WorldWideScience

Sample records for public health resources

  1. 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.

  2. PERFORMANCE PREMISES FOR HUMAN RESOURCES FROM PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amalia-Luisa PUPĂZĂ

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Improving the performance of health sector human resources is a goal pursued by all developed or developing countries. However, the lack of human resources planning and lack of clear and transparent human resources policies may lead to a crisis in this area. Human resource planning should be a priority in terms of health policies. In Romania, the lack of a planning concept and the lack of a policy on human resources has led to the actual context, with a human resources crisis of public health organizations. The role that human resources play in the health care system is indisputable. Essential to achieve quality performance in health care is human resources management. To overcome the human resources crisis that public health organizations in Romania is facing , specialists in the field have made several key recommendations: development of a coherent policy formation, development and allocation of human resources in health, increasing the number of medical staff and opportunities of professional career development in the medical field. Health system reform involves changing some aspects of employment, working conditions, degree of decentralization of management, skills, salary system and staff motivation.

  3. Empowering health personnel for decentralized health planning in India: The Public Health Resource Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prasad Vandana

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The Public Health Resource Network is an innovative distance-learning course in training, motivating, empowering and building a network of health personnel from government and civil society groups. Its aim is to build human resource capacity for strengthening decentralized health planning, especially at the district level, to improve accountability of health systems, elicit community participation for health, ensure equitable and accessible health facilities and to bring about convergence in programmes and services. The question confronting health systems in India is how best to reform, revitalize and resource primary health systems to deliver different levels of service aligned to local realities, ensuring universal coverage, equitable access, efficiency and effectiveness, through an empowered cadre of health personnel. To achieve these outcomes it is essential that health planning be decentralized. Districts vary widely according to the specific needs of their population, and even more so in terms of existing interventions and available resources. Strategies, therefore, have to be district-specific, not only because health needs vary, but also because people's perceptions and capacities to intervene and implement programmes vary. In centrally designed plans there is little scope for such adaptation and contextualization, and hence decentralized planning becomes crucial. To undertake these initiatives, there is a strong need for trained, motivated, empowered and networked health personnel. It is precisely at this level that a lack of technical knowledge and skills and the absence of a supportive network or adequate educational opportunities impede personnel from making improvements. The absence of in-service training and of training curricula that reflect field realities also adds to this, discouraging health workers from pursuing effective strategies. The Public Health Resource Network is thus an attempt to reach out to motivated

  4. Empowering health personnel for decentralized health planning in India: The Public Health Resource Network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalita, Anuska; Zaidi, Sarover; Prasad, Vandana; Raman, V R

    2009-07-20

    The Public Health Resource Network is an innovative distance-learning course in training, motivating, empowering and building a network of health personnel from government and civil society groups. Its aim is to build human resource capacity for strengthening decentralized health planning, especially at the district level, to improve accountability of health systems, elicit community participation for health, ensure equitable and accessible health facilities and to bring about convergence in programmes and services. The question confronting health systems in India is how best to reform, revitalize and resource primary health systems to deliver different levels of service aligned to local realities, ensuring universal coverage, equitable access, efficiency and effectiveness, through an empowered cadre of health personnel. To achieve these outcomes it is essential that health planning be decentralized. Districts vary widely according to the specific needs of their population, and even more so in terms of existing interventions and available resources. Strategies, therefore, have to be district-specific, not only because health needs vary, but also because people's perceptions and capacities to intervene and implement programmes vary. In centrally designed plans there is little scope for such adaptation and contextualization, and hence decentralized planning becomes crucial. To undertake these initiatives, there is a strong need for trained, motivated, empowered and networked health personnel. It is precisely at this level that a lack of technical knowledge and skills and the absence of a supportive network or adequate educational opportunities impede personnel from making improvements. The absence of in-service training and of training curricula that reflect field realities also adds to this, discouraging health workers from pursuing effective strategies. The Public Health Resource Network is thus an attempt to reach out to motivated though often isolated health

  5. Public health human resources: a comparative analysis of policy documents in two Canadian provinces

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Amidst concerns regarding the capacity of the public health system to respond rapidly and appropriately to threats such as pandemics and terrorism, along with changing population health needs, governments have focused on strengthening public health systems. A key factor in a robust public health system is its workforce. As part of a nationally funded study of public health renewal in Canada, a policy analysis was conducted to compare public health human resources-relevant documents in two Canadian provinces, British Columbia (BC) and Ontario (ON), as they each implement public health renewal activities. Methods A content analysis of policy and planning documents from government and public health-related organizations was conducted by a research team comprised of academics and government decision-makers. Documents published between 2003 and 2011 were accessed (BC = 27; ON = 20); documents were either publicly available or internal to government and excerpted with permission. Documentary texts were deductively coded using a coding template developed by the researchers based on key health human resources concepts derived from two national policy documents. Results Documents in both provinces highlighted the importance of public health human resources planning and policies; this was particularly evident in early post-SARS documents. Key thematic areas of public health human resources identified were: education, training, and competencies; capacity; supply; intersectoral collaboration; leadership; public health planning context; and priority populations. Policy documents in both provinces discussed the importance of an educated, competent public health workforce with the appropriate skills and competencies for the effective and efficient delivery of public health services. Conclusion This policy analysis identified progressive work on public health human resources policy and planning with early documents providing an inventory of issues to be

  6. Public health human resources: a comparative analysis of policy documents in two Canadian provinces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regan, Sandra; MacDonald, Marjorie; Allan, Diane E; Martin, Cheryl; Peroff-Johnston, Nancy

    2014-02-24

    Amidst concerns regarding the capacity of the public health system to respond rapidly and appropriately to threats such as pandemics and terrorism, along with changing population health needs, governments have focused on strengthening public health systems. A key factor in a robust public health system is its workforce. As part of a nationally funded study of public health renewal in Canada, a policy analysis was conducted to compare public health human resources-relevant documents in two Canadian provinces, British Columbia (BC) and Ontario (ON), as they each implement public health renewal activities. A content analysis of policy and planning documents from government and public health-related organizations was conducted by a research team comprised of academics and government decision-makers. Documents published between 2003 and 2011 were accessed (BC = 27; ON = 20); documents were either publicly available or internal to government and excerpted with permission. Documentary texts were deductively coded using a coding template developed by the researchers based on key health human resources concepts derived from two national policy documents. Documents in both provinces highlighted the importance of public health human resources planning and policies; this was particularly evident in early post-SARS documents. Key thematic areas of public health human resources identified were: education, training, and competencies; capacity; supply; intersectoral collaboration; leadership; public health planning context; and priority populations. Policy documents in both provinces discussed the importance of an educated, competent public health workforce with the appropriate skills and competencies for the effective and efficient delivery of public health services. This policy analysis identified progressive work on public health human resources policy and planning with early documents providing an inventory of issues to be addressed and later documents providing

  7. 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.

  8. Governance in managing public health resources in Brazilian municipalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avelino, George; Barberia, Lorena G; Biderman, Ciro

    2014-09-01

    This study contributes to the health governance discussion by presenting a new data set that allows for comparisons of the management of health resources among Brazilian municipalities. Research on Brazil is particularly important as the provision of health services was decentralized in 1988 and since then municipalities have been given greater responsibilities for the management of fiscal resources for public health service provision. Based on detailed information on corruption practices (such as over-invoicing, illegal procurement and fake receipts) from audit reports of health programmes in 980 randomly selected Brazilian municipalities, this study deepens understanding of the relationship between health governance institutions and the incidence of corruption at the local level by exploring the extent to which horizontal and vertical accountabilities contribute to reducing the propensity of municipal government officials to divert public health resources for private gain. The results of our multiple regression analysis suggest that the experience of health municipal councils is correlated with reductions in the incidence of corruption in public health programmes. This impact is significant over time, with each additional year of health council experience reducing corruption incidence levels by 2.1% from baseline values. The findings reported in this study do not rely on the subjectivity of corruption measures which usually conflate the actual incidence of corruption with its perception by informants. Based on our results, we provide recommendations that can assist policy makers to reduce corruption. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2013; all rights reserved.

  9. Public sector reform and demand for human resources for health (HRH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lethbridge Jane

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This article considers some of the effects of health sector reform on human resources for health (HRH in developing countries and countries in transition by examining the effect of fiscal reform and the introduction of decentralisation and market mechanisms to the health sector. Fiscal reform results in pressure to measure the staff outputs of the health sector. Financial decentralisation often leads to hospitals becoming "corporatised" institutions, operating with business principles but remaining in the public sector. The introduction of market mechanisms often involves the formation of an internal market within the health sector and market testing of different functions with the private sector. This has immediate implications for the employment of health workers in the public sector, because the public sector may reduce its workforce if services are purchased from other sectors or may introduce more short-term and temporary employment contracts. Decentralisation of budgets and administrative functions can affect the health sector, often in negative ways, by reducing resources available and confusing lines of accountability for health workers. Governance and regulation of health care, when delivered by both public and private providers, require new systems of regulation. The increase in private sector provision has led health workers to move to the private sector. For those remaining in the public sector, there are often worsening working conditions, a lack of employment security and dismantling of collective bargaining agreements. Human resource development is gradually being recognised as crucial to future reforms and the formulation of health policy. New information systems at local and regional level will be needed to collect data on human resources. New employment arrangements, strengthening organisational culture, training and continuing education will also be needed.

  10. Examining the breastfeeding support resources of the public health nursing services in Ireland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulcahy, Helen; Phelan, Agnes; Corcoran, Paul; Leahy-Warren, Patricia

    2012-04-01

    The aim of the study was to review breastfeeding support provided by Public Health Nurses in Ireland. The objectives were to identify the availability of appropriate guiding policies, educational preparation, attitude of Public Health Nurses and the availability and use of other supportive services. Breastfeeding rates in Ireland are among the lowest in Europe. The main source of formal support for breastfeeding mothers in the community in Ireland is from Public Health Nurses who can make referral to other non-statutory resources. The nature of this support is determined by policies guiding clinical practice and education that increases breastfeeding confidence and competence of all personnel. Consequently, an assessment of breastfeeding resources requires an analysis of all these variables. A large quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted, involving Public Health Nurses and mothers. This paper represents the results from the perspective of Public Health Nurses. Directors of Public Health Nursing (n = 24) and Public Health Nurses (n = 204) completed self-report questionnaires by mail and online. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences and reported using descriptive and inferential statistics. Public Health Nurses are well educated to support breastfeeding and have a positive attitude and a high degree of self-assessed confidence and competence. A wide variety of non-statutory support exists for breastfeeding but is not always used to their full potential. Standardising educational requirements for Public Health Nurses in supporting breastfeeding is an area that requires attention. Ultimately, service delivery in relation to supporting breastfeeding mothers would benefit from being more timely and responsive. Awareness of support resources is necessary for Public Health Nurses to make appropriate referrals for breastfeeding mothers. Furthermore, Directors of Public Health Nursing need to encourage the breastfeeding supportive

  11. WILDLIFE HEALTH AND PUBLIC TRUST RESPONSIBILITIES FOR WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-10-01

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

  12. Estimating the financial resources needed for local public health departments in Minnesota: a multimethod approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, William; Briggs, Jill; McCullough, Mac

    2011-01-01

    This study presents a model for determining total funding needed for individual local health departments. The aim is to determine the financial resources needed to provide services for statewide local public health departments in Minnesota based on a gaps analysis done to estimate the funding needs. We used a multimethod analysis consisting of 3 approaches to estimate gaps in local public health funding consisting of (1) interviews of selected local public health leaders, (2) a Delphi panel, and (3) a Nominal Group Technique. On the basis of these 3 approaches, a consensus estimate of funding gaps was generated for statewide projections. The study includes an analysis of cost, performance, and outcomes from 2005 to 2007 for all 87 local governmental health departments in Minnesota. For each of the methods, we selected a panel to represent a profile of Minnesota health departments. The 2 main outcome measures were local-level gaps in financial resources and total resources needed to provide public health services at the local level. The total public health expenditure in Minnesota for local governmental public health departments was $302 million in 2007 ($58.92 per person). The consensus estimate of the financial gaps in local public health departments indicates that an additional $32.5 million (a 10.7% increase or $6.32 per person) is needed to adequately serve public health needs in the local communities. It is possible to make informed estimates of funding gaps for public health activities on the basis of a combination of quantitative methods. There is a wide variation in public health expenditure at the local levels, and methods are needed to establish minimum baseline expenditure levels to adequately treat a population. The gaps analysis can be used by stakeholders to inform policy makers of the need for improved funding of the public health system.

  13. Evaluation of a Quality Improvement Resource for Public Health Practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porterfield, Deborah S; Marcial, Laura H; Brown, Stephen; Throop, Cynthia; Pina, Jamie

    Quality improvement is a critical mechanism to manage public health agency performance and to strengthen accountability for public funds. The objective of this study was to evaluate a relatively new quality improvement resource, the Public Health Quality Improvement Exchange (PHQIX), a free online communication platform dedicated to making public health quality improvement information accessible to practitioners. We conducted an internet-based survey of registered PHQIX users (n = 536 respondents) in 2013 and key informant interviews with PHQIX frequent users (n = 21) in 2014, in the United States. We assessed use of the PHQIX website, user engagement and satisfaction, communication and knowledge exchange, use of information, and impact on quality improvement capacity and accreditation readiness. Of 462 respondents, 369 (79.9%) browsed quality improvement initiatives, making it the most commonly used site feature, and respondents described PHQIX as a near-unique source for real-world quality improvement examples. Respondents were satisfied with the quality and breadth of topics and relevance to their settings (average satisfaction scores, 3.9-4.1 [where 5 was the most satisfied]). Of 407 respondents, 237 (58.2%) said that they had put into practice information learned on PHQIX, and 209 of 405 (51.6%) said that PHQIX had helped to improve quality improvement capacity. Fewer than half of respondents used the commenting function, the Community Forum, and the Ask an Expert feature. Findings suggest that PHQIX, particularly descriptions of the quality improvement initiatives, is a valued resource for public health practitioners. Users reported sharing information with colleagues and applying what they learned to their own work. These findings may relate to other efforts to disseminate quality improvement knowledge.

  14. Cross-Jurisdictional Resource Sharing in Changing Public Health Landscape: Contributory Factors and Theoretical Explanations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Gulzar H; Badana, Adrian N S; Robb, Claire; Livingood, William C

    2016-01-01

    Local health departments (LHDs) are striving to meet public health needs within their jurisdictions, amidst fiscal restraints and complex dynamic environment. Resource sharing across jurisdictions is a critical opportunity for LHDs to continue to enhance effectiveness and increase efficiency. This research examines the extent of cross-jurisdictional resource sharing among LHDs, the programmatic areas and organizational functions for which LHDs share resources, and LHD characteristics associated with resource sharing. Data from the National Association of County & City Health Officials' 2013 National Profile of LHDs were used. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression were performed for the 5 implementation-oriented outcome variables of interest, with 3 levels of implementation. More than 54% of LHDs shared resources such as funding, staff, or equipment with 1 or more other LHDs on a continuous, recurring basis. Results from the multinomial regression analysis indicate that economies of scale (population size and metropolitan status) had significant positive influences (at P ≤ .05) on resource sharing. Engagement in accreditation, community health assessment, community health improvement planning, quality improvement, and use of the Community Guide were associated with lower levels of engagement in resource sharing. Doctoral degree of the top executive and having 1 or more local boards of health carried a positive influence on resource sharing. Cross-jurisdictional resource sharing is a viable and commonly used process to overcome the challenges of new and emerging public health problems within the constraints of restricted budgets. LHDs, particularly smaller LHDs with limited resources, should consider increased resource sharing to address emerging challenges.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-11-21

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

  16. Resource allocation on the frontlines of public health preparedness and response: report of a summit on legal and ethical issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnett, Daniel J; Taylor, Holly A; Hodge, James G; Links, Jonathan M

    2009-01-01

    In the face of all-hazards preparedness challenges, local and state health department personnel have to date lacked a discrete set of legally and ethically informed public health principles to guide the distribution of scarce resources in crisis settings. To help address this gap, we convened a Summit of academic and practice experts to develop a set of principles for legally and ethically sound public health resource triage decision-making in emergencies. The invitation-only Summit, held in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2006, assembled 20 experts from a combination of academic institutions and nonacademic leadership, policy, and practice settings. The Summit featured a tabletop exercise designed to highlight resource scarcity challenges in a public health infectious disease emergency. This exercise served as a springboard for Summit participants' subsequent identification of 10 public health emergency resource allocation principles through an iterative process. The final product of the Summit was a set of 10 principles to guide allocation decisions involving scarce resources in public health emergencies. The principles are grouped into three categories: obligations to community; balancing personal autonomy and community well-being/benefit; and good preparedness practice. The 10 Summit-derived principles represent an attempt to link law, ethics, and real-world public health emergency resource allocation practices, and can serve as a useful starting framework to guide further systematic approaches and future research on addressing public health resource scarcity in an all-hazards context.

  17. Public Health Spending and Medicare Resource Use: A Longitudinal Analysis of U.S. Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mays, Glen P; Mamaril, Cezar B

    2017-12-01

    To examine whether local expenditures for public health activities influence area-level medical spending for Medicare beneficiaries. Six census surveys of the nation's 2,900 local public health agencies were conducted between 1993 and 2013, linked with contemporaneous information on population demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, and area-level Medicare spending estimates from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. Measures derive from agency survey data and aggregated Medicare claims. A longitudinal cohort design follows the geographic areas served by local public health agencies. Multivariate, fixed-effects, and instrumental-variables regression models estimate how area-level Medicare spending changes in response to shifts in local public health spending, controlling for observed and unmeasured confounders. A 10 percent increase in local public health spending per capita was associated with 0.8 percent reduction in adjusted Medicare expenditures per person after 1 year (p health insurance coverage, and health professional shortages. Expanded financing for public health activities may provide an effective way of constraining Medicare spending, particularly in low-resource communities. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  18. 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...

  19. 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.

  20. Making the case: leveraging resources toward public health system improvement in Turning Point states.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekemeier, Betty; Riley, Catharine M; Padgett, Stephen M; Berkowitz, Bobbie

    2007-01-01

    Leveraging funds to sustain the efforts of a grant-funded initiative is often an explicit, or implicit, expectation in philanthropy. However, the magnitude of funds leveraged and the factors that facilitate success in leveraging are rarely researched. An example of one of these grant-funded initiatives is the National Turning Point Initiative. Twenty-one states received funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of this initiative to establish and implement strategic goals for achieving significant statewide public health system improvement through diverse, cross-sector partnerships. Leaders from 17 of these 21 states participated in a two-phased study regarding the leveraging of additional funds for their public health infrastructure improvement activities. This article reports on the second phase of the study. In this phase, key informant interviews were conducted to examine how leveraging of resources occurred as part of this large national initiative. Findings indicate that the combination of a comprehensive planning process and a broad-based partnership was crucial in securing resources to expand their efforts. The ability to strategically respond to unexpected events and opportunities also helped states use their plans and partnerships to "make the case" for additional resources to improve their public health infrastructure.

  1. Zombies—A Pop Culture Resource for Public Health Awareness

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2013-04-24

    Reginald Tucker reads an abridged version of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Another Dimension, Zombies—A Pop Culture Resource for Public Health Awareness.  Created: 4/24/2013 by National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).   Date Released: 4/24/2013.

  2. Public health economics of chlamydia and other STIs : aspects of risk, prevention and resources

    OpenAIRE

    Deogan, Charlotte

    2013-01-01

    The overall aim of this thesis was to increase the knowledge of the public health economic aspects of chlamydia and other STIs, in terms of risk, prevention and resources. In Study I, we examined the association between demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors and the risk of self-reported chlamydial infection among young adults in the Stockholm public health cohort. We found that the risk of self-reported chlamydia infection among young adults in Sweden was associated with lowe...

  3. Vibrio Pathogens: A Public Health Concern in Rural Water Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles A. Osunla

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Members of the Vibrio genus are autochthonous inhabitants of aquatic environments and play vital roles in sustaining the aquatic milieu. The genus comprises about 100 species, which are mostly of marine or freshwater origin, and their classification is frequently updated due to the continuous discovery of novel species. The main route of transmission of Vibrio pathogens to man is through drinking of contaminated water and consumption inadequately cooked aquatic food products. In sub-Saharan Africa and much of the developing world, some rural dwellers use freshwater resources such as rivers for domestic activities, bathing, and cultural and religious purposes. This review describes the impact of inadequately treated sewage effluents on the receiving freshwater resources and the associated risk to the rural dwellers that depends on the water. Vibrio infections remain a threat to public health. In the last decade, Vibrio disease outbreaks have created alertness on the personal, economic, and public health uncertainties associated with the impact of contaminated water in the aquatic environment of sub-Saharan Africa. In this review, we carried out an overview of Vibrio pathogens in rural water resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and the implication of Vibrio pathogens on public health. Continuous monitoring of Vibrio pathogens among environmental freshwater and treated effluents is expected to help reduce the risk associated with the early detection of sources of infection, and also aid our understanding of the natural ecology and evolution of Vibrio pathogens.

  4. Vibrio Pathogens: A Public Health Concern in Rural Water Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osunla, Charles A; Okoh, Anthony I

    2017-10-07

    Members of the Vibrio genus are autochthonous inhabitants of aquatic environments and play vital roles in sustaining the aquatic milieu. The genus comprises about 100 species, which are mostly of marine or freshwater origin, and their classification is frequently updated due to the continuous discovery of novel species. The main route of transmission of Vibrio pathogens to man is through drinking of contaminated water and consumption inadequately cooked aquatic food products. In sub-Saharan Africa and much of the developing world, some rural dwellers use freshwater resources such as rivers for domestic activities, bathing, and cultural and religious purposes. This review describes the impact of inadequately treated sewage effluents on the receiving freshwater resources and the associated risk to the rural dwellers that depends on the water. Vibrio infections remain a threat to public health. In the last decade, Vibrio disease outbreaks have created alertness on the personal, economic, and public health uncertainties associated with the impact of contaminated water in the aquatic environment of sub-Saharan Africa. In this review, we carried out an overview of Vibrio pathogens in rural water resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and the implication of Vibrio pathogens on public health. Continuous monitoring of Vibrio pathogens among environmental freshwater and treated effluents is expected to help reduce the risk associated with the early detection of sources of infection, and also aid our understanding of the natural ecology and evolution of Vibrio pathogens.

  5. Vibrio Pathogens: A Public Health Concern in Rural Water Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osunla, Charles A.

    2017-01-01

    Members of the Vibrio genus are autochthonous inhabitants of aquatic environments and play vital roles in sustaining the aquatic milieu. The genus comprises about 100 species, which are mostly of marine or freshwater origin, and their classification is frequently updated due to the continuous discovery of novel species. The main route of transmission of Vibrio pathogens to man is through drinking of contaminated water and consumption inadequately cooked aquatic food products. In sub-Saharan Africa and much of the developing world, some rural dwellers use freshwater resources such as rivers for domestic activities, bathing, and cultural and religious purposes. This review describes the impact of inadequately treated sewage effluents on the receiving freshwater resources and the associated risk to the rural dwellers that depends on the water. Vibrio infections remain a threat to public health. In the last decade, Vibrio disease outbreaks have created alertness on the personal, economic, and public health uncertainties associated with the impact of contaminated water in the aquatic environment of sub-Saharan Africa. In this review, we carried out an overview of Vibrio pathogens in rural water resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and the implication of Vibrio pathogens on public health. Continuous monitoring of Vibrio pathogens among environmental freshwater and treated effluents is expected to help reduce the risk associated with the early detection of sources of infection, and also aid our understanding of the natural ecology and evolution of Vibrio pathogens. PMID:28991153

  6. Ancillary care in public health intervention research in low-resource settings: researchers' practices and decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Holly A; Merritt, Maria W; Mullany, Luke C

    2011-09-01

    Little is known about researchers' practices regarding the provision of ancillary care (AC) in public health intervention studies they have conducted and the factors that influence their decisions about whether to provide ancillary care in low-resource settings. We conducted 52 in-person in-depth interviews with public health researchers. Data analysis was iterative and led to the identification of themes and patterns among themes. We found that researchers who conduct their research in the community setting are more likely to identify and plan for the AC needs of potential research subjects before a study begins, whereas those affiliated with a permanent facility are more likely to deliver AC to research subjects on an ad hoc basis. Our findings suggest that on the whole, at least for public health intervention research in low-resource settings, researchers conducting research in the community setting confront more complex ethical and operational challenges in their decision-making about AC than do researchers conducting facility-based studies.

  7. Women, men and public health-how the choice of normative theory affects resource allocation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Månsdotter, Anna; Lindholm, Lars; Ohman, Ann

    2004-09-01

    Women live longer than men in almost all countries, but men are more privileged in terms of power, influence, resources and probably morbidity. This investigation aims at illustrating how the choice of normative framework affects judgements about the fairness in these sex differences, and about desired societal change. The selected theories are welfare economics, health sector extra-welfarism, justice as fairness and feminist justice. By means of five Swedish proposals aiming at improving the population's health or "sex equity", facts and values are applied to resource allocation. Although we do not claim a specific ethical foundation, it seems to us that the feminist criterion has great potential in public health policy. The overall conclusion is that the normative framework must be explicitly discussed and stated in issues of women's and men's health.

  8. 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.

  9. Discover: What Is Public Health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... a variety of comprehensive classroom and curriculum resources. Framing The Future Faculty Resources Educational Models and Reports ... research, and regulate health systems to achieve these goals. Its reach is global. The public health field ...

  10. The case for transforming governmental public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salinsky, Eileen; Gursky, Elin A

    2006-01-01

    Changing threats to the public's health necessitate a profound transformation of the public health enterprise. Despite recent attention to the biodefense role of public health, policymakers have not developed a clear, realistic vision for the structure and functionality of the governmental public health system. Lack of leadership and organizational disconnects across levels of government have prevented strategic alignment of resources and undermined momentum for meaningful change. A transformed public health system is needed to address the demands of emergency preparedness and health protection. Such transformation should include focused, risk-based resource allocation; regional planning; technological upgrades; workforce restructuring; improved integration of private-sector assets; and better performance monitoring.

  11. 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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kakoma, Jean Baptiste

    2016-01-01

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

  13. Using a mobile app and mobile workforce to validate data about emergency public health resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Anna Marie; Leung, Alison C; Saynisch, Olivia; Griffis, Heather; Hill, Shawndra; Hershey, John C; Becker, Lance B; Asch, David A; Seidman, Ariel; Merchant, Raina Martha

    2014-07-01

    Social media and mobile applications that allow people to work anywhere are changing the way people can contribute and collaborate. We sought to determine the feasibility of using mobile workforce technology to validate the locations of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), an emergency public health resource. We piloted the use of a mobile workforce application, to verify the location of 40 AEDs in Philadelphia county. AEDs were pre-identified in public locations for baseline data. The task of locating AEDs was posted online for a mobile workforce from October 2011 to January 2012. Participants were required to submit a mobile phone photo of AEDs and descriptions of the location. Thirty-five of the 40 AEDs were identified within the study period. Most, 91% (32/35) of the submitted AED photo information was confirmed project baseline data. Participants also provided additional data such as business hours and other nearby AEDs. It is feasible to engage a mobile workforce to complete health research-related tasks. Participants were able to validate information about emergency public health resources. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  14. 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. [...

  15. Brazil - Governance in Brazil's Unified Health System : Raising the Quality of Public Spending and Resource Management

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank

    2007-01-01

    This report on governance in Brazil's unified health system assesses resource allocation and management, planning and budgeting functions, and budget execution at different levels of government for public expenditures on health services. The emphasis is on understanding the incentives generated for service providers, and the overall soundness of the accountabilities established in the publ...

  16. Tests to evaluate public health disease reporting systems in local public health agencies (electronic resource)

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ricci, Karen; Lurie, Nicole; Stoto, Michael A; Wasserman, Jeffrey; Dausey, David J; Meade, Barbara; Diamond, Alexis; Molander, Roger C

    2005-01-01

    ... to evaluate the ability to receive and respond to case reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We refined these tests by beta-testing them at 20 metropolitan area local public health agencies across the country over the course of 10 months. The contents of this manual will be of interest to public health professionals at the state and local l...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-01-01

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

  18. Balancing public health and resource limitations: A role for ethical low-level risk communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGinn, R.E.

    1991-01-01

    Recognition of the pervasiveness of risk in everyday life in modern industrial society has elicited calls for greater efforts to protect individual and public health. Yet, it is increasingly clear that decisions to do so must often be made in the context of significant limits in the amounts of financial resources available for achieving that protection. Achieving risk-free work, residential, and community environments may be so expensive as to render a private business unit uncompetitive or as to divert resources from or prelude commencing with other governmental projects with equal or greater health benefit potential. Ethical low-level risk communication (LLRC) is something risk-generating entities are morally obligated to do. However, such communication also offers important opportunities for such entities to move toward achieving better balances between health and the costs of protecting it. In this paper, the authors elaborate on several features of an ethically ideal LLRC process, focusing on those with aspects they hope are not obvious or common knowledge. In discussing these features, they provide examples of conflicts between health risks and resource limits at the level of the individual private firm, the local community, or the national government, such that LLRC with the feature in question provides an opportunity for mitigating or at least clarifying the conflict in question

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2017-09-07

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

  20. Public and private health-care financing with alternate public rationing rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuff, Katherine; Hurley, Jeremiah; Mestelman, Stuart; Muller, Andrew; Nuscheler, Robert

    2012-02-01

    We develop a model to analyze parallel public and private health-care financing under two alternative public sector rationing rules: needs-based rationing and random rationing. Individuals vary in income and severity of illness. There is a limited supply of health-care resources used to treat individuals, causing some individuals to go untreated. Insurers (both public and private) must bid to obtain the necessary health-care resources to treat their beneficiaries. Given individuals' willingnesses-to-pay for private insurance are increasing in income, the introduction of private insurance diverts treatment from relatively poor to relatively rich individuals. Further, the impact of introducing parallel private insurance depends on the rationing mechanism in the public sector. We show that the private health insurance market is smaller when the public sector rations according to need than when allocation is random. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2009-04-01

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

  2. 77 FR 76052 - Health Resources and Services Administration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Agency..., Public Law 104-13), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) publishes periodic summaries... Administration (HRSA) plans to conduct a survey of the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Healthcare...

  3. Children's Health Publications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Each title has a brief description and link for downloading the full text. Includes the publications catalog, the Child Health Champion resource guide, student curriculum materials, reports, fact sheets, and booklets/brochures of advice and tools.

  4. Bullying Prevention for Public Health Practitioners

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2012-01-19

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2014-11-01

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

  6. Allocation of Public Resources for Psychological Therapy between Types of Mental Health Condition: Towards Structural Balance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tustin, Don

    2009-01-01

    This paper addresses issues of allocating public resources efficiently between mental health conditions that are associated with different levels of disability, and presents an adaptation of an established framework to help decision-making in this area. The adapted framework refers to psychological interventions that are universal, indicated,…

  7. Community Health Centers: The Untapped Resource for Public Health and Medical Preparedness

    OpenAIRE

    Wood, Kanen M.

    2008-01-01

    This article appeared in Homeland Security Affairs (January 2009), v.5 no.1 HSPD-21 was recently released to the public calling for a transformation in the national approach to public health and medical preparedness in the United States. The latest deliberations, as prioritized by this strategy, are to bolster the nation's ability to manage a public health crisis by stimulating improvements in the areas of biosurveillance, countermeasure distribution, mass casualty care, and community resi...

  8. Job Demand and Job Resources related to the turnover intention of public health nurses: An analysis using a Job Demands-Resources model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iguchi, Aya

    2016-01-01

    Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the job demands and job resources of public health nurses based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, and to build a model that can estimate turnover intention based on job demands and job resources.Method By adding 12 items to the existing questionnaire, the author created a questionnaire consisting of 10 factors and 167 items, and used statistical analysis to examine job demands and job resources in relation to turnover intention.Results Out of 2,668 questionnaires sent, 1993 (72.5%) were returned. Considering sex-based differences in occupational stress, I analyzed women's answers in 1766 (66.2%) mails among the 1798 valid responses. The average age of respondents was 41.0±9.8 years, and the mean service duration was 17.0±10.0 years. For public health nurses, there was a turnover intention of 9.2%. The "job demands" section consisted of 29 items and 10 factors, while the "job resources" section consisted of 54 items and 22 factors. The result of examining the structure of job demands and job resources, leading to turnover intention was supported by the JD-R model. Turnover intention was strong and the Mental Component Summary (MCS) is low in those who had many job demands and few job resources (experiencing 'burn-out'). Enhancement of work engagement and turnover intention was weak in those who had many job resources. This explained approximately 60% of the dispersion to "burn-out", and approximately 40% to "work engagement", with four factors: work suitability, work significance, positive work self-balance, and growth opportunity of job resources.Conclusion This study revealed that turnover intention is strong in those who are burned out because of many job demands. Enhancement of work engagement and turnover intention is weak in those with many job resources. This suggests that suitable staffing and organized efforts to raise awareness of job significance are effective in reducing

  9. Public Health England's Migrant Health Guide: an online resource for primary care practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawshaw, A F; Kirkbride, H

    2018-05-01

    Approximately 13% of the UK population in 2015 was born overseas. Most migrants have come to the UK to work or study although there has been a small increase in the number of asylum applications in the UK in recent years, reflective of the ongoing humanitarian situation across Europe. Migrants in the UK tend to be young and healthy, but some may face unique health needs as a result of their experiences before, during and after migration. For these needs to be appropriately recognised and addressed, evidence-based advice is needed for UK professionals. The Migrant Health Guide is a free online tool for healthcare professionals. It was launched in 2011 and is widely used in the UK and internationally. It has four sections: 1) Migrants and the NHS-information on access and entitlements to the National Health Service (NHS); 2) Assessing patients-includes a checklist for initial healthcare assessments and advice for patients travelling abroad to visit friends and relatives; 3) Countries-country-specific advice on infectious diseases, women's health and nutritional and metabolic concerns; and 4) Health topics-information about communicable and non-communicable diseases and other health issues. The guide has undergone an extensive update in 2017. In particular, the pages on mental health and human trafficking have been expanded. A formal evaluation will obtain feedback on the guide and measure changes in awareness, knowledge, opinions, attitudes and behaviour of end users. Findings will inform future revisions and updates to the guide. Public Health England's Migrant Health Guide is a valuable resource for healthcare professionals. The relaunched guide builds on the previous version in raising awareness of key issues and providing evidence-based advice to improve the health of migrants and refugees internationally and in the UK. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Public health services and systems research: current state of finance research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingram, Richard C; Bernet, Patrick M; Costich, Julia F

    2012-11-01

    There is a growing recognition that the US public health system should strive for efficiency-that it should determine the optimal ways to utilize limited resources to improve and protect public health. The field of public health finance research is a critical part of efforts to understand the most efficient ways to use resources. This article discusses the current state of public health finance research through a review of public health finance literature, chronicles important lessons learned from public health finance research to date, discusses the challenges faced by those seeking to conduct financial research on the public health system, and discusses the role of public health finance research in relation to the broader endeavor of Public Health Services and Systems Research.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otok, Robert; Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Foldspang, Anders

    2017-11-01

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

  12. Effective public health management: The Nigerian experience | Abe ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Public health management in Nigeria is the process of mobilizing and deploying resources for the provision of effective public health services. To ensure an effective public health, population based strategies would need to be put in place and this would require proper management to yield desired results. This paper ...

  13. Routledge handbook of global public health

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Parker, Richard G; Sommer, Marni

    2011-01-01

    ... processes such as the growth of inequalities between the rich and the poor in countries around the world, the globalisation of trade and commerce, new patterns of travel and migration, as well as a reduction in resources for the development and sustainability of public health infrastructures. The Routledge Handbook of Global Public Health explores ...

  14. The Registry of Knowledge Translation Methods and Tools: a resource to support evidence-informed public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peirson, Leslea; Catallo, Cristina; Chera, Sunita

    2013-08-01

    This paper examines the development of a globally accessible online Registry of Knowledge Translation Methods and Tools to support evidence-informed public health. A search strategy, screening and data extraction tools, and writing template were developed to find, assess, and summarize relevant methods and tools. An interactive website and searchable database were designed to house the registry. Formative evaluation was undertaken to inform refinements. Over 43,000 citations were screened; almost 700 were full-text reviewed, 140 of which were included. By November 2012, 133 summaries were available. Between January 1 and November 30, 2012 over 32,945 visitors from more than 190 countries accessed the registry. Results from 286 surveys and 19 interviews indicated the registry is valued and useful, but would benefit from a more intuitive indexing system and refinements to the summaries. User stories and promotional activities help expand the reach and uptake of knowledge translation methods and tools in public health contexts. The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools' Registry of Methods and Tools is a unique and practical resource for public health decision makers worldwide.

  15. The public health workforce: An assessment in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jambroes, M.

    2015-01-01

    The public health workforce is a key resource of population health. How many people work in public health in the Netherlands, what are their characteristics and who does what? Remarkably, such information about the size and composition of the public health workforce in the Netherlands is lacking. A

  16. Public health facility resource availability and provider adherence to first antenatal guidelines in a low resource setting in Accra, Ghana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amoakoh-Coleman, Mary; Agyepong, Irene Akua; Kayode, Gbenga A; Grobbee, Diederick E; Klipstein-Grobusch, Kerstin; Ansah, Evelyn K

    2016-09-21

    Lack of resources has been identified as a reason for non-adherence to clinical guidelines. Our aim was to describe public health facility resource availability in relation to provider adherence to first antenatal visit guidelines. A cross-sectional analysis of the baseline data of a prospective cohort study on adherence to first antenatal care visit guidelines was carried out in 11 facilities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Provider adherence was studied in relation to health facility resource availability such as antenatal workload for clinical staffs, routine antenatal drugs, laboratory testing, protocols, ambulance and equipment. Eleven facilities comprising 6 hospitals (54.5 %), 4 polyclinics (36.4 %) and 1 health center were randomly sampled. Complete provider adherence to first antenatal guidelines for all the 946 participants was 48.1 % (95 % CI: 41.8-54.2 %), varying significantly amongst the types of facilities, with highest rate in the polyclinics. Average antenatal workload per month per clinical staff member was higher in polyclinics compared to the hospitals. All facility laboratories were able to conduct routine antenatal tests. Most routine antenatal drugs were available in all facilities except magnesium sulphate and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine which were lacking in some. Antenatal service protocols and equipment were also available in all facilities. Although antenatal workload varies across different facility types in the Greater Accra region, other health facility resources that support implementation of first antenatal care guidelines are equally available in all the facilities. These factors therefore do not adequately account for the low and varying proportions of complete adherence to guidelines across facility types. Providers should be continually engaged for a better understanding of the barriers to their adherence to these guidelines.

  17. 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

  18. Analyzing public health policy: three approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coveney, John

    2010-07-01

    Policy is an important feature of public and private organizations. Within the field of health as a policy arena, public health has emerged in which policy is vital to decision making and the deployment of resources. Public health practitioners and students need to be able to analyze public health policy, yet many feel daunted by the subject's complexity. This article discusses three approaches that simplify policy analysis: Bacchi's "What's the problem?" approach examines the way that policy represents problems. Colebatch's governmentality approach provides a way of analyzing the implementation of policy. Bridgman and Davis's policy cycle allows for an appraisal of public policy development. Each approach provides an analytical framework from which to rigorously study policy. Practitioners and students of public health gain much in engaging with the politicized nature of policy, and a simple approach to policy analysis can greatly assist one's understanding and involvement in policy work.

  19. 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.

  20. The Health and Retirement Study: A Public Data Resource for Research on Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda Sonnega

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The Health and Retirement Study (HRS is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of more than 37,000 individuals in 23,000 households over age 50 in the United States. Fielded biennially since 1992, it was established to provide a national resource for data on the changing health and economic circumstances associated with aging. HRS covers four broad topic areas—income and wealth; health, cognition, and use of health care services; work and retirement; and family connections. HRS data are also linked at the individual level to administrative records from Social Security and Medicare, Veteran’s Administration, the National Death Index, and employer-provided pension plan information. In 2006, data collection expanded to include biomarkers and genetics and greater depth in psychosocial well-being and social context. This blend of economic, health, and psychosocial information provides unprecedented potential to study increasingly complex questions about aging and retirement. HRS prioritizes rapid release of data while simultaneously protecting the confidentiality of respondents. Three categories of data—public, sensitive, and restricted—can be accessed through procedures described on the HRS website (hrsonline.isr.umich.edu.

  1. Estimating the Cost of Providing Foundational Public Health Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mamaril, Cezar Brian C; Mays, Glen P; Branham, Douglas Keith; Bekemeier, Betty; Marlowe, Justin; Timsina, Lava

    2017-12-28

    To estimate the cost of resources required to implement a set of Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) as recommended by the Institute of Medicine. A stochastic simulation model was used to generate probability distributions of input and output costs across 11 FPHS domains. We used an implementation attainment scale to estimate costs of fully implementing FPHS. We use data collected from a diverse cohort of 19 public health agencies located in three states that implemented the FPHS cost estimation methodology in their agencies during 2014-2015. The average agency incurred costs of $48 per capita implementing FPHS at their current attainment levels with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 16 percent. Achieving full FPHS implementation would require $82 per capita (CV=19 percent), indicating an estimated resource gap of $34 per capita. Substantial variation in costs exists across communities in resources currently devoted to implementing FPHS, with even larger variation in resources needed for full attainment. Reducing geographic inequities in FPHS may require novel financing mechanisms and delivery models that allow health agencies to have robust roles within the health system and realize a minimum package of public health services for the nation. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  2. 77 FR 4821 - Public Health Service Act, Non-competitive Replacement Award

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-31

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

  3. Are natural resources bad for health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Anshasy, Amany A; Katsaiti, Marina-Selini

    2015-03-01

    The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine whether economic dependence on various natural resources is associated with lower investment in health, after controlling for countries' geographical and historical fixed effects, corruption, autocratic regimes, income levels, and initial health status. Employing panel data for 118 countries for the period 1990-2008, we find no compelling evidence in support of a negative effect of resources on healthcare spending and outcomes. On the contrary, higher dependence on agricultural exports is associated with higher healthcare spending, higher life expectancy, and lower diabetes rates. Similarly, healthcare spending increases with higher mineral intensity. Finally, more hydrocarbon resource rents are associated with less diabetes and obesity rates. There is however evidence that public health provision relative to the size of the economy declines with greater hydrocarbon resource-intensity; the magnitude of this effect is less severe in non-democratic countries. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. 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).

  5. 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.

