Country-wide genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 strains

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kishan Kalia ◽  
Gayatri Saberwal ◽  
Gaurav Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Emerging Infections ◽  
Timely Manner ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Strain Collection ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Effective Public Health

Genomic surveillance has enabled the identification of several SARS-CoV-2 variants, allowing the formulation of appropriate public health policies. However, surveillance could be made more effective. We have determined that the time taken from strain collection to genome submission for over 1.7 million SARS-CoV-2 strains available at GISAID. We find that strain-wise, time lag in this process ranges from one day to over a year. Country-wise, the UK has taken a median of 16 days (for 417,287 genomes), India took 57 days (for 15,614 genomes), whereas Qatar spent 289 days (for 2298 genomes). We strongly emphasize that along with increasing the number of genomes of COVID-19 positive cases sequenced, their accelerated submission to GISAID should also be strongly encouraged and facilitated. This will enable researchers across the globe to track the spreading of variants in a timely manner; analyse their biology, epidemiology, and re-emerging infections; and define effective public health policies.

scholarly journals Tobacco Control in Hospitals in Jordan: Policy Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Maha Alkaid Albqoor, RN, MPH, MSN, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Tobacco Control ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Smoking Prevention ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Tobacco Control Policies ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Tobacco Epidemic ◽  
Effective Public Health

<p><em>Despite the concerns about very high rates of smoking in Jordanian population and the growing efforts to combat the tobacco epidemic, smoking at hospitals in Jordan and the poor complying with smoking prevention policies are important aspects of the problem. The paper examined the scope </em><em>and the progress </em><em>of smoking problem in Jordanian hospitals, </em><em>recognized public health policies on tobacco control </em><em>in hospitals in Jordan, and explored the obstacles in applying tobacco control policies in hospitals. The paper also proposed some recommendations for effective public health policies that regulate tobacco smoking in hospitals and other health care facilities in Jordan.</em></p>

New models and taxonomies to understand and address the commercial determinants of health

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A B Gilmore ◽  
L Robertson ◽  
M Petticrew ◽  
N Maani Hessari
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Health It ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Problems And Solutions ◽  
Transnational Companies ◽  
Risk Framing ◽  
Effective Public Health

Abstract Current models of the determinants of health risk framing public health problems and solutions in ways that obscure the role that the private sector, in particular large transnational companies, play in shaping population health. This presentation will propose a new conceptual model of the commercial determinants of health which recognises the commercial sector's direct, indirect, upstream and downstream influences on health. It will also present emerging evidence-based taxonomies that draw together evidence on the key corporate practices which stymie the implementation of effective public health policies. In so doing, the presentation will explore how we move from understanding to addressing the commercial determinants of health.

scholarly journals Seven-year itch: the UK Government’s difficult relationship with the food and drink industry since Healthy Lives, Healthy People: A Call to Action on Obesity in England (2011)

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Stuart W Flint ◽  
Emily J Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Bargaining Power ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
Food And Drink ◽  
The Uk

AbstractObjectiveUnhealthy food and drink consumption is associated with a range of physical and mental health concerns. In response, public health policies have been developed targeting a reduction in obesity in particular. In the present commentary we argue that government–industry partnerships have reduced the effectiveness of resultant policies and explore why.DesignPerspectives of authors.SettingUK.ParticipantsPopulations in the UK; UK Government.ResultsIndustry involvement has presented three interrelated challenges for the UK Government: (i) balancing collaboration while maintaining appropriate distance from industry stakeholders; (ii) resultant production of ‘watertight’ and effective legislation or intervention; and (iii) actual or perceived limited sanctioning or bargaining power.ConclusionsIndustry involvement in public health policy making has led to weak action. Support with policy implementation (rather than development) and genuine ‘buy-in’ from industry could accelerate the pace of public health improvement.

scholarly journals Epidemiological observations on breaking COVID-19 transmission: from the experience of Taiwan

2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-216240
Author(s):  
Iona MacDonald ◽  
Jye-Lin Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Minimal Impact ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Government ◽  
Effective Public Health ◽  
Ongoing Monitoring

With almost no community-transmitted cases and without any complete lockdown throughout 2020, Taiwan is one of very few countries worldwide that has recorded minimal impact from the COVID-19 pandemic attack. This is despite being only 130 km from China and having frequent business communications with that country, where COVID-19 first emerged. At the end of December 2020, Taiwan had recorded just 873 cases and 7 deaths, in a country of around 24 million people. How to determine the effectiveness of public health policies is an important issue that must be resolved, especially in those countries that have experienced few cases of community-transmitted COVID-19. Our analysis of epidemiological data in Taiwan relating to influenza-like illness (ILI), enterovirus and diarrhoea from the past 3 years reveals dramatic reductions in the incidence of ILI and enterovirus in 2020, compared with 2018 and 2019. These reductions occurred within 2 weeks of the government issuing public health policies for COVID-19 and indicate that such policies can effectively reduce infectious diseases overall. In contrast, no such reduction in ILI activity was observed in 2020 after the first COVID-19 case was reported in the USA. We suggest that infectious diseases data can be used to inform effective public health policies needed to break the transmission chain of COVID-19 and that ongoing monitoring of infectious diseases data can provide confidence about nationwide health.

