scholarly journals Policies for tackling health inequities in migrants in an irregular situation: learning from Italy

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
F Sesti ◽  
A Rosano ◽  
D Ingleby ◽  
G Baglio ◽  
R Bell ◽  
...  

Abstract Issue With increasing of numbers of people moving in Europe and around the world, the health of migrants has become a key global public-health issue. Migrants in an irregular situation (MIS) represent an important part of the migration phenomenon, whether they have become irregular by entering a country without authorisation or by overstaying a visa, including whose applied unsuccessfully for asylum. Description of the problem Overstaying of visas is not unusual in EU countries and during 2015 and 2016 in particular, many countries experienced a large number of unauthorised entrants. Health policies for MIS are increasingly a matter of concern. Using the 2015 Migrant Integration Policy Index Health strand (MIPEX HS) it is possible to conduct an analysis of health policies, focusing on access to health services by MIS. Results Among the 34 European countries covered by the MIPEX HS, Italy’s overall score of 65 is exceeded only by Switzerland (70) and Norway (67). Averaging the indicators of access for MIS, Italy obtains the highest score (83), followed by Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland with 67. Its score for legal entitlements to health care is 75 (the same as Sweden), while reporting of MIS to the immigration authorities is prohibited and there are no sanctions against helping them. However, legislation introduced by the new government in 2018 has restricted some of their rights. Lessons Current migration to Europe requires dealing with short-term health needs as well as strengthening public health and health systems in the long term. This presentation will discuss the lessons that can be learned from the comparative analysis of health policies for MIS using the MIPEX HS. Key messages Affordable health care is a human right, which should not be denied to any migrant. Policy analysis plays a key role in identifying interventions for promoting health equity.

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 0589-0595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Carla Borghi ◽  
Angela Maria Alvarez ◽  
Sonia Silva Marcon ◽  
Lígia Carreira

OBJECTIVEDescribing how Kaingang seniors and their primary caregivers experience access to public health services.METHODA qualitative study guided by ethnography, conducted with 28 elderly and 19 caregivers. Data were collected between November 2010 and February 2013 through interviews and participative observation analyzed by ethnography.RESULTSThe study revealed the benefits and difficulties of the elderly access to health services, the facility to obtain health care resources such as appointments, medications and routine procedures, and the difficulties such as special assistance service problems and delays in the dispatching process between reference services.CONCLUSIONThe importance of knowing and understanding the cultural specificities of the group in order to offer greater opportunities for the elderly access to health services was reinforced.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 311-317
Author(s):  
Mírian Dias Moreira e Silva ◽  
Keidson Rodrigues de Brito ◽  
André Dias Moreira e Silva ◽  
GINA ANDRADE ABDALA ◽  
Maria Dyrce Dias Meira

Introduction: the demands for goods and services aimed at the health needs of the elderly require a different perspective that considers the human being in all its dimensions: biopsychosocial and spiritual. Objective: to reflect on the assistance strategies that impact comprehensive care for the elderly, based on public health policies. Methodology: reflective essay that contextualizes comprehensive care for the elderly. Results: the content is presented in four sections: "Population aging in Brazil" "Public Health Policies: a brief historical recovery"; "Comprehensiveness in health care: practices and challenges" and, finally, "Training to work in the health of the elderly and communication strategies". Conclusion: it is clear that different care strategies, including verbal and non-verbal communication, contribute to greater comprehensiveness and humanization in the care of the elderly. It also appears that public health policies depend on intersectoral integration to provide care for the elderly in a holistic way.


2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 375-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennan A. Phillips

Increasing rates for chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infections pose a global public health issue. Untreated chlamydia infections create an economic burden on the health care system, employers, and society. Occupational and environmental health nurses can help promote health awareness about chlamydia, teach prevention strategies, and encourage routine screening to slow its spread.


2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Chukwuma Oyem ◽  
Patrick Chukwuyenum Ichipi-Ifukor ◽  
Chukubueze Caleb Obi-Ojinika

Context: The outbreak of the highly infectious COVID-19 has led to a global public health and economic crisis, especially in developing countries. Due to the global burden and spread and the high mortality rate of the virus, as well as an inadequate mental health care system in Nigeria, inhabitants often experience fear, depression, and anxiety that, if left unaddressed, may lead to long-term consequences. Although depression was a concerning issue in Nigeria before COVID-19, the pandemic has caused a surge in depression cases. This review highlighted the possible causes of depression among Nigerians during the COVID-19 pandemic and identified potential mitigating interventions to prevent depression. Evidence Acquisition: We searched PubMed for the articles published from January 2019 to September 2020 using the terms of “depression”, “COVID-19”, and “Nigeria”. The articles resulting from these searches and the relevant references cited in those articles were reviewed. Results: Nigerians are likely to fall into depression due to the challenges and limitations affecting the economy and development of Nigeria. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 struggle, providing sound mental health services for individuals is imperative to maintain nations’ mental health for a more rapid recovery across various measures of societal well-being post-COVID-19.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1329878X2096771
Author(s):  
Nhamo Anthony Mhiripiri ◽  
Ratidzo Midzi