  6. Ethical tensions associated with the promotion of public health policy in health visiting: a qualitative investigation of health visitors' views.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenway, Julie Catherine; Entwistle, Vikki Ann; terMeulen, Ruud

    2013-04-01

    To explore whether and how health visitors experience ethical tensions between the public health agenda and the need to be responsive to individual clients. Current health policy in England gives health visitors a key role in implementing the government's public health agenda. Health visitors are also required by their Professional Code to respond to the health-related concerns and preferences of their individual clients. This may generate tensions. A total of 17 semi-structured individual interviews covering participants' experiences of implementing public health interventions and perceptions of the ethical tensions involved were conducted. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically using a Framework approach. Health visitors raised a number of ethical concerns, which they attributed to organisational resource allocation and the introduction of protocols and targets relating to public health goals. They did not always regard it as appropriate to raise topics that employing organisations had identified as public health priorities with particular clients for whom they were not priorities, or who had other more pressing needs. They noted that resources that were allocated towards reaching public health targets were unavailable for clients who needed support in other areas. Organisational protocols designed to monitor performance put pressure on health visitors to prioritise achieving targets and undermined their ability to exercise professional judgement when supporting individual clients. This had implications for health visitors' sense of professionalism. Health visitors saw trusting relationships as key to effective health visiting practice, but the requirement to implement public health priorities, combined with a lack of resources in health visiting, eroded their ability to form these. Policies need to be evaluated with regard to their impact upon a broader range of processes and outcomes than public health goals. The erosion of health

  7. How Brazil turned one public health school into 40

    OpenAIRE

    2007-01-01

    Brazil built its public health education system through the work of the renowned Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, which established courses across the whole country. The courses eventually became the core curriculum for small schools and now Brazil boasts 40 schools of public health. Foundation President Paulo Buss argues that there are ways that resource-poor countries can improve their public health education.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  9. Gis and public health

    CERN Document Server

    Cromley, Ellen K

    2011-01-01

    Authoritative and comprehensive, this is the leading text and professional resource on using geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze and address public health problems. Basic GIS concepts and tools are explained, including ways to access and manage spatial databases. The book presents state-of-the-art methods for mapping and analyzing data on population, health events, risk factors, and health services, and for incorporating geographical knowledge into planning and policy. Numerous maps, diagrams, and real-world applications are featured. The companion Web page provides lab exercises w

  10. Distributed Data Networks That Support Public Health Information Needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabano, David C; Cole, Elizabeth; Holve, Erin; Davidson, Arthur J

    Data networks, consisting of pooled electronic health data assets from health care providers serving different patient populations, promote data sharing, population and disease monitoring, and methods to assess interventions. Better understanding of data networks, and their capacity to support public health objectives, will help foster partnerships, expand resources, and grow learning health systems. We conducted semistructured interviews with 16 key informants across the United States, identified as network stakeholders based on their respective experience in advancing health information technology and network functionality. Key informants were asked about their experience with and infrastructure used to develop data networks, including each network's utility to identify and characterize populations, usage, and sustainability. Among 11 identified data networks representing hundreds of thousands of patients, key informants described aggregated health care clinical data contributing to population health measures. Key informant interview responses were thematically grouped to illustrate how networks support public health, including (1) infrastructure and information sharing; (2) population health measures; and (3) network sustainability. Collaboration between clinical data networks and public health entities presents an opportunity to leverage infrastructure investments to support public health. Data networks can provide resources to enhance population health information and infrastructure.

  11. Simplification of antiretroviral therapy: a necessary step in the public health response to HIV/AIDS in resource-limited settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitoria, Marco; Ford, Nathan; Doherty, Meg; Flexner, Charles

    2014-01-01

    The global scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) over the past decade represents one of the great public health and human rights achievements of recent times. Moving from an individualized treatment approach to a simplified and standardized public health approach has been critical to ART scale-up, simplifying both prescribing practices and supply chain management. In terms of the latter, the risk of stock-outs can be reduced and simplified prescribing practices support task shifting of care to nursing and other non-physician clinicians; this strategy is critical to increase access to ART care in settings where physicians are limited in number. In order to support such simplification, successive World Health Organization guidelines for ART in resource-limited settings have aimed to reduce the number of recommended options for first-line ART in such settings. Future drug and regimen choices for resource-limited settings will likely be guided by the same principles that have led to the recommendation of a single preferred regimen and will favour drugs that have the following characteristics: minimal risk of failure, efficacy and tolerability, robustness and forgiveness, no overlapping resistance in treatment sequencing, convenience, affordability, and compatibility with anti-TB and anti-hepatitis treatments.

  12. A strategic approach to workforce development for local public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Beverley; Ward, Megan

    2017-11-09

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

  13. 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.

  14. Flows of financial resources for health research and development in Brazil, 2000-2002.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vianna, Cid Manso de Mello; Caetano, Rosângela; Ortega, José Antonio; Façanha, Luiz Otávio de Figueiredo; Mosegui, Gabriela Bittencourt Gonzalez; Siqueira, Marien; Costa, Tiago Barros

    2007-02-01

    To map and measure the flows of financial resources for health research and development in Brazil for the years 2000-2002. After adapting the methodology developed for the Center for Economic Policy Research, data were collected on the sources and uses of resources for health research and development. The annual average value of resources apportioned to health research and development was approximately 573 million US dollars. The public sector as a whole invested 417.3 million US dollars and the health department 51.1 million US dollars. Expressed in percentages, the public sector invested 4.15% of the health department's budget although the Ministry of Health assigned only 0.3% of its budget to health research in the country. The universities and the research institutes are the main users of the resources allocated to health research and development, receiving 91.6% of the total public spending, while the private sector receives a small share of around 0.69% of the total. The private sector invested 135.6 million US dollars per year, and the international organizations 20.1 million US dollars per year. Besides measuring the financial resources made available for health research and development, the results allowed the filling of gaps in national information; the identification of the flows of applied financial resources; and the testing and adaptation of the proposed methodology, generating information suitable for international comparisons.

  15. Is subjective well-being a useful parameter for allocating resources among public interventions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gandjour, A

    2001-01-01

    Scarce public resources require trade-offs between competing programs in different sectors, and the careful allocation of fixed resources within a single sector. This paper argues that a general quality of life instrument encompassing health-related and non-health-related components is suitable for determining the best trade-offs between sectors. Further, this paper suggests that subjective well-being shows the properties crucial to a general quality of life measure and has additional advantages that makes it particularly useful for the allocation of public and health care resources. The paper argues that Western societies are in an unusually prosperous situation today which allows to concentrate efforts not only on reducing harm but also on improving positive states of health. Further, subjective well-being can be evaluated from the patient's perspective and incorporates a valuation of life expectancy. Criteria required for an appropriate questionnaire that measures subjective well-being are presented.

  16. Are more resources always the answer? A supply and demand analysis for public health services in Brazilian municipalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabiana Rocha

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to determine whether it is necessary to increase available resources to local governments or if better use of these funds is sufficient. The paper contributes to the literature by looking both at the supply and demand for public health services. If the demand is estimated correctly, one can compare its expected value to actual health expenditures. Even if actual expenditures are lower than the estimated demand, it is not certain that additional spending is necessary. If the efficiency scores (supply side indicate that local governments can simply “save” resources to make up for the difference, then it is possible to reduce (or bring to zero new resources only by requiring local governments to efficiently manage their expenditures. Since municipalities in Brazil are very heterogeneous, we estimate their efficiency using the metafrontier approach (O’Donnell et al., 2008, while we estimate the demand through an equation derived from the median voter theorem model. Using 2010 data, we find evidence that efficient management of spending is sufficient to meet excess demand for goods and services in the health sector.

  17. Use of Google Earth to strengthen public health capacity and facilitate management of vector-borne diseases in resource-poor environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lozano-Fuentes, Saul; Elizondo-Quiroga, Darwin; Farfan-Ale, Jose Arturo; Loroño-Pino, Maria Alba; Garcia-Rejon, Julian; Gomez-Carro, Salvador; Lira-Zumbardo, Victor; Najera-Vazquez, Rosario; Fernandez-Salas, Ildefonso; Calderon-Martinez, Joaquin; Dominguez-Galera, Marco; Mis-Avila, Pedro; Morris, Natashia; Coleman, Michael; Moore, Chester G; Beaty, Barry J; Eisen, Lars

    2008-09-01

    Novel, inexpensive solutions are needed for improved management of vector-borne and other diseases in resource-poor environments. Emerging free software providing access to satellite imagery and simple editing tools (e.g. Google Earth) complement existing geographic information system (GIS) software and provide new opportunities for: (i) strengthening overall public health capacity through development of information for city infrastructures; and (ii) display of public health data directly on an image of the physical environment. We used freely accessible satellite imagery and a set of feature-making tools included in the software (allowing for production of polygons, lines and points) to generate information for city infrastructure and to display disease data in a dengue decision support system (DDSS) framework. Two cities in Mexico (Chetumal and Merida) were used to demonstrate that a basic representation of city infrastructure useful as a spatial backbone in a DDSS can be rapidly developed at minimal cost. Data layers generated included labelled polygons representing city blocks, lines representing streets, and points showing the locations of schools and health clinics. City blocks were colour-coded to show presence of dengue cases. The data layers were successfully imported in a format known as shapefile into a GIS software. The combination of Google Earth and free GIS software (e.g. HealthMapper, developed by WHO, and SIGEpi, developed by PAHO) has tremendous potential to strengthen overall public health capacity and facilitate decision support system approaches to prevention and control of vector-borne diseases in resource-poor environments.

  18. Rebalancing brain drain: exploring resource reallocation to address health worker migration and promote global health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackey, Timothy Ken; Liang, Bryan Albert

    2012-09-01

    Global public health is threatened by an imbalance in health worker migration from resource-poor countries to developed countries. This "brain drain" results in health workforce shortages, health system weakening, and economic loss and waste, threatening the well-being of vulnerable populations and effectiveness of global health interventions. Current structural imbalances in resource allocation and global incentive structures have resulted in 57 countries identified by WHO as having a "critical shortage" of health workers. Yet current efforts to strengthen domestic health systems have fallen short in addressing this issue. Instead, global solutions should focus on sustainable forms of equitable resource sharing. This can be accomplished by adoption of mandatory global resource and staff-sharing programs in conjunction with implementation of state-based health services corps. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igumbor Ehi

    2009-04-01

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

  20. 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.

  1. Incidence of Online Health Information Search: A Useful Proxy for Public Health Risk Perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scammon, Debra L

    2013-01-01

    Background 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. Objective 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. Methods 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. Results Overall, the results provide evidence that the main effects of independent variables—the incidence of the flu (Psearches for queries related to the flu. After controlling for the number of reported disease cases and Internet access rate by state, we estimate the

  2. Ethical Issues in Public Health Practice in Michigan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gollust, Sarah E.; Goold, Susan D.; Jacobson, Peter D.

    2009-01-01

    Objectives. We sought to ascertain the types of ethical challenges public health practitioners face in practice and to identify approaches used to resolve such challenges. Methods. We conducted 45 semistructured interviews with public health practitioners across a range of occupations (e.g., health officers, medical directors, sanitarians, nurses) at 13 health departments in Michigan. Results. Through qualitative analysis, we identified 5 broad categories of ethical issues common across occupations and locations: (1) determining appropriate use of public health authority, (2) making decisions related to resource allocation, (3) negotiating political interference in public health practice, (4) ensuring standards of quality of care, and (5) questioning the role or scope of public health. Participants cited a variety of values guiding their decision-making that did not coalesce around core values often associated with public health, such as social justice or utilitarianism. Public health practitioners relied on consultations with colleagues to resolve challenges, infrequently using frameworks for decision-making. Conclusions. Public health practitioners showed a nuanced understanding of ethical issues and navigated ethical challenges with minimal formal assistance. Decision-making guides that are empirically informed and tailored for practitioners might have some value. PMID:19059850

  3. National Library of Medicine Web Resources for Student Health Professionals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Womble, R.

    2010-04-02

    Familiarize students affiliated with the Student National Medical Association with the National Library of Medicine's online resources that address medical conditions, health disparities, and public health preparedness needs.

  4. 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)

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

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

  6. Research Article (Human Resources for Health) Postoperative ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2007-06-14

    Jun 14, 2007 ... ... of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 4. ... six year Emergency Human Resource Programme aimed ... therefore to elucidate the extent of major surgical work ... back for review seven days after discharge. ... and 24 hour maternal condition, post-operative fever, wound.

  7. Public Health Crisis Preparedness and Response in Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2013-01-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2008-01-01

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

  9. Design of an online health-promoting community: negotiating user community needs with public health goals and service capabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekberg, Joakim; Timpka, Toomas; Angbratt, Marianne; Frank, Linda; Norén, Anna-Maria; Hedin, Lena; Andersen, Emelie; Gursky, Elin A; Gäre, Boel Andersson

    2013-07-04

    An online health-promoting community (OHPC) has the potential to promote health and advance new means of dialogue between public health representatives and the general public. The aim of this study was to examine what aspects of an OHPC that are critical for satisfying the needs of the user community and public health goals and service capabilities. Community-based participatory research methods were used for data collection and analysis, and participatory design principles to develop a case study OHPC for adolescents. Qualitative data from adolescents on health appraisals and perspectives on health information were collected in a Swedish health service region and classified into categories of user health information exchange needs. A composite design rationale for the OHPC was completed by linking the identified user needs, user-derived requirements, and technical and organizational systems solutions. Conflicts between end-user requirements and organizational goals and resources were identified. The most prominent health information needs were associated to food, exercise, and well-being. The assessment of the design rationale document and prototype in light of the regional public health goals and service capabilities showed that compromises were needed to resolve conflicts involving the management of organizational resources and responsibilities. The users wanted to discuss health issues with health experts having little time to set aside to the OHPC and it was unclear who should set the norms for the online discussions. OHPCs can be designed to satisfy both the needs of user communities and public health goals and service capabilities. Compromises are needed to resolve conflicts between users' needs to discuss health issues with domain experts and the management of resources and responsibilities in public health organizations.

  10. Radiological health training resources, 1975

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1975-01-01

    The Division of Training and Medical Applications is the component of the Bureau of Radiological Health which has the responsibility for providing training assistance to the Nation's radiological health agencies. Recognizing that these agencies are establishing their own user and personnel training programs, the Division offers through the Training Resources Center a variety of educational materials which may be utilized for specific training purposes. This bulletin contains a list of educational materials, including publications, booklets, slides and transparencies, movies, video tapes, training guides, and training seminars for the education of x-ray technicians in radiation protection

  11. A Resource Curriculum in Public Address.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergman, Richard F.

    Developed as part of a series of teacher resource curriculum units in communication arts, this resource unit on public speaking includes several components organized for direct teacher use. The seven units that are offered include introduction to public communication, delivery, language, organization, speaking to share information, speaking to…

  12. Articles Published and Downloaded by Public Health Scientists: Analysis of Data From the CDC Public Health Library, 2011-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iskander, John; Bang, Gail; Stupp, Emma; Connick, Kathy; Gomez, Onnalee; Gidudu, Jane

    2016-01-01

    To describe scientific information usage and publication patterns of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Library and Information Center patrons. Administratively collected patron usage data and aggregate data on CDC-authored publications from the CDC Library for 3 consecutive years were analyzed. The CDC Public Health Library and Information Center, which serves CDC employees nationally and internationally. Internal patrons and external users of the CDC Library. Three-year trends in full-text article publication and downloads including most common journals used for each purpose, systematic literature searches requested and completed, and subscriptions to a weekly public health current literature awareness service. From 2011 to 2013, CDC scientists published a total of 7718 articles in the peer-reviewed literature. During the same period, article downloads from the CDC Library increased 25% to more than 1.1 million, completed requests for reviews of the scientific literature increased by 34%, and electronic subscriptions to literature compilation services increased by 23%. CDC's scientific output and information use via the CDC Library are both increasing. Researchers and field staff are making greater use of literature review services and other customized information content delivery. Virtual public health library access is an increasingly important resource for the scientific practice of public health.

  13. Decision science: a scientific approach to enhance public health budgeting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honoré, Peggy A; Fos, Peter J; Smith, Torney; Riley, Michael; Kramarz, Kim

    2010-01-01

    The allocation of resources for public health programming is a complicated and daunting responsibility. Financial decision-making processes within public health agencies are especially difficult when not supported with techniques for prioritizing and ranking alternatives. This article presents a case study of a decision analysis software model that was applied to the process of identifying funding priorities for public health services in the Spokane Regional Health District. Results on the use of this decision support system provide insights into how decision science models, which have been used for decades in business and industry, can be successfully applied to public health budgeting as a means of strengthening agency financial management processes.

  14. 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.

  15. Leveraging finances for public health system improvement: results from the Turning Point initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekemeier, Betty; Riley, Catharine M; Berkowitz, Bobbie

    2007-01-01

    Reforming the public health infrastructure requires substantial system changes at the state level; state health agencies, however, often lack the resources and support for strategic planning and systemwide improvement. The Turning Point Initiative provided support for states to focus on large-scale system changes that resulted in increased funding for public health capacity and infrastructure development. Turning Point provides a test case for obtaining financial and institutional resources focused on systems change and infrastructure development-areas for which it has been historically difficult to obtain long-term support. The purpose of this exploratory, descriptive survey research was to enumerate the actual resources leveraged toward public health system improvement through the partnerships, planning, and implementation activities funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a part of the Turning Point Initiative.

  16. Global public health today: connecting the dots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Lomazzi

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: Global public health today faces new challenges and is impacted by a range of actors from within and outside state boundaries. The diversity of the actors involved has created challenges and a complex environment that requires a new context-tailored global approach. The World Federation of Public Health Associations has embarked on a collaborative consultation with the World Health Organization to encourage a debate on how to adapt public health to its future role in global health. Design: A qualitative study was undertaken. High-level stakeholders from leading universities, multilateral organizations, and other institutions worldwide participated in the study. Inductive content analyses were performed. Results: Stakeholders underscored that global public health today should tackle the political, commercial, economic, social, and environmental determinants of health and social inequalities. A multisectoral and holistic approach should be guaranteed, engaging public health in broad dialogues and a concerted decision-making process. The connection between neoliberal ideology and public health reforms should be taken into account. The WHO must show leadership and play a supervising and technical role. More and better data are required across many programmatic areas of public health. Resources should be allocated in a sustainable and accountable way. Public health professionals need new skills that should be provided by a collaborative global education system. A common framework context-tailored to influence governments has been evaluated as useful. Conclusions: The study highlighted some of the main public health challenges currently under debate in the global arena, providing interesting ideas. A more inclusive integrated vision of global health in its complexity, shared and advocated for by all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes, is crucial. This vision represents the first step in innovating public health at the

  17. Global public health today: connecting the dots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lomazzi, Marta; Jenkins, Christopher; Borisch, Bettina

    2016-01-01

    Background Global public health today faces new challenges and is impacted by a range of actors from within and outside state boundaries. The diversity of the actors involved has created challenges and a complex environment that requires a new context-tailored global approach. The World Federation of Public Health Associations has embarked on a collaborative consultation with the World Health Organization to encourage a debate on how to adapt public health to its future role in global health. Design A qualitative study was undertaken. High-level stakeholders from leading universities, multilateral organizations, and other institutions worldwide participated in the study. Inductive content analyses were performed. Results Stakeholders underscored that global public health today should tackle the political, commercial, economic, social, and environmental determinants of health and social inequalities. A multisectoral and holistic approach should be guaranteed, engaging public health in broad dialogues and a concerted decision-making process. The connection between neoliberal ideology and public health reforms should be taken into account. The WHO must show leadership and play a supervising and technical role. More and better data are required across many programmatic areas of public health. Resources should be allocated in a sustainable and accountable way. Public health professionals need new skills that should be provided by a collaborative global education system. A common framework context-tailored to influence governments has been evaluated as useful. Conclusions The study highlighted some of the main public health challenges currently under debate in the global arena, providing interesting ideas. A more inclusive integrated vision of global health in its complexity, shared and advocated for by all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes, is crucial. This vision represents the first step in innovating public health at the global level and should lead

  18. Containment of Ebola and Polio in Low-Resource Settings Using Principles and Practices of Emergency Operations Centers in Public Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuaib, Faisal M; Musa, Philip F; Muhammad, Ado; Musa, Emmanuel; Nyanti, Sara; Mkanda, Pascal; Mahoney, Frank; Corkum, Melissa; Durojaiye, Modupeoluwa; Nganda, Gatei Wa; Sani, Samuel Usman; Dieng, Boubacar; Banda, Richard; Ali Pate, Muhammad

    Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) have been credited with driving the recent successes achieved in the Nigeria polio eradication program. EOC concept was also applied to the Ebola virus disease outbreak and is applicable to a range of other public health emergencies. This article outlines the structure and functionality of a typical EOC in addressing public health emergencies in low-resource settings. It ascribes the successful polio and Ebola responses in Nigeria to several factors including political commitment, population willingness to engage, accountability, and operational and strategic changes made by the effective use of an EOC and Incident Management System. In countries such as Nigeria where the central or federal government does not directly hold states accountable, the EOC provides a means to improve performance and use data to hold health workers accountable by using innovative technologies such as geographic position systems, dashboards, and scorecards.

  19. Protocol for the systematic review of the prevention, treatment and public health management of impetigo, scabies and fungal skin infections in resource-limited settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    May, Philippa; Bowen, Asha; Tong, Steven; Steer, Andrew; Prince, Sam; Andrews, Ross; Currie, Bart; Carapetis, Jonathan

    2016-09-23

    Impetigo, scabies, and fungal skin infections disproportionately affect populations in resource-limited settings. Evidence for standard treatment of skin infections predominantly stem from hospital-based studies in high-income countries. The evidence for treatment in resource-limited settings is less clear, as studies in these populations may lack randomisation and control groups for cultural, ethical or economic reasons. Likewise, a synthesis of the evidence for public health control within endemic populations is also lacking. We propose a systematic review of the evidence for the prevention, treatment and public health management of skin infections in resource-limited settings, to inform the development of guidelines for the standardised and streamlined clinical and public health management of skin infections in endemic populations. The protocol has been designed in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols statement. All trial designs and analytical observational study designs will be eligible for inclusion. A systematic search of the peer-reviewed literature will include PubMed, Excertpa Medica and Global Health. Grey literature databases will also be systematically searched, and clinical trials registries scanned for future relevant studies. The primary outcome of interest will be the clinical cure or decrease in prevalence of impetigo, scabies, crusted scabies, tinea capitis, tinea corporis or tinea unguium. Two independent reviewers will perform eligibility assessment and data extraction using standardised electronic forms. Risk of bias assessment will be undertaken by two independent reviewers according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Data will be tabulated and narratively synthesised. We expect there will be insufficient data to conduct meta-analysis. The final body of evidence will be reported against the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation grading system. The evidence

  20. Protecting resources for primary health care under fiscal federalism: options for resource allocation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okorafor, Okore A; Thomas, Stephen

    2007-11-01

    The introduction of fiscal federalism or decentralization of functions to lower levels of government is a reform not done primarily with health sector concerns. A major concern for the health sector is that devolution of expenditure responsibilities to sub-national levels of government can adversely affect the equitable distribution of financial resources across local jurisdictions. Since the adoption of fiscal federalism in South Africa, progress towards achieving a more equitable distribution of public sector health resources (financial) has slowed down considerably. This study attempts to identify appropriate resource allocation mechanisms under the current South African fiscal federal system that could be employed to promote equity in primary health care (PHC) allocations across provinces and districts. The study uses data from interviews with government officials involved in the budgeting and resource allocation process for PHC, literature on fiscal federalism and literature on international experience to inform analysis and recommendations. The results from the study identify historical incremental budgeting, weak managerial capacity at lower levels of government, poor accounting of PHC expenditure, and lack of protection for PHC funds as constraints to the realization of a more equitable distribution of PHC allocations. Based on interview data, no one resource allocation mechanism received unanimous support from stakeholders. However, the study highlights the particularly high level of autonomy enjoyed by provincial governments with regards to decision making for allocations to health and PHC services as the major constraint to achieving a more equitable distribution of PHC resources. The national government needs to have more involvement in decision making for resource allocation to PHC services if significant progress towards equity is to be achieved.

  1. 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

  2. Rethinking schools of public health: a strategic alliance model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moloughney, Brent W; Skinner, Harvey A

    2006-01-01

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

  3. [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.

  4. Private sector, human resources and health franchising in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prata, Ndola; Montagu, Dominic; Jefferys, Emma

    2005-04-01

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

  5. Private sector, human resources and health franchising in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prata, Ndola; Montagu, Dominic; Jefferys, Emma

    2005-01-01

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

  6. Web-based public health geographic information systems for resources-constrained environment using scalable vector graphics technology: a proof of concept applied to the expanded program on immunization data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamadjeu Raoul

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Geographic Information Systems (GIS are powerful communication tools for public health. However, using GIS requires considerable skill and, for this reason, is sometimes limited to experts. Web-based GIS has emerged as a solution to allow a wider audience to have access to geospatial information. Unfortunately the cost of implementing proprietary solutions may be a limiting factor in the adoption of a public health GIS in a resource-constrained environment. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG is used to define vector-based graphics for the internet using XML (eXtensible Markup Language; it is an open, platform-independent standard maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C since 2003. In this paper, we summarize our methodology and demonstrate the potential of this free and open standard to contribute to the dissemination of Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI information by providing interactive maps to a wider audience through the Internet. Results We used SVG to develop a database driven web-based GIS applied to EPI data from three countries of WHO AFRO (World Health Organization – African Region. The system generates interactive district-level country immunization coverage maps and graphs. The approach we describe can be expanded to cover other public health GIS demanding activities, including the design of disease atlases in a resources-constrained environment. Conclusion Our system contributes to accumulating evidence demonstrating the potential of SVG technology to develop web-based public health GIS in resources-constrained settings.

  7. Web-based public health geographic information systems for resources-constrained environment using scalable vector graphics technology: a proof of concept applied to the expanded program on immunization data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamadjeu, Raoul; Tolentino, Herman

    2006-06-03

    Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are powerful communication tools for public health. However, using GIS requires considerable skill and, for this reason, is sometimes limited to experts. Web-based GIS has emerged as a solution to allow a wider audience to have access to geospatial information. Unfortunately the cost of implementing proprietary solutions may be a limiting factor in the adoption of a public health GIS in a resource-constrained environment. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is used to define vector-based graphics for the internet using XML (eXtensible Markup Language); it is an open, platform-independent standard maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) since 2003. In this paper, we summarize our methodology and demonstrate the potential of this free and open standard to contribute to the dissemination of Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) information by providing interactive maps to a wider audience through the Internet. We used SVG to develop a database driven web-based GIS applied to EPI data from three countries of WHO AFRO (World Health Organization - African Region). The system generates interactive district-level country immunization coverage maps and graphs. The approach we describe can be expanded to cover other public health GIS demanding activities, including the design of disease atlases in a resources-constrained environment. Our system contributes to accumulating evidence demonstrating the potential of SVG technology to develop web-based public health GIS in resources-constrained settings.

  8. Right Relation and Right Recognition in Public Health Ethics: Thinking Through the Republic of Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennings, Bruce

    2016-07-01

    The further development of public health ethics will be assisted by a more direct engagement with political theory. In this way, the moral vocabulary of the liberal tradition should be supplemented-but not supplanted-by different conceptual and normative resources available from other traditions of political and social thought. This article discusses four lines of further development that the normative conceptual discourse of public health ethics might take. (i) The relational turn. The implications for public health ethics of the new 'ecological' or 'relational' interpretation that is emerging for concepts such as agency, self-identity, autonomy, liberty and justice. (ii) Governing the health commons. The framework of collective action problems is giving way to notions of democratic governance and management of common resources. (iii) The concept of membership. Membership is specified by the notions of equal respect and parity of voice and agency. (iv) The concept of mutuality. Mutuality is specified by the notions of interdependent concern and care.

  9. [Human resources for health in Ecuador's new model of care].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa, Verónica; de la Torre, Daniel; Acuña, Cecilia; Cadena, Cristina

    2017-06-08

    Describe strategies implemented by Ecuador's Ministry of Public Health (MPH) to strengthen human resources for health leadership and respond to the new model of care, as a part of the reform process in the period 2012-2015. A documentary review was carried out of primary and secondary sources on development of human resources for health before and after the reform. In the study period, Ecuador developed a new institutional and regulatory framework for developing human resources for health to respond to the requirements of a model of care based on primary health care. The MPH consolidated its steering role by forging strategic partnerships, implementing human resources planning methods, and making an unprecedented investment in health worker training, hiring, and wage increases. These elements constitute the initial core for development of human resources for health policy and a health-services study program consistent with the reform's objectives. Within the framework of the reform carried out from 2012 to 2015, intersectoral work by the MPH has led to considerable achievements in development of human resources for health. Notable achievements include strengthening of the steering role, development and implementation of standards and regulatory instruments, creation of new professional profiles, and hiring of professionals to implement the comprehensive health care model, which helped to solve problems carried over from the years prior to the reform.

  10. 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

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. Public librarians as a resource for promoting health: results from the Health for Everyone in Libraries Project (HELP) librarian survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linnan, Laura A; Wildemuth, Barbara M; Gollop, Claudia; Hull, Peggy; Silbajoris, Christie; Monnig, Ruth

    2004-04-01

    Public libraries are located in all communities, and two thirds of adults visit one each year. Libraries give the public access to computers and the Internet, and librarians offer technical assistance for accessing information. The interests and training needs of public librarians for assisting the public in accessing health information have not been addressed. One public library/librarian in each North Carolina county was randomly selected to complete a written questionnaire to assess health-related information services and librarians' skills for providing these services. 84% of librarians (83/99) completed the questionnaire. Results indicate that librarians answer more than 10 health-related questions per week, feel moderately comfortable answering these questions, and are very interested in receiving additional training for addressing health-related questions. Creating public library/public health partnerships holds much promise for enhancing the ability of community members to access desired health information.

  14. Role of information systems in public health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartshorne, J E; Carstens, I L

    1990-07-01

    The purpose of this review is to establish a conceptual framework on the role of information systems in public health care. Information is indispensable for effective management and development of health services and therefore considered as an important operational asset or resource. A Health Information System is mainly required to support management and operations at four levels: namely transactional and functional; operational control; management planning and control; and strategic planning. To provide the necessary information needs of users at these levels of management in the health care system, a structured information system coupled with appropriate information technology is required. Adequate and relevant information is needed regarding population characteristics, resources available and expended, output and outcome of health care activities. Additionally information needs to be reliable, accurate, timely, easily accessible and presented in a compact and meaningful form. With a well-planned health information system health authorities would be in a position to provide a quality, cost-effective and efficient health service for as many people as need it, optimal utilisation of resources and to maintain and improve the community's health status.

  15. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenbaum, Sara; Skivington, Skip; Praeger, Sandra

    2002-01-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2014-12-01

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

  18. Machine-Learning Algorithms to Code Public Health Spending Accounts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Eoghan S; Leider, Jonathon P; Resnick, Beth A; Alfonso, Y Natalia; Bishai, David

    Government public health expenditure data sets require time- and labor-intensive manipulation to summarize results that public health policy makers can use. Our objective was to compare the performances of machine-learning algorithms with manual classification of public health expenditures to determine if machines could provide a faster, cheaper alternative to manual classification. We used machine-learning algorithms to replicate the process of manually classifying state public health expenditures, using the standardized public health spending categories from the Foundational Public Health Services model and a large data set from the US Census Bureau. We obtained a data set of 1.9 million individual expenditure items from 2000 to 2013. We collapsed these data into 147 280 summary expenditure records, and we followed a standardized method of manually classifying each expenditure record as public health, maybe public health, or not public health. We then trained 9 machine-learning algorithms to replicate the manual process. We calculated recall, precision, and coverage rates to measure the performance of individual and ensembled algorithms. Compared with manual classification, the machine-learning random forests algorithm produced 84% recall and 91% precision. With algorithm ensembling, we achieved our target criterion of 90% recall by using a consensus ensemble of ≥6 algorithms while still retaining 93% coverage, leaving only 7% of the summary expenditure records unclassified. Machine learning can be a time- and cost-saving tool for estimating public health spending in the United States. It can be used with standardized public health spending categories based on the Foundational Public Health Services model to help parse public health expenditure information from other types of health-related spending, provide data that are more comparable across public health organizations, and evaluate the impact of evidence-based public health resource allocation.

  19. Best practices for online Canadian prenatal health promotion: A public health approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chedid, Rebecca A; Terrell, Rowan M; Phillips, Karen P

    2017-11-04

    Prenatal health promotion provides information regarding pregnancy risks, protective behaviours and clinical and community resources. Typically, women obtain prenatal health information from health care providers, prenatal classes, peers/family, media and increasingly, Internet sites and mobile apps. Barriers to prenatal health promotion and related services include language, rural/remote location, citizenship and disability. Online public health platforms represent the capacity to reach underserved women and can be customised to address the needs of a heterogeneous population of pregnant women. Canadian government-hosted websites and online prenatal e-classes were evaluated to determine if accessible, inclusive, comprehensive and evidence-based prenatal health promotion was provided. Using a multijurisdictional approach, federal, provincial/territorial, municipal and public health region-hosted websites, along with affiliated prenatal e-classes, were evaluated based on four criteria: comprehensiveness, evidence-based information, accessibility and inclusivity. Online prenatal e-classes, federal, provincial/territorial and public health-hosted websites generally provided comprehensive and evidence-based promotion of essential prenatal topics, in contrast to municipal-hosted websites which provided very limited prenatal health information. Gaps in online prenatal health promotion were identified as lack of French and multilingual content, targeted information and representations of Indigenous peoples, immigrants and women with disabilities. Canadian online prenatal health promotion is broadly comprehensive and evidence-based, but fails to address the needs of non-Anglophones and represent the diverse population of Canadian pregnant women. It is recommended that agencies enhance the organisation of website pregnancy portals/pages and collaborate with other jurisdictions and community groups to ensure linguistically accessible, culturally-competent and inclusive

  20. 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

  1. Progress in Public Health Emergency Preparedness-United States, 2001-2016.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murthy, Bhavini Patel; Molinari, Noelle-Angelique M; LeBlanc, Tanya T; Vagi, Sara J; Avchen, Rachel N

    2017-09-01

    To evaluate the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) program's progress toward meeting public health preparedness capability standards in state, local, and territorial health departments. All 62 PHEP awardees completed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's self-administered PHEP Impact Assessment as part of program review measuring public health preparedness capability before September 11, 2001 (9/11), and in 2014. We collected additional self-reported capability self-assessments from 2016. We analyzed trends in congressional funding for public health preparedness from 2001 to 2016. Before 9/11, most PHEP awardees reported limited preparedness capabilities, but considerable progress was reported by 2016. The number of jurisdictions reporting established capability functions within the countermeasures and mitigation domain had the largest increase, almost 200%, by 2014. However, more than 20% of jurisdictions still reported underdeveloped coordination between the health system and public health agencies in 2016. Challenges and barriers to building PHEP capabilities included lack of trained personnel, plans, and sustained resources. Considerable progress in public health preparedness capability was observed from before 9/11 to 2016. Support, sustainment, and advancement of public health preparedness capability is critical to ensure a strong public health infrastructure.

  2. [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.

  3. The Relationships between Human Fatigue and Public Health: A Brief Commentary on Selected Papers from the 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health

    OpenAIRE

    Charli Sargent; Paul Roberts; Drew Dawson; Sally Ferguson; Lynn Meuleners; Libby Brook; Gregory D. Roach

    2016-01-01

    The 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health was held in Fremantle, Western Australia in March 2015. The purpose of the conferences in this series is to provide a forum for industry representatives, regulators, and scientists to discuss recent advances in the field of fatigue research. We have produced a Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health based on papers from the conference that were focused on...

  4. 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

  5. Organizational factors influencing successful primary care and public health collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2018-06-07

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

  6. Management of human resources in health care: the Canadian experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, O

    1992-07-01

    Each of Canada's ten provinces has a publicly administered system of health insurance, funded by provincial and federal taxes, that is accessible to all citizens and covers all medically necessary services provided by physicians and hospitals. Canadians spend an estimated 9.2 percent of their gross national product on health care (about 2.8 percentage points below US spending), of which three quarters is public-sector spending. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Canada's health status is equal to or better than that of the United States, despite lower per capita health spending. About seven percent of the Canadian labour force works in health care, and attempts to introduce coordinated planning of human resources in health care have not as yet proceeded far. The predominant policy issue here is the supply and the role of physicians. It has been argued that entrenching within the system the fee-for-service method of paying physicians has created a disincentive to the delegation of responsibility to health personnel other than doctors. It is also argued that introduction of government-run health insurance provided the opportunity for human resource planning, but that the decision by governments to act only as the payer resulted in ad-hoc planning approaches. However, governments' concern over health care costs has led to a more direct role by them in the planning of the human resources in health. They are re-examining the autonomy and jurisdictional rights of the professions that deliver health care to Canadians.

  7. 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.

  8. Considering virtue: public health and clinical ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meagher, Karen M

    2011-10-01

    As bioethicists increasingly turn their attention to the profession of public health, many candidate frameworks have been proposed, often with an eye toward articulating the values and foundational concepts that distinguish this practice from curative clinical medicine. First, I will argue that while these suggestions for a distinct ethics of public health are promising, they arise from problems within contemporary bioethics that must be taken into account. Without such cognizance of the impetus for public health ethics, we risk developing a set of ethical resources meant exclusively for public health professionals, thereby neglecting implications for curative medical ethics and the practice of bioethics more broadly. Second, I will present reasons for thinking some of the critiques of dominant contemporary bioethics can be met by a virtue ethics approach. I present a virtue ethics response to criticisms that concern (1) increased rigor in bioethics discourse; (2) the ability of normative theory to accommodate context; and (3) explicit attention to the nature of ethical conflict. I conclude that a virtue ethics approach is a viable avenue for further inquiry, one that leads us away from developing ethics of public health in a vacuum and has the potential for overcoming certain pitfalls of contemporary bioethics discourse. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. RESOURCE MOBILIZATION IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    support, friends of the filiary and professional public relations prograins all of which are part of ... available resources for efficient provision of library and information service. In this paper ... One of the good examples of resource sharing in Tanzania is the .... proposal should have a detailed project description, including the.

  10. 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.

  11. Data Resources for Conducting Health Services and Policy Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blewett, Lynn A; Call, Kathleen Thiede; Turner, Joanna; Hest, Robert

    2018-04-01

    Rich federal data resources provide essential data inputs for monitoring the health and health care of the US population and are essential for conducting health services policy research. The six household surveys we document in this article cover a broad array of health topics, including health insurance coverage (American Community Survey, Current Population Survey), health conditions and behaviors (National Health Interview Survey, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System), health care utilization and spending (Medical Expenditure Panel Survey), and longitudinal data on public program participation (SIPP). New federal activities are linking federal surveys with administrative data to reduce duplication and response burden. In the private sector, vendors are aggregating data from medical records and claims to enhance our understanding of treatment, quality, and outcomes of medical care. Federal agencies must continue to innovate to meet the continuous challenges of scarce resources, pressures for more granular data, and new multimode data collection methodologies.

  12. Elements of Pacific public health laws: an analysis of the public health acts of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and Fiji.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howse, Genevieve

    2012-09-01

    Pacific countries are sovereign nations with distinctive histories, ethnicity, customs, primary resources, economies, and health systems. Despite these and other acknowledged differences, similarities exist in many areas such as geography, legal history, and culture. Many share the experience of colonization, with imported British laws and the subsequent experience of independence. Most Pacific countries are also developing countries. This article broadly describes approaches to legislating in public health in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands and notes common elements in their public health laws, in particular, in relation to administration, allocation of powers and responsibilities, interaction with local government, communicable disease control, and nuisance. The article concludes that many Pacific public health laws could deliver better support for current health policy, more sensitivity to the culture and customs of the region, and better management of public health risk through laws that are better suited to their Pacific environment, easier to understand, more flexible, and more relevant to current health policy.

  13. Allocation of ventilators in a public health disaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Tia; Christ, Kelly C; Birkhead, Guthrie S

    2008-03-01

    In a public health emergency, many more patients could require mechanical ventilators than can be accommodated. To plan for such a crisis, the New York State Department of Health and the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law convened a workgroup to develop ethical and clinical guidelines for ventilator triage. The workgroup crafted an ethical framework including the following components: duty to care, duty to steward resources, duty to plan, distributive justice, and transparency. Incorporating the ethical framework, the clinical guidelines propose both withholding and withdrawing ventilators from patients with the highest probability of mortality to benefit patients with the highest likelihood of survival. Triage scores derive from the sepsis-related organ failure assessment system, which assigns points based on function in 6 basic medical domains. Triage may not be implemented by a facility without clear permission from public health authorities. New York State released the draft guidelines for public comment, allowing for revision to reflect both community values and medical innovation. This ventilator triage system represents a radical shift from ordinary standards of care, and may serve as a model for allocating other scarce resources in disasters.

  14. Mental health service utilization in sub-Saharan Africa: is public mental health literacy the problem? Setting the perspectives right.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atilola, Olayinka

    2016-06-01

    The severely constrained resources for mental health service in less-developed regions like sub-Saharan Africa underscore the need for good public mental health literacy as a potential additional mental health resource. Several studies examining the level of public knowledge about the nature and dynamics of mental illness in sub-Saharan Africa in the last decade had concluded that such knowledge was poor and had called for further public enlightenment. What was thought to be mental health 'ignorance' has also been blamed for poor mainstream service utilization. These views however assume that non-alignment of the views of community dwellers in sub-Saharan Africa with the biomedical understanding of mental illness connotes 'ignorance', and that correcting such 'ignorance' will translate to improvements in service utilization. Within the framework of contemporary thinking in mental health literacy, this paper argues that such assumptions are not culturally nuanced and may have overrated the usefulness of de-contextualized public engagement in enhancing mental health service utilization in the region. The paper concludes with a discourse on how to contextualize public mental health enlightenment in the region and the wider policy initiatives that can improve mental health service utilization. © The Author(s) 2015.

  15. 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.

  16. A Performance Analysis of Public Expenditure on Maternal Health in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Servan-Mori, Edson; Avila-Burgos, Leticia; Nigenda, Gustavo; Lozano, Rafael

    2016-01-01

    We explore the relationship between public expenditure, coverage of adequate ANC (including timing, frequent and content), and the maternal mortality ratio--adjusted by coverage of adequate ANC--observed in Mexico in 2012 at the State level. Additionally, we examine the inequalities and concentration of public expenditure between populations with and without Social Security. Results suggest that in the 2003-2011 period, the public expenditure gap between women with and without Social Security decreased 74%, however, the distribution is less equitable among women without Social Security, across the States. Despite high levels of coverage on each dimension of ANC explored, coverage of adequate ANC was lower among Social Security than non-Social Security women. This variability results in differences up to 1.5 times in State-adjusted maternal mortality rate at the same level of expense and maternal mortality rate, respectively. The increase in the economic resources is only a necessary condition for achieving improved health outcomes. Providing adequate health services and achieving efficient, effective and transparent use of resources in health, are critical elements for health systems performance. The attainment of universal effective coverage of maternal health and reducing maternal mortality in Mexico, requires the adjustment of policy innovations including the rules of allocation and execution of health resources. Health policies should be designed on a more holistic view promoting a balance between accessibility, effective implementation and rigorous stewardship.

