were informative and similar to those from previous Skills Online pilots with learners in developing countries. Online learning is effective in bridging the geographical barriers in remote locations. Incorporating content on Northern and Aboriginal health issues facilitates engagement in learning. Employer support facilitates the recruitment and retention of learners in an online program. Facilitator assets included experience as a public health professional from the north, and flexibility to use modified approaches to support and measure knowledge acquisition and application, especially for First Nations, Inuit and Metis learners. Results demonstrate that

Considerations for increasing the competences and capacities of the public health workforce: assessing the training needs of public health workers in Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

Borders, Stephen; Blakely, Craig; Quiram, Barbara; McLeroy, Kenneth

2006-07-26

Over the last two decades, concern has been expressed about the readiness of the public health workforce to adequately address the scientific, technological, social, political and economic challenges facing the field. A 1988 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) served as a catalyst for the re-examination of the public health workforce. The IOM's call to increase the relevance of public health education and training prompted a renewed effort to identify competences needed by public health personnel and the organizations that employ them. A recent evaluation sought to address the role of the 10 essential public health services in job services among the Texas public health workforce. Additionally, the evaluation examined the Texas public health workforce's need for training in the 10 essential public health services. Overall, the level of perceived training needs varied dramatically by job category and health department type. When comparing aggregate training needs, public health workers with greater day-to-day contact (nurses, health educators) indicated a greater need for training than their peers who did not, such as those working in administrative positions. When prioritizing and designing future training modules regarding the 10 essential public health services, trainers should consider the effects of job function, location and contact with the public.

Advances in public health accreditation readiness and quality improvement: evaluation findings from the National Public Health Improvement Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

McLees, Anita W; Thomas, Craig W; Nawaz, Saira; Young, Andrea C; Rider, Nikki; Davis, Mary

2014-01-01

Continuous quality improvement is a central tenet of the Public Health Accreditation Board's (PHAB) national voluntary public health accreditation program. Similarly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII) in 2010 with the goal of advancing accreditation readiness, performance management, and quality improvement (QI). Evaluate the extent to which NPHII awardees have achieved program goals. NPHII awardees responded to an annual assessment and program monitoring data requests. Analysis included simple descriptive statistics. Seventy-four state, tribal, local, and territorial public health agencies receiving NPHII funds. NPHII performance improvement managers or principal investigators. Development of accreditation prerequisites, completion of an organizational self-assessment against the PHAB Standards and Measures, Version 1.0, establishment of a performance management system, and implementation of QI initiatives to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Of the 73 responding NPHII awardees, 42.5% had a current health assessment, 26% had a current health improvement plan, and 48% had a current strategic plan in place at the end of the second program year. Approximately 26% of awardees had completed an organizational PHAB self-assessment, 72% had established at least 1 of the 4 components of a performance management system, and 90% had conducted QI activities focused on increasing efficiencies and/or effectiveness. NPHII appears to be supporting awardees' initial achievement of program outcomes. As NPHII enters its third year, there will be additional opportunities to advance the work of NPHII, compile and disseminate results, and inform a vision of high-quality public health necessary to improve the health of the population.

The Delivery of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Services; Public Health or Primary Care Settings?

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Lene Bjørn Jensen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed a set of public health functions resulting in the ten Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO. Public health or primary care settings seem to be favorable to embrace all actions included into EPHOs. The presented paper aims to guide readers on how to assign individual health promotion and environmental health services to public health or primary care settings. Survey tools were developed based on EPHO 2, 3 and 4; there were six key informant surveys out of 18 contacted completed via e-mails by informants working in Denmark on health promotion and five face-to-face interviews were conducted in Australia (Melbourne and Victoria state with experts from environmental health, public health and a physician. Based on interviews, we developed a set of indicators to support the assignment process. Population or individual focus, a system approach or one-to-one approach, dealing with hazards or dealing with effects, being proactive or reactive were identified as main element of the decision tool. Assignment of public health services to one of two settings proved to be possible in some cases, whereas in many there is no clear distinction between the two settings. National context might be the one which guides delivery of public health services.

The Delivery of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Services; Public Health or Primary Care Settings?

Science.gov (United States)

Bjørn Jensen, Lene; Lukic, Irena; Gulis, Gabriel

2018-05-07

The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed a set of public health functions resulting in the ten Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO). Public health or primary care settings seem to be favorable to embrace all actions included into EPHOs. The presented paper aims to guide readers on how to assign individual health promotion and environmental health services to public health or primary care settings. Survey tools were developed based on EPHO 2, 3 and 4; there were six key informant surveys out of 18 contacted completed via e-mails by informants working in Denmark on health promotion and five face-to-face interviews were conducted in Australia (Melbourne and Victoria state) with experts from environmental health, public health and a physician. Based on interviews, we developed a set of indicators to support the assignment process. Population or individual focus, a system approach or one-to-one approach, dealing with hazards or dealing with effects, being proactive or reactive were identified as main element of the decision tool. Assignment of public health services to one of two settings proved to be possible in some cases, whereas in many there is no clear distinction between the two settings. National context might be the one which guides delivery of public health services.

Effective communication of public health guidance to emergency department clinicians in the setting of emerging incidents: a qualitative study and framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Yasmin; Sanford, Sarah; Sider, Doug; Moore, Kieran; Garber, Gary; de Villa, Eileen; Schwartz, Brian

2017-04-28

Evidence to inform communication between emergency department clinicians and public health agencies is limited. In the context of diverse, emerging public health incidents, communication is urgent, as emergency department clinicians must implement recommendations to protect themselves and the public. The objectives of this study were to: explore current practices, barriers and facilitators at the local level for communicating public health guidance to emergency department clinicians in emerging public health incidents; and develop a framework that promotes effective communication of public health guidance to clinicians during emerging incidents. A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 26 key informants from emergency departments and public health agencies in Ontario, Canada. Data were analyzed inductively and the analytic approach was guided by concepts of complexity theory. Emergent themes corresponded to challenges and strategies for effective communication of public health guidance. Important challenges related to the coordination of communication across institutions and jurisdictions, and differences in work environments across sectors. Strategies for effective communication were identified as the development of partnerships and collaboration, attention to specific methods of communication used, and the importance of roles and relationship-building prior to an emerging public health incident. Following descriptive analysis, a framework was developed that consists of the following elements: 1) Anticipate; 2) Invest in building relationships and networks; 3) Establish liaison roles and redundancy; 4) Active communication; 5) Consider and respond to the target audience; 6) Leverage networks for coordination; and 7) Acknowledge and address uncertainty. The qualities inherent in local relationships cut across framework elements. This research indicates that relationships are central to effective communication between public health

China's rural public health system performance: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Miaomiao; Feng, Da; Chen, Xi; Chen, Yingchun; Sun, Xi; Xiang, Yuanxi; Yuan, Fang; Feng, Zhanchun

2013-01-01

In the past three years, the Government of China initiated health reform with rural public health system construction to achieve equal access to public health services for rural residents. The study assessed trends of public health services accessibility in rural China from 2008 to 2010, as well as the current situation about the China's rural public health system performance. The data were collected from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2011, which used a multistage stratified random sampling method to select 12 counties and 118 villages from China. Three sets of indicators were chosen to measure the trends in access to coverage, equality and effectiveness of rural public health services. Data were disaggregated by provinces and by participants: hypertension patients, children, elderly and women. We examined the changes in equality across and within region. China's rural public health system did well in safe drinking water, children vaccinations and women hospital delivery. But more hypertension patients with low income could not receive regular healthcare from primary health institutions than those with middle and high income. In 2010, hypertension treatment rate of Qinghai in Western China was just 53.22% which was much lower than that of Zhejiang in Eastern China (97.27%). Meanwhile, low performance was showed in effectiveness of rural public health services. The rate of effective treatment for controlling their blood pressure within normal range was just 39.7%. The implementation of health reform since 2009 has led the public health development towards the right direction. Physical access to public health services had increased from 2008 to 2010. But, inter- and intra-regional inequalities in public health system coverage still exist. Strategies to improve the quality and equality of public health services in rural China need to be considered.

The Problem With Estimating Public Health Spending.

Science.gov (United States)

Leider, Jonathon P

2016-01-01

Accurate information on how much the United States spends on public health is critical. These estimates affect planning efforts; reflect the value society places on the public health enterprise; and allows for the demonstration of cost-effectiveness of programs, policies, and services aimed at increasing population health. Yet, at present, there are a limited number of sources of systematic public health finance data. Each of these sources is collected in different ways, for different reasons, and so yields strikingly different results. This article aims to compare and contrast all 4 current national public health finance data sets, including data compiled by Trust for America's Health, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the Census, which underlie the oft-cited National Health Expenditure Account estimates of public health activity. In FY2008, ASTHO estimates that state health agencies spent $24 billion ($94 per capita on average, median $79), while the Census estimated all state governmental agencies including state health agencies spent $60 billion on public health ($200 per capita on average, median $166). Census public health data suggest that local governments spent an average of $87 per capita (median $57), whereas NACCHO estimates that reporting LHDs spent $64 per capita on average (median $36) in FY2008. We conclude that these estimates differ because the various organizations collect data using different means, data definitions, and inclusion/exclusion criteria--most notably around whether to include spending by all agencies versus a state/local health department, and whether behavioral health, disability, and some clinical care spending are included in estimates. Alongside deeper analysis of presently underutilized Census administrative data, we see harmonization efforts and the creation of a standardized expenditure reporting system as a way to

The effectiveness of knowledge translation strategies used in public health: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LaRocca Rebecca

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Literature related to the effectiveness of knowledge translation (KT strategies used in public health is lacking. The capacity to seek, analyze, and synthesize evidence-based information in public health is linked to greater success in making policy choices that have the best potential to yield positive outcomes for populations. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify the effectiveness of KT strategies used to promote evidence-informed decision making (EIDM among public health decision makers. Methods A search strategy was developed to identify primary studies published between 2000–2010. Studies were obtained from multiple electronic databases (CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Searches were supplemented by hand searching and checking the reference lists of included articles. Two independent review authors screened studies for relevance, assessed methodological quality of relevant studies, and extracted data from studies using standardized tools. Results After removal of duplicates, the search identified 64, 391 titles related to KT strategies. Following title and abstract review, 346 publications were deemed potentially relevant, of which 5 met all relevance criteria on full text screen. The included publications were of moderate quality and consisted of five primary studies (four randomized controlled trials and one interrupted time series analysis. Results were synthesized narratively. Simple or single KT strategies were shown in some circumstances to be as effective as complex, multifaceted ones when changing practice including tailored and targeted messaging. Multifaceted KT strategies led to changes in knowledge but not practice. Knowledge translation strategies shown to be less effective were passive and included access to registries of pre-processed research evidence or print materials. While knowledge brokering did not have a significant effect generally

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2010-07-01

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

Feminism and public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, W A

2006-06-01

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

Public health and Plowshare

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

1969-07-01

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

Public health and Plowshare

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terrill, J.G. Jr.

1969-01-01

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

A knowledge management tool for public health: health-evidence.ca

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dobbins Maureen

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The ultimate goal of knowledge translation and exchange (KTE activities is to facilitate incorporation of research knowledge into program and policy development decision making. Evidence-informed decision making involves translation of the best available evidence from a systematically collected, appraised, and analyzed body of knowledge. Knowledge management (KM is emerging as a key factor contributing to the realization of evidence-informed public health decision making. The goal of health-evidence.ca is to promote evidence-informed public health decision making through facilitation of decision maker access to, retrieval, and use of the best available synthesized research evidence evaluating the effectiveness of public health interventions. Methods The systematic reviews that populate health evidence.ca are identified through an extensive search (1985-present of 7 electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, BIOSIS, and SportDiscus; handsearching of over 20 journals; and reference list searches of all relevant reviews. Reviews are assessed for relevance and quality by two independent reviewers. Commonly-used public health terms are used to assign key words to each review, and project staff members compose short summaries highlighting results and implications for policy and practice. Results As of June 2010, there are 1913 reviews in the health-evidence.ca registry in 21 public health and health promotion topic areas. Of these, 78% have been assessed as being of strong or moderate methodological quality. Health-evidence.ca receives approximately 35,000 visits per year, 20,596 of which are unique visitors, representing approximately 100 visits per day. Just under half of all visitors return to the site, with the average user spending six minutes and visiting seven pages per visit. Public health nurses, program managers, health promotion workers, researchers, and program coordinators are

Ethics in public health research: masters of marketing: bringing private sector skills to public health partnerships.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Valerie A; Garbrah-Aidoo, Nana; Scott, Beth

2007-04-01

Skill in marketing is a scarce resource in public health, especially in developing countries. The Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap set out to tap the consumer marketing skills of industry for national handwashing programs. Lessons learned from commercial marketers included how to (1) understand consumer motivation, (2) employ 1 single unifying idea, (3) plan for effective reach, and (4) ensure effectiveness before national launch. After the first marketing program, 71% of Ghanaian mothers knew the television ad and the reported rates of handwashing with soap increased. Conditions for the expansion of such partnerships include a wider appreciation of what consumer marketing is, what it can do for public health, and the potential benefits to industry. Although there are practical and philosophical difficulties, there are many opportunities for such partnerships.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Korn, David A.; Shaffer, Howard J.

1999-01-01

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

Public Health Leadership in a Crisis: Themes from the Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zin M. Htway

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Recent catastrophic events and subsequent effects of leadership on afflicted populations demonstrates a need for improvement and increased managerial skill. The problem is catastrophic events create situations unfamiliar to many public health leaders. This manuscript was crafted from a review of 28 articles for the publication date range 1992-2012. Public health leadership in a crisis theorizes the application of four leadership skills: technical skills, interpersonal skills, conceptual skills, and emotional skills. A leader of a public health crisis will have to use these four skills for coordinating, managing, and direction of staff and resources. In addition to leading and managing public health resources, a leader in this role will also have to effectively communicate to the public and the media. This leadership theory connects lines of leadership skill to various stakeholders and collaborators. The importance of this leadership theory is for future public health crisis leaders to gain better understanding of the role of public health leadership in a crisis.

Six challenges in modelling for public health policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C.J.E. Metcalf

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The World Health Organisation's definition of public health refers to all organized measures to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life among the population as a whole (World Health Organization, 2014. Mathematical modelling plays an increasingly important role in helping to guide the most high impact and cost-effective means of achieving these goals. Public health programmes are usually implemented over a long period of time with broad benefits to many in the community. Clinical trials are seldom large enough to capture these effects. Observational data may be used to evaluate a programme after it is underway, but have limited value in helping to predict the future impact of a proposed policy. Furthermore, public health practitioners are often required to respond to new threats, for which there is little or no previous data on which to assess the threat. Computational and mathematical models can help to assess potential threats and impacts early in the process, and later aid in interpreting data from complex and multifactorial systems. As such, these models can be critical tools in guiding public health action. However, there are a number of challenges in achieving a successful interface between modelling and public health. Here, we discuss some of these challenges.

The Public Health Responsibility Deal: making the workplace healthier?

