Advocacy for patients with headache

2019 ◽  
pp. 339-346
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Steiner ◽  
Jes Olesen

Despite irrefutable evidence of the high prevalence, burden, and cost of headache disorders, advocacy for headache—for more headache research and better headache care—has been largely in vain so far. Headache receives little respect and few resources. There are scientific, public health, and financial arguments for change, which are evidence-based and sound. They make compelling messages, which nonetheless have not yet reached the consciousness of health policymakers. Headache disorders are the least funded of all neurological disorders, while accounting for more disability than all other neurological disorders combined. This is a remediable failure. The worldwide programme of activities of the Global Campaign against Headache, and its collaboration with the Global Burden of Disease studies, are generating an unstoppable flow of evidence to support change. The World Health Organization has acknowledged the global public health importance of headache, and committed to advocacy on its behalf at macro level. A momentum is building. The arguments for change are, for now, unanswerable, but they have to be put to those who can make change happen, and repeated again and again. If they work with these organizations, the many national and supranational professional and lay groups will find previously closed doors are, at last, slowly opening.

2021 ◽  
pp. 19-23
Author(s):  
Donizete Tavares Da Silva ◽  
Priscila De Sousa Barros Lima ◽  
Renato Sampaio Mello Neto ◽  
Gustavo Magalhães Valente ◽  
Débora Dias Cabral ◽  
...  

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (1) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic and a threat to global public health (2). The virus mainly affects the lungs and can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In addition, coronavirus 2 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARSCOV2) also has devastating effects on other important organs, including the circulatory system, brain, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and liver


Author(s):  
Mythri Halappa

AbstractMedications are one of the most important tools in public health practice. Since the 1980s, self‑medication is of prime public health importance as World Health Organization, in order to reduce the burden on health care professionals changed some prescription drugs to be sold over the counter. Each drug has its own advantages & disadvantages. Hence, always they have to be taken with caution. Considering this a recent trend has increased in surveying the prevalence of self medication. Hence, this review critically evaluated the studies to put a light on basic concept of self medication.Key words: Self medication, Drug abuse, Self care, Substance abuse, Antibiotic usage. 


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudeepa Abeysinghe

ArgumentScientific uncertainty is fundamental to the management of contemporary global risks. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the start of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. This declaration signified the risk posed by the spread of the H1N1 virus, and in turn precipitated a range of actions by global public health actors. This article analyzes the WHO's public representation of risk and examines the centrality of scientific uncertainty in the case of H1N1. It argues that the WHO's risk narrative reflected the context of scientific uncertainty in which it was working. The WHO argued that it was attempting to remain faithful to the scientific evidence, and the uncertain nature of the threat. However, as a result, the WHO's public risk narrative was neither consistent nor socially robust, leading to the eventual contestation of the WHO's position by other global public health actors, most notably the Council of Europe. This illustrates both the significance of scientific uncertainty in the investigation of risk, and the difficulty for risk managing institutions in effectively acting in the face of this uncertainty.


2020 ◽  

In the past 100 years, the world has faced four distinctly different pandemics: the Spanish flu of 1918-1919, the SARS pandemic of 2003, the H1N1 or “swine flu” pandemic of 2012, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Each public health crisis exposed specific systemic shortfalls and provided public health lessons for future events. The Spanish flu revealed a nursing shortage and led to a great appreciation of nursing as a profession. SARS showed the importance of having frontline clinicians be able to work with regulators and those producing guidelines. H1N1 raised questions about the nature of a global organization such as the World Health Organization in terms of the benefits and potential disadvantages of leading the fight against a long-term global public health threat. In the era of COVID-19, it seems apparent that we are learning about both the blessing and curse of social media.


Author(s):  
Calvin W. L. Ho ◽  
Tsung-Ling Lee

Abstract Recognizing that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious threat to global public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has adopted a Global Action Plan (GAP) at the May 2015 World Health Assembly. Underscoring that systematic misuse and overuse of drugs in human medicine and food production is a global public health concern, the GAP-AMR urges concerted efforts across governments and private sectors, including pharmaceutical industry, medical professionals, agricultural industry, among others. The GAP has a threefold aim: (1) to ensure a continuous use of effective and safe medicines for treatment and prevention of infectious diseases; (2) to encourage a responsible use of medicines; and (3) to engage countries to develop their national actions on AMR in keeping with the recommendations. While the GAP is a necessary step to enable multilateral actions, it must be supported by effective governance in order to realize the proposed aims. This chapter has a threefold purpose: (1) To identify regulatory principles embedded in key WHO documents relating to AMR and the GAP-AMR; (2) To consider the legal and regulatory actions or interventions that countries could use to strengthen their regulatory lever for AMR containment; and (3) To highlight the crucial role of the regulatory lever in enabling other levers under a whole-of-system approach. Effective AMR containment requires a clearer understanding of how the regulatory lever could be implemented or enabled within health systems, as well as how it underscores and interacts with other levers within a whole-of-system approach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Solomon ◽  
Claudia Nannini

Participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) is a multifaceted matter and should be understood as not only referring to the governance of WHO, but also to its scientific and technical work as well as its collaborative efforts towards advancing global public health more generally. The article is concerned, in particular, with the legal and political framework surrounding attendance and participation of states and various entities in the governing bodies of the Organization, at the global and regional level. It shows that participation in the governance of WHO is still today a domain reserved to the determination of its Member States. At the same time, solutions have been found and continued efforts are necessary to take into account geopolitical considerations and to ensure a meaningful and inclusive participation of all relevant actors in global health discussions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 873-883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reuben Granich ◽  
Somya Gupta

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis syndemic remains a global public health threat. Separate HIV and tuberculosis (TB) global targets have been set; however, success will depend on achieving combined disease control objectives and care continua. The objective of this study was to review available policy, budgets, and data to reconceptualize TB and HIV disease control objectives by combining HIV and TB care continua. For 22 World Health Organization (WHO) TB and TB/HIV priority countries, we used 2015 data from the HIV90–90–90watch website, UNAIDS AIDSinfo, and WHO 2016 and 2017 Global TB Reports. Global resources available in TB and HIV/TB activities for 2003–2017 were collected from publicly available sources. In 22 high-burden countries, people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy ranged from 9 to 70%; viral suppression was 38–63%. TB treatment success ranged from 71 to 94% with 14 (81% HIV/TB burden) countries above 80% TB treatment success. From 2003 to 2017, reported global international and domestic resources for HIV-associated TB and TB averaged $2.85 billion per year; the total for 2003–2017 was 43 billion dollars. Reviewing combined HIV and TB targets demonstrate disease control progress and challenges. Using an integrated HIV and TB continuum supports HIV and TB disease control efforts focused on improving both individual and public health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (20) ◽  
pp. 3443-3446
Author(s):  
Rizky Keumala Ansari Nasution ◽  
Badai Buana Nasution ◽  
Munar Lubis ◽  
Inke Nadia D. Lubis

BACKGROUND: Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection remains of public health importance, particularly in developing countries. North Sumatra province of Indonesia has reported high prevalences of STH in many of its districts. AIM: In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of STH and evaluated STH knowledge and risk behaviours of school children in Mandailing Natal district. METHODS:  We conducted a cross-sectional study in two primary schools in Mandailing Natal district, North Sumatera province, Indonesia. Data were collected directly from the subjects using a questionnaire after receiving consent from their parents. A stool sample was also collected to determine the STH status of each subject. Samples were then transported to the parasitology laboratory at Universitas Sumatera Utara in Medan to be analysed by a trained analyst. Kato-Katz method was used to prepare the slides (World Health Organization, 2002). The intensity of infection is classified into light, moderate and heavy infection. RESULTS: Prevalences of STH infections were 76.8% and 87.2% in Singkuand and Sikapas primary schools, respectively. The majority of infections were Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura at a light intensity. Only small numbers of children in the two schools used soap before eating, used soap after defecating, and wear sandal/shoes when walking outdoor. Less than 50% of children also knew the route of transmission of STH. Poorer knowledge and behaviours were shown in children from Sikapas than in Singkuang. CONCLUSION: High prevalence and poor hygiene behaviours found in this study reinforce the need to identify the correct intervention to address this STH problem in the region.


Author(s):  
Paddy C. Dempsey ◽  
Christine M. Friedenreich ◽  
Michael F. Leitzmann ◽  
Matthew P. Buman ◽  
Estelle Lambert ◽  
...  

Background: In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) released global guidelines on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior, for the first time providing population-based recommendations for people living with selected chronic conditions. This article briefly presents the guidelines, related processes and evidence, and, importantly, considers how they may be used to support research, practice, and policy. Methods: A brief overview of the scope, agreed methods, selected chronic conditions (adults living with cancer, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and human immunodeficiency virus), and appraisal of systematic review evidence on PA/sedentary behavior is provided. Methods were consistent with World Health Organization protocols for developing guidelines. Results: Moderate to high certainty evidence (varying by chronic condition and outcome examined) supported that PA can reduce the risk of disease progression or premature mortality and improve physical function and quality of life in adults living with chronic conditions. Direct evidence on sedentary behavior was lacking; however, evidence extrapolated from adult populations was considered applicable, safe, and likely beneficial (low certainty due to indirectness). Conclusions: Clinical and public health professionals and policy makers should promote the World Health Organization 2020 global guidelines and develop and implement services and programs to increase PA and limit sedentary behavior in adults living with chronic conditions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 224-227
Author(s):  
Rabia Aftab

The Zika virus (ZIKV), first discovered in 1947, has emerged as a global public health threat over the last decade, with an accelerated geographic spread of the virus occurring in the last 5 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that millions of cases of ZIKV are likely to occur in the Americas between 2016 and 2017. These projections, in conjunction with an increase in newborn microcephaly cases that are suspected to be ZIKV-associated, prompted the WHO to declare a public health emergency of international concern in February 2016. With the current media attention, it is likely that GPs will be consulted on th topic, particularly by pregnant women.


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