scholarly journals COVID-19 and the US response: accelerating health inequities

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjebm-2020-111426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nneoma E Okonkwo ◽  
Ugochi T Aguwa ◽  
Minyoung Jang ◽  
Iman A Barré ◽  
Kathleen R Page ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Native Americans ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Detention Centers ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
The Usa

Health inequities have long defined health and the healthcare system in the USA. The clinical and research capacity across the USA is unparalleled, yet compared to other high and even some middle-income countries, the average health indicators of the population remain suboptimal in 2020, a finding at least in part explained by inequity in healthcare access. In this context, COVID-19 has rapidly emerged as a major threat to the public’s health. While it was initially thought that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 would be the great equaliser as it would not discriminate, it is clear that COVID-19 incidence and mortality have rapidly reinforced health disparities drawn by historical and contemporary inequities. Here, we synthesise the data highlighting specific risks among particular marginalised and under-resourced communities including those in jails, prisons and detention centers, immigrants and the undocumented, people with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness across the USA. The drivers of these disparities are pervasive structural risks including limited access to preventive services, inability to comply with physical distancing recommendations, underlying health disparities and intersecting stigmas particularly affecting racial and ethnic minorities across the country, including African Americans, Latinx Americans and Native Americans. Advancing the COVID-19 response, saving lives and restarting the economy necessitate rapidly addressing these inequities rather than ignoring and even reinforcing them.

scholarly journals Cancer prevention and control: alarming challenges in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann M. Bode ◽  
Zigang Dong ◽  
Hongyang Wang
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Breast Cancers ◽  
Excessive Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Heavy Smoking ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Urbanization In China ◽  
Population Mortality

Abstract China is geographically the third largest country in the world and the most populated low-to-middle-income country. Cancer incidence and mortality rates for some cancers in the USA and European countries have steadily decreased over the last decades, whereas the incidence and mortality of certain cancers in China have been increasing at an alarming speed. Rapid industrialization and urbanization in China have been accompanied by incredible changes in lifestyle and environment combined with an aging population. Mortality caused by lung, colorectal and breast cancers has been steadily increasing, whereas cancer mortality from gastric, esophageal and cervical tumors has tended to decrease. Similar to what has occurred in the United States, unhealthy lifestyles in China, including heavy smoking and poor diet combined with pollution, have contributed to increased cancer risk. China is facing many challenges in cancer treatment and prevention for the general population. The major areas that need to be addressed in the control of cancer in China include cancers associated with environmental pollution, tobacco use, occupational carcinogens, infection, excessive alcohol consumption, dietary deficiencies and obesity. In this perspective, we review the problems in each area and suggest ideas for future directions in cancer research and strategies and actions to reduce the incidence of cancer in China.

scholarly journals Mental health research in Botswana: a semi-systematic scoping review

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 030006052096645
Author(s):  
Philip R. Opondo ◽  
Anthony A. Olashore ◽  
Keneilwe Molebatsi ◽  
Caleb J. Othieno ◽  
James O. Ayugi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Full Text ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Usa

Mental and substance use disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide. Despite this, there is a paucity of mental health research in low- and middle-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. We carried out a semi-systematic scoping review to determine the extent of mental health research in Botswana. Using a predetermined search strategy, we searched the databases Web of Science, PubMed, and EBSCOhost (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL with Full Text, MEDLINE, MEDLINE with Full Text, MLA International Bibliography, Open Dissertations) for articles written in English from inception to June 2020. We identified 58 studies for inclusion. The most researched subject was mental health aspects of HIV/AIDS, followed by research on neurotic and stress-related disorders. Most studies were cross-sectional and the earliest published study was from 1983. The majority of the studies were carried out by researchers affiliated to the University of Botswana, followed by academic institutions in the USA. There seems to be limited mental health research in Botswana, and there is a need to increase research capacity.

scholarly journals Coronavirus Health Inequities in the United States Highlight Need for Continued Community Development Efforts*

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-233
Author(s):  
Heather A. Walter-McCabe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Development Models ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Health Justice

The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic of 2020 has shown a spotlight on inequity in the USA. Although these inequities have long existed, the coronavirus and its disparate impact on health in different communities have raised the visibility of these deeply ingrained inequities to a level that has created a new awareness across the US population and an opportunity to use this heightened awareness of the existing conditions for change. ‘Community and social development’ efforts in the post-pandemic USA can be informed by a health justice framework, across economic, societal and cultural, environmental and social dimensions. Dimensions which have all been implicated in the coronavirus response and complement other social and community development models. Although health disparities and inequities did not begin with coronavirus and will not end in the post-pandemic USA, social and community development efforts which value health justice and concentrate on social determinants of health can provide needed policies and programmes for a more equitable US health system.