  17. Improving the quality and impact of public health social media activity in Scotland during 2016: #ScotPublicHealth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackenzie, Douglas Graham

    2017-06-07

    Social media, including Twitter, potentially provides a route to communicate public health messages to a large audience. Simple measures can boost onward broadcast to other users ('retweeting'). This study compares the impact of a structured programme of social media activity in Scotland during 2016 (using #ScotPublicHealth hashtag) with previous years. The Twitter search function was used to identify tweets between 2014 and 2016 inclusive. The first three tweets from each Twitter user were selected for each period. The number of retweets was used as a measure of impact. The quality of tweets was assessed by recording use of image, weblink (uniform resource locator or URL), mention of another Twitter user and/or hashtag, each of which have been shown to boost number of retweets. The percentage of tweets with an image, URL and/or mention of another Twitter user increased during the period of study. The percentage of tweets retweeted during Scottish Public Health conferences increased from 43% in 2014 to 70% in 2016. The volume of tweeting also increased. The quality and impact of tweets sent by the Scottish Public Health community was higher during 2016 than previous years. Conference tweeting remains an area for improvement. © The Author 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

  18. Entry-to-practice public health nursing competencies: A Delphi method and knowledge translation strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schofield, Ruth; Chircop, Andrea; Baker, Cynthia; Dietrich Leurer, Marie; Duncan, Susan; Wotton, Donalda

    2018-06-01

    Sustaining and strengthening nurses 'contributions to public and population health in the 21st century depends in part on nursing education. Clearly articulated entry-to-practice competencies will contribute to the capacity of undergraduate nursing education programs to prepare graduates to promote local, national and global population health. The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing created the Public Health Task Force to develop consensus on core, national entry-to-practice competencies in public health nursing for undergraduate nursing students and to support these competencies with corresponding online teaching strategies. Delphi approach. Nurses with public health experience in education and practice, and representatives from other public health professional organizations across Canada. The three-phased competency development included: 1) an environmental scan; 2) an iterative process to draft competencies; and 3) a modified Delphi process to confirm the final competency framework using face to face consultations and a survey. The knowledge translation strategy involved soliciting submissions of teaching strategies for peer-review and subsequent inclusion in an interactive online resource. 242 public health educators and practitioners participated in the consensus consultation. The final document outlined five competency statements with 19 accompanying indicators. A total of 123 teaching strategies were submitted for the online resource, of which 50 were accepted as exemplary teaching strategies. This competency development process can provide guidance for the development of competencies in other countries, thus strengthening public health nursing education globally. The decision to intentionally level the competencies to entry-to-practice, as opposed to an advanced level, enhanced their application to undergraduate nursing education. The development of the additional inventory of teaching strategies created a sustainable innovative resource for public

  19. 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

  20. Theory of constraints for publicly funded health systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadat, Somayeh; Carter, Michael W; Golden, Brian

    2013-03-01

    Originally developed in the context of publicly traded for-profit companies, theory of constraints (TOC) improves system performance through leveraging the constraint(s). While the theory seems to be a natural fit for resource-constrained publicly funded health systems, there is a lack of literature addressing the modifications required to adopt TOC and define the goal and performance measures. This paper develops a system dynamics representation of the classical TOC's system-wide goal and performance measures for publicly traded for-profit companies, which forms the basis for developing a similar model for publicly funded health systems. The model is then expanded to include some of the factors that affect system performance, providing a framework to apply TOC's process of ongoing improvement in publicly funded health systems. Future research is required to more accurately define the factors affecting system performance and populate the model with evidence-based estimates for various parameters in order to use the model to guide TOC's process of ongoing improvement.

  1. Informal Fallacies as Cognitive Heuristics in Public Health Reasoning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise Cummings

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The public must make assessments of a range of health-related issues. However, these assessments require scientific know-ledge which is often lacking or ineffectively utilized by the public. Lay people must use whatever cognitive resources are at their disposal to come to judgement on these issues. It will be contended that a group of arguments—so-called informal fallacies—are a valuable cognitive resource in this regard. These arguments serve as cognitive heuristics which facilitate reasoning when knowledge is limited or beyond the grasp of reasoners. The results of an investigation into the use of these arguments by the public are reported.

  2. Public health and Web 2.0.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardey, Michael

    2008-07-01

    This article examines the nature and role of Web 2.0 resources and their impact on health information made available though the Internet. The transition of the Web from version one to Web 2.0 is described and the main features of the new Web examined. Two characteristic Web 2.0 resources are explored and the implications for the public and practitioners examined. First, what are known as 'user reviews' or 'user testimonials', which allow people to comment on the health services delivered to them, are described. Second, new mapping applications that take advantage of the interactive potential of Web 2.0 and provide tools to visualize complex data are examined. Following a discussion of the potential of Web 2.0, it is concluded that it offers considerable opportunities for disseminating health information and creating new sources of data, as well as generating new questions and dilemmas.

  3. Fair Resource Allocation to Health Research: Priority Topics for Bioethics Scholarship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pratt, Bridget; Hyder, Adnan A

    2017-07-01

    This article draws attention to the limited amount of scholarship on what constitutes fairness and equity in resource allocation to health research by individual funders. It identifies three key decisions of ethical significance about resource allocation that research funders make regularly and calls for prioritizing scholarship on those topics - namely, how health resources should be fairly apportioned amongst public health and health care delivery versus health research, how health research resources should be fairly allocated between health problems experienced domestically versus other health problems typically experienced by disadvantaged populations outside the funder's country, and how domestic and non-domestic health research funding should be further apportioned to different areas, e.g. types of research and recipients. These three topics should be priorities for bioethics research because their outcomes have a substantial bearing on the achievement of health justice. The proposed agenda aims to move discussion on the ethics of health research funding beyond its current focus on the mismatch between worldwide basic and clinical research investment and the global burden of disease. Individual funders' decision-making on whether and to what extent to allocate resources to non-domestic health research, health systems research, research on the social determinants of health, capacity development, and recipients in certain countries should also be the focus of ethical scrutiny. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Measuring Geographic Inequalities: Dealing with Multiple Health Resources by Data Envelopment Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dlouhý, Martin

    2018-01-01

    The existence of geographic differences in health resources, health expenditures, the utilization of health services, and health outcomes have been documented by a lot of studies from various countries of the world. In a publicly financed health system, equal access is one of the main objectives of the national health policy. That is why inequalities in the geographic allocation of health resources are an important health policy issue. Measures of inequality express the complexity of variation in the observed variable by a single number, and there is a variety of inequality measures available. The objective of this study is to develop a measure of the geographic inequality in the case of multiple health resources. The measure uses data envelopment analysis (DEA), which is a non-parametric method of production function estimation, to transform multiple resources into a single virtual health resource. The study shows that the DEA originally developed for measuring efficiency can be used successfully to measure inequality. For the illustrative purpose, the inequality measure is calculated for the Czech Republic. The values of separate Robin Hood Indexes (RHIs) are 6.64% for physicians and 3.96% for nurses. In the next step, we use combined RHI for both health resources. Its value 5.06% takes into account that the combinations of two health resources serve regional populations.

  5. Measuring Geographic Inequalities: Dealing with Multiple Health Resources by Data Envelopment Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dlouhý, Martin

    2018-01-01

    The existence of geographic differences in health resources, health expenditures, the utilization of health services, and health outcomes have been documented by a lot of studies from various countries of the world. In a publicly financed health system, equal access is one of the main objectives of the national health policy. That is why inequalities in the geographic allocation of health resources are an important health policy issue. Measures of inequality express the complexity of variation in the observed variable by a single number, and there is a variety of inequality measures available. The objective of this study is to develop a measure of the geographic inequality in the case of multiple health resources. The measure uses data envelopment analysis (DEA), which is a non-parametric method of production function estimation, to transform multiple resources into a single virtual health resource. The study shows that the DEA originally developed for measuring efficiency can be used successfully to measure inequality. For the illustrative purpose, the inequality measure is calculated for the Czech Republic. The values of separate Robin Hood Indexes (RHIs) are 6.64% for physicians and 3.96% for nurses. In the next step, we use combined RHI for both health resources. Its value 5.06% takes into account that the combinations of two health resources serve regional populations. PMID:29541631

  6. Oil for health in sub-Saharan Africa: health systems in a 'resource curse' environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calain, Philippe

    2008-10-21

    In a restricted sense, the resource curse is a theory that explains the inverse relationship classically seen between dependence on natural resources and economic growth. It defines a peculiar economic and political environment, epitomized by oil extraction in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on secondary research and illustrations from four oil-rich geographical areas (the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, Angola, southern Chad, Southern Sudan), I propose a framework for analysing the effects of the resource curse on the structure of health systems at sub-national levels. Qualitative attributes are emphasised. The role of the corporate sector, the influence of conflicts, and the value of classical mitigation measures (such as health impact assessments) are further examined. Health systems in a resource curse environment are classically fractured into tripartite components, including governmental health agencies, non-profit non-governmental organisations, and the corporate extractive sector. The three components entertain a range of contractual relationships generally based on operational considerations which are withdrawn from social or community values. Characterisation of agencies in this system should also include: values, operating principles, legitimacy and operational spaces. From this approach, it appears that community health is at the same time marginalized and instrumentalized toward economic and corporate interests in resource curse settings. From a public health point of view, the resource curse represents a fundamental failure of dominant development theories, rather than a delay in creating the proper economy and governance environment for social progress. The scope of research on the resource curse should be broadened to include more accurate or comprehensive indicators of destitution (including health components) and more open perspectives on causal mechanisms.

  7. Oil for health in sub-Saharan Africa: health systems in a 'resource curse' environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Calain Philippe

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In a restricted sense, the resource curse is a theory that explains the inverse relationship classically seen between dependence on natural resources and economic growth. It defines a peculiar economic and political environment, epitomised by oil extraction in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Based on secondary research and illustrations from four oil-rich geographical areas (the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, Angola, southern Chad, Southern Sudan, I propose a framework for analysing the effects of the resource curse on the structure of health systems at sub-national levels. Qualitative attributes are emphasised. The role of the corporate sector, the influence of conflicts, and the value of classical mitigation measures (such as health impact assessments are further examined. Results Health systems in a resource curse environment are classically fractured into tripartite components, including governmental health agencies, non-profit non-governmental organisations, and the corporate extractive sector. The three components entertain a range of contractual relationships generally based on operational considerations which are withdrawn from social or community values. Characterisation of agencies in this system should also include: values, operating principles, legitimacy and operational spaces. From this approach, it appears that community health is at the same time marginalised and instrumentalised toward economic and corporate interests in resource curse settings. Conclusion From a public health point of view, the resource curse represents a fundamental failure of dominant development theories, rather than a delay in creating the proper economy and governance environment for social progress. The scope of research on the resource curse should be broadened to include more accurate or comprehensive indicators of destitution (including health components and more open perspectives on causal mechanisms.

  8. Preparing for climate change: a perspective from local public health officers in California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bedsworth, Louise

    2009-04-01

    The most recent scientific findings show that even with significant emission reductions, some amount of climate change is likely inevitable. The magnitude of the climate changes will depend on future emissions and climate sensitivity. These changes will have local impacts, and a significant share of coping with these changes will fall on local governmental agencies. Public health is no exception, because local public health agencies are crucial providers of disease prevention, health care, and emergency preparedness services. This article presents the results of a survey of California's local pubic health officers conducted between August and October 2007. The survey gauged health officers' concerns about the public health impacts of climate change, programs in place that could help to mitigate these health effects, and information and resource needs for better coping with a changing climate. The results of this survey show that most public health officers feel that climate change poses a serious threat to public health but that they do not feel well equipped in terms of either resources or information to cope with that threat. Nonetheless, public health agencies currently implement a number of programs that will help these agencies handle some of the challenges posed by a changing climate. Overall, the results suggest that local public health agencies in California are likely in a better position than they perceive to address the threats associated with climate change but that there is a larger role for them to play in climate policy.

  9. Health resources in a 200,000 urban Indian population argues the need for a policy on private sector health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furtado, Kheya Melo; Kar, Anita

    2014-04-01

    There are limited primary data on the number of urban health care providers in private practice in developing countries like India. These data are needed to construct and test models that measure the efficacy of public stewardship of private sector health services. This study reports the number and characteristics of health resources in a 200 000 urban population in Pune. Data on health providers were collected by walking through the 15.46 sq km study area. Enumerated data were compared with existing data sources. Mapping was carried out using a Global Positioning System device. Metrics and characteristics of health resources were analyzed using ArcGIS 10.0 and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Version 16.0 software. Private sector health facilities constituted the majority (424/426, 99.5%) of health care services. Official data sources were only 39% complete. Doctor to population ratios were 2.8 and 0.03 per 1000 persons respectively in the private and public sector, and the nurse to doctor ratio was 0.24 and 0.71, respectively. There was an uneven distribution of private sector health services across the area (2-118 clinics per square kilometre). Bed strength was forty-fold higher in the private sector. Mandatory registration of private sector health services needs to be implemented which will provide an opportunity for public health planners to utilize these health resources to achieve urban health goals.

  10. Public health economics: a systematic review of guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions and discussion of key methodological issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Rhiannon Tudor; Charles, Joanna Mary; Lloyd-Williams, Huw

    2013-10-24

    If Public Health is the science and art of how society collectively aims to improve health, and reduce inequalities in health, then Public Health Economics is the science and art of supporting decision making as to how society can use its available resources to best meet these objectives and minimise opportunity cost. A systematic review of published guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions within this broad public policy paradigm was conducted. Electronic databases and organisation websites were searched using a 22 year time horizon (1990-2012). References of papers were hand searched for additional papers for inclusion. Government reports or peer-reviewed published papers were included if they; referred to the methods of economic evaluation of public health interventions, identified key challenges of conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions or made recommendations for conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions. Guidance was divided into three categories UK guidance, international guidance and observations or guidance provided by individual commentators in the field of public health economics. An assessment of the theoretical frameworks underpinning the guidance was made and served as a rationale for categorising the papers. We identified 5 international guidance documents, 7 UK guidance documents and 4 documents by individual commentators. The papers reviewed identify the main methodological challenges that face analysts when conducting such evaluations. There is a consensus within the guidance that wider social and environmental costs and benefits should be looked at due to the complex nature of public health. This was reflected in the theoretical underpinning as the majority of guidance was categorised as extra-welfarist. In this novel review we argue that health economics may have come full circle from its roots in broad public policy economics. We may find it useful to think in this broader

  11. The Relationships between Human Fatigue and Public Health: A Brief Commentary on Selected Papers from the 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sargent, Charli; Roberts, Paul; Dawson, Drew; Ferguson, Sally; Meuleners, Lynn; Brook, Libby; Roach, Gregory D

    2016-08-24

    The 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health was held in Fremantle, Western Australia in March 2015. The purpose of the conferences in this series is to provide a forum for industry representatives, regulators, and scientists to discuss recent advances in the field of fatigue research. We have produced a Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health based on papers from the conference that were focused on various aspects of public health. First, the Special Issue highlights the fact that working long shifts and/or night shifts can affect not only cognitive functioning, but also physical health. In particular, three papers examined the potential relationships between shiftwork and different aspects of health, including the cardiovascular system, sleep disordered breathing, and eating behaviour. Second, the Special Issue highlights the move away from controlling fatigue through prescriptive hours of service rules and toward the application of risk management principles. In particular, three papers indicated that best-practice fatigue risk management systems should contain multiple redundant layers of defense against fatigue-related errors and accidents.

  12. [Global public health: international health is tested to its limits by the human influenza A epidemic].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franco-Giraldo, Alvaro; Alvarez-Dardet, Carlos

    2009-06-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2011-01-01

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

  14. New public management in Iran's health complex: a management framework for primary health care system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabrizi, Jafar Sadegh; HaghGoshayie, Elaheh; Doshmangir, Leila; Yousefi, Mahmood

    2018-05-01

    New public management (NPM) was developed as a management reform to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in public organizations, especially in health sector. Using the features of private sector management, the managers of health organizations may try to implement the elements of NPM with the hope to improve the performance of their systems.AimsOur aim in the present study was to identify the elements and infrastructures suitable for implementing NPM in the Iranian health complex. In this qualitative study with conventional content analysis approach, we tried to explore the NPM elements and infrastructures in Iranian public health sector. A series of semi-structured interviews (n=48) were conducted in 2016 with a managers in public and private health complex. Three focus group discussions with nine faculty members were also conducted. A data collection form was used to collect the demographic characteristics and perspectives of the participants.FindingsFrom the perspective of managers, managerialism, decentralization, using market mechanism, performance management, customer orientation and performance budgeting were the main elements of NPM in the Iranian context. The most important infrastructures for implementing this reform were as follows: education and training, information technology, the proper use of human resources, decision support systems, top management commitment, organizational culture, flexibility of rules, rehabilitating of the aging infrastructures, and expanding the coverage of services. The NPM was generally identified to be an effective replacement for the traditional administration method. These reforms may be helpful in strengthening the public health complex and the management capacity, as well. NPM also seems to be useful in interacting the public health sector with the private sector in terms of personnel and resources, performance, reward structure, and methods of doing business.

  15. Emerging health isues in Asia and the Pacific: implications for public health policy

    OpenAIRE

    Amarakoon Bandara

    2005-01-01

    The Asia-Pacific region is confronted with several emerging healthrelated issues. The prevalence of diseases causing high rates of mortality and morbidity, and the lack of skilled health personnel, infrastructure, financial resources and health systems that are responsive to the needs of society, are among them. A pragmatic approach with a focus on issues of major health and socio-economic concern is vital for the development of successful public health services. Striking a balance between di...

  16. Biosecurity through Public Health System Design.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beyeler, Walter E. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Finley, Patrick D. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Arndt, William [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Walser, Alex Christian [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Mitchell, Michael David [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2016-11-01

    We applied modeling and simulation to examine the real-world tradeoffs between developingcountry public-health improvement and the need to improve the identification, tracking, and security of agents with bio-weapons potential. Traditionally, the international community has applied facility-focused strategies for improving biosecurity and biosafety. This work examines how system-level assessments and improvements can foster biosecurity and biosafety. We modeled medical laboratory resources and capabilities to identify scenarios where biosurveillance goals are transparently aligned with public health needs, and resource are distributed in a way that maximizes their ability to serve patients while minimizing security a nd safety risks. Our modeling platform simulates key processes involved in healthcare system operation, such as sample collection, transport, and analysis at medical laboratories. The research reported here extends the prior art by provided two key compone nts for comparative performance assessment: a model of patient interaction dynamics, and the capability to perform uncertainty quantification. In addition, we have outlined a process for incorporating quantitative biosecurity and biosafety risk measures. Two test problems were used to exercise these research products examine (a) Systemic effects of technological innovation and (b) Right -sizing of laboratory networks.

  17. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilton, Warren

    2013-01-01

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

  19. The role of clinical toxicologists and poison control centers in public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutter, Mark E; Bronstein, Alvin C; Heard, Stuart E; Barthold, Claudia L; Lando, James; Lewis, Lauren S; Schier, Joshua G

    2010-06-01

    Poison control centers and clinical toxicologists serve many roles within public health; however, the degree to which these entities collaborate is unknown. The objective of this survey was to identify successful collaborations of public health agencies with clinical toxicologists and poison control centers. Four areas including outbreak identification, syndromic surveillance, terrorism preparedness, and daily public health responsibilities amenable to poison control center resources were assessed. An online survey was sent to the directors of poison control centers, state epidemiologists, and the most senior public health official in each state and selected major metropolitan areas. This survey focused on three areas: service, structure within the local or state public health system, and remuneration. Questions regarding remuneration and poison control center location within the public health structure were asked to assess if these were critical factors of successful collaborations. Senior state and local public health officials were excluded because of a low response rate. The survey was completed in October 2007. A total of 111 respondents, 61 poison control centers and 50 state epidemiologists, were eligible for the survey. Sixty-nine (62%) of the 111 respondents, completed and returned the survey. Thirty-three (54%) of the 61 poison control centers responded, and 36 of the 50 state epidemiologists (72%) responded. The most frequent collaborations were terrorism preparedness and epidemic illness reporting. Additional collaborations also exist. Important collaborations exist outside of remuneration or poison control centers being a formal part of the public health structure. Poison control centers have expanded their efforts to include outbreak identification, syndromic surveillance, terrorism preparedness, and daily public health responsibilities amenable to poison control center resources. Collaboration in these areas and others should be expanded. Published

  20. 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.

  1. Comprehensive effective and efficient global public health surveillance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McNabb Scott JN

    2010-12-01

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

  2. Comprehensive effective and efficient global public health surveillance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNabb, Scott J N

    2010-12-03

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

  3. A wall of information? Exploring the public health component of maternity care in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Julia; Hunter, Billie; Warren, Lucie

    2016-03-01

    midwives have traditionally had an important role in providing public health messages to women. The range and diversity of the public health remit within maternity services has expanded rapidly over the past decade and maternity support workers as well as midwives are now engaged in public health work in many areas. Given these changes a review of current practice was indicated. to identify student midwives׳, midwives׳ and midwifery support workers׳ current knowledge of and involvement in the public health agenda in England. descriptive qualitative study using online discussion forums. England, United Kingdom undergraduate student midwives, midwives and maternity support workers employed by the National Health Service in England and University employed Leads for Midwifery Education. key themes identified were: the scope of the midwives׳ public health role, training and support for public health role, barriers and facilitators, specific client groups, specialist referral services. Student midwives, midwives and maternity support workers view engagement with, and delivery of, public health initiatives as an integral component of their roles, but are on occasions frustrated by constraints of time, training and public engagement. the National Health Service in England aims to engage pregnant women and new mothers in a diverse range of population based and individualised, public health initiatives. Currently, there are high levels of involvement in the public health agenda from the maternity workforce across a wide range of activities. However, midwives and maternity support workers are restricted by barriers of time, training and resources. These barriers will need addressing for optimal maternity care engagement in public health to be realised. policy makers, commissioners and National Health Service providers need to provide clear guidance on the expectations of the public health remit of midwives and maternity support workers and ensure that such expectations

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. A Framework for Developing the Structure of Public Health Economic Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Squires, Hazel; Chilcott, James; Akehurst, Ronald; Burr, Jennifer; Kelly, Michael P

    2016-01-01

    A conceptual modeling framework is a methodology that assists modelers through the process of developing a model structure. Public health interventions tend to operate in dynamically complex systems. Modeling public health interventions requires broader considerations than clinical ones. Inappropriately simple models may lead to poor validity and credibility, resulting in suboptimal allocation of resources. This article presents the first conceptual modeling framework for public health economic evaluation. The framework presented here was informed by literature reviews of the key challenges in public health economic modeling and existing conceptual modeling frameworks; qualitative research to understand the experiences of modelers when developing public health economic models; and piloting a draft version of the framework. The conceptual modeling framework comprises four key principles of good practice and a proposed methodology. The key principles are that 1) a systems approach to modeling should be taken; 2) a documented understanding of the problem is imperative before and alongside developing and justifying the model structure; 3) strong communication with stakeholders and members of the team throughout model development is essential; and 4) a systematic consideration of the determinants of health is central to identifying the key impacts of public health interventions. The methodology consists of four phases: phase A, aligning the framework with the decision-making process; phase B, identifying relevant stakeholders; phase C, understanding the problem; and phase D, developing and justifying the model structure. Key areas for further research involve evaluation of the framework in diverse case studies and the development of methods for modeling individual and social behavior. This approach could improve the quality of Public Health economic models, supporting efficient allocation of scarce resources. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics

  7. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Resource-limited Health Systems-Considerations for Training and Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friesen, Jason; Patterson, Dean; Munjal, Kevin

    2015-02-01

    In the past 50 years, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has gained widespread recognition as a life-saving skill that can be taught successfully to the general public. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation can be considered a cost-effective intervention that requires minimal classroom training and low-cost equipment and supplies; it is commonly taught throughout much of the developed world. But, the simplicity of CPR training and its access for the general public may be misleading, as outcomes for patients in cardiopulmonary arrest are poor and survival is dependent upon a comprehensive "chain-of-survival," which is something not achieved easily in resource-limited health care settings. In addition to the significant financial and physical resources needed to both train and develop basic CPR capabilities within a community, there is a range of ethical questions that should also be considered. This report describes some of the financial and ethical challenges that might result from CPR training in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is determined that for many health care systems, CPR training may have financial and ethically-deleterious, unintended consequences. Evidence shows Basic Life Support (BLS) skills training in a community is an effective intervention to improve public health. But, health care systems with limited resources should include CPR training only after considering the full implications of that intervention.

  8. Public health capacity in the provision of health care services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdmanis, Vivian; DeNicola, Arianna; Bernet, Patrick

    2015-12-01

    In this paper, we assess the capacity of Florida's public health departments. We achieve this by using bootstrapped data envelopment analysis (DEA) applied to Johansen's definition of capacity utilization. Our purpose in this paper is to measure if there is, theoretically, enough excess capacity available to handle a possible surge in the demand for primary care services especially after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act that includes provisions for expanded public health services. We measure subunit service availability using a comprehensive data source available for all 67 county health departments in the provision of diagnostic care and primary health care. In this research we aim to address two related research questions. First, we structure our analysis so as to fix budgets. This is based on the assumption that State spending on social and health services could be limited, but patient needs are not. Our second research question is that, given the dearth of primary care providers in Florida if budgets are allowed to vary is there enough medical labor to provide care to clients. Using a non-parametric approach, we also apply bootstrapping to the concept of plant capacity which adds to the productivity research. To preview our findings, we report that there exists excess plant capacity for patient treatment and care, but question whether resources may be better suited for more traditional types of public health services.

  9. Strategic planning for public health practice using macroenvironmental analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginter, P M; Duncan, W J; Capper, S A

    1991-01-01

    Macroenvironmental analysis is the initial stage in comprehensive strategic planning. The authors examine the benefits of this type of analysis when applied to public health organizations and present a series of questions that should be answered prior to committing resources to scanning, monitoring, forecasting, and assessing components of the macroenvironment. Using illustrations from the public and private sectors, each question is examined with reference to specific challenges facing public health. Benefits are derived both from the process and the outcome of macroenvironmental analysis. Not only are data acquired that assist public health professionals to make decisions, but the analytical process required assures a better understanding of potential external threats and opportunities as well as an organization's strengths and weaknesses. Although differences exist among private and public as well as profit and not-for-profit organizations, macroenvironmental analysis is seen as more essential to the public and not-for-profit sectors than the private and profit sectors. This conclusion results from the extreme dependency of those areas on external environmental forces that cannot be significantly influenced or controlled by public health decision makers. PMID:1902305

  10. Impacts of a measles outbreak in Western Sydney on public health resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flego, Kristina L; Belshaw, Daniel A; Sheppeard, Vicky; Weston, Kathryn M

    2013-09-30

    During February and March 2011, an outbreak of 26 confirmed cases of measles was reported to the Parramatta Public Health Unit (PHU) in western Sydney. This paper describes the impact of the outbreak on PHU resources. A retrospective review of information obtained from case notification forms and associated contact tracing records was carried out for each of the confirmed cases. Seven cases (27%) required hospital admission for more than 1 day and 10 (38%) cases required management within a hospital emergency department. There were no cases of encephalitis or death. The number of contacts was determined for each case as well as the number who required post-exposure prophylaxis. In total, 1,395 contacts were identified in this outbreak. Of these, 79 (5.7%) required normal human immunoglobulin and 90 (6.5%) were recommended to receive the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. A case study detailing the PHU costs associated with the contact management of a hospitalised measles case with 75 identified contacts is also included and the estimated total cost to the PHU of containing this particular case of measles was A$2,433, with staff time comprising the major cost component. Considerable effort and resources are required to manage measles outbreaks. The total cost of this outbreak to the PHU alone is likely to have exceeded A$48,000. This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Attorney General's Department, Robert Garran Offices, National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600 or posted at http://www.ag.gov.au/cca.

  11. Social Network resources and self-rated health in a deprived Danish neighborhood

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tanggaard Andersen, Pernille; Holst Algren, Maria; Fromsejer Heiberg, Regina

    2017-01-01

    Research has demonstrated that living in a deprived neighborhood contributes to the occurrence and development of poor health. Furthermore evidence shows that social networks are fundamental resources in preventing poor mental health. Neighborhood relationships and networks are vital for sustaining...... and improving quality of life. However, to determine potentials for public health action, the health impact of various types of network resources need to be explored and the association between socioeconomic position and self-rated health needs to be analysed to determine whether it is partially explained...... by social network resources. This is the main aim of this article. Cross-sectional data from one deprived neighborhood located in Denmark were collected in 2008 and 2013 using a postal health survey. The target group was defined as adults older than 16 years. In 2008, 408 residents participated...

  12. 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

  13. Human resources for health: lessons from the cholera outbreak in Papua New Guinea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosewell, Alexander; Bieb, Sibauk; Clark, Geoff; Miller, Geoff; MacIntyre, Raina; Zwi, Anthony

    2013-01-01

    Papua New Guinea is striving to achieve the minimum core requirements under the International Health Regulations in surveillance and outbreak response, and has experienced challenges in the availability and distribution of health professionals. Since mid-2009, a large cholera outbreak spread across lowland regions of the country and has been associated with more than 15 500 notifications at a case fatality ratio of 3.2%. The outbreak placed significant pressure on clinical and public health services. We describe some of the challenges to cholera preparedness and response in this human resource-limited setting, the strategies used to ensure effective cholera management and lessons learnt. Cholera task forces were useful to establish a clear system of leadership and accountability for cholera outbreak response and ensure efficiencies in each technical area. Cholera outbreak preparedness and response was strongest when human resource and health systems functioned well before the outbreak. Communication relied on coordination of existing networks and methods for empowering local leaders and villagers to modify behaviours of the population. In line with the national health emergencies plan, the successes of human resource strategies during the cholera outbreak should be built upon through emergency exercises, especially in non-affected provinces. Population needs for all public health professionals involved in health emergency preparedness and response should be mapped, and planning should be implemented to increase the numbers in relevant areas. Human resource planning should be integrated with health emergency planning. It is essential to maintain and strengthen the human resource capacities and experiences gained during the cholera outbreak to ensure a more effective response to the next health emergency.

  14. 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

    social determinants of health and health inequalities. Researchers have a vital role to play in providing the complex evidence required to compare different models of prevention and service delivery. Those working in public health must develop leadership to raise the profile of health inequalities as an issue that merits attention, resources and workforce capacity; and advocate for central government to play a key role in shifting social norms.

  15. 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

    have a vital role to play in providing the complex evidence required to compare different models of prevention and service delivery. Those working in public health must develop leadership to raise the profile of health inequalities as an issue that merits attention, resources and workforce capacity; and advocate for central government to play a key role in shifting social norms.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Chauvin

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background 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. Methods 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 Results 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

  17. [Computerization and the importance of information in health system, as in health care resources registry].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troselj, Mario; Fanton, Davor

    2005-01-01

    The possibilities of creating a health care resources registry and its operating in Croatia as well as the importance of information in health system are described. At the Croatian Institute of Public Health, monitoring of human resources is performed through the national Health Workers Registry. It also covers basic data on all health units, bed capacities of health facilities included. The initiated health care computerization has urged the idea of forming one more database on physical resources, i.e. on registered medical devices and equipment, more complete. Linking these databases on health resources would produce a single Health Care Resources Registry. The concept views Health Care Resources Registry as part of the overall health information system with centralized information on the health system. The planned development of segments of a single health information system is based on the implementation of the accepted international standards and common network services. Network services that are based on verified Internet technologies are used within a safe, reliable and closed health computer network, which makes up the health intranet (WAN--Wide Area Network). The resource registry is a software solution based on the relational database that monitors history, thus permitting the data collected over a longer period to be analyzed. Such a solution assumes the existence of a directory service, which would replace the current independent software for the Health Workers Registry. In the Health Care Resources Registry, the basic data set encompasses data objects and attributes from the directory service. The directory service is compatible with the LDAP protocol (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol), providing services uniformly to the current records on human and physical resources. Through the storage of attributes defined according to the HL7 (Health Level Seven) standard, directory service is accessible to all applications of the health information system

  18. Why public health services? Experiences from profit-driven health care reforms in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahlgren, Göran

    2014-01-01

    Market-oriented health care reforms have been implemented in the tax-financed Swedish health care system from 1990 to 2013. The first phase of these reforms was the introduction of new public management systems, where public health centers and public hospitals were to act as private firms in an internal health care market. A second phase saw an increase of tax-financed private for-profit providers. A third phase can now be envisaged with increased private financing of essential health services. The main evidence-based effects of these markets and profit-driven reforms can be summarized as follows: efficiency is typically reduced but rarely increased; profit and tax evasion are a drain on resources for health care; geographical and social inequities are widened while the number of tax-financed providers increases; patients with major multi-health problems are often given lower priority than patients with minor health problems; opportunities to control the quality of care are reduced; tax-financed private for-profit providers facilitate increased private financing; and market forces and commercial interests undermine the power of democratic institutions. Policy options to promote further development of a nonprofit health care system are highlighted.

  19. Public health economics: a systematic review of guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions and discussion of key methodological issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background If Public Health is the science and art of how society collectively aims to improve health, and reduce inequalities in health, then Public Health Economics is the science and art of supporting decision making as to how society can use its available resources to best meet these objectives and minimise opportunity cost. A systematic review of published guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions within this broad public policy paradigm was conducted. Methods Electronic databases and organisation websites were searched using a 22 year time horizon (1990–2012). References of papers were hand searched for additional papers for inclusion. Government reports or peer-reviewed published papers were included if they; referred to the methods of economic evaluation of public health interventions, identified key challenges of conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions or made recommendations for conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions. Guidance was divided into three categories UK guidance, international guidance and observations or guidance provided by individual commentators in the field of public health economics. An assessment of the theoretical frameworks underpinning the guidance was made and served as a rationale for categorising the papers. Results We identified 5 international guidance documents, 7 UK guidance documents and 4 documents by individual commentators. The papers reviewed identify the main methodological challenges that face analysts when conducting such evaluations. There is a consensus within the guidance that wider social and environmental costs and benefits should be looked at due to the complex nature of public health. This was reflected in the theoretical underpinning as the majority of guidance was categorised as extra-welfarist. Conclusions In this novel review we argue that health economics may have come full circle from its roots in broad public policy economics. We may

  20. Strengthening public health education in population and reproductive health through an innovative academic partnership in Africa: the Gates partners experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oni, Gbolahan; Fatusi, Adesegun; Tsui, Amy; Enquselassie, Fikre; Ojengbede, Oladosu; Agbenyega, Tsiri; Ojofeitimi, Ebenezer; Taulo, Frank; Quakyi, Isabella

    2011-01-01

    Poor reproductive health constitutes one of the leading public health problems in the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We report here an academic partnership that commenced in 2003 between a US institution and six universities in SSA. The partnership addresses the human resources development challenge in Africa by strengthening public health education and research capacity to improve population and reproductive health (PRH) outcomes in low-resource settings. The partnership's core activities focused on increasing access to quality education, strengthening health research capacity and translating scholarship and science into policy and practices. Partnership programmes focused on the educational dimension of the human resources equation provide students with improved learning facilities and enhanced work environments and also provide faculty with opportunities for professional development and an enhanced capacity for curriculum delivery. By 2007, 48 faculty members from the six universities in SSA attended PRH courses at Johns Hopkins University, 93 PRH courses were offered across the six universities, 625 of their master's students elected PRH concentrations and 158 had graduated. With the graduation of these and future student cohorts, the universities in SSA will systematically be expanding the number of public health practitioners and strengthening programme effectiveness to resolve reproductive health needs. Some challenges facing the partnership are described in this article.

  1. 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

  2. Implementing a Public Health Approach to Addressing Mental Health Needs in a University Setting: Lessons and Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parcover, Jason; Mays, Sally; McCarthy, Amy

    2015-01-01

    The mental health needs of college students are placing increasing demands on counseling center resources, and traditional outreach efforts may be outdated or incomplete. The public health model provides an approach for reaching more students, decreasing stigma, and addressing mental health concerns before they reach crisis levels. Implementing a…

  3. The Relationships between Human Fatigue and Public Health: A Brief Commentary on Selected Papers from the 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charli Sargent

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The 9th International Conference on Managing Fatigue in Transportation, Resources and Health was held in Fremantle, Western Australia in March 2015. The purpose of the conferences in this series is to provide a forum for industry representatives, regulators, and scientists to discuss recent advances in the field of fatigue research. We have produced a Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health based on papers from the conference that were focused on various aspects of public health. First, the Special Issue highlights the fact that working long shifts and/or night shifts can affect not only cognitive functioning, but also physical health. In particular, three papers examined the potential relationships between shiftwork and different aspects of health, including the cardiovascular system, sleep disordered breathing, and eating behaviour. Second, the Special Issue highlights the move away from controlling fatigue through prescriptive hours of service rules and toward the application of risk management principles. In particular, three papers indicated that best-practice fatigue risk management systems should contain multiple redundant layers of defense against fatigue-related errors and accidents.

  4. [Human resources for health in Chile: the reform's pending challenge].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Méndez, Claudio A

    2009-09-01

    Omission of human resources from health policy development has been identified as a barrier in the health sector reform's adoption phase. Since 2002, Chile's health care system has been undergoing a transformation based on the principles of health as a human right, equity, solidarity, efficiency, and social participation. While the reform has set forth the redefinition of the medical professions, continuing education, scheduled accreditation, and the introduction of career development incentives, it has not considered management options tailored to the new setting, a human resources strategy that has the consensus of key players and sector policy, or a process for understanding the needs of health care staff and professionals. However, there is still time to undo the shortcomings, in large part because the reform's implementation phase only recently has begun. Overcoming this challenge is in the hands of the experts charged with designing public health strategies and policies.

  5. The Foundational Public Health Services as a Framework for Estimating Spending.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resnick, Beth A; Fisher, Jessica S; Colrick, Ian P; Leider, Jonathon P

    2017-11-01

    In support of the nation's effort to address rising healthcare costs and improve healthcare outcomes, the National Academy of Medicine called for a minimum package of public health services available in every community to protect and improve population health and identification of the resources needed to make these services universally available. In response, the Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) framework was developed to outline a basic set of public health programs and capabilities. Although the FPHS is considered a useful public health practice tool, cost estimation for providing the FPHS is in its infancy. This is in part due to inability to estimate total costs of individual public health services and programs. This research begins to address this knowledge gap. FPHS formed the basis of a coding framework used in 2013-2016 to code 1.9 million U.S. Census Bureau State Finance non-hospital expenditure records from 49 states from 2000 to 2013. Results were used to develop estimates of state governmental FPHS spending. FPHS spending constituted 36% of total state governmental non-hospital health spending from 2008 to 2013. The largest proportion of FPHS spending was on maternal/child health and the smallest proportion of spending was on access and linkage to clinical care. This research is an important step in response to the National Academy of Medicine's call for estimating the resources needed to provide the FPHS. Such estimates allow for spending comparisons across states and may inform future research to assess and evaluate FPHS spending impacts. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Dissemination, Implementation, and Improvement Science Research in Population Health: Opportunities for Public Health and CTSAs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuo, Tony; Gase, Lauren N; Inkelas, Moira

    2015-12-01

    The complex, dynamic nature of health systems requires dissemination, implementation, and improvement (DII) sciences to effectively translate emerging knowledge into practice. Although they hold great promise for informing multisector policies and system-level changes, these methods are often not strategically used by public health. More than 120 stakeholders from Southern California, including the community, federal and local government, university, and health services were convened to identify key priorities and opportunities for public health departments and Clinical and Translational Science Awards programs (CTSAs) to advance DII sciences in population health. Participants identified challenges (mismatch of practice realities with narrowly focused research questions; lack of iterative learning) and solutions (using methods that fit the dynamic nature of the real world; aligning theories of change across sectors) for applying DII science research to public health problems. Pragmatic steps that public health and CTSAs can take to facilitate DII science research include: employing appropriate study designs; training scientists and practicing professionals in these methods; securing resources to advance this work; and supporting team science to solve complex-systems issues. Public health and CTSAs represent a unique model of practice for advancing DII research in population health. The partnership can inform policy and program development in local communities. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Schools of public health in low and middle-income countries: an imperative investment for improving the health of populations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabbani, Fauziah; Shipton, Leah; White, Franklin; Nuwayhid, Iman; London, Leslie; Ghaffar, Abdul; Ha, Bui Thi Thu; Tomson, Göran; Rimal, Rajiv; Islam, Anwar; Takian, Amirhossein; Wong, Samuel; Zaidi, Shehla; Khan, Kausar; Karmaliani, Rozina; Abbasi, Imran Naeem; Abbas, Farhat

    2016-09-07

    Public health has multicultural origins. By the close of the nineteenth century, Schools of Public Health (SPHs) began to emerge in western countries in response to major contemporary public health challenges. The Flexner Report (1910) emphasized the centrality of preventive medicine, sanitation, and public health measures in health professional education. The Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care (PHC) in 1978 was a critical milestone, especially for low and middle-income countries (LMICs), conceptualizing a close working relationship between PHC and public health measures. The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2005-2008) strengthened the case for SPHs in LMICs as key stakeholders in efforts to reduce global health inequities. This scoping review groups text into public health challenges faced by LMICs and the role of SPHs in addressing these challenges. The challenges faced by LMICs include rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, unfair terms of global trade, limited capacity for equitable growth, mass displacements associated with conflicts and natural disasters, and universal health coverage. Poor governance and externally imposed donor policies and agendas, further strain the fragile health systems of LMICs faced with epidemiological transition. Moreover barriers to education and research imposed by limited resources, political and economic instability, and unbalanced partnerships additionally aggravate the crisis. To address these contextual challenges effectively, SPHs are offering broad based health professional education, conducting multidisciplinary population based research and fostering collaborative partnerships. SPHs are also looked upon as the key drivers to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). SPHs in LMICs can contribute to overcoming several public health challenges being faced by LMICs, including achieving SDGs. Most importantly they can develop cadres of competent and well-motivated public health professionals

  8. Schools of public health in low and middle-income countries: an imperative investment for improving the health of populations?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fauziah Rabbani

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Public health has multicultural origins. By the close of the nineteenth century, Schools of Public Health (SPHs began to emerge in western countries in response to major contemporary public health challenges. The Flexner Report (1910 emphasized the centrality of preventive medicine, sanitation, and public health measures in health professional education. The Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care (PHC in 1978 was a critical milestone, especially for low and middle-income countries (LMICs, conceptualizing a close working relationship between PHC and public health measures. The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2005–2008 strengthened the case for SPHs in LMICs as key stakeholders in efforts to reduce global health inequities. This scoping review groups text into public health challenges faced by LMICs and the role of SPHs in addressing these challenges. Main text The challenges faced by LMICs include rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, unfair terms of global trade, limited capacity for equitable growth, mass displacements associated with conflicts and natural disasters, and universal health coverage. Poor governance and externally imposed donor policies and agendas, further strain the fragile health systems of LMICs faced with epidemiological transition. Moreover barriers to education and research imposed by limited resources, political and economic instability, and unbalanced partnerships additionally aggravate the crisis. To address these contextual challenges effectively, SPHs are offering broad based health professional education, conducting multidisciplinary population based research and fostering collaborative partnerships. SPHs are also looked upon as the key drivers to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs. Conclusion SPHs in LMICs can contribute to overcoming several public health challenges being faced by LMICs, including achieving SDGs. Most importantly they can develop cadres of

  9. Open science initiatives: challenges for public health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holzmeyer, Cheryl

    2018-03-07

    While academic open access, open data and open science initiatives have proliferated in recent years, facilitating new research resources for health promotion, open initiatives are not one-size-fits-all. Health research particularly illustrates how open initiatives may serve various interests and ends. Open initiatives not only foster new pathways of research access; they also discipline research in new ways, especially when associated with new regimes of research use and peer review, while participating in innovation ecosystems that often perpetuate existing systemic biases toward commercial biomedicine. Currently, many open initiatives are more oriented toward biomedical research paradigms than paradigms associated with public health promotion, such as social determinants of health research. Moreover, open initiatives too often dovetail with, rather than challenge, neoliberal policy paradigms. Such initiatives are unlikely to transform existing health research landscapes and redress health inequities. In this context, attunement to social determinants of health research and community-based local knowledge is vital to orient open initiatives toward public health promotion and health equity. Such an approach calls for discourses, norms and innovation ecosystems that contest neoliberal policy frameworks and foster upstream interventions to promote health, beyond biomedical paradigms. This analysis highlights challenges and possibilities for leveraging open initiatives on behalf of a wider range of health research stakeholders, while emphasizing public health promotion, health equity and social justice as benchmarks of transformation.

