scholarly journals Microbial insurgency: Theorizing global health in the Anthropocene

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Hirschfeld
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
International Health ◽  
Health Trends ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Cold War

Several recent international health crises have revealed significant vulnerabilities in global pandemic preparedness. The 2014 Ebola fever epidemic expanded into an international threat far more quickly than experts anticipated, and the 2018 Ebola fever epidemic continues to expand, even with new technological innovations designed to control the disease. The 2015 yellow fever outbreak in Angola exhausted global vaccine supplies and put millions of people at risk. This article argues that global health authorities failed to anticipate the magnitude of these outbreaks because the field has not been updated to address the ways recent changes in international political economy are combining with environmental instabilities of the Anthropocene to increase epidemiological risks. Many public health textbooks and teaching materials continue to rely on variants of 20th-century modernization theory to explain and predict global health trends. Since the end of the Cold War, however, there has been a dramatic reconfiguration of governance in many parts of the world, and these macro-level changes are accelerating ecological destruction and fueling armed conflict in ways that will reduce the range and effectiveness of public health methods and prevention technologies that were successful during the 20th century. The combined effect of these institutional and environmental changes will increase global pandemic risks in the Anthropocene, even for infectious diseases that are easily preventable today.

Public Health Control Measures in Response to Global Pandemics and Drug Resistance

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (S2) ◽  
pp. 49-56
Author(s):  
Polly J. Price
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
International Health ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
World Health ◽  
Legal Authority ◽  
List Type ◽  
Resistant Disease ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Health Organization

These teaching materials explore the specific powers of governments to implement control measures in response to communicable disease, in two different contexts:The first context concerns global pandemic diseases. Relevant legal authority includes international law, World Health Organization governance and the International Health Regulations, and regulatory authority of nations.The second context is centered on U.S. law and concerns control measures for drug-resistant disease, using tuberculosis as an example. In both contexts, international and domestic, the point is to understand legal authority to address public health emergencies.

Public Health Risk Environment for Bulgarian SMEs (Guest Houses and Family Hotels) in the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-102
Author(s):  
Teodora Kiryakova-Dineva ◽  
Ruska Bozhkova
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Risk Environment ◽  
The South ◽  
Public Health Risk ◽  
The Public ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World

At a time of the global health pandemic, the most affected areas are economy and social life. Along with the practical limitations of travel, regarding personal security reasons and the objective risks for the environment, the world of tourism has changed. However, under the circumstances, some small accommodation units have managed to survive, like the Seamen between Scylla and Charybdis – the mythical situation. The purpose of this chapter is to delve into the public health risk environment for Bulgarian SMEs in tourism (guest houses and family hotels) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The extent of the analysis includes hotels and guest houses in the south-western part of Bulgaria that managed to keep operating despite the global pandemic situation.

scholarly journals The Stellenbosch Consensus on Legal National Responses to Public Health Risks

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-68
Author(s):  
Roojin Habibi ◽  
Steven J. Hoffman ◽  
Gian Luca Burci ◽  
Thana Cristina de Campos ◽  
Danwood Chirwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
International Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
The Face ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Health Regulations

Abstract The International Health Regulations (ihr), of which the World Health Organization is custodian, govern how countries collectively promote global health security, including prevention, detection, and response to global health emergencies such as the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. Countries are permitted to exercise their sovereignty in taking additional health measures to respond to such emergencies if these measures adhere to Article 43 of this legally binding instrument. Overbroad measures taken during recent public health emergencies of international concern, however, reveal that the provision remains inadequately understood. A shared understanding of the measures legally permitted by Article 43 is a necessary step in ensuring the fulfillment of obligations, and fostering global solidarity and resilience in the face of future pandemics. In this consensus statement, public international law scholars specializing in global health consider the legal meaning of Article 43 using the interpretive framework of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

scholarly journals Lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic: sustainability is an indispensable condition of Global Health Security

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deisy de Freitas Lima Ventura ◽  
Gabriela Marques di Giulio ◽  
Danielle Hanna Rached
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The One

Abstract Among the possible developments of the Covid-19 pandemic at the international and national levels is the advancement of the Global Health Security (GHS) agenda. On the one hand, GHS might be able to give priority to health problems on the political agenda-setting, on the other, however, it might open up space for public security actors in decision-making processes to the detriment of the power of health authorities. This article critically analyzes the concept and the progress of the GHS agenda seeking to demonstrate that there can be no security in matters of public health when sustainability in its multiple dimensions is not taken into account. At the end, sustainability has a twofold responsibility: to maintain the consistency and permanence of emergency response actions, especially with investments in public health systems, with universal access, and to minimize the structural causes of pandemics linked to the environment.

Disrupting the COVID-19 Misinfodemic With Network Interventions: Network Solutions for Network Problems

2021 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 514-519
Author(s):  
Lindsay E. Young ◽  
Emily Sidnam-Mauch ◽  
Marlon Twyman ◽  
Liyuan Wang ◽  
Jackie Jingyi Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Network Problems ◽  
Social Network Intervention ◽  
Network Intervention

Amid the COVID-19 global pandemic, a highly troublesome influx of viral misinformation threatens to exacerbate the crisis through its deleterious effects on public health outcomes and health behavior decisions. This “misinfodemic” has ignited a surge of ongoing research aimed at characterizing its content, identifying its sources, and documenting its effects. Noticeably absent as of yet is a cogent strategy to disrupt misinformation. We start with the premise that the diffusion and persistence of COVID-19 misinformation are networked phenomena that require network interventions. To this end, we propose five classes of social network intervention to provide a roadmap of opportunities for disrupting misinformation dynamics during a global health crisis. Collectively, these strategies identify five distinct yet interdependent features of information environments that present viable opportunities for interventions.