Researching Health Inequities among African Americans: The Imperative to Understand Social Class

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Norman Oliver ◽  
Carles Muntaner
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Burden Of Illness ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
African American Health

Racial and ethnic inequities in health abound in many disease categories. African-American communities suffer from an increased burden of illness, with higher incidence and mortality rates and more severe morbidity in cerebrovascular disease, heart disease, several cancers, diabetes, and many other ailments. Healthy People 2010, the federal government's health plan, calls for eliminating health disparities by race, ethnicity, gender, education, income, disability, geographic location, or sexual orientation. Research aimed at increasing our understanding of these health disparities and designing and evaluating interventions to improve African-American health is hampered by a liberal, classless approach. The authors argue for a theoretical framework in this research that recognizes that class exploitation sets the stage for and interacts with racial discrimination to determine racial inequities in health.

Building Capacity of the Public Health Education Workforce Through Partnerships

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Mark Tomita
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Professional Associations ◽  
State University ◽  
Cd Rom ◽  
The Public ◽  
Prevention Services ◽  
The Usa

The Global Health Disparities CD-ROM Project reaffirmed the value of professional associations partnering with academic institutions to build capacity of the USA public health education workforce to meet the challenges of primary prevention services. The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) partnered with the California State University, Chico to produce a CD-ROM that would advocate for global populations that are affected by health disparities while providing primary resources for public health educators to use in programming and professional development. The CD-ROM development process is discussed

Building Capacity of the Public Health Education Workforce Through Partnerships: The Global Health Disparities CD-ROM Project

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Mark Tomita
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Professional Associations ◽  
State University ◽  
Cd Rom ◽  
Prevention Services ◽  
The Usa

The Global Health Disparities CD-ROM Project reaffirmed the value of professional associations partnering with academic institutions to build capacity of the USA public health education workforce to meet the challenges of primary prevention services. The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) partnered with the California State University, Chico to produce a CD-ROM that would advocate for global populations that are affected by health disparities while providing primary resources for public health educators to use in programming and professional development. The CD-ROM development process is discussed.

Health research capacity in Nepal: Analysis of the trend and the role of local researchers

2021 ◽  
pp. 004947552098277
Author(s):  
Madhu Kharel ◽  
Alpha Pokharel ◽  
Krishna P Sapkota ◽  
Prasant V Shahi ◽  
Pratisha Shakya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Research ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Evidence Based Decision Making

Evidence-based decision-making is less common in low- and middle-income countries where the research capacity remains low. Nepal, a lower-middle-income country in Asia, is not an exception. We conducted a rapid review to identify the trend of health research in Nepal and found more than seven-fold increase in the number of published health-related articles between 2000 and 2018. The proportion of articles with Nepalese researchers as the first authors has also risen over the years, though they are still only in two-thirds of the articles in 2018.

Defining Preterm Birth and Stillbirth in the Western Pacific: A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 101053952110260
Author(s):  
Mairead Connolly ◽  
Laura Phung ◽  
Elise Farrington ◽  
Michelle J. L. Scoullar ◽  
Alyce N. Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preterm Birth ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Preterm birth and stillbirth are important global perinatal health indicators. Definitions of these indicators can differ between countries, affecting comparability of preterm birth and stillbirth rates across countries. This study aimed to document national-level adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of preterm birth and stillbirth in the WHO Western Pacific region. A systematic search of government health websites and 4 electronic databases was conducted. Any official report or published study describing the national definition of preterm birth or stillbirth published between 2000 and 2020 was eligible for inclusion. A total of 58 data sources from 21 countries were identified. There was considerable variation in how preterm birth and stillbirth was defined across the region. The most frequently used lower gestational age threshold for viability of preterm birth was 28 weeks gestation (range 20-28 weeks), and stillbirth was most frequently classified from 20 weeks gestation (range 12-28 weeks). High-income countries more frequently used earlier gestational ages for preterm birth and stillbirth compared with low- to middle-income countries. The findings highlight the importance of clear, standardized, internationally comparable definitions for perinatal indicators. Further research is needed to determine the impact on regional preterm birth and stillbirth rates.

