scholarly journals Health justice in the Anthropocene: medical ethics and the Land Ethic

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (12) ◽  
pp. 791-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Wardrope
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Biomedical Ethics ◽  
Land Ethic ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Land Community

Industrialisation, urbanisation and economic development have produced unprecedented (if unevenly distributed) improvements in human health. They have also produced unprecedented exploitation of Earth’s life support systems, moving the planet into a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene—one defined by human influence on natural systems. The health sector has been complicit in this influence. Bioethics, too, must acknowledge its role—the environmental threats that will shape human health in this century represent a ‘perfect moral storm’ challenging the ethical theories of the last. The US conservationist Aldo Leopold saw this gathering storm more clearly than many, and in his Land Ethic describes the beginnings of a route to safe passage. Its starting point is a reinterpretation of the ethical relationship between humanity and the ‘land community’, the ecosystems we live within and depend upon; moving us from ‘conqueror’ to ‘plain member and citizen’ of that community. The justice of the Land Ethic questions many presuppositions implicit to discussions of the topic in biomedical ethics. By valuing the community in itself—in a way irreducible to the welfare of its members—it steps away from the individualism axiomatic in contemporary bioethics. Viewing ourselves as citizens of the land community also extends the moral horizons of healthcare from a solely human focus. Taking into account the ‘stability’ of the community requires intergenerational justice. The resulting vision of justice in healthcare—one that takes climate and environmental justice seriously—could offer health workers an ethic fit for the future.

Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating Human Health into the Environmental Assessment Process: The Canadian Experience Contextualised to International Efforts

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (04) ◽  
pp. 1550034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pouyan Mahboubi ◽  
Margot W. Parkes ◽  
Hing Man Chan
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Process Efficiency ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Status ◽  
Public Collaboration

A scoping review of the literature was conducted to identify the most pressing issues pertaining to the application of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and the integration of health concerns into the Environmental Assessment (EA) process in Canada and internationally. The issues identified include the need for government intervention, gaps in methodology and tools, limitations of capacity and expertise, poor intersectoral, disciplinary and public collaboration/participation, challenges of data quantification and analytic complexity, and the need for process efficiency. The issues presented were also contextualised to the status quo practice of EA in Canada and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA 2012). Recommendations were proposed as a starting point for improved integration. First, a commitment by the actors involved to the protection of human health — aligned with the core mandate of the CEAA. Second, the achievement of intersectoral, disciplinary and public collaboration, led by government, ideally the health sector. The case is made for a new era of Canadian leadership and innovation at the interface of health and EA.

scholarly journals Role of the health sector in EIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Martuzzi ◽  
J Nowacki ◽  
B Cave ◽  
O Mekel ◽  
F Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Health Determinants ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Good Starting Point ◽  
High Level ◽  
Significant Health

Abstract EIA is an obligation for many projects in many countries. Consideration of human health within EIA is also an obligation. This results in an invaluable opportunity for early consideration of a variety of environmental health determinants, leading to minimization of noxious exposures and promotion of the salutogenic factors involved in plans and projects in many sectors. In other words, EIA can be an extremely powerful vehicle to scaling up primary prevention - by far the most effective strategy in public health. This opportunity is further enriched by the recent revision of the EU Directive on EIA, which makes better provision for human health considerations in EIA, in particular referring to the need to address “significant” health effects of plans and projects - without elaborating further. The health sector can play a key role in EIA by: recognizing the opportunity and its potential, so far under-exploited; engage in dialogue with other sectors, on specific applications; make institutional arrangements so as to secure manpower and competences to contribute to EIA; advocate for a high level of human health consideration in EIAs on the ground. This process requires careful consideration of needs and constraints of EIA, including a need to establish a common language with other sectors, the identification of realistic, achievable goals, as well as long-term objectives, the consolidation of available methods and tools and a need to engage in possibly unfamiliar conversations. A pragmatic, operational decision on what constitutes significant health effects in the context of EIA may be a good starting point to measure the readiness of the health sector to undertake this journey.

Eliminating Hepatitis B from Bangladesh by the Year 2030

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-149
Author(s):  
Md Golam Mustafa ◽  
Md Shahinul Alam ◽  
Md Golam Azam ◽  
Md Mahabubul Alam ◽  
Md Saiful Islam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Hbv Infection ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
The Government

Worldwide, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is still a major public health problem. Bangladesh having a large burden of HBV infection, should be a major contributor towards it’s elimination by 2030. The country has been making progress in reducing incidence of HBV infection during the past decades. The progresses are mainly due to large vaccination coverage among children and large coverage of timely birthdose vaccine for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HBV. However, Bangladesh still faces challenges in achieving target of reduction in mortality from HBV. On the basis of targets of the WHO’s Global health sector strategy on viral hepatitis 2016–2021, we highlight priorities for action towards HBV elimination. To attain the target of reduced mortality we propose that, the service coverage targets of diagnosis and treatment should be prioritized along with vaccination. Firstly, improvements are needed in the diagnostic and treatment abilities of medical institutions and health workers. Secondly, the government needs to reduce the costs of health care. Thirdly, better coordination is needed across existing national program and resources to establish an integrated system for prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment of HBV infection. In this way, we can make progress towards achieving the target of eliminating HBV from Bangladesh by 2030 J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2020; 38(3): 145-149

scholarly journals How can electric lighting contribute to human health and well-being?

