Spread of COVID-19 in urban neighbourhoods and slums of the developing world

We study the spread of COVID-19 across neighbourhoods of cities in the developing world and find that small numbers of neighbourhoods account for a majority of cases ( k -index approx. 0.7). We also find that the countrywide distribution of cases across states/provinces in these nations also displays similar inequality, indicating self-similarity across scales. Neighbourhoods with slums are found to contain the highest density of cases across all cities under consideration, revealing that slums constitute the most at-risk urban locations in this epidemic. We present a stochastic network model to study the spread of a respiratory epidemic through physically proximate and accidental daily human contacts in a city, and simulate outcomes for a city with two kinds of neighbourhoods—slum and non-slum. The model reproduces observed empirical outcomes for a broad set of parameter values—reflecting the potential validity of these findings for epidemic spread in general, especially across cities of the developing world. We also find that distribution of cases becomes less unequal as the epidemic runs its course, and that both peak and cumulative caseloads are worse for slum neighbourhoods than non-slums at the end of an epidemic. Large slums in the developing world, therefore, contain the most vulnerable populations in an outbreak, and the continuing growth of metropolises in Asia and Africa presents significant challenges for future respiratory outbreaks from perspectives of public health and socioeconomic equity.

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Health inequities and technological solutions during the first waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in high-income countries

Global Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/1757975920984185 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 175797592098418

Author(s):

Muriel Mac-Seing ◽

Robson Rocha de Oliveira

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Equity ◽

Vulnerable Populations ◽

Health Inequities ◽

High Income ◽

Control Measures ◽

Health Priorities ◽

Economic Systems ◽

And Control ◽

Political Decisions

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in massive disruptions to public health, healthcare, as well as political and economic systems across national borders, thus requiring an urgent need to adapt. Worldwide, governments have made a range of political decisions to enforce preventive and control measures. As junior researchers analysing the pandemic through a health equity lens, we wish to share our reflections on this evolving crisis, specifically: (a) the tenuous intersections between the responses to the pandemic and public health priorities; (b) the exacerbation of health inequities experienced by vulnerable populations following decisions made at national and global levels; and (c) the impacts of the technological solutions put forward to address the crisis. Examples drawn from high-income countries are provided to support our three points.

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Evaluating the motivation of Red Cross Health volunteers in the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods study protocol

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042579 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. e042579

Author(s):

Leonardo W Heyerdahl ◽

Muriel Vray ◽

Vincent Leger ◽

Lénaig Le Fouler ◽

Julien Antouly ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Vulnerable Populations ◽

Health Workers ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Red Cross ◽

Volunteer Motivation ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Current Crisis ◽

French Red Cross

IntroductionVoluntary organisations provide essential support to vulnerable populations and front-line health responders to the COVID-19 pandemic. The French Red Cross (FRC) is prominent among organisations offering health and support services in the current crisis. Comprised primarily of lay volunteers and some trained health workers, FRC volunteers in the Paris (France) region have faced challenges in adapting to pandemic conditions, working with sick and vulnerable populations, managing limited resources and coping with high demand for their services. Existing studies of volunteers focus on individual, social and organisational determinants of motivation, but attend less to contextual ones. Public health incertitude about the COVID-19 pandemic is an important feature of this pandemic. Whether and how uncertainty interacts with volunteer understandings and experiences of their work and organisational relations to contribute to Red Cross worker motivation is the focus of this investigation.Methods and analysisThis mixed-methods study will investigate volunteer motivation using ethnographic methods and social network listening. Semi-structured interviews and observations will illuminate FRC volunteer work relations, experiences and concerns during the pandemic. A questionnaire targeting a sample of Paris region volunteers will allow quantification of motivation. These findings will iteratively shape and be influenced by a social media (Twitter) analysis of biomedical and public health uncertainties and debates around COVID-19. These tweets provide insight into a French lay public’s interpretations of these debates. We evaluate whether and how socio-political conditions and discourses concerning COVID-19 interact with volunteer experiences, working conditions and organisational relations to influence volunteer motivation. Data collection began on 15 June 2020 and will continue until 15 April 2021.Ethics and disseminationThe protocol has received ethical approval from the Institut Pasteur Institutional Review Board (no 2020-03). We will disseminate findings through peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations and recommendations to the FRC.

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Comorbidity and COVID-19: Investigating the Relationship between Medical and Psychological Well-being

Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/ipm.2021.37 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Owen Stafford ◽

Anna Berry ◽

Laura K. Taylor ◽

Sinead Wearen ◽

Cian Prendergast ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Vulnerable Populations ◽

