Provisioning of Public Health Can Be Designed to Anticipate Public Policy Responses

2016 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Darla V. Lindberg ◽  
Rachel A. Smith ◽  
Timothy C. Reluga
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Policy Responses

scholarly journals National Lockdown to Cope with COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects (Contradictory) on Public Health and (Negative) on Economic System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Coccia
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Real Gdp ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Structural Indicators

Abstract One of the policy responses to cope with effects of COVID-19 pandemic in society is the national lockdown applied by many countries worldwide. Literature lacks of studies that show whether the effects of this public policy on public health, environment and socioeconomic systems have been effective or not during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Empirical analysis of this study focuses on some European countries that have applied different containment measures based on national lockdown with longer period (more than a month) and a shorter period (of max 15 days). The evidence shows that longer period of national lockdown by governments seem to generate contradictory effects on public health, whereas on economic growth induces a negative impact given by high contraction of real GDP growth %. This result here can be helpful to policymakers for new policy choices directed to design appropriate measures of containment based on a shorter temporal duration and applied on selected areas and places at risk, rather than general and uniform interventions of lockdown and reduction of mobility. This new perspective of public policy to cope with pandemic crisis of the COVID-19 and future epidemics of similar viral agents can balance the likely positive effects on public health without to deteriorate the structural indicators of economic system.

scholarly journals COVID-19: Intensifying the Existential Threat to the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-172
Author(s):  
Michael Witter
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Neoliberal Globalization ◽  
Agricultural Exports ◽  
Existential Crisis ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
The Caribbean

The Caribbean has experienced an overlapping and interconnected series of challenges, including economic, social, and environmental, which pose an existential threat to the region. This article focuses on the nature of this threat as it evolved before and during the pandemic crisis. Under neoliberal globalization, Caribbean economies transformed themselves rapidly into service providers, most having resorted to developing a tourism sector, while some moved into oil production. In all cases, traditional agricultural exports declined with the loss of protected markets where they earned preferential prices. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the Caribbean’s existential crisis and revealed the inextricable links among the environment, economy, and public health. This article focuses on these links and suggests a way forward for public policy in the short, medium, and long term.

Peri-urban water, sanitation and hygiene in Lusaka, Zambia: photovoice empowering local assessment via ecological theory

2021 ◽  
pp. 175797592199571
Author(s):  
Sikopo Nyambe ◽  
Taro Yamauchi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Health Hazard ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Ecological Theory ◽  
Urban Slum ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Minimal Impact ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Definition Of

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) factors are responsible for 11.4% of deaths in Zambia, making WASH a key public health concern. Despite annual waterborne disease outbreaks in the nation’s peri-urban (slum) settlements being linked to poor WASH, few studies have proactively analysed and conceptualised peri-urban WASH and its maintaining factors. Our study aimed to (a) establish residents’ definition of peri-urban WASH and their WASH priorities; and (b) use ecological theory to analyse the peri-urban WASH ecosystem, highlighting maintaining factors. Our study incorporated 16 young people (aged 17–24) residing in peri-urban Lusaka, Zambia in a photovoice exercise. Participants took photographs answering the framing question, ‘What is WASH in your community?’ Then, through contextualisation and basic codifying, participants told the stories of their photographs and made posters to summarise problems and WASH priorities. Participant contextualisation and codifying further underwent theoretical thematic analysis to pinpoint causal factors alongside key players, dissecting the peri-urban WASH ecosystem via the five-tier ecological theory ranging from intrapersonal to public policy levels. Via ecological theory, peri-urban WASH was defined as: (a) poor practice (intrapersonal, interpersonal); (b) a health hazard (community norm); (c) substandard and unregulated (public policy, organisational); and (d) offering hope for change (intrapersonal, interpersonal). Linked to these themes, participant findings revealed a community level gap, with public policy level standards, regulations and implementation having minimal impact on overall peri-urban WASH and public health due to shallow community engagement and poor acknowledgement of the WASH realities of high-density locations. Rather than a top-down approach, participants recommended increased government–resident collaboration, offering residents more ownership and empowerment for intervention, implementation and defending of preferred peri-urban WASH standards.

