Epidemiological surveillance and performance assessment: the two roles of health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-203
Author(s):  
Nathan Genicot
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Epidemiological Surveillance ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The One ◽  
Massive Development

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to the massive development and use of health indicators. Drawing on the history of international public health and of the management of infectious disease, this paper attempts to show that the normative power acquired by metrics during the pandemic can be understood in light of two rationales: epidemiological surveillance and performance assessment. On the one hand, indicators are established to evaluate and rank countries’ responses to the outbreak; on the other, the evolution of indicators has a direct influence on the content of public health policies. Although quantitative data are an absolute necessity for coping with such disasters, it is critical to bear in mind the inherent partiality and precarity of the information provided by health indicators. Given the growing importance of normative quantitative devices during the pandemic, and assuming that their influence is unlikely to decrease in the future, they call for close scrutiny.

scholarly journals Patterns of smallpox mortality in London, England, over three centuries

PLoS Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. e3000506
Author(s):  
Olga Krylova ◽  
David J. D. Earn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Spectral Analysis ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Control

Smallpox is unique among infectious diseases in the degree to which it devastated human populations, its long history of control interventions, and the fact that it has been successfully eradicated. Mortality from smallpox in London, England was carefully documented, weekly, for nearly 300 years, providing a rare and valuable source for the study of ecology and evolution of infectious disease. We describe and analyze smallpox mortality in London from 1664 to 1930. We digitized the weekly records published in the London Bills of Mortality (LBoM) and the Registrar General’s Weekly Returns (RGWRs). We annotated the resulting time series with a sequence of historical events that might have influenced smallpox dynamics in London. We present a spectral analysis that reveals how periodicities in reported smallpox mortality changed over decades and centuries; many of these changes in epidemic patterns are correlated with changes in control interventions and public health policies. We also examine how the seasonality of reported smallpox mortality changed from the 17th to 20th centuries in London.

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

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen S. Synnevåg ◽  
Roar Amdam ◽  
Elisabeth Fosse
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Health In All Policies ◽  
Health Work ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
The One

Aim: 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. Methods: A qualitative case study based on analyses of interviews and planning documents was performed in three Norwegian municipalities. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.

Addiction and Heroin-Assisted Treatment: Legal Discourse and Drug Reform

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Boyd ◽  
Alexa Norton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
Drug Research ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Heroin Addiction ◽  
Care Society ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Drug Prohibition

This article analyzes the arguments put forth over a 3-day period at an injunction hearing, Providence Health Care Society v. Canada, held March 13–15, 2014 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The plaintiffs sought broad interlocutory relief from the Court for the provision of prescription heroin if requested by their physicians. This article fills an identified gap in scholarship by analyzing the civil Charter challenge, including the notice of civil claim, injunction court transcripts, judgment, and individual plaintiffs’ affidavits. We draw from Canada’s unique history of drug prohibition and critical drug research to contextualize our analysis and findings. We argue that the lives of people using criminalized drugs, such as heroin, are affected by legal realms that produce ideas about heroin, addiction, and criminality that ultimately impact public health policies and treatment initiatives.

scholarly journals Psicologia e políticas públicas: desafios para superação de práticas normativas / Psychology and puclib policies: challenges to overcoming normative practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Andrade Ferrazza
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social History ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Psychiatric Reform ◽  
History Of ◽  
Normative Practices ◽  
History Approach ◽  
Psychological Knowledge

