Theorizing about the other. Vulnerable groups and strategies for social inclusion in public health policies: a brief account of Brazilian case

Abstract When we have a vaccine against COVID-19, who should be vaccinated first? The question is relevant because, initially, vaccine availability will likely be limited. After healthcare and some other essential workers, it might seem the most obvious candidates are the elderly and other groups that are more vulnerable to the virus. However, we argue that this is not necessarily the case. Protecting the most vulnerable might require prioritizing vaccinating children in order to maximize the benefits of indirect immunity for the elderly and the other vulnerable groups. Whether this will be the best strategy from a public health perspective will depend on characteristics of the vaccine and of the virus, which are currently unknown. Here, we assess this possibility from an ethical point of view, by drawing comparisons and analogies with the case of the flu vaccination and with other examples of health policies and practices. We conclude that there are strong ethical reasons to vaccinate the young to protect the old, provided that the risks imposed on children are reasonable, even if that implies using children as a means to protect the elderly and the vulnerable.

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Person, Place, and Time: Monitoring the Geographical and Temporal Context of Public Health Policies

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e507502013-086 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Chaiton

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Policies ◽

Temporal Context ◽

Public Health Policies

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Influence of Masks Protecting against SARS-CoV-2 on Thermal Comfort

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14113315 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (11) ◽

pp. 3315

Author(s):

Ewa Zender-Świercz ◽

Marek Telejko ◽

Beata Galiszewska

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Public Spaces ◽

Point Of View ◽

The Other ◽

Health Policies ◽

Thermal Manikin ◽

Public Health Policies ◽

Protective Shield ◽

Full Face ◽

The Impact

Due to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, most countries have tightened their public health policies. One way to limit the spread of the virus is to make mouth and nose cover compulsory in public spaces. The article presents the impact of wearing masks on the perception of thermal comfort. The following masks were analysed: FFP2, cotton, medical, PM2.5, half-face protective shield plastic and full-face protective shield plastic. The research was carried out for two scenarios of an ambient temperature: −20 and 30 °C. A thermal manikin was used for the tests. In the case of when a temperature equals 20 °C, the dry masks increase comfort, both general and local, while wet masks reduce comfort. On the other hand, at 30 °C, only wet masks do not increase discomfort. In addition, moist masks require less heat flux to achieve a certain skin temperature. However, it should be remembered that it is not advisable to wet the masks from the health point of view.

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Population simulations of COVID-19 outbreaks provide tools for risk assessment and continuity planning

JAMIA Open ◽

10.1093/jamiaopen/ooaa074 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Bo Peng ◽

Rowland W Pettit ◽

Christopher I Amos

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

Emergency Response ◽

Robustness Analysis ◽

Health Policies ◽

Command Line ◽

Public Health Policies ◽

Continuity Planning ◽

Quantitative Estimates ◽

Community Infection

Abstract Objectives We developed COVID-19 Outbreak Simulator (https://ictr.github.io/covid19-outbreak-simulator/) to quantitatively estimate the effectiveness of preventative and interventive measures to prevent and battle COVID-19 outbreaks for specific populations. Materials and methods Our simulator simulates the entire course of infection and transmission of the virus among individuals in heterogeneous populations, subject to operations and influences, such as quarantine, testing, social distancing, and community infection. It provides command-line and Jupyter notebook interfaces and a plugin system for user-defined operations. Results The simulator provides quantitative estimates for COVID-19 outbreaks in a variety of scenarios and assists the development of public health policies, risk-reduction operations, and emergency response plans. Discussion Our simulator is powerful, flexible, and customizable, although successful applications require realistic estimation and robustness analysis of population-specific parameters. Conclusion Risk assessment and continuity planning for COVID-19 outbreaks are crucial for the continued operation of many organizations. Our simulator will be continuously expanded to meet this need.

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Results from the European Union MAPEC_LIFE cohort study on air pollution and chromosomal damage in children: are public health policies sufficiently protective?

Environmental Sciences Europe ◽

10.1186/s12302-020-00352-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elisabetta Ceretti ◽

◽

Francesco Donato ◽

Claudia Zani ◽

Milena Villarini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Air Pollution ◽

European Union ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Health Policies ◽

The European Union ◽

Chromosomal Damage ◽

Public Health Policies

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Characterization of death from colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State/Legal Amazon/Brazil, 2000-2016

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.1130 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

R S Caló ◽

B S N Souza ◽

N D Galvão ◽

R A G Souza ◽

J C S Oliveira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Colorectal Cancer ◽

International Classification Of Diseases ◽

Health Policies ◽

Rectosigmoid Junction ◽

Mato Grosso ◽

Public Health Policies ◽

Goods And Services ◽

Classification Of Diseases ◽

Using Data

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer has been one of the cancers that most contributed to mortality, in both sexes in the world. In Brazil, cancer is among the top five causes of death and colorectal cancer is ranked on the fifth position. Of the Federative Units belonging to the Legal Amazon, Mato Grosso stands out for the higher adjusted incidence of colorectal cancer for both sexes. Thus, the objective is to characterize deaths from colorectal cancer, according to sociodemographic variables in Mato Grosso from 2000 to 2016. Methods A descriptive study was carried out, using data from the Mortality Information System, made available by the Department of Health of the Mato Grosso State. Deaths of all ages were selected, whose basic cause was identified by the codes from the International Classification of Diseases: (C.18) colon cancer, (C.19) rectosigmoid junction cancer, (C.20) rectal cancer or (C.21) anus cancer. Results Between 2000 and 2016, 31,607 deaths from cancer were registered. Of these, 1,750 (5.6%) were due to colorectal cancer. An increased number of deaths was observed at the end of the period, with a variation from 46 deaths in 2000 from 173 in 2016. Highest frequency was verified in men (51.3%), people aged 60 years or older (59.7%), black (54.6%), married (52.3%) and those with primary education (55.2%). According to Brazilian occupation classification options or those answers filled out on the death certificate, highest frequency were for “Retired” (26.2%), “Housewife” (23.1%), Agricultural/Forestry and Fisheries” (11.3%) and “Production of Industrial Goods and Services” (10.3%). Conclusions This study evidenced the increased number of deaths due to colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State, and identified priority groups for interventions through public health policies which should include screening and early diagnosis to cope with the disease. Key messages Evidenced the increased number of deaths due to colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State. Identified priority groups for interventions through public health policies.

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Epidemiological surveillance and performance assessment: the two roles of health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic

International Journal of Law in Context ◽

10.1017/s1744552321000276 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 186-203

Author(s):

Nathan Genicot

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Performance Assessment ◽

Health Indicators ◽

Health Policies ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

Public Health Policies ◽

History Of ◽

And Performance ◽

The One ◽

Massive Development

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to the massive development and use of health indicators. Drawing on the history of international public health and of the management of infectious disease, this paper attempts to show that the normative power acquired by metrics during the pandemic can be understood in light of two rationales: epidemiological surveillance and performance assessment. On the one hand, indicators are established to evaluate and rank countries’ responses to the outbreak; on the other, the evolution of indicators has a direct influence on the content of public health policies. Although quantitative data are an absolute necessity for coping with such disasters, it is critical to bear in mind the inherent partiality and precarity of the information provided by health indicators. Given the growing importance of normative quantitative devices during the pandemic, and assuming that their influence is unlikely to decrease in the future, they call for close scrutiny.

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