scholarly journals Assessing Age-Friendly Community Progress: What Have We Learned?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 559-559
Author(s):  
Patricia Oh ◽  
Kathy Black
Keyword(s):  
Health Equity ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Network ◽  
World Health ◽  
Evaluation Measures ◽  
The Past ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
Reported Health ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract The Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities has grown steadily over the past decade across the United States, however surprisingly little is known regarding their accomplishments to date. We utilized content analysis to assess the progress reported by American age-friendly communities (n = 30) that joined by end of year 2015 using the Age-Friendly Community Evidence-based Tool with expanded program evaluation measures including health equity as defined by the World Health Organization. We employed deductive analytic techniques to assess reported community performance in eleven thematic areas across the range of structures and processes that characterize age-friendly efforts. We found strong evidence in the areas of leadership and governance, harnessed resources, application of age-friendly framework, and in multisector collaboration as well as reported provisions. All of the communities reported health equity aims, particularly in promoting accessible physical environments and social inclusion efforts. Our analysis further revealed areas for continued improvement.

Building an Age Friendly Community

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Burr Bradley ◽  
Kelly G. Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Global Network ◽  
World Health ◽  
Collaborative Communication ◽  
Outdoor Spaces ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Many communities are responding to population aging by investing in ways to make their cities more “age-friendly.” A key component of this effort revolves around collaborative communication strategy. This article reviews the World Health Organization (WHO) efforts through its Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities to engage and assist cities in planning for the future. In collaboration with partners from developed and developing countries, WHO identified features of age-friendly cities in eight domains: outdoor spaces; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community support and health services. The author discusses how one city, Bowling Green, KY, is implementing the WHO framework. Particular attention is paid to how strategies are being developed to increase communication and information sharing around the last domain, health care. This article concludes with implications for using online modalities to enhance planning for age-friendly communities.

scholarly journals Trends in Health Equity Among Children in the United States, 1997–2018

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel W. Anderson ◽  
Frederick J. Zimmerman
Keyword(s):  
Health Equity ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Past ◽  
Individual Health ◽  
Income Disparities ◽  
Interview Survey ◽  
Reported Health ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Racial Ethnic ◽  
Indicator Score

Abstract Objectives Health equity is crucial to population health. To achieve this aim, extensive monitoring efforts beyond traditional disparities research are required. This analysis assesses trends in health equity for children from 1997 to 2018. Methods Health equity in a given year is calculated using a previously developed measure as the mean weighted departure of individual health from the best achievable level of health. This criterion is defined as the median health of the most socially privileged identifiable group: white, non-Latinx boys in upper-income households. Using more than 20 years of data from the National Health Interview Survey, we apply this methodology to six measures of child health: parent-reported health status, school days missed due to illness or injury in the past year, a strength and difficulties questionnaire score, emotional difficulties, a toddler mental health indicator score, and toddler depression. We separately calculate racial/ethnic and income disparities. Monte Carlo simulation is used to assess whether trends are statistically significant. Results Health equity among children increased gradually over the past 2 decades, with five of the six measures demonstrating upward trends. Improvements in health equity are stronger among younger children (age 0–3 and 4–7). Unlike previous work examining adults, both types of disparities narrowed over the study period. Conclusions for Practice Progress on health equity requires accountability to an objective metric. This analysis suggests some improvement over the past two decades, although these gains are under threat from potential decreases in government spending on programs affecting children and the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Morphological Characteristics, Classifications and Difficulties in the Use of Diagnostic Criteria for Serrated Lesions of the Large Intestine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar de Souza Bastos Junior ◽  
Vera Lucia Nunes Pannain ◽  
Adriana Caroli-Bottino
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Criteria ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
World Health ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Serrated Adenoma ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Serrated Lesions ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract Introduction Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is the most common gastrointestinal neoplasm in the world, accounting for 15% of cancer-related deaths. This condition is related to different molecular pathways, among them the recently described serrated pathway, whose characteristic entities, serrated lesions, have undergone important changes in their names and diagnostic criteria in the past thirty years. The multiplicity of denominations and criteria over the last years may be responsible for the low interobserver concordance (IOC) described in the literature. Objectives The present study aims to describe the evolution in classification of serrated lesions, based on the last three publications of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the reproducibility of these criteria by pathologists, based on the evaluation of the IOC. Methods A search was conducted in the PubMed, ResearchGate and Portal Capes databases, with the following terms: sessile serrated lesion; serrated lesions; serrated adenoma; interobserver concordance; and reproducibility. Articles published since 1990 were researched. Results and Discussion The classification of serrated lesions in the past thirty years showed different denominations and diagnostic criteria. The reproducibility and IOC of these criteria in the literature, based on the kappa coefficient, varied in most studies, from very poor to moderate. Conclusions Interobserver concordance and the reproducibility of microscopic criteria may represent a limitation for the diagnosis and appropriate management of these lesions. It is necessary to investigate diagnostic tools to improve the performance of the pathologist's evaluation, for better concordance, and, consequently, adequate diagnosis and treatment.