ResumoO presente trabalho tem o objetivo de estudar a história daconstituição de um saber psicológico normativo e da reflexão sobre a inserção da psicologia no âmbito da Saúde Coletiva, com destaque a alguns pontos norteadores para a profissão no sentido de garantir a formação de profissionais com um perfil condizente para atuação no âmbito das Políticas Públicas de Saúde. Será adotado o enfoque histórico social inspirado na perspectiva genealógica foucaultiana na tentativa de propor transformações atuais de discursos e práticas. Na atualidade, algumas práticas psi vinculadas às concepções individualistas e normativas, historicamente influenciadas pelo movimento higienista, poderiam constituir novos tipos de subjetividadesdespolitizadas. Assim, conclui-se que os indivíduos deixariam de implicar-se em suas próprias condições de sujeitos devido o reducionismo aos discursos psicopatologizantes, regradospor concepções que guardam pouca ou nenhuma relação com a promoção de saúde e as propostas dos projetos brasileiros de Reforma Sanitária e Psiquiátrica.Palavras-chave: Psicologia normativa; Políticas Públicas de Saúde; Reforma Sanitária e Psiquiátrica.AbstractThis article studies the history of the constitution of normative psychological knowledge and offers reflection on the role of psychology within Social Health. We foreground variousguidelines for the profession to ensure the training of professionals towards an apposite profile for practice in accordance with Public Health Policies. We adopt a social history approach informed by a Foucauldian genealogical perspective in our attempt to propose actual transformations to discourses and practices. Currently, some of the psy practices related toindividualist and normative conceptions - historically influenced by the hygienist movement - could constitute new types of depoliticized subjectivities. Thus, we posit that individuals willno longer involve themselves in their own conditions assubjects due to reductionist psychopathologizing discourses which are regulated by concepts that bear little or no relationto the promotion of health and the Brazilian Health and Psychiatric Reform project.Keywords: Normative Psychology; Public Health Policies; Health and Psychiatric Reform.

scholarly journals Modeling COVID-19 with Uncertainty in Granada, Spain. Intra-Hospitalary Circuit and Expectations over the Next Months

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1132
Author(s):  
José M. Garrido ◽  
David Martínez-Rodríguez ◽  
Fernando Rodríguez-Serrano ◽  
Sorina-M. Sferle ◽  
Rafael-J. Villanueva
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Transmission Dynamics ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Seir Model ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Hospital Resources ◽  
Over Time

Mathematical models have been remarkable tools for knowing in advance the appropriate time to enforce population restrictions and distribute hospital resources. Here, we present a mathematical Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SEIR) model to study the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in Granada, Spain, taking into account the uncertainty of the phenomenon. In the model, the patients moving throughout the hospital’s departments (intra-hospitalary circuit) are considered in order to help to optimize the use of a hospital’s resources in the future. Two main seasons, September–April (autumn-winter) and May–August (summer), where the hospital pressure is significantly different, have been included. The model is calibrated and validated with data obtained from the hospitals in Granada. Possible future scenarios have been simulated. The model is able to capture the history of the pandemic in Granada. It provides predictions about the intra-hospitalary COVID-19 circuit over time and shows that the number of infected is expected to decline continuously from May without an increase next autumn–winter if population measures continue to be satisfied. The model strongly suggests that the number of infected cases will reduce rapidly with aggressive vaccination policies. The proposed study is being used in Granada to design public health policies and perform wise re-distribution of hospital resources in advance.

scholarly journals A review of the One Health concept and its application as a tool for policy-makers

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-89
Author(s):  
Rodrigo de Macedo Couto ◽  
Danie Friguglietti Brandespim
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
One Health ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Health Concept ◽  
The Government ◽  
The One

The One Health concept represents the inseparability of human, animal, and environmental health through a unified view of health care. This article addressed the topic of public health policies from the One Health perspective, demonstrating its inclusion in various health agendas such as emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, basic sanitation, mental health, chronic non-communicable diseases, interpersonal violence, and food safety. The results showed that the application of the One Health concept to the development and implementation of policies is associated with a growing need to involve transdisciplinary teams for solving complex problems to improve communication and to ensure the relevance and acceptability of public policies, thus guaranteeing governance. According to the principle of efficiency, the government must be aware of the evolution of technical knowledge and should use the One Health approach to improve the efficacy of already existing systems. We, therefore, conducted this review to contextualize current knowledge in this topic which is becoming an essential tool for public health policy-makers and practitioners around the world promoting a reflection on the importance of multiprofessional articulation in the implementation of intersectoral public health policies.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the LGBTQ+ Population: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 872-887
Author(s):  
Ishan Garg ◽  
Hamza Hanif ◽  
Nismat Javed ◽  
Ramsha Abbas ◽  
Samir Mirza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Common Factors ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
History Of