  10. Scenario-based design: a method for connecting information system design with public health operations and emergency management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeder, Blaine; Turner, Anne M

    2011-12-01

    Responding to public health emergencies requires rapid and accurate assessment of workforce availability under adverse and changing circumstances. However, public health information systems to support resource management during both routine and emergency operations are currently lacking. We applied scenario-based design as an approach to engage public health practitioners in the creation and validation of an information design to support routine and emergency public health activities. Using semi-structured interviews we identified the information needs and activities of senior public health managers of a large municipal health department during routine and emergency operations. Interview analysis identified 25 information needs for public health operations management. The identified information needs were used in conjunction with scenario-based design to create 25 scenarios of use and a public health manager persona. Scenarios of use and persona were validated and modified based on follow-up surveys with study participants. Scenarios were used to test and gain feedback on a pilot information system. The method of scenario-based design was applied to represent the resource management needs of senior-level public health managers under routine and disaster settings. Scenario-based design can be a useful tool for engaging public health practitioners in the design process and to validate an information system design. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. 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

  12. Study of health human resource migration in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panneer Sigamani

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background Human Resource for Health (HRH migration is an emerging concern in the development paradigm due to the critical importance to sustainability of health system in India. Being the largest human resource supplier to the world, it is important to analyze the consequences of the migration of HRH in the delivery of healthcare services to the country’s population. The study evidences limited to examine the size, distribution of the existing human resources or trends or patterns in migration. The consequences of migration have its implications to the healthcare delivery mechanism which needed to be critically analyzed. Review Methodology The methodology adopted in the paper is descriptive design. The critical review used to evaluate the existing evidence and to develop conceptual framework. The process involved the setting of the inclusion and exclusion criteria to select the articles. It included wide range of articles from the world development reports to specific studies oriented on the HRH scenario of the country. The search strategy comprised both form of studies qualitative and quantitative. The study utilizes the official data set published as report form. Main Findings The data on the migration in context of India, not systematically updated in the existing evidences. The availability of data on migration limits to few reports i.e.(World Health Organization WHO’s Joint Learning Initiatives and studies which combines census data of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD and results in the number of foreign born health professionals. 1. A major proportion of the research studies reviewed describes the disparity in distribution of HRH between rural-urban and public-private. Few researches focused towards the policy environment of the source and destination country for the migration. 2. There is pool of literature explaining the factors of migration but it margins when to analyze the significant implications to

  13. [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.

  14. Radiological health training resources 1979. Report for September 1977-August 1979

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munzer, J.E.; Sauer, K.G.

    1979-08-01

    In an effort to reach radiation control personnel and user groups in greater numbers than is possible through direct training methods, the Training Resources Center distributes many types of radiological health movies, videocassettes, and course listings. The training collection maintained by the Division of Training and Medical Applications includes videocassettes, movies, and printed material. Titles in this publication are limited to radiological health subjects only and include a variety of topics ranging from basic fundamentals to historical perspectives to current state of the art. This publication is published and updated biennially

  15. 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…

  16. Representation of occupational information across resources and validation of the occupational data for health model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajamani, Sripriya; Chen, Elizabeth S; Lindemann, Elizabeth; Aldekhyyel, Ranyah; Wang, Yan; Melton, Genevieve B

    2018-02-01

    Reports by the National Academy of Medicine and leading public health organizations advocate including occupational information as part of an individual's social context. Given recent National Academy of Medicine recommendations on occupation-related data in the electronic health record, there is a critical need for improved representation. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has developed an Occupational Data for Health (ODH) model, currently in draft format. This study aimed to validate the ODH model by mapping occupation-related elements from resources representing recommendations, standards, public health reports and surveys, and research measures, along with preliminary evaluation of associated value sets. All 247 occupation-related items across 20 resources mapped to the ODH model. Recommended value sets had high variability across the evaluated resources. This study demonstrates the ODH model's value, the multifaceted nature of occupation information, and the critical need for occupation value sets to support clinical care, population health, and research. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. Ramsey waits: allocating public health service resources when there is rationing by waiting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gravelle, Hugh; Siciliani, Luigi

    2008-09-01

    The optimal allocation of a public health care budget across treatments must take account of the way in which care is rationed within treatments since this will affect their marginal value. We investigate the optimal allocation rules for public health care systems where user charges are fixed and care is rationed by waiting. The optimal waiting time is higher for treatments with demands more elastic to waiting time, higher costs, lower charges, smaller marginal welfare loss from waiting by treated patients, and smaller marginal welfare losses from under-consumption of care. The results hold for a wide range of welfarist and non-welfarist objective functions and for systems in which there is also a private health care sector. They imply that allocation rules based purely on cost effectiveness ratios are suboptimal because they assume that there is no rationing within treatments.

  18. Whole genome sequencing in clinical and public health microbiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwong, J C; McCallum, N; Sintchenko, V; Howden, B P

    2015-04-01

    Genomics and whole genome sequencing (WGS) have the capacity to greatly enhance knowledge and understanding of infectious diseases and clinical microbiology.The growth and availability of bench-top WGS analysers has facilitated the feasibility of genomics in clinical and public health microbiology.Given current resource and infrastructure limitations, WGS is most applicable to use in public health laboratories, reference laboratories, and hospital infection control-affiliated laboratories.As WGS represents the pinnacle for strain characterisation and epidemiological analyses, it is likely to replace traditional typing methods, resistance gene detection and other sequence-based investigations (e.g., 16S rDNA PCR) in the near future.Although genomic technologies are rapidly evolving, widespread implementation in clinical and public health microbiology laboratories is limited by the need for effective semi-automated pipelines, standardised quality control and data interpretation, bioinformatics expertise, and infrastructure.

  19. Understanding the impacts of medical tourism on health human resources in Barbados: a prospective, qualitative study of stakeholder perceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Medical tourism is a global health practice where patients travel internationally with the intention of receiving medical services. A range of low, middle, and high income countries are encouraging investment in the medical tourism sector, including countries in the Caribbean targeting patients in North America and Europe. While medical tourism has the potential to provide economic and employment opportunities in destination countries, there are concerns that it could encourage the movement of health workers from the public to private health sector. Methods We present findings from 19 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across the public health care, private health care, government, allied business, and civil society sectors. These interviews were conducted in-person in Barbados and via phone. The interview transcripts were coded and a thematic analysis developed. Results Three themes were identified: 1) Stakeholder perceptions of the patterns and plans for health human resource usage by current and planned medical tourism facilities in Barbados. We found that while health human resource usage in the medical tourism sector has been limited, it is likely to grow in the future; 2) Anticipated positive impacts of medical tourism on health human resources and access to care in the public system. These benefits included improved quality control, training opportunities, and health worker retention; and 3) Anticipated negative impacts of medical tourism on health human resources and access to care in the public system. These impacts included longer wait times for care and a shift in planning priorities driven by the medical tourism sector. Conclusions Stakeholders interviewed who were connected to medical tourism expansion or the tourism sector took a generally positive view of the likely impacts of medical tourism on health human resources in Barbados. However, stakeholders associated with the public health system and health equity expressed concern

  20. Understanding the impacts of medical tourism on health human resources in Barbados: a prospective, qualitative study of stakeholder perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Jeremy; Crooks, Valorie A; Turner, Leigh; Johnston, Rory

    2013-01-05

    Medical tourism is a global health practice where patients travel internationally with the intention of receiving medical services. A range of low, middle, and high income countries are encouraging investment in the medical tourism sector, including countries in the Caribbean targeting patients in North America and Europe. While medical tourism has the potential to provide economic and employment opportunities in destination countries, there are concerns that it could encourage the movement of health workers from the public to private health sector. We present findings from 19 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across the public health care, private health care, government, allied business, and civil society sectors. These interviews were conducted in-person in Barbados and via phone. The interview transcripts were coded and a thematic analysis developed. Three themes were identified: 1) Stakeholder perceptions of the patterns and plans for health human resource usage by current and planned medical tourism facilities in Barbados. We found that while health human resource usage in the medical tourism sector has been limited, it is likely to grow in the future; 2) Anticipated positive impacts of medical tourism on health human resources and access to care in the public system. These benefits included improved quality control, training opportunities, and health worker retention; and 3) Anticipated negative impacts of medical tourism on health human resources and access to care in the public system. These impacts included longer wait times for care and a shift in planning priorities driven by the medical tourism sector. Stakeholders interviewed who were connected to medical tourism expansion or the tourism sector took a generally positive view of the likely impacts of medical tourism on health human resources in Barbados. However, stakeholders associated with the public health system and health equity expressed concern that medical tourism may spread

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2013-06-14

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

  2. Work environments for healthy and motivated public health nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saito, Naoko; Yamamoto, Takeshi; Kitaike, Tadashi

    2016-01-01

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

  3. 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.

  4. Cost of Delivering Health Care Services in Public Sector Primary and Community Health Centres in North India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prinja, Shankar; Gupta, Aditi; Verma, Ramesh; Bahuguna, Pankaj; Kumar, Dinesh; Kaur, Manmeet; Kumar, Rajesh

    2016-01-01

    With the commitment of the national government to provide universal healthcare at cheap and affordable prices in India, public healthcare services are being strengthened in India. However, there is dearth of cost data for provision of health services through public system like primary & community health centres. In this study, we aim to bridge this gap in evidence by assessing the total annual and per capita cost of delivering the package of health services at PHC and CHC level. Secondly, we determined the per capita cost of delivering specific health services like cost per antenatal care visit, per institutional delivery, per outpatient consultation, per bed-day hospitalization etc. We undertook economic costing of fourteen public health facilities (seven PHCs and CHCs each) in three North-Indian states viz., Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Bottom-up costing method was adopted for collection of data on all resources spent on delivery of health services in selected health facilities. Analysis was undertaken using a health system perspective. The joint costs like human resource, capital, and equipment were apportioned as per the time value spent on a particular service. Capital costs were discounted and annualized over the estimated life of the item. Mean annual costs and unit costs were estimated along with their 95% confidence intervals using bootstrap methodology. The overall annual cost of delivering services through public sector primary and community health facilities in three states of north India were INR 8.8 million (95% CI: 7,365,630-10,294,065) and INR 26.9 million (95% CI: 22,225,159.3-32,290,099.6), respectively. Human resources accounted for more than 50% of the overall costs at both the level of PHCs and CHCs. Per capita per year costs for provision of complete package of preventive, curative and promotive services at PHC and CHC were INR 170.8 (95% CI: 131.6-208.3) and INR162.1 (95% CI: 112-219.1), respectively. The study estimates can be used

  5. Staff and bed distribution in public sector mental health services in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background. The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is a resource-limited province with a fragmented mental health service. Objective. To determine the current context of public sector mental health services in terms of staff and bed distribution, and how this corresponds to the population distribution in the province.

  6. [Terrorism, public health and health services].

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2009-01-01

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

  7. ANALYTIC NETWORK PROCESS AND BALANCED SCORECARD APPLIED TO THE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Aurélio Reis dos Santos

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The performance of public health systems is an issue of great concern. After all, to assure people's quality of life, public health systems need different kinds of resources. Balanced Scorecard provides a multi-dimensional evaluation framework. This paper presents the application of the Analytic Network Process and Balanced Scorecard in the performance evaluation of a public health system in a typical medium-sized Southeastern town in Brazil.

  8. Public Library Staff as Community Health Partners: Training Program Design and Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Anna U; D'Alonzo, Bernadette A; Dupuis, Roxanne; Whiteman, Eliza D; Kallem, Stacey; McClintock, Autumn; Fein, Joel A; Klusaritz, Heather; Cannuscio, Carolyn C

    2018-05-01

    Public libraries are free and open to all-and accessed at high rates by vulnerable populations-which positions them to be key public health allies. However, library staff themselves often feel ill-equipped to address the health and social concerns of their patrons. To fill this gap, we developed a case-based training curriculum to help library staff recognize, engage, and refer vulnerable patrons to appropriate resources. Topics addressed in the training, including homelessness, mental health and substance use disorders, immigration, and trauma, were selected based on findings from a prior community needs assessment. Using a modified measure of self-efficacy, participants ( n = 33) were surveyed before and after each session. Several participants ( n = 7) were also interviewed 4 months after the training was completed. Overall, staff reported significant increases in comfort, confidence, and preparedness in assisting vulnerable patrons across all topic areas. Qualitative findings reflected positive perceived impact and value of the trainings. Staff felt training resources should be made more readily accessible. Improving library staff capacity to address the health and social needs of their patrons can further establish public libraries as partners in improving population health.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2007-01-01

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

  10. 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...

  11. Human resource leadership: the key to improved results in health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O'Neil Mary L

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This article is the lead article in the Human Resources for Health journal's first quarterly feature. The series of seven articles has been contributed by Management Sciences for Health (MSH under the theme of leadership and management in public health and will be published article by article over the next few weeks. The journal has invited Dr Manuel M. Dayrit, Director of the WHO Department of Human Resources for Health and former Minister of Health for the Philippines to launch the feature with an opening editorial to be found in the journal's blog. This opening article describes the human resource challenges that managers around the world report and analyses why solutions often fail to be implemented. Despite rising attention to the acute shortage of health care workers, solutions to the human resource (HR crisis are difficult to achieve, especially in the poorest countries. Although we are aware of the issues and have developed HR strategies, the problem is that some old systems of leading and managing human resources for health do not work in today's context. The Leadership Development Program (LDP is grounded on the belief that good leadership and management can be learned and practiced at all levels. The case studies in this issue were chosen to illustrate results from using the LDP at different levels of the health sector. The LDP makes a profound difference in health managers' attitudes towards their work. Rather than feeling defeated by a workplace climate that lacks motivation, hope, and commitment to change, people report that they are mobilized to take action to change the status quo. The lesson is that without this capacity at all levels, global policy and national HR strategies will fail to make a difference.

  12. Terrorism: a public health threat with a trauma system response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Lenworth M; Burns, Karyl J; Gross, Ronald I

    2003-12-01

    The threat of mass casualties and widespread infectious disease caused by terrorism is now a challenge for our government and public health system. Funds have been granted to the states by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration to establish bioterrorism preparedness and response capabilities. Hartford Hospital has been designated as a Center of Excellence for Bioterrorism Preparedness by the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health. The Center of Excellence has implemented strategies to prepare for a possible bioterrorist attack. A unique model that combines epidemiology and traumatology is being used to guide the preparedness activities. Although the focus of the grant from the Connecticut Department of Public Health is bioterrorism, the application of the model can apply to preparation for all terrorist events. Implementation of strategies indicates that bioterrorism preparedness is well underway. Similar initiatives should be achievable by other trauma systems throughout the country. A Center of Excellence for Bioterrorism Preparedness in Connecticut is successfully modifying a trauma system to meet the challenge of a new public health threat, terrorism.

  13. [Current and future competencies for public health professionals].

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2013-01-01

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

  14. 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....

  15. Public health and terrorism preparedness: cross-border issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2005-01-01

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

  16. Factors predicting health practitioners' awareness of UNHS program in Malaysian non-public hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail, Abdussalaam Iyanda; Abdul Majid, Abdul Halim; Zakaria, Mohd Normani; Abdullah, Nor Azimah Chew; Hamzah, Sulaiman; Mukari, Siti Zamratol-Mai Sarah

    2018-06-01

    The current study aims to examine the effects of human resource (measured with the perception of health workers' perception towards UNHS), screening equipment, program layout and screening techniques on healthcare practitioners' awareness (measured with knowledge) of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) in Malaysian non-public hospitals. Via cross sectional approach, the current study collected data using a validated questionnaire to obtain information on the awareness of UNHS program among the health practitioners and to test the formulated hypotheses. 51, representing 81% response rate, out of 63 questionnaires distributed to the health professionals were returned and usable for statistical analysis. The survey instruments involving healthcare practitioners' awareness, human resource, program layout, screening instrument, and screening techniques instruments were adapted and scaled with 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (little) to 7 (many). Partial Least Squares (PLS) algorithm and bootstrapping techniques were employed to test the hypotheses of the study. With the result involving beta values, t-values and p-values (i.e. β=0.478, t=1.904, phealth practitioners. Likewise, program layout, human resource, screening technique and screening instrument explain 71% variance in health practitioners' awareness. Health practitioners' awareness is explained by program layout, human resource, and screening instrument with effect size (f2) of 0.065, 0.621, and 0.211 respectively, indicating that program layout, human resource, and screening instrument have small, large and medium effect size on health practitioners' awareness respectively. However, screening technique has zero effect on health practitioners' awareness, indicating the reason why T-statistics is not significant. Having started the UNHS program in 2003, non-public hospitals have more experienced and well-trained employees dealing with the screening tools and instrument, and the program layout is well

  17. A qualitative exploration of the perceptions and information needs of public health inspectors responsible for food safety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sargeant Jan M

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In Ontario, local public health inspectors play an important frontline role in protecting the public from foodborne illness. This study was an in-depth exploration of public health inspectors' perceptions of the key food safety issues in public health, and their opinions and needs with regards to food safety information resources. Methods Four focus group discussions were conducted with public health inspectors from the Central West region of Ontario, Canada during June and July, 2008. A questioning route was used to standardize qualitative data collection. Audio recordings of sessions were transcribed verbatim and data-driven content analysis was performed. Results A total of 23 public health inspectors participated in four focus group discussions. Five themes emerged as key food safety issues: time-temperature abuse, inadequate handwashing, cross-contamination, the lack of food safety knowledge by food handlers and food premise operators, and the lack of food safety information and knowledge about specialty foods (i.e., foods from different cultures. In general, participants reported confidence with their current knowledge of food safety issues and foodborne pathogens. Participants highlighted the need for a central source for food safety information, access to up-to-date food safety information, resources in different languages, and additional food safety information on specialty foods. Conclusions The information gathered from these focus groups can provide a basis for the development of resources that will meet the specific needs of public health inspectors involved in protecting and promoting food safety.

  18. Do black lives matter in public health research and training?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molly Rosenberg

    Full Text Available To examine whether investments made in public health research align with the health burdens experienced by white and black Americans.In this cross-sectional study of all deaths in the United States in 2015, we compared the distribution of potential years of life lost (PYLL across 39 causes of death by race and identified key differences. We examined the relationship between cause-of-death-specific PYLL and key indicators of public health investment (federal funding and number of publications by race using linear spline models. We also compared the number of courses available at the top schools of public health relevant to the top causes of death contributor to PYLL for black and white Americans.Homicide was the number one contributor to PYLL among black Americans, while ischemic heart disease was the number one contributor to PYLL among white Americans. Firearm-related violence accounted for 88% of black PYLL attributed to homicide and 71% of white PYLL attributed to homicide. Despite the high burden of PYLL, homicide research was the focus of few federal grants or publications. In comparison, ischemic heart disease garnered 341 grants and 594 publications. The number of public health courses available relevant to homicide (n = 9 was similar to those relevant to ischemic heart disease (n = 10.Black Americans are disproportionately affected by homicide, compared to white Americans. For both black and white Americans, the majority of PYLL due to homicide are firearm-related. Yet, homicide research is dramatically underrepresented in public health research investments in terms of grant funding and publications, despite available public health training opportunities. If left unchecked, the observed disproportionate distribution of investments in public health resources threatens to perpetuate a system that disadvantages black Americans.

  19. Do black lives matter in public health research and training?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberg, Molly; Ranapurwala, Shabbar I; Townes, Ashley; Bengtson, Angela M

    2017-01-01

    To examine whether investments made in public health research align with the health burdens experienced by white and black Americans. In this cross-sectional study of all deaths in the United States in 2015, we compared the distribution of potential years of life lost (PYLL) across 39 causes of death by race and identified key differences. We examined the relationship between cause-of-death-specific PYLL and key indicators of public health investment (federal funding and number of publications) by race using linear spline models. We also compared the number of courses available at the top schools of public health relevant to the top causes of death contributor to PYLL for black and white Americans. Homicide was the number one contributor to PYLL among black Americans, while ischemic heart disease was the number one contributor to PYLL among white Americans. Firearm-related violence accounted for 88% of black PYLL attributed to homicide and 71% of white PYLL attributed to homicide. Despite the high burden of PYLL, homicide research was the focus of few federal grants or publications. In comparison, ischemic heart disease garnered 341 grants and 594 publications. The number of public health courses available relevant to homicide (n = 9) was similar to those relevant to ischemic heart disease (n = 10). Black Americans are disproportionately affected by homicide, compared to white Americans. For both black and white Americans, the majority of PYLL due to homicide are firearm-related. Yet, homicide research is dramatically underrepresented in public health research investments in terms of grant funding and publications, despite available public health training opportunities. If left unchecked, the observed disproportionate distribution of investments in public health resources threatens to perpetuate a system that disadvantages black Americans.

  20. Clearing Hurdles: The Challenges of Implementation of Mental Health Evidence-Based Practices in Under-resourced Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eiraldi, Ricardo; Wolk, Courtney Benjamin; Locke, Jill; Beidas, Rinad

    Schools have become the main provider of services to children with mental health needs. Although there is substantial literature on barriers to implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in under-resourced school districts, less has been written on how to overcome those barriers. Providing mental health services in the school setting presents a tremendous opportunity to increase access to quality mental health care for underserved youth. This review provides a brief overview of the barriers to successful implementation and sustainment of EBPs in under-resourced public schools and provides recommendations for overcoming them. The discussion is organized around an established conceptual framework adapted for the delivery of services in under-resourced schools that focuses on interdependent factors that exist at the individual-, team, school-, and macro-levels. This manuscript explores some recommendations and strategies for effectively addressing challenges related to implementation of EBPs. Research ideas are offered to bridge the research-to-practice gap that impacts many under-resourced public school districts.

  1. Clearing Hurdles: The Challenges of Implementation of Mental Health Evidence-Based Practices in Under-resourced Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eiraldi, Ricardo; Wolk, Courtney Benjamin; Locke, Jill; Beidas, Rinad

    2015-01-01

    Schools have become the main provider of services to children with mental health needs. Although there is substantial literature on barriers to implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in under-resourced school districts, less has been written on how to overcome those barriers. Providing mental health services in the school setting presents a tremendous opportunity to increase access to quality mental health care for underserved youth. This review provides a brief overview of the barriers to successful implementation and sustainment of EBPs in under-resourced public schools and provides recommendations for overcoming them. The discussion is organized around an established conceptual framework adapted for the delivery of services in under-resourced schools that focuses on interdependent factors that exist at the individual-, team, school-, and macro-levels. This manuscript explores some recommendations and strategies for effectively addressing challenges related to implementation of EBPs. Research ideas are offered to bridge the research-to-practice gap that impacts many under-resourced public school districts. PMID:26336512

  2. [Images of Ageing in Health Care Magazines of the Public Health System].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartmann-Tews, Ilse; Hoppe, Theresa

    2018-03-01

    resource-oriented and positive image of ageing. Against the backdrop of the results of the study, there seems to be a potential to optimize age-related communication strategies of public health institutions in the magazines. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  3. Characterizing the Business Skills of the Public Health Workforce: Practical Implications From the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kornfeld, Julie; Sznol, Joshua; Lee, David

    2015-01-01

    Public health financial competencies are often overlooked or underrepresented in public health training programs. These skills are important for public health workforce members who are involved in managing resources and strategic planning and have been defined as key competencies by several national entities. To characterize business skills among state health agency employees and examine self-reported skill levels and their association with job satisfaction, worksite training and development opportunities, and annual salary. A cross-sectional survey, the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS), of state health agency central office employees was conducted in 2014. Multivariable logistic regression analyses, controlling for job classification, supervisory status, years of public health practice, annual compensation, educational attainment, geographic region, and sociodemographic status, were used to assess the relationship between business skills and training environment and job satisfaction. Linear regression was used to correlate business skills and annual compensation. A total of 10,246 state health agency staff completed a Web-based survey. Self-reported proficiency in business skills, job satisfaction, opportunities for training, and annual salary. The workforce reported high levels of proficiency in applying quality improvement concepts and managing change (67.5% and 69.2%, respectively). Half of the respondents reported proficiency in budget skills (49.3%). Participants who were proficient in applying quality improvement concepts were significantly more likely to report job satisfaction (OR = 1.27). A supportive training environment was significantly associated with business competencies (range of OR = 1.08-1.11). Managing change (β = .15) and budget skill proficiency (β = .37) were significantly associated with increased yearly compensation. Public health workers who self-report proficiency with business skills report increased job

  4. Wasteful use of financial resources in public hospitals in Turkey: a trend analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozgulbas, Nermin; Kisa, Adnan

    2006-01-01

    The Turkish health system is mainly financed by public sources such as taxes and premiums collected from workers. According to 2003 data, total health expenditures were 4.5% of the country's Gross Domestic Product. Currently, 56% of the system is financed by the Ministry of Health, and services are also provided by the Ministry. The main sources of finance among the Ministry of Health hospitals are general budget contributions made by the Ministry and revolving funds. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the financial conditions of those Ministry of Health hospitals that have revolving funds. The financial trends of 2514 hospitals were followed from 1996 to 2000, and financial statement analyses were conducted. The results of the study show that the Ministry of Health hospitals are not professionally administered for their financial situation and also that their financial resources are not used effectively. The hospitals had difficulty in collecting debts and had problems in cash returns. At the end of the study, policy suggestions are made for health care managers toward improving financial conditions in these public hospitals.

  5. Mobile health in China: a review of research and programs in medical care, health education, and public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corpman, David W

    2013-01-01

    There are nearly 1 billion mobile phone subscribers in China. Health care providers, telecommunications companies, technology firms, and Chinese governmental organizations use existing mobile technology and social networks to improve patient-provider communication, promote health education and awareness, add efficiency to administrative practices, and enhance public health campaigns. This review of mobile health in China summarizes existing clinical research and public health text messaging campaigns while highlighting potential future areas of research and program implementation. Databases and search engines served as the primary means of gathering relevant resources. Included material largely consists of scientific articles and official reports that met predefined inclusion criteria. This review includes 10 reports of controlled studies that assessed the use of mobile technology in health care settings and 17 official reports of public health awareness campaigns that used text messaging. All source material was published between 2006 and 2011. The controlled studies suggested that mobile technology interventions significantly improved an array of health care outcomes. However, additional efforts are needed to refine mobile health research and better understand the applicability of mobile technology in China's health care settings. A vast potential exists for the expansion of mobile health in China, especially as costs decrease and increasingly sophisticated technology becomes more widespread.

  6. Integrating GDM management in public health: Pakistan perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riaz, Musarrat; Basit, Abdul

    2016-09-01

    Pakistan is a developing country with diverse social, economic and cultural dimensions along with limited resources. Non communicable diseases (NCDS) including diabetes are highly prevalent compromising the already challenged health care system. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with its associated maternal and foetal complications is increasing with rapidly changing lifestyle pattern. Since Pakistan has limited resources and other health issues compete strongly with gestational diabetes initiatives, the most feasible strategy will be the horizontal integration. This will work with the existing primary health care system integrating NCD control programmes with Maternal and Child health (MCH) programmes. Utilizing the existing health care system is the only implementable cost effective strategy. Antenatal screening and treatment of GDM alone is not sufficient but Post-partum screening (PPS) of women with GDM is an important strategy for prevention of diabetes as the conversion rates of GDM to type 2 diabetes are high. Furthermore, instead of perceiving GDM as a temporary reversible clinical entity, it should be considered as a trans-generational prevention of diabetes that needs to be addressed as a public health issue in order to improve maternal and foetal health.

  7. 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.

  8. 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...

  9. The Cuban experience in public health: does political will have a role?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagliccia, Nino; Alvarez Pérez, Adolfo

    2012-01-01

    The role of political will in public health has been largely ignored. In Cuba, however, for the past 50 years, political will has been the ultimate, encompassing intersectoral action in public health. The excellent achievements in population health in Cuba during these 50 years have been widely recognized. Researchers have sought to explain this "Cuban paradox" by focusing on a large array of public health factors, including health promotion, primary care activities, and intersectoral action on health determinants. These factors constitute necessary but not sufficient conditions to achieve good health outcomes. This article defines political will and uses the experience of Cuba to illustrate the potential role of political will in public health. The authors suggest a framework for the evaluation of political will aimed at achieving good health, examining the "Five R's of political will," five observable features that may provide systematic information on the direction and realization of political will: (1) renewal of commitment, (2) reform of the system, (3) resource development, (4) review of performance, and (5) responsible management. These five features focus the spotlight on the consistency between health goals and public discourse and action.

  10. Towards new information resources for public health--from WordNet to MedicalWordNet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fellbaum, Christiane; Hahn, Udo; Smith, Barry

    2006-06-01

    In the last two decades, WordNet has evolved as the most comprehensive computational lexicon of general English. In this article, we discuss its potential for supporting the creation of an entirely new kind of information resource for public health, viz. MedicalWordNet. This resource is not to be conceived merely as a lexical extension of the original WordNet to medical terminology; indeed, there is already a considerable degree of overlap between WordNet and the vocabulary of medicine. Instead, we propose a new type of repository, consisting of three large collections of (1) medically relevant word forms, structured along the lines of the existing Princeton WordNet; (2) medically validated propositions, referred to here as medical facts, which will constitute what we shall call MedicalFactNet; and (3) propositions reflecting laypersons' medical beliefs, which will constitute what we shall call the MedicalBeliefNet. We introduce a methodology for setting up the MedicalWordNet. We then turn to the discussion of research challenges that have to be met to build this new type of information resource. We build a database of sentences relevant to the medical domain. The sentences are generated from WordNet via its relations as well as from medical statements broken down into elementary propositions. Two subcorpora of sentences are distinguished, MedicalBeliefNet and MedicalFactNet. The former is rated for assent by laypersons; the latter for correctness by medical experts. The sentence corpora will be valuable for a variety of applications in information retrieval as well as in research in linguistics and psychology with respect to the study of expert and non-expert beliefs and their linguistic expressions. Our work has to meet several considerable challenges. These include accounting for the distinction between medical experts and laypersons, the social issues of expert-layperson communication in different media, the linguistic aspects of encoding medical knowledge, and

  11. The Thalassemia International Federation: a global public health paradigm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elpidoforos S. Soteriades

    2014-09-01

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

  12. 75 FR 36099 - Legislative Changes to Primary Care Loan Program Authorized Under Title VII of the Public Health...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Legislative Changes to Primary Care Loan Program Authorized Under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act AGENCY... changes Section 723 of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) regarding administration of the PCL program...

  13. Information Seeking When Problem Solving: Perspectives of Public Health Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Kristine; Dobbins, Maureen; Yost, Jennifer; Ciliska, Donna

    2017-04-01

    Given the many different types of professionals working in public health and their diverse roles, it is likely that their information needs, information-seeking behaviors, and problem-solving abilities differ. Although public health professionals often work in interdisciplinary teams, few studies have explored their information needs and behaviors within the context of teamwork. This study explored the relationship between Canadian public health professionals' perceptions of their problem-solving abilities and their information-seeking behaviors with a specific focus on the use of evidence in practice settings. It also explored their perceptions of collaborative information seeking and the work contexts in which they sought information. Key Canadian contacts at public health organizations helped recruit study participants through their list-servs. An electronic survey was used to gather data about (a) individual information-seeking behaviors, (b) collaborative information-seeking behaviors, (c) use of evidence in practice environments, (d) perceived problem-solving abilities, and (e) demographic characteristics. Fifty-eight public health professionals were recruited, with different roles and representing most Canadian provinces and one territory. A significant relationship was found between perceived problem-solving abilities and collaborative information-seeking behavior (r = -.44, p public health professionals take a shared, active approach to problem solving, maintain personal control, and have confidence, they are more likely collaborate with others in seeking information to complete a work task. Administrators of public health organizations should promote collaboration by implementing effective communication and information-seeking strategies, and by providing information resources and retrieval tools. Public health professionals' perceived problem-solving abilities can influence how they collaborate in seeking information. Educators in public health

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2010-04-01

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

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rüefli, Christian; Sager, Fritz

    2004-01-01

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

  18. Multimorbidity in chronic disease: impact on health care resources and costs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McPhail SM

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Steven M McPhail1,2 1Centre for Functioning and Health Research, Metro South Health, 2Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia Abstract: Effective and resource-efficient long-term management of multimorbidity is one of the greatest health-related challenges facing patients, health professionals, and society more broadly. The purpose of this review was to provide a synthesis of literature examining multimorbidity and resource utilization, including implications for cost-effectiveness estimates and resource allocation decision making. In summary, previous literature has reported substantially greater, near exponential, increases in health care costs and resource utilization when additional chronic comorbid conditions are present. Increased health care costs have been linked to elevated rates of primary care and specialist physician occasions of service, medication use, emergency department presentations, and hospital admissions (both frequency of admissions and bed days occupied. There is currently a paucity of cost-effectiveness information for chronic disease interventions originating from patient samples with multimorbidity. The scarcity of robust economic evaluations in the field represents a considerable challenge for resource allocation decision making intended to reduce the burden of multimorbidity in resource-constrained health care systems. Nonetheless, the few cost-effectiveness studies that are available provide valuable insight into the potential positive and cost-effective impact that interventions may have among patients with multiple comorbidities. These studies also highlight some of the pragmatic and methodological challenges underlying the conduct of economic evaluations among people who may have advanced age, frailty, and disadvantageous socioeconomic circumstances, and where long-term follow-up may be required to

  19. 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.

  20. Implications of network structure on public health collaboratives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Retrum, Jessica H; Chapman, Carrie L; Varda, Danielle M

    2013-10-01

    Interorganizational collaboration is an essential function of public health agencies. These partnerships form social networks that involve diverse types of partners and varying levels of interaction. Such collaborations are widely accepted and encouraged, yet very little comparative research exists on how public health partnerships develop and evolve, specifically in terms of how subsequent network structures are linked to outcomes. A systems science approach, that is, one that considers the interdependencies and nested features of networks, provides the appropriate methods to examine the complex nature of these networks. Applying Mays and Scutchfields's categorization of "structural signatures" (breadth, density, and centralization), this research examines how network structure influences the outcomes of public health collaboratives. Secondary data from the Program to Analyze, Record, and Track Networks to Enhance Relationships (www.partnertool.net) data set are analyzed. This data set consists of dyadic (N = 12,355), organizational (N = 2,486), and whole network (N = 99) data from public health collaborations around the United States. Network data are used to calculate structural signatures and weighted least squares regression is used to examine how network structures can predict selected intermediary outcomes (resource contributions, overall value and trust rankings, and outcomes) in public health collaboratives. Our findings suggest that network structure may have an influence on collaborative-related outcomes. The structural signature that had the most significant relationship to outcomes was density, with higher density indicating more positive outcomes. Also significant was the finding that more breadth creates new challenges such as difficulty in reaching consensus and creating ties with other members. However, assumptions that these structural components lead to improved outcomes for public health collaboratives may be slightly premature. Implications of

  1. School Mental Health Resources and Adolescent Mental Health Service Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Jennifer Greif; McLaughlin, Katie A.; Alegría, Margarita; Costello, E. Jane; Gruber, Michael J.; Hoagwood, Kimberly; Leaf, Philip J.; Olin, Serene; Sampson, Nancy A,; Kessler, Ronald C.

    2014-01-01

    Objective Although schools are identified as critical for detecting youth mental disorders, little is known about whether the number of mental health providers and types of resources they offer influence student mental health service use. Such information could inform the development and allocation of appropriate school-based resources to increase service use. This paper examines associations of school resources with past-year mental health service use among students with 12-month DSM-IV mental disorders. Method Data come from the U.S. National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), a national survey of adolescent mental health that included 4,445 adolescent-parent pairs in 227 schools in which principals and mental health coordinators completed surveys about school resources-policies for addressing student emotional problems. Adolescents and parents completed the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and reported mental health service use across multiple sectors. Multilevel multivariate regression was used to examine associations of school mental health resources and individual-level service use. Results Roughly half (45.3%) of adolescents with a 12-month DSM-IV disorder received past-year mental health services. Substantial variation existed in school resources. Increased school engagement in early identification was significantly associated with mental health service use for adolescents with mild/moderate mental and behavior disorders. The ratio of students-to-mental health providers was not associated with overall service use, but was associated with sector of service use. Conclusions School mental health resources, particularly those related to early identification, may facilitate mental health service use and influence sector of service use for youths with DSM disorders. PMID:23622851

  2. How Health Department Contextual Factors Affect Public Health Preparedness (PHP) and Perceptions of the 15 PHP Capabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horney, Jennifer A; Carbone, Eric G; Lynch, Molly; Wang, Z Joan; Jones, Terrance; Rose, Dale A

    2017-09-01

    To assess how health department contextual factors influence perceptions of the 15 Public Health Preparedness Capabilities, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide guidance on organizing preparedness activities. We conducted an online survey and focus group between September 2015 and May 2016 with directors of preparedness programs in state, metropolitan, and territorial jurisdictions funded by CDC's Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement. The survey collected demographic information and data on contextual factors including leadership, partnerships, organizational structure, resources and structural capacity, and data and evaluation. Seventy-seven percent (48 of 62) of PHEP directors completed the survey and 8 participated in the focus group. Respondents were experienced directors (mean = 10.6 years), and 58% led 7 or more emergency responses. Leadership, partnerships, and access to fiscal and human resources were associated with perception and use of the capabilities. Despite some deficiencies, PHEP awardees believe the capabilities provide useful guidance and a flexible framework for organizing their work. Contextual factors affect perceptions of the capabilities and possibly the effectiveness of their use. Public Health Implications. The capabilities can be used to address challenges in preparedness, including identifying evidence-based practices, developing performance measures, and improving responses.

  3. Product development public-private partnerships for public health: a systematic review using qualitative data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Pinho Campos, Katia; Norman, Cameron D; Jadad, Alejandro R

    2011-10-01

    Almost a decade ago, public health initiated a number of innovative ventures to attract investments from multinational drug companies for the development of new drugs and vaccines to tackle neglected diseases (NDs). These ventures - known as product development public-private partnerships (PD PPPs) - represent the participation of the public and private actors toward the discovery and development of essential medicines to reduce the suffering of over one billion people worldwide living with NDs. This systematic review aimed to identify empirical-based descriptive articles to understand critical elements in the partnership process, and propose a framework to shed light on future guidelines to support better planning, design and management of existing and new forms of PPPs for public health. Ten articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed and synthesized using qualitative content analysis. The findings show that the development stage of PD PPPs requires a careful initiation and planning process including discussion on values and shared goals, agreement on mutual interests & equality of power relation, exchange of expertise & resources, stakeholder engagement, and assessment of the local health capacity. The management stage of PD PPPs entails transparency, extensive communication and participatory decision-making among partner organizations. This review illustrates the difficulties, challenges and effective responses during the partnering process. This model of collaboration may offer a way to advance population health at present, while creating streams of innovation that can yield future social and financial dividends in enhancing the public's health more widely. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Dementia care in public health in Brazil and the world: A systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bianca Bolzan Cieto

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify in the recent scientific literature, information on health care provided to people with dementia, dementia costs and its resource implications for public health. METHODS: This was a systematic review of the literature in which the articles were consulted from the databases PubMed/MEDLINE, LILACS and SciELO. The review sample consisted of 45 articles. RESULTS: Examination of the studies identified the current scenario of dementia in relation to public health and public policy in Brazil and the world. The analyzed studies revealed key information on aspects of dementia in the world. There was consensus on the high prevalence of the syndrome and on the significant cost of health care and public policy for assisting the elderly with dementia. CONCLUSION: The importance of planning and implementing new public policies was recognized, since these are essential for the organization and management of health services and directly influence the country's ability to provide health care for people with dementia.

  5. Interviewing Key Informants: Strategic Planning for a Global Public Health Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kun, Karen E.; Kassim, Anisa; Howze, Elizabeth; MacDonald, Goldie

    2013-01-01

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Sustainable Management Development Program (SMDP) partners with low- and middle-resource countries to develop management capacity so that effective global public health programs can be implemented and better health outcomes can be achieved. The program's impact however, was variable. Hence, there…

  6. Using a digital storytelling assignment to teach public health advocacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Castro, A B; Levesque, Salem

    2018-03-01

    The need and expectation for advocacy is central to public health nursing practice. Advocacy efforts that effectively call attention to population health threats and promote the well-being of communities rely on strategies that deliver influential messaging. The digital story is a lay method to capture meaningful, impactful stories that can be used to advocate for public health concerns. Readily available, user-friendly digital technologies allow engagement in digital media production to create digital stories. This paper describes how digital story making can be utilized as an academic assignment to teach public health advocacy within an undergraduate nursing curriculum. Providing nursing students this artistic outlet can facilitate meeting academic learning goals, while also equipping them with creative skills that can be applied in future professional practice. Nursing educators can take advantage of institutional resources and campus culture to support the use of novel digital media assignments that facilitate application of advocacy concepts. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Investigating the health care delivery system in Japan and reviewing the local public hospital reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang X

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Xing Zhang, Tatsuo Oyama National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan Abstract: Japan's health care system is considered one of the best health care systems in the world. Hospitals are one of the most important health care resources in Japan. As such, we investigate Japanese hospitals from various viewpoints, including their roles, ownership, regional distribution, and characteristics with respect to the number of beds, staff, doctors, and financial performance. Applying a multivariate analysis and regression model techniques, we show the functional differences between urban populated prefectures and remote ones; the equality gap among all prefectures with respect to the distribution of the number of beds, staff, and doctors; and managerial differences between private and public hospitals. We also review and evaluate the local public hospital reform executed in 2007 from various financial aspects related to the expenditure and revenue structure by comparing public and private hospitals. We show that the 2007 reform contributed to improving the financial situation of local public hospitals. Strategic differences between public and private hospitals with respect to their management and strategy to improve their financial situation are also quantitatively analyzed in detail. Finally, the remaining problems and the future strategy to further improve the Japanese health care system are described. Keywords: health care system, health care resource, public hospital, multivariate regression model, financial performance

  8. Assessment of graduate public health education in Nepal and perceived needs of faculty and students

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Despite the large body of evidence suggesting that effective public health infrastructure is vital to improving the health status of populations, many universities in developing countries offer minimal opportunities for graduate training in public health. In Nepal, for example, only two institutions currently offer a graduate public health degree. Both institutions confer only a general Masters in Public Health (MPH), and together produce 30 graduates per year. The objective of this assessment was to identify challenges in graduate public health education in Nepal, and explore ways to address these challenges. Methods The assessment included in-person school visits and data collection through semi-structured in-depth interviews with primary stakeholders of Nepal’s public health academic sector. The 72 participants included faculty, students, alumni, and leaders of institutions that offered MPH programs, and the leadership of one government-funded institution that is currently developing an MPH program. Data were analyzed through content analysis to identify major themes. Results Six themes characterizing the challenges of expanding and improving graduate public health training were identified: 1) a shortage of trained public health faculty, with consequent reliance on the internet to compensate for inadequate teaching resources; 2) teaching/learning cultures and bureaucratic traditions that are not optimal for graduate education; 3) within-institution dominance of clinical medicine over public health; 4) a desire for practice–oriented, contextually relevant training opportunities; 5) a demand for degree options in public health specialties (for example, epidemiology); and 6) a strong interest in international academic collaboration. Conclusion Despite an enormous need for trained public health professionals, Nepal’s educational institutions face barriers to developing effective graduate programs. Overcoming these barriers will require: 1

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krupp, Karl; Madhivanan, Purnima

    2009-02-27

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

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madhivanan Purnima

    2009-02-01

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

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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)

  14. 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)

  15. 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

  16. Communication and marketing as tools to cultivate the public's health: a proposed "people and places" framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maibach, Edward W; Abroms, Lorien C; Marosits, Mark

    2007-05-22

    Communication and marketing are rapidly becoming recognized as core functions, or core competencies, in the field of public health. Although these disciplines have fostered considerable academic inquiry, a coherent sense of precisely how these disciplines can inform the practice of public health has been slower to emerge. In this article we propose a framework--based on contemporary ecological models of health--to explain how communication and marketing can be used to advance public health objectives. The framework identifies the attributes of people (as individuals, as social networks, and as communities or populations) and places that influence health behaviors and health. Communication, i.e., the provision of information, can be used in a variety of ways to foster beneficial change among both people (e.g., activating social support for smoking cessation among peers) and places (e.g., convincing city officials to ban smoking in public venues). Similarly, marketing, i.e., the development, distribution and promotion of products and services, can be used to foster beneficial change among both people (e.g., by making nicotine replacement therapy more accessible and affordable) and places (e.g., by providing city officials with model anti-tobacco legislation that can be adapted for use in their jurisdiction). Public health agencies that use their communication and marketing resources effectively to support people in making healthful decisions and to foster health-promoting environments have considerable opportunity to advance the public's health, even within the constraints of their current resource base.

