Long-Term Public Health Responses in High-Impact Weather Events: Hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico as a Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Cange ◽  
Jacy McGaw-Césaire
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Well Being ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Public Health Challenges ◽  
High Impact Weather

ABSTRACTThis statement responds to the public health challenges in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria during September 2017. As a result of Maria, and to a certain extent Hurricane Irma, the territory sustained unprecedented damage. We call for a mid- and long-term public health response and research to assess the long-term impacts of high-impact weather events, such as Maria’s effects on Puerto Rico, including impacts on vulnerable populations’ environmental health and well-being.

scholarly journals Assessing the Design and Capability of Our Public Health System in a Covid and Post-Covid New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Crampton ◽  
Don Matheson ◽  
Maria Cotter
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
National History ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Public Health Challenges ◽  
Public Health Institutions ◽  
Health Institutions ◽  
Universal Standard

New Zealand’s public health response to Covid-19, while effective thus far, has raised questions about our country’s public health capability and capacity, our ability to respond to public health challenges, and our ability to protect Mäori communities from bearing the brunt of inequitable outcomes. The aims of this article are to identify and discuss some of the challenges that face New Zealand’s state-mandated public health institutions, and to explore critera for assessing the capability of these institutions. There is no universal standard approach to the design of public health institutions, systems and structures; a variety of different configurations would work in any context and their effectiveness is strongly influenced by national history, and the prevailing policy and political culture. In order to assess the ability of our public health institutions to effectively respond to a diverse array of challenges, we propose a capability framework consisting of ten key elements.

scholarly journals Public Health Academic Alliance for COVID-19 Response: The Role of a National Medical Task Force in Puerto Rico

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (13) ◽  
pp. 4839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia Cruz-Correa ◽  
Elba C. Díaz-Toro ◽  
Jorge L. Falcón ◽  
Enid J. García-Rivera ◽  
Humberto M. Guiot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
National Medical ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The Government ◽  
Direct Guidance ◽  
Medical Task

Alliances between the government and academic communities can be a key component of the public health response to an emergency such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The Governor of Puerto Rico designated the Puerto Rico Medical Task Force (MTF) COVID-19 to provide direct guidance and evaluation of the government response to the epidemic in Puerto Rico. Several work groups were formed within the MTF to create protocols and provide evidence-based recommendations on different public health aspects. The collaboration between the academia and the government enhanced the Puerto Rican public health response and contributed to the reduction seen in the contagion curve. Healthcare services and hospitals have not reached their maximum patient care capacity and the death toll has been controlled. Incorporating a national MTF with members of the academia into the government structure was beneficial during the COVID-19 response in Puerto Rico. A similar strategy could serve as a model for other states or territories and countries in similar scenarios.

Dengue in Puerto Rico, 1977: Public Health Response to Characterize and Control an Epidemic of Multiple Serotypes *

1986 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Morens ◽  
John P. Woodall ◽  
Ernesto E. Ruiz-Tibén ◽  
Chester G. Moore ◽  
Donald A. Eliason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
And Control

Sexuality and public health

2021 ◽  
pp. 307-316
Author(s):  
Richard Parker ◽  
Jonathan Garcia ◽  
Miguel Muñoz-Laboy ◽  
Marni Sommer ◽  
Patrick Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Health It ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Over Time

This chapter seeks to provide an overview of this rapidly growing body of work in public health. It describes the initial public health response to sexuality in the context of HIV and AIDS, as well as the ways in which that response has been gradually broadened over time in order to provide a more comprehensive approach to sexual health and well-being. It also focuses on both the local and the global dimensions of this work, in both developed and developing countries, and as much in the work of local communities struggling to respond to the needs of their own populations, as well as on the part of a range of international agencies that are increasingly seeking to address a range of challenges to sexual health.

Canada’s multi-jurisdictional COVID-19 Public Health response – January to May 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-105
Author(s):  
Iwona A. Bielska ◽  
Lauren Jewett ◽  
Mark Embrett ◽  
Richard Buote ◽  
Derek R. Manis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Care Facilities