scholarly journals The contributions of public health policies and healthcare quality to gender gap and country differences in life expectancy in the UK

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kasim Allel ◽  
Franceso Salustri ◽  
Hassan Haghparast-Bidgoli ◽  
Ali Kiadaliri
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Healthcare Quality ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background In many high-income countries, life expectancy (LE) has increased, with women outliving men. This gender gap in LE (GGLE) has been explained with biological factors, healthy behaviours, health status, and sociodemographic characteristics, but little attention has been paid to the role of public health policies that include/affect these factors. This study aimed to assess the contributions of avoidable causes of death, as a measure of public health policies and healthcare quality impacts, to the GGLE and its temporal changes in the UK. We also estimated the contributions of avoidable causes of death into the gap in LE between countries in the UK. Methods We obtained annual data on underlying causes of death by age and sex from the World Health Organization mortality database for the periods 2001–2003 and 2014–2016. We calculated LE at birth using abridged life tables. We applied Arriaga’s decomposition method to compute the age- and cause-specific contributions into the GGLE in each period and its changes between two periods as well as the cross-country gap in LE in the 2014–2016 period. Results Avoidable causes had greater contributions than non-avoidable causes to the GGLE in both periods (62% in 2001–2003 and 54% in 2014–2016) in the UK. Among avoidable causes, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) followed by injuries had the greatest contributions to the GGLE in both periods. On average, the GGLE across the UK narrowed by about 1.0 year between 2001–2003 and 2014–2016 and three avoidable causes of IHD, lung cancer, and injuries accounted for about 0.8 years of this reduction. England & Wales had the greatest LE for both sexes in 2014–2016. Among avoidable causes, injuries in men and lung cancer in women had the largest contributions to the LE advantage in England & Wales compared to Northern Ireland, while drug-related deaths compared to Scotland in both sexes. Conclusion With avoidable causes, particularly preventable deaths, substantially contributing to the gender and cross-country gaps in LE, our results suggest the need for behavioural changes by implementing targeted public health programmes, particularly targeting younger men from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

scholarly journals How did we get here: what are droplets and aerosols and how far do they go? A historical perspective on the transmission of respiratory infectious diseases

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Randall ◽  
E. T. Ewing ◽  
L. C. Marr ◽  
J. L. Jimenez ◽  
L. Bourouiba
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Respiratory Infectious Diseases ◽  
Scientific Results ◽  
Effective Public Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed major gaps in our understanding of the transmission of viruses through the air. These gaps slowed recognition of airborne transmission of the disease, contributed to muddled public health policies and impeded clear messaging on how best to slow transmission of COVID-19. In particular, current recommendations have been based on four tenets: (i) respiratory disease transmission routes can be viewed mostly in a binary manner of ‘droplets’ versus ‘aerosols’; (ii) this dichotomy depends on droplet size alone; (iii) the cut-off size between these routes of transmission is 5 µm; and (iv) there is a dichotomy in the distance at which transmission by each route is relevant. Yet, a relationship between these assertions is not supported by current scientific knowledge. Here, we revisit the historical foundation of these notions, and how they became entangled from the 1800s to today, with a complex interplay among various fields of science and medicine. This journey into the past highlights potential solutions for better collaboration and integration of scientific results into practice for building a more resilient society with more sound, far-sighted and effective public health policies.

scholarly journals It runs in the family: parental influence on adolescents’ compliance with social distancing measures during Covid-19 lockdowns

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozan Aksoy
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
The Family ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Uk

Compliance with public health measures of adolescents who are often unfairly portrayed as spreaders of the Coronavirus is essential for controlling the pandemic. But does adolescents’ compliance develop independently from their parents? Using nationally representative longitudinal data and cross-lagged Structural Equation Panel Models I study compliance with social distancing measures of 6,754 triplets that comprise the adolescent child (age 19), their mother, and father during two national lockdowns in the UK. Results show that adolescents have the lowest and their mothers have the highest levels of compliance, and compliance generally drops over time. Moreover, parents, particularly mothers have significant influence on their adolescent child’s compliance. The child also has, albeit smaller effects on their parents’ compliance. Parental influence on adolescents’ compliance documented here thus redistributes some of the responsibility off adolescents towards all generations and calls for public health policies and campaigns that consider these family dynamics.

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