Science.gov (United States)

Knai, Cécile; Scott, Courtney; D'Souza, Preethy; James, Lesley; Mehrotra, Anushka; Petticrew, Mark; Eastmure, Elizabeth; Durand, Mary Alison; Mays, Nicholas

2017-06-01

The Public Health Responsibility Deal (RD) in England is a public-private partnership which aims to improve public health by addressing issues such as health at work. This paper analyses the RD health at work pledges in terms of their likely effectiveness and added value. A review of evidence on the effectiveness of the RD 'health at work' pledges to improve health in the workplace; analysis of publically available data on signatory organizations' plans and progress towards achieving the pledges; and assessment of the likelihood that workplace activities pledged by signatories were brought about by participating in the RD. The 'health at work' pledges mostly consist of information sharing activities, and could be more effective if made part of integrated environmental change at the workplace. The evaluation of organizations' plans and progress suggests that very few actions (7%) were motivated by participation in the RD, with most organizations likely (57%) or probably (36%) already engaged in the activities they listed before joining the RD. The RD's 'health at work' pledges are likely to contribute little to improving workplace health as they stand but could contribute more if they were incorporated into broader, coherent workplace health strategies. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Indoor air pollution: a public health perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spengler, J.D.; Sexton, K.

1983-01-01

Although official efforts to control air pollution have traditionally focused on outdoor air, it is now apparent that elevated contaminant concentrations are common inside some private and public buildings. Concerns about potential public health problems due to indoor air pollution are based on evidence that urban residents typically spend more than 90 percent of their time indoors, concentrations of some contaminants are higher indoors than outdoors, and for some pollutants personal exposures are not characterized adequately by outdoor measurements. Among the more important indoor contaminants associated with health or irritation effects are passive tobacco smoke, radon decay products, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, asbestos fibers, microorganisms, and aeroallergens. Efforts to assess health risks associated with indoor air pollution are limited by insufficient information about the number of people exposed, the pattern and severity of exposures, and the health consequences of exposures. An overall strategy should be developed to investigate indoor exposures, health effects, control options, and public policy alternatives

Nuclear power and public health

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1974-01-01

The nuclear power industry has always emphasized the health and safety aspects of the various stages of power production. Nevertheless, the question of public acceptance is becoming increasingly important in the expansion of nuclear power programmes. Objections may arise partly from the tendency to accept familiar hazards but to react violently to unfamiliar ones such as radiation, which is not obvious to the senses and may result in delayed adverse effects, sometimes manifested only in the descendants of the individuals subjected to the radiation. The public health authorities therefore have an important role in educating the public to overcome these fears. However, they also have the duty to reassure the public and convince it that proper care has been taken to protect man and his environment. This duty can be fulfilled by means of independent evaluation and control to ensure that safe nuclear facilities are built, care is taken with their siting, they are operated safely, and the effects of possible accidents are minimized. The selection and development of a nuclear power facility should be carried out with a sound understanding of the factors involved. WHO has collaborated with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the preparation of a booklet summarizing the available information on the subject. It deals with the role of atomic energy in meeting future power needs, radiation protection standards, the safe handling of radioactive materials, disturbances of the environment arising from plant construction and ancillary operations, and the public health implications

Nuclear power and public health

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1974-07-01

The nuclear power industry has always emphasized the health and safety aspects of the various stages of power production. Nevertheless, the question of public acceptance is becoming increasingly important in the expansion of nuclear power programmes. Objections may arise partly from the tendency to accept familiar hazards but to react violently to unfamiliar ones such as radiation, which is not obvious to the senses and may result in delayed adverse effects, sometimes manifested only in the descendants of the individuals subjected to the radiation. The public health authorities therefore have an important role in educating the public to overcome these fears. However, they also have the duty to reassure the public and convince it that proper care has been taken to protect man and his environment. This duty can be fulfilled by means of independent evaluation and control to ensure that safe nuclear facilities are built, care is taken with their siting, they are operated safely, and the effects of possible accidents are minimized. The selection and development of a nuclear power facility should be carried out with a sound understanding of the factors involved. WHO has collaborated with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the preparation of a booklet summarizing the available information on the subject. It deals with the role of atomic energy in meeting future power needs, radiation protection standards, the safe handling of radioactive materials, disturbances of the environment arising from plant construction and ancillary operations, and the public health implications.

Considerations for increasing the competences and capacities of the public health workforce: assessing the training needs of public health workers in Texas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Quiram Barbara

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Over the last two decades, concern has been expressed about the readiness of the public health workforce to adequately address the scientific, technological, social, political and economic challenges facing the field. A 1988 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM served as a catalyst for the re-examination of the public health workforce. The IOM's call to increase the relevance of public health education and training prompted a renewed effort to identify competences needed by public health personnel and the organizations that employ them. Methods A recent evaluation sought to address the role of the 10 essential public health services in job services among the Texas public health workforce. Additionally, the evaluation examined the Texas public health workforce's need for training in the 10 essential public health services. Results and conclusion Overall, the level of perceived training needs varied dramatically by job category and health department type. When comparing aggregate training needs, public health workers with greater day-to-day contact (nurses, health educators indicated a greater need for training than their peers who did not, such as those working in administrative positions. When prioritizing and designing future training modules regarding the 10 essential public health services, trainers should consider the effects of job function, location and contact with the public.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Basak, P

2011-09-01

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

Public Health's Falling Share of US Health Spending.

Science.gov (United States)

Himmelstein, David U; Woolhandler, Steffie

2016-01-01

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

Strategic Planning in Population Health and Public Health Practice: A Call to Action for Higher Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Phelps, Charles; Madhavan, Guruprasad; Rappuoli, Rino; Levin, Scott; Shortliffe, Edward; Colwell, Rita

2016-03-01

Scarce resources, especially in population health and public health practice, underlie the importance of strategic planning. Public health agencies' current planning and priority setting efforts are often narrow, at times opaque, and focused on single metrics such as cost-effectiveness. As demonstrated by SMART Vaccines, a decision support software system developed by the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering, new approaches to strategic planning allow the formal incorporation of multiple stakeholder views and multicriteria decision making that surpass even those sophisticated cost-effectiveness analyses widely recommended and used for public health planning. Institutions of higher education can and should respond by building on modern strategic planning tools as they teach their students how to improve population health and public health practice. Strategic planning in population health and public health practice often uses single indicators of success or, when using multiple indicators, provides no mechanism for coherently combining the assessments. Cost-effectiveness analysis, the most complex strategic planning tool commonly applied in public health, uses only a single metric to evaluate programmatic choices, even though other factors often influence actual decisions. Our work employed a multicriteria systems analysis approach--specifically, multiattribute utility theory--to assist in strategic planning and priority setting in a particular area of health care (vaccines), thereby moving beyond the traditional cost-effectiveness analysis approach. (1) Multicriteria systems analysis provides more flexibility, transparency, and clarity in decision support for public health issues compared with cost-effectiveness analysis. (2) More sophisticated systems-level analyses will become increasingly important to public health as disease burdens increase and the resources to deal with them become scarcer. The teaching of strategic planning in public

Public health implications of emerging zoonoses.

Science.gov (United States)

Meslin, F X; Stöhr, K; Heymann, D

2000-04-01

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

Transportation and public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Litman, Todd

2013-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

Guyon, Ak'ingabe; Perreault, Robert

2016-10-20

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

Health, civilization, and the state: a history of public health from ancient to modern times

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Porter, Dorothy

1999-01-01

... including: * * * * * * * pestilence, public order and morality in pre-modern times the Enlightenment and its effects public health and centralization in Victorian Britain localization of health care in the United States population issues and family welfare the rise of the classic welfare state and its health care policies attitudes towards public health in...

Direct-to-consumer advertising: public perceptions of its effects on health behaviors, health care, and the doctor-patient relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Elizabeth; Lo, Bernard; Pollack, Lance; Donelan, Karen; Lee, Ken

2004-01-01

To determine public perceptions of the effect of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medications on health behaviors, health care utilization, the doctor-patient relationship, and the association between socioeconomic status and these effects. Cross-sectional survey of randomly selected, nationally representative sample of the US public using computer-assisted telephone interviewing. numbers and proportions of respondents in the past 12 months who, as a result of DTCA, requested preventive care or scheduled a physician visit; were diagnosed with condition mentioned in advertisement; disclosed health concerns to a doctor; felt enhanced confidence or sense of control; perceived an effect on the doctor-patient relationship; requested a test, medication change, or specialist referral; or manifested serious dissatisfaction after a visit to a doctor. As a result of DTCA, 14% of respondents disclosed health concerns to a physician, 6% requested preventive care, 5% felt more in control during a physician visit; 5% made requests for a test, medication change, or specialist referral, and 3% received the requested intervention. One percent of patients reported negative outcomes, including worsened treatment, serious dissatisfaction with the visit, or that the physician acted challenged. Effects of DTCA were greater for respondents with low socioeconomic status. DTCA has positive and negative effects on health behaviors, health service utilization, and the doctor-patient relationship that are greatest on people of low socioeconomic status. The benefits of DTCA in terms of encouraging hard-to-reach sections of the population to seek preventive care must be balanced against increased health care costs caused by clinically inappropriate requests generated by DTCA.

Bed Bug Epidemic: A Challenge to Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

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

2011-01-01

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

Theory-based approaches to understanding public emergency preparedness: implications for effective health and risk communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Paek, Hye-Jin; Hilyard, Karen; Freimuth, Vicki; Barge, J Kevin; Mindlin, Michele

2010-06-01

Recent natural and human-caused disasters have awakened public health officials to the importance of emergency preparedness. Guided by health behavior and media effects theories, the analysis of a statewide survey in Georgia reveals that self-efficacy, subjective norm, and emergency news exposure are positively associated with the respondents' possession of emergency items and their stages of emergency preparedness. Practical implications suggest less focus on demographics as the sole predictor of emergency preparedness and more comprehensive measures of preparedness, including both a person's cognitive stage of preparedness and checklists of emergency items on hand. We highlight the utility of theory-based approaches for understanding and predicting public emergency preparedness as a way to enable more effective health and risk communication.

Applying Behavioral Economics to Public Health Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Matjasko, Jennifer L.; Cawley, John H.; Baker-Goering, Madeleine M.; Yokum, David V.

2016-01-01

Behavioral economics provides an empirically informed perspective on how individuals make decisions, including the important realization that even subtle features of the environment can have meaningful impacts on behavior. This commentary provides examples from the literature and recent government initiatives that incorporate concepts from behavioral economics in order to improve health, decision making, and government efficiency. The examples highlight the potential for behavioral economics to improve the effectiveness of public health policy at low cost. Although incorporating insights from behavioral economics into public health policy has the potential to improve population health, its integration into government public health programs and policies requires careful design and continual evaluation of such interventions. Limitations and drawbacks of the approach are discussed. PMID:27102853

Reducing health inequities: the contribution of core public health services in BC

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Within Canada, many public health leaders have long identified the importance of improving the health of all Canadians especially those who face social and economic disadvantages. Future improvements in population health will be achieved by promoting health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Many Canadian documents, endorsed by government and public health leaders, describe commitments to improving overall health and promoting health equity. Public health has an important role to play in strengthening action on the social determinants and promoting health equity. Currently, public health services in British Columbia are being reorganized and there is a unique opportunity to study the application of an equity lens in public health and the contribution of public health to reducing health inequities. Where applicable, we have chosen mental health promotion, prevention of mental disorders and harms of substance use as exemplars within which to examine specific application of an equity lens. Methods/design This research protocol is informed by three theoretical perspectives: complex adaptive systems, critical social justice, and intersectionality. In this program of research, there are four inter-related research projects with an emphasis on both integrated and end of grant knowledge translation. Within an overarching collaborative and participatory approach to research, we use a multiple comparative case study research design and are incorporating multiple methods such as discourse analysis, situational analysis, social network analysis, concept mapping and grounded theory. Discussion An important aim of this work is to help ensure a strong public health system that supports public health providers to have the knowledge, skills, tools and resources to undertake the promotion of health equity. This research will contribute to increasing the effectiveness and contributions of public health in reducing unfair and inequitable differences

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2009-03-01

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

Is globalization really good for public health?

Science.gov (United States)

Tausch, Arno

2016-10-01

In the light of recent very prominent studies, especially that of Mukherjee and Krieckhaus (), one should be initially tempted to assume that nowadays globalization is a driver of a good public health performance in the entire world system. Most of these studies use time series analyses based on the KOF Index of Globalization. We attempt to re-analyze the entire question, using a variety of methodological approaches and data. Our re-analysis shows that neoliberal globalization has resulted in very important implosions of public health development in various regions of the world and in increasing inequality in the countries of the world system, which in turn negatively affect health performance. We use standard ibm/spss ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions, time series and cross-correlation analyses based on aggregate, freely available data. Different components of the KOF Index, most notably actual capital inflows, affect public health negatively. The "decomposition" of the available data suggests that for most of the time period of the last four decades, globalization inflows even implied an aggregate deterioration of public health, quite in line with globalization critical studies. We introduce the effects of inequality on public health, widely debated in global public health research. Our annual time series for 99 countries show that globalization indeed leads to increased inequality, and this, in turn, leads to a deteriorating public health performance. In only 19 of the surveyed 99 nations with complete data (i.e., 19.1%), globalization actually preceded an improvement in the public health performance. Far from falsifying globalization critical research, our analyses show the basic weaknesses of the new "pro-globalization" literature in the public health profession. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A European Master's Programme in Public Health Nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Yngve, A; Warm, D; Landman, J; Sjöström, M

2001-12-01

Effective population-based strategies require people trained and competent in the discipline of Public Health Nutrition. Since 1997, a European Master's Programme in Public Health Nutrition has been undergoing planning and implementation, by establishing initial quality assurance systems with the aid of funding from the European Commission (DG SANCO/F3). Partners from 17 European countries have been involved in the process. A European Network of Public Health Nutrition has been developed and accredited by the European Commission.

Traditional vs. Contemporary Management Control Practices for Developing Public Health Policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Naranjo-Gil, David; Sánchez-Expósito, María Jesús; Gómez-Ruiz, Laura

2016-07-14

Public health policies must address multiple goals and complex community health needs. Recently, management control practices have emerged to provide a broader type of information for evaluating the effectiveness of healthcare policies, and relate activities and processes to multiple strategic outcomes. This study compares the effect of traditional and contemporary management control practices on the achievement of public health policies. It is also analyzed how two different uses of such practices (enabling vs. coercive) facilitate the achievement of public health policies. Relationships are explored using data collected from managers from public health agencies and public hospitals in Spain. The findings show that contemporary management control practices are more suitable than traditional practices to achieve public health policies. Furthermore, results show that public health policies are better achieved when managers use management control practices in an enabling way rather than in a coercive way.

Recommendations for international gambling harm-minimisation guidelines: comparison with effective public health policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gainsbury, Sally M.; Blankers, Matthijs; Wilkinson, Claire; Schelleman-Offermans, Karen; Cousijn, Janna

2014-01-01

Problem gambling represents a significant public health problem, however, research on effective gambling harm-minimisation measures lags behind other fields, including other addictive disorders. In recognition of the need for consistency between international jurisdictions and the importance of

Recommendations for international gambling harm-minimisation guidelines : comparison with effective public health policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gainsbury, Sally M; Blankers, Matthijs; Wilkinson, Claire; Schelleman-Offermans, Karen; Cousijn, Janna

2014-01-01

Problem gambling represents a significant public health problem, however, research on effective gambling harm-minimisation measures lags behind other fields, including other addictive disorders. In recognition of the need for consistency between international jurisdictions and the importance of

Mastering public health: essential skills for effective practice

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Levy, Barry S; Gaufin, Joyce R

2012-01-01

.... Designed for new and seasoned public health workers alike, this user-friendly guide focuses on the day-to-day practical skills and competencies that are often not taught in educational or training programs...

