CDC Releases a National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection, Prevention, and Management of Infertility

Abstract Background National public health agencies are required to prioritise infectious diseases for prevention and control. We applied the prioritisation method recommended by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control to rank infectious diseases, according to their relative importance for surveillance and public health, to inform future public health action in Belgium. Methods We applied the multi-criteria-decision-analysis approach. A working group of epidemiologists and statisticians from Belgium (n = 6) designed a balanced set of prioritisation criteria. A panel of Belgian experts (n = 80) allocated in an online survey each criteria a weight, according to perceived relative importance. Next, experts (n = 37) scored each disease against each criteria in an online survey, guided by disease-specific factsheets referring the period 2010–2016 in Belgium. The weighted sum of the criteria’s scores composed the final weighted score per disease, on which the ranking was based. Sensitivity analyses quantified the impact of eight alternative analysis scenarios on the top-20 ranked diseases. We identified criteria and diseases associated with data-gaps as those with the highest number of blank answers in the scoring survey. Principle components of the final weighted score were identified. Results Working groups selected 98 diseases and 18 criteria, structured in five criteria groups. The diseases ranked highest were (in order) pertussis, human immunodeficiency virus infection, hepatitis C and hepatitis B. Among the five criteria groups, overall the highest weights were assigned to ‘impact on the patient’, followed by ‘impact on public health’, while different perceptions were identified between clinicians, microbiologists and epidemiologists. Among the 18 individual criteria, ‘spreading potential’ and ‘events requiring public health action’ were assigned the highest weights. Principle components clustered with thematic disease groups. Notable data gaps were found among hospital-related diseases. Conclusions We ranked infectious diseases using a standardised reproducible approach. The diseases ranked highest are included in current public health programs, but additional reflection for example about needs among risk groups is recommended. Cross-reference of the obtained ranking with current programs is needed to verify whether resources and activities map priority areas. We recommend to implement this method in a recurrent evaluation cycle of national public health priorities.

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Potassium iodate levels in processed edible salts available in retail shops throughout Kenya, 2013

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980018000915 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (13) ◽

pp. 2482-2484 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gerald Gikonyo Githinji ◽

Nancy Njine ◽

John Njihia ◽

John Mwihia ◽

James Ransom

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Potassium Iodate ◽

Public Health Action ◽

The Status ◽

National Public Health ◽

Health Action ◽

Field Workers ◽

Global Public Health Problem

AbstractObjectiveIodine-deficiency disorders, due to insufficiency of iodine in the diet, are a global public health problem. The Kenyan Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act stipulates that processed retail-available edible salts contain 50–84 mg of potassium iodate (KIO3) per kilogram of salt. The present study determined the status of KIO3 levels in commercial salts, for public health action.Design/Setting/SubjectsAs part of the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2013, field workers collected salt samples from seven different local manufacturers/packers across eight regions of the country and sent them to the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) for KIO3 titration analysis.ResultsA total of 539 samples were collected and analysed at NPHL. The samples had a mean KIO3 of 62 mg/kg. Thirty-three (6 %) samples had KIO3 of <25 mg/kg; ninety-eight (18 %) had 25–49 mg/kg; 335 (62 %) had 50–84 mg/kg; and seventy-three (13 %) had KIO3 of >84 mg/kg.ConclusionsThe study found that 62 % of salts sampled met the Kenyan standards, 24 % were below the required limits and 13 % were above the recommended range. Continuous monitoring of edible salts at the retail level is important to detect brands not adhering to standards and trace them for remedy. However, governmental efforts should be directed to the quality control and quality assurance of the salt-manufacturing industries.

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Preparedness for SARS in the UK in 2003

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2004.1485 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 359 (1447) ◽

pp. 1131-1132 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

David R. Harper

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Southern China ◽

Control Measures ◽

World Health ◽

Public Health Response ◽

Public Health Action ◽

National Public Health ◽

Health Action ◽

Health Organization ◽

The Uk

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has been described as the first major emerging infectious disease of the twenty–first century. Having initially emerged, almost unnoticed, in southern China, it rapidly spread across the globe. It severely tested national public health and health systems. However, it also resulted in rapid, intensive international collaboration, led by the World Health Organization, to elucidate its characteristics and cause and to contain its spread. The UK mounted a vigorous public health response. Some particular issues concerned: the practicalities of implementing exit screening had this been required; the likely efficacy of this and other control measures; the legal base for public health action; and the surge capacity in all systems should the disease have taken hold in the UK. We have used this experience of 2003 to inform our preparation of a framework for an integrated, escalating response to a future re–emergence of SARS according to the levels of disease activity worldwide. Recent cases confirm that SARS has not ‘gone away’. We cannot be complacent about our contingency planning.

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Non-governmental organizations as key partners in mental health in Europe

Die Psychiatrie ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1670733 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 11 (01) ◽

pp. 27-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. E. Baumann

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Policy ◽

Policy Development ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Action Plan ◽

Mental Health Policy ◽

Governmental Organizations ◽

Non Governmental Organizations ◽

Health Action ◽

Health Action Plan

SummaryThe shift towards a rights-based approach to health which has taken place over the past decade has strengthened the role of civil society and their organizations in raising and claiming the entitlements of different social groups. It has become obvious that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are central to any successful multi-stakeholder partnership, and they have become more recognized as key actors in health policy and programme development and implementation. There is a broad spectrum of NGOs active in the area of mental health in Europe which aim to empower people with mental health problems and their families, give them a voice in health policy development and implementation and in service design and delivery, to raise awareness and fight stigma and discrimination, and foster implementation of obligations set by internationally agreed mental health policy documents. With the endorsement of the Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 (20) and the European Mental Health Action Plan (19) stakeholders agree to strengthen capacity of service user and family advocacy groups and to secure their participation as partners in activities for mental health promotion, disorder prevention and improving mental health services.

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