Crises times have an uncanny way of giving salience to struggles for democracy. The new coronavirus – also known as COVID-19 – became a global public health issue that stirred other democratic concerns from persons living with disabilities who wanted access to health information for their survival. People living with various types of disabilities have special communication and information needs, some of which require specific technologies, formats and language. The pandemic got people concerned about their safety and survival. This article contextualises and critiques US, Britain and Zimbabwean activists representing persons living with disabilities’ reactions to the manner their public authorities availed COVID-19 health messages to disabled constituencies via mainstream television. It compares how suitable was televised content from US, Britain, Zimbabwean and New Zealand stations for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, before exploring complaints and lawsuits from the disability constituency pertaining to access to COVID-19 health information.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 684-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Hino ◽  
Jaqueline de Oliveira Santos ◽  
Anderson da Silva Rosa

ABSTRACT Objective: To know the Brazilian scientific production of the last ten years (2007 to 2016) about people who experience street situations under the health gaze. Method: Integrative literature review using the descriptors: street people, health policy and public health. We analyzed 21 articles available in the Virtual Health Library. Results: Four categories of analysis emerged. There was an increase in the frequency of published work on the subject, showing that the experience of living on the street makes people vulnerable to various diseases and health problems and, in addition, increases the difficulties of access to health services. Conclusion: There was an increase in the discussion of this topic due to the increase in the number of published studies. Despite the existence of public health policies directed to this social group, much still needs to be done to guarantee the health of this population.


Author(s):  
Diana Hart

All countries are faced with the problem of the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCD): implement prevention strategies eff ectively, keep up the momentum with long term benefi ts at the individual and the population level, at the same time tackling hea lth inequalities. Th e aff ordability of therapy and care including innovative therapies is going to be one of the key public health priorities in the years to come. Germany has taken in the prevention and control of NCDs. Germany’s health system has a long history of guaranteeing access to high-quality treatment through universal health care coverage. Th r ough their membership people are entitled to prevention and care services maintaining and restoring their health as well as long term follow-up. Like in many other countries general life expectancy has been increasing steadily in Germany. Currently, the average life expectancy is 83 and 79 years in women and men, respectively. Th e other side of the coin is that population aging is strongly associated with a growing burden of disease from NCDs. Already over 70 percent of all deaths in Germany are caused by four disease entities: cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. Th ese diseases all share four common risk factors: smoking, alcohol abuse, lack of physical activity and overweight. At the same time, more and more people become long term survivors of disease due to improved therapy and care. Th e German Government and public health decision makers are aware of the need for action and have responded by initiating and implementing a wide spectrum of activities. One instrument by strengthening primary prevention is the Prevention Health Care Act. Its overarching aim is to prevent NCDs before they can manifest themselves by strengthening primary prevention and health promotion in diff erent sett ings. One of the main emphasis of the Prevention Health Care Act is the occupational health promotion at the workplace.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 117863022110183
Author(s):  
Hamidreza Aghababaeian ◽  
Abbas Ostadtaghizadeh ◽  
Ali Ardalan ◽  
Ali Asgary ◽  
Mehry Akbary ◽  
...  

Background: Dust storms and their impacts on health are becoming a major public health issue. The current study examines the health impacts of dust storms around the world to provide an overview of this issue. Method: In this systematic review, 140 relevant and authoritative English articles on the impacts of dust storms on health (up to September 2019) were identified and extracted from 28 968 articles using valid keywords from various databases (PubMed, WOS, EMBASE, and Scopus) and multiple screening steps. Selected papers were then qualitatively examined and evaluated. Evaluation results were summarized using an Extraction Table. Results: The results of the study are divided into two parts: short and long-term impacts of dust storms. Short-term impacts include mortality, visitation, emergency medical dispatch, hospitalization, increased symptoms, and decreased pulmonary function. Long-term impacts include pregnancy, cognitive difficulties, and birth problems. Additionally, this study shows that dust storms have devastating impacts on health, affecting cardiovascular and respiratory health in particular. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that dust storms have significant public health impacts. More attention should be paid to these natural hazards to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate these hazardous events to reduce their negative health impacts. Registration: PROSPERO registration number CRD42018093325


Author(s):  
Rostam Jalali ◽  
Amin Hosseinian-Far ◽  
Masoud Mohammadi

Abstract Background Translating research into practice is a central priority within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap. The underlying aim of the NIH Roadmap is to accelerate the movement of scientific findings into practical health care provisions through translational research. Main text Despite the advances in health sciences, emerging infectious diseases have become more frequent in recent decades. Furthermore, emerging and reemerging pathogens have led to several global public health challenges. A question, and to an extent a concern, arises from this: Why our health care system is experiencing several challenges in encountering the coronavirus outbreak, despite the ever-growing advances in sciences, and the exponential rise in the number of published articles in the first quartile journals and even the ones among the top 1%? Conclusion Two responses could be potentially provided to the above question: First, there seems to be a significant gap between our theoretical knowledge and practice. And second that many scholars and scientists publish papers only to have a longer list of publications, and therefore publishing is viewed as a personal objective, rather than for improving communities’ public health.


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