Organizational attributes that assure optimal utilization of public health nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Meagher-Stewart, Donna; Underwood, Jane; MacDonald, Mary; Schoenfeld, Bonnie; Blythe, Jennifer; Knibbs, Kristin; Munroe, Val; Lavoie-Tremblay, Mélanie; Ehrlich, Anne; Ganann, Rebecca; Crea, Mary

2010-01-01

Optimal utilization of public health nurses (PHNs) is important for strengthening public health capacity and sustaining interest in public health nursing in the face of a global nursing shortage. To gain an insight into the organizational attributes that support PHNs to work effectively, 23 focus groups were held with PHNs, managers, and policymakers in diverse regions and urban and rural/remote settings across Canada. Participants identified attributes at all levels of the public health system: government and system-level action, local organizational culture of their employers, and supportive management practices. Effective leadership emerged as a strong message throughout all levels. Other organizational attributes included valuing and promoting public health nursing; having a shared vision, goals, and planning; building partnerships and collaboration; demonstrating flexibility and creativity; and supporting ongoing learning and knowledge sharing. The results of this study highlight opportunities for fostering organizational development and leadership in public health, influencing policies and programs to optimize public health nursing services and resources, and supporting PHNs to realize the full scope of their competencies.

Six challenges in modelling for public health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Metcalf, C J E; Edmunds, W J; Lessler, J

2015-03-01

The World Health Organisation's definition of public health refers to all organized measures to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life among the population as a whole (World Health Organization, 2014). Mathematical modelling plays an increasingly important role in helping to guide the most high impact and cost-effective means of achieving these goals. Public health programmes are usually implemented over a long period of time with broad benefits to many in the community. Clinical trials are seldom large enough to capture these effects. Observational data may be used to evaluate a programme after it is underway, but have limited value in helping to predict the future impact of a proposed policy. Furthermore, public health practitioners are often required to respond to new threats, for which there is little or no previous data on which to assess the threat. Computational and mathematical models can help to assess potential threats and impacts early in the process, and later aid in interpreting data from complex and multifactorial systems. As such, these models can be critical tools in guiding public health action. However, there are a number of challenges in achieving a successful interface between modelling and public health. Here, we discuss some of these challenges. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Public health nurses perception of clinical leadership in Ireland: narrative descriptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Carney, Marie

2009-05-01

The aim of the study was to identify how clinical leadership skills are perceived by Public Health Nurses in the course of their everyday work and the effectiveness and consequences of such skills in primary care delivery. Public health nurses deliver primary care to children and adults as part of small teams or in individual situations. Leadership skills are needed to fulfil their many roles. Rigorous analysis of narrative interviews with public health nurses working in primary care environments in Ireland was undertaken. Narrative information was obtained by having conversations with 20 public health nurses relating to their perceptions on what clinical leadership meant to them and how their leadership skills influenced effective primary care delivery. Analysis of conversations identified the tensions existing between the various roles and responsibilities of the public health nurse and other primary care workers. This tension was perceived by the nurses as being the main barrier to effective primary care delivery from their perspective. Clinical leadership is viewed narrowly by public health nurses as management skills rather than leadership skills were mainly identified. Education for the role was identified as a critical success factor. RELEVANCE TO NURSE MANAGERS: Public health nurses are well placed to shape and influence health service culture through effective clinical leadership.

Causal inference in public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Glass, Thomas A; Goodman, Steven N; Hernán, Miguel A; Samet, Jonathan M

2013-01-01

Causal inference has a central role in public health; the determination that an association is causal indicates the possibility for intervention. We review and comment on the long-used guidelines for interpreting evidence as supporting a causal association and contrast them with the potential outcomes framework that encourages thinking in terms of causes that are interventions. We argue that in public health this framework is more suitable, providing an estimate of an action's consequences rather than the less precise notion of a risk factor's causal effect. A variety of modern statistical methods adopt this approach. When an intervention cannot be specified, causal relations can still exist, but how to intervene to change the outcome will be unclear. In application, the often-complex structure of causal processes needs to be acknowledged and appropriate data collected to study them. These newer approaches need to be brought to bear on the increasingly complex public health challenges of our globalized world.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2013-01-01

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

Tracks: A National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network Overview

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

In this podcast, Dr. Mike McGeehin, Director of CDC's Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, provides an overview of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. It highlights the Tracking Network's goal, how it will improve public health, its audience, and much more.

Intersystem return on investment in public mental health: Positive externality of public mental health expenditure for the jail system in the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Jangho; Luck, Jeff

2016-12-01

This study examines the extent to which increased public mental health expenditures lead to a reduction in jail populations and computes the associated intersystem return on investment (ROI). We analyze unique panel data on 44 U.S. states and D.C. for years 2001-2009. To isolate the intersystem spillover effect, we exploit variations across states and over time within states in per capita public mental health expenditures and average daily jail inmates. Regression models control for a comprehensive set of determinants of jail incarcerations as well as unobserved determinants specific to state and year. Findings show a positive spillover benefit of increased public mental health spending on the jail system: a 10% increase in per capita public inpatient mental health expenditure on average leads to a 1.5% reduction in jail inmates. We also find that the positive intersystem externality of increased public inpatient mental health expenditure is greater when the level of community mental health spending is lower. Similarly, the intersystem spillover effect of community mental health expenditure is larger when inpatient mental health spending is lower. We compute that overall an extra dollar in public inpatient mental health expenditure by a state would yield an intersystem ROI of a quarter dollar for the jail system. There is significant cross-state variation in the intersystem ROI in both public inpatient and community mental health expenditures, and the ROI overall is greater for inpatient mental health spending than for community mental health spending. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Ethics in Public Health Research

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Valerie A.; Garbrah-Aidoo, Nana; Scott, Beth

2007-01-01

Skill in marketing is a scarce resource in public health, especially in developing countries. The Global Public–Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap set out to tap the consumer marketing skills of industry for national handwashing programs. Lessons learned from commercial marketers included how to (1) understand consumer motivation, (2) employ 1 single unifying idea, (3) plan for effective reach, and (4) ensure effectiveness before national launch. After the first marketing program, 71% of Ghanaian mothers knew the television ad and the reported rates of handwashing with soap increased. Conditions for the expansion of such partnerships include a wider appreciation of what consumer marketing is, what it can do for public health, and the potential benefits to industry. Although there are practical and philosophical difficulties, there are many opportunities for such partnerships. PMID:17329646

Food and beverage policies and public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnik, David B

2015-06-01

Government food and beverage policies can play an important role in promoting public health. Few people would question this assumption. Difficult questions can arise, however, when policymakers, public health officials, citizens, and businesses deliberate about food and beverage policies, because competing values may be at stake, such as public health, individual autonomy, personal responsibility, economic prosperity, and fairness. An ethically justified policy strikes a reasonable among competing values by meeting the following criteria: (1) the policy serves important social goal(s); (2) the policy is likely to be effective at achieving those goal(s); (3) less burdensome options are not likely to be effective at achieving the goals; (4) the policy is fair.

Public mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindert, Jutta; Bilsen, Johan; Jakubauskiene, Marija

2017-10-01

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

Defining and Assessing Quality Improvement Outcomes: A Framework for Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Nawaz, Saira; Thomas, Craig; Young, Andrea

2015-01-01

We describe an evidence-based framework to define and assess the impact of quality improvement (QI) in public health. Developed to address programmatic and research-identified needs for articulating the value of public health QI in aggregate, this framework proposes a standardized set of measures to monitor and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public health programs and operations. We reviewed the scientific literature and analyzed QI initiatives implemented through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Public Health Improvement Initiative to inform the selection of 5 efficiency and 8 effectiveness measures. This framework provides a model for identifying the types of improvement outcomes targeted by public health QI efforts and a means to understand QI’s impact on the practice of public health. PMID:25689185

Radioactive wastes repository in Temascalapa, State of Mexico, public opinion. Determination of health effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solis Tinoco, E.

1998-01-01

Nuclear waste usually concerns public about the impact on public health and the environment. In Mexico, such interest exists, particularly in the Temascalapa Municipality, Mexico where a low level waste repository recognized by the IAEA, has been functioning since 1972. Maquixco repository is located at 42 Kilometers northeast of Mexico City. Although the environmental radiological monitoring records have demonstrated negligible impact on the environment, in 1998 an unusual public polemic on radioactive health effects appeared among Temascalapa residents. This paper presents a research performed during 1998 with the participation of the National Nuclear Research Institute of Mexico and the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The research design allowed the involvement of local authorities, as a way of stimulate public participation. The research was performed in nine locations of the Temascalapa Municipality, it was focused on public polemics, associated to Maquixco repository as well as trying to identify demographic factors that exert influence on public attitudes. There are also presented the results of personal dosimetry analysis performed on a four hundred residents sample of this Municipality. (Author)

Survey of public knowledge about digestive health and diseases: implications for health education.

OpenAIRE

Kreps, G L; Ruben, B D; Baker, M W; Rosenthal, S R

1987-01-01

Increasing emphasis in recent years has been placed on health promotion, prevention, and the self-management of health care. These strategies presume the public has sufficient levels of relevant health information, as well as necessary attitudes and skills for the effective use of this information in the management of their own health care. This study tests this assumption as it relates to the level of public knowledge of digestive health and disease, a major health concern affecting an estim...

The Global Public Health Intelligence Network and early warning outbreak detection: a Canadian contribution to global public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Mykhalovskiy, Eric; Weir, Lorna

2006-01-01

The recent SARS epidemic has renewed widespread concerns about the global transmission of infectious diseases. In this commentary, we explore novel approaches to global infectious disease surveillance through a focus on an important Canadian contribution to the area--the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN). GPHIN is a cutting-edge initiative that draws on the capacity of the Internet and newly available 24/7 global news coverage of health events to create a unique form of early warning outbreak detection. This commentary outlines the operation and development of GPHIN and compares it to ProMED-mail, another Internet-based approach to global health surveillance. We argue that GPHIN has created an important shift in the relationship of public health and news information. By exiting the pyramid of official reporting, GPHIN has created a new monitoring technique that has disrupted national boundaries of outbreak notification, while creating new possibilities for global outbreak response. By incorporating news within the emerging apparatus of global infectious disease surveillance, GPHIN has effectively responded to the global media's challenge to official country reporting of outbreak and enhanced the effectiveness and credibility of international public health.

Adoption and use of social media among public health departments

OpenAIRE

Thackeray, Rosemary; Neiger, Brad L; Smith, Amanda K; Van Wagenen, Sarah B

2012-01-01

Abstract Background Effective communication is a critical function within any public health system. Social media has enhanced communication between individuals and organizations and has the potential to augment public health communication. However, there is a lack of reported data on social media adoption within public health settings. The purposes of this study were to assess: 1) the extent to which state public health departments (SHDs) are using social media; 2) which social media applicat...

Population health intervention research training: the value of public health internships and mentorship.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamelin, Anne-Marie; Paradis, Gilles

2018-01-01

Better alignment between academia and public health practice and policies are critical to improve public health actions. Training of future researchers to address complex issues and to conduct transdisciplinary and collaborative research will help improve this alignment. In this paper, we describe the role of internship placements and mentorship for trainees' skills development in population health intervention research and the benefits of embedding research trainees within public health organizations. This qualitative descriptive study assessed the perceptions of the role and benefits of internships and mentorship for population health intervention research training among former doctoral and postdoctoral students, public health mentors, and senior public health managers who participated in the 4P Program, a research training program which bridges academic training and the public health system in Quebec, Canada. Two types of interviews were conducted: telephone semi-structured interviews by an external evaluator and face-to-face trainee "exit" interviews by the Program co-director. Semi-annual evaluation reports from each trainee were also reviewed. Qualitative data were subjected to a thematic analysis. Internships provided trainees with a working knowledge of the public health system and the context in which decisions and public health interventions are implemented. It was an opportunity for trainees to interact with knowledge-user partners and assess the gap between research and practice. Effective mentorship was key to help trainees interpret the public health reality and develop population health intervention research skills. Trainees learned to ask the "how" questions that are critical for in-depth understanding of complex interventions and the conditions under which they can be best implemented. Conditions of success of internships and mentorship for population health intervention research included the alignment of the interests between the trainee, the

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

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

2017-12-13

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

Public Health Insurance and Health Care Utilization for Children in Immigrant Families.

Science.gov (United States)

Percheski, Christine; Bzostek, Sharon

2017-12-01

Objectives To estimate the impacts of public health insurance coverage on health care utilization and unmet health care needs for children in immigrant families. Methods We use survey data from National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (2001-2005) linked to data from Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) (2003-2007) for children with siblings in families headed by at least one immigrant parent. We use logit models with family fixed effects. Results Compared to their siblings with public insurance, uninsured children in immigrant families have higher odds of having no usual source of care, having no health care visits in a 2 year period, having high Emergency Department reliance, and having unmet health care needs. We find no statistically significant difference in the odds of having annual well-child visits. Conclusions for practice Previous research may have underestimated the impact of public health insurance for children in immigrant families. Children in immigrant families would likely benefit considerably from expansions of public health insurance eligibility to cover all children, including children without citizenship. Immigrant families that include both insured and uninsured children may benefit from additional referral and outreach efforts from health care providers to ensure that uninsured children have the same access to health care as their publicly-insured siblings.

Developing Workforce Capacity in Public Health Informatics: Core Competencies and Curriculum Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas R. Wholey

2018-05-01

Full Text Available We describe a master’s level public health informatics (PHI curriculum to support workforce development. Public health decision-making requires intensive information management to organize responses to health threats and develop effective health education and promotion. PHI competencies prepare the public health workforce to design and implement these information systems. The objective for a Master’s and Certificate in PHI is to prepare public health informaticians with the competencies to work collaboratively with colleagues in public health and other health professions to design and develop information systems that support population health improvement. The PHI competencies are drawn from computer, information, and organizational sciences. A curriculum is proposed to deliver the competencies and result of a pilot PHI program is presented. Since the public health workforce needs to use information technology effectively to improve population health, it is essential for public health academic institutions to develop and implement PHI workforce training programs.

Developing Workforce Capacity in Public Health Informatics: Core Competencies and Curriculum Design

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Wholey, Douglas R.; LaVenture, Martin; Rajamani, Sripriya; Kreiger, Rob; Hedberg, Craig; Kenyon, Cynthia

2018-01-01

We describe a master’s level public health informatics (PHI) curriculum to support workforce development. Public health decision-making requires intensive information management to organize responses to health threats and develop effective health education and promotion. PHI competencies prepare the public health workforce to design and implement these information systems. The objective for a Master’s and Certificate in PHI is to prepare public health informaticians with the competencies to work collaboratively with colleagues in public health and other health professions to design and develop information systems that support population health improvement. The PHI competencies are drawn from computer, information, and organizational sciences. A curriculum is proposed to deliver the competencies and result of a pilot PHI program is presented. Since the public health workforce needs to use information technology effectively to improve population health, it is essential for public health academic institutions to develop and implement PHI workforce training programs. PMID:29770321

Turning negative into positive: public health mass media campaigns and negative advertising.