scholarly journals Public Interest in Neurological Diseases on Wikipedia during Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-63
Author(s):  
Stela Rutovic ◽  
Ana Isabel Fumagalli ◽  
Inna Lutsenko ◽  
Francesco Corea
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Neurological Disease ◽  
General Trend ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Information Distribution ◽  
Research Discipline ◽  
Online Encyclopedia ◽  
Source Of Information

Infodemiology is a research discipline that investigates parameters of information distribution in order to support public health and public policy. Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, is commonly used as a source of information for infodemiological studies. Using Pageviews analysis, we descriptively assessed the total monthly number of views of the Wikipedia articles in English describing main neurological diseases in the period from January 2018 to July 2020. Our results show a general trend of a decrease in interest in neurological disease-related pages throughout years and especially during the burst of interest towards coronavirus. The monitoring of infodemiological indicators shall be prioritized to reshape global campaigns and tailored advocacy programs.

Tobacco LitigationIssues for Public Health and Public Policy

JAMA ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 277 (9) ◽  
pp. 751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanton A. Glantz
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Tobacco Litigation

Conceptual and Practical Aspects of Water Regulation in Developing Countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanford V. Berg
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Productive Efficiency ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Water Supply And Sanitation

Organizations regulating the water sector have major impacts on public health and the sustainability of supply to households, industry, power generation, agriculture, and the environment. Access to affordable water is a human right, but it is costly to produce, as is wastewater treatment. Capital investments required for water supply and sanitation are substantial, and operating costs are significant as well. That means that there are trade-offs among access, affordability, and cost recovery. Political leaders prioritize goals and implement policy through a number of organizations: government ministries, municipalities, sector regulators, health agencies, and environmental regulators. The economic regulators of the water sector set targets and quality standards for water operators and determine prices that promote the financial sustainability of those operators. Their decisions affect drinking water safety and sanitation. In developing countries with large rural populations, centralized water networks may not be feasible. Sector regulators often oversee how local organizations ensure water supply to citizens and address wastewater transport, treatment, and disposal, including non-networked sanitation systems. Both rural and urban situations present challenges for sector regulators. The theoretical rationale for water-sector regulation address operator monopoly power (restricting output) and transparency, so customers have information regarding service quality and operator efficiency. Externalities (like pollution) are especially problematic in the water sector. In addition, water and sanitation enhance community health and personal dignity: they promote cohesion within a community. Regulatory systems attempt to address those issues. Of course, government intervention can actually be problematic if short-term political objectives dominate public policy or rules are established to benefit politically powerful groups. In such situations, the fair and efficient provision of water and sanitation services is not given priority. Note that the governance of economic regulators (their organizational design, values or principles, functions, and processes) creates incentives (and disincentives) for operators to improve performance. Related ministries that provide oversight of the environment, health and safety, urban and housing issues, and water resource management also influence the long-term sustainability of the water sector and associated health impacts. Ministries formulate public policy for those areas under their jurisdiction and monitor its implementation by designated authorities. Ideally, water-sector regulators are somewhat insulated from day-to-day political pressures and have the expertise (and authority) to implement public policy and address emerging sector issues. Many health issues related to water are caused or aggravated by lack of clean water supply or lack of effective sanitation. These problems can be attributed to lack of access or to lack of quality supplied if there is access. The economic regulation of utilities has an effect on public health through the setting of quality standards for water supply and sanitation, the incentives provided for productive efficiency (encouraging least-cost provision of quality services), setting tariffs to provide cash flows to fund supply and network expansion, and providing incentives and monitoring so that investments translate into system expansion and better quality service. Thus, although water-sector regulators tend not to focus directly on health outcomes, their regulatory decisions determine access to safe water and sanitation.

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