  17. Public health and health promotion capacity at national and regional level: a review of conceptual frameworks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Aluttis

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The concept of capacity building for public health has gained much attention during the last decade. National as well as international organizations increasingly focus their efforts on capacity building to improve performance in the health sector. During the past two decades, a variety of conceptual frameworks have been developed which describe relevant dimensions for public health capacity. Notably, these frameworks differ in design and conceptualization. This paper therefore reviews the existing conceptual frameworks and integrates them into one framework, which contains the most relevant dimensions for public health capacity at the country or regional level. A comprehensive literature search was performed to identify frameworks addressing public health capacity building at the national or regional level. We content-analysed these frameworks to identify the core dimensions of public health capacity. The dimensions were subsequently synthesized into a set of thematic areas to construct a conceptual framework which describes the most relevant dimensions for capacities at the national or regional level. The systematic review resulted in the identification of seven core domains for public health capacity: resources, organizational structures, workforce, partnerships, leadership and governance, knowledge development and country specific context. Accordingly, these dimensions were used to construct a framework, which describes these core domains more in detail. Our research shows that although there is no generally agreed upon model of public health capacity, a number of key domains for public health and health promotion capacity are consistently recurring in existing frameworks, regardless of their geographical location or thematic area. As only little work on the core concepts of public health capacities has yet taken place, this study adds value to the discourse by identifying these consistencies across existing frameworks and by synthesising

  18. 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.

  19. Integrating Social Media Monitoring Into Public Health Emergency Response Operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadi, Tamer A; Fleshler, Keren

    2016-10-01

    Social media monitoring for public health emergency response and recovery is an essential response capability for any health department. The value of social media for emergency response lies not only in the capacity to rapidly communicate official and critical incident information, but as a rich source of incoming data that can be gathered to inform leadership decision-making. Social media monitoring is a function that can be formally integrated into the Incident Command System of any response agency. The approach to planning and required resources, such as staffing, logistics, and technology, is flexible and adaptable based on the needs of the agency and size and scope of the emergency. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has successfully used its Social Media Monitoring Team during public health emergency responses and planned events including major Ebola and Legionnaires' disease responses. The concepts and implementations described can be applied by any agency, large or small, interested in building a social media monitoring capacity. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 6).

  20. 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.

  1. Public health and peace.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2002-04-01

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

  2. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eatman, Shana; Strosnider, Heather M

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

  4. Some disjointed observations on federal public-land and resources law

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coggins, G.C.

    A review of the evolution of public-land law and policies concludes that: (1) Public-land and resources law cannot be divorced from history; in spite of recent developments, one cannot understand present problems without understanding their historical derivation. (2) Public-land management will always be as controversial as it is interesting because the perfect balance of resource uses in unattainable. (3) Multiple-use, sustained-yield management has failed; instead, like Christianity, it has never really been tried. (4) From the ecological maxim that everything is connected to everything else comes the notion that the isolation of public-land and resources law as a field of study is inherently artificial. Developments off federal lands that seem unrelated to them will heavily influence public-land policy: recreation pressures could decline in rough inverse proportion to gasoline prices; horizonal divestiture of oil companies would change the whole coal picture; mandatory recycling could lower demand for all virgin resources; and so on. Some notion of conservation is almost certainly going to be among the Nation's highest priorities in the next several decades.

  5. 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.

  6. Uses of oral history and digital storytelling in public health research and practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsui, E K; Starecheski, A

    2018-01-01

    Oral history (OH) and digital storytelling (DST) have been used in a range of ways in public health, including educating populations about health-protecting practices, advocating for improved clinical care and reflecting on public health efforts to combat infectious disease. Yet, these methods are rarely recognized for their potential to contribute to public health research and practice. The aim of this article is to assess how OH and DST have been used in the health fields and to provide examples of ways that these methods have contributed to work in several domains of public health. Narrative review. We conducted a narrative review of articles gathered from PubMed using the search terms 'oral history' and 'digital storytelling', which resulted in 102 articles relevant to public health. We then conducted a thematic analysis to create a typology of article topics and to examine cross-cutting themes. OH and DST have been used for both research and interventions in public health. Specifically, they have been used to 1) examine health risks and experiences; 2) engage and educate populations; 3) educate clinical professionals and organizations; and 4) inform public health practice. Despite the time, resources, and training required to do OH and DST well, we argue that these methods have substantial potential for supplementing public health activities, allowing the field to glean additional lessons from its experiences, to educate its practitioners further, and to better learn from the experiences of communities affected by public health problems. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Health Resources Statistics; Health Manpower and Health Facilities, 1968. Public Health Service Publication No. 1509.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Center for Health Statistics (DHEW/PHS), Hyattsville, MD.

    This report is a part of the program of the National Center for Health Statistics to provide current statistics as baseline data for the evaluation, planning, and administration of health programs. Part I presents data concerning the occupational fields: (1) administration, (2) anthropology and sociology, (3) data processing, (4) basic sciences,…

  8. Societal values in the allocation of healthcare resources: is it all about the health gain?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stafinski, Tania; Menon, Devidas; Marshall, Deborah; Caulfield, Timothy

    2011-01-01

    Over the past decade, public distrust in unavoidable value-laden decisions on the allocation of resources to new health technologies has grown. In response, healthcare organizations have made considerable efforts to improve their acceptability by increasing transparency in decision-making processes. However, the social value judgments (distributive preferences of the public) embedded in them have yet to be defined. While the need to explicate such judgments has become widely recognized, the most appropriate approach to accomplishing this remains unclear. The aims of this review were to identify factors around which distributive preferences of the public have been sought, create a list of social values proposed or used in current resource allocation decision-making processes for new health technologies, and review approaches to eliciting such values from the general public. Social values proposed or used in making resource allocation decisions for new health technologies were identified through three approaches: (i) a comprehensive review of published, peer-reviewed, empirical studies of public preferences for the distribution of healthcare; (ii) an analysis of non-technical factors or social value statements considered by technology funding decision-making processes in Canada and abroad; and (iii) a review of appeals to funding decisions on grounds in part related to social value judgments. A total of 34 empirical studies, 10 technology funding decision-making processes, and 12 appeals to decisions were identified and reviewed. The key factors/patient characteristics addressed through policy statements and around which distributive preferences of the public have been sought included severity of illness, immediate need, age (and its relationship to lifetime health), health gain (amount and final outcome/health state), personal responsibility for illness, caregiving responsibilities, and number of patients who could benefit (rarity). Empirical studies typically

  9. Establishing evidence-informed core intervention competencies in psychological first aid for public health personnel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Cindy L; Everly, George S; Barnett, Daniel J; Links, Jonathan M

    2006-01-01

    A full-scale public health response to disasters must attend to both the physical and mental health needs of affected communities. Public health preparedness efforts can be greatly expanded to address the latter set of needs, particularly in light of the high ratio of psychological to physical casualties that often rapidly overwhelms existing mental health response resources in a large-scale emergency. Psychological first aid--the provision of basic psychological care in the short term aftermath of a traumatic event--is a mental health response skill set that public health personnel can readily acquire with proper training. The application of psychological first aid by public health workers can significantly augment front-line community-based mental health responses during the crisis phase of an event. To help achieve this augmented response, we have developed a set of psychological first aid intervention competencies for public health personnel. These competencies, empirically grounded and based on best practice models and consensus statements from leading mental health organizations, represent a necessary step for developing a public health workforce that can better respond to the psychological needs of impacted populations in disasters.

  10. Effective Practices in Providing Online, In-Service Training to Health Professionals in Low-Resource Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chio, Karen Sherk

    2012-01-01

    As doctors, nurses and public health professionals are promoted into management and leadership positions in resource-poor countries around the world, they are tasked with leading teams and managing drugs and financial and material resources. These responsibilities require a set of skills and knowledge different from that needed for their clinical…

  11. Coastal proximity and physical activity: Is the coast an under-appreciated public health resource?

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Mathew P; Wheeler, Benedict W; Herbert, Stephen; Alcock, Ian; Depledge, Michael H

    2014-12-01

    Recent findings suggest that individuals living near the coast are healthier than those living inland. Here we investigated whether this may be related to higher levels of physical activity among coastal dwellers in England, arising in part as a result of more visits to outdoor coastal settings. Participants (n=183,755) were drawn from Natural England's Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment Survey (2009-2012). Analyses were based on self-reported physical activity for leisure and transport. A small, but significant coastal proximity gradient was seen for the likelihood of achieving recommended guidelines of physical activity a week after adjusting for relevant area and individual level controls. This effect was statistically mediated by the likelihood of having visited the coast in the last seven days. Stratification by region, however, suggested that while the main effect was relatively strong for west coast regions, it was not significant for those in the east. In general, our findings replicate and extend work from Australia and New Zealand. Further work is needed to explain the marked regional differences in the relationship between coastal proximity and physical activity in England to better understand the coast's potential role as a public health resource. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  12. 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.

  13. Aspiration dynamics and the sustainability of resources in the public goods dilemma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Du, Jinming, E-mail: jmdu@pku.edu.cn [Center for Systems and Control, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Wu, Bin, E-mail: bin.wu@evolbio.mpg.de [School of Science, Beijing University of Posts and Communications, Beijing 100876 (China); Department of Evolutionary Theory, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, August-Thienemann-Straße 2, 24306 Plön (Germany); Wang, Long, E-mail: longwang@pku.edu.cn [Center for Systems and Control, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

    2016-04-01

    How to exploit public non-renewable resources is a public goods dilemma. Individuals can choose to limit the depletion in order to use the resource for a longer time or consume more goods to benefit themselves. When the resource is used up, there is no benefit for the future generations any more, thus the evolutionary process ends. Here we investigate what mechanisms can extend the use of resources in the framework of evolutionary game theory under two updating rules based on imitation and aspiration, respectively. Compared with imitation process, aspiration dynamics may prolong the sustainable time of a public resource. - Highlights: • We establish a game model to capture the sustainable time of public goods. • We propose a theoretical method to study how fast an evolutionary process ends. • Strong selection shortens the evolutionary time of public resource dilemma. • Compared with imitation process, aspiration dynamics prolong the sustainable time. • The sustainable time is the shortest for the intermediate aspiration level.

  14. Aspiration dynamics and the sustainability of resources in the public goods dilemma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du, Jinming; Wu, Bin; Wang, Long

    2016-01-01

    How to exploit public non-renewable resources is a public goods dilemma. Individuals can choose to limit the depletion in order to use the resource for a longer time or consume more goods to benefit themselves. When the resource is used up, there is no benefit for the future generations any more, thus the evolutionary process ends. Here we investigate what mechanisms can extend the use of resources in the framework of evolutionary game theory under two updating rules based on imitation and aspiration, respectively. Compared with imitation process, aspiration dynamics may prolong the sustainable time of a public resource. - Highlights: • We establish a game model to capture the sustainable time of public goods. • We propose a theoretical method to study how fast an evolutionary process ends. • Strong selection shortens the evolutionary time of public resource dilemma. • Compared with imitation process, aspiration dynamics prolong the sustainable time. • The sustainable time is the shortest for the intermediate aspiration level.

  15. Sustainability in health care by allocating resources effectively (SHARE) 4: exploring opportunities and methods for consumer engagement in resource allocation in a local healthcare setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Claire; Ko, Henry; Waller, Cara; Sloss, Pamela; Williams, Pamela

    2017-05-05

    This is the fourth in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. Healthcare decision-makers have sought to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services through removal or restriction of practices that are unsafe or of little benefit, often referred to as 'disinvestment'. A systematic, integrated, evidence-based program for disinvestment was being established within a large Australian health service network. Consumer engagement was acknowledged as integral to this process. This paper reports the process of developing a model to integrate consumer views and preferences into an organisation-wide approach to resource allocation. A literature search was conducted and interviews and workshops were undertaken with health service consumers and staff. Findings were drafted into a model for consumer engagement in resource allocation which was workshopped and refined. Although consumer engagement is increasingly becoming a requirement of publicly-funded health services and documented in standards and policies, participation in organisational decision-making is not widespread. Several consistent messages for consumer engagement in this context emerged from the literature and consumer responses. Opportunities, settings and activities for consumer engagement through communication, consultation and participation were identified within the resource allocation process. Sources of information regarding consumer values and perspectives in publications and locally-collected data, and methods to use them in health service decision-making, were identified. A model bringing these elements together was developed. The proposed model presents potential opportunities and activities for consumer engagement in the context of resource allocation.

  16. Communicative social capital and collective efficacy as determinants of access to health-enhancing resources in residential communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsaganis, Matthew D; Wilkin, Holley A

    2015-04-01

    This article contributes to the burgeoning literature on the social determinants of health disparities. The authors investigate how communication resources and collective efficacy, independently and in combination, shape residents' access to health enhancing resources (including healthcare services, sources of healthier food options, and public recreation spaces) in their communities. Using random digit dial telephone survey data from 833 residents of South Los Angeles communities the authors show that communicative social capital-that is, an information and problem-solving resource that accrues to residents as they become more integrated into their local communication network of neighbors, community organizations, and local media-plays a significant role in access to health resources. This relationship is complicated by individuals' health insurance and health status, as communicative social capital magnifies the sense of absence of resources for those who are in worse health and lack insurance. Communicative social capital builds collective efficacy, which is positively related to access to health-enhancing resources, but it also mediates the negative relationship between communicative social capital and access to health resources. Residents with richer stores of communicative social capital and collective efficacy report better access to health resources. The authors conclude with a discussion of implications of these findings and suggestions for future research.

  17. Role of government in public health: Current scenario in India and future scope

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Subitha Lakshminarayanan

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The new agenda for Public Health in India includes the epidemiological transition, demographical transition, environmental changes and social determinants of health. Based on the principles outlined at Alma-Ata in 1978, there is an urgent call for revitalizing primary health care in order to meet these challenges. The role of the government in influencing population health is not limited within the health sector but also by various sectors outside the health systems. This article is a literature review of the existing government machinery for public health needs in India, its success, limitations and future scope. Health system strengthening, human resource development and capacity building and regulation in public health are important areas within the health sector. Contribution to health of a population also derives from social determinants of health like living conditions, nutrition, safe drinking water, sanitation, education, early child development and social security measures. Population stabilization, gender mainstreaming and empowerment, reducing the impact of climate change and disasters on health, improving community participation and governance issues are other important areas for action. Making public health a shared value across the various sectors is a politically challenging strategy, but such collective action is crucial.

  18. Public Health Response Systems In-Action: Learning from Local Health Departments’ Experiences with Acute and Emergency Incidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Jennifer C.; Yang, Jane E.; Crawley, Adam W.; Biesiadecki, Laura; Aragón, Tomás J.

    2013-01-01

    As part of their core mission, public health agencies attend to a wide range of disease and health threats, including those that require routine, acute, and emergency responses. While each incident is unique, the number and type of response activities are finite; therefore, through comparative analysis, we can learn about commonalities in the response patterns that could improve predictions and expectations regarding the resources and capabilities required to respond to future acute events. In this study, we interviewed representatives from more than 120 local health departments regarding their recent experiences with real-world acute public health incidents, such as infectious disease outbreaks, severe weather events, chemical spills, and bioterrorism threats. We collected highly structured data on key aspects of the incident and the public health response, particularly focusing on the public health activities initiated and community partners engaged in the response efforts. As a result, we are able to make comparisons across event types, create response profiles, and identify functional and structural response patterns that have import for future public health preparedness and response. Our study contributes to clarifying the complexity of public health response systems and our analysis reveals the ways in which these systems are adaptive to the character of the threat, resulting in differential activation of functions and partners based on the type of incident. Continued and rigorous examination of the experiences of health departments throughout the nation will refine our very understanding of what the public health response system is, will enable the identification of organizational and event inputs to performance, and will allow for the construction of rich, relevant, and practical models of response operations that can be employed to strengthen public health systems. PMID:24236137

  19. Human resource management practices in public and private ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The results, among others, showed that private schools generally better managed their human resources than the public ones. Hence, it was recommended that there should be standard guidelines for operators of schools while human resource managers in the school system should be groomed in managerial psychology.

  20. Public Value Creation Enabled by Healthcare IS Projects – a resource-based-view

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schlichter, Bjarne Rerup; Svejvig, Per; Laursen, Markus

    Creation of value from IT projects is a recurring theme that has diffused into healthcare information sys-tems (HIS). By applying a resource-based-view on findings from a study on the optimisation project of an integrated health information system (HIS) we develop a framework of capabilities needed...... in a public HIS setting to create value. The framework consists of Professional- , Organisational-, Patient Perceived- and Employee Perceived-Value dimensions. HIS is partly overlooked in the public management literature and the aspect of emergence and (personal as well as organisational) learning plays...... an important role in the creation value in HIS-projects....

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dussault Gilles

    2003-04-01

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

  2. 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.

  3. A framework for current public mental health care practice in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janse Van Rensburg, A B

    2007-11-01

    One of the main aims of the new Mental Health Care Act, Act No. 17 of 2002 (MHCA) is to promote the human rights of people with mental disabilities in South Africa. However, the upholding of these rights seems to be subject to the availability of resources. Chapter 2 of the MHCA clarifies the responsibility of the State to provide infrastructure and systems. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Act define and regulate the different categories of mental health care users, clarify the procedures around these categories and spell out mental health practitioners' roles and responsibilities in this regard. Also according to the National Health Act No. 61 of 2003, the State remains the key role player in mental health care provision, being responsible for adequate mental health infrastructure and resource allocation. Due to "limited resources" practitioners however often work in environments where staff ratios may be fractional of what should be expected and in units of which the physical structure and security is totally inadequate. The interface between professional responsibility of clinical workers versus the inadequacy of clinical interventions resulting from infrastructure and staffing constraints needs to be defined. This paper considered recent legislation currently relevant to mental health care practice in order to delineate the legal, ethical and labour framework in which public sector mental health practitioners operate as state employees. These included the Mental Health Care Act, No.17 of 2002; the National Health Act, No. 61 of 2003 and the proposed Traditional Health Practitioners Act, No. 35 of 2004. Formal legal review of and advice on this legislation as it pertains to public sector mental health practitioners as state employees, is necessary and should form the basis of the principles and standards for care endorsed by organized mental health care practitioner groups such as the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP).

  4. Adaptation to climate change in the Ontario public health sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paterson Jaclyn A

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Climate change is among the major challenges for health this century, and adaptation to manage adverse health outcomes will be unavoidable. The risks in Ontario – Canada’s most populous province – include increasing temperatures, more frequent and intense extreme weather events, and alterations to precipitation regimes. Socio-economic-demographic patterns could magnify the implications climate change has for Ontario, including the presence of rapidly growing vulnerable populations, exacerbation of warming trends by heat-islands in large urban areas, and connectedness to global transportation networks. This study examines climate change adaptation in the public health sector in Ontario using information from interviews with government officials. Methods Fifty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted, four with provincial and federal health officials and 49 with actors in public health and health relevant sectors at the municipal level. We identify adaptation efforts, barriers and opportunities for current and future intervention. Results Results indicate recognition that climate change will affect the health of Ontarians. Health officials are concerned about how a changing climate could exacerbate existing health issues or create new health burdens, specifically extreme heat (71%, severe weather (68% and poor air-quality (57%. Adaptation is currently taking the form of mainstreaming climate change into existing public health programs. While adaptive progress has relied on local leadership, federal support, political will, and inter-agency efforts, a lack of resources constrains the sustainability of long-term adaptation programs and the acquisition of data necessary to support effective policies. Conclusions This study provides a snapshot of climate change adaptation and needs in the public health sector in Ontario. Public health departments will need to capitalize on opportunities to integrate climate change into

  5. Adaptation to climate change in the Ontario public health sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Climate change is among the major challenges for health this century, and adaptation to manage adverse health outcomes will be unavoidable. The risks in Ontario – Canada’s most populous province – include increasing temperatures, more frequent and intense extreme weather events, and alterations to precipitation regimes. Socio-economic-demographic patterns could magnify the implications climate change has for Ontario, including the presence of rapidly growing vulnerable populations, exacerbation of warming trends by heat-islands in large urban areas, and connectedness to global transportation networks. This study examines climate change adaptation in the public health sector in Ontario using information from interviews with government officials. Methods Fifty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted, four with provincial and federal health officials and 49 with actors in public health and health relevant sectors at the municipal level. We identify adaptation efforts, barriers and opportunities for current and future intervention. Results Results indicate recognition that climate change will affect the health of Ontarians. Health officials are concerned about how a changing climate could exacerbate existing health issues or create new health burdens, specifically extreme heat (71%), severe weather (68%) and poor air-quality (57%). Adaptation is currently taking the form of mainstreaming climate change into existing public health programs. While adaptive progress has relied on local leadership, federal support, political will, and inter-agency efforts, a lack of resources constrains the sustainability of long-term adaptation programs and the acquisition of data necessary to support effective policies. Conclusions This study provides a snapshot of climate change adaptation and needs in the public health sector in Ontario. Public health departments will need to capitalize on opportunities to integrate climate change into policies and programs

  6. Sport for Development and Global Public Health Issues: A Case Study of National Sports Associations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davies Banda

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Sport is widely recognised for the contribution it can make to international development goals. More specifically, the value of sport as a tool for development gained its impetus through the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The institutionalized relationship between sport and development has mainly focussed on sport-for-development (SfD non-governmental organisations (NGOs. This study proposed to examine the response of National Sports Associations (NSAs towards the multisectoral approach for HIV/AIDS prevention in Zambia. The study draws on lessons learnt from how NSAs within a resource-scarce or low-income country responded to a health pandemic. While public health was previously a state and health sector preserve, the impact of HIV/AIDS pandemic influenced not only the way that a pandemic is managed but also other public health issues. A case study approach was adopted comprising of three National Sports Associations (NSAs as units of analysis. The study utilised semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis and field observations to gain perspectives on how each NSA mainstreamed and implemented work-based health programmes. Using governance and policy network theories, the paper discusses each NSAs’ role in the governance and implementation of a multisectoral approach to a health pandemic. The findings identified lack of engagement of sports agencies at strategic decision-making level, marginalisation of sport by other sectors, and variations in implementation patterns among sports agencies. Further findings indicate that lack of resources among government sport agencies or departments limited their involvement with other state or non-state actors in strategic level meetings or health policy networks. Resource-scarce conditions placed limitations on the political steer of state actors while non-state actors with foreign resources attracted collaboration from other public health policy networks.

  7. 42 CFR 486.326 - Condition: Human resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Condition: Human resources. 486.326 Section 486.326 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES... Organizations Organ Procurement Organization Process Performance Measures § 486.326 Condition: Human resources...

  8. Job satisfaction among public health professionals working in public sector: a cross sectional study from Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Ramesh; Ahmed, Jamil; Shaikh, Babar Tasneem; Hafeez, Rehan; Hafeez, Assad

    2013-01-09

    Job satisfaction largely determines the productivity and efficiency of human resource for health. It literally depicts the extent to which professionals like or dislike their jobs. Job satisfaction is said to be linked with the employee's work environment, job responsibilities and powers and time pressure; the determinants which affect employee's organizational commitment and consequently the quality of services. The objective of the study was to determine the level of and factors influencing job satisfaction among public health professionals in the public sector. This was a cross sectional study conducted in Islamabad, Pakistan. Sample size was universal including 73 public health professionals, with postgraduate qualifications and working in government departments of Islamabad. A validated structured questionnaire was used to collect data from April to October 2011. Overall satisfaction rate was 41% only, while 45% were somewhat satisfied and 14% of professionals highly dissatisfied with their jobs. For those who were not satisfied, working environment, job description and time pressure were the major causes. Other factors influencing the level of satisfaction were low salaries, lack of training opportunities, improper supervision and inadequate financial rewards. Our study documented a relatively low level of overall satisfaction among workers in public sector health care organizations. Considering the factors responsible for this state of affairs, urgent and concrete strategies must be developed to address the concerns of public health professionals as they represent a highly sensitive domain of health system of Pakistan. Improving the overall work environment, review of job descriptions and better remuneration might bring about a positive change.

  9. Resource allocation and budgetary mechanisms for decentralized health systems: experiences from Balochistan, Pakistan.

    OpenAIRE

    Green, A.; Ali, B.; Naeem, A.; Ross, D.

    2000-01-01

    This paper identifies key political and technical issues involved in the development of an appropriate resource allocation and budgetary system for the public health sector, using experience gained in the Province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The resource allocation and budgetary system is a critical, yet often neglected, component of any decentralization policy. Current systems are often based on historical incrementalism that is neither efficient nor equitable. This article describes technical...

  10. Developing web-based training for public health practitioners: what can we learn from a review of five disciplines?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballew, Paula; Castro, Sarah; Claus, Julie; Kittur, Nupur; Brennan, Laura; Brownson, Ross C

    2013-04-01

    During a time when governmental funding, resources and staff are decreasing and travel restrictions are increasing, attention to efficient methods of public health workforce training is essential. A literature review was conducted to inform the development and delivery of web-based trainings for public health practitioners. Literature was gathered and summarized from five disciplines: Information Technology, Health, Education, Business and Communications, following five research themes: benefits, barriers, retention, promotion and evaluation. As a result, a total of 138 articles relevant to web-based training design and implementation were identified. Key recommendations emerged, including the need to conduct formative research and evaluation, provide clear design and layout, concise content, interactivity, technical support, marketing and promotion and incentives. We conclude that there is limited application of web-based training in public health. This review offers an opportunity to learn from other disciplines. Web-based training methods may prove to be a key training strategy for reaching our public health workforce in the environment of limited resources.

  11. Hospital volunteerism as human resource solution: Motivation for both volunteers and the public health sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guinevere M. Lourens

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: A volunteer programme with 50 registered volunteers was established in 2007 at a secondary-level public, semi-rural regional hospital in the Cape Winelands, South Africa. This was a rapid response to the extensive renovations and system changes brought about by the hospital revitalisation initiated in 2006 and the resultant expanded services, which required additional human resources. This study describes the hospital volunteer programme and provides hospital administrators with practical planning guidance for hospital volunteer programme implementation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to (1 describe the outcomes of the hospital volunteer programme implementation intervention and (2 to make sound recommendations for volunteer programme implementation. Methodology and approach: A qualitative case-study methodology was employed using purposive sampling as a technique. Participants were recruited from a public hospital in the Western Cape. A case-study design was applied to explore the hospital volunteer programme implementation. In-depth interviews and a focus group discussion with thematic content analysis of transcripts as well as document reviews were conducted to conclude the study during 2015. The key participants were individually interviewed and included two members of the hospital management, two volunteers and one volunteer coordinator. A focus group discussion consisting of three volunteers was also conducted. Findings: The findings of this study indicate that a volunteer programme can meet needs and be a motivational force for both the individual volunteer and the organisation. However, it requires co-ordination and some secure funding to remain sustainable. Such a programme holds huge benefits in terms of human resource supplementation, organisational development, as well as the possibility of gainful employment for the previously unemployed. Practical implications: In practice, a health service contemplating a

  12. A spatial national health facility database for public health sector planning in Kenya in 2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gething Peter W

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Efforts to tackle the enormous burden of ill-health in low-income countries are hampered by weak health information infrastructures that do not support appropriate planning and resource allocation. For health information systems to function well, a reliable inventory of health service providers is critical. The spatial referencing of service providers to allow their representation in a geographic information system is vital if the full planning potential of such data is to be realized. Methods A disparate series of contemporary lists of health service providers were used to update a public health facility database of Kenya last compiled in 2003. These new lists were derived primarily through the national distribution of antimalarial and antiretroviral commodities since 2006. A combination of methods, including global positioning systems, was used to map service providers. These spatially-referenced data were combined with high-resolution population maps to analyze disparity in geographic access to public health care. Findings The updated 2008 database contained 5,334 public health facilities (67% ministry of health; 28% mission and nongovernmental organizations; 2% local authorities; and 3% employers and other ministries. This represented an overall increase of 1,862 facilities compared to 2003. Most of the additional facilities belonged to the ministry of health (79% and the majority were dispensaries (91%. 93% of the health facilities were spatially referenced, 38% using global positioning systems compared to 21% in 2003. 89% of the population was within 5 km Euclidean distance to a public health facility in 2008 compared to 71% in 2003. Over 80% of the population outside 5 km of public health service providers was in the sparsely settled pastoralist areas of the country. Conclusion We have shown that, with concerted effort, a relatively complete inventory of mapped health services is possible with enormous potential for

  13. A spatial national health facility database for public health sector planning in Kenya in 2008.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noor, Abdisalan M; Alegana, Victor A; Gething, Peter W; Snow, Robert W

    2009-03-06

    Efforts to tackle the enormous burden of ill-health in low-income countries are hampered by weak health information infrastructures that do not support appropriate planning and resource allocation. For health information systems to function well, a reliable inventory of health service providers is critical. The spatial referencing of service providers to allow their representation in a geographic information system is vital if the full planning potential of such data is to be realized. A disparate series of contemporary lists of health service providers were used to update a public health facility database of Kenya last compiled in 2003. These new lists were derived primarily through the national distribution of antimalarial and antiretroviral commodities since 2006. A combination of methods, including global positioning systems, was used to map service providers. These spatially-referenced data were combined with high-resolution population maps to analyze disparity in geographic access to public health care. The updated 2008 database contained 5,334 public health facilities (67% ministry of health; 28% mission and nongovernmental organizations; 2% local authorities; and 3% employers and other ministries). This represented an overall increase of 1,862 facilities compared to 2003. Most of the additional facilities belonged to the ministry of health (79%) and the majority were dispensaries (91%). 93% of the health facilities were spatially referenced, 38% using global positioning systems compared to 21% in 2003. 89% of the population was within 5 km Euclidean distance to a public health facility in 2008 compared to 71% in 2003. Over 80% of the population outside 5 km of public health service providers was in the sparsely settled pastoralist areas of the country. We have shown that, with concerted effort, a relatively complete inventory of mapped health services is possible with enormous potential for improving planning. Expansion in public health care in Kenya has

  14. Low-Cost National Media-Based Surveillance System for Public Health Events, Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ao, Trong T.; Rahman, Mahmudur; Haque, Farhana; Chakraborty, Apurba; Hossain, M. Jahangir; Haider, Sabbir; Alamgir, A.S.M.; Sobel, Jeremy; Luby, Stephen P.

    2016-01-01

    We assessed a media-based public health surveillance system in Bangladesh during 2010–2011. The system is a highly effective, low-cost, locally appropriate, and sustainable outbreak detection tool that could be used in other low-income, resource-poor settings to meet the capacity for surveillance outlined in the International Health Regulations 2005. PMID:26981877

  15. Equity in health care in Namibia: developing a needs-based resource allocation formula using principal components analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mutirua Kauto

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The pace of redressing inequities in the distribution of scarce health care resources in Namibia has been slow. This is due primarily to adherence to the historical incrementalist type of budgeting that has been used to allocate resources. Those regions with high levels of deprivation and relatively greater need for health care resources have been getting less than their fair share. To rectify this situation, which was inherited from the apartheid system, there is a need to develop a needs-based resource allocation mechanism. Methods Principal components analysis was employed to compute asset indices from asset based and health-related variables, using data from the Namibia demographic and health survey of 2000. The asset indices then formed the basis of proposals for regional weights for establishing a needs-based resource allocation formula. Results Comparing the current allocations of public sector health car resources with estimates using a needs based formula showed that regions with higher levels of need currently receive fewer resources than do regions with lower need. Conclusion To address the prevailing inequities in resource allocation, the Ministry of Health and Social Services should abandon the historical incrementalist method of budgeting/resource allocation and adopt a more appropriate allocation mechanism that incorporates measures of need for health care.

  16. Equity in health care in Namibia: developing a needs-based resource allocation formula using principal components analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zere, Eyob; Mandlhate, Custodia; Mbeeli, Thomas; Shangula, Kalumbi; Mutirua, Kauto; Kapenambili, William

    2007-03-29

    The pace of redressing inequities in the distribution of scarce health care resources in Namibia has been slow. This is due primarily to adherence to the historical incrementalist type of budgeting that has been used to allocate resources. Those regions with high levels of deprivation and relatively greater need for health care resources have been getting less than their fair share. To rectify this situation, which was inherited from the apartheid system, there is a need to develop a needs-based resource allocation mechanism. Principal components analysis was employed to compute asset indices from asset based and health-related variables, using data from the Namibia demographic and health survey of 2000. The asset indices then formed the basis of proposals for regional weights for establishing a needs-based resource allocation formula. Comparing the current allocations of public sector health car resources with estimates using a needs based formula showed that regions with higher levels of need currently receive fewer resources than do regions with lower need. To address the prevailing inequities in resource allocation, the Ministry of Health and Social Services should abandon the historical incrementalist method of budgeting/resource allocation and adopt a more appropriate allocation mechanism that incorporates measures of need for health care.

  17. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2015-01-01

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

  19. Human resources for health at the district level in Indonesia: the smoke and mirrors of decentralization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harahap Nida P

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In 2001 Indonesia embarked on a rapid decentralization of government finances and functions to district governments. One of the results is that government has less information about its most valuable resource, the people who provide the services. The objective of the work reported here is to determine the stock of human resources for health in 15 districts, their service status and primary place of work. It also assesses the effect of decentralization on management of human resources and the implications for the future. Methods We enumerated all health care providers (doctors, nurses and midwives, including information on their employment status and primary place of work, in each of 15 districts in Java. Data were collected by three teams, one for each province. Results Provider density (number of doctors, nurses and midwives/1000 population was low by international standards – 11 out of 15 districts had provider densities less than 1.0. Approximately half of all three professional groups were permanent public servants. Contractual employment was also important for both nurses and midwives. The private sector as the primary source of employment is most important for doctors (37% overall and increasingly so for midwives (10%. For those employed in the public sector, two-thirds of doctors and nurses work in health centres, while most midwives are located at village-level health facilities. Conclusion In the health system established after Independence, the facilities established were staffed through a period of obligatory service for all new graduates in medicine, nursing and midwifery. The last elements of that staffing system ended in 2007 and the government has not been able to replace it. The private sector is expanding and, despite the fact that it will be of increasing importance in the coming decades, government information about providers in private practice is decreasing. Despite the promise of decentralization to

  20. Human resources for health at the district level in Indonesia: the smoke and mirrors of decentralization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heywood, Peter F; Harahap, Nida P

    2009-02-03

    In 2001 Indonesia embarked on a rapid decentralization of government finances and functions to district governments. One of the results is that government has less information about its most valuable resource, the people who provide the services. The objective of the work reported here is to determine the stock of human resources for health in 15 districts, their service status and primary place of work. It also assesses the effect of decentralization on management of human resources and the implications for the future. We enumerated all health care providers (doctors, nurses and midwives), including information on their employment status and primary place of work, in each of 15 districts in Java. Data were collected by three teams, one for each province. Provider density (number of doctors, nurses and midwives/1000 population) was low by international standards--11 out of 15 districts had provider densities less than 1.0. Approximately half of all three professional groups were permanent public servants. Contractual employment was also important for both nurses and midwives. The private sector as the primary source of employment is most important for doctors (37% overall) and increasingly so for midwives (10%). For those employed in the public sector, two-thirds of doctors and nurses work in health centres, while most midwives are located at village-level health facilities. In the health system established after Independence, the facilities established were staffed through a period of obligatory service for all new graduates in medicine, nursing and midwifery. The last elements of that staffing system ended in 2007 and the government has not been able to replace it. The private sector is expanding and, despite the fact that it will be of increasing importance in the coming decades, government information about providers in private practice is decreasing. Despite the promise of decentralization to increase sectoral "decision space" at the district level, the

  1. The child welfare system: through the eyes of public health nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneiderman, Janet U

    2005-01-01

    This qualitative descriptive study investigates how public health nurses working within the child welfare system view the organization and the organization's effect on their case management practice. Semistructured interviews were conducted utilizing the Bolman-Deal Organizational Model. This model identifies four frames of an organization: symbolic, human resources, political, and structural. A purposive sample of nine nurses and one social worker was selected to participate in comprehensive interviews. Data analysis identified two main themes. The first theme was the presence of organizational structural barriers to providing case management. The second theme was the lack of political influence by the nurses to change the structure of the organization; hence, their skills could be more completely utilized. Public health nurses who work in child welfare will need to systematically analyze their role within the organization and understand how to work in "host settings." Nursing educators need to prepare public health nurses to work in non-health care settings by teaching organizational analysis.

  2. Public health safety and environment in inadequate hospital and healthcare settings: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baguma, D

    2017-03-01

    Public health safety and environmental management are concerns that pose challenges worldwide. This paper briefly assesses a selected impact of the environment on public health. The study used an assessment of environmental mechanism to analyse the underlying different pathways in which the health sector is affected in inadequate hospital and health care settings. We reviewed the limited available evidence of the association between the health sector and the environment, and the likely pathways through which the environment influences health. The paper also models the use of private health care as a function of costs and benefits relative to public care and no care. The need to enhancing policies to improve the administration of health services, strengthening interventions on environment using international agreements, like Rio Conventions, including measures to control hospital-related infection, planning for human resources and infrastructure construction development have linkage to improve environment care and public health. The present study findings partly also demonstrate the influence of demand for health on the environment. The list of possible interventions includes enhancing policies to improve the administration of health services, strengthening Rio Conventions implementation on environmental concerns, control of environmental hazards and public health. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. 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.

  4. 2016 Survey of State-Level Health Resources for Men and Boys: Identification of an Inadvertent and Remediable Service and Health Disparity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fadich, Ana; Llamas, Ramon P; Giorgianni, Salvatore; Stephenson, Colin; Nwaiwu, Chimezie

    2018-03-01

    This survey evaluated resources available to men and boys at the state level including state public health departments (SPHDs), other state agencies, and governor's offices. Most of the resources and programs are found in the SPHDs and these administer state-initiated and federally funded health programs to provide services and protection to a broad range of populations; however, many men's health advocates believe that SPHDs have failed to create equivalent services for men and boys, inadvertently creating a health disparity. Men's Health Network conducts a survey of state resources, including those found in SPHDs, every 2 years to identify resources available for men and women, determine the extent of any disparity, and establish a relationship with SPHD officials. Data were obtained from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. An analysis of the 2016 survey data indicates that there are few resources allocated and a lack of readily available information on health and preventive care created specifically for men and boys. The data observed that most health information intended for men and boys was scarce among states or oftentimes included on websites that primarily focused on women's health. A potential result of this is a loss of engagement with appropriate health-care providers due to a lack of information. This study continues to validate the disparity between health outcomes for women and men. It continues to highlight the need for better resource allocation, outreach, and health programs specifically tailored to men and boys in order to improve overall community well-being.

  5. HAPPIER: Health Resource Guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pennsylvania State Dept. of Education, Harrisburg.

    Based on findings of Project HAPPIER surveys and intended as a resource for health care providers and educators who serve the migrant community, this guide describes over 375 instructional materials in the areas of dental health, disease control, fitness, health promotion, human growth and development, hypertension, maternal and child care, mental…

  6. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2017-12-13

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

  8. Biofeedback Intervention for Stress, Anxiety, and Depression among Graduate Students in Public Health Nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ratanasiripong, Paul; Kaewboonchoo, Orawan; Ratanasiripong, Nop; Hanklang, Suda; Chumchai, Pornlert

    2015-01-01

    Globally, graduate students have been found to have high prevalence of mental health problems. With increasing severity of mental health problems on university campuses and limited resources for mental health treatment, alternative interventions are needed. This study investigated the use of biofeedback training to help reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. A sample of 60 graduate students in public health nursing was randomly assigned to either the biofeedback intervention or the control group. Results indicated that biofeedback intervention was effective in significantly reducing the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression over the 4-week period, while the control group had increases in symptoms of anxiety and depression over the same timeframe. As future leaders in the public health nursing arena, the more psychologically healthy the graduate students in public health nursing are, the better the public health nursing professionals they will be as they go forth to serve the community after graduation.

  9. Biofeedback Intervention for Stress, Anxiety, and Depression among Graduate Students in Public Health Nursing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Ratanasiripong

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Globally, graduate students have been found to have high prevalence of mental health problems. With increasing severity of mental health problems on university campuses and limited resources for mental health treatment, alternative interventions are needed. This study investigated the use of biofeedback training to help reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. A sample of 60 graduate students in public health nursing was randomly assigned to either the biofeedback intervention or the control group. Results indicated that biofeedback intervention was effective in significantly reducing the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression over the 4-week period, while the control group had increases in symptoms of anxiety and depression over the same timeframe. As future leaders in the public health nursing arena, the more psychologically healthy the graduate students in public health nursing are, the better the public health nursing professionals they will be as they go forth to serve the community after graduation.