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Apollonio, D E; Malone, R E

2009-06-01

Literature suggests that 'negative advertising' is an effective way to encourage behavioral changes, but it has enjoyed limited use in public health media campaigns. However, as public health increasingly focuses on non-communicable disease prevention, negative advertising could be more widely applied. This analysis considers an illustrative case from tobacco control. Relying on internal tobacco industry documents, surveys and experimental data and drawing from political advocacy literature, we describe tobacco industry and public health research on the American Legacy Foundation's "truth" campaign, an example of effective negative advertising in the service of public health. The tobacco industry determined that the most effective advertisements run by Legacy's "truth" campaign were negative advertisements. Although the tobacco industry's own research suggested that these negative ads identified and effectively reframed the cigarette as a harmful consumer product rather than focusing solely on tobacco companies, Philip Morris accused Legacy of 'vilifying' it. Public health researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of the "truth" campaign in reducing smoking initiation. Research on political advocacy demonstrating the value of negative advertising has rarely been used in the development of public health media campaigns, but negative advertising can effectively communicate certain public health messages and serve to counter corporate disease promotion.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Castillo-Salgado

2015-11-01

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

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

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Castillo-Salgado, Carlos

2015-11-01

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

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

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Meagher, Karen M; Lee, Lisa M

2016-01-01

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

How federalism shapes public health financing, policy, and program options.

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Ogden, Lydia L

2012-01-01

In the United States, fiscal and functional federalism strongly shape public health policy and programs. Federalism has implications for public health practice: it molds financing and disbursement options, including funding formulas, which affect allocations and program goals, and shapes how funding decisions are operationalized in a political context. This article explores how American federalism, both fiscal and functional, structures public health funding, policy, and program options, investigating the effects of intergovernmental transfers on public health finance and programs.

[Legitimizing and responsibilities of public health reports: public health reports or social court reports?].

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Borgers, D; Streich, W

1996-11-01

Since 1970 various initiatives have been taken to improve the information bases of health reporting. However, the efforts made up to now by the Länder, the Federal Government and its corporate bodies are characterised by a lack of experience and shortage of resources; moreover, they are viewed with a critical eye by the public and in the political area. In this contribution the authors describe various topics and delimitations of a health reporting system which go far beyond health statistics and health programmes altogether. The chances of a national health reporting system are based on the assumption that an objective judgement based on expert knowledge and science will be possible and that beyond all particularistic interests, expert knowledge can be organised in a democratic process. Public health reporting varies between two extremes: On the one hand, the current reporting in the media on health-related subjects which is characterised by disagreement among experts, particularistic interests and emotions, and on the other hand the national health reporting, which, on the platform of policy marketing and political image shaping, is suspected of degenerating to a kind of "royal court reporting". A health reporting system based on expert knowledge and characterised by topics with relevance to health policy, expert quality of its information and neutrality to particularistic interests, should go beyond these two extremes. Given the political conditions of budgeting and distribution conflicts, health reporting has to deal with two main aspects: effectiveness and efficiency of employed resources and with the problems of a fair distribution of these resources to provide equal chances in the health sector. What cannot be solved, by questions of procedure, however, is the problem of truth and objective knowledge as well as the problem of confidence. If the general public lacks confidence in national expert knowledge, a society discourse will not lead to political

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

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

2013-09-01

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

Important interactional strategies for everyday public health nursing practice.

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Porr, Caroline J

2015-01-01

This Clinical Concepts article concerns the relational tools required by public health nurses to establish relationships with single mothers living on public assistance, mothers who are vulnerable and often stigmatized. The implications of stigmatization for relationship building are highlighted based on previous research investigating how public health nurses working in Canadian jurisdictions establish professional caring relationships with this cohort of mothers. Public health nurses employed interactional strategies including engaging in a positive manner and offering verbal commendations which served as effective relational tools to break through mothers' walls of defensiveness and to resume the dynamic process of relationship building. Building Relationship is a key practice standard for public health nurses and is instrumental to their work at both individual and community levels to improve social determinants of health. The author concludes with recommendations to facilitate building relationships during everyday public health nursing practice. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assessing entrepreneurship in governmental public health.

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

2015-04-01

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

Public Health Activist Skills Pyramid: A Model for Implementing Health in All Policies.

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Damari, Behzad; Ehsani Chimeh, Elham

2017-01-01

Affecting public health for society requires various competencies. In fact, the prerequisite for the implementation of health in all policies should be effectiveness of public health activists (PHAs) in these competencies. This study aims to determine the competencies of the activists in public health. The present qualitative study reviewed the literature and adopted qualitative methods like content analysis, stakeholder interviews, and conducted focus group discussions with related experts. In each stage, the required competencies were extracted through drawing the main action processes of a PHA. Thereafter, the authors reached an ultimately best-suited working model by classifying and approving extracted competencies. The competencies comprise a pyramid set of three main categories of basic, specialized/professional, and individual updating competencies. Personal management, communication, teamwork, project management, ability to apply principles and concepts of public health, anatomy, physiology, and pathology in the organizations of the society should be included in the basic category. Specialized skills should include ability to plan, public participation, intersectoral collaboration, social marketing, working with the media/media friendly attitude, advocacy, research management and knowledge translation, evaluation of health programs, network establishment and management, deployment and institutionalization, operational research, empowerment and consultation, and protocol and service pack design. Last but not least, individual updating is defined as being informed of the latest scientific articles and reports about health and its situation in different countries as well as determinants that affect health. Implementation of this pyramid requires design and establishment of specific centers for transferring effective public health competencies. This pyramid has also functional use for the revision of educational curriculums in all health study fields. Moreover

The Role of Public Health Insurance in Reducing Child Poverty.

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Wherry, Laura R; Kenney, Genevieve M; Sommers, Benjamin D

2016-04-01

Over the past 30 years, there have been major expansions in public health insurance for low-income children in the United States through Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and other state-based efforts. In addition, many low-income parents have gained Medicaid coverage since 2014 under the Affordable Care Act. Most of the research to date on health insurance coverage among low-income populations has focused on its effect on health care utilization and health outcomes, with much less attention to the financial protection it offers families. We review a growing body of evidence that public health insurance provides important financial benefits to low-income families. Expansions in public health insurance for low-income children and adults are associated with reduced out of pocket medical spending, increased financial stability, and improved material well-being for families. We also review the potential poverty-reducing effects of public health insurance coverage. When out of pocket medical expenses are taken into account in defining the poverty rate, Medicaid plays a significant role in decreasing poverty for many children and families. In addition, public health insurance programs connect families to other social supports such as food assistance programs that also help reduce poverty. We conclude by reviewing emerging evidence that access to public health insurance in childhood has long-term effects for health and economic outcomes in adulthood. Exposure to Medicaid and CHIP during childhood has been linked to decreased mortality and fewer chronic health conditions, better educational attainment, and less reliance on government support later in life. In sum, the nation's public health insurance programs have many important short- and long-term poverty-reducing benefits for low-income families with children. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Full-Range Public Health Leadership, Part 1: Quantitative Analysis

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Erik L. Carlton

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Background. Workforce and leadership development are central to the future of public health. However, public health has been slow to translate and apply leadership models from other professions and to incorporate local perspectives in understanding public health leadership. Purpose. This study utilized the full-range leadership model in order to examine public health leadership. Specifically, it sought to measure leadership styles among local health department directors and to understand the context of leadership local health departments.Methods. Leadership styles among local health department directors (n=13 were examined using survey methodology. Quantitative analysis methods included descriptive statistics, boxplots, and Pearson bivariate correlations using SPSS v18.0. Findings. Self-reported leadership styles were highly correlated to leadership outcomes at the organizational level. However, they were not related to county health rankings. Results suggest the preeminence of leader behaviors and providing individual consideration to staff as compared to idealized attributes of leaders, intellectual stimulation, or inspirational motivation. Implications. Holistic leadership assessment instruments, such as the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ can be useful in assessing public health leaders approaches and outcomes. Comprehensive, 360-degree reviews may be especially helpful. Further research is needed to examine the effectiveness of public health leadership development models, as well as the extent that public health leadership impacts public health outcomes.

Public health response to striking solid waste management.

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Murti, Michelle; Ayre, Reg; Shapiro, Howard; de Burger, Ron

2011-10-01

In 2009, the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, experienced a six-week labor disruption involving 24,000 city workers that included solid waste and public health employees. In an attempt to control illegal dumping and to manage garbage storage across the city during this period, 24 temporary garbage storage sites were established by the city (mostly in local parks) for residents to dispose of their household waste. No other municipality in North America has attempted to operate this many temporary sites for this long a period. Management and nonunion staff from Healthy Environments in Toronto Public Health performed daily inspections, responded to community questions, issued public health orders, and worked closely with Solid Waste Management and the Ministry of the Environment to actively manage the public health concerns associated with these sites. This intensive oversight mitigated public health risks to the community and facilitated an effective, safe solution to the temporary garbage storage problem.

42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

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

Continuing-education needs of the currently employed public health education workforce.

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Allegrante, J P; Moon, R W; Auld, M E; Gebbie, K M

2001-08-01

This study examined the continuing-education needs of the currently employed public health education workforce. A national consensus panel of leading health educators from public health agencies, academic institutions, and professional organizations was convened to examine the forces creating the context for the work of public health educators and the competencies they need to practice effectively. Advocacy; business management and finance; communication; community health planning and development, coalition building, and leadership; computing and technology; cultural competency; evaluation; and strategic planning were identified as areas of critical competence. Continuing education must strengthen a broad range of critical competencies and skills if we are to ensure the further development and effectiveness of the public health education workforce.

Public health protection after nuclear and radiation disasters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Liqing; Liu Qiang; Fan Feiyue

2012-01-01

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan combined with massive earthquake and immense tsunami, Some crucial lessons were reviewed in this paper, including emergency response for natural technological disasters, international effects, public psychological health effects and communication between the government and public. (authors)

The American Public Health Association's 2017 Year of Climate Change and Health: Time for Action.

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DeJarnett, Natasha; Robb, Katherine; Castellanos, Ivana; Dettman, Louise; Patel, Surili S

2017-10-26

Climate change is today's greatest public health threat. 1 As the nation's leading voice in public health, the American Public Health Association (APHA) has demonstrated an enduring commitment to climate change as a health issue. As far back as the mid-1920s, AJPH reported on the health impacts of climate change. 2-4 Shaping the development of future organizational efforts, APHA members created the organization's first policy statement on climate change in 1995 (updated in 2007 and 2015). APHA continued to bring attention to climate change and public health, making it the theme of National Public Health Week 2008. Since then, evidence of climate change's causes and effects has mounted, but politicization of the issue and low prioritization by the public has made progress toward mitigation and adaptation slow. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print October 26, 2017: e1-e2. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.304168).

Assessing Continuous Quality Improvement in Public Health: Adapting Lessons from Healthcare

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Schwartz, Robert; Cohen, Joanna; Manson, Heather; Scott, Fran

2017-01-01

Context: Evidence of the effect of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in public health and valid tools to judge that such effects are not fully formed. Objective: The objective was to adapt and apply Shortell et al.'s (1998) four dimensions of CQI in an examination of a public health accountability and performance management initiative in Ontario, Canada. Methods: In total, 24 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with informants from public health units and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. A web survey of public health managers in the province was also carried out. Results: A mix of facilitators and barriers was identified. Leadership and organizational cultures, conducive to CQI success were evident. However, limitations in performance measurement and managerial discretion were key barriers. Conclusion: The four dimensions of CQI provided insight into both facilitators and barriers of CQI adoption in public health. Future research should compare the outcomes of public health CQI initiatives to the framework's stated facilitators and barriers. PMID:28277203

Assessing Continuous Quality Improvement in Public Health: Adapting Lessons from Healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Alex; Schwartz, Robert; Cohen, Joanna; Manson, Heather; Scott, Fran

2017-02-01

Evidence of the effect of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in public health and valid tools to judge that such effects are not fully formed. The objective was to adapt and apply Shortell et al.'s (1998) four dimensions of CQI in an examination of a public health accountability and performance management initiative in Ontario, Canada. In total, 24 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with informants from public health units and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. A web survey of public health managers in the province was also carried out. A mix of facilitators and barriers was identified. Leadership and organizational cultures, conducive to CQI success were evident. However, limitations in performance measurement and managerial discretion were key barriers. The four dimensions of CQI provided insight into both facilitators and barriers of CQI adoption in public health. Future research should compare the outcomes of public health CQI initiatives to the framework's stated facilitators and barriers. Copyright © 2017 Longwoods Publishing.

Strengthening public health research for improved health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique Gea-Izquierdo

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Research in public health is a range that includes from fundamental research to research in clinical practice, including novel advances, evaluation of results and their spreading. Actually, public health research is considered multidisciplinary incorporating numerous factors in its development. Establishing as a mainstay the scientific method, deepens in basic research, clinical epidemiological research and health services. The premise of quality and relevance is reflected in international scientific research, and in the daily work and good biomedical practices that should be included in the research as a common task. Therefore, the research must take a proactive stance of inquiry, integrating a concern planned and ongoing development of knowledge. This requires improve international coordination, seeking a balance between basic and applied research as well as science and technology. Thus research cannot be considered without innovation, weighing up the people and society needs. Acting on knowledge of scientific production processes requires greater procedures thoroughness and the effective expression of the results. It is noted as essential to establish explicit principles in review and evaluation of the adjustments of actions, always within the standards of scientific conduct and fairness of the research process. In the biomedical scientific lines it have to be consider general assessments that occur related to the impact and quality of health research, mostly leading efforts to areas that require further attention. However, other subject areas that may be deficient or with lower incidence in the population should not be overlook. Health research as a source of new applications and development provides knowledge, improving well-being. However, it is understandable without considering the needs and social demands. Therefore, in public health research and to improve the health of the population, we must refine and optimize the prevention and

Air Quality Strategies on Public Health and Health Equity in Europe-A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Li; Zhong, Buqing; Vardoulakis, Sotiris; Zhang, Fengying; Pilot, Eva; Li, Yonghua; Yang, Linsheng; Wang, Wuyi; Krafft, Thomas

2016-12-02

Air pollution is an important public health problem in Europe and there is evidence that it exacerbates health inequities. This calls for effective strategies and targeted interventions. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies relating to air pollution control on public health and health equity in Europe. Three databases, Web of Science, PubMed, and Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI), were searched for scientific publications investigating the effectiveness of strategies on outdoor air pollution control, public health and health equity in Europe from 1995 to 2015. A total of 15 scientific papers were included in the review after screening 1626 articles. Four groups of strategy types, namely, general regulations on air quality control, road traffic related emission control interventions, energy generation related emission control interventions and greenhouse gas emission control interventions for climate change mitigation were identified. All of the strategies reviewed reported some improvement in air quality and subsequently in public health. The reduction of the air pollutant concentrations and the reported subsequent health benefits were more significant within the geographic areas affected by traffic related interventions. Among the various traffic related interventions, low emission zones appeared to be more effective in reducing ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particulate matter levels. Only few studies considered implications for health equity, three out of 15, and no consistent results were found indicating that these strategies could reduce health inequity associated with air pollution. Particulate matter (particularly fine particulate matter) and NO₂ were the dominant outdoor air pollutants examined in the studies in Europe in recent years. Health benefits were gained either as a direct, intended objective or as a co-benefit from all of the strategies examined, but no

