Between a rock and a hard place: (un)balancing the public health interventions and human rights protection in the COVID 19 era in South Africa

It is commonly assumed that the European Convention on Human Rights, being a treaty of specific nature, embodies elements of European public order. However, there seems to be no authoritative or generally accepted definition of the public order of Europe, of its essential components, and of its relationship with the notion of international public order. This article will examine these questions. In pursuing this goal, the law-enforcement resources accumulated within the European system of human rights protection will be examined in the context of interaction between the public order of Europe as part of the law of the European Convention, and international public order as part of general international law.

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To what extent are complex public health interventions transferable across contexts? Protocol of an interdisciplinary study of a school-based nutritional health intervention in France

10.31235/osf.io/tde8b ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Michelle Kelly-Irving ◽

Emilie Gaborit ◽

Laurence Mabile ◽

Florent Beraut ◽

Thierry Lang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Political Science ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Real Life ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Nutrition Intervention ◽

Local Context ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

The Public ◽

Research Questions

Background: Governments across Europe have attempted to address the obesogenic environment through a variety of policy measures over the last two decades. A growing literature advocates for complex population interventions in public health. Such approaches embrace the need for interventions that can operate within the complexity of real-life situations as well as capturing and tracking interactions between an intervention and its context. Aim: This paper describes the original interdisciplinary methodological approach of a research project. The study was designed to ascertain whether complex public health interventions can be transferred from one local context to another while remaining loyal to their initial objectives. Method: An integrated interdisciplinary qualitative design was established to elaborate and answer the research questions. Three disciplinary strands were involved: Political Science, Public Health and Sociology. The three strands worked together while applying their specific methodological approaches. Results: The Political Science strand analysed the public health nutrition intervention taking a socio-historic policy studies top-down perspective. The Public Health Strand developed a method of analysing the three interventions through a co-construction process with the participants. This allows for the key functions, forms and context of each intervention to be identified and compared. The Sociology strand performed ethnographic methods to observe and analyse the deployment and activities linked with each intervention across sites. Together the three strands provide an interdisciplinary analysis of the length and breadth of the interventional scope with which to answer the research questions. Discussion: Here, we discuss the operational challenges involved in the project, including the difficulties encountered with the interdisciplinary approach, as well as field work challenges.

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Transmission dynamics of SARS-COV-2 in China: impact of public health interventions

10.1101/2020.03.24.20036285 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wenbao Wang ◽

Yiqin Chen ◽

Qi Wang ◽

Ping Cai ◽

Ye He ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Basic Reproductive Number ◽

Reproductive Number ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

The Public ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Actual Growth ◽

Global Threat ◽

The Impact

AbstractCOVID-19 has become a global pandemic. However, the impact of the public health interventions in China needs to be evaluated. We established a SEIRD model to simulate the transmission trend of China. In addition, the reduction of the reproductive number was estimated under the current forty public health interventions policies. Furthermore, the infection curve, daily transmission replication curve, and the trend of cumulative confirmed cases were used to evaluate the effects of the public health interventions. Our results showed that the SEIRD curve model we established had a good fit and the basic reproductive number is 3.38 (95% CI, 3.25–3.48). The SEIRD curve show a small difference between the simulated number of cases and the actual number; the correlation index (H2) is 0.934, and the reproductive number (R) has been reduced from 3.38 to 0.5 under the current forty public health interventions policies of China. The actual growth curve of new cases, the virus infection curve, and the daily transmission replication curve were significantly going down under the current public health interventions. Our results suggest that the current public health interventions of China are effective and should be maintained until COVID-19 is no longer considered a global threat.