Illness Perceptions ◽

Medical Condition ◽

Well Being ◽

Control Group ◽

Medical Conditions ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Objective: The unprecedented occurrence of a global pandemic is accompanied by both physical and psychological burdens that may impair quality of life. Research relating to COVID-19 aims to determine the effects of the pandemic on vulnerable populations who are at high risk of developing negative health or psychosocial outcomes. Having an ongoing medical condition during a pandemic may lead to greater psychological distress. Increased psychological distress may be due to preventative public health measures (e.g. lockdown), having an ongoing medical condition, or a combination of these factors. Methods: This study analyses data from an online cross-sectional national survey of adults in Ireland and investigates the relationship between comorbidity and psychological distress. Those with a medical condition (n128) were compared to a control group without a medical condition (n128) and matched according to age, gender, annual income, education, and work status during COVID-19. Participants and data were obtained during the first public lockdown in Ireland (27.03.202008.06.2020). Results: Individuals with existing medical conditions reported significantly higher levels of anxiety (p<.01) and felt less gratitude (p.001). Exploratory analysis indicates that anxiety levels were significantly associated with illness perceptions specific to COVID-19. Post-hoc analysis reveal no significant difference between the number of comorbidities and condition type (e.g. respiratory disorders). Conclusion: This research supports individualised supports for people with ongoing medical conditions through the COVID-19 pandemic, and has implications for the consideration of follow-up care specifically for mental health. Findings may also inform future public health policies and post-vaccine support strategies for vulnerable populations.

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Public Health and Vulnerable Populations

Pesticides and Global Health ◽

10.4324/9781315422695-8 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 43-60

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Vulnerable Populations

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The ‘Livestock Revolution’ – can poor livestock-keepers benefit?

Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s175275620000898x ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 2002 ◽

pp. 246-246

Author(s):

Christie Peacock

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

East Asia ◽

Developing World ◽

Product Type ◽

South East Asia ◽

Animal Products ◽

Global Demand ◽

Grain Prices

AbstractThe projected increase in global demand for animal products, recently termed ‘the Livestock Revolution’, presents livestock keepers, in both the developed and the developing world, with many opportunities but also some problems. The increase in demand, mainly in South and South-East Asia, is described, disaggregated by region and product type. Some of the implications, in terms of the environment, public health, grain prices etc, of this increase in demand are also identified.

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Uncertainty in public health models treated by differential inclusions

International Journal of Modeling Simulation and Scientific Computing ◽

10.1142/s1793962320500403 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (04) ◽

pp. 2050040

Author(s):

Stanislaw Raczynski

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Differential Inclusion ◽

Differential Inclusions ◽

Epidemic Models ◽

Reachable Sets ◽

Model Construction ◽

Model Parameters ◽

Uncertain Parameters ◽

Epidemic Spread ◽

Epidemic Modeling

An application of differential inclusions in the epidemic spread models is presented. Some mostly used epidemic models are discussed here, and a brief survey of epidemic modeling is given. Most of the models are some modifications of the Susceptible–Infected–Recovered model. Simple simulations are carried out. Then, we consider the influence of some uncertain parameters. It is pointed out that the presence of some fluctuating model parameters can be treated by differential inclusions. The solution to such differential inclusion is given in the form of reachable sets for model variables. Here, we focus on the differential inclusion application rather than the model construction.

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Implementing Public Health Regulations in Developing Countries: Lessons from the OECD Countries

The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics ◽

10.1111/j.1748-720x.2010.00509.x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 508-519 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Emily A. Mok ◽

Lawrence O. Gostin ◽

Monica Das Gupta ◽

Max Levin

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Developing World ◽

Health Agency ◽

Non Profit ◽

Public Health Agencies ◽

Effective Implementation ◽

Health Agencies ◽

Private And Public ◽

Sanitary Conditions ◽

Health Regulations

Public health agencies undertake a broad range of health promotion and injury and disease prevention activities in collaboration with an array of actors, such as the community, businesses, and non-profit organizations. These activities are “multisectoral” in nature and centered on public health agencies that oversee and engage with the other actors. Public health agencies can influence the hazardous activities in the private sector in a variety of ways, “ranging from prohibition and regulation to volunteerism, and from cooperation to cooption.” Hence, a public health agency that possesses the necessary administrative resources and authority is vital to the effective implementation of health policies and regulations.In the developing world, however, many state health agencies lack these basic capacities in dealing with critical health threats, including their ability to avert epidemics of communicable diseases arising from poor sanitary conditions. A serious constraint is the shortage of public health funding for health agencies in the developing world for typical agency functions (e.g., surveillance, monitoring, assessment, and intervention). This is often aggravated by the transaction-intensive demands entailed in enforcing regulations among an array of private and public sector actors including individuals, businesses, and local bodies responsible for providing civic services.

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Lessons from Public Health Legal Preparedness to Operationalize Health in All Policies

The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics ◽

10.1177/1073110517737540 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 392-401

Author(s):

Maxim Gakh ◽

Lainie Rutkow

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Determinants Of Health ◽

Health Equity ◽

Vulnerable Populations ◽

Social Determinants ◽

Determinants Of Health ◽

Health In All Policies ◽

Public Health Preparedness ◽

The Social

The Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach aims to integrate health into decisions across sectors to address the social determinants of health and enhance health equity. Jurisdictions interested in implementing this approach may seek clarification about how to operationalize it. Public health legal preparedness provides useful lessons for HiAP. While there are important differences between these two areas, there are also critical similarities. These similarities are particularly important because HiAP and public health preparedness are complementary. Law has been essential in advancing public health preparedness by helping to: (1) prioritize planning; (2) allocate responsibility; (3) enhance collaboration and coordination; (4) establish responsive funding; and (5) emphasize the needs of vulnerable populations. Law can be used similarly to advance HiAP.

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