Air Quality Strategies on Public Health and Health Equity in Europe—A Systematic Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Wang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Air pollution is an important public health problem in Europe and there is evidence that it exacerbates health inequities. This calls for effective strategies and targeted interventions. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies relating to air pollution control on public health and health equity in Europe. Three databases, Web of Science, PubMed, and Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI, were searched for scientific publications investigating the effectiveness of strategies on outdoor air pollution control, public health and health equity in Europe from 1995 to 2015. A total of 15 scientific papers were included in the review after screening 1626 articles. Four groups of strategy types, namely, general regulations on air quality control, road traffic related emission control interventions, energy generation related emission control interventions and greenhouse gas emission control interventions for climate change mitigation were identified. All of the strategies reviewed reported some improvement in air quality and subsequently in public health. The reduction of the air pollutant concentrations and the reported subsequent health benefits were more significant within the geographic areas affected by traffic related interventions. Among the various traffic related interventions, low emission zones appeared to be more effective in reducing ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2 and particulate matter levels. Only few studies considered implications for health equity, three out of 15, and no consistent results were found indicating that these strategies could reduce health inequity associated with air pollution. Particulate matter (particularly fine particulate matter and NO2 were the dominant outdoor air pollutants examined in the studies in Europe in recent years. Health benefits were gained either as a direct, intended objective or as a co-benefit from all of the strategies examined

Air Quality Strategies on Public Health and Health Equity in Europe—A Systematic Review

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Li; Zhong, Buqing; Vardoulakis, Sotiris; Zhang, Fengying; Pilot, Eva; Li, Yonghua; Yang, Linsheng; Wang, Wuyi; Krafft, Thomas

2016-01-01

Air pollution is an important public health problem in Europe and there is evidence that it exacerbates health inequities. This calls for effective strategies and targeted interventions. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies relating to air pollution control on public health and health equity in Europe. Three databases, Web of Science, PubMed, and Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI), were searched for scientific publications investigating the effectiveness of strategies on outdoor air pollution control, public health and health equity in Europe from 1995 to 2015. A total of 15 scientific papers were included in the review after screening 1626 articles. Four groups of strategy types, namely, general regulations on air quality control, road traffic related emission control interventions, energy generation related emission control interventions and greenhouse gas emission control interventions for climate change mitigation were identified. All of the strategies reviewed reported some improvement in air quality and subsequently in public health. The reduction of the air pollutant concentrations and the reported subsequent health benefits were more significant within the geographic areas affected by traffic related interventions. Among the various traffic related interventions, low emission zones appeared to be more effective in reducing ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter levels. Only few studies considered implications for health equity, three out of 15, and no consistent results were found indicating that these strategies could reduce health inequity associated with air pollution. Particulate matter (particularly fine particulate matter) and NO2 were the dominant outdoor air pollutants examined in the studies in Europe in recent years. Health benefits were gained either as a direct, intended objective or as a co-benefit from all of the strategies examined, but no consistent

GIS and Public Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefania Bertazzon

2014-06-01

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

Insiders and incomers: how lay public health workers' knowledge might improve public health practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoeli, Heather; Cattan, Mima

2017-11-01

Since 2005, health trainers and other lay public health workers (LPHWs) have been increasingly active in the UK. Although elsewhere in the world LPHWs are expected to come from the communities within which they work and know that their knowledge is valued, neither is the case for LPHWs in the UK. This study sought to discover the lay knowledge of health trainers and other LPHWs, aiming to ascertain how this knowledge might more effectively be utilised within UK public health services. This paper describes a participatory and ethnographic case study research project undertaken on an anonymised urban estate in North East England. Findings were generated by a range of means including by participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Seven LPHWs took part, as did 32 other community members. This study found that the lay health knowledge of an individual UK LPHW is determined primarily by his or her position within, or in relation to, the community within which he or she works. Insider LPHWs possess an embodied knowledge and incomer LPHWs possess an experiential knowledge which, although different from one another, are essentially interpersonal in nature. Lay health knowledge can take different forms, and different LPHWs can provide different forms of lay health knowledge. Public health structures and services in the UK should make better use of all forms of LPHW knowledge, and should seek from LPHWs training on how to engage the most 'hard-to-reach' or 'difficult-to-engage' groups. Services recruiting LPHWs should decide whether they are seeking embodied insider LPHW knowledge, experiential incomer LPHW knowledge or a mixture of both. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mental health in prisons: A public health agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, A

2009-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

1998-01-01

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

Equity, social determinants and public health programmes--the case of oral health.

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Poul Erik; Kwan, Stella

2011-12-01

The WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health issued the 2008 report 'Closing the gap within a generation - health equity through action on the social determinants of health' in response to the widening gaps, within and between countries, in income levels, opportunities, life expectancy, health status, and access to health care. Most individuals and societies, irrespective of their philosophical and ideological stance, have limits as to how much unfairness is acceptable. In 2010, WHO published another important report on 'Equity, Social Determinants and Public Health Programmes', with the aim of translating knowledge into concrete, workable actions. Poor oral health was flagged as a severe public health problem. Oral disease and illness remain global problems and widening inequities in oral health status exist among different social groupings between and within countries. The good news is that means are available for breaking poverty and reduce if not eliminate social inequalities in oral health. Whether public health actions are initiated simply depends on the political will. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) and subsequent charters have emphasized the importance of policy for health, healthy environments, healthy lifestyles, and the need for orientation of health services towards health promotion and disease prevention. This report advocates that oral health for all can be promoted effectively by applying this philosophy and some major public health actions are outlined. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. G. Osipova

2016-01-01

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

An Examination of the Self-directed Online Leadership Learning Choices of Public Health Professionals: The Maternal and Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Claudia S P; Noble, Cheryl C; Jensen, Elizabeth T

To assess the self-selected asynchronous leadership module-based learning choices of public health professionals participating in the Maternal and Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute (MCH PHLI). Online module completion and evaluation data were used to determine the topics most utilized by the Fellows; whether the topics and mode of training were acceptable, relevant, and practical; and whether participant characteristics explained any usage patterns. A total of 109 enrolled Fellows in the MCH PHLI program. Module frequency of selection by Fellows; Fellows' rating scores in regard to relevance, practicality, and acceptability of module topics. All program titles were highly rated. The 5 most frequently selected module topics were employee engagement (87.2%), talent acquisition strategies (84.4%), employee motivation (79.8%), emotional intelligence (78.9%), and workforce development strategies (68.8%). The least accessed topics focused on cultural competence (15.6%), social marketing (25.7%), effective communication and advocacy (25.7%), family partnerships (25.9%), and creating learning organizations (31.2%). All module topics provided were rated as relevant, practical, and acceptable to these public health leaders. Self-directed computer-based learning was rated strongly by the MCH public health leaders in this study. Such an approach can be used to customize training to individual needs and interests. These findings suggest that inclusion of skills that enable public health leaders to effectively work with and through others was of core interest in the MCH PHLI. The finding of higher usage of topics related to workforce management can provide guidance for those developing leadership development programs for maternal and child health professionals. In addition, leadership needs and interests should be assessed regularly to ensure that competency-based leadership development guidelines are adapting to the evolving and complex challenges faced by leaders

Utility and justice in public health.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKay, Kathryn

2017-12-11

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

Public health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berg, van den A.E.

2007-01-01

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

Critical perspectives in public health

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Green, Judith; Labonte, Ronald N

2008-01-01

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

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...

Teaching Public Health Through a Pedagogy of Collegiality

Science.gov (United States)

Chávez, Vivian; Turalba, Ruby-Asuncion N.; Malik, Savita

2006-01-01

Curriculum development in masters of public health programs that effectively meets the complex challenges of the 21st century is an important part of public health education and requires purposeful thinking. Current approaches to training the public health work-force do not adequately prepare professionals to be culturally competent in addressing health disparities. Principles of community-based participatory research highlight the importance of building relationships of mutual accountability and emphasize collegial teaching. We present background and theoretical foundations for a pedagogy of collegiality and describe specific teaching methods, classroom activities, and key assignments organized around 4 essential features: principles of community organizing, building community and valuing diversity, engaging the senses, and writing across the curriculum. PMID:16735640

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

Science.gov (United States)

Keeling, Jonathan

2012-01-01

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

Public health workforce research in review: a 25-year retrospective.

Science.gov (United States)

Hilliard, Tracy M; Boulton, Matthew L

2012-05-01

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation commissioned a systematic review of public health workforce literature in fall 2010. This paper reviews public health workforce articles published from 1985 to 2010 that support development of a public health workforce research agenda, and address four public health workforce research themes: (1) diversity; (2) recruitment, retention, separation, and retirement; (3) education, training, and credentialing; and (4) pay, promotion, performance, and job satisfaction. PubMed, ERIC, and Web of Science databases were used to search for articles; Google search engine was used to identify gray literature. The study used the following inclusion criteria: (1) articles written in English published in the U.S.; (2) the main theme(s) of the article relate to at least one of the four public health workforce research themes; and (3) the document focuses on the domestic public health workforce. The literature suggests that the U.S. public health workforce is facing several urgent priorities that should be addressed, including: (1) developing an ethnically/racially diverse membership to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse nation; (2) recruiting and retaining highly trained, well-prepared employees, and succession planning to replace retirees; (3) building public health workforce infrastructure while also confronting a major shortage in the public health workforce, through increased education, training, and credentialing; and (4) ensuring competitive salaries, opportunities for career advancement, standards for workplace performance, and fostering organizational cultures which generate high levels of job satisfaction for effective delivery of services. Additional research is needed in all four thematic areas reviewed to develop well-informed, evidence-based strategies for effectively addressing critical issues facing the public health workforce. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights

The new frontier of public health education.

Science.gov (United States)

Birnbaum, David; Gretsinger, Kathryn; Ellis, Ursula

2017-02-06

Purpose The aim of this paper is to describe the experience and educational benefits of a course that has several unique educational design features. Design/methodology/approach This includes narrative description of faculty and student experience from participants in a flipped-instructional-design inter-professional education course. Findings "Improving Public Health - An Interprofessional Approach to Designing and Implementing Effective Interventions" is an undergraduate public health course open to students regardless of background. Its student activities mirror the real-life tasks and challenges of working in a public health agency, including team-building and leadership; problem and project definition and prioritization; evidence-finding and critical appraisal; written and oral presentation; and press interviews. Students successfully developed project proposals to address real problems in a wide range of communities and settings and refined those proposals through interaction with professionals from population and public health, journalism and library sciences. Practical implications Undergraduate public health education is a relatively new endeavor, and experience with this new approach may be of value to other educators. Originality/value Students in this course, journalism graduate students who conducted mock interviews with them and instructors who oversaw the course all describe unique aspects and related personal benefit from this novel approach.

Conceptualizing ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH - Public health management and leadership perspectives

OpenAIRE

Orvik, Arne

2016-01-01

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

Public health and demographic statistics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patrick, C.H.; Loebl, A.S.; Miller, F.L.; Ritchey, P.N. Jr.

1976-01-01

The purpose of this program is to assess the methodology and available data sources appropriate for use in analytical studies and environmental impact statements concerning the health effects of nuclear power plants. The techniques developed should be applicable as well to evaluation of the known risks of high levels of radiation exposure and of conflicting evidence on low-level effects, such as those associated with the normal operations of nuclear power plants. To accomplish this purpose, a two-pronged approach has been developed. The first involves a determination of the public health and demographic data sources of local, state, and federal origin that are available for use in analyses of health effects and environmental impact statements. The second part involves assessment of the methods used by epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and other scientists as found in the literature on health effects. This two-pronged approach provides a means of assessing the strength and shortcomings of studies of the impact of nuclear facilities on the health of the general population in a given locality

Community health events for enrolling uninsured into public health insurance programs: implications for health reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Scott; Tsai, Kai-ya; Nascimento, Lori M; Cousineau, Michael R

2014-01-01

To determine whether enrollment events may serve as a venue to identify eligible individuals, enroll them into health insurance programs, and educate them about the changes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will bring about. More than 2900 surveys were administered to attendees of 7 public health insurance enrollment events in California. Surveys were used to identify whether participants had any change in understanding of health reform after participating in the event. More than half of attendees at nearly all events had no knowledge about health reform before attending the event. On average, more than 80% of attendees knew more about health reform following the event and more than 80% believed that the law would benefit their families. Enrollment events can serve as an effective method to educate the public on health reform. Further research is recommended to explore in greater detail the impact community enrollment events can have on expanding public understanding of health reform.

Public Health System Research in Public Health Emergency Preparedness in the United States (2009-2015): Actionable Knowledge Base.

Science.gov (United States)

Savoia, Elena; Lin, Leesa; Bernard, Dottie; Klein, Noah; James, Lyndon P; Guicciardi, Stefano

2017-09-01

In 2008, the Institute of Medicine released a letter report identifying 4 research priority areas for public health emergency preparedness in public health system research: (1) enhancing the usefulness of training, (2) improving timely emergency communications, (3) creating and maintaining sustainable response systems, and (4) generating effectiveness criteria and metrics. To (1) identify and characterize public health system research in public health emergency preparedness produced in the United States from 2009 to 2015, (2) synthesize research findings and assess the level of confidence in these findings, and (3) describe the evolution of knowledge production in public health emergency preparedness system research. Search Methods and Selection Criteria. We reviewed and included the titles and abstracts of 1584 articles derived from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and gray literature databases that focused on the organizational or financial aspects of public health emergency preparedness activities and were grounded on empirical studies. We included 156 articles. We appraised the quality of the studies according to the study design. We identified themes during article analysis and summarized overall findings by theme. We determined level of confidence in the findings with the GRADE-CERQual tool. Thirty-one studies provided evidence on how to enhance the usefulness of training. Results demonstrated the utility of drills and exercises to enhance decision-making capabilities and coordination across organizations, the benefit of cross-sector partnerships for successfully implementing training activities, and the value of integrating evaluation methods to support training improvement efforts. Thirty-six studies provided evidence on how to improve timely communications. Results supported the use of communication strategies that address differences in access to information, knowledge, attitudes, and practices across segments of the population as well as evidence on specific

Developing a taxonomy for the science of improvement in public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, William; Lownik, Beth; Halverson, Paul; Parrotta, Carmen; Godsall, Jonathan R; Gyllstrom, Elizabeth; Gearin, Kimberly J; Mays, Glen

2012-11-01

Quality improvement (QI) methods have been used for almost a decade in public health departments to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Although results are rapidly accumulating, the evidence for the science of improvement is shallow and limited. To advance the use and effectiveness of QI in public health, it is important to develop a science of improvement using practice-based research to build an evidence base for QI projects. This purpose of this study is to advance the science of improvement in public health departments with 3 objectives: (1) establish a taxonomy of QI projects in public health, (2) categorize QI projects undertaken in health departments using the taxonomy, and (3) create an opportunity modes and effects analysis. This study is a qualitative analysis of archival data from 2 separate large databases consisting of 51 QI projects undertaken in public health departments over the last 5 years. The study involves 2 separate QI collaboratives. One includes Minnesota health departments; the other is a national collaborative. We propose a standardized case definition, common metrics, and a taxonomy of QI projects to begin building the evidence base for QI in public health and to advance the science of continuous quality improvement. All projects created an aim statement and used metrics while 53% used a specific QI model with an average of 3.25 QI techniques per project. Approximately 40% of the projects incorporated a process control methodology, and 60% of the projects identified the process from beginning to end, while 11 of 12 PHAB (Public Health Accreditation Board) domains were included. The findings provide a baseline for QI taxonomy to operationalize a science of improvement for public health departments.