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Variations in Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions by State Correlate with COVID-19 Disease Outcomes

10.1101/2021.07.28.21261286 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Annika J Avery ◽

Jiayi Wang ◽

Xinyu Ma ◽

Qingkai Pan ◽

Elizabeth E McGrady ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Respiratory Virus ◽

Intervention Strategies ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

The Public ◽

Disease Outcomes ◽

Effective Public Health ◽

Pharmaceutical Interventions

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the lack of understanding around effective public health interventions to curtail the spread of an emerging respiratory virus. Here, we examined the public health approaches implemented by each state to limit the spread and burden of COVID-19. Our analysis revealed that stronger statewide interventions positively correlated with fewer COVID-19 deaths, but some neighboring states with distinct intervention strategies had similar SARS-CoV-2 case trajectories. Additionally, more than two weeks is needed to observe an impact on SARS-CoV-2 cases after an intervention is implemented. These data provide a critical framework to inform future interventions during emerging pandemics.

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Can Trade Liberalization Enhance Freedom of Expression? A WTO Perspective on Censorship

DIRITTI UMANI E DIRITTO INTERNAZIONALE ◽

10.3280/dudi2012-003001 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 461-474

Author(s):

Angelica Bonfanti

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Intellectual Property ◽

Trade Liberalization ◽

Intellectual Property Rights ◽

Freedom Of Expression ◽

The Other ◽

Human Rights Protection ◽

The Public ◽

Rights Protection ◽

The One

Pursuant to their WTO commitments, Member States shall liberalize trade in goods, services and intellectual property rights, without any exceptions apart from those expressly provided by the covered agreements. Among them is the public morals exception. This paper aims to assess whether the implementation of the WTO commitments may have the effect of removing the filters imposed by some States through censorship, and whether the liberalization of international trade may contextually function as a means for enhancing freedom of expression. In so doing the paper examines how the public morals exception should be interpreted when censorship measures, on the one hand, and human rights protection, on the other, are at stake.

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The European Convention on Human Rights and International Public Order

Cambridge yearbook of European legal studies ◽

10.5235/152888712802784171 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 237-270

Author(s):

Alexander Orakhelashvili

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

European Convention ◽

Public Order ◽

Human Rights Protection ◽

The Public ◽

Rights Protection ◽

European Public ◽

Essential Components ◽

The Law ◽

Definition Of

It is commonly assumed that the European Convention on Human Rights, being a treaty of specific nature, embodies elements of European public order. However, there seems to be no authoritative or generally accepted definition of the public order of Europe, of its essential components, and of its relationship with the notion of international public order. This article will examine these questions. In pursuing this goal, the law-enforcement resources accumulated within the European system of human rights protection will be examined in the context of interaction between the public order of Europe as part of the law of the European Convention, and international public order as part of general international law.

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Immunization

Mayo Clinic Preventive Medicine and Public Health Board Review ◽

10.1093/med/9780199743018.003.0007 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 93-109

Author(s):

Claudia L. Swanton ◽

Barbara J. Timm ◽

Heidi K. Roeber Rice

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Hepatitis B ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Childhood Vaccination ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Vaccine Preventable Diseases ◽

The Public ◽

Awareness Campaigns ◽

China And India ◽

Effective Public Health

The use of vaccines can be traced back to China and India before 200 BC. Vaccination, now considered one of the most effective public health interventions, became common practice in the 1940s with the introduction of vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus. Since that time, many infectious diseases have been well controlled through vaccination. This chapter focuses on live and attenuated bacterial and viral vaccines and those that are composed of toxoids. Hepatitis B, pneumococcal disease, and influenza are the most common vaccine-preventable diseases in adults. Rates of childhood vaccination remain suboptimal. Ideally, vaccination begins before infants are dismissed home after birth. Targeted awareness campaigns can be used to educate providers and the public about the importance of immunization.

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Commentary: Just What is Critical Race Theory and What’s it Doing in a Progressive Field like Public Health?

