Harm reduction must be recognised an essential public health intervention during crises

AbstractThe COVID-19 had a substantial impact on the provision of harm reduction services for people who use drugs globally. These front-line public health interventions serve a population that due to stigma, discrimination and criminalisation, faces barriers to accessing health and social services and are particularly vulnerable to public health crises. Despite this, the pandemic has seen many harm reduction services close, reduce operations or have their funding reduced. Simultaneously, around the world, harm reduction services have been forced to adapt, and in doing so have demonstrated resilience, flexibility and innovation. Governments must recognise the unique abilities of harm reduction services, particularly those led by the community, and identify them as essential health services that must be protected and strengthened in times of crisis.

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Leveraging Rich Data and Machine Learning to Facilitate Policy Making on Public Health Interventions in Fighting to Contain the COVID-19 Pandemic

10.36227/techrxiv.12573755 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Robin Qiu

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Machine Learning ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Research Direction ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Short Article ◽

The World ◽

Rich Data

<p>This is a short article, focusing on promoting more study on SEIR modeling by leveraging rich data and machine learning. We believe that this is extremely critical as many regions at the country or state/provincial levels have been struggling with their public health intervention policies on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Some recent published papers on mitigation measures show promising SEIR modeling results, which could shred the light for other policymakers at different community levels. We present our perspective on this research direction. Hopefully, we can stimulate more studies and help the world win this “war” against the invisible enemy “coronavirus” sooner rather than later. </p>

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The role of risk communication in public health interventions. An analysis of risk communication for a community quarantine in Germany to curb the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0256113 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. e0256113

Author(s):

Juliane Scholz ◽

Wibke Wetzker ◽

Annika Licht ◽

Rainer Heintzmann ◽

André Scherag ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Risk Communication ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Information Level ◽

Public Health Authorities

Background Separating ill or possibly infectious people from their healthy community is one of the core principles of non-pharmaceutical interventions. However, there is scarce evidence on how to successfully implement quarantine orders. We investigated a community quarantine for an entire village in Germany (Neustadt am Rennsteig, March 2020) with the aim of better understanding the successful implementation of quarantine measures. Methods This cross-sectional survey was conducted in Neustadt am Rennsteig six weeks after the end of a 14-day mandatory community quarantine. The sample size consisted of 562 adults (64% of the community), and the response rate was 295 adults, or 52% (33% of the community). Findings National television was reported as the most important channel of information. Contact with local authorities was very limited, and partners or spouses played a more important role in sharing information. Generally, the self-reported information level was judged to be good (211/289 [73.0%]). The majority of participants (212/289 [73.4%]) approved of the quarantine, and the reported compliance was 217/289 (75.1%). A self-reported higher level of concern as well as a higher level of information correlated positively with both a greater acceptance of quarantine and self-reported compliant behaviour. Interpretation The community quarantine presented a rare opportunity to investigate a public health intervention for an entire community. In order to improve the implementation of public health interventions, public health risk communication activities should be intensified to increase both the information level (potentially leading to better compliance with community quarantine) and the communication level (to facilitate rapport and trust between public health authorities and their communities).

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Adapting Syndromic Surveillance Baselines After Public Health Interventions

Public Health Reports ◽

10.1177/0033354920959080 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 135 (6) ◽

pp. 737-745

Author(s):

Roger Antony Morbey ◽

Alex James Elliot ◽

Gillian Elizabeth Smith ◽

Andre Charlett

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Syndromic Surveillance ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Step Change ◽

Emergency Department Visits ◽

Health Interventions ◽

False Alarms ◽

Rotavirus Vaccine ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Before And After

