scholarly journals Long-term transmission patterns and public health policies leading to malaria elimination in Panamá

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisbeth Hurtado ◽  
Alberto Cumbrera ◽  
Chystrie Rigg ◽  
Milixa Perea ◽  
Ana María Santamaría ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  

Abstract The promotion of healthy ageing at all ages of life is a key point of public health strategy in almost all health systems throughout the world with a special focus on the systems of the advanced economies. The World Health Organization promotes a lifespan approach in order to put the basis of healthy ageing in the early life, supported by a growing set of data that show the relevance of life habits and socio-economic condition since the childhood for the older adults' health. However, we already witness the impact of large cohort of older adults who fuel the demand for health and social services, with worrying projection for the next 20-30 years in terms of economic stressors on the public finances coming from the request for Long Term Care as well as for Acute care services. Prevention at all age, namely at older age, is crucial to manage the demand for care. What interventions can lead this approach? What model of care could be put on the field in order to offer a mix of integrate health and social care able to meet the individual needs and to promote the best possible quality of life for each individual? what is the role of bio-psycho-social frailty as synthetic indicator of the needs of care at population level as well as of key information to stratify the risk of negative event at individual level? what professionals should be more involved in the new model of community care? what pathway in terms of training could we promote in the next years to support the shift from acute to long term care? what contribution should be asked to civil society to allow the spread of community care? Answers to these questions should fit with different geographical, political, social and economic settings as well as with different health systems. At the same time the development of a multidimensional assessment of the demand of care, both at individual and population level, is a crucial step to plan effective interventions. The main obstacles to this process seem to stem from the organization of community care still in silos with rare collaboration among different professionals. To overcome the obstacles a mindset change should be achieved mainly by training of personnel to set up a new model of care based on the systematic interaction among the prevention and care actors. Moreover, a pro-active component of prevention and care programs at community level, could strengthen many interventions that address a population which is not always aware of the risk associated to the progression of frailty. Finally, ICT devices could provide a valuable contribution to the reshuffling of community care, if they are embedded in a comprehensive model including a robust investment in human resources. The aim of the workshop is to report on the challenges that healthy ageing process has to face in different world areas and to discuss future developments likely to affect public health policies. Key messages Multidimensional approach to public health policies aimed at increasing health promotion programs impact on older adults is the key to promote healthy ageing. Pro-active services could increase the involvement of older adults’ population into healthy ageing program.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 245-248
Author(s):  
Michael Balls ◽  
Robert Combes

The use of electronic cigarettes is being encouraged as a way of escaping from the harm resulting from conventional tobacco smoking, while scant attention is being paid to the long-term risks of inhaling electronic cigarette vapour. More information is needed for an acceptable risk assessment, from integrated non-animal testing and sound clinical investigations


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 808-808
Author(s):  
Charlene Chu ◽  
Amanda Yee ◽  
Vivian Stamatopoulos

Abstract Family caregivers are integral to the care of long-term care (LTC) residents. COVID-19 public health policies initially restricted all essential caregivers from visiting LTC homes. In lieu of in-person visitations, caregivers were allowed technology-based visits then restrictive outdoor visits, followed by indoor visitations. This study aims to illuminate the experiences of essential caregivers’ as they visited their loved ones in LTC during COVID-19’s restrictive policies. We conducted seven caregiver focus groups (N=30) from Ontario and British Columbia, Canada. Thematic analysis and line-by-line coding were completed using NVivo. We found six themes that were common to all the visitation types: 1) “LTC Home disorganization” to facilitate visits and poor communication; 2) “Lack of staffing and resources”; 3) “Mistreatment from staff and management” as caregivers were seen as inconveniences; 4) “Shock and disbelief” when family members first saw their loved ones; 5) “Significant lack of person-centered or family-centered ethos” for example the residents’ needs were ignored such that their cognitive and physical impairments sometimes made visitations impossible, as well as the burden of multiple weekly COVID-19 tests; and, 6) “Collateral damage” in the form of trauma and irreparable harm to the relationships between residents and families. These results emphasized caregivers who ultimately felt betrayed and ignored by the broader healthcare system. Our findings provide an in-depth understanding of how COVID-19 public health policies have impacted the essential caregivers and the long-lasting impacts on residents and caregivers alike. Understanding caregiver’s experiences can inform future pandemic response policies and encourage more person-centered protocols.


Gesnerus ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-112
Author(s):  
Irene Maffi

The article focusses on the medicalisation of procreation promoted by the colonial governement in Transjordan and on the consequent transformation of birth practices in the local society. It specifically investigates the impact of public health policies on colonised women’s lives considering the ways the former changed local procreation practices and the new life trajectories they elicited for the women who chose to train as birth attendants. Transjordanian midwives and nurses trained in the newly imposed biomedical system became at the same time objects and agents of social change contributing in the long term to the transformation of birth, parenting and family representations.


JAMIA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Peng ◽  
Rowland W Pettit ◽  
Christopher I Amos

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.


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 ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-203
Author(s):  
Nathan Genicot

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.


The Lancet ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 390 ◽  
pp. S12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Thomson ◽  
Frances Hillier-Brown ◽  
Adam Todd ◽  
Courtney McNamara ◽  
Tim Huijits ◽  
...  

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