New competencies for the 21st century dental public health specialist.

Science.gov (United States)

Altman, Donald; Mascarenhas, Ana Karina

2016-09-01

The American Board of Dental Public Health (ABDPH) currently recognizes 10 core competencies, which identify the skills, knowledge and understanding expected of all dental public health specialists. The last update to the competencies was 1998. The American Board of Dental Public Health, along with the American Association of Public Health Dentistry and its many partners, initiated a process to revise the competencies. This report presents the process and the new competencies for the dental public health specialist of the 21 st century. Each of the developed competencies is supported by a "statement of intent". These competencies take effect immediately. The new competencies will be used in testing candidates for specialty status beginning with the 2018 ABDPH examination. © 2016 American Association of Public Health Dentistry and American Board of Dental Public Health.

Soils and public health: the vital nexus

Science.gov (United States)

Pachepsky, Yakov

2015-04-01

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

One Health Perspectives on Emerging Public Health Threats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukhyun Ryu

2017-11-01

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

Climate Change and Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciesielski, Timothy

2017-05-01

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

Discrete Choice Experiments in Public Health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldwijk, J.

2015-01-01

One approach to improve public health is to implement preventive programs that have been proven effective and cost-effective. For any preventive program to be successful, it is of paramount importance that a large majority of the target population participates. Unfortunately, it is not self-evident

Incidence of online health information search: a useful proxy for public health risk perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Bo; Scammon, Debra L

2013-06-17

Internet users use search engines to look for information online, including health information. Researchers in medical informatics have found a high correlation of the occurrence of certain search queries and the incidence of certain diseases. Consumers' search for information about diseases is related to current health status with regard to a disease and to the social environments that shape the public's attitudes and behaviors. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which public health risk perception as demonstrated by online information searches related to a health risk can be explained by the incidence of the health risk and social components of a specific population's environment. Using an ecological perspective, we suggest that a population's general concern for a health risk is formed by the incidence of the risk and social (eg, media attention) factors related with the risk. We constructed a dataset that included state-level data from 32 states on the incidence of the flu; a number of social factors, such as media attention to the flu; private resources, such as education and health insurance coverage; public resources, such as hospital beds and primary physicians; and utilization of these resources, including inpatient days and outpatient visits. We then explored whether online information searches about the flu (seasonal and pandemic flu) can be predicted using these variables. We used factor analysis to construct indexes for sets of social factors (private resources, public resources). We then applied panel data multiple regression analysis to exploit both time-series and cross-sectional variation in the data over a 7-year period. Overall, the results provide evidence that the main effects of independent variables-the incidence of the flu (Phealth lifestyles (P=.009); and public resources, such as hospital care utilization (P=.008) and public health funds (P=.02)-have significant effects on Web searches for queries related to the flu. After

Globalization of public health law and ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, Myongsei

2012-09-01

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

A survey of the governance capacity of national public health associations to enhance population health.

Science.gov (United States)

Chauvin, James; Shukla, Mahesh; Rice, James; Rispel, Laetitia

2016-03-11

National public health associations (PHAs) are key partners with governments and communities to improve, protect and promote the public's health. Governance and organizational capacity are among the key determinants of a PHA's effectiveness as an advocate for appropriate public health policies and practice. During 2014, the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) conducted an on-line survey of its 82 PHA members, to identify the state of organizational governance of national public health associations, as well as the factors that influence optimal organizational governance. The survey consisted of 13 questions and focused on the main elements of organizational governance: cultivating accountability; engaging stakeholders; setting shared direction; stewarding resources; and, continuous governance enhancement. Four questions included a qualitative open-ended response for additional comments. The survey data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The qualitative data was analyzed using thematic content analysis Responses were received from 62 PHAs, constituting a 75.6 % response rate. The two most important factors that support governance effectiveness were a high degree of integrity and ethical behavior of the PHA's leaders (77 %) and the competence of people serving on the PHA's governing body (76 %). The lack of financial resources was considered as the most important factor that negatively affected organizational governance effectiveness (73 %). The lack of mentoring for future PHA leaders; ineffective or incompetent leadership; lack of understanding about good governance practices; and lack of accurate information for strategic planning were identified as factors influencing PHA governance effectiveness. Critical elements for PHA sustainability included diversity, gender-responsiveness and inclusive governance practices, and strategies to build the future generation of public health leaders. National PHA have a responsibility to put into place

Liberalism and Public Health Ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajczi, Alex

2016-02-01

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

New perspectives on the "silo effect": initial comparisons of network structures across public health collaboratives.

Science.gov (United States)

Bevc, Christine A; Retrum, Jessica H; Varda, Danielle M

2015-04-01

We explored to what extent "silos" (preferential partnering) persist in interorganizational boundaries despite advances in working across boundaries. We focused on organizational homophily and resulting silo effects within networks that might both facilitate and impede success in public health collaboratives (PHCs). We analyzed data from 162 PHCs with a series of exponential random graph models to determine the influence of uniform and differential homophily among organizations and to identify the propensity for partnerships with similar organizations. The results demonstrated a low presence (8%) of uniform homophily among networks, whereas a greater number (30%) of PHCs contained varying levels of differential homophily by 1 or more types of organization. We noted that the higher frequency among law enforcement, nonprofits, and public health organizations demonstrated a partner preference with similar organizations. Although we identified only a modest occurrence of partner preference in PHCs, overall success in efforts to work across boundaries might be problematic when public health members (often leaders of PHCs) exhibit the tendency to form silos.

Making public health nutrition relevant to evidence-based action.

OpenAIRE

Brunner, E.; Rayner, M.; Thorogood, M.; Margetts, B.; Hooper, L.; Summerbell, C.D.; Dowler, E.; Hewitt, G.; Robertson, A.; Wiseman, M.

2001-01-01

Public health nutrition enjoyed many breakthroughs in the\\ud 20th century – from the discovery of vitamins and the\\ud metabolic roles of some 60 macro- and micronutrients, to\\ud the effects of maternal and childhood diet on health over\\ud the life course. Moreover, the food shortages in the UK that\\ud were experienced during World War II gave the first\\ud opportunity to show that nutritional science could make a\\ud valuable contribution to public policy. However, public\\ud health nutrition is...

Enhancing crisis leadership in public health emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Deitchman, Scott

2013-10-01

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

Conceptualizing ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH - Public health management and leadership perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Orvik, Arne

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

Public Policy and Health Informatics.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Katherine

2018-04-05

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

Surfing the net for public health resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Angell, C; Hemingway, A; Hartwell, H

2011-08-01

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

Radiation hormesis, public health, and public policy: a commentary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hickey, R J; Bowers, E J; Clelland, R C

1983-03-01

Public policy affecting public health regarding effects of low-level ionizing radiations has been, and is being, determined by effects estimates based on linear or other monotonic extrapolation from high-level radiation dose-response data to presumed ecologically realistic low-level exposure effects. Such predictive, unmeasured estimates are very possibly in serious error; they are incompatible with observed low-level dose-response data that indicate a negative correlation between low-level radiation data and health effects, such as cancer mortality rates. Observed negative correlations with low-level radiation data are to be expected on the basis of evidence supporting the validity of the hormesis phenomenon. Hormesis theory, derived in part from evolutionary biology, asserts that while high levels of exposure to an agent such as ionizing radiation are indeed hazardous, ecologically realistic low levels can be stimulatory and largely beneficial. Stimulation of activities of DNA and other repair mechanisms may be involved. Although evidence of the reality of radiation hormesis has been reported in about 1000 scientific publications over the last century, this effect has been largely unrecognized. Moreover, this widespread non-acceptance of hormesis as a real-world phenomenon is usually but not always present in the case of chemical hormesis; the oversight appears systematic. The ignoring of the hormesis phenomenon seems to constitute a very serious error in modern biomedical science and in preventive medicine. A mathematical model is offered that describes the general shape of certain dose-response functions when radiation hormesis at low-level exposure is taken into consideration along with the well-known detrimental effects of high-level radiation.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia eFleckman

2015-09-01

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

The State Public Health Laboratory System.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2010-01-01

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

Tracks: A National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network Overview

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-08-04

In this podcast, Dr. Mike McGeehin, Director of CDC's Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, provides an overview of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. It highlights the Tracking Network's goal, how it will improve public health, its audience, and much more.  Created: 8/4/2009 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   Date Released: 8/4/2009.

Obesity and Depression : An Intertwined Public Health Challenge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nigatu, Yeshambel Tesfa

2015-01-01

Obesity and depression are widespread public health problems. Both problems often coexist, and can affect an individual’s health and productivity. We examine in this thesis the prospective association between obesity and depression, and their separate and combined effects on work and health

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

Science.gov (United States)

Maeckelberghe, Els L M; Schröder-Bäck, Peter

2017-10-01

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

Intercultural Competency in Public Health: A Call for Action to Incorporate Training into Public Health Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleckman, Julia M; Dal Corso, Mark; Ramirez, Shokufeh; Begalieva, Maya; Johnson, Carolyn C

2015-01-01

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

Conventional and ecological public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Rayner, G

2009-09-01

This paper suggests that current models of public health are no longer sufficient as a means for understanding the health challenges of the anthropogenic age, and argues for an alternative based upon an ecological model. The roots of this perspective originated within the Victorian era, although it found only limited expression at that time. Ecological thinking in public health has only been revived relatively recently. Derived from an analysis of obesity, this paper proposes the development of an approach to ecological public health based on four dimensions of existence: the material, the physiological, the social and the cultural-cognitive. The implications for public policy are considered.

Why feminism in public health?

Science.gov (United States)

Hammarström, A

1999-12-01

The issues raised in this editorial and exemplified within a number of the studies reported in this issue indicate new directions for public health, directions which take feminist scholarship, both outside and within the medical framework, into account. The changing potential of feminist public health, as derived from the articles in this issue, can be summarised within the following issues: new research areas, positioning women as actors, development of theoretical frameworks, reflexive theory of science, interplay between sex and gender, gender-sensitive methods, diversities among women/men, pro-feminist research on men's health and using the results for change. Thus, feminist public health represents a shift towards the new public health, with holistic and multidisciplinary activities, based on theoretical pluralism, multiple perspectives and collective actions with the aim of improving the health of gender-subordinated groups.

Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Robert A; Truman, Benedict I

2015-01-01

This article describes a framework and empirical evidence to support the argument that educational programs and policies are crucial public health interventions. Concepts of education and health are developed and linked, and we review a wide range of empirical studies to clarify pathways of linkage and explore implications. Basic educational expertise and skills, including fundamental knowledge, reasoning ability, emotional self-regulation, and interactional abilities, are critical components of health. Moreover, education is a fundamental social determinant of health - an upstream cause of health. Programs that close gaps in educational outcomes between low-income or racial and ethnic minority populations and higher-income or majority populations are needed to promote health equity. Public health policy makers, health practitioners and educators, and departments of health and education can collaborate to implement educational programs and policies for which systematic evidence indicates clear public health benefits. © The Author(s) 2015.

Applications of health information exchange information to public health practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kierkegaard, Patrick; Kaushal, Rainu; Vest, Joshua R

2014-01-01

Increased information availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness through health information exchange (HIE) can support public health practice. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served as an important justification for the US' investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature. However, no single department realized all the potential benefits of HIE identified. These findings suggest ways to improve HIE usage in public health.

Federal, provincial and territorial public health response plan for biological events.

Science.gov (United States)

McNeill, R; Topping, J

2018-01-04

The Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Public Health Response Plan for Biological Events was developed for the Public Health Network Council (PHNC). This plan outlines how the national response to public health events caused by biological agents will be conducted and coordinated, with a focus on implementation of responses led by senior-level FPT public health decision-makers. The plan was developed by an expert task group and was approved by PHNC in October, 2017. The plan describes roles, responsibilities and authorities of FPT governments for public health and emergency management, a concept of operations outlining four scalable response levels and a governance structure that aims to facilitate an efficient, timely, evidence-informed and consistent approach across jurisdictions. Improving effective engagement amongst public health, health care delivery and health emergency management authorities is a key objective of the plan.

Public Health and Mental Health Implications of Environmentally Induced Forced Migration.

Science.gov (United States)

Shultz, James M; Rechkemmer, Andreas; Rai, Abha; McManus, Katherine T

2018-03-28

ABSTRACTClimate change is increasingly forcing population displacement, better described by the phrase environmentally induced forced migration. Rising global temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, and progressive depletion of life-sustaining resources are among the drivers that stimulate population mobility. Projections forecast that current trends will rapidly accelerate. This will lead to an estimated 200 million climate migrants by the year 2050 and create dangerous tipping points for public health and security.Among the public health consequences of climate change, environmentally induced forced migration is one of the harshest and most harmful outcomes, always involving a multiplicity of profound resource and social losses and frequently exposing migrants to trauma and violence. Therefore, one particular aspect of forced migration, the effects of population displacement on mental health and psychosocial functioning, deserves dedicated focus. Multiple case examples are provided to elucidate this theme. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 7).

Public health emergencies in urban India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhabani Prasad Acharya

2018-03-01

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

On Management Matters: Why We Must Improve Public Health Management Through Action: Comment on "Management Matters: A Leverage Point for Health Systems Strengthening in Global Health".

Science.gov (United States)

Willacy, Erika; Bratton, Shelly

2015-09-30

Public health management is a pillar of public health practice. Only through effective management can research, theory, and scientific innovation be translated into successful public health action. With this in mind, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed an innovative program called Improving Public Health Management for Action (IMPACT) which aims to address this critical need by building an effective cadre of public health managers to work alongside scientists to prepare for and respond to disease threats and to effectively implement public health programs. IMPACT is a 2-year, experiential learning program that provides fellows with the management tools and opportunities to apply their new knowledge in the field, all while continuing to serve the Ministry of Health (MoH). IMPACT will launch in 2016 in 2 countries with the intent of expanding to additional countries in future years resulting in a well-trained cadre of public health managers around the world. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Influencing public health without authority.