Background Public health surveillance requires historical baselines to identify unusual activity. However, these baselines require adjustment after public health interventions. We describe an example of such an adjustment after the introduction of rotavirus vaccine in England in July 2013. Methods We retrospectively measured the magnitude of differences between baselines and observed counts (residuals) before and after the introduction of a public health intervention, the introduction of a rotavirus vaccine in July 2013. We considered gastroenteritis, diarrhea, and vomiting to be indicators for national syndromic surveillance, including telephone calls to a telehealth system, emergency department visits, and unscheduled consultations with general practitioners. The start of the preintervention period varied depending on the availability of surveillance data: June 2005 for telehealth, November 2009 for emergency departments, and July 2010 for general practitioner data. The postintervention period was July 2013 to the second quarter of 2016. We then determined whether baselines incorporating a step-change reduction or a change in seasonality resulted in more accurate models of activity. Results Residuals in the unadjusted baseline models increased by 42%-198% from preintervention to postintervention. Increases in residuals for vomiting indicators were 19%-44% higher than for diarrhea. Both step-change and seasonality adjustments improved the surveillance models; we found the greatest reduction in residuals in seasonally adjusted models (4%-75%). Conclusion Our results demonstrated the importance of adjusting surveillance baselines after public health interventions, particularly accounting for changes in seasonality. Adjusted baselines produced more representative expected values than did unadjusted baselines, resulting in fewer false alarms and a greater likelihood of detecting public health threats.

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Plague and trade in Lagos, 1924–1931

International Journal of Maritime History ◽

10.1177/0843871418765723 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 287-301 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Olukayode A. Faleye

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Economic Policy ◽

Medical Records ◽

Historical Analysis ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Historical Study ◽

Maritime Trade ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

The Third

The literature on the Third Plague Pandemic in West Africa focuses on urbanisation and disease processes in colonial Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria. Consequently, there is a dearth of historical study of the relational complexities between public health interventions and maritime trade during the outbreak in the region. It is with this in mind that this article examines the historical effects of plague control on internal commerce and international maritime trade in Lagos from 1924 to 1931. The study is based on the historical analysis of colonial administrative, sanitary and medical records as well as newspaper reports. It concludes that the nature of colonial public health intervention was determined by economic policy preferences that impacted distinctively on internal commerce and international maritime trade in Lagos.

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Leveraging Rich Data and Machine Learning to Facilitate Policy Making on Public Health Interventions in Fighting to Contain the COVID-19 Pandemic

10.36227/techrxiv.12573755.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Robin Qiu

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Machine Learning ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Research Direction ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Short Article ◽

The World ◽

Rich Data

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Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of West Africans Towards COVID-19: A Survey to Inform Public Health Intervention

10.21203/rs.3.rs-812134/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Aniefiok John Udoakang ◽

Alexandra Lindsey Djomkam Zune ◽

Kesego Tapela ◽

Owoicho Oloche ◽

Ifeoluwa Kayode Fagbohun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

Preventive Measures ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Basic Knowledge ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

African Countries ◽

First Case ◽

West Africans

Abstract Background: The first case of the novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in West Africa was first confirmed in Nigeria in February 2020. Since then, several public health interventions and preventive measures have been implemented to curtail transmission of the causative agent, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Therefore, this study was performed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of West Africans towards COVID-19. Methods: An online survey was conducted between 29 September to 29 October 2020 among West Africans. Thirty-three survey questions were designed to collate demographics data and participants’ knowledge, attitude and perception towards COVID-19.Results: Overall, 1106 respondents from 16 West African countries, ranging from 1 to 548 with about 11.8% residing outside the subregion, participated in the survey. The respondents had an average COVID-19 knowledge score of 67.82 ± 8.31, with knowledge of the disease significantly associated with the country of residence (P = 0.00) and marginally so in settlement types (P = 0.05). Most respondents (93.4%) could identify the main COVID-19 symptoms, and 73.20% would consult a healthcare professional if infected with SARS-CoV-2. Also, 75.2% of the respondents are willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, whereas 10.40% and 14.40 % are unwilling and undecided, respectively. Perceptions of what constitute COVID-19 preventive measures were highly variable. Approximately, 8% of the respondents felt that their government responded excellently in managing the pandemic while a third felt that the response was just good. Also, more than half (54%) opined that isolation and treatment of COVID-19 patients is a way of curbing SARS-CoV-2 spread.Conclusions: Most West Africans have basic knowledge of COVID-19 and showed a positive attitude, with likely proactive practice towards the disease. However, results showed that these varied across countries and are influenced by the types of settlements. Therefore, the health and education authorities in various countries should develop focused measures capturing people in different settlements to improve their preventative measures when designing public health interventions for COVID-19 and any future epidemics or pandemics.