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately impacted lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) people. Despite developing safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, LGBTQ+ communities still faces challenges due to inequitable access and vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in the acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccination services. Various studies have explored and tried to address factors influencing vaccine hesitancy. However, the LGBTQ+ population remains under- and misrepresented in many of these studies. According to the few studies that have focused on the LGBTQ+ population, several factors influencing vaccine hesitancy have been identified, with the most common factors in studies being concern about vaccine safety, vaccine efficacy, and history of bad experiences with healthcare providers. In order to rebuild the confidence of LGBTQ+ people in vaccines, governments, healthcare policymakers, and healthcare providers need to start by acknowledging, and then resolving, these disparities; building trust; dismantling systemic suppression and discrimination; and prioritizing the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in research studies and public health policies.

Sea Urchins and Circuses: The Modernist Natural Histories of Jean Painlevé and Alexander Calder

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-211
Author(s):  
Patricia E. Chu
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Sea Urchins ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Machine Age ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The One ◽  
Natural Historian

The Paris avant-garde milieu from which both Cirque Calder/Calder's Circus and Painlevé’s early films emerged was a cultural intersection of art and the twentieth-century life sciences. In turning to the style of current scientific journals, the Paris surrealists can be understood as engaging the (life) sciences not simply as a provider of normative categories of materiality to be dismissed, but as a companion in apprehending the “reality” of a world beneath the surface just as real as the one visible to the naked eye. I will focus in this essay on two modernist practices in new media in the context of the history of the life sciences: Jean Painlevé’s (1902–1989) science films and Alexander Calder's (1898–1976) work in three-dimensional moving art and performance—the Circus. In analyzing Painlevé’s work, I discuss it as exemplary of a moment when life sciences and avant-garde technical methods and philosophies created each other rather than being classified as separate categories of epistemological work. In moving from Painlevé’s films to Alexander Calder's Circus, Painlevé’s cinematography remains at the forefront; I use his film of one of Calder's performances of the Circus, a collaboration the men had taken two decades to complete. Painlevé’s depiction allows us to see the elements of Calder's work that mark it as akin to Painlevé’s own interest in a modern experimental organicism as central to the so-called machine-age. Calder's work can be understood as similarly developing an avant-garde practice along the line between the bestiary of the natural historian and the bestiary of the modern life scientist.

scholarly journals Population simulations of COVID-19 outbreaks provide tools for risk assessment and continuity planning

JAMIA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Peng ◽  
Rowland W Pettit ◽  
Christopher I Amos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Robustness Analysis ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Command Line ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Continuity Planning ◽  
Quantitative Estimates ◽  
Community Infection

Abstract Objectives We developed COVID-19 Outbreak Simulator (https://ictr.github.io/covid19-outbreak-simulator/) to quantitatively estimate the effectiveness of preventative and interventive measures to prevent and battle COVID-19 outbreaks for specific populations. Materials and methods Our simulator simulates the entire course of infection and transmission of the virus among individuals in heterogeneous populations, subject to operations and influences, such as quarantine, testing, social distancing, and community infection. It provides command-line and Jupyter notebook interfaces and a plugin system for user-defined operations. Results The simulator provides quantitative estimates for COVID-19 outbreaks in a variety of scenarios and assists the development of public health policies, risk-reduction operations, and emergency response plans. Discussion Our simulator is powerful, flexible, and customizable, although successful applications require realistic estimation and robustness analysis of population-specific parameters. Conclusion Risk assessment and continuity planning for COVID-19 outbreaks are crucial for the continued operation of many organizations. Our simulator will be continuously expanded to meet this need.

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