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-522
Author(s):  
P Raynham
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Electric Light ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Hypothetical Explanation

Electric light in buildings may provide some health benefits; however, for most people these benefits are likely to be small. It is possible for electric lighting to cause health problems, if there is too little light or there is glare, but for the most part there is good guidance available and these problems can be avoided. The quality of the lit environment can have a psychological impact and this may in turn impact well-being. A starting point for this is perceived adequacy of illumination. Related lighting metrics are examined and a hypothetical explanation is suggested.

scholarly journals A Transdisciplinary Approach to Address Climate Change Adaptation for Human Health and Well-Being in Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4258
Author(s):  
Caradee Yael Wright ◽  
Candice Eleanor Moore ◽  
Matthew Chersich ◽  
Rebecca Hester ◽  
Patricia Nayna Schwerdtle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Comprehensive Health ◽  
African Context

The health sector response to dealing with the impacts of climate change on human health, whether mitigative or adaptive, is influenced by multiple factors and necessitates creative approaches drawing on resources across multiple sectors. This short communication presents the context in which adaptation to protect human health has been addressed to date and argues for a holistic, transdisciplinary, multisectoral and systems approach going forward. Such a novel health-climate approach requires broad thinking regarding geographies, ecologies and socio-economic policies, and demands that one prioritises services for vulnerable populations at higher risk. Actions to engage more sectors and systems in comprehensive health-climate governance are identified. Much like the World Health Organization’s ‘Health in All Policies’ approach, one should think health governance and climate change together in a transnational framework as a matter not only of health promotion and disease prevention, but of population security. In an African context, there is a need for continued cross-border efforts, through partnerships, blending climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and long-term international financing, to contribute towards meeting sustainable development imperatives.

scholarly journals Performance of Excess Heat Factor Severity as a Global Heatwave Health Impact Index

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2494 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Nairn ◽  
Bertram Ostendorf ◽  
Peng Bi
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Excess Heat ◽  
Excess Heat Factor ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Uk

The establishment of an effective policy response to rising heatwave impacts is most effective when the history of heatwaves, their current impacts and future risks, are mapped by a common metric. In response meteorological agencies aim to develop seamless climate, forecast, and warning heat impact services, spanning all temporal and spatial scales. The ability to diagnose heatwave severity using the Excess Heat Factor (EHF) has allowed the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau) to publicly release 7-day heatwave severity maps since 2014. National meteorological agencies in the UK and the United States are evaluating global 7-day and multi-week EHF heatwave severity probability forecasts, whilst the Bureau contributes to a Copernicus project to supply the health sector with global EHF severity heatwave projection scenarios. In an evaluation of impact skill within global forecast systems, EHF intensity and severity is reviewed as a predictor of human health impact, and extended using climate observations and human health data for sites around the globe. Heatwave intensity, determined by short and long-term temperature anomalies at each locality, is normalized to permit spatial analysis and inter-site comparison. Dimensionless heatwave event moments of peak severity and accumulated severity are shown to correlate with noteworthy events around the globe, offering new insights into current and future heatwave variability and vulnerability. The EHF severity metric permits the comparison of international heatwave events and their impacts, and is readily implemented within international heatwave early warning systems.

scholarly journals Ecosystem approaches to human health

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (suppl) ◽  
pp. S69-S75 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Ole Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Ecosystem Health ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Ecosystem Approach ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Irreducible Uncertainty ◽  
And Function ◽  
Ecosystem State

The promotion of human health must be embedded in the wider pursuit of ecosystem health. Interventions will be impaired if ecosystem-linked determinants of health are not taken into account. In the extreme case, if ecosystems lose their capacity for renewal, society will lose life support services. Essential features of ecosystem health are the capacity to maintain integrity and to achieve reasonable and sustainable human goals. An ecosystem approach to research and management must be transdisciplinary and assure participation of stakeholders. These requisites provide a means for science to better deal with the complexity of ecosystems, and for policy-makers and managers to establish and achieve reasonable societal goals. The ecosystem approach can determine links between human health and activities or events which disturb ecosystem state and function. Examples are: landscape disturbance in agriculture, mining, forestry, urbanization, and natural disasters. An understanding of these links can provide guidance for management interventions and policy options that promote human health. An ecosystem approach to management must be adaptive because of irreducible uncertainty in ecosystem function.