Ethnicity & Disease ◽

10.18865/ed.28.s1.223 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (Supp 1) ◽

pp. 223 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Chandra L. Ford ◽

Collins O. Airhihenbuwa

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Critical Race Theory ◽

Research Method ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Critical Race ◽

Race Theory ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Educational Disparities ◽

The Public ◽

Critical Race Praxis

Gloria Ladson-Billings cautiously promotes the use of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to address racism’s contribution to educational disparities. Nearly a decade ago, we issued a similar call to the multidisciplinary field of public health. Public health touts its progressive roots and focus on equity, but do those efforts draw on CRT? To answer this question, we define CRT, describe its origin in the field of law, and review the ways its use has grown in the field of public health. Public health interventions and policies rely heavily on evidence; therefore, we re-introduce the semi-structured research method we developed to facilitate empirical application of CRT, ie, the Public Health Critical Race Praxis (PHCRP).Ethn Dis. 2018;28(Suppl 1):223-230; doi:10.18865/ed.28.S1.223

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Patterns of sedentary behavior and compliance with public health recommendations in Spanish adolescents: the AFINOS study

Cadernos de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/s0102-311x2012001400003 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 28 (12) ◽

pp. 2237-2244 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

David Martínez Gómez ◽

Oscar L. Veiga ◽

Belén Zapatera ◽

Verónica Cabanas-Sánchez ◽

Sonia Gomez-Martinez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Sedentary Behavior ◽

Computer Games ◽

Health Interventions ◽

The Internet ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Tv Viewing ◽

The Public ◽

Total Proportion ◽

Watching Tv

The aims of the present study were: (i) describe patterns of sedentary behavior in Spanish adolescents; and (ii) determine the proportion of adolescents that do not meet the public health recommendations for sedentary behavior. This study comprised 1,724 Spanish adolescents (882 girls), aged 13 to 16 years. Patterns of sedentary behavior (TV viewing, use of computer games, console games and surfing the Internet) were assessed using the HELENA sedentary behavior questionnaire. The total proportion of adolescents watching TV, using computer and console games, and surfing the internet for more than two hours daily was 24%, 9%, 7%, and 17%, respectively, on weekdays, and 50%, 22%, 16%, and 35%, respectively, on weekends. Over 63% of the adolescents from the study did not meet the recommendation for sedentary behavior (< 2 hours daily screen time) on weekdays and 87% did not comply with this recommendation on weekends. Since sedentary behavior plays a key role in adolescent health, public health interventions in Spain that take these factors into consideration are needed.

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Public Health Policies and Global COVID-19 Outbreak

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.428 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

M Komaroff ◽

A A Belhouchet

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

South Korea ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Health Policies ◽

P Value ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Policies ◽

The Public ◽

Health Measures ◽

The Usa

Abstract Background Was the world prepared to face the pandemic with a standard strategy? Objectives To evaluate the association between public health interventions against the COVID-19 outbreak and the outcome. Methods The observational study included data on incidence of confirmed COVID-19 cases (outcome) and public health non-pharmaceutical interventions (exposure) from five countries: France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the USA, December 31, 2019 through April 12, 2020. The public health measures were grouped into five categories: lockdown, movement restrictions, public health measures, social (including social distancing) and economic measures, and use of facial mask. The multiple linear regressions were utilized to test the hypothesis that implementation of some public health measures was associated with the change in the incident number of COVID-19 cases, 2-sided, α = 0.05. Results The incidence of COVID-19 would be significantly greater without lockdown (1.89 times, p-value <.0001), public health and economic measures (25.17, p-value <.0001), and using masks (11.93, p-value=0.002), assuming that all other public health policies are the same. The effectiveness increases with earlier time of implementation. Among considered countries, South Korea was the most efficacious, where all measures were statistically significantly efficacious (p-value <0.05). Conclusions The findings demonstrate an association between public health measures and the outcome. The experience from South Korea should be studied further as the most effective non-pharmacological approach to fight the disease. This paper is the first step to develop the standardized approach utilizing the public health interventions to be applied effectively to the globe population. Key messages the most effective measures to control the COVID-19, and future outbreaks. The effect of particular measure varied by country and time of implementation.

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