  10. The ethics of health service delivery: a challenge to public health leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeLuca, D M

    1989-01-01

    The ethical distribution of health care is a central issue now that AIDS has started to be a drain on health care resources. If the worst predictions are true, the next half century will be capitalized by a great stress of the health care delivery system in the Pacific. The critical challenges that face the current leadership are: sustaining commitment to all levels of administration to reduce social and health inequities; making sound decisions on policies, priorities and goals that are based on valid information; strengthen health infrastructure, based on the principle of primary health care, including appropriate distribution of staffing, skills, technology and resources. The goals of the Pacific Health Promotion and Development center must not focus exclusively on AIDs. Hepatitis B control measures, hypertension and diabetes, primary care in remote areas, and rehabilitation initiatives must be kept in place. Humanitarian interests for AIDs patients must be balanced with the pragmatic reality of saving children's hearing, or extending useful lives. The attributes of respect, accountability, leadership, judgement, fairness, integrity and honesty controlled by principles of social justice must be part of the administrative decision making process. The 2 major issues facing public health professional are: (1) the financial considerations involved with increasingly expensive technology, services and research, contrasted against the need to prioritize their use and development; (2) pragmatic and ideological needs must be balanced to maximize preventative and curative services and make them available to those who can benefit from them.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jones Iain

    2011-07-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, James; Jones, Iain; Whyms, Desmond

    2011-07-15

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

  13. Community Assessment Tool for Public Health Emergencies Including Pandemic Influenza

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    HCTT-CHE

    2011-04-14

    The Community Assessment Tool (CAT) for Public Health Emergencies Including Pandemic Influenza (hereafter referred to as the CAT) was developed as a result of feedback received from several communities. These communities participated in workshops focused on influenza pandemic planning and response. The 2008 through 2011 workshops were sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Feedback during those workshops indicated the need for a tool that a community can use to assess its readiness for a disaster—readiness from a total healthcare perspective, not just hospitals, but the whole healthcare system. The CAT intends to do just that—help strengthen existing preparedness plans by allowing the healthcare system and other agencies to work together during an influenza pandemic. It helps reveal each core agency partners' (sectors) capabilities and resources, and highlights cases of the same vendors being used for resource supplies (e.g., personal protective equipment [PPE] and oxygen) by the partners (e.g., public health departments, clinics, or hospitals). The CAT also addresses gaps in the community's capabilities or potential shortages in resources. While the purpose of the CAT is to further prepare the community for an influenza pandemic, its framework is an extension of the traditional all-hazards approach to planning and preparedness. As such, the information gathered by the tool is useful in preparation for most widespread public health emergencies. This tool is primarily intended for use by those involved in healthcare emergency preparedness (e.g., community planners, community disaster preparedness coordinators, 9-1-1 directors, hospital emergency preparedness coordinators). It is divided into sections based on the core agency partners, which may be involved in the community's influenza pandemic influenza response.

  14. Comparison of health literacy in privately insured and public hospital orthopaedic patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cosic, Filip; Porter, Tabitha; Norsworthy, Cameron; Price, Rohan; Bedi, Harvinder

    2018-05-14

    increased mortality and chronic disease morbidity. It has also been associated with an increased rate of hospitalisation and use of healthcare resources. Previous work in the orthopaedic trauma setting has found poor levels of health literacy and poor understanding of diagnosis, management and prognosis in the Australian public health system. Promisingly, it has been shown that simple, targeted interventions can improve patient health literacy. What does this paper add? This study further highlights that health literacy exhibited by orthopaedic patients is poor, particularly among patients in the public healthcare system. The present study is the first to have demonstrated that health literacy is poor among patients in both the public and private healthcare systems, despite these patients having distinctly different demographics. Promisingly, the present study shows that, unlike public orthopaedic out-patient review, private orthopaedic out-patient review appears to be effective in increasing patient health literacy regarding their orthopaedic condition and its management. What are the implications for practitioners? Health literacy is essential for patients to effectively communicate with doctors and achieve good health outcomes. Healthcare professionals need to be aware that a large proportion of patients have poor health literacy and difficulty understanding health-related information, particularly pertaining to that surrounding diagnosis, management and prognosis. This study highlights the need for healthcare professionals to ensure that they communicate with patients at an appropriate level to ensure patient understanding during the pre-, peri- and postoperative stages of management. Further, healthcare professionals should be aware that there is potential to improve patient health literacy at routine out-patient review, provided that this opportunity is used as an educational resource.

  15. Addressing the gap between public health emergency planning and incident response

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freedman, Ariela M; Mindlin, Michele; Morley, Christopher; Griffin, Meghan; Wooten, Wilma; Miner, Kathleen

    2013-01-01

    Objectives: Since 9/11, Incident Command System (ICS) and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) are relatively new concepts to public health, which typically operates using less hierarchical and more collaborative approaches to organizing staff. This paper describes the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak in San Diego County to explore the use of ICS and EOC in public health emergency response. Methods: This study was conducted using critical case study methodology consisting of document review and 18 key-informant interviews with individuals who played key roles in planning and response. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data. Results: Several broad elements emerged as key to ensuring effective and efficient public health response: 1) developing a plan for emergency response; 2) establishing the framework for an ICS; 3) creating the infrastructure to support response; 4) supporting a workforce trained on emergency response roles, responsibilities, and equipment; and 5) conducting regular preparedness exercises. Conclusions: This research demonstrates the value of investments made and that effective emergency preparedness requires sustained efforts to maintain personnel and material resources. By having the infrastructure and experience based on ICS and EOC, the public health system had the capability to surge-up: to expand its day-to-day operation in a systematic and prolonged manner. None of these critical actions are possible without sustained funding for the public health infrastructure. Ultimately, this case study illustrates the importance of public health as a key leader in emergency response. PMID:28228983

  16. 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.

  17. Staff and bed distribution in public sector mental health services in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiran Sukeri

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Background. The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is a resource-limited province with a fragmented mental health service.  Objective. To determine the current context of public sector mental health services in terms of staff and bed distribution, and how this corresponds to the population distribution in the province. Method. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, an audit questionnaire was submitted to all public sector mental health facilities. Norms and indicators were calculated at provincial and district level. This article investigates staff and bed distribution only. Results. Results demonstrated that within the province, only three of its seven districts have acute beds above the national baseline norm requirement of 13/100 000. The private mental health sector provides approximately double the number of medium- to long-stay beds available in the public sector. Only two regions have staff/population ratios above the baseline norm of 20/100 000. However, there are significant differences in this ratio among specific staff categories. There is an inequitable distribution of resources between the eastern and western regions of the province. When compared with the western regions, the eastern regions have poorer access to mental health facilities, human resources and non-governmental organisations.  Conclusion. Owing to the inequitable distribution of resources, the provincial authorities urgently need to develop an equitable model of service delivery. The province has to address the absence of a reliable mental health information system.

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo-Salgado, Carlos

    2015-11-01

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

  1. Integrated approaches for the public health prioritization of foodborne and zoonotic pathogens.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mangen, M.J.J.; Batz, M.B.; Kasbohrer, S.; Hald, T.; Morris, J.G.; Taylor, M.; Havelaar, A.H.

    2010-01-01

    To address the persistent problems of foodborne and zoonotic disease, public health officials worldwide face difficult choices about how to best allocate limited resources and target interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality. Data-driven approaches to informing these decisions have been

  2. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2013-09-01

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

  4. Assessing entrepreneurship in governmental public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2015-04-01

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

  5. Transforming public health education in India through networking and collaborations: opportunities and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Anjali; Zodpey, Sanjay P

    2013-01-01

    A competent and motivated health workforce is indispensable to achieve the best health outcomes possible through given available resources and circumstances. However, apart from the shortages and unequal distribution, the workforce has fallen short of responding to the public health challenges of 21 st century also because of primarily the traditional training of health professionals. Although, health professionals have made enormous contributions to health and development over the past century, the 20 th century educational strategies are unfit to tackle 21 st century challenges. One of the key recommendations of the Lancet Commission on Education of Health Professionals is to improve health through reforms of professional education by establishing networks and partnerships which takes advantage of information and communication linkages. The primary goal of this manuscript is to highlight the potential of networks and partnerships in advancing the agenda of educational reforms to revitalize public health education in India. It outlines the current status and expanding scope of public health education in India, existing networks of public health professionals and public health education institutions in the country, and opportunities, advantages and challenges for such networks. Although, we have networks of individuals and institutions in the country, there potential to bring about change has still not being utilized fully and effectively. Immediate collaborative efforts could be directed towards designing and adaptation of competency driven curriculum frameworks suitable of addressing public health challenges of 21 st century, shifting the current focus of curriculum to multidisciplinary public health outlook, developing accreditation mechanisms for both the programs and institutions, engaging in creating job opportunities and designing career pathways for public health professionals in public and private sector. These efforts could certainly be facilitated

  6. Public Health Preparedness Funding: Key Programs and Trends From 2001 to 2017.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Crystal R; Watson, Matthew; Sell, Tara Kirk

    2017-09-01

    To evaluate trends in funding over the past 16 years for key federal public health preparedness and response programs at the US Department of Health and Human Services, to improve understanding of federal funding history in this area, and to provide context for future resource allocation decisions for public health preparedness. In this 2017 analysis, we examined the funding history of key federal programs critical to public health preparedness by reviewing program budget data collected for our annual examination of federal funding for biodefense and health security programs since fiscal year (FY) 2001. State and local preparedness at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initially received $940 million in FY2002 and resulted in significant preparedness gains, but funding levels have since decreased by 31%. Similarly, the Hospital Preparedness Program within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response was funded at a high of $515 million in FY2003, but funding was reduced by 50%. Investments in medical countermeasure development and stockpiling remained relatively stable. The United States has made significant progress in preparing for disasters and advancing public health infrastructure. To enable continued advancement, federal funding commitments must be sustained.

  7. Improvement of Emergency Management Mechanism of Public Health Crisis in Rural China: A Review Article.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jiaxiang; Chen, Chao; Kuai, Tingting

    2018-02-01

    With the rapid development of social economy in China, various public health emergencies frequently occur. Such emergencies cause a serious threat to human health and public safety, especially in rural China. Owing to flaws in emergency management mechanism and policy, the government is not capable to effectively deal with public health emergencies. Therefore, this study aimed to discuss the path to improve the emergency management mechanism for public health emergency in rural China. This study was conducted in 2017 to detect the emergency management mechanism of public health crisis (EMMPHC) in Rural China. Data were collected using the following keywords: Rural China, public health emergency, emergency management mechanism, organization mechanism, operation mechanism in the databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and CNKI. EMMPHC in rural China can be enhanced from the following three aspects. First, a permanent institution for rural emergency management with public health management function is established. Second, the entire process of emergency management mechanism, including the stages of pre-disaster, disaster, and post-disaster, is improved. Finally, investment in rural public health is increased, and an adequate reserve system for emergency resources is formed. The new path of EMMPHC in rural China can effectively help the local government accomplish the dispatch capability in public health emergency, and it has important research significance for the protection of public health and social stability of residents in rural China.

  8. State and Health (1900-2013: Political Stability and Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Leão

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Portuguese public health policies do not surpass eighty years in terms of concerted decision-making, and it is inappropriate to speak of a national health policy before the second half of the twentieth century. This article describes the pathway of policymaking from 1900 to 2013, concerning Portuguese Welfare State emergence. It systematises the main stages of the Portuguese health policies, and analyses its stronger lines, highlighting the relationship between political stability, resources and the State's intervention, strongly related to the emergence of the Welfare State. It summarises the milestones of health policy decisions and describes each of them since 1910. A larger description of changes occurred after the democratic regime and the origins of the Welfare State, embodied in the creation of the National Health Service are given, emphasising the process of epidemiological transition, the decline of infant mortality rate and the growth of life expectancy average levels.

  9. Job satisfaction among public health professionals working in public sector: a cross sectional study from Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kumar Ramesh

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Job satisfaction largely determines the productivity and efficiency of human resource for health. It literally depicts the extent to which professionals like or dislike their jobs. Job satisfaction is said to be linked with the employee’s work environment, job responsibilities and powers and time pressure; the determinants which affect employee’s organizational commitment and consequently the quality of services. The objective of the study was to determine the level of and factors influencing job satisfaction among public health professionals in the public sector. Methods This was a cross sectional study conducted in Islamabad, Pakistan. Sample size was universal including 73 public health professionals, with postgraduate qualifications and working in government departments of Islamabad. A validated structured questionnaire was used to collect data from April to October 2011. Results Overall satisfaction rate was 41% only, while 45% were somewhat satisfied and 14% of professionals highly dissatisfied with their jobs. For those who were not satisfied, working environment, job description and time pressure were the major causes. Other factors influencing the level of satisfaction were low salaries, lack of training opportunities, improper supervision and inadequate financial rewards. Conclusion Our study documented a relatively low level of overall satisfaction among workers in public sector health care organizations. Considering the factors responsible for this state of affairs, urgent and concrete strategies must be developed to address the concerns of public health professionals as they represent a highly sensitive domain of health system of Pakistan. Improving the overall work environment, review of job descriptions and better remuneration might bring about a positive change.

  10. Tackling the "so what" problem in scientific research: a systems-based approach to resource and publication tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Paul A; Kirby, Jacqueline; Swafford, Jonathan A; Edwards, Terri L; Zhang, Minhua; Yarbrough, Tonya R; Lane, Lynda D; Helmer, Tara; Bernard, Gordon R; Pulley, Jill M

    2015-08-01

    Peer-reviewed publications are one measure of scientific productivity. From a project, program, or institutional perspective, publication tracking provides the quantitative data necessary to guide the prudent stewardship of federal, foundation, and institutional investments by identifying the scientific return for the types of support provided. In this article, the authors describe the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research's (VICTR's) development and implementation of a semiautomated process through which publications are automatically detected in PubMed and adjudicated using a "just-in-time" workflow by a known pool of researchers (from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Meharry Medical College) who receive support from Vanderbilt's Clinical and Translational Science Award. Since implementation, the authors have (1) seen a marked increase in the number of publications citing VICTR support, (2) captured at a more granular level the relationship between specific resources/services and scientific output, (3) increased awareness of VICTR's scientific portfolio, and (4) increased efficiency in complying with annual National Institutes of Health progress reports. They present the methodological framework and workflow, measures of impact for the first 30 months, and a set of practical lessons learned to inform others considering a systems-based approach for resource and publication tracking. They learned that contacting multiple authors from a single publication can increase the accuracy of the resource attribution process in the case of multidisciplinary scientific projects. They also found that combining positive (e.g., congratulatory e-mails) and negative (e.g., not allowing future resource requests until adjudication is complete) triggers can increase compliance with publication attribution requests.

  11. 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...

  12. Resource flows for health care: Namibia reproductive health sub-accounts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mbeeli Thomas

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Implementing initiatives to achieve the targets of MDG 5 requires sufficient financial resources that are mobilized and utilized in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner. Informed decision making to this end requires the availability of reliable health financing information. This is accomplished by means of Reproductive Health (RH sub-account, which captures and organizes expenditure on RH services in two-dimensional tables from financing sources to end users. The specific objectives of this study are: (i to quantify total expenditure on reproductive health services; and (ii to examine the flow of RH funds from sources to end users. Methods The RH sub-account was part of the general National Health Accounts exercise covering the Financial Years 2007/08 and 2008/09. Primary data were collected from employers, medical aid schemes, donors and government ministries using questionnaire. Secondary data were obtained from various documents of the Namibian Government and the health financing database of the World Health Organization. Data were analyzed using a data screen designed in Microsoft Excel. Results RH expenditure per woman of reproductive age was US$ 148 and US$ 126 in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 financial years respectively. This is by far higher than what is observed in most African countries. RH expenditure constituted more than 10-12% of the total expenditure on health. Out-of-pocket payment for RH was minimal (less than 4% of the RH spending in both years. Government is the key source of RH spending. Moreover, the public sector is the main financing agent with programmatic control of RH funds and also the main provider of services. Most of the RH expenditure is spent on services of curative care (both in- and out-patient. The proportion allocated for preventive and public health services was not more than 5% in the two financial years. Conclusion Namibia's expenditure on reproductive health is remarkable by the

  13. Resource flows for health care: Namibia reproductive health sub-accounts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mbeeli, Thomas; Samahiya, Muine; Ravishankar, Nirmala; Zere, Eyob; Kirigia, Joses M

    2011-12-24

    Implementing initiatives to achieve the targets of MDG 5 requires sufficient financial resources that are mobilized and utilized in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner. Informed decision making to this end requires the availability of reliable health financing information. This is accomplished by means of Reproductive Health (RH) sub-account, which captures and organizes expenditure on RH services in two-dimensional tables from financing sources to end users. The specific objectives of this study are: (i) to quantify total expenditure on reproductive health services; and (ii) to examine the flow of RH funds from sources to end users. The RH sub-account was part of the general National Health Accounts exercise covering the Financial Years 2007/08 and 2008/09. Primary data were collected from employers, medical aid schemes, donors and government ministries using questionnaire. Secondary data were obtained from various documents of the Namibian Government and the health financing database of the World Health Organization. Data were analyzed using a data screen designed in Microsoft Excel. RH expenditure per woman of reproductive age was US$ 148 and US$ 126 in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 financial years respectively. This is by far higher than what is observed in most African countries. RH expenditure constituted more than 10-12% of the total expenditure on health. Out-of-pocket payment for RH was minimal (less than 4% of the RH spending in both years). Government is the key source of RH spending. Moreover, the public sector is the main financing agent with programmatic control of RH funds and also the main provider of services. Most of the RH expenditure is spent on services of curative care (both in- and out-patient). The proportion allocated for preventive and public health services was not more than 5% in the two financial years. Namibia's expenditure on reproductive health is remarkable by the standards of Africa and other middle-income countries. However

  14. Marketing of Information Resources in Selected Public Libraries in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Marketing of Information Resources in Selected Public Libraries in Lagos State: A Competitive Intelligence Approach. ... examined the use of marketing techniques in public libraries , and the e xtent to ... EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eatman, Shana; Strosnider, Heather M.

    2017-01-01

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (Tracking Program) is a multidisciplinary collaboration that involves the ongoing collection, integration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data from environmental hazard monitoring, human exposure surveillance, and health effects surveillance. With a renewed focus on data-driven decision-making, the CDC’s Tracking Program emphasizes dissemination of actionable data to public health practitioners, policy makers, and communities. The CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network), a Web-based system with components at the national, state, and local levels, houses environmental public health data used to inform public health actions (PHAs) to improve community health. This article serves as a detailed landscape on the Tracking Program and Tracking Network and the Tracking Program’s leading performance measure, “public health actions.” Tracking PHAs are qualitative statements addressing a local problem or situation, the role of the state or local Tracking Program, how the problem or situation was addressed, and the action taken. More than 400 PHAs have been reported by funded state and local health departments since the Tracking Program began collecting PHAs in 2005. Three case studies are provided to illustrate the use of the Tracking Program resources and data on the Tracking Network, and the diversity of actions taken. Through a collaborative network of experts, data, and tools, the Tracking Program and its Tracking Network are actively informing state and local PHAs. In a time of competing priorities and limited funding, PHAs can serve as a powerful tool to advance environmental public health practice. PMID:28763381

  16. Priority setting of ICU resources in an influenza pandemic: a qualitative study of the Canadian public's perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Diego S; Gibson, Jennifer L; Robertson, Ann; Bensimon, Cécile M; Sahni, Sachin; Maunula, Laena; Smith, Maxwell J

    2012-03-26

    Pandemic influenza may exacerbate existing scarcity of life-saving medical resources. As a result, decision-makers may be faced with making tough choices about who will receive care and who will have to wait or go without. Although previous studies have explored ethical issues in priority setting from the perspective of clinicians and policymakers, there has been little investigation into how the public views priority setting during a pandemic influenza, in particular related to intensive care resources. To bridge this gap, we conducted three public town hall meetings across Canada to explore Canadian's perspectives on this ethical challenge. Town hall discussions group discussions were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Six interrelated themes emerged from the town hall discussions related to: ethical and empirical starting points for deliberation; criteria for setting priorities; pre-crisis planning; in-crisis decision-making; the need for public deliberation and input; and participants' deliberative struggle with the ethical issues. Our findings underscore the importance of public consultation in pandemic planning for sustaining public trust in a public health emergency. Participants appreciated the empirical and ethical uncertainty of decision-making in an influenza pandemic and demonstrated nuanced ethical reasoning about priority setting of intensive care resources in an influenza pandemic. Policymakers may benefit from a better understanding the public's empirical and ethical 'starting points' in developing effective pandemic plans.

  17. Public Health Economic Burden Associated with Two Single Measles Case Investigations - Colorado, 2016-2017.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marx, Grace E; Chase, Jennifer; Jasperse, Joseph; Stinson, Kaylan; McDonald, Carol E; Runfola, Janine K; Jaskunas, Jillian; Hite, Donna; Barnes, Meghan; Askenazi, Michele; Albanese, Bernadette

    2017-11-24

    During July 2016-January 2017, two unrelated measles cases were identified in the Denver, Colorado area after patients traveled to countries with endemic measles transmission. Each case resulted in multiple exposures at health care facilities and public venues, and activated an immediate and complex response by local and state public health agencies, with activities led by the Tri-County Health Department (TCHD), which serves Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties. To track the economic burden associated with investigating and responding to single measles cases, personnel hours and supply costs incurred during each investigation were tracked prospectively. No secondary cases of measles were identified in either investigation. Postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) was administered to 31 contacts involving the first case; no contacts of the second case were eligible for PEP because of a delay in diagnosing measles disease. Public health costs of disease investigation in the first and second case were estimated at $49,769 and $18,423, respectively. Single measles cases prompted coordinated public health action and were costly and resource-intensive for local public health agencies.

  18. 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.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2015-03-18

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

  20. Developing Web-Based Training for Public Health Practitioners: What Can We Learn from a Review of Five Disciplines?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballew, Paula; Castro, Sarah; Claus, Julie; Kittur, Nupur; Brennan, Laura; Brownson, Ross C.

    2013-01-01

    During a time when governmental funding, resources and staff are decreasing and travel restrictions are increasing, attention to efficient methods of public health workforce training is essential. A literature review was conducted to inform the development and delivery of web-based trainings for public health practitioners. Literature was gathered…

  1. 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.

  2. Assessing the professional development needs of public health educators in light of changing competencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demers, Anne Roesler; Mamary, Edward

    2008-10-01

    Because of the need for a well-trained public health workforce, professional competencies have been recently revised by the Institute of Medicine and the National Health Educator Competencies Update Project. This study compared the self-identified training needs of public health educators with the updated competencies and assessed employer support for continuing education. A convenience sample of public health educators was recruited from an e-mail list of San Jose State University master of public health alumni. Respondents completed a Web-based survey that elicited information on emerging trends in public health education, training needs, and employer support for continuing education. Concerns about funding cuts and privatization of resources emerged as a theme. Key trends reported were an increase in information technology, the need for policy advocacy skills, and the importance of a lifespan approach to health issues. Primary areas for training were organization development, evaluation, and management. Although most employers were reported to support continuing education, less than two-thirds of respondents were reimbursed for expenses. These findings have implications for both research and practice. Innovative technologies should be developed to address health education professionals' training needs, and emerging themes should be incorporated into curricula for students.

  3. Back to basics: informing the public of co-morbid physical health problems in those with mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahire, Mrinalini; Sheridan, Judith; Regbetz, Shane; Stacey, Phillip; Scott, James G

    2013-02-01

    Those with mental illness are at increased risk of physical health problems. The current study aimed to examine the information available online to the Australian public about the increased risk and consequences of physical illness in those with mental health problems and the services available to address these co-morbidities. A structured online search was conducted with the search engine Google Australia (www.google.com.au) using generic search terms 'mental health information Australia', 'mental illness information Australia', 'depression', 'anxiety', and 'psychosis'. The direct content of websites was examined for information on the physical co-morbidities of mental illness. All external links on high-profile websites [the first five websites retrieved under each search term (n = 25)] were examined for information pertaining to physical health. Only 4.2% of websites informing the public about mental health contained direct content information about the increased risk of physical co-morbidities. The Australian Government's Department of Health and Ageing site did not contain any information. Of the high-profile websites, 62% had external links to resources about physical health and 55% had recommendations or resources for physical health. Most recommendations were generic. Relative to the seriousness of this problem, there is a paucity of information available to the public about the increased physical health risks associated with mental illness. Improved public awareness is the starting point of addressing this health inequity.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rial-Sebbag, Emmanuelle

    2014-11-01

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

  5. Don Quixote, Machiavelli, and Robin Hood: public health practice, past and present.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullan, F

    2000-05-01

    Since the mid-19th century, when the first formal health departments were established in the United States, commissioners, directors, and secretaries of public health have functioned as senior members of the staffs of public executives, mayors, governors, and presidents. They have provided important political, managerial, and scientific leadership to agencies of government that have played increasingly important roles in national life, from the sanitary revolution of the 19th century to the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the control of tobacco use today. Although public health officials come from a variety of backgrounds and oversee agencies of varied size and composition, there are philosophical themes that describe and define the commonality of their work. These themes are captured metaphorically by 3 celebrated figures: Don Quixote, Machiavelli, and Robin Hood. By turns, the public health official functions as a determined idealist (Don Quixote), a cunning political strategist (Machiavelli), and an agent who redistributes resources from the wealthier sectors of society to the less well off (Robin Hood.) All 3 personae are important, but, it is argued, Robin Hood is the most endangered.

  6. Charting a course to competency: an approach to mapping public health core competencies to existing trainings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neiworth, Latrissa L; Allan, Susan; D'Ambrosio, Luann; Coplen-Abrahamson, Marlene

    2014-03-01

    Consistent with other professional fields, the goals of public health training have moved from a focus on knowledge transfer to the development of skills or competencies. At least six national competency sets have been developed in the past decade pertaining to public health professionals. State and local public health agencies are increasingly using competency sets as frameworks for staff development and assessment. Mapping competencies to training has potential for enhancing the value of public health training during resource-constrained times by directly linking training content to the desired skills. For existing public health trainings, the challenge is how to identify competencies addressed in those courses in a manner that is not burdensome and that produces valid results. This article describes a process for mapping competencies to the learning objectives, assignments, and assessments of existing trainings. The process presented could be used by any training center or organization that seeks to connect public health workforce competencies to previously developed instruction. Public health practice can be strengthened more effectively if trainings can be selected for the desired practice skills or competencies.

  7. 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

  8. Florida public transportation anti-terrorism resource guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-10-01

    The Center for Urban Transportation (CUTR) at the University of South Florida (USF) assembled this guide to provide public transit agencies in Florida with information on current resources available to assist them with improving system security and g...

  9. On the road to a stronger public health workforce: visual tools to address complex challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drehobl, Patricia; Stover, Beth H; Koo, Denise

    2014-11-01

    The public health workforce is vital to protecting the health and safety of the public, yet for years, state and local governmental public health agencies have reported substantial workforce losses and other challenges to the workforce that threaten the public's health. These challenges are complex, often involve multiple influencing or related causal factors, and demand comprehensive solutions. However, proposed solutions often focus on selected factors and might be fragmented rather than comprehensive. This paper describes approaches to characterizing the situation more comprehensively and includes two visual tools: (1) a fishbone, or Ishikawa, diagram that depicts multiple factors affecting the public health workforce; and (2) a roadmap that displays key elements-goals and strategies-to strengthen the public health workforce, thus moving from the problems depicted in the fishbone toward solutions. The visual tools aid thinking about ways to strengthen the public health workforce through collective solutions and to help leverage resources and build on each other's work. The strategic roadmap is intended to serve as a dynamic tool for partnership, prioritization, and gap assessment. These tools reflect and support CDC's commitment to working with partners on the highest priorities for strengthening the workforce to improve the public's health. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. 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

  11. Should cities hosting mass gatherings invest in public health surveillance and planning? Reflections from a decade of mass gatherings in Sydney, Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thackway, Sarah; Churches, Timothy; Fizzell, Jan; Muscatello, David; Armstrong, Paul

    2009-09-08

    Mass gatherings have been defined by the World Health Organisation as "events attended by a sufficient number of people to strain the planning and response resources of a community, state or nation". This paper explores the public health response to mass gatherings in Sydney, the factors that influenced the extent of deployment of resources and the utility of planning for mass gatherings as a preparedness exercise for other health emergencies. Not all mass gatherings of people require enhanced surveillance and additional response. The main drivers of extensive public health planning for mass gatherings reflect geographical spread, number of international visitors, event duration and political and religious considerations. In these instances, the implementation of a formal risk assessment prior to the event with ongoing daily review is important in identifying public health hazards.Developing and utilising event-specific surveillance to provide early-warning systems that address the specific risks identified through the risk assessment process are essential. The extent to which additional resources are required will vary and depend on the current level of surveillance infrastructure.Planning the public health response is the third step in preparing for mass gatherings. If the existing public health workforce has been regularly trained in emergency response procedures then far less effort and resources will be needed to prepare for each mass gathering event. The use of formal emergency management structures and co-location of surveillance and planning operational teams during events facilitates timely communication and action. One-off mass gathering events can provide a catalyst for innovation and engagement and result in opportunities for ongoing public health planning, training and surveillance enhancements that outlasted each event.

  12. Should cities hosting mass gatherings invest in public health surveillance and planning? Reflections from a decade of mass gatherings in Sydney, Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muscatello David

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mass gatherings have been defined by the World Health Organisation as "events attended by a sufficient number of people to strain the planning and response resources of a community, state or nation". This paper explores the public health response to mass gatherings in Sydney, the factors that influenced the extent of deployment of resources and the utility of planning for mass gatherings as a preparedness exercise for other health emergencies. Discussion Not all mass gatherings of people require enhanced surveillance and additional response. The main drivers of extensive public health planning for mass gatherings reflect geographical spread, number of international visitors, event duration and political and religious considerations. In these instances, the implementation of a formal risk assessment prior to the event with ongoing daily review is important in identifying public health hazards. Developing and utilising event-specific surveillance to provide early-warning systems that address the specific risks identified through the risk assessment process are essential. The extent to which additional resources are required will vary and depend on the current level of surveillance infrastructure. Planning the public health response is the third step in preparing for mass gatherings. If the existing public health workforce has been regularly trained in emergency response procedures then far less effort and resources will be needed to prepare for each mass gathering event. The use of formal emergency management structures and co-location of surveillance and planning operational teams during events facilitates timely communication and action. Summary One-off mass gathering events can provide a catalyst for innovation and engagement and result in opportunities for ongoing public health planning, training and surveillance enhancements that outlasted each event.

  13. The evaluation of public health in South Eastern Europe: from transition to progress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragan Gjorgjev

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available

    Background: The public health services project of the South-eastern Europe health network has undertaken an evaluation of public health services in its nine member countries. The purpose of the evaluation of public health services provision in the South-eastern European (SEE countries is to understand where these countries now stand in public health, the institutional, organisational, legislative and service delivery developments that are taking place and to identify strengths and weaknesses in their public health systems and services in order to inform decision making about investment and future reform.

    Methods: The evaluation was orientated around “essential public health operations” that are deemed to form the core of public health activities and services and to be indispensable to the delivery of modern public health services in any country. The evaluation analysed these activities and services within the structure of the health system functions of stewardship, resource generation, financing and service delivery, as developed by WHO.

    Results: The results demonstrate a mixed picture of strengths and weaknesses within the context of significant social, economic and political challenges in the region. Among the many visible and significant strengths in public health services in the region are well developed networks of public health institutes with well defined surveillance systems, highly experienced and well educated public health professionals as well as many positive examples of service delivery. But there are also many concerns and challenges, not the least of which is political focus, direction and support for modern public health services, as well as funding. Collaboration and partnership among sectors is weak and information and communication systems are inadequate and not sufficiently integrated.

    Conclusions: Having emphasized the main weak and

  14. Situational awareness in public health preparedness settings

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2005-05-01

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

  15. 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...

  16. Using a Qualitative Vignette to Explore a Complex Public Health Issue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Michaela; Harrison, Paul; Swinburn, Boyd; Lawrence, Mark

    2015-10-01

    This article discusses how qualitative vignettes were combined with interviews to explore a complex public health issue; that is, promoting unhealthy foods and beverages to children and adolescents. It outlines how the technique was applied in practice and the combination of vignette-based interviews with a broader approach involving Gadamerian hermeneutics. Twenty-one participants from the public health community and the marketing and food and beverage industries took part in vignette-based interviews between March and September 2012. Overall, the qualitative vignette method afforded an efficient, generally well-received technique that effectively explored the issue of promoting unhealthy foods and beverages to children and adolescents. The vignette provided structure to interviews but allowed certain responses to be investigated in greater depth. Through this research, we argue that qualitative vignettes allow researchers to explore complex public health issues. This article also provides a valuable resource for researchers seeking to explore this technique. © The Author(s) 2015.

  17. Strengthening public health laboratory capacity in Thailand for International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peruski, Anne Harwood; Birmingham, Maureen; Tantinimitkul, Chawalit; Chungsamanukool, Ladawan; Chungsamanukool, Preecha; Guntapong, Ratigorn; Pulsrikarn, Chaiwat; Saengklai, Ladapan; Supawat, Krongkaew; Thattiyaphong, Aree; Wongsommart, Duangdao; Wootta, Wattanapong; Nikiema, Abdoulaye; Pierson, Antoine; Peruski, Leonard F; Liu, Xin; Rayfield, Mark A

    2014-07-01

    Thailand conducted a national laboratory assessment of core capacities related to the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), and thereby established a baseline to measure future progress. The assessment was limited to public laboratories found within the Thai Bureau of Quality and Safety of Food, National Institute of Health and regional medical science centres. The World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory assessment tool was adapted to Thailand through a participatory approach. This adapted version employed a specific scoring matrix and comprised 16 modules with a quantitative output. Two teams jointly performed the on-site assessments in December 2010 over a two-week period, in 17 public health laboratories in Thailand. The assessment focused on the capacity to identify and accurately detect pathogens mentioned in Annex 2 of the IHR (2005) in a timely manner, as well as other public health priority pathogens for Thailand. Performance of quality management, budget and finance, data management and communications was considered strong (>90%); premises quality, specimen collection, biosafety, public health functions, supplies management and equipment availability were judged as very good (>70% but ≤90%); while microbiological capacity, staffing, training and supervision, and information technology needed improvement (>60% but ≤70%). This assessment is a major step in Thailand towards development of an optimized and standardized national laboratory network for the detection and reporting of infectious disease that would be compliant with IHR (2005). The participatory strategy employed to adapt an international tool to the Thai context can also serve as a model for use by other countries in the Region. The participatory approach probably ensured better quality and ownership of the results, while providing critical information to help decision-makers determine where best to invest finite resources.

  18. Community Assessment Tool for Public Health Emergencies Including Pandemic Influenza

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    ORAU' s Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education (HCTT-CHE)

    2011-04-14

    The Community Assessment Tool (CAT) for Public Health Emergencies Including Pandemic Influenza (hereafter referred to as the CAT) was developed as a result of feedback received from several communities. These communities participated in workshops focused on influenza pandemic planning and response. The 2008 through 2011 workshops were sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Feedback during those workshops indicated the need for a tool that a community can use to assess its readiness for a disaster - readiness from a total healthcare perspective, not just hospitals, but the whole healthcare system. The CAT intends to do just that - help strengthen existing preparedness plans by allowing the healthcare system and other agencies to work together during an influenza pandemic. It helps reveal each core agency partners (sectors) capabilities and resources, and highlights cases of the same vendors being used for resource supplies (e.g., personal protective equipment [PPE] and oxygen) by the partners (e.g., public health departments, clinics, or hospitals). The CAT also addresses gaps in the community's capabilities or potential shortages in resources. This tool has been reviewed by a variety of key subject matter experts from federal, state, and local agencies and organizations. It also has been piloted with various communities that consist of different population sizes, to include large urban to small rural communities.

  19. 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…

  20. Heat and Health in a Changing Climate: Building a Decision Support Tool for California Public Health Officials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinberg, N.

    2017-12-01

    There is considerable interest in overlaying climate projections with social vulnerability maps as a mechanism for targeting community adaptation efforts. Yet the identification of relevant factors for adaptation- and resilience-based decisions remain a challenge. Our findings show that successful adaptation interventions are more likely when factors are grouped and spatially represented. By designing a decision-support tool that is focused on informing long-term planning to mitigate the public health impacts of extreme heat, communities can more easily integrate climate, land use, and population characteristics into local planning processes. The ability to compare risks and potential health impacts across census tracts may also position local practitioners to leverage scarce resources. This presentation will discuss the information gaps identified by planners and public health practitioners throughout California and illustrate the spatial variations of key health risk factors.

  1. 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...

  2. Redefining public health leadership in the sustainable development goal era.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, K Srinath; Mathur, Manu Raj; Negi, Sagri; Krishna, Bhargav

    2017-06-01

    Adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by member states of the United Nations (UN) has set a new agenda for public health action at national and global levels. The changed context calls for a reframing of what constitutes effective leadership in public health, through a construct that reflects the interdependence of leadership at multiple levels across the health system and its partners in other sectors. This is especially important in the context of Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) that are facing complex demographic and epidemiological transitions. The health system needs to exercise leadership that effectively mobilises all its resources for maximising health impact, and channels trans-disciplinary learning into well-coordinated multi-sectoral action on the wider determinants of health. Leadership is essential not only at the level of inspirational individuals who can create collective vision and commitment but also at the level of supportive institutions situated in or aligned to the health system. In turn, the health system as a whole has to exercise leadership that advances public health in the framework of sustainable development. This commentary examines the desirable attributes of effective leadership at each of these levels and explores the nature of their inter-dependence. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. 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...

  4. Logistics modelling: improving resource management and public information strategies in Florida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Daniel M; Van Groningen, Chuck; Craig, Brian

    2011-10-01

    One of the most time-sensitive and logistically-challenging emergency response operations today is to provide mass prophylaxis to every man, woman and child in a community within 48 hours of a bioterrorism attack. To meet this challenge, federal, state and local public health departments in the USA have joined forces to develop, test and execute large-scale bioterrorism response plans. This preparedness and response effort is funded through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Cities Readiness Initiative, a programme dedicated to providing oral antibiotics to an entire population within 48 hours of a weaponised inhalation anthrax attack. This paper will demonstrate how the State of Florida used a logistics modelling tool to improve its CRI mass prophylaxis plans. Special focus will be on how logistics modelling strengthened Florida's resource management policies and validated its public information strategies.

  5. Conceptual framework of public health surveillance and action and its application in health sector reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alemu Wondi

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Because both public health surveillance and action are crucial, the authors initiated meetings at regional and national levels to assess and reform surveillance and action systems. These meetings emphasized improved epidemic preparedness, epidemic response, and highlighted standardized assessment and reform. Methods To standardize assessments, the authors designed a conceptual framework for surveillance and action that categorized the framework into eight core and four support activities, measured with indicators. Results In application, country-level reformers measure both the presence and performance of the six core activities comprising public health surveillance (detection, registration, reporting, confirmation, analyses, and feedback and acute (epidemic-type and planned (management-type responses composing the two core activities of public health action. Four support activities – communications, supervision, training, and resource provision – enable these eight core processes. National, multiple systems can then be concurrently assessed at each level for effectiveness, technical efficiency, and cost. Conclusions This approach permits a cost analysis, highlights areas amenable to integration, and provides focused intervention. The final public health model becomes a district-focused, action-oriented integration of core and support activities with enhanced effectiveness, technical efficiency, and cost savings. This reform approach leads to sustained capacity development by an empowerment strategy defined as facilitated, process-oriented action steps transforming staff and the system.

  6. Soil Health Educational Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoorman, James J.

    2015-01-01

    Soil health and cover crops are topics of interest to farmers, gardeners, and students. Three soil health and cover crop demonstrations provide educational resources. Demonstrations one outlines two educational cover crop seed displays, including the advantages and disadvantages. Demonstration two shows how to construct and grow a cover crop root…

  7. mockrobiota: a Public Resource for Microbiome Bioinformatics Benchmarking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bokulich, Nicholas A; Rideout, Jai Ram; Mercurio, William G; Shiffer, Arron; Wolfe, Benjamin; Maurice, Corinne F; Dutton, Rachel J; Turnbaugh, Peter J; Knight, Rob; Caporaso, J Gregory

    2016-01-01

    Mock communities are an important tool for validating, optimizing, and comparing bioinformatics methods for microbial community analysis. We present mockrobiota, a public resource for sharing, validating, and documenting mock community data resources, available at http://caporaso-lab.github.io/mockrobiota/. The materials contained in mockrobiota include data set and sample metadata, expected composition data (taxonomy or gene annotations or reference sequences for mock community members), and links to raw data (e.g., raw sequence data) for each mock community data set. mockrobiota does not supply physical sample materials directly, but the data set metadata included for each mock community indicate whether physical sample materials are available. At the time of this writing, mockrobiota contains 11 mock community data sets with known species compositions, including bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic mock communities, analyzed by high-throughput marker gene sequencing. IMPORTANCE The availability of standard and public mock community data will facilitate ongoing method optimizations, comparisons across studies that share source data, and greater transparency and access and eliminate redundancy. These are also valuable resources for bioinformatics teaching and training. This dynamic resource is intended to expand and evolve to meet the changing needs of the omics community.

  8. ECONOMICS OF HUMAN RESOURCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IOANA - JULIETA JOSAN

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to analyze human resources in terms of quantitative and qualitative side with special focus on the human capital accumulation influence. The paper examines the human resources trough human capital accumulation in terms of modern theory of human resources, educational capital, health, unemployment and migration. The findings presented in this work are based on theoretical economy publications and data collected from research materials. Sources of information include: documents from organizations - the EUROSTAT, INSSE - studies from publications, books, periodicals, and the Internet. The paper describes and analyzes human resources characteristics, human resource capacities, social and economic benefits of human capital accumulation based on economy, and the government plans and policies on health, education and labor market.

  9. Proceedings for the symposium on public health aspects of peaceful uses of nuclear explosives

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1969-07-01

    The Southwestern Radiological Health Laboratory is very pleased to have sponsored this Symposium on the Public Health Aspects of the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Explosives. The primary purpose of the Symposium was to disseminate and document current information and data on the public health aspects of this promising new technical field. In addition, it served to identify potential problem areas, stimulated discussion, and provided an opportunity for exchange of ideas and rapport between and among various individuals and groups sharing interests in various facets of Plowshare technology. These proceedings should serve these objectives and provide a resource of relevant information which may be used to evaluate what is presently known and unknown in the public health and safety area of the technology for peaceful applications of nuclear explosives.