In late January 2020, the first COVID-19 case was reported in Canada. By March 5, 2020, community spread of the virus was identified and by May 26, 2020, close to 86,000 patients had COVID-19 and 6,566 had died. As COVID-19 cases increased, provincial and territorial governments announced states of public health emergency between March 13 and 20, 2020. This paper examines Canada’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the first four months (January to May 2020) by overviewing the actions undertaken by the federal (national) and regional (provincial/territorial) governments. Canada’s jurisdictional public health structures, public health responses, technological and research endeavours, and public opinion on the pandemic measures are described. As the pandemic unravelled, the federal and provincial/territorial governments unrolled a series of stringent public health interventions and restrictions, including physical distancing and gathering size restrictions; closures of borders, schools, and non-essential businesses and services; cancellations of non-essential medical services; and limitations on visitors in hospital and long-term care facilities. In late May 2020, there was a gradual decrease in the daily numbers of new COVID-19 cases seen across most jurisdictions, which has led the provinces and territories to prepare phased re-opening. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada and the substantial amount of formative health and policy-related data being created provide an insight on how to improve responses and better prepare for future health emergencies.

scholarly journals Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call for Action

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 411-412
Author(s):  
G. Kalcev ◽  
A. Preti ◽  
G. Orrù ◽  
M.G. Carta
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Burnout Syndrome ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
The Impact

The current COVID-19 pandemic is likely to affect the physical and mental health and the well-being of people globally. The physicians and nurses on the frontline of patients care will be among the most affected in their psychosocial well-being, being exposed to trauma consequences and burnout syndrome. It is still unknown whether the COVID-19 infection will have direct neuropsychiatric consequences. The impact of the quarantine lockdown on mental health, too, has to be taken into account. The inclusion of mental health as part of national public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic is mandatory in assisting all those in need.

scholarly journals Public Health Crisis during COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gaus
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Public Health Authority ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Open Question

During the COVID pandemic, biomedicine and the rapid development of anti-COVID vaccines has been widely praised, while the global public health response has been questioned. Fifteen United States based combined experts in primary healthcare and public health responded to an open question focusing on this issue. Eleven of these experts responded. Four major themes emerged from their answers, including: fragmentation between public health and biomedicine; underfunding of public health; lack of centralized public health authority; business interests over the public good and well-being.

scholarly journals Public health needs GIScience (like now)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Justine I. Blanford ◽  
Ann M. Jolly
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Spatial Epidemiology ◽  
Spatial Analyses ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
New Locations ◽  
Sources Of Infection ◽  
Short And Long Term

Abstract. During the last 20 years we have seen the re-emergence of diseases; emergence of new diseases in new locations and witnessed outbreaks of varying intensity and duration. Spatial epidemiology plays an important role in understanding the patterns of disease and how they change over time and across space.The aim of this paper is to bring together a public health and geospatial data science perspective to provide a framework that will facilitate the integration of geographic information and spatial analyses at different stages of public health response so that these data and methods can be effectively used to enhance surveillance and monitoring, intervention strategies (planning and implementation of a response) and facilitate both short- and long-term forecasting.To demonstrate elements of this framework and how it can be utilized, we selected three case studies ranging from the current the global COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 to more historical examples such as the John Snow Cholera outbreak of 1854 and the Ebola outbreak of 2014 in West Africa.A variety of methods including spatial descriptive statistics, as well as methods for analysing patterns were used. The examples we provide can reveal sources of infection, connectivity between locations, delineate zones of containment and show the spread of an outbreak globally and locally across space and time.

The H1N1 Crisis: A Case Study of the Integration of Mental and Behavioral Health in Public Health Crises

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty Pfefferbaum ◽  
David Schonfeld ◽  
Brian W. Flynn ◽  
Ann E. Norwood ◽  
Daniel Dodgen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Well Being ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Medical Emergencies ◽  
The Many

ABSTRACTIn substantial numbers of affected populations, disasters adversely affect well-being and influence the development of emotional problems and dysfunctional behaviors. Nowhere is the integration of mental and behavioral health into broader public health and medical preparedness and response activities more crucial than in disasters such as the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza pandemic. The National Biodefense Science Board, recognizing that the mental and behavioral health responses to H1N1 were vital to preserving safety and health for the country, requested that the Disaster Mental Health Subcommittee recommend actions for public health officials to prevent and mitigate adverse behavioral health outcomes during the H1N1 pandemic. The subcommittee's recommendations emphasized vulnerable populations and concentrated on interventions, education and training, and communication and messaging. The subcommittee's H1N1 activities and recommendations provide an approach and template for identifying and addressing future efforts related to newly emerging public health and medical emergencies. The many emotional and behavioral health implications of the crisis and the importance of psychological factors in determining the behavior of members of the public argue for a programmatic integration of behavioral health and science expertise in a comprehensive public health response.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2012;6:67–71)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document