scholarly journals PERSEPSI DOKTER TERHADAP PERAN APOTEKER DALAM PELAYANAN KEFARMASIAN DI RUMAH SAKIT ROBERT WOLTER MONGISIDI MANADO

PHARMACON ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 357
Author(s):  
Ni Nengah S. Indiyani ◽  
Widya A. Lolo ◽  
Gerald Rundengan
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Care ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Therapeutic Process ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Care Physician ◽  
Data Collection Tool ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Quantitative Descriptive ◽  
Physician Perception

ABSTRACTServices in the health sector are one of the services that are needed by the community, one of them is service in the field of pharmacy. The therapeutic process of a patient needs collaboration between the pharmacist, physician and other health workers. In some hospitals in Indonesia, they have not implementing all pharmaceutical care activities as regulated in Permenkes No. 72 of 2016. This studied aims to know the opinions and expectations of physician to the role of pharmacist in pharmaceutical care. This research was a quantitative descriptive study and data collection tool used was a questionnaire about the opinions and expectations given to 63 physician. Based on the research results obtained, it was known that the perception of physician tend to agree with an average value of 94,55% for the opinion and for the expectation of 91,78%. So that can be concluded that physician had good opinions and expectation to the role of pharmacists in accordance with Pharmaceutical Care Standards.Key words : Pharmaceutical Care, Physician Perception, Pharmacists.ABSTRAK Pelayanan dalam bidang kesehatan merupakan salah satu pelayanan yang banyak di butuhkan oleh masyarakat, salah satunya adalah pelayanan dalam bidang kefarmasian. Proses terapi seorang pasien perlu adanya kerjasama antara apoteker, dokter dan tenaga kesehatan lainnya. Pada beberapa rumah sakit di Indonesia belum melakukan seluruh kegiatan pelayanan farmasi sebagaimana yang sudah di atur dalam Permenkes No. 72 Tahun 2016. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pendapat dan harapan dokter terhadap peran apoteker dalam pelayanan kefarmasian. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian deskriptif kuantitatif dan alat pengumpulan data yang digunakan berupa kuesioner tentang pendapat dan harapan yang diberikan kepada 63 dokter. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian yang diperoleh, diketahui bahwa  persepsi dokter cenderung setuju dengan nilai rata-rata untuk pendapat sebesar 94,55% dan untuk harapan sebesar 91,78%. Sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa dokter memiliki pendapat dan harapan yang baik terhadap peran apoteker sesuai dengan Standar Pelayanan Kefarmasian. Kata kunci : Pelayanan Kefarmasian, Persepsi Dokter, Apoteker.

scholarly journals Trend of health worker’s strike at a Tertiary Health Institution in North Central Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Dalyop Davou Nyango ◽  
Josiah Turi Mutihir
Keyword(s):  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Residency Training Program ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Decimal Point ◽  
North Central ◽  
Labor Ward ◽  
Joint Health ◽  
Nurse Midwives

Objectives: Workers’ strike is a global phenomenon since antiquity. In Nigeria, health-care sector has been rocked by series of strikes spanning variable periods with immeasurable losses. Ethical consideration and inter-professional rivalry are the main concern attracting much debate in the health sector. The objectives of the study were to determine the trend of health worker’s strike actions, the main agitators, and to make some recommendations. Material and Methods: This was a retrospective study of the labor ward records of the Jos University Teaching Hospital from January 1, 1985, to December 31, 2019, duration of 35 years. The data were collated and analyzed using simple percentages and the figures corrected to the nearest decimal point. Results: A total of 42 strike actions, about 2 strikes/year. The trend shows a multi-modal pattern, with the highest peak of 5 strikes in 2004 and 2013. There were cumulatively 58.5 months of strikes out of the 442 months of the period of study, giving a percentage of 13.2%. While doctors had more frequent strikes (52.3%), non-doctors under the umbrella of Joint Health Sector Union and nurse/midwives accounted for over half (58.1%) of the duration of the strikes. The resident doctors are the main agitators of doctors’ strike accounting for about half (45.2%) of the total health workers’ strikes, while NMA accounted for only 3 (9.4.%). Most strike actions occur at the end of the year, with spill into the first quarter of the following year. Conclusion: Health workers’ strike remains a perennial problem. Inter-professional rivalry is a major challenge in the health sector with far reaching implication without immediate government intervention. Addressing challenges in the residency training program will go a long way in reducing doctors’ unrest in the health sector.

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