scholarly journals Gaps in international nutrition and child feeding guidelines: a look at the nutrition and young child feeding education of Ghanaian nurses

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 2215-2224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennie N Davis ◽  
Helen Brown ◽  
Samantha A Ramsay
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Young Child ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Complementary Feeding ◽  
International Health ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Health Clinics ◽  
Public Health Clinics

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the nutrition and young child feeding (YCF) education and training of nurses in public health clinics of Ghana’s Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem region (KEEA) in relation to global health guidelines, and how nurses served as educators for caregivers with children aged 0–5 years.DesignA qualitative study of semi-structured one-on-one and group interviews (n 21) following a questionnaire of closed- and open-ended questions addressing child feeding, nutrition and global health recommendations. Interviews were conducted in English, audio-recorded, transcribed and coded. Descriptive data were tabulated. Content analysis identified themes from open-ended questions.SettingKEEA public health clinics (n 12).SubjectsNurses (n 41) purposefully recruited from KEEA clinics.ResultsA model capturing nurses’ nutrition and YCF education emerged with five major themes: (i) adequacy of nurses’ basic knowledge in breast-feeding, complementary feeding, iron-deficiency anaemia, YCF and hygiene; (ii) nurses’ delivery of nutrition and YCF information; (iii) nurses’ evaluation of children’s health status to measure education effectiveness; (iv) nurses’ perceived barriers of caregivers’ ability to implement nutrition and YCF education; and (v) a gap in global health recommendations on YCF practices for children aged 2–5 years.ConclusionsNurses demonstrated adequate nutrition and YCF knowledge, but reported a lack of in-depth nutrition knowledge and YCF education for children 2–5 years of age, specifically education and knowledge of YCF beyond complementary feeding. To optimize child health outcomes, a greater depth of nutrition and YCF education is needed in international health guidelines.

Risk Communication and Crisis Communication in Infectious Disease Outbreaks in Germany: What Is Being Done, and What Needs to be Done

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Dickmann ◽  
Nadine Biedenkopf ◽  
Sam Keeping ◽  
Markus Eickmann ◽  
Stephan Becker
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
International Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

AbstractObjectiveRisk communication plays a central role in the management of infectious disease. The World Health Organization's 2005 International Health Regulations have highlighted the need for countries to strengthen their capacities in this area to ensure effective responses to public health emergencies. We surveyed laboratories, hospitals, and public health institutions in Germany to detail the current situation regarding risk communication and crisis management and to identify which areas require further development.MethodsA mixed methods approach was adopted. An initial questionnaire was distributed to relevant persons in laboratories and hospitals, and semistructured interviews were conducted with selected participants. Representatives from state public health authorities, federal agencies, and media also were interviewed to add additional contextual information to the questionnaire responses.ResultsBased on the responses received, the universal sense among key stakeholders was that risk communication and crisis communication measures must be improved. Collaborative working was a consistent theme, with participants suggesting that a partnering strategy could help to improve performance. This approach could be achieved through better coordination between groups, for example, through a knowledge-sharing policy.ConclusionsMore research is needed on how such collaboration might be implemented, along with a general conceptual framework for risk communication to underpin the overall strategy. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-6)

scholarly journals THE FAILURE OF ‘CORE CAPACITIES’ UNDER THE WHO INTERNATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-250
Author(s):  
Giulio Bartolini
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health System ◽  
International Health ◽  
International Health Regulations ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Health Regulations

AbstractAnalyses related to the Covid-19 pandemic have mainly addressed measures adopted in response to this event without paying attention to provisions included in the 2005 International Health Regulations which require States to develop predefined core capacities to prevent, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease. The legal architecture related to these obligations has, however, various shortcomings and States have largely failed to implement the required measures. Only recently has some practice been developed by the WHO to address these deficiencies, and further action is still required to finally implement this (neglected) cornerstone of the global health system.

scholarly journals Evaluating an Institutional health Partnership using the ESTHER EFFECt tool: A Case Study of an Evaluation of the Institutional Health Partnership Between Nigeria CDC and Public Health England

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Razavi ◽  
Ngozi Erondu ◽  
Katie Haddock ◽  
Gurnam Johal ◽  
Oyeronke Oyebanji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
International Health ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Health Partnerships ◽  
Health Partnership ◽  
International Health Partnerships

Abstract Background: Bilateral Institutional Health Partnerships (IHPs) are a means of strengthening health systems and are becoming increasing prevalent in global health. Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Public Health England (PHE) have engaged in one such IHP as part of Public Health England’s International Health Regulations Strengthening project. Presently, there have been limited evaluations of IHPs resulting in limited evidence of their effectiveness in strengthening health systems despite the concept being used across the world.Methods: The ESTHER EFFECt tool was used to evaluate the IHP between NCDC and PHE. Senior leadership from both organisations participated in a two-day workshop where their perceptions of various elements of the partnership were evaluated. This was done through an initial quantitative survey followed by a facilitated discussion to further explore any arising issues.Results: This evaluation is the first published evaluation of a bilateral global health partnership undertaken by NCDC and PHE. NCDC scores were consistently higher than PHE scores. Key strengths and weaknesses of the partnership were identified such as having wide ranging institutional engagement, however needing to improve dissemination mechanisms following key learning activity.Conclusions: There is a dearth of evidence measuring the effectiveness of international health partnerships; of the studies that exist, many are lacking in academic rigour. We used the ESTHER EFFECt tool as it is an established method of evaluating the progress of the partnership, with multiple previous peer-reviewed publications. This will hopefully encourage more organisations to publish evaluations of their international health partnerships and build the evidence base.

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