scholarly journals Effect of Environmental Pollutants PM2.5, CO, NO2, and O3 on the Incidence and Mortality of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Five Regions of the USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7810
Author(s):  
Sultan Ayoub Meo ◽  
Abdulelah Adnan Abukhalaf ◽  
Omar Mohammed Alessa ◽  
Abdulrahman Saad Alarifi ◽  
Waqas Sami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
First Case ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
The Usa

In recent decades, environmental pollution has become a significant international public problem in developing and developed nations. Various regions of the USA are experiencing illnesses related to environmental pollution. This study aims to investigate the association of four environmental pollutants, including particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and Ozone (O3), with daily cases and deaths resulting from SARS-CoV-2 infection in five regions of the USA, Los Angeles, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, and Florida. The daily basis concentrations of PM2.5, CO, NO2, and O3 were documented from two metrological websites. Data were obtained from the date of the appearance of the first case of (SARS-CoV-2) in the five regions of the USA from 13 March to 31 December 2020. Regionally (Los Angeles, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, and Florida), the number of cases and deaths increased significantly along with increasing levels of PM2.5, CO, NO2 and O3 (p < 0.05), respectively. The Poisson regression results further depicted that, for each 1 unit increase in PM2.5, CO, NO2 and O3 levels, the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections significantly increased by 0.1%, 14.8%, 1.1%, and 0.1%, respectively; for each 1 unit increase in CO, NO2, and O3 levels, the number of deaths significantly increased by 4.2%, 3.4%, and 1.5%, respectively. These empirical estimates demonstrate an association between the environmental pollutants PM2.5, CO, NO2, and O3 and SARS-CoV-2 infections, showing that they contribute to the incidence of daily cases and daily deaths in the five different regions of the USA. These findings can inform health policy decisions about combatting the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in these USA regions and internationally by supporting a reduction in environmental pollution.

scholarly journals Economics of healthcare access in low-income and middle-income countries: a protocol for a scoping review of the economic impacts of seeking healthcare on slum-dwellers compared with other city residents

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e045441
Author(s):  
Noemia Teixeira de Siqueira-Filha ◽  
Jinshuo Li ◽  
Eliud Kibuchi ◽  
Zahidul Quayyum ◽  
Penelope Phillips-Howard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Impact ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Purchase Power Parity ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Power Parity ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Slum Dwellers ◽  
Scoping Reviews

IntroductionPeople living in slums face several challenges to access healthcare. Scarce and low-quality public health facilities are common problems in these communities. Costs and prevalence of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) have also been reported as high in studies conducted in slums in developing countries and those suffering from chronic conditions and the poorest households seem to be more vulnerable to financial hardship. The COVID-19 pandemic may be aggravating the economic impact on the extremely vulnerable population living in slums due to the long-term consequences of the disease. The objective of this review is to report the economic impact of seeking healthcare on slum-dwellers in terms of costs and CHE. We will compare the economic impact on slum-dwellers with other city residents.Methods and analysisThis scoping review adopts the framework suggested by Arksey and O’Malley. The review is part of the accountability and responsiveness of slum-dwellers (ARISE) research consortium, which aims to enhance accountability to improve the health and well-being of marginalised populations living in slums in India, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Kenya. Costs of accessing healthcare will be updated to 2020 prices using the inflation rates reported by the International Monetary Fund. Costs will be presented in International Dollars by using purchase power parity. The prevalence of CHE will also be reported.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not required for scoping reviews. We will disseminate our results alongside the events organised by the ARISE consortium and international conferences. The final manuscript will be submitted to an open-access international journal. Registration number at the Research Registry: reviewregistry947.

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