Science.gov (United States)

Suresh, K

2012-01-01

This paper analyzes the present processes, products and needs of post-graduate public health education for the health programming, implementation and oversight responsibilities at field level and suggests some solutions for the institutes to adopt or adapt for improving the quality of their scholars. Large number of institutions has cropped up in India in the recent years to meet the growing demand of public health specialists/practitioners in various national health projects, international development partners, national and international NGOs. Throwing open MPH courses to multi-disciplinary graduate's is a new phenomenon in India and may be a two edged sword. On one hand it is advantageous to produce multi-faceted Public health postgraduates to meet the multi tasking required, on the other hand getting all of them to a common basic understanding, demystifying technical teaching and churning out products that are acceptable to the traditional health system. These Institutions can and must influence public health in the country through producing professionals of MPH/ MD degree with right attitude and skill-mix. Engaging learners in experimentation, experience sharing projects, stepping into health professionals' roles and similar activities lead to development of relatively clear and permanent neural traces in the brain. The MPH institutes may not have all efficient faculties, for which they should try to achieve this by inviting veterans in public health and professionals from corporate health industry for interface with students on a regular basis. The corporate and public health stalwarts have the capacities to transmit the winning skills and knowledge and also inspire them to adopt or adapt in order to achieve the desired goals.

Impact of regulatory science on global public health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meghal Patel

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Regulatory science plays a vital role in protecting and promoting global public health by providing the scientific basis for ensuring that food and medical products are safe, properly labeled, and effective. Regulatory science research was first developed for the determination of product safety in the early part of the 20th Century, and continues to support innovation of the processes needed for regulatory policy decisions. Historically, public health laws and regulations were enacted following public health tragedies, and often the research tools and techniques required to execute these laws lagged behind the public health needs. Throughout history, similar public health problems relating to food and pharmaceutical products have occurred in countries around the world, and have usually led to the development of equivalent solutions. For example, most countries require a demonstration of pharmaceutical safety and efficacy prior to marketing these products using approaches that are similar to those initiated in the United States. The globalization of food and medical products has created a shift in regulatory compliance such that gaps in food and medical product safety can generate international problems. Improvements in regulatory research can advance the regulatory paradigm toward a more preventative, proactive framework. These improvements will advance at a greater pace with international collaboration by providing additional resources and new perspectives for approaching and anticipating public health problems. The following is a review of how past public health disasters have shaped the current regulatory landscape, and where innovation can facilitate the shift from reactive policies to proactive policies.

Impact of regulatory science on global public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Meghal; Miller, Margaret Ann

2012-07-01

Regulatory science plays a vital role in protecting and promoting global public health by providing the scientific basis for ensuring that food and medical products are safe, properly labeled, and effective. Regulatory science research was first developed for the determination of product safety in the early part of the 20th Century, and continues to support innovation of the processes needed for regulatory policy decisions. Historically, public health laws and regulations were enacted following public health tragedies, and often the research tools and techniques required to execute these laws lagged behind the public health needs. Throughout history, similar public health problems relating to food and pharmaceutical products have occurred in countries around the world, and have usually led to the development of equivalent solutions. For example, most countries require a demonstration of pharmaceutical safety and efficacy prior to marketing these products using approaches that are similar to those initiated in the United States. The globalization of food and medical products has created a shift in regulatory compliance such that gaps in food and medical product safety can generate international problems. Improvements in regulatory research can advance the regulatory paradigm toward a more preventative, proactive framework. These improvements will advance at a greater pace with international collaboration by providing additional resources and new perspectives for approaching and anticipating public health problems. The following is a review of how past public health disasters have shaped the current regulatory landscape, and where innovation can facilitate the shift from reactive policies to proactive policies. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Twitter and Public Health (Part 1): How Individual Public Health Professionals Use Twitter for Professional Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Mark; Stetten, Nichole E; Islam, Sabrina; Pizarro, Katherine

2017-09-20

The use of social networking sites is increasingly being adopted in public health, in part, because of the barriers to funding and reduced resources. Public health professionals are using social media platforms, specifically Twitter, as a way to facilitate professional development. The objective of this study was to identify public health professionals using Twitter and to analyze how they use this platform to enhance their formal and informal professional development within the context of public health. Keyword searches were conducted to identify and invite potential participants to complete a survey related to their use of Twitter for public health and professional experiences. Data regarding demographic attributes, Twitter usage, and qualitative information were obtained through an anonymous Web-based survey. Open-response survey questions were analyzed using the constant comparison method. "Using Twitter makes it easier to expand my networking opportunities" and "I find Twitter useful for professional development" scored highest, with a mean score of 4.57 (standard deviation [SD] 0.74) and 4.43 (SD 0.76) on a 5-point Likert scale. Analysis of the qualitative data shows the emergence of the following themes for why public health professionals mostly use Twitter: (1) geography, (2) continuing education, (3) professional gain, and (4) communication. For public health professionals in this study, Twitter is a platform best used for their networking and professional development. Furthermore, the use of Twitter allows public health professionals to overcome a series of barriers and enhances opportunities for growth. ©Mark Hart, Nichole E Stetten, Sabrina Islam, Katherine Pizarro. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 20.09.2017.

Public health terminology: Hindrance to a Health in All Policies approach?

Science.gov (United States)

Synnevåg, Ellen S; Amdam, Roar; Fosse, Elisabeth

2018-02-01

National public health policies in Norway are based on a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach. At the local level, this means that public health, as a cross-sectional responsibility, should be implemented in all municipal sectors by integrating public health policies in municipal planning and management systems. The paper investigates these local processes, focusing on the use of public health terminology and how this terminology is translated from national to local contexts. We ask whether the terms 'public health' and 'public health work' are suitable when implementing an HiAP approach. A qualitative case study based on analyses of interviews and planning documents was performed in three Norwegian municipalities. The results present dilemmas associated with using public health terminology when implementing an HiAP approach. On the one hand, the terms are experienced as wide, complex, advanced and unnecessary. On the other hand, the terms are experienced as important for a systematic approach towards understanding public health ideology and cross-sectional responsibility. One municipality used alternative terminology. This paper promotes debate about the appropriateness of using the terms 'public health' and 'public health work' at the local level. It suggests that adaptation is suitable and necessary, unless it compromises knowledge, responsibility and a systematic approach. This study concludes that the use of terminology is a central factor when implementing the Norwegian Public Health Act at the local level.

Periodontal health and global public health

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Poul E; Baehni, Pierre C

2012-01-01

Chronic diseases are a growing burden to people, to health-care systems and to societies across the world. The rapid increase in the burden of chronic diseases is particularly prevalent in the developing countries. Periodontal disease is one of the two most important oral diseases contributing...... to the global burden of chronic disease. In addition to social determinants, periodontal health status is related to several proximal factors. Modifiable risk factors, such as tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet and nutrition, obesity, psychological stress and insufficient personal....../oral hygiene, are important and these principal risk factors for periodontal disease are shared by other chronic diseases. The present monograph is devoted to the existing evidence on the practice of public health related to periodontal health. Public health is defined as the process of mobilizing and engaging...

Evolutionary public health: introducing the concept.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-07-29

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

Developing a comprehensive curriculum for public health advocacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hines, Ayelet; Jernigan, David H

2012-11-01

There is a substantial gap in public health school curricula regarding advocacy. Development of such a curriculum faces three challenges: faculty lack advocacy skills and experience; the public health literature on effective advocacy is limited; and yet a successful curriculum must be scalable to meet the needs of approximately 9,000 public health students graduating each year. To meet these challenges, we propose a 100-hour interactive online curriculum in five sections: campaigning and organizing, policy making and lobbying, campaign communications, new media, and fund-raising. We outline the content for individual modules in each of these sections, describe how the curriculum would build on existing interactive learning and social media technologies, and provide readers the opportunity to "test-drive" excerpts of a module on "grasstops" organizing. Developing advocacy skills and expertise is critical to meeting the challenges of public health today, and we provide a blueprint for how such training might be brought to scale in the field.

Human Health Screening and Public Health Significance of ...

Science.gov (United States)

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

[Social marketing and public health].

Science.gov (United States)

Arcaro, P; Mannocci, A; Saulle, R; Miccoli, S; Marzuillo, C; La Torre, G

2013-01-01

Social marketing uses the principles and techniques of commercial marketing by applying them to the complex social context in order to promote changes (cognitive; of action; behavioral; of values) among the target population in the public interest. The advent of Internet has radically modified the communication process, and this transformation also involved medical-scientific communication. Medical journals, health organizations, scientific societies and patient groups are increasing the use of the web and of many social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Google, YouTube) as channels to release scientific information to doctors and patients quickly. In recent years, even Healthcare in Italy reported a considerable application of the methods and techniques of social marketing, above all for health prevention and promotion. Recently the association for health promotion "Social marketing and health communication" has been established to promote an active dialogue between professionals of social marketing and public health communication, as well as among professionals in the field of communication of the companies involved in the "health sector". In the field of prevention and health promotion it is necessary to underline the theme of the growing distrust in vaccination practices. Despite the irrefutable evidence of the efficacy and safety of vaccines, the social-cultural transformation together with the overcoming of compulsory vaccination and the use of noninstitutional information sources, have generated confusion among citizens that tend to perceive compulsory vaccinations as needed and safe, whereas recommended vaccinations as less important. Moreover, citizens scarcely perceive the risk of disease related to the effectiveness of vaccines. Implementing communication strategies, argumentative and persuasive, borrowed from social marketing, also for the promotion of vaccines is a priority of the health system. A typical example of the application of social marketing, as

Child public health

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Blair, Mitch

2010-01-01

"Despite children making up around a quarter of the population, the first edition of this book was the first to focus on a public health approach to the health and sickness of children and young people...

Interagency task force on the health effects of ionizing radiation: report of the work group on public information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-06-01

The health effects of ionizing radiation recently have been the focus of increased public concern. In response to this concern, in a May 9, 1978, memorandum the White House requested the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to coordinate an interagency program that would, among other things, ensure public awareness and knowledge of the health effects of ionizing radiation. As a result, the Interagency Task Force on Ionizing Radiation was formed. The Information Work Group of the Task Force was asked to outline a public information program to meet the needs of the general public, the health and scientific community, workers, and other persons exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation in the past and at present or who may be exposed in the future. The Work Group is composed of 16 members, each representing an agency participating on the Interagency Task Force on Ionizing Radiation. The Work Group members used the draft Reports of the Science Work Group, the Radiation Exposure Reduction Work Group, the Care and Benefits Work Group, and the Privacy Work Group as a basis for developing the Information Report. In addition, the Information Work Group conducted a preliminary review of existing federal information programs. Meetings were held with representatives of environmental and trade groups, unions, and professional societies to help define the dimensions and priorities of a public information program

[Local public health networks. Apropos of an experience].

Science.gov (United States)

Guix, Joan; Bocio, Ana; Ferràs, Joaquim; Margalef, Jordi; Osanz, Anna C; Serrano, Mónica; Sentenà, Anna

2013-01-01

Public health action on a territory is complex and requires the involvement of multiple actors, who do not always act coordinately. Networks of organizations structures including the whole of the local actors facilitate the generation of synergies and enable greater effectiveness and efficiency of the joint action from the different actors on a same landscape. We present 3 years experience of four Public Health Committees in a region of Catalonia (Spain), composed by the main actors in public health planning. Each of the committees is organized on a plenary and working groups on issues arising from the regional health diagnosis, and coincident with the Health Plan of the Region. Coordination in no case implies the loss or dilution of the firm of the actor generator of intervention initiative in public health, but their empowerment and collaboration by the other actors. In conclusion welcomes the creation of a culture of collaboration and synergies between the different organizations concerned. Lack of specificity is observed in establishing operational objectives, and the need for greater coordination and involvement of the components of the various working groups. Copyright © 2012 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Can food be addictive? Public health and policy implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Gearhardt, Ashley N; Grilo, Carlos M; DiLeone, Ralph J; Brownell, Kelly D; Potenza, Marc N

2011-07-01

Data suggest that hyperpalatable foods may be capable of triggering an addictive process. Although the addictive potential of foods continues to be debated, important lessons learned in reducing the health and economic consequences of drug addiction may be especially useful in combating food-related problems. In the current paper, we review the potential application of policy and public health approaches that have been effective in reducing the impact of addictive substances to food-related problems. Corporate responsibility, public health approaches, environmental change and global efforts all warrant strong consideration in reducing obesity and diet-related disease. Although there exist important differences between foods and addictive drugs, ignoring analogous neural and behavioral effects of foods and drugs of abuse may result in increased food-related disease and associated social and economic burdens. Public health interventions that have been effective in reducing the impact of addictive drugs may have a role in targeting obesity and related diseases. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Public health has no place in undergraduate medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodward, A

1994-12-01

It is time to review the reasons for including public health in medical education. Undergraduate medical students are interested above all in the diagnosis and treatment of individual cases of disease; population-based health care means little to most students, and is seldom regarded as important. Should public health teachers concentrate their efforts in other areas, where students are more receptive? This paper presents arguments for and against the proposition that public health has no place in the undergraduate medical course. In favour of the proposition, it is argued that the clinical imperative is so firmly entrenched in the minds of students and in the cultures of medical schools that public health will always be diminished and elbowed to one side in medical curricula. Moreover, the major gains in the health of populations will be won in other arenas. Therefore public health should rupture the links with medical schools that were formed in another age and, in any event, are now weakening as public health strikes a new identity. The effort that currently goes into teaching unwilling medical students would have better returns if it was invested elsewhere. Against the proposition, it is argued that the health of populations will not be improved without participation of all groups with an interest in and an influence on health care. No group is more influential in the organization and delivery of health services than the medical profession, so it would be foolish for public health to withdraw from medical education. Moreover, effective medical practice requires an ability to think in terms of populations as well as individuals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Impact of regulatory science on global public health

OpenAIRE

Meghal Patel; Margaret Ann Miller

2012-01-01

Regulatory science plays a vital role in protecting and promoting global public health by providing the scientific basis for ensuring that food and medical products are safe, properly labeled, and effective. Regulatory science research was first developed for the determination of product safety in the early part of the 20th Century, and continues to support innovation of the processes needed for regulatory policy decisions. Historically, public health laws and regulations were enacted followi...

[Marketing as a tool to increase the effectiveness of public health plans. 2008 SESPAS Report].

Science.gov (United States)

Beerli-Palacio, Asunción; Martín-Santana, Josefa D; Porta, Miquel

2008-04-01

Recent years have seen a steady increase in social marketing applied to health with the aim of increasing public awareness and changing people's behavior. Programs or actions based on the principles of social marketing have been shown to be effective in improving public health. However, that is not the general rule in Spain, where health policies have been based on health plans directed more to economic efficiency than to citizens' needs. For a health marketing program to be effective, the following factors are necessary: 1) the program has a long-term temporal horizon for action; 2) the objectives are established in terms of behavioral changes; 3) market research is used as a source of information; 4) different actions are established according to the segments identified as targets; 5) the program is operationalized in the four variables of the marketing mix, namely, product, price, distribution and communication, and is not only based on advertising campaigns; 6) the core of the program is exchange, understood as the factors that motivate people to change in return for the promise of something beneficial to them; 7) the factors or forces that compete with the desired behavioral changes are neutralized, and 8) businesses' social responsibility is used as a mechanism to reinforce health improvement programs. The design of health marketing programs should include definition of strategic and operational actions aimed not only at potential adopters of the desired behavior but also at all agents who may help or hinder behavioral change (health professionals, the pharmaceutical industry, politicians, the advertising industry, and products and services with health-challenging objectives).