  10. Proceedings for the symposium on public health aspects of peaceful uses of nuclear explosives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1969-01-01

    The Southwestern Radiological Health Laboratory is very pleased to have sponsored this Symposium on the Public Health Aspects of the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Explosives. The primary purpose of the Symposium was to disseminate and document current information and data on the public health aspects of this promising new technical field. In addition, it served to identify potential problem areas, stimulated discussion, and provided an opportunity for exchange of ideas and rapport between and among various individuals and groups sharing interests in various facets of Plowshare technology. These proceedings should serve these objectives and provide a resource of relevant information which may be used to evaluate what is presently known and unknown in the public health and safety area of the technology for peaceful applications of nuclear explosives

  11. Developmental origins of health and disease--global public health implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, M A; Gluckman, P D

    2015-01-01

    The rapidly rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represents a major challenge to public health and clinical medicine globally. NCDs are increasing rapidly in high-income countries, but even more rapidly in some low-middle-income countries with insufficient resources to meet the challenge. Whilst not identified in the Millennium Development Goals, there is much attention paid to NCDs in the discussions at many levels on the Sustainable Development Goals, as they underpin economic, social and environmental development in the post-2015 era. In this article, we discuss how a life-course approach to health, commencing of necessity in early development, can provide new opportunities for addressing this challenge. The approach can leverage human health capital throughout life and across generations. New insights into mechanisms, especially those processes by which the developmental environment affects epigenetic processes in the developing offspring, offer the prospect of identifying biomarkers of future risks. New interventions to promote health literacy, lifestyle and physical fitness in adolescents, young adults and their children hold great promise. In this respect, health-care professionals concerned with preconceptional, pregnancy and newborn care will have a vital role to play. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Self-care as a health resource of elders

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Høy, Bente; Wagner, Lis; Hall, Elisabeth O.C.

    2007-01-01

    into self-care as a significant health resource of elders with different health status. It suggests that an elder's self-care ability is determined by the interaction of various sub-resources and conditions and emphasizes the constantly evolving nature of self-care. The framework may be of use in clinical......AIM: To review the literature related to self-care and health promotion for elders and to develop an understanding of self-care as a health resource. BACKGROUND: Self-care may improve health and prevent illness and disabilities in elders. Although studies of self-care are numerous, the significance...... of the concept as a health resource for elders lacks clarity. Before 1989, research focused principally on medical self-care at the expense of health care, and self-care was seen more as supplementary to professional health care rather than as a health-promoting approach in health care. METHOD...

  13. 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.

  14. The Imperative of Public Health Education: A Global Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Franklin

    2013-01-01

    This review positions public health as an endeavour that requires a high order of professionalism in addressing the health of populations; this requires investment in an educational capacity that is designed to meet this need. In the global context, the field has evolved enormously over the past half century, supported by institutions such as the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine. Operational structures are formulated by strategic principles, with educational and career pathways guided by competency frameworks, all requiring modulation according to local, national and global realities. Talented and well-motivated individuals are attracted by its multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary environment, and the opportunity to achieve interventions that make real differences to people's lives. The field is globally competitive and open to many professional backgrounds based on merit. Its competencies correspond with assessments of population needs, and the ways in which strategies and services are formulated. Thus, its educational planning is needs-based and evidence-driven. This review explores four public health education levels: graduate, undergraduate, continuing professional education and promotion of health literacy for general populations. The emergence of accreditation schemes is examined, focusing on their relative merits and legitimate international variations. The role of relevant research policies is recognized, along with the need to foster professional and institutional networks in all regions of the world. It is critically important for the health of populations that nations assess their public health human resource needs and develop their ability to deliver this capacity, and not depend on other countries to supply it. PMID:23969636

  15. 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.

  16. A study comparing public and medical librarians' perceptions of the role and duties of health information-providing librarians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noh, Younghee

    2015-12-01

    This study proposed to define the role and duties of librarians who provide health information service in public and medical libraries. Appropriate education, career experience and starting salary for this position are also presented. This study analysed previous research and job advertisements to understand the current needs for this position. Almost all job advertisements studied were eventually retrieved from Salary.com (US job posting site). Public libraries seeking to fill health informationist positions were even more difficult to find in any of the above locations. Therefore, the researcher attempted to find cases using various search engines, including Google, and noticed that public libraries usually post job advertisements on their website. Finally, 32 job postings were selected as suitable. Fifty-four public and medical librarians were surveyed to validate the results in Korea. Public librarians chose 'health information librarian' as the most appropriate title for this position, while medical librarians answered 'medical librarian'. Therefore, librarians providing health information service in public libraries should be called 'health information librarians', while the position in medical libraries should be called 'medical librarian'. Accordingly, job postings and academic articles will be easily accessible. Both groups marked that the position should require a bachelor's degree in both LIS and a health science field, 2 years library experience and health-related user training. Other requirements included knowledge of health resources and medical terminology, search capabilities and a focus on user-centric service. For required duties, public librarians chose accessing information resources, while medical librarians selected collection management. Health information librarians will play a vital role in the future and must therefore be educated accordingly. © 2015 Health Libraries Group.

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. Priority setting of ICU resources in an influenza pandemic: a qualitative study of the Canadian public's perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silva Diego S

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pandemic influenza may exacerbate existing scarcity of life-saving medical resources. As a result, decision-makers may be faced with making tough choices about who will receive care and who will have to wait or go without. Although previous studies have explored ethical issues in priority setting from the perspective of clinicians and policymakers, there has been little investigation into how the public views priority setting during a pandemic influenza, in particular related to intensive care resources. Methods To bridge this gap, we conducted three public town hall meetings across Canada to explore Canadian's perspectives on this ethical challenge. Town hall discussions group discussions were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Six interrelated themes emerged from the town hall discussions related to: ethical and empirical starting points for deliberation; criteria for setting priorities; pre-crisis planning; in-crisis decision-making; the need for public deliberation and input; and participants' deliberative struggle with the ethical issues. Conclusions Our findings underscore the importance of public consultation in pandemic planning for sustaining public trust in a public health emergency. Participants appreciated the empirical and ethical uncertainty of decision-making in an influenza pandemic and demonstrated nuanced ethical reasoning about priority setting of intensive care resources in an influenza pandemic. Policymakers may benefit from a better understanding the public's empirical and ethical 'starting points' in developing effective pandemic plans.

  20. 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.

  1. 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...

  2. Hurricane Season Public Health Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Guidance for Health Care Providers, Response and Recovery Workers, and Affected Communities - CDC, 2017.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-09-22

    CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) have guidance and technical materials available in both English and Spanish to help communities prepare for hurricanes and floods (Table 1). To help protect the health and safety of the public, responders, and clean-up workers during response and recovery operations from hurricanes and floods, CDC and ATSDR have developed public health guidance and other resources; many are available in both English and Spanish (Table 2).

  3. Problem drug use the public health imperative: what some of the literature says.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bevan, Gez

    2009-12-16

    With more than 200,000 problem drug users is contact with structured treatment services in England the public health imperative behind drug treatment is great. Problem drug use for many is a chronic and relapsing condition, where "cure" is often neither a reasonable or appropriate expectation and it can further be argued that in these circumstances problem drug use is no different from any number of chronic and enduring health conditions that are managed in the health care system and therefore should be conceptualised as such. A public health approach to drug treatment emphasises the need for drug users in or accessing treatment, to reduce their harmful drug use, reduce drug use related risks such as sepsis and overdose and stay alive for longer. However a public health perspective in relation to problem drug use isn't always either apparent or readily understood and to that end there is still a significant need to continue the arguments and debate that treatment and interventions for problem and dependent drug users need to extend beyond an individualistic approach. For the purposes of discussion in this article public and population health will be used interchangeably. A recognition and acceptance that a public and population health approach to the management of problem drug users is sound public health policy also then requires a long term commitment in terms of staffing and resources where service delivery mirrors that of chronic condition management.

  4. Responding to Public Health Emergencies on Tribal Lands: Jurisdictional Challenges and Practical Solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnard, Justin B

    2015-01-01

    Response to public health emergencies on tribal lands poses a unique challenge for state and tribal public health officials. The complexity and intensely situation-specific nature of federal Indian jurisprudence leaves considerable question as to which government entity, state or tribal, has jurisdiction on tribal lands to undertake basic emergency measures such as closure of public spaces, quarantine, compulsory medical examination, and investigation. That jurisdictional uncertainty, coupled with cultural differences and an often troubled history of tribal-state relations, threatens to significantly impede response to infectious disease outbreaks or other public health emergencies on tribal lands. Given that tribal communities may be disproportionately impacted by public health emergencies, it is critical that tribal, state, and local governments engage with each other in coordinated planning for public health threats. This Article is offered as a catalyst for such planning efforts. The Article identifies some of the most pressing jurisdictional issues that may confront governments responding to a public health emergency on tribal lands, with the aim of highlighting the nature of the problem and the need for action. The Article goes on to examine the most promising means of addressing jurisdictional uncertainty: intergovernmental agreements. Already utilized in many areas of shared interest between tribe and state, intergovernmental agreements offer neighboring state, local, and tribal governments a vehicle for delineating roles and authorities in an emergency, and may lay the groundwork for sharing resources. The Article surveys various representative tribal public health intergovernmental agreements, and concludes with suggestions for tribes and state or local governments looking to craft their own agreements.

  5. An Exploratory Analysis of Network Characteristics and Quality of Interactions among Public Health Collaboratives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varda, Danielle M; Retrum, Jessica H

    2012-06-15

    While the benefits of collaboration have become widely accepted and the practice of collaboration is growing within the public health system, a paucity of research exists that examines factors and mechanisms related to effective collaboration between public health and their partner organizations. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the structural and organizational characteristics of public health collaboratives. Design and Methods. Using both social network analysis and traditional statistical methods, we conduct an exploratory secondary data analysis of 11 public health collaboratives chosen from across the United States. All collaboratives are part of the PARTNER (www.partnertool.net) database. We analyze data to identify relational patterns by exploring the structure (the way that organizations connect and exchange relationships), in relation to perceptions of value and trust, explanations for varying reports of success, and factors related to outcomes. We describe the characteristics of the collaboratives, types of resource contributions, outcomes of the collaboratives, perceptions of success, and reasons for success. We found high variation and significant differences within and between these collaboratives including perceptions of success. There were significant relationships among various factors such as resource contributions, reasons cited for success, and trust and value perceived by organizations. We find that although the unique structure of each collaborative makes it challenging to identify a specific set of factors to determine when a collaborative will be successful, the organizational characteristics and interorganizational dynamics do appear to impact outcomes. We recommend a quality improvement process that suggests matching assessment to goals and developing action steps for performance improvement. the authors would like to thank the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Public Health Program for funding for this research.

  6. Tax levy financing for local public health: fiscal allocation, effort, and capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, William J; Gearin, Kimberly J; Parrotta, Carmen D; Briggs, Jill; Gyllstrom, M Elizabeth

    2013-12-01

    Local health departments (LHDs) rely on a wide variety of funding sources, and the level of financing is associated with both LHD performance in essential public health services and population health outcomes. Although it has been shown that funding sources vary across LHDs, there is no evidence regarding the relationship between fiscal allocation (local tax levy); fiscal effort (tax capacity); and fiscal capacity (community wealth). The purpose of this study is to analyze local tax levy support for LHD funding. Three research questions are addressed: (1) What are tax levy trends in LHD fiscal allocation? (2) What is the role of tax levy in overall LHD financing? and (3) How do local community fiscal capacity and fiscal effort relate to LHD tax levy fiscal allocation? This study focuses on 74 LHDs eligible for local tax levy funding in Minnesota. Funding and expenditure data for 5 years (2006 to 2010) were compiled from four governmental databases, including the Minnesota Department of Health, the State Auditor, the State Demographer, and the Metropolitan Council. Trends in various funding sources and expenditures are described for the time frame of interest. Data were analyzed in 2012. During the 2006-2010 time period, total average LHD per capita expenditures increased 13%, from $50.98 to $57.63. Although the overall tax levy increase in Minnesota was 25%, the local tax levy for public health increased 5.6% during the same period. There is a direct relationship between fiscal effort and LHD expenditures. Local funding reflects LHD community priorities and the relative importance in comparison to funding other local programs with tax dollars. In Minnesota, local tax levy support for local public health services is not keeping pace with local tax support for other local government services. These results raise important questions about the relationship between tax levy resource effort, resource allocation, and fiscal capacity as they relate to public health

  7. 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.

  8. Algumas reflexões sobre a formação de recursos humanos para a saúde pública Some reflections on the training of human resources for Public Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa Rosemberg Krausz

    1977-03-01

    Full Text Available São analisadas as funções e relações da Universidade com a sociedade, enfatizando o problema da formação de recursos humanos para a área da Saúde Pública. Focalizando a situação brasileira atual, foram discutidos os aspectos que devem ser considerados pelos serviços de saúde quanto às suas expectativas com relação à quantidade e qualidade dos recursos humanos preparados pela Universidade.This paper analyzes the relations and functions of the University to society underlining the problem of human resources for Public Health. Emphasising the present Brazilian situation, the aspects to be considered by health services in their expectations on the quantity and quality of human resources trained by the University are pointed out.

  9. 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.

  10. Exploitation of Natural Resources and the Public Sector in Greenland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Søren Bo

    This paper considers the role of the public sector in future exploitation of non-renewable resources, especially minerals, in Greenland. The focus is on fiscal sustainability, principles for public sector involvement and the form of government take from mining activities. At present, the public...... budget in Greenland is nearly in balance, but at unchanged policies and standards public expenditures relative to GDP are bound to increase dramatically over the next decades due to population ageing. At the same time, the freezing of the block grant from Denmark implies a decrease in revenues relative...... to GDP. Hence, fiscal policy is quite far from being sustainable. Apart from a need for reforms, these facts also constrain the possible role of the public sector in future resource exploitation. In any case, the government should preferably adhere to strict principles when developing the mineral sector...

  11. U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps pharmacists: making a difference in advancing the nation's health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flowers, Louis; Wick, Jeannette; Figg, William Douglas; McClelland, Robert H; Shiber, Michael; Britton, James E; Ngo, Diem-Kieu H; Borders-Hemphill, Vicky; Mead, Christina; Zee, Jerry; Huntzinger, Paul

    2009-01-01

    To describe how U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) pharmacists serving in jobs that are normal for them, but considerably different than those found in the private sector, are making a difference in advancing the nation's health. Pharmacists who serve in the Commissioned Corps of PHS fill roles that are considerably different than their counterparts in the private sector. Their work takes them out from behind the counter and into the world. Pharmacy officers advance the health and safety of the nation by their involvement in the delivery of direct patient care to medically underserved people, national security, drug vigilance, research, and policy-making endeavors. PHS pharmacists fill essential public health leadership and service roles throughout the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and certain non-HHS federal agencies and programs. The Health Resources and Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Indian Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Coast Guard are among the many federal agencies in which pharmacy officers are assigned. In each setting, PHS pharmacists find traditional roles augmented with assignments and challenges that broaden the scope of their practice.

  12. 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.

  13. School Mental Health Resources and Adolescent Mental Health Service Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Jennifer Greif; McLaughlin, Katie A.; Alegria, Margarita; Costello, E. Jane; Gruber, Michael J.; Hoagwood, Kimberly; Leaf, Philip J.; Olin, Serene; Sampson, Nancy A.; Kessler, Ronald C.

    2013-01-01

    Objective: Although schools are identified as critical for detecting youth mental disorders, little is known about whether the number of mental health providers and types of resources that they offer influence student mental health service use. Such information could inform the development and allocation of appropriate school-based resources to…

  14. Promoting Community Health Resources: Preferred Communication Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Background: Community health promotion efforts involve communicating resource information to priority populations. Which communication strategies are most effective is largely unknown for specific populations. Objective: A random-dialed telephone survey was conducted to assess health resource comm...

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. Assessing Performance of Botswana’s Public Hospital System: The Use of the World Health Organization Health System Performance Assessment Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onalenna Seitio-Kgokgwe

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Background Very few studies have assessed performance of Botswana public hospitals. We draw from a large research study assessing performance of the Botswana Ministry of Health (MoH to evaluate the performance of public hospital system using the World Health Organization Health Systems Performance Assessment Framework (WHO HSPAF. We aimed to evaluate performance of Botswana public hospital system; relate findings of the assessment to the potential for improvements in hospital performance; and determine the usefulness of the WHO HSPAF in assessing performance of hospital systems in a developing country. Methods This article is based on data collected from document analysis, 54 key informants comprising senior managers and staff of the MoH (N= 40 and senior officers from stakeholder organizations (N= 14, and surveys of 42 hospital managers and 389 health workers. Data from documents and transcripts were analyzed using content and thematic analysis while data analysis for surveys was descriptive determining proportions and percentages. Results The organizational structure of the Botswana’s public hospital system, authority and decision-making are highly centralized. Overall physical access to health services is high. However, challenges in the distribution of facilities and inpatient beds create inequities and inefficiencies. Capacity of the hospitals to deliver services is limited by inadequate resources. There are significant challenges with the quality of care. Conclusion While Botswana invested considerably in building hospitals around the country resulting in high physical access to services, the organization and governance of the hospital system, and inadequate resources limit service delivery. The ongoing efforts to decentralize management of hospitals to district level entities should be expedited. The WHO HSPAF enabled us to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the public hospital system. Though relatively new, this approach proved

  18. Childhood constipation as an emerging public health problem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajindrajith, Shaman; Devanarayana, Niranga Manjuri; Crispus Perera, Bonaventure Jayasiri; Benninga, Marc Alexander

    2016-08-14

    Functional constipation (FC) is a significant health problem in children and contrary to common belief, has serious ramifications on the lives of children and their families. It is defined by the Rome criteria which encourage the use of multiple clinical features for diagnosis. FC in children has a high prevalence (0.7%-29%) worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. Biopsychosocial risk factors such as psychological stress, poor dietary habits, obesity and child maltreatment are commonly identified predisposing factors for FC. FC poses a significant healthcare burden on the already overstretched health budgets of many countries in terms of out-patient care, in-patient care, expenditure for investigations and prescriptions. Complications are common and range from minor psychological disturbances, to lower health-related quality of life. FC in children also has a significant impact on families. Many paediatric clinical trials have poor methodological quality, and drugs proved to be useful in adults, are not effective in relieving symptoms in children. A significant proportion of inadequately treated children have similar symptoms as adults. These factors show that constipation is an increasing public health problem across the world with a significant medical, social and economic impact. This article highlights the potential public health impact of FC and the possibility of overcoming this problem by concentrating on modifiable risk factors rather than expending resources on high cost investigations and therapeutic modalities.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  1. 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.

  2. Evaluation of health resource utilization efficiency in community health centers of Jiangsu Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xinglong; Zhou, Lulin; Antwi, Henry Asante; Chen, Xi

    2018-02-20

    While the demand for health services keep escalating at the grass roots or rural areas of China, a substantial portion of healthcare resources remain stagnant in the more developed cities and this has entrenched health inequity in many parts of China. At its conception, China's Deepen Medical Reform started in 2012 was intended to flush out possible disparities and promote a more equitable and efficient distribution of healthcare resources. Nearly half a decade of this reform, there are uncertainties as to whether the attainment of the objectives of the reform is in sight. Using a hybrid of panel data analysis and an augmented data envelopment analysis (DEA), we model human resources, material, finance to determine their technical and scale efficiency to comprehensively evaluate the transverse and longitudinal allocation efficiency of community health resources in Jiangsu Province. We observed that the Deepen Medical Reform in China has led to an increase concern to ensure efficient allocation of community health resources by health policy makers in the province. This has led to greater efficiency in health resource allocation in Jiangsu in general but serious regional or municipal disparities still exist. Using the DEA model, we note that the output from the Community Health Centers does not commensurate with the substantial resources (human resources, materials, and financial) invested in them. We further observe that the case is worst in less-developed Northern parts of Jiangsu Province. The government of Jiangsu Province could improve the efficiency of health resource allocation by improving the community health service system, rationalizing the allocation of health personnel, optimizing the allocation of material resources, and enhancing the level of health of financial resource allocation.

  3. Equity in the allocation of public sector financial resources in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anselmi, Laura; Lagarde, Mylene; Hanson, Kara

    2015-05-01

    This review aims to identify, assess and analyse the evidence on equity in the distribution of public health sector expenditure in low- and middle-income countries. Four bibliographic databases and five websites were searched to identify quantitative studies examining equity in the distribution of public health funding in individual countries or groups of countries. Two different types of studies were identified: benefit incidence analysis (BIA) and resource allocation comparison (RAC) studies. Quality appraisal and data synthesis were tailored to each study type to reflect differences in the methods used and in the information provided. We identified 39 studies focusing on African, Asian and Latin American countries. Of these, 31 were BIA studies that described the distribution, typically across socio-economic status, of individual monetary benefit derived from service utilization. The remaining eight were RAC studies that compared the actual expenditure across geographic areas to an ideal need-based distribution. Overall, the quality of the evidence from both types of study was relatively weak. Looking across studies, the evidence confirms that resource allocation formulae can enhance equity in resource allocation across geographic areas and that the poor benefits proportionally more from primary health care than from hospital expenditure. The lack of information on the distribution of benefit from utilization in RAC studies and on the countries' approaches to resource allocation in BIA studies prevents further policy analysis. Additional research that relates the type of resource allocation mechanism to service provision and to the benefit distribution is required for a better understanding of equity-enhancing resource allocation policies. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

  4. Measuring health indicators and allocating health resources: a DEA-based approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chih-Ching

    2016-02-03

    This paper suggests new empirical DEA models for the measurement of health indicators and the allocation of health resources. The proposed models were developed by first suggesting a population-based health indicator. By introducing the suggested indicator into DEA models, a new approach that solves the problem of health resource allocation has been developed. The proposed models are applied to an empirical study of Taiwan's health system. Empirical findings show that the suggested indicator can successfully accommodate the differences in health resource demands between populations, providing more reliable performance information than traditional indicators such as physician density. Using our models and a commonly used allocation mechanism, capitation, to allocate medical expenditures, it is found that the proposed model always obtains higher performance than those derived from capitation, and the superiority increases as allocated expenditures rise.

  5. Public health education: A report from Mosul and a plan for change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Golden Kathie

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Today Iraq suffers from severe shortages of food, medicine, clean water and adequate sanitation. Malnutrition and communicable diseases are major factors in the rising morbidity and mortality rates. However, supplies and equipment are insufficient or outmoded, and public health training is outdated. The Universities have been unable to help because under-funding and isolation from their professional colleagues has limited their effectiveness. Methods To revitalize public health education, we describe a partnership between a US education consortium and the University of Mosul that will be carried out in the next several years. The plan is based on "three R's": Recovery from the past damage due to war and neglect; Retooling of key public health faculty to remedy the years of isolation and restriction of activity; and Reestablishment of the University as a resource for the its constituents, for the community and for other educational institutions. In all these activities, Iraqi minorities, especially women, will participate and contribute. Conclusion The work to repair the public health educational infrastructure has just begun. When completed, it will represent a small but necessary step in restoring normalcy to the people of Mosul, and of Iraq.

  6. 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.

  7. Process Evaluation of Communitisation Programme in Public Sector Health Facilities, Mokokchung District, Nagaland, 2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tushi, Aonungdok; Kaur, Prabhdeep

    2017-01-01

    Public sector health facilities were poorly managed due to a history of conflict in Nagaland, India. Government of Nagaland introduced "Nagaland Communitisation of Public Institutions and Services Act" in 2002. Main objectives of the evaluation were to review the functioning of Health Center Managing Committees (HCMCs), deliver health services in the institutions managed by HCMC, identify strengths as well as challenges perceived by HCMC members in the rural areas of Mokokchung district, Nagaland. The evaluation was made using input, process and output indicators. A doctor, the HCMC Chairman and one member from each of the three community health centers (CHC) and four primary health centers (PHC) were surveyed using a semi-structured questionnaire and an in-depth interview guide. Proportions for quantitative data were computed and key themes from the same were identified. Overall; the infrastructure, equipment and outpatient/inpatient service availability was satisfactory. There was a lack of funds and shortage of doctors, drugs as well as laboratory facilities. HCMCs were in place and carried out administrative activities. HCMCs felt ownership, mobilized community contributions and managed human resources. HCMC members had inadequate funds for their transport and training. They faced challenges in service delivery due to political interference and lack of adequate human, material, financial resources. Communitisation program was operational in the district. HCMC members felt the ownership of health facilities. Administrative, political support and adequate funds from the government are needed for effective functioning of HCMCs and optimal service delivery in public sector facilities.

  8. 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.

  9. Problems with provision: barriers to drinking water quality and public health in rural Tasmania, Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whelan, Jessica J; Willis, Karen

    2007-01-01

    Access to safe drinking water is essential to human life and wellbeing, and is a key public health issue. However, many communities in rural and regional parts of Australia are unable to access drinking water that meets national standards for protecting human health. The aim of this research was to identify the key issues in and barriers to the provision and management of safe drinking water in rural Tasmania, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key local government employees and public health officials responsible for management of drinking water in rural Tasmania. Participants were asked about their core public health duties, regulatory responsibilities, perceptions and management of risk, as well as the key barriers that may be affecting the provision of safe drinking water. This research highlights the effect of rural locality on management and safety of fresh water in protecting public health. The key issues contributing to problems with drinking water provision and quality identified by participants included: poor and inadequate water supply infrastructure; lack of resources and staffing; inadequate catchment monitoring; and the effect of competing land uses, such as forestry, on water supply quality. This research raises issues of inequity in the provision of safe drinking water in rural communities. It highlights not only the increasing need for greater funding by state and commonwealth government for basic services such as drinking water, but also the importance of an holistic and integrated approach to managing drinking water resources in rural Tasmania.

  10. Evaluation on equality and efficiency of health resources allocation and health services utilization in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jian; Luo, Hongye

    2017-07-14

    China is faced with a daunting challenge to equality and efficiency in health resources allocation and health services utilization in the context of rapid economic growth. This study sought to evaluate the equality and efficiency of health resources allocation and health services utilization in China. Demographic, economic, and geographic area data was sourced from China Statistical Yearbook 2012-2016. Data related to health resources and health services was obtained from China Health Statistics Yearbook 2012-2016. Furthermore, we evaluated the equality of health resources allocation based on Gini coefficient. Concentration index was used to measure the equality in utilization of health services. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was employed to assess the efficiency of health resources allocation. From 2011 to 2015, the Gini coefficients for health resources by population ranged between 0.0644 and 0.1879, while the Gini coefficients for the resources by geographic area ranged from 0.6136 to 0.6568. Meanwhile, the concentration index values for health services utilization ranged from -0.0392 to 0.2110. Moreover, in 2015, 10 provinces (32.26%) were relatively efficient in terms of health resources allocation, while 7 provinces (22.58%) and 14 provinces (45.16%) were weakly efficient and inefficient, respectively. There exist distinct regional disparities in the distribution of health resources in China, which are mainly reflected in the geographic distribution of health resources. Furthermore, the people living in the eastern developed areas are more likely to use outpatient care, while the people living in western underdeveloped areas are more likely to use inpatient care. Moreover, the efficiency of health resources allocation in 21 provinces (67.74%) of China was low and needs to be improved. Thus, the government should pay more attention to the equality based on geographic area, guide patients to choose medical treatment rationally, and optimize the resource

  11. Funding and provision of resources in public and private school ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The work discussed funding for libraries in selected public and private schools in Imo State as well as provision of resources in their libraries. The major aim of the work was that there is a corollary between funding and provision of resources such that the funding directly affects the resources of the library. The survey ...

  12. Malaria vector control at a crossroads: public health entomology and the drive to elimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mnzava, Abraham P; Macdonald, Michael B; Knox, Tessa B; Temu, Emmanuel A; Shiff, Clive J

    2014-09-01

    Vector control has been at the core of successful malaria control. However, a dearth of field-oriented vector biologists threatens to undermine global reductions in malaria burden. Skilled cadres are needed to manage insecticide resistance, to maintain coverage with current interventions, to develop new paradigms for tackling 'residual' transmission and to target interventions as transmission becomes increasingly heterogeneous. Recognising this human resource crisis, in September 2013, WHO Global Malaria Programme issued guidance for capacity building in entomology and vector control, including recommendations for countries and implementing partners. Ministries were urged to develop long-range strategic plans for building human resources for public health entomology and vector control (including skills in epidemiology, geographic information systems, operational research and programme management) and to set in place the requisite professional posts and career opportunities. Capacity building and national ownership in all partner projects and a clear exit strategy to sustain human and technical resources after project completion were emphasised. Implementing partners were urged to support global and regional efforts to enhance public health entomology capacity. While the challenges inherent in such capacity building are great, so too are the opportunities to establish the next generation of public health entomologists that will enable programmes to continue on the path to malaria elimination. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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...

  16. Public Health Autonomy: A Critical Reappraisal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  17. Assessing the Capacity of the US Health Care System to Use Additional Mechanical Ventilators During a Large-Scale Public Health Emergency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajao, Adebola; Nystrom, Scott V; Koonin, Lisa M; Patel, Anita; Howell, David R; Baccam, Prasith; Lant, Tim; Malatino, Eileen; Chamberlin, Margaret; Meltzer, Martin I

    2015-12-01

    A large-scale public health emergency, such as a severe influenza pandemic, can generate large numbers of critically ill patients in a short time. We modeled the number of mechanical ventilators that could be used in addition to the number of hospital-based ventilators currently in use. We identified key components of the health care system needed to deliver ventilation therapy, quantified the maximum number of additional ventilators that each key component could support at various capacity levels (ie, conventional, contingency, and crisis), and determined the constraining key component at each capacity level. Our study results showed that US hospitals could absorb between 26,200 and 56,300 additional ventilators at the peak of a national influenza pandemic outbreak with robust pre-pandemic planning. The current US health care system may have limited capacity to use additional mechanical ventilators during a large-scale public health emergency. Emergency planners need to understand their health care systems' capability to absorb additional resources and expand care. This methodology could be adapted by emergency planners to determine stockpiling goals for critical resources or to identify alternatives to manage overwhelming critical care need.

  18. Public enterprises in natural resource industries: an economic analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fulton, M.E.

    1985-01-01

    Public enterprises are playing an ever increasing role in natural resource industries. This research analyzes the reason for this involvement, i.e., what have been the objectives of public firms, the objectives of other firms; and the reasons behind exploration in natural resource industries. An answer to the first question was obtained by estimating the objective function of a publicly owned uranium company operating in Saskatchewan, Canada. It was assumed the company solved a linear quadratic optimal control problem. The conclusion was that over the period 1974-1984 the company preferred to trade off profits for higher employment, larger reserve holdings, and greater output. The objectives of the other firms in the Saskatchewan uranium industry were also investigated. It was found that producers integrated with utilities can expect to make a much greater rate of return on exploration that nonintegrated producers, since the former group stands to gain both from the reduction in costs and the reduction in price resulting from exploration. The suggests that overinvestment in the Saskatchewan uranium industry may be a problem. The final item investigated is the normative question of what the objective of a public firm operating alongside a private firm in an oligopolistic industry should be in order that resources in the industry are used efficiently; the answer to this question depends upon the structure of the industry

  19. (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.

  20. 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...

  1. 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.

  2. An ethical and prudential argument for prioritizing the reduction of parasite-stress in the allocation of health care resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Russell; Clarke, Steve; Savulescu, Julian

    2012-04-01

    The link between parasite-stress and complex psychological dispositions implies that the social, political, and economic benefits likely to flow from public health interventions that reduce rates of non-zoonotic infectious disease are far greater than have traditionally been thought. We sketch a prudential and ethical argument for increasing public health resources globally and redistributing these to focus on the alleviation of parasite-stress in human populations.

  3. [Funding, public spending and management of health resources: the current situation in a Brazilian state].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leite, Valéria Rodrigues; Lima, Kenio Costa; de Vasconcelos, Cipriano Maia

    2012-07-01

    This article investigates the issue of funding and the decentralization process in order to examine the composition, application and management of resources in the healthcare area. The sample surveyed involved 14 municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The research involved data gathering of financial transfers, the municipality's own resources and primary healthcare expenses. Management analysis included a survey of local managers and counselors. It was seen that the Unified Health System is funded mainly by federal transfers and municipal revenues and to a far lesser extent by state resources. Funds have been applied predominantly in primary healthcare. The management process saw centralization of actions in the city governments. Municipal secretarial offices and councils comply partially with legislation, though they have problems with autonomy and social control. The results show that planning and management instruments are limited, due to the contradictions inherent to the institutional, political and cultural context of the region.

  4. Opportunities and Resources for Scientist Participation in Education and Public Outreach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buxner, Sanlyn; CoBabe-Ammann, E.; Shipp, S.; Hsu, B.

    2012-10-01

    Active engagement of scientists in Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) activities results in benefits for both the audience and scientists. Most scientists are trained in research but have little formal training in education. The Planetary Science Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) Forum helps the Science Mission Directorate support scientists currently involved in E/PO and to help scientists who are interested in becoming involved in E/PO efforts find ways to do so through a variety of avenues. We will present current and future opportunities and resources for scientists to become engaged in education and public outreach. These include upcoming NASA SMD E/PO funding opportunities, professional development resources for writing NASA SMD E/PO proposals (webinars and other online tools), toolkits for scientists interested in best practices in E/PO (online guides for K-12 education and public outreach), EarthSpace (a community web space where instructors can find and share about teaching space and earth sciences in the undergraduate classroom, including class materials news and funding opportunities, and the latest education research), thematic resources for teaching about the solar system (archived resources from Year of the Solar System), and an online database of scientists interested in connecting with education programs. Learn more about the Forum and find resources at http://smdepo.org/.

  5. 78 FR 14806 - Health Resources and Services Administration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration Statement of Organization, Functions and Delegations of Authority; Correction AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HHS. ACTION: Notice; correction. SUMMARY: HRSA published a document in the Federal...

  6. Defining the anesthesia gap for reproductive health procedures in resource-limited settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, R Eleanor; Ahn, Roy; Nelson, Brett D; Chavez, Jean; de Redon, Emily; Burke, Thomas

    2014-12-01

    In resource-limited settings, severe shortages of anesthetists and anesthesiologists lead to surgical delays that increase maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. To more clearly understand the individual components of the anesthesia gap pertaining to reproductive health surgeries and procedures in resource-limited settings. Medline, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, and POPLINE were systematically searched for reports published before December 31, 2013. Search terms were related to obstetric surgery, resource-limited settings, and anesthesia. Studies that addressed the use of anesthesia in reproductive procedures in resource-limited settings were included. Reviewers independently evaluated the full text of identified studies, extracted information related to study objectives and conclusions, and identified the anesthesia gap. Overall, 14 publications met the inclusion criteria. A significant lack of infrastructure, equipment and supplies, and trained personnel were identified as key factors responsible for a lack of anesthesia services. A shortage of trained anesthesia providers, equipment, supplies, medications, and infrastructure, along with limitations in transportation in resource-limited settings have produced a wide gap between available anesthesia services and the demand for them for reproductive health surgeries and procedures. Safe, affordable, and scalable solutions to address the anesthesia gap are urgently needed. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. 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...

  8. Self-care as a health resource of elders

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Høy, Bente; Wagner, Lis; Hall, Elisabeth O.C.

    2007-01-01

    into self-care as a significant health resource of elders with different health status. It suggests that an elder's self-care ability is determined by the interaction of various sub-resources and conditions and emphasizes the constantly evolving nature of self-care. The framework may be of use in clinical...... practice, policy-making and research into health care of frail or robust elders.......AIM: To review the literature related to self-care and health promotion for elders and to develop an understanding of self-care as a health resource. BACKGROUND: Self-care may improve health and prevent illness and disabilities in elders. Although studies of self-care are numerous, the significance...

  9. Evaluating Palliative Care Resources Available to the Public Using the Internet and Social Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claudio, Celeste H; Dizon, Zoelle B; October, Tessie W

    2018-01-01

    Accessible information about palliative care available to the public on the Internet is growing. We do not know whether this information is consistent with the current accepted definition of palliative care. To identify resources on the Internet and social media regarding palliative care and evaluate the information conveyed. A cross-sectional study of "palliative care" search results. Top 10 Google websites, top 10 most viewed YouTube videos, and social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter, were searched. The most popular Google websites were mostly from national organizations promoting palliative care, whose definitions of palliative care consistently mention "quality of life" and "relief from symptoms and stress." None of the websites mentioned children, and 77% cited palliative care as treatment for cancer with less focus on other diseases. No personal stories were included in Google websites, while 60% of YouTube videos included personal stories. Five main themes were generated from 266 YouTube video comments analyzed. The most common theme was emotionality, of which 91% were positive statements. Facebook and Twitter were mostly used by health-care professionals and not the public. Palliative care resources are mostly positive and consistent with the current definition of palliative care. Major Internet search engines such as Google and YouTube provide valuable insight into information the public receives about palliative care. Future development of Internet resources on palliative care should consider including children and emphasizing palliative care for all life-limiting illnesses.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarantola, Daniel; Foster, Stanley O

    2011-12-30

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

  11. [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.

  12. 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…

  13. 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.

  14. 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...

  15. Why do health workers in rural Tanzania prefer public sector employment?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Songstad, Nils Gunnar; Moland, Karen Marie; Massay, Deodatus Amadeus; Blystad, Astrid

    2012-04-05

    Severe shortages of qualified health workers and geographical imbalances in the workforce in many low-income countries require the national health sector management to closely monitor and address issues related to the distribution of health workers across various types of health facilities. This article discusses health workers' preferences for workplace and their perceptions and experiences of the differences in working conditions in the public health sector versus the church-run health facilities in Tanzania. The broader aim is to generate knowledge that can add to debates on health sector management in low-income contexts. The study has a qualitative study design to elicit in-depth information on health workers' preferences for workplace. The data comprise ten focus group discussions (FGDs) and 29 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with auxiliary staff, nursing staff, clinicians and administrators in the public health sector and in a large church-run hospital in a rural district in Tanzania. The study has an ethnographic backdrop based on earlier long-term fieldwork in Tanzania. The study found a clear preference for public sector employment. This was associated with health worker rights and access to various benefits offered to health workers in government service, particularly the favourable pension schemes providing economic security in old age. Health workers acknowledged that church-run hospitals generally were better equipped and provided better quality patient care, but these concerns tended to be outweighed by the financial assets of public sector employment. In addition to the sector specific differences, family concerns emerged as important in decisions on workplace. The preference for public sector employment among health workers shown in this study seems to be associated primarily with the favourable pension scheme. The overall shortage of health workers and the distribution between health facilities is a challenge in a resource constrained health system

  16. 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...

  17. Human resources for health in Europe

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

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

    2006-01-01

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

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Labonté Ronald

    2011-01-01

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

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Runnels, Vivien; Labonté, Ronald; Packer, Corinne

    2011-01-20

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

  20. What should the African health workforce know about disasters? Proposed competencies for strengthening public health disaster risk management education in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olu, Olushayo; Usman, Abdulmumini; Kalambay, Kalula; Anyangwe, Stella; Voyi, Kuku; Orach, Christopher Garimoi; Azazh, Aklilu; Mapatano, Mala Ali; Nsenga, Ngoy; Manga, Lucien; Woldetsadik, Solomon; Nguessan, Francois; Benson, Angela

    2018-04-02

    As part of efforts to implement the human resources capacity building component of the African Regional Strategy on Disaster Risk Management (DRM) for the health sector, the African Regional Office of the World Health Organization, in collaboration with selected African public health training institutions, followed a multistage process to develop core competencies and curricula for training the African health workforce in public health DRM. In this article, we describe the methods used to develop the competencies, present the identified competencies and training curricula, and propose recommendations for their integration into the public health education curricula of African member states. We conducted a pilot research using mixed methods approaches to develop and test the applicability and feasibility of a public health disaster risk management curriculum for training the African health workforce. We identified 14 core competencies and 45 sub-competencies/training units grouped into six thematic areas: 1) introduction to DRM; 2) operational effectiveness; 3) effective leadership; 4) preparedness and risk reduction; 5) emergency response and 6) post-disaster health system recovery. These were defined as the skills and knowledge that African health care workers should possess to effectively participate in health DRM activities. To suit the needs of various categories of African health care workers, three levels of training courses are proposed: basic, intermediate, and advanced. The pilot test of the basic course among a cohort of public health practitioners in South Africa demonstrated their relevance. These competencies compare favourably to the findings of other studies that have assessed public health DRM competencies. They could provide a framework for scaling up the capacity development of African healthcare workers in the area of public health DRM; however further validation of the competencies is required through additional pilot courses and follow up of

  1. 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...

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. The US CDC Centers for public health preparedness : building a nationwide exemplar network

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harris, D.A.; Paulson, G.; Perry, E. [New Jersey Univ. of Medicine and Dentistry, New Brunswick, NJ (United States). School of Public Health

    2005-07-01

    The network of Centers for Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) was created by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response to the perception that public health professionals were inadequately prepared to respond to terrorism incidents, natural disasters and similar major events. The events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent anthrax attacks confirmed the wisdom of a concerted approach to emergency preparedness. This paper provides an outline of the network's recent activities as well as a review of the rationale, history and progress of the network to date. In the most recent grant cycle, each center was required to allocate 20 per cent of its resources to network-wide activities, including contribution of CPHP-developed materials to a central resource center maintained by the Association of Schools of Public Health. The materials are publicly available and are to be used in the development of training programs; the establishment of 19 or more exemplar groups that focus on specific preparedness-related knowledge domains such as mental health, educational evaluation methods and field epidemiology, who are also expected to develop tool kits of validated and fully described training materials for use by any CPHP person or group. The outcome of the CPHP network activities is the development of a more comprehensive and robust core of preparedness training materials that aim to facilitate rapid and effective training, while at the same time eliminating redundancy and duplication of effort. It was concluded that the expenditure of 20 per cent of center funds on network development activities is forcing the academically based CPHPs to adopt a new collaborative paradigm in order to ensure effective nationwide preparedness. 3 refs.

  5. Individual-level social capital and self-rated health in Japan: an application of the Resource Generator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Tomoko; Kawachi, Ichiro; Iwase, Toshihide; Suzuki, Etsuji; Takao, Soshi

    2013-05-01

    Despite accumulating evidence of associations between social capital and health in public health research, a criticism of the field has been that researchers have exclusively focused on concepts of social cohesion to the exclusion of individual-level approaches. In the present study, we evaluated the association between social capital measured by the Resource Generator (an individual-level assessment of access to social capital) and self-rated health among Japanese population in a cross-sectional study. A postal survey of 4000 randomly selected residents in Okayama City (western Japan) was conducted in February 2009. We divided the overall scores from the Resource Generator Japan scale into quartiles. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for self-rated health were calculated separately by sex. Individuals with the highest quartile of scores had significantly lower odds of poor health compared to the lowest group after covariate adjustment among both men and women (men; OR: 0.45, 95% CI: 0.24-0.86, women; OR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.25-0.79, respectively) and there were also significant dose-response relationships. In the sub-domains of Resource Generator Japan scale, a differential pattern was observed by sex. Women showed a clear dose-response relationship with health across all four sub-scales (domestic resources, expert advice, personal skills, and problem solving resources). In contrast, only the domain of expert advice exhibited a strong association with men's health. Among both men and women individual-level social capital measured by the Resource Generator was related to reduced odds of poor health even after taking into account individual confounders. Although we cannot exclude reverse causation due to the cross-sectional design, our study adds to the accumulating evidence of the potential utility of the Resource Generator for evaluating the relationship between individual-level access to social capital and health. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

  6. 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.

  7. 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

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. Climate change and Public health: vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzzone, F.; Setegn, S.

