scholarly journals Examining lifestyle behaviours and weight status of primary schoolchildren: using Mozambique to explore the data gaps in low- and middle-income countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-220
Author(s):  
Taru Manyanga
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Sedentary Time ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Rural Children ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Lifestyle Behaviours ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Data Gaps ◽  
Low And Middle Income

The emergency of malnutrition and physical inactivity among children as serious public health challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is concerning and requires urgent attention. The main objective of this dissertation was to examine relationships between lifestyle behaviours and weight status among schoolchildren in Mozambique and use findings to highlight important data gaps that exist in LMICs. Narrative literature searches conducted identified data gaps and research needs. A published protocol was used for this dissertation (n = 683) to facilitate data comparability. Anthropometric and accelerometry data were objectively measured while data about lifestyle behaviours and environmental factors were collected using context-adapted questionnaires. As part of this dissertation, 6 manuscripts were developed and submitted for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Results showed a dearth of information and that overweight/obesity is an emerging public health concern, especially among urban children. Moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), active transport, and maternal body mass index (BMI) were important modifiable correlates of weight status for Mozambican children. Distinct differences in prevalences of lifestyle behaviours were observed between urban and rural children in Mozambique. Compared with children from 12 other countries, children from Mozambique had lower BMI, higher daily MVPA, lower daily sedentary time, and comparable sleep duration. Linear distributions of study site-specific BMI, minutes of daily MVPA, and daily sedentary time by country human development index were observed. Findings revealed important differences between urban and rural children, supporting the need to include both in study samples and especially in LMICs where most people live in rural areas.

Thiamin deficiency in low- and middle-income countries: Disorders, prevalences, previous interventions and current recommendations

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey R Johnson ◽  
Philip R Fischer ◽  
Thomas D Thacher ◽  
Mark D Topazian ◽  
Megan W Bourassa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Food Processing ◽  
Dietary Behaviors ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Thiamin Deficiency ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Infant Deaths ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Dietary Diversification ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Background: Thiamin deficiency is a major public health concern in several low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)—current attention to the problem is lacking. Aim: This review discusses prevalence of thiamin insufficiency and thiamin-deficiency disorders (TDDs) in LMICs, outlines programmatic experience with thiamin interventions, and offers recommendations to improve public-health and research attention to thiamin in LMICs. Discussion: Thiamin insufficiency, i.e. low-blood-thiamin status, is endemic among several Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia (70–100% of infants and 27–100% of reproductive-age women); Laos (13% of hospitalized infants); Thailand (16–25% of children and 30% of elderly adults). Thiamin deficiency accounts for up to 45% of under-5 deaths in Cambodia, 34% of infant deaths in Laos, and 17% of infant deaths in Myanmar. Deficiency also exists in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, but these instances have typically been isolated. Exclusively breastfed infants of thiamin-deficient mothers are at highest risk for TDD and related death. Intervention strategies that have been employed to combat thiamin deficiency include food processing, fortification, supplementation, dietary diversification, and dietary behaviors, all of which have shown varying levels of effectiveness. Conclusions: We recommend universal thiamin-fortification of context-specific staple-foods in LMICs as a promising solution, as well as thiamin supplementation, particularly for pregnant and lactating women. Food processing regulations, dietary diversification, and modification of dietary behaviors to increase consumption of thiamin-rich foods may provide benefits in some circumstances, especially in countries without universal fortification programs or in populations dependent on food aid.

scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 on the care of people living with noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries: an online survey of physicians and pharmacists in nine countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Bullen ◽  
Jessica McCormack ◽  
Amanda Calder ◽  
Varsha Parag ◽  
Kannan Subramaniam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
World Health ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Abstract Background: The global COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare worldwide. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where people may have limited access to affordable quality care, the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to have a particularly adverse impact on the health and healthcare of individuals with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). A World Health Organization survey found that disruption of delivery of healthcare for NCDs was more significant in LMICs than in high-income countries. However, the study did not elicit insights into the day-to-day impacts of COVID-19 on healthcare by front-line healthcare workers (FLHCWs). Aim: To gain insights directly from FLHCWs working in countries with a high NCD burden, and thereby identify opportunities to improve the provision of healthcare during the current pandemic and in future healthcare emergencies. Methods: We recruited selected frontline healthcare workers (general practitioners, pharmacists, and other medical specialists) from nine countries to complete an online survey (n = 1347). Survey questions focused on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on clinical practice and NCDs; barriers to clinical care during the pandemic; and innovative responses to the many challenges presented by the pandemic. Findings: The majority of FLHCWs responding to our survey reported that their care of patients had been impacted both adversely and positively by the public health measures imposed. Most FLHCs (95%) reported a deterioration in the mental health of their patients. Conclusions: Continuity of care for NCDs as part of pandemic preparedness is needed so that chronic conditions are not exacerbated by public health measures and the direct impacts of the pandemic.

scholarly journals Suicide prevention in low- and middle-income countries: part perceptions, partial solutions

2017 ◽  
Vol 211 (5) ◽  
pp. 264-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Personal Distress ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Common Cause ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Low And Middle Income

SummarySuicide, a common cause of death in many low- and middle-income countries, has often been viewed through a medical/psychiatric lens. Such perspectives medicalise social and personal distress and suggest individual and medication-based treatments. This editorial argues for the need to examine suicide from a public health perspective and suggests the need for population-based social and economic interventions.

scholarly journals Community-Level Experiences, Understandings, and Responses to COVID-19 in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Qualitative and Ethnographic Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 12063
Author(s):  
Christopher B. Raymond ◽  
Paul R. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Data Extraction ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Methodological Rigor ◽  
Effective Public Health ◽  
Low And Middle Income

(1) Background: COVID-19 disruptions offer researchers insight into how pandemics are at once biological and social threats, as communities struggle to construct meaning from novel challenges to their ontological status quo. Multiple epistemes, in which public health imperatives confront and negotiate locally derived knowledge and traditions, vie for legitimacy and agency, resulting in new cultural forms. (2) Methods: To investigate the context and construction of community responses, a systematic review of qualitative literature was conducted with the aim of evaluating those insights provided by empirical, social field research in low- and middle-income countries since the onset of COVID-19. Six scholarly databases were searched for empirical, qualitative, field-based, or participatory research that was published in peer-reviewed journals between December 2019 and August 2021. (3) Results: Twenty-five studies were selected for data extraction, following critical appraisal for methodological rigor by two independent reviewers, and were then analyzed thematically. Faced with unprecedented social ruptures, restrictions in social and physical mobility, and ever-looming uncertainties of infection, financial insecurity, stigma, and loss, communities worldwide reacted in multiple and complex ways. Pervasive misinformation and fear of social rejection resulted in noncompliance with pandemic sanctions, resistance, and increased isolation, allowing the spread of the disease. The meaning of, and understandings about, COVID-19 were constructed using traditional, religious, and biomedical epistemologies, which were occasionally in conflict with each other. Innovations and adaptations, through syntheses of traditional and biomedical discourses and practice, illustrated community resilience and provided models for successful engagement to improve public health outcomes. (4) Conclusion: Local context and community engagement were indispensable considerations when enacting effective public health interventions to meet the challenges of the pandemic.

The history and development of public health in low- and middle-income countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 33-46
Author(s):  
Than Sein
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Economic Productivity ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
The People ◽  
Low And Middle Income

The history and development of public health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) shows that important breakthroughs in public health interventions have led to great improvements in economic development. Health determines economic productivity and prosperity, and the physical and emotional well- being of the people. The mindset of the population afflicted with a high infant mortality rate usually lacks the secure knowledge of its children’s longevity, witnesses higher fertility rates, and experiences the quality- quantity trade- off in child- rearing. Ever since the health- for- all movement was initiated over three decades ago, health, equity, and social justice remain the main themes of social and health policy. It is essential for all public health professionals to sustain these values, especially those in LMICs and the international community.

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