How do public health policies tackle alcohol-related harm: a review of 12 developed countries

Public health policies might thus be thought of as the policies that guide these ‘organized efforts’ to protect and improve health. The scope of such policies depends a good deal, however, on what is considered to be entailed by ‘organized efforts’. and on how centrally ‘organized efforts’ are understood to be related to efforts that are more decentralized, more informal, less organized, perhaps even ‘spontaneous’. The relative importance and legitimacy of centralized versus decentralized uses of knowledge in protecting and enhancing health is a common underlying theme in discussion of public health policy. This chapter discusses public health policy, and differences in outcomes, across different developed countries.

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Person, Place, and Time: Monitoring the Geographical and Temporal Context of Public Health Policies

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e507502013-086 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Chaiton

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Policies ◽

Temporal Context ◽

Public Health Policies

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

JAMIA Open ◽

10.1093/jamiaopen/ooaa074 ◽

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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Results from the European Union MAPEC_LIFE cohort study on air pollution and chromosomal damage in children: are public health policies sufficiently protective?

Environmental Sciences Europe ◽

10.1186/s12302-020-00352-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elisabetta Ceretti ◽

◽

Francesco Donato ◽

Claudia Zani ◽

Milena Villarini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Air Pollution ◽

European Union ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Health Policies ◽

The European Union ◽

Chromosomal Damage ◽

Public Health Policies

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Characterization of death from colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State/Legal Amazon/Brazil, 2000-2016

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.1130 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

R S Caló ◽

B S N Souza ◽

N D Galvão ◽

R A G Souza ◽

J C S Oliveira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Colorectal Cancer ◽

International Classification Of Diseases ◽

Health Policies ◽

Rectosigmoid Junction ◽

Mato Grosso ◽

Public Health Policies ◽

Goods And Services ◽

Classification Of Diseases ◽

Using Data

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer has been one of the cancers that most contributed to mortality, in both sexes in the world. In Brazil, cancer is among the top five causes of death and colorectal cancer is ranked on the fifth position. Of the Federative Units belonging to the Legal Amazon, Mato Grosso stands out for the higher adjusted incidence of colorectal cancer for both sexes. Thus, the objective is to characterize deaths from colorectal cancer, according to sociodemographic variables in Mato Grosso from 2000 to 2016. Methods A descriptive study was carried out, using data from the Mortality Information System, made available by the Department of Health of the Mato Grosso State. Deaths of all ages were selected, whose basic cause was identified by the codes from the International Classification of Diseases: (C.18) colon cancer, (C.19) rectosigmoid junction cancer, (C.20) rectal cancer or (C.21) anus cancer. Results Between 2000 and 2016, 31,607 deaths from cancer were registered. Of these, 1,750 (5.6%) were due to colorectal cancer. An increased number of deaths was observed at the end of the period, with a variation from 46 deaths in 2000 from 173 in 2016. Highest frequency was verified in men (51.3%), people aged 60 years or older (59.7%), black (54.6%), married (52.3%) and those with primary education (55.2%). According to Brazilian occupation classification options or those answers filled out on the death certificate, highest frequency were for “Retired” (26.2%), “Housewife” (23.1%), Agricultural/Forestry and Fisheries” (11.3%) and “Production of Industrial Goods and Services” (10.3%). Conclusions This study evidenced the increased number of deaths due to colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State, and identified priority groups for interventions through public health policies which should include screening and early diagnosis to cope with the disease. Key messages Evidenced the increased number of deaths due to colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State. Identified priority groups for interventions through public health policies.

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

International Journal of Law in Context ◽

10.1017/s1744552321000276 ◽

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.

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Exploring the use of workplaces to recruit “hard-to-reach” male drinkers to a survey on alcohol use and awareness of health messages

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10697-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Dance ◽

Charlotte Dack ◽

Celia Lasheras ◽

Cathy McMahon ◽

Paul Scott ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Financial Incentive ◽

Health Messages ◽

Heavy Episodic Drinking ◽

Future Research ◽

Recruitment Strategies ◽

Public Health Messages ◽

Alcohol Related Harm ◽

Related Harm

Abstract Background Lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups, particularly lower SES males, are at greater risk of alcohol-related harm than higher SES groups, despite drinking at the same level or less. However, they are rarely recruited for research through typical recruitment strategies. Consequently, limited evidence exists on patterns of alcohol use and effectiveness of public health messages for these groups. Using workplaces to recruit male drinkers from lower SES backgrounds may provide a feasible and accessible approach to research participation and enable improved understanding of alcohol use, drinking motives and acceptance of alcohol-related public health messages in this underrepresented and high-risk group. We investigated workplace-based strategies to recruit male drinkers from lower SES backgrounds. We also investigated their experiences and motivations for alcohol use, and acceptance of alcohol-related public health messages. Methods A feasibility element investigated the effectiveness of workplace-based strategies to recruit male drinkers from lower SES backgrounds in the south west of England. A pilot element investigated this population’s experiences and motivations for alcohol use, and acceptance of alcohol-related public health messages, through a mixed-methods survey. Results Feasibility results indicated that workplace-based recruitment strategies, including recruiting participants in person at their workplace and providing a financial incentive, effectively led to the recruitment of 84 male drinkers (70% recruitment rate), predominately from lower SES backgrounds, to a survey. Pilot results indicated that more than half of participants were at increasing risk of alcohol-related harm, and approximately one fifth engaged in weekly heavy episodic drinking. Participation in campaigns aimed at reducing alcohol use, and knowledge of government alcohol consumption guidelines, were low. Participants reported negative beliefs about alcohol including health effects, dependency and excess use, and financial and occupational effects. Positive beliefs about alcohol included relaxation, socialising, and enjoyment. Conclusions Workplace-based recruitment, using in-person recruitment and a financial incentive, may be a feasible strategy to recruit male drinkers from lower SES backgrounds. Pilot results may direct larger scale research aiming to understand alcohol use in this population and inform targeted public health messages. Workplace-based recruitment may represent a promising avenue for future research aiming to tackle inequalities in participation in alcohol research.

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