    2013-12-01

    Climate Change plays a significant role in public health. Changes in climate affect weather conditions that we are accustomed to. Increases in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events such as storms could increase the risk of dangerous flooding, high winds, and other direct threats to people and property. Changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme events could enhance the spread of some diseases. According to studies by EPA, the impacts of climate change on health will depend on many factors. These factors include the effectiveness of a community's public health and safety systems to address or prepare for the risk and the behavior, age, gender, and economic status of individuals affected. Impacts will likely vary by region, the sensitivity of populations, the extent and length of exposure to climate change impacts, and society's ability to adapt to change. Transmissions of infectious disease have been associated with social, economic, ecological, health care access, and climatic factors. Some vector-borne diseases typically exhibit seasonal patterns in which the role of temperature and rainfall is well documented. Some of the infectious diseases that have been documented by previous studies, include the correlation between rainfall and drought in the occurrence of malaria, the influence of the dry season on epidemic meningococcal disease in the sub-Saharan African, and the importance of warm ocean waters in driving cholera occurrence in the Ganges River delta in Asia The rise of climate change has been a major concern in the public health sector. Climate change mainly affects vulnerable populations especially in developing countries; therefore, it's important that public health advocates are involve in the decision-making process in order to provide resources and preventative measures for the challenges that are associated with climate change. The main objective of this study is to assess the vulnerability and impact of climate change

  11. 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.

  12. Process evaluation of communitisation programme in public sector health facilities, Mokokchung district, Nagaland, 2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aonungdok Tushi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Public sector health facilities were poorly managed due to a history of conflict in Nagaland, India. Government of Nagaland introduced “Nagaland Communitisation of Public Institutions and Services Act” in 2002. Main objectives of the evaluation were to review the functioning of Health Center Managing Committees (HCMCs, deliver health services in the institutions managed by HCMC, identify strengths as well as challenges perceived by HCMC members in the rural areas of Mokokchung district, Nagaland. Materials and Methods: The evaluation was made using input, process and output indicators. A doctor, the HCMC Chairman and one member from each of the three community health centers (CHC and four primary health centers (PHC were surveyed using a semi-structured questionnaire and an in-depth interview guide. Proportions for quantitative data were computed and key themes from the same were identified. Results: Overall; the infrastructure, equipment and outpatient/inpatient service availability was satisfactory. There was a lack of funds and shortage of doctors, drugs as well as laboratory facilities. HCMCs were in place and carried out administrative activities. HCMCs felt ownership, mobilized community contributions and managed human resources. HCMC members had inadequate funds for their transport and training. They faced challenges in service delivery due to political interference and lack of adequate human, material, financial resources. Conclusions: Communitisation program was operational in the district. HCMC members felt the ownership of health facilities. Administrative, political support and adequate funds from the government are needed for effective functioning of HCMCs and optimal service delivery in public sector facilities.

  13. An exploratory analysis of network characteristics and quality of interactions among public health collaboratives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle M. Varda

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available While the benefits of collaboration have become widely accepted and the practice of collaboration is growing within the public health system, a paucity of research exists that examines factors and mechanisms related to effective collaboration between public health and their partner organizations. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the structural and organizational characteristics of public health collaboratives. Design and Methods. Using both social network analysis and traditional statistical methods, we conduct an exploratory secondary data analysis of 11 public health collaboratives chosen from across the United States. All collaboratives are part of the PARTNER (www.partnertool.net database. We analyze data to identify relational patterns by exploring the structure (the way that organizations connect and exchange relationships, in relation to perceptions of value and trust, explanations for varying reports of success, and factors related to outcomes. We describe the characteristics of the collaboratives, types of resource contributions, outcomes of the collaboratives, perceptions of success, and reasons for success. We found high variation and significant differences within and between these collaboratives including perceptions of success. There were significant relationships among various factors such as resource contributions, reasons cited for success, and trust and value perceived by organizations. We find that although the unique structure of each collaborative makes it challenging to identify a specific set of factors to determine when a collaborative will be successful, the organizational characteristics and interorganizational dynamics do appear to impact outcomes. We recommend a quality improvement process that suggests matching assessment to goals and developing action steps for performance improvement.

  14. 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/

  15. Decision support system for health care resources allocation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebaa, Abderrazak; Nouicer, Amina; Tari, AbdelKamel; Tarik, Ramtani; Abdellah, Ouhab

    2017-06-01

    A study about healthcare resources can improve decisions regarding the allotment and mobilization of medical resources and to better guide future investment in the health sector. The aim of this work was to design and implement a decision support system to improve medical resources allocation of Bejaia region. To achieve the retrospective cohort study, we integrated existing clinical databases from different Bejaia department health sector institutions (an Algerian department) to collect information about patients from January 2015 through December 2015. Data integration was performed in a data warehouse using the multi-dimensional model and OLAP cube. During implementation, we used Microsoft SQL server 2012 and Microsoft Excel 2010. A medical decision support platform was introduced, and was implemented during the planning stages allowing the management of different medical orientations, it provides better apportionment and allotment of medical resources, and ensures that the allocation of health care resources has optimal effects on improving health. In this study, we designed and implemented a decision support system which would improve health care in Bejaia department to especially assist in the selection of the optimum location of health center and hospital, the specialty of the health center, the medical equipment and the medical staff.

  16. Publication ethics in public health emergencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, David; Elger, Bernice S

    2017-09-01

    In this article, we describe and analyse three issues in publication ethics that are raised when conducting research in emergencies and disasters. These include reluctance to share data and samples because of concerns about publications, loss of individual authorship in high high-profile multi-entity publications, and the deaths of authors during dangerous research projects. An emergency research pledge may be useful in avoiding some of these issues. © 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.

  17. 20 years of local ecological public health: the experience of Sandwell in the English West Midlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Middleton, J; Saunders, P

    2015-10-01

    A long-term picture of the economy and living conditions of Sandwell, an area of England's industrial Midlands, is presented to explore how these underpin and influence its 'health economy'. Sandwell's experience illustrates how public health actors have to tackle industrial and other factors which shape human health. The paper explores how the ecological public health perspective has helped inform the modern public health task in an area such as Sandwell. Some lessons are offered, including: the need to understand the specific economic legacy of a local area (in Sandwell, principally one of polluting and then declining manufacturing industries); the continuing story of infection control; the complexity of tackling poor diet; and the importance of the built environment and town planning. Faced by such challenges, local public health action represents, in effect, an attempt to transcend unecological public health. This can be exciting, innovative and ultimately successful; but it also means being prepared to face daunting and politically charged obstacles and superior national or international forces over which local public health practitioners conventionally have little leverage. The paper argues that, in such unequal power circumstances, public health practitioners have to draw on the creativity within the local population and build a facilitative alliance of formal and informal pro-public health actors. Despite the confounding odds and ever-present stretched resources, the Sandwell experience gives grounds for optimism, being a story of constant creativity and effective local alliances. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bentley, Michael

    2014-09-01

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

  19. College Students’ Preferences for Health Care Providers when Accessing Sexual Health Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Carolyn M.; Lechner, Kate E.; Frerich, Ellen A.; Lust, Katherine A.; Eisenberg, Marla E.

    2017-01-01

    Objective Many emerging adults (18–25 year olds) report unmet health needs and disproportionately experience problems such as sexually transmitted infections. This study was conducted to examine college students’ perceptions of health care providers, specifically in the context of accessing sexual health resources. Design and Sample Students (N=52) were recruited from five diverse colleges in one state to participate in a one-to-one interview that involved walking and virtually exploring resources on and near campus. Interviews were conducted from May to November 2010. Results Inductive qualitative analysis yielded six themes summarizing students’ perceptions of provider characteristics, health care resources, the role of their peers, and students’ suggestions for strengthening health care services. Importantly, students consider a variety of staff—and their student peers—to be resources for sexual health information and services. Conclusions Findings emphasize the importance of collaboration between health service staff and broader campus staff because students often turn to campus staff initially. Post-secondary students welcome opportunities to know a provider through interactive websites that include details about providers on campus; their decisions to seek sexual health care services are influenced by their perceptions of providers’ characteristics and interpersonal skills. PMID:25159532

  20. Spatial Modelling Tools to Integrate Public Health and Environmental Science, Illustrated with Infectious Cryptosporidiosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lal, Aparna

    2016-02-02

    Contemporary spatial modelling tools can help examine how environmental exposures such as climate and land use together with socio-economic factors sustain infectious disease transmission in humans. Spatial methods can account for interactions across global and local scales, geographic clustering and continuity of the exposure surface, key characteristics of many environmental influences. Using cryptosporidiosis as an example, this review illustrates how, in resource rich settings, spatial tools have been used to inform targeted intervention strategies and forecast future disease risk with scenarios of environmental change. When used in conjunction with molecular studies, they have helped determine location-specific infection sources and environmental transmission pathways. There is considerable scope for such methods to be used to identify data/infrastructure gaps and establish a baseline of disease burden in resource-limited settings. Spatial methods can help integrate public health and environmental science by identifying the linkages between the physical and socio-economic environment and health outcomes. Understanding the environmental and social context for disease spread is important for assessing the public health implications of projected environmental change.

  1. Spatial Modelling Tools to Integrate Public Health and Environmental Science, Illustrated with Infectious Cryptosporidiosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aparna Lal

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary spatial modelling tools can help examine how environmental exposures such as climate and land use together with socio-economic factors sustain infectious disease transmission in humans. Spatial methods can account for interactions across global and local scales, geographic clustering and continuity of the exposure surface, key characteristics of many environmental influences. Using cryptosporidiosis as an example, this review illustrates how, in resource rich settings, spatial tools have been used to inform targeted intervention strategies and forecast future disease risk with scenarios of environmental change. When used in conjunction with molecular studies, they have helped determine location-specific infection sources and environmental transmission pathways. There is considerable scope for such methods to be used to identify data/infrastructure gaps and establish a baseline of disease burden in resource-limited settings. Spatial methods can help integrate public health and environmental science by identifying the linkages between the physical and socio-economic environment and health outcomes. Understanding the environmental and social context for disease spread is important for assessing the public health implications of projected environmental change.

  2. What makes health public?: a critical evaluation of moral, legal, and political claims in public health

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Coggon, John

    2012-01-01

    .... Covering important works from legal, moral, and political theory, public health, public health law and ethics, and bioethics, this is a foundational text for scholars, practitioners and policy bodies interested in freedoms, rights and responsibilities relating to health"--

  3. East African Journal of Public Health

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The East African Journal of Public Health is a multi-disciplinary journal publishing scientific research work from a range of public health related disciplines including community medicine, epidemiology, nutrition, behavioural sciences, health promotion, health education, communicable and non-communicable disease.

  4. Identifying research priorities for public health research to address health inequalities: use of Delphi-like survey methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, S; Ollerhead, E; Cook, A

    2017-10-09

    In the funding of health research and public health research it is vital that research questions posed are important and that funded research meets a research need or a gap in evidence. Many methods are used in the identification of research priorities, however, these can be resource intensive, costly and logistically challenging. Identifying such research priorities can be particularly challenging for complex public health problems as there is a need to consult a number of experts across disciplines and with a range of expertise. This study investigated the use of Delphi-like survey methods in identifying important research priorities relating to health inequalities and framing tractable research questions for topic areas identified. The study was conducted in two phases, both using Delphi-like survey methods. Firstly, public health professionals with an interest in health inequalities were asked to identify research priorities. Secondly academic researchers were asked to frame tractable research questions relating to the priorities identified. These research priorities identified using Delphi-like survey methods were subsequently compared to those identified using different methods. A total of 52 public health professionals and 21 academics across the United Kingdom agreed to take part. The response rates were high, from public health professionals across three survey rounds (69%, 50% and 40%) and from academics across one round (52%), indicating that participants were receptive to the method and motivated to respond. The themes identified as encompassing the most important research priorities were mental health, healthy environment and health behaviours. Within these themes, the topic areas that emerged most strongly included community interventions for prevention of mental health problems and the food and alcohol environment. Some responses received from academic researchers were (as requested) in the form of tractable research questions, whereas others

  5. One foot in the furrow: linkages between agriculture, plant pathology, and public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholthof, Karen-Beth G

    2003-01-01

    Plant pathology is a field of biology that focuses on understanding the nature of disease in plants as well as on more practical aspects of preventing and controlling plant diseases in crop plants that are important to agriculture. Throughout history, plant diseases have had significant effects on human health and welfare. Several examples, in both historical and contemporary contexts, are presented in this review to show how plant pathogens, biotechnology, and farming practices have affected public health. Specific topics illustrating clear linkages between agriculture and human health include allergens in the environment, food-safety and agricultural practices, mycotoxigenic fungi, agrobioterrorism, and the biological control of plant diseases. The further argument is made that in order to monitor and ensure that good health and safety practices are maintained from "farm to fork," public health specialists may benefit from the resources and expertise of agricultural scientists.

  6. Gender issues in medical and public health education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Y L

    2000-01-01

    There is no doubt that gender bias has been inherent in medical and public health education, research, and clinical practice. This paper discusses the central question for medical and public health educators viz. whether women's health concerns and needs could be best addressed by the conventional biomedical approach to medical and public health education, research, and practice. Gender inequalities in health and gender bias in medical and public health education are revealed. It is found that in most public health and prevention issues related to women's health, the core issue is male-female power relations, and not merely the lack of public health services, medical technology, or information. There is, thus, an urgent need to gender-sensitize public health and medical education. The paper proposes a gender analysis of health to distinguish between biological causes and social explanations for the health differentials between men and women. It also assessed some of the gender approaches to public health and medical education currently adopted in the Asia-Pacific region. It poses the pressing question of how medical and public health educators integrate the gender perspective into medical and public health education. The paper exhorts all medical and public health practitioners to explore new directions and identify innovative strategies to formulate a gender-sensitive curriculum towards the best practices in medicine and public health that will meet the health needs of women and men in the 21st century.

  7. Using public health and community partnerships to reduce density of alcohol outlets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jernigan, David H; Sparks, Michael; Yang, Evelyn; Schwartz, Randy

    2013-04-11

    Excessive alcohol use causes approximately 80,000 deaths in the United States each year. The Guide to Community Preventive Services recommends reducing the density of alcohol outlets - the number of physical locations in which alcoholic beverages are available for purchase either per area or per population - through the use of regulatory authority as an effective strategy for reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. We briefly review the research on density of alcohol outlets and public health and describe the powers localities have to influence alcohol outlet density. We summarize Regulating Alcohol Outlet Density: An Action Guide, which describes steps that local communities can take to reduce outlet density and the key competencies and resources of state and local health departments. These include expertise in public health surveillance and evaluation methods, identification and tracking of outcome measures, geographic information systems (GIS) mapping, community planning and development of multisector efforts, and education of community leaders and policy makers. We illustrate the potential for partnerships between public health agencies and local communities by presenting a contemporary case study from Omaha, Nebraska. Public health agencies have a vital and necessary role to play in efforts to reduce alcohol outlet density. They are often unaware of the potential of this strategy and have strong potential partners in the thousands of community coalitions nationwide that are focused on reducing alcohol-related problems.

  8. Tests to evaluate public health disease reporting systems in local public health agencies

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Dausey, David J

    2005-01-01

    ... to evaluate the ability to receive and respond to case reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We refined these tests by beta-testing them at 20 metropolitan area local public health agencies across the country over the course of 10 months. The contents of this manual will be of interest to public health professionals at the state and local l...

  9. Scoping study of integrated resource planning needs in the public utility sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garrick, C J; Garrick, J M; Rue, D R [NEOS Corp., Lakewood, CO (United States)

    1993-06-01

    Integrated resource planning (IRP) is an approach to utility resource planning that integrates the evaluation of supply- and demand-site options for providing energy services at the least cost. Many utilities practice IRP; however, most studies about IRP focus on investor-owned utilities (IOUs). This scoping study investigates the IRP activities and needs of public utilities (not-for-profit utilities, including federal, state, municipal, and cooperative utilities). This study (1) profiles IRP-related characteristics of the public utility sector, (2) articulates the needs of public utilities in understanding and implementing IRP, and (3) identifies strategies to advance IRP principles in public utility planning.

  10. Household utilization and expenditure on private and public health services in Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ha, Nguyen Thi Hong; Berman, Peter; Larsen, Ulla

    2002-03-01

    The private provision of health services in Vietnam was legalized in 1989 as one of the country's means to mobilize resources and improve efficiency in the health system. Ten years after its legalization, the private sector has widely expanded its activities and become an important provider of health services for the Vietnamese people. However, little is known about its contribution to the overall objectives of the health system in Vietnam. This paper assesses the role of the private health care provider by examining utilization patterns and financial burden for households of private, as compared with public, services. We found that the private sector provided 60% of all outpatient contacts in Vietnam. There was no difference by education, sex or place of residence in the use of private ambulatory health care. Although there was evidence suggesting that rich people use private care more than the poor, this finding was not consistent across all income groups. The private sector served young children in particular. Also, people in households with several sick members at the same time relied more on private than public care, while those with severe illnesses tended to use less private care than public. The financial burden for households from private health care services was roughly a half of that imposed by the public providers. Expenditure on drugs accounted for a substantial percentage of household expenditure in general and health care expenditure in particular. These findings call for a prompt recognition of the private sector as a key player in Vietnam's health system. Health system policies should mobilize positive private sector contributions to health system goals where possible and reduce the negative effects of private provision development.

  11. Modern environmental health hazards: a public health issue of increasing significance in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nweke, Onyemaechi C; Sanders, William H

    2009-06-01

    Traditional hazards such as poor sanitation currently account for most of Africa's environmentally related disease burden. However, with rapid development absent appropriate safeguards for environment and health, modern environmental health hazards (MEHHs) may emerge as critical contributors to the continent's disease burden. We review recent evidence of human exposure to and health effects from MEHHs, and their occurrence in environmental media and consumer products. Our purpose is to highlight the growing significance of these hazards as African countries experience urbanization, industrial growth, and development. We reviewed published epidemiologic, exposure, and environmental studies of chemical agents such as heavy metals and pesticides. The body of evidence demonstrates ongoing environmental releases of MEHHs and human exposures sometimes at toxicologically relevant levels. Several sources of MEHHs in environmental media have been identified, including natural resource mining and processing and automobile exhaust. Biomonitoring studies provided direct evidence of human exposure to metals such as mercury and lead and pesticides such as p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and organophosphates. Land and water resource pollution and industrial air toxics are areas of significant data gaps, notwithstanding the presence of several emitting sources. Unmitigated MEHH releases and human exposure have implications for Africa's disease burden. For Africans encumbered by conditions such as malnutrition that impair resilience to toxicologic challenges, the burden may be higher. A shift in public health policy toward accommodating the emerging diversity in Africa's environmental health issues is necessary to successfully alleviate the burden of avoidable ill health and premature death for all its communities now and in the future.

  12. The laboratory efficiencies initiative: partnership for building a sustainable national public health laboratory system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ridderhof, John C; Moulton, Anthony D; Ned, Renée M; Nicholson, Janet K A; Chu, May C; Becker, Scott J; Blank, Eric C; Breckenridge, Karen J; Waddell, Victor; Brokopp, Charles

    2013-01-01

    Beginning in early 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Public Health Laboratories launched the Laboratory Efficiencies Initiative (LEI) to help public health laboratories (PHLs) and the nation's entire PHL system achieve and maintain sustainability to continue to conduct vital services in the face of unprecedented financial and other pressures. The LEI focuses on stimulating substantial gains in laboratories' operating efficiency and cost efficiency through the adoption of proven and promising management practices. In its first year, the LEI generated a strategic plan and a number of resources that PHL directors can use toward achieving LEI goals. Additionally, the first year saw the formation of a dynamic community of practitioners committed to implementing the LEI strategic plan in coordination with state and local public health executives, program officials, foundations, and other key partners.

  13. The pull of public health studies

    OpenAIRE

    Braine, Theresa

    2007-01-01

    Public health has burgeoned over the past 100 years, from the study of tropical diseases in the 19th century to national public health systems after World War One and, more recently, to include international public health. Education has kept up with these trends, and today there are hundreds of schools around the world, many flourishing in developing countries.

  14. Public health nursing, ethics and human rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, Luba L; Oden, Tami L

    2013-05-01

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

  15. Exploration and Description of Faith-Based Health Resources: Findings Inform Advancing Holistic Health Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyess, Susan MacLeod

    2015-01-01

    It is important to use all holistic resource opportunities in communities, such as integrative healing centers, and mind-body-spirit approaches to health. These holistic approaches may be realized through nontraditional avenues, such as faith-based resources. This article reports on an exploratory study that describes faith-based resources supporting holistic health in a southeastern region of the United States. A working definition for "faith-based health resources" was "ecumenical and interfaith community-based, open-access health resources that include in mission for service a reference to faith." Excluded from the definition were institutional services from hospitals, focused social services from area agencies, and federally funded services.

  16. Understanding and Improving Arterial Roads to Support Public Health and Transportation Goals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAndrews, Carolyn; Pollack, Keshia M; Berrigan, David; Dannenberg, Andrew L; Christopher, Ed J

    2017-08-01

    Arterials are types of roads designed to carry high volumes of motorized traffic. They are an integral part of transportation systems worldwide and exposure to them is ubiquitous, especially in urban areas. Arterials provide access to diverse commercial and cultural resources, which can positively influence community health by supporting social cohesion as well as economic and cultural opportunities. They can negatively influence health via safety issues, noise, air pollution, and lack of economic development. The aims of public health and transportation partially overlap; efforts to improve arterials can meet goals of both professions. Two trends in arterial design show promise. First, transportation professionals increasingly define the performance of arterials via metrics accounting for pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and nearby residents in addition to motor vehicle users. Second, applying traffic engineering and design can generate safety, air quality, and livability benefits, but we need evidence to support these interventions. We describe the importance of arterials (including exposures, health behaviors, effects on equity, and resulting health outcomes) and make the case for public health collaborations with the transportation sector.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gostin, Lawrence O; Powers, Madison

    2006-01-01

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

  18. Do we develop public health leaders?- association between public health competencies and emotional intelligence: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Malho, André; Schröder-Bäck, Peter; Popa, Daniela; Burazeri, Genc

    2014-04-17

    Professional development of public health leaders requires a form of instruction which is competency-based to help them develop the abilities to address complex and evolving demands of health care systems. Concurrently, emotional intelligence (EI) is a key to organisational success. Our aim was twofold: i) to assess the relationship between the level of self-assessed public health and EI competencies among Master of European Public Health (MEPH) students and graduates at Maastricht University, and; ii) to determine the relationship between different groups of public health competencies and specific EI skills. A cross-sectional study was conducted including all recent MEPH graduates and students from 2009-2012, out of 67 eligible candidates N = 51 were contacted and N = 33 responded (11 males and 22 females; overall response: 64.7%).Two validated tools were employed: i) public health competencies self-assessment questionnaire, and; ii) Assessing Emotions Scale. Females scored higher than males in all seven domains of the self-assessed key public health competencies (NS) and emotional intelligence competences (P = 0.022). Overall, the mean value of public health competencies was the lowest in students with "staff" preferences and the highest among students with mixed job preferences (P leadership.

  19. Maximizing the benefit of health workforce secondment in Botswana: an approach for strengthening health systems in resource-limited settings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grignon JS

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Jessica S Grignon,1,2 Jenny H Ledikwe,1,2 Ditsapelo Makati,2 Robert Nyangah,2 Baraedi W Sento,2 Bazghina-werq Semo1,2 1Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; 2International Training and Education Center for Health, Gaborone, Botswana Abstract: To address health systems challenges in limited-resource settings, global health initiatives, particularly the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, have seconded health workers to the public sector. Implementation considerations for secondment as a health workforce development strategy are not well documented. The purpose of this article is to present outcomes, best practices, and lessons learned from a President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief-funded secondment program in Botswana. Outcomes are documented across four World Health Organization health systems' building blocks. Best practices include documentation of joint stakeholder expectations, collaborative recruitment, and early identification of counterparts. Lessons learned include inadequate ownership, a two-tier employment system, and ill-defined position duration. These findings can inform program and policy development to maximize the benefit of health workforce secondment. Secondment requires substantial investment, and emphasis should be placed on high-level technical positions responsible for building systems, developing health workers, and strengthening government to translate policy into programs. Keywords: human resources, health policy, health worker, HIV/AIDS, PEPFAR

  20. Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Related Health Information on Pregnancy Resource Center Websites: A Statewide Content Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swartzendruber, Andrea; Newton-Levinson, Anna; Feuchs, Ashley E; Phillips, Ashley L; Hickey, Jennifer; Steiner, Riley J

    Pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) are nonprofit organizations with a primary mission of promoting childbirth among pregnant women. Given a new state grant program to publicly fund PRCs, we analyzed Georgia PRC websites to describe advertised services and related health information. We systematically identified all accessible Georgia PRC websites available from April to June 2016. Entire websites were obtained and coded using defined protocols. Of 64 reviewed websites, pregnancy tests and testing (98%) and options counseling (84%) were most frequently advertised. However, 58% of sites did not provide notice that PRCs do not provide or refer for abortion, and 53% included false or misleading statements regarding the need to make a decision about abortion or links between abortion and mental health problems or breast cancer. Advertised contraceptive services were limited to counseling about natural family planning (3%) and emergency contraception (14%). Most sites (89%) did not provide notice that PRCs do not provide or refer for contraceptives. Two sites (3%) advertised unproven "abortion reversal" services. Approximately 63% advertised ultrasound examinations, 22% sexually transmitted infection testing, and 5% sexually transmitted infection treatment. None promoted consistent and correct condom use; 78% with content about condoms included statements that seemed to be designed to undermine confidence in condom effectiveness. Approximately 84% advertised educational programs, and 61% material resources. Georgia PRC websites contain high levels of false and misleading health information; the advertised services do not seem to align with prevailing medical guidelines. Public funding for PRCs, an increasing national trend, should be rigorously examined. Increased regulation may be warranted to ensure quality health information and services. Copyright © 2017 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. Enhancing Resources at the Workplace with Health-Promoting Leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, Paul; Bregenzer, Anita; Kallus, K Wolfgang; Fruhwirth, Bianca; Wagner-Hartl, Verena

    2017-10-20

    Leaders engaging in health-promoting leadership can influence their employees' health directly by showing health awareness or indirectly by changing working conditions. With health-promoting leadership, leaders are able to support a healthy working environment by providing resource-oriented working conditions for their employees to support their health. Changing working conditions in a health-supportive way can prevent possible negative consequences from critical working conditions (e.g., burnout risk). The present study examined the relationship between health-promoting leadership and the employees' resources, stress and burnout. To analyze our proposed model, structural equation modelling was conducted in two samples. The resulting model from the first sample of 228 Austrian workers was cross-validated and could be verified with the second sample (N = 263 Austrian workers). The results supported a model in which health-promoting leadership has a strong direct effect on the employees' resources and an indirect effect on stress and burnout, which was mediated by resources. The results indicate that health-promoting leadership describes the leaders' capability and dedication creating the right working conditions for their employees by increasing the employees' resources at the workplace. This in turn minimizes the risk of experiencing burnout.

  4. Enhancing Resources at the Workplace with Health-Promoting Leadership

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Jiménez

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Leaders engaging in health-promoting leadership can influence their employees’ health directly by showing health awareness or indirectly by changing working conditions. With health-promoting leadership, leaders are able to support a healthy working environment by providing resource-oriented working conditions for their employees to support their health. Changing working conditions in a health-supportive way can prevent possible negative consequences from critical working conditions (e.g., burnout risk. The present study examined the relationship between health-promoting leadership and the employees’ resources, stress and burnout. To analyze our proposed model, structural equation modelling was conducted in two samples. The resulting model from the first sample of 228 Austrian workers was cross-validated and could be verified with the second sample (N = 263 Austrian workers. The results supported a model in which health-promoting leadership has a strong direct effect on the employees’ resources and an indirect effect on stress and burnout, which was mediated by resources. The results indicate that health-promoting leadership describes the leaders’ capability and dedication creating the right working conditions for their employees by increasing the employees’ resources at the workplace. This in turn minimizes the risk of experiencing burnout.

  5. The health and health system of South Africa: historical roots of current public health challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coovadia, Hoosen; Jewkes, Rachel; Barron, Peter; Sanders, David; McIntyre, Diane

    2009-09-05

    The roots of a dysfunctional health system and the collision of the epidemics of communicable and non-communicable diseases in South Africa can be found in policies from periods of the country's history, from colonial subjugation, apartheid dispossession, to the post-apartheid period. Racial and gender discrimination, the migrant labour system, the destruction of family life, vast income inequalities, and extreme violence have all formed part of South Africa's troubled past, and all have inexorably affected health and health services. In 1994, when apartheid ended, the health system faced massive challenges, many of which still persist. Macroeconomic policies, fostering growth rather than redistribution, contributed to the persistence of economic disparities between races despite a large expansion in social grants. The public health system has been transformed into an integrated, comprehensive national service, but failures in leadership and stewardship and weak management have led to inadequate implementation of what are often good policies. Pivotal facets of primary health care are not in place and there is a substantial human resources crisis facing the health sector. The HIV epidemic has contributed to and accelerated these challenges. All of these factors need to be addressed by the new government if health is to be improved and the Millennium Development Goals achieved in South Africa.

  6. Using public relations strategies to prompt populations at risk to seek health information: the Hanford Community Health Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Gregory D; Smith, Stephen M; Turcotte, Joseph A

    2009-01-01

    The Hanford Community Health Project (HCHP) addressed health concerns among "downwinders" exposed to releases of radioactive iodine (I-131) from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in the 1940s and 1950s. After developing educational materials and conducting initial outreach, HCHP had to decide whether to apply its limited resources to an advertising or public relations approach. The decision to apply public relations strategies was effective in driving awareness of the risk communication message at the community level, reinvigorating the affected community, and ultimately increasing the number of people who sought information about their risk of exposure and related health issues. HCHP used a series of communication tools to reach out to local and regional media, medical and health professionals, and community organizations. The campaign was successful in increasing the number of unique visitors to HCHP Web site and educating and activating the medical community around the releases of I-131 and patient care choices.

  7. Towards a Job Demands-Resources Health Model: Empirical Testing with Generalizable Indicators of Job Demands, Job Resources, and Comprehensive Health Outcomes

    OpenAIRE

    Brauchli, Rebecca; Jenny, Gregor J.; Füllemann, Désirée; Bauer, Georg F.

    2015-01-01

    Studies using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model commonly have a heterogeneous focus concerning the variables they investigate?selective job demands and resources as well as burnout and work engagement. The present study applies the rationale of the JD-R model to expand the relevant outcomes of job demands and job resources by linking the JD-R model to the logic of a generic health development framework predicting more broadly positive and negative health. The resulting JD-R health model ...

  8. The Economic Crisis and Public Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor Sidel

    2009-06-01

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

  9. [Notes for understanding the problem of "public" health in the health sector].

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    Guimarães, Cristian Fabiano; da Silva, Rosane Azevedo Neves

    2015-03-01

    This paper presents a theoretical review of how the public health concept has been perceived in health practices, based on the problematic field introduced in Italian and Brazilian health reforms, in order to understand the construction of public health and the meanings that this term acquires in the health arena. The main goal is to understand how public health appears in the context of health movements in Italy and Brazil, as well as its movement of variation. In this sense, an attempt is made to identify elements that contribute to the composition of a genealogy of public health. From the investigation of public health practices, the tensions produced by this concept are analyzed, giving visibility to those practices that demonstrate the public health experience as a force in the world of health.

  10. Soil and public health: invisible bridges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pachepsky, Yakov

    2017-04-01

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

  11. REFLECTIONS ABOUT NURSES WORK IN PUBLIC HEALTH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Alves Barbosa

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: This research is a part of CIPESC (Classification of Nursing Practice in Public Health project, with national coordination by ABEn (Brazilian Nursing Association witch purpose was to elaborate an inventory of activities developed by Public Health Nurses. It sough to analyze the contribution of the nurses in public health in the South Sanitary District in the city of Goiânia (GO – Brazil, and to identify the meaning of nurses work contribution at Public Health Services, by users and managers. The study was developed by a descriptive-analytical investigation in a qualitative approach. The subjects were managers and users of the Public Health System. Data was collected by individual semi-structured interview directed to the managers and controlling and the Technique of Focal Group. The results had been grouped in three categories: "Performance of the professional", "Education Perspective of Nurses Work”, and "Health-care attendance". As conclusion was found that the nurses give great contribution in the implantation and maintenance of the health politics; that it has concern with the professional formation, that many times is responsible for the incompatibility between the service and the expected potential; it is stand out performance of the nurse as health education professional in the inserted activities in the public health, being intense its contact with the community. KEY WORDS: Public Health; Nursing; Public Health Nursing.

  12. How the introduction of a human resources information system helped the Democratic Republic of Congo to mobilise domestic resources for an improved health workforce.

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    Likofata Esanga, Jean-Robert; Viadro, Claire; McManus, Leah; Wesson, Jennifer; Matoko, Nicaise; Ngumbu, Epiphane; Gilroy, Kate E; Trudeau, Daren

    2017-11-01

    The Democratic Republic of Congo has flagged health workforce management and compensation as issues requiring attention, including the problem of ghost workers (individuals on payroll who do not exist and/or show up at work). Recognising the need for reliable health workforce information, the government has worked to implement iHRIS, an open source human resources information system that facilitates health workforce management. In Kasaï Central and Kasaï Provinces, health workers brought relevant documentation to data collection points, where trained teams interviewed them and entered contact information, identification, photo, current job, and employment and education history into iHRIS on laptops. After uploading the data, the Ministry of Public Health used the database of over 11 500 verified health worker records to analyse health worker characteristics, density, compensation, and payroll. Both provinces had less than one physician per 10 000 population and a higher urban versus rural health worker density. Most iHRIS-registered health workers (57% in Kasaï Central and 73% in Kasaï) reported receiving no regular government pay of any kind (salaries or risk allowances). Payroll analysis showed that 27% of the health workers listed as salary recipients in the electronic payroll system were ghost workers, as were 42% of risk allowance recipients. As a result, the Ministries of Public Health, Public Service, and Finance reallocated funds away from ghost workers to cover salaries (n = 781) and risk allowances (n = 2613) for thousands of health workers who were previously under- or uncompensated due to lack of funds. The reallocation prioritised previously under- or uncompensated mid-level health workers, with 49% of those receiving salaries and 68% of those receiving risk allowances representing cadres such as nurses, laboratory technicians, and midwifery cadres. Assembling accurate health worker records can help governments understand health workforce

  13. Human immunodeficiency virus testing behaviors among US adults: the roles of individual factors, legislative status, and public health resources.

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    Du, Ping; Camacho, Fabian; Zurlo, John; Lengerich, Eugene J

    2011-09-01

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended an "opt-out" human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing strategy in 2006 for all persons aged 13 to 64 years at healthcare settings. We conducted this study to identify individual, health, and policy factors that may be associated with HIV testing in US adults. The 2008 Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System data were utilized. Individuals' residency states were classified into 4 categories based on the legislation status to HIV testing laws in 2007 and HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome morbidity. A multivariate logistic regression adjusting for survey designs was performed to examine factors associated with HIV testing. A total of 281,826 adults aged 18 to 64 years answered HIV testing questions in 2008. The proportions of US adults who had ever been tested for HIV increased from 35.9% in 2006 to 39.9% in 2008. HIV testing varied across the individual's characteristics including sociodemographics, access to regular health care, and risk for HIV infection. Compared with residents of "high morbidity-opt out" states, those living in "high morbidity-opt in" states with legislative restrictions for HIV testing had a slightly lower odds of being tested for HIV (adjusted odds ratio = 0.96; 95% confidence interval = 0.92, 1.01). Adults living in "low morbidity" states were significantly less likely to be tested for HIV, regardless of legislative status. To implement routine HIV testing in the general population, the role of public health resources should be emphasized and legislative barriers should be further reduced. Strategies need to be developed to reach people who do not have regular access to health care.

  14. Electoral reform and public policy outcomes in Thailand: the politics of the 30-Baht health scheme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selway, Joel Sawat

    2011-01-01

    How do changes in electoral rules affect the nature of public policy outcomes? The current evidence supporting institutional theories that answer this question stems almost entirely from quantitative cross-country studies, the data of which contain very little within-unit variation. Indeed, while there are many country-level accounts of how changes in electoral rules affect such phenomena as the number of parties or voter turnout, there are few studies of how electoral reform affects public policy outcomes. This article contributes to this latter endeavor by providing a detailed analysis of electoral reform and the public policy process in Thailand through an examination of the 1997 electoral reforms. Specifically, the author examines four aspects of policy-making: policy formulation, policy platforms, policy content, and policy outcomes. The article finds that candidates in the pre-1997 era campaigned on broad, generic platforms; parties had no independent means of technical policy expertise; the government targeted health resources to narrow geographic areas; and health was underprovided in Thai society. Conversely, candidates in the post-1997 era relied more on a strong, detailed national health policy; parties created mechanisms to formulate health policy independently; the government allocated health resources broadly to the entire nation through the introduction of a universal health care system, and health outcomes improved. The author attributes these changes in the policy process to the 1997 electoral reform, which increased both constituency breadth (the proportion of the population to which politicians were accountable) and majoritarianism.

  15. Conservation of resources theory and research use in health systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alvaro, Celeste; Lyons, Renée F; Warner, Grace; Hobfoll, Stevan E; Martens, Patricia J; Labonté, Ronald; Brown, Richard E

    2010-10-20

    Health systems face challenges in using research evidence to improve policy and practice. These challenges are particularly evident in small and poorly resourced health systems, which are often in locations (in Canada and globally) with poorer health status. Although organizational resources have been acknowledged as important in understanding research use resource theories have not been a focus of knowledge translation (KT) research. What resources, broadly defined, are required for KT and how does their presence or absence influence research use?In this paper, we consider conservation of resources (COR) theory as a theoretical basis for understanding the capacity to use research evidence in health systems. Three components of COR theory are examined in the context of KT. First, resources are required for research uptake. Second, threat of resource loss fosters resistance to research use. Third, resources can be optimized, even in resource-challenged environments, to build capacity for KT. A scan of the KT literature examined organizational resources needed for research use. A multiple case study approach examined the three components of COR theory outlined above. The multiple case study consisted of a document review and key informant interviews with research team members, including government decision-makers and health practitioners through a retrospective analysis of four previously conducted applied health research studies in a resource-challenged region. The literature scan identified organizational resources that influence research use. The multiple case study supported these findings, contributed to the development of a taxonomy of organizational resources, and revealed how fears concerning resource loss can affect research use. Some resources were found to compensate for other resource deficits. Resource needs differed at various stages in the research use process. COR theory contributes to understanding the role of resources in research use, resistance to

  16. Teaching/learning strategies for the essentials of baccalaureate nursing education for entry-level community/public health nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callen, Bonnie; Smith, Claudia M; Joyce, Barbara; Lutz, Jayne; Brown-Schott, Nancy; Block, Derryl

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to describe teaching/learning strategies for each of the 15 Essentials of Baccalaureate Nursing Education for Entry-Level Community/Public Health Nursing (ACHNE, 2009). Carper's ways of knowing serve as foundations for creating classroom and clinical experiences that focus on clinical action with community as client. Each community/public health essential is defined with relevance to community/public health nursing practice. Five teaching/learning strategies have been delineated for each essential with suggestions of teaching resources and/or target population application. Teaching/learning strategies that focus on community as client, population health, and the essential knowledge and competencies of C/PH nursing will help ensure preparation of baccalaureate prepared nurses with knowledge and skills to improve the health of populations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. College students' preferences for health care providers when accessing sexual health resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Carolyn M; Lechner, Kate E; Frerich, Ellen A; Lust, Katherine A; Eisenberg, Marla E

    2014-01-01

    Many emerging adults (18-25 year olds) report unmet health needs and disproportionately experience problems such as sexually transmitted infections. This study was conducted to examine college students' perceptions of health care providers, specifically in the context of accessing sexual health resources. Students (N = 52) were recruited from five diverse colleges in one state to participate in a one-to-one interview that involved walking and virtually exploring resources on and near campus. Interviews were conducted from May to November 2010. Open-ended one-to-one interview questions. Inductive qualitative analysis yielded six themes summarizing students' perceptions of provider characteristics, health care resources, the role of their peers, and students' suggestions for strengthening health care services. Importantly, students consider a variety of staff-and their student peers-to be resources for sexual health information and services. Findings emphasize the importance of collaboration between health service staff and broader campus staff because students often turn to campus staff initially. Postsecondary students welcome opportunities to know a provider through interactive websites that include details about providers on campus; their decisions to seek sexual health care services are influenced by their perceptions of providers' characteristics and interpersonal skills. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Public Health Intelligence: Learning From the Ebola Crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, David Jay

    2015-01-01

    Today’s public health crises, as exemplified by the Ebola outbreak, lead to dramatic calls to action that typically include improved electronic monitoring systems to better prepare for, and respond to, similar occurrences in the future. Even a preliminary public health informatics evaluation of the current Ebola crisis exposes the need for enhanced coordination and sharing of trustworthy public health intelligence. We call for a consumer-centric model of public health intelligence and the formation of a national center to guide public health intelligence gathering and synthesis. Sharing accurate and actionable information with government agencies, health care practitioners, policymakers, and, critically, the general public, will mark a shift from doing public health surveillance on people to doing public health surveillance for people. PMID:26180978

  19. Evaluating the unintended health consequences of poverty alleviation strategies: or what is the relevance of Mohammed Yunus to public health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohindra, K S; Haddad, Slim

    2008-01-01

    Public health researchers are increasingly shifting their attention away from merely documenting those factors that determine health--a solid evidence base on health determinants now exists--to improving our understanding of how various interventions influence population health. This paper argues for greater investigations of the potential unintended health benefits associated with participation in a poverty alleviation strategy (PAS) in low-income countries. We focus on microcredit, a PAS that has been spreading across the developing world. Microcredit aims to address the "credit gap" between the poor and the better off by offering an alternative for the poor to acquire loans: small groups are formed and loans are allocated to members based on group solidarity instead of formal collateral. We argue that microcredit corresponds with activities that will help build up health capital (e.g., greater access to resources) and describe the main pathways from microcredit participation to health. We advocate that microcredit and other potential pro-health PAS be included among the range of interventions considered by public health researchers in improving the health of the poor.

  20. The Ariadne's thread in co-payment, primary health care usage and financial crisis: findings from Cyprus public health care sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrou, P

    2015-11-01

    Cyprus entered a prolonged financial recession in 2011 and by early 2013 it applied for an international bail-out agreement. This presupposed massive reforms in public governance. Health sector was considerably reformed and one of the measures was the introduction of co-payment for outpatient visits to public health care sector. The scope of this study is to assess the impact of financial crisis and co-payment to public outpatient visits in Nicosia urban and greater Nicosia region. An Interrupted time-series analysis. All outpatient visits to public health care family doctor/general practitioners in Nicosia urban and greater Nicosia region from January 2011 until May of 2014 were registered and analysed. Financial crisis did not alter outpatient visits. Introduction of co-payment led to a statistically significant decrease from the second month after its introduction (p = 0.048) (R(2) = 0.329, Q = 23.75, p = 0.137). This decrease was consistent until the end of the observational period and it did not level off. Financial crisis did not affect outpatient visits while co-payment can be considered as a potent cost containment measure during financial recession, by normalising utilisation of healthcare resources. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.