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A case study of the evaluation of a public health intervention

Australian Health Review ◽

10.1071/ah060458 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 458 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bradley Forssman ◽

Leena Gupta ◽

Graham Burgess

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Action ◽

Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽

Evaluation Approach ◽

South Wales ◽

Health Action

Large public health interventions to control infectious disease outbreaks are common, but rigorous evaluation to improve the quality and effectiveness of these is rarely undertaken. Following a large community-based clinic to prevent a hepatitis A outbreak, a multifaceted and multidisciplinary evaluation was conducted involving consumers, health professionals and industry partners. The results of this evaluation were used to produce practical operational guidelines for the planning and conduct of future interventions. These guidelines have been distributed to all public health units in New South Wales and may be included in the next edition of the NSW Health notifiable diseases manual. The evaluation approach can be applied to all public health interventions across NSW and Australia to assist in the development of operational guidelines, in order to increase the quality of public health action in outbreak prevention.

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Strategies and structures for public health interventions

10.1093/med/9780198816805.003.0100 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 659-684

Author(s):

Sian Griffiths ◽

Kevin A. Fenton

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Workforce ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

The Public ◽

The World ◽

Different Levels ◽

Different Parts

This chapter describes strategies for public health intervention and structures that support them. It uses examples of strategies in different parts of the world and at different levels—global, national, local, and individual—to illustrate various strategic approaches. The key elements of strategy are those of vision, mission, values, aims, plans, and their implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The examples chosen provide descriptions of how these are articulated and also how interventions are made towards their achievement of better public health. The importance of the way health services are structured, the public health workforce, and underpinning research and use of evidence are emphasized.

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Public Health Programs and Policies: Ethical Justifications

The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190245191.013.3 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 20-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ruth R. Faden ◽

Sirine Shebaya

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Collective Action ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Health Policies ◽

Health Programs ◽

Moral Justification ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Programs ◽

Public Health Policies

Public health policies sometimes make demands on individuals who do not stand to benefit from the policies, and they sometimes interfere with liberty even when they do benefit the individuals in question. In such instances, a moral justification for a public health intervention is required. This chapter sets forth five justifications for public health interventions: (1) overall benefit, (2) collective action and efficiency, (3) fairness in the distribution of burdens, (4) prevention of harm (the harm principle), and (5) paternalism. The chapter discusses each justification in turn, posits that often more than one justification applies to a given policy, and argues against frameworks that place disproportionate attention on conflicts between liberty and health.

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The assembly effect: the connectedness between populations is a double‐edged sword for public health interventions

Malaria Journal ◽

10.1186/s12936-021-03726-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sai Thein Than Tun ◽

Daniel M. Parker ◽

Ricardo Aguas ◽

Lisa J. White

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Public Health Intervention ◽

Human Movement ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Public Health Interventions ◽

Malaria Intervention ◽

Disease Epidemiology ◽

Intervention Measures ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Many public health interventions lead to disruption or decrease of transmission, providing a beneficial effect for people in the population regardless of whether or not they individually participate in the intervention. This protective benefit has been referred to as a herd or community effect and is dependent on sufficient population participation. In practice, public health interventions are implemented at different spatial scales (i.e., at the village, district, or provincial level). Populations, however defined (i.e., neighbourhoods, villages, districts) are frequently connected to other populations through human movement or travel, and this connectedness can influence potential herd effects. Methods The impact of a public health intervention (mass drug administration for malaria) was modelled, for different levels of connectedness between populations that have similar disease epidemiology (e.g., two nearby villages which have similar baseline malaria incidences and similar malaria intervention measures), or between populations of varying disease epidemiology (e.g., two nearby villages which have different baseline malaria incidences and/or malaria intervention measures). Results The overall impact of the interventions deployed could be influenced either positively (adding value to the intervention) or negatively (reducing the impact of the intervention) by how much the intervention units are connected with each other (e.g., how frequent people go to the other village or town) and how different the disease intensity between them are. This phenomenon is termed the “assembly effect”, and it is a meta-population version of the more commonly understood “herd effect”. Conclusions The connectedness of intervention units or populations is an important factor to be considered to achieve success in public health interventions that could provide herd effects. Appreciating the assembly effect can improve the cost-effective strategies for global disease elimination projects.

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