scholarly journals Scoping review of the World Health Organization’s underlying equity discourses: apparent ambiguities, inadequacy, and contradictions

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Amri ◽  
Geneviève Jessiman-Perreault ◽  
Arjumand Siddiqi ◽  
Patricia O’Campo ◽  
Theresa Enright ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Equity ◽  
Capabilities Approach ◽  
World Health ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Hand Search ◽  
Ovid Medline ◽  
Concept Of Health ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract Background and objective Given the heightened rhetorical prominence the World Health Organization has afforded to equity in the past half-century, it is important to better understand how equity has been referred to and its conceptual underpinning, which may have broader global implications. Eligibility criteria Articles were included if they met inclusion criteria — chiefly the explicit discussion of the WHO’s concept of health equity, for example in terms of conceptualization and/or definitions. Articles which mentioned health equity in the context of WHO’s programs, policies, and so on, but did not discuss its conceptualization or definition were excluded. Sources of evidence We focused on peer-reviewed literature by scanning Ovid MEDLINE and SCOPUS databases, and supplementing by hand-search. Results Results demonstrate the WHO has held — and continues to hold — ambiguous, inadequate, and contradictory views of equity that are rooted in different theories of social justice. Conclusions Moving forward, the WHO should revaluate its conceptualization of equity and normative position, and align its work with Amartya Sen’s Capabilities Approach, as it best encapsulates the broader views of the organization. Further empirical research is needed to assess the WHO interpretations and approaches to equity.

scholarly journals Malaria continues to select for sickle cell trait in Central Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (22) ◽  
pp. 7051-7054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Elguero ◽  
Lucrèce M. Délicat-Loembet ◽  
Virginie Rougeron ◽  
Céline Arnathau ◽  
Benjamin Roche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sickle Cell ◽  
Sickle Cell Trait ◽  
Genetic Disorder ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
The United States ◽  
Malaria Prevalence ◽  
Current Data ◽  
World Health ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Health Organization

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder that poses a serious health threat in tropical Africa, which the World Health Organization has declared a public health priority. Its persistence in human populations has been attributed to the resistance it provides to Plasmodium falciparum malaria in its heterozygous state, called sickle cell trait (SCT). Because of migration, SCT is becoming common outside tropical countries: It is now the most important genetic disorder in France, affecting one birth for every 2,400, and one of the most common in the United States. We assess the strength of the association between SCT and malaria, using current data for both SCT and malaria infections. A total of 3,959 blood samples from 195 villages distributed over the entire Republic of Gabon were analyzed. Hemoglobin variants were identified by using HPLCy (HPLC). Infections by three species of Plasmodium were detected by PCR followed by sequencing of a 201-bp fragment of cytochrome b. An increase of 10% in P. falciparum malaria prevalence is associated with an increase by 4.3% of SCT carriers. An increase of 10 y of age is associated with an increase by 5.5% of SCT carriers. Sex is not associated with SCT. These strong associations show that malaria remains a selective factor in current human populations, despite the progress of medicine and the actions undertaken to fight this disease. Our results provide evidence that evolution is still present in humans, although this is sometimes questioned by scientific, political, or religious personalities.

scholarly journals Tobacco Control in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Changing the Present to Help the Future

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 187-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Hipple Walters ◽  
Ionela Petrea ◽  
Harry Lando
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
World Health ◽  
Second Hand Smoke ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Second Hand Smoke Exposure ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Low And Middle Income

While the global smoking rate has dropped in the past 30 years (from 41.2% of men in 1980 to 31.1% in 2012 and from 10.6% of women in 1980 to 6.2% in 2012), the number of tobacco smokers has increased due to population growth (Ng et al., 2014). This tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure continue to harm people worldwide. Those harmed are often vulnerable: children, those living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), those with existing diseases, etc. As noted by the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 80% of those who smoke live in a LMIC (World Health Organization, 2017). Furthermore, it is often those who are more socio-economically disadvantaged or less educated in LMICs that are exposed to second-hand smoke at home and work (Nazar, Lee, Arora, & Millett, 2015).

PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING AND MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1951 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 570-572
Keyword(s):  
Premature Infants ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Multiple Birth ◽  
Expert Committee ◽  
Medical Social Work ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
Health Nursing ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Intrinsic Variable

IN THE summary of the report of the Expert Committee on Prematurity of the World Health Organization, published in this column in February 1951, Dr. Ethel Dunham indicated the concern of the Expert Committee in regard to uniformity of information on the incidence and mortality of prematurity. The need for uniformity is particularly urgent in a field where there are so many intrinsic variable factors. It has been shown time and again that the ability of a premature infant to survive, under the best of care, is closely correlated with the birth weight, which in itself reflects the stage of maturity. In turn, the stage of maturity at a given weight is affected by sex, race, and whether the child is a single or one of a multiple birth. Uniformly, at a particular stage of maturity, male infants are larger than female, single births are larger than multiple births and, in the United States, white babies are larger than Negro babies. These considerations underline the danger of misinterpretation of so-called over-all rates for the incidence of prematurity and for the mortality of premature infants. For example, at any given weight, Negro premature infants are probably more mature and consequently have a better chance of surviving.

The Ethics of COVID-19 Vaccine Passports

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Joseph Meaney ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
World Health ◽  
Medical Decisions ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Divided Society ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

COVID-19 vaccine passports run the risk of creating a divided society where social privileges or restrictions based on “fitness” lead to discrimination based on immunization status. Individuals have a strong right to be free of coercion to take a COVID-19 vaccine, and we should be very leery of further invasion of private medical decisions. These concerns are shared both internationally and in the United States, and the World Health Organization, the Biden administration, and many US governors oppose COVID-19 vaccine credentials. In addition, regulations for COVID-19 vaccine credentials face practical barriers, including lack of access globally, especially among the poor; and lack of scientific data on the efficacy of these vaccines.

Impact of a poignant pandemic COVID-19 on Indian Economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Krati Sethi ◽  
Manas Roy
Keyword(s):  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
World Health ◽  
Special Treatment ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Growth Path ◽  
Indian Economy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Consumption Demand

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused due to a “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus -2 virus” (SARS-COV-2). People who fall ill will experience mild to moderate fever and will retrieve without any special treatment. This pandemic was first seen at Wuhan, China in December 2019. After seen it’s dreadfulness it was declared as a “public health emergency of international concern” (World Health Organization, WHO). As on 1 May 2020 more than 35000 cases have been reported in India resulting in more than 1147 deaths in India till date. It has also led severe socio-economic global disruption. Presently significant slowdown is experienced by Indian economy over the past few quarters.To rectify sluggish consumption demand and investment a numeral of incentive measures has been taken to retrieve the economy towards prosperity. The last quarter of the current fiscal exhibits robust prospect of improvement. However, the new COVID-19 epidemic has contrived the recovery exceptionally arduous in the near to middle terms. The pandemic has thrown new threats for the Indian economy from demand as well as from the supply side. This study is descriptive. The objective of the current study is to find out the impacts of the outbreak of COVID-19 on different sectors of our country. In conclusion, this study suggests policy measures to safeguard the Indian economy from the outbreak of it and bring it back on the growth path.

Accounting for the Rising Caesarean Section Rate in Canada: What Are the Roles of Changing Needs, Practices, and Incentives?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Baker ◽  
Maripier Isabelle ◽  
Mark Stabile ◽  
Sara Allin
Keyword(s):  
Caesarean Section ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Caesarean Section Rate ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Strong Increase ◽  
Primary Determinant ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Health Organization

In most high-income countries, including Canada, the share of births by Caesarean section (C‑section) has risen over the past decades to far exceed World Health Organization recommendations of the proportion justified on medical grounds (15 percent). Although unnecessary C-sections represent an important cost for health care systems, they are not associated with clear benefits for the mother and the child and can sometimes represent additional risks. Drawing on administrative records of nearly four million births in Canada, as well as macro data from the United States and Australia, we provide a comprehensive account of rising C-section rates. We explicitly consider the contributions of the main factors brought forward in the policy literature, including changing characteristics of mothers, births, and physicians as well as changing financial incentives for C-section deliveries. These factors account for at most one-half of the increase in C-section rates. The majority of the remaining increase in C-sections over the period 1994–2011 occurred in the early 2000s. We suggest that some event or shock in the early 2000s is likely the primary determinant of the recent strong increase in the C-section rate in Canada.

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