Protecting Health and Saving Lives: The Part-Time/Internet-Based Master of Public Health Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Linda; Gresh, Kathy; Vanchiswaran, Rohini; Werapitiya, Deepthi

2007-01-01

This article discusses the part-time/Internet-based Master of Public Health (MPH) program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH). The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was the first school of public health in the United States to offer a Master of Public Health program via the Internet. The JHSPH MPH Program…

Citizen Science for public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Den Broeder, Lea; Devilee, Jeroen; Van Oers, Hans; Schuit, A Jantine; Wagemakers, Annemarie

2016-12-23

Community engagement in public health policy is easier said than done. One reason is that public health policy is produced in a complex process resulting in policies that may appear not to link up to citizen perspectives. We therefore address the central question as to whether citizen engagement in knowledge production could enable inclusive health policy making. Building on non-health work fields, we describe different types of citizen engagement in scientific research, or 'Citizen Science'. We describe the challenges that Citizen Science poses for public health, and how these could be addressed. Despite these challenges, we expect that Citizen Science or similar approaches such as participatory action research and 'popular epidemiology' may yield better knowledge, empowered communities, and improved community health. We provide a draft framework to enable evaluation of Citizen Science in practice, consisting of a descriptive typology of different kinds of Citizen Science and a causal framework that shows how Citizen Science in public health might benefit both the knowledge produced as well as the 'Citizen Scientists' as active participants. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

77 FR 38296 - Draft Public Health Action Plan-A National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-27

... Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, Attn: National Public Health Action Plan... Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Reproductive Health, 4770 Buford Highway NE... topic's public health importance, existing challenges, and opportunities for action to decrease the...

Population mental health: evidence, policy, and public health practice

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Cohen, Neal L; Galea, Sandro

2011-01-01

... on population mental health with public mental health policy and practice. Issues covered in the book include the influence of mental health policies on the care and well-­ being of individuals with mental illness, the interconnectedness of physical and mental disorders, the obstacles to adopting a public health orientation to mental health/mental ill...

Barriers to partnership working in public health: a qualitative study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Carlton Taylor-Robinson

Full Text Available Public health provision in England is undergoing dramatic changes. Currently established partnerships are thus likely to be significantly disrupted by the radical reforms outlined in the Public Health White Paper. We therefore explored the process of partnership working in public health, in order to better understand the potential opportunities and threats associated with the proposed changes.70 participants took part in an in-depth qualitative study involving 40 semi-structured interviews and three focus group discussions. Participants were senior and middle grade public health decision makers working in Primary Care Trusts, Local Authorities, Department of Health, academia, General Practice and Hospital Trusts and the third sector in England. Despite mature arrangements for partnership working in many areas, and much support for joint working in principle, many important barriers exist. These include cultural issues such as a lack of shared values and language, the inherent complexity of intersectoral collaboration for public health, and macro issues including political and resource constraints. There is particular uncertainty and anxiety about the future of joint working relating to the availability and distribution of scarce and diminishing financial resources. There is also the concern that existing effective collaborative networks may be completely disrupted as the proposed changes unfold. The extent to which the proposed reforms might mitigate or potentiate these issues remains unclear. However the threats currently remain more salient than opportunities.The current re-organisation of public health offers real opportunity to address some of the barriers to partnership working identified in this study. However, significant threats exist. These include the breakup of established networks, and the risk of cost cutting on effective public health interventions.

Stigmatization and denormalization as public health policies: some Kantian thoughts.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Richard

2014-10-01

The stigmatization of some groups of people, whether for some characteristic they possess or some behavior they engage in, will initially strike most of us as wrong. For many years, academic work in public health, which focused mainly on the stigmatization of HIV-positive individuals, reinforced this natural reaction to stigmatization, by pointing out the negative health effects of stigmatization. But more recently, the apparent success of anti-smoking campaigns which employ stigmatization of smokers has raised questions about whether stigmatization may sometimes be justified, because of its positive effects on public health. Discussion of the issue so far has focused on consequences, and on some Kantian considerations regarding the status of the stigmatized. In this article, I argue that further Kantian considerations regarding the treatment of the general public (the potential stigmatizers) also count against any public health policy involving stigmatization. Attempts to encourage stigmatization are likely to fail to appeal to the rational decision-making abilities of the general public, and the creation of stigmatized groups (even if they are stigmatized for their voluntary behavior) is an obstacle to the self-improvement of members of the general public. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Future of Public Health Informatics: Alternative Scenarios and Recommended Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Edmunds, Margo; Thorpe, Lorna; Sepulveda, Martin; Bezold, Clem; Ross, David A.

2014-01-01

Background: In October 2013, the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII) and Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) convened a multidisciplinary group of experts to evaluate forces shaping public health informatics (PHI) in the United States, with the aim of identifying upcoming challenges and opportunities. The PHI workshop was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of its larger strategic planning process for public health and primary care. Workshop Context: During the two-day workshop, nine experts from the public and private sectors analyzed and discussed the implications of four scenarios regarding the United States economy, health care system, information technology (IT) sector, and their potential impacts on public health in the next 10 years, by 2023. Workshop participants considered the potential role of the public health sector in addressing population health challenges in each scenario, and then identified specific informatics goals and strategies needed for the sector to succeed in this role. Recommendations and Conclusion: Participants developed recommendations for the public health informatics field and for public health overall in the coming decade. These included the need to rely more heavily on intersectoral collaborations across public and private sectors, to improve data infrastructure and workforce capacity at all levels of the public health enterprise, to expand the evidence base regarding effectiveness of informatics-based public health initiatives, and to communicate strategically with elected officials and other key stakeholders regarding the potential for informatics-based solutions to have an impact on population health. PMID:25848630

Applications of health information exchange information to public health practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kierkegaard, Patrick; Kaushal, Rainu; Vest, Joshua R.

2014-01-01

Health information exchange (HIE) can support several aspects of public health practice by increasing the availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness individual-level patient information. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served...... as an important justification for the US’ investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using...... qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. We derived the codes for the template analysis through a literature review. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature...

Mind the public health leadership gap: the opportunities and challenges of engaging high-profile individuals in the public health agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2014-12-01

Public health leadership has been criticized as being ineffective. The public health profession is relatively small. Critics have argued that there is over-emphasis on technical aspects and insufficient use of the 'community as a source of public health actions'. The paper analyses the resources, motivations and skills utilized by high-profile individuals who have made contributions to the public health agenda. The phenomenon of celebrity diplomacy is critiqued. Two exemplars are discussed: Jamie Oliver and Michael Bloomberg. The risks of involving celebrities are also considered. Leaders for public health demonstrate 'a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will' to make the 'right decisions happen'. While they may have ego or self-interest, in this context, at least, they channel their ambition for the public health cause, not themselves. Leaders from outside public health may have no understanding of what public health is nor consider their work as part of a wider public health agenda. It is important to understand why they become leaders for public health. This will inform a strategy for how others may be encouraged to collaborate for public health causes. Some key points for working with high-profile leaders for public health are identified. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Public Health Services for Foreign Workers in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Noh, Normah Awang; Wahab, Haris Abd; Bakar Ah, Siti Hajar Abu; Islam, M Rezaul

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to know the status of the foreign workers' access to public health services in Malaysia based on their utilization pattern. The utilization pattern covered a number of areas, such as frequency of using health services, status of using health services, choice and types of health institutions, and cost of health treatment. The study was conducted on six government hospitals in the Klang Valley area in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data were collected from 600 foreign patients working in the country, using an interview method with a structured questionnaire. The results showed that the foreign workers' access to public health services was very low. The findings would be an important guideline to formulate an effective health service policy for the foreign workers in Malaysia.

The Public Health Responsibility Deal: brokering a deal for public health, but on whose terms?

Science.gov (United States)

Panjwani, Clare; Caraher, Martin

2014-02-01

Coalitions of multinational food and drink businesses have pledged to reformulate their products and to market them responsibly. Largely business-led and self-regulated, the integrity of these voluntary initiatives has been questioned. The Public Health Responsibility Deal in England is an example of a voluntary initiative that is government-led. Does this approach provide evidence that with public leadership there is potential for voluntary actions to deliver meaningful results for public health? The subject of the research is the calorie reduction initiative of the Responsibility Deal. Source material was obtained primarily through a series of UK Freedom of Information requests and comprises previously unpublished Department of Health documentation relating to relevant meetings held during 2011 and 2012. The Responsibility Deal approach to calorie reduction deliberately involves the food industry in the specification of the measures it is to implement (reformulation and portion control). Finding the common ground between private and public interests has resulted in the deflection of public health objectives and the preclusion of adequate monitoring and evaluation. The Responsibility Deal approach is fundamentally flawed in its expectation that industry will take voluntary actions that prioritise public health interests above its own. Being government-led counts for little in the absence of sanctions to drive compliance. Instead the initiative affords private interests the opportunity to influence in their favour the public health policies and strategies that affect their products. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Public health metaphors in Australian policy on asylum seekers.

Science.gov (United States)

Koutroulis, Glenda

2009-02-01

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

The Effect of Child Health Insurance Access on Schooling: Evidence from Public Insurance Expansions. NBER Working Paper No. 20178

Science.gov (United States)

Cohodes, Sarah; Kleiner, Samuel; Lovenheim, Michael F.; Grossman, Daniel

2014-01-01

Public health insurance programs comprise a large share of federal and state government expenditure, and these programs are due to be expanded as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Despite a large literature on the effects of these programs on health care utilization and health outcomes, little prior work has examined the long-term effects of…

How to characterize the public health workforce based on essential public health operations? environmental public health workers in the Netherlands as an example

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jambroes, M.; van Honschooten, R.; Doosje, J.; Stronks, K.; Essink-Bot, M. L.

2015-01-01

Public health workforce planning and policy development require adequate data on the public health workforce and the services provided. If existing data sources do not contain the necessary information, or apply to part of the workforce only, primary data collection is required. The aim of this

Visualizing value for money in public health interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Leigh-Hunt, Nicholas; Cooper, Duncan; Furber, Andrew; Bevan, Gwyn; Gray, Muir

2018-01-23

The Socio-Technical Allocation of Resources (STAR) has been developed for value for money analysis of health services through stakeholder workshops. This article reports on its application for prioritization of interventions within public health programmes. The STAR tool was used by identifying costs and service activity for interventions within commissioned public health programmes, with benefits estimated from the literature on economic evaluations in terms of costs per Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs); consensus on how these QALY values applied to local services was obtained with local commissioners. Local cost-effectiveness estimates could be made for some interventions. Methodological issues arose from gaps in the evidence base for other interventions, inability to closely match some performance monitoring data with interventions, and disparate time horizons of published QALY data. Practical adjustment for these issues included using population prevalences and utility states where intervention specific evidence was lacking, and subdivision of large contracts into specific intervention costs using staffing ratios. The STAR approach proved useful in informing commissioning decisions and understanding the relative value of local public health interventions. Further work is needed to improve robustness of the process and develop a visualization tool for use by public health departments. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

Personalism for public health ethics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Petrini

2010-06-01

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

Personalism for public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrini, Carlo; Gainotti, Sabina; Requena, Pablo

2010-01-01

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

Petroleum Scarcity and Public Health: Considerations for Local Health Departments

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Cindy L.; Caine, Virginia A.; McKee, Mary; Shirley, Lillian M.; Links, Jonathan M.

2011-01-01

Recognition of petroleum as a finite global resource has spurred increasing interest in the intersection between petroleum scarcity and public health. Local health departments represent a critical yet highly vulnerable component of the public health infrastructure. These frontline agencies currently face daunting resource constraints and rely heavily on petroleum for vital population-based health services. Against this backdrop, petroleum scarcity may necessitate reconfiguring local public health service approaches. We describe the anticipated impacts of petroleum scarcity on local health departments, recommend the use of the 10 Essential Public Health Services as a framework for examining attendant operational challenges and potential responses to them, and describe approaches that local health departments and their stakeholders could consider as part of timely planning efforts. PMID:21778471

Public health and the Australian Constitution.

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, C

1995-06-01

The powers vested in the Commonwealth Government by the Constitution contain the basis of much public health law in Australia. Yet this is not often recognised; public health law is generally, and historically, seen as the states' responsibility. This article surveys the broad range of constitutional powers that the Commonwealth Government can rely upon to make public health laws. It considers areas of power specified in the Constitution, such as those with respect to external affairs and corporations. Decisions of the High Court have interpreted the various heads of power very broadly and have significantly enhanced the potential of the Commonwealth to pass detailed and far-reaching public health law. To this fact must be added the taxation arrangements in Australia and, with these, the very extensive control that the Commonwealth can exercise through its monopoly of major taxation sources. Its power to make financial arrangements can tie dependent states into specific policies (including public health policies) as a condition of the grants made to them. However, these broad powers may be limited in some important respects: the High Court is increasingly identifying rights and freedoms in the Constitution that may increasingly bring both state and Commonwealth public health law under challenge. Despite this possibility, the Commonwealth may prove to be our most significant source of public health law, and public health policy makers should recognise the full potential of its power to make such laws.

A public health decision support system model using reasoning methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Mera, Maritza; González, Carolina; Blobel, Bernd

2015-01-01

Public health programs must be based on the real health needs of the population. However, the design of efficient and effective public health programs is subject to availability of information that can allow users to identify, at the right time, the health issues that require special attention. The objective of this paper is to propose a case-based reasoning model for the support of decision-making in public health. The model integrates a decision-making process and case-based reasoning, reusing past experiences for promptly identifying new population health priorities. A prototype implementation of the model was performed, deploying the case-based reasoning framework jColibri. The proposed model contributes to solve problems found today when designing public health programs in Colombia. Current programs are developed under uncertain environments, as the underlying analyses are carried out on the basis of outdated and unreliable data.

Insights in public health: systems thinking: basic constructs, application challenges, misuse in health, and how public health leaders can pave the way forward.

Science.gov (United States)

Canyon, Deon V

2013-12-01

The strengthening of health systems is fundamental to improving health outcomes, crisis preparedness, and our capacity to meet global challenges, such as accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, reducing maternal and child mortality, combating HIV, malaria and other diseases, limiting the effects of a new influenza pandemic, and responding appropriately to climate change. To meet these complex needs, the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health, the World Health Organization, and the Institute of Medicine promote systems thinking as the only sensible means to respond to issues that greatly exceed the normal capacity of health and medical services. This paper agrees with the application of systems thinking but argues that health organizations have misunderstood and misapplied systems thinking to the extent that the term has become meaningless. This paper presents the basic constructs of systems thinking, explains why systems thinking has been misapplied, examines some misapplications of systems thinking in health, and suggests how the concept can be applied correctly to medicine and public health to achieve the reason it was adopted in the first place.

Addressing medical absenteeism in pre-vocational secondary students : Effectiveness of a public health intervention, using a quasi-experimental design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanneste-van Zandvoort, Y.T.M.; Mathijssen, J.J.P.; Van de Goor, L.A.M.; Rots – de Vries, C.M.; Feron, F.J.M.

2016-01-01

Background Students’ health and school absenteeism affect educational level, with adverse effects on their future health. This interdependence is reflected in medical absenteeism. In the Netherlands, a public health intervention has been developed to address medical absenteeism in pre-vocational

How much of the income inequality effect can be explained by public policy? Evidence from oral health in Brazil.