scholarly journals Letter from the Dean

CommonHealth ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. i-ii
Author(s):  
Laura A. Siminoff
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Health And Well Being

In the past few months, our world has changed. The current public health crisis has crystalized the importance of the disciplines encompassed in our college. The public health sciences are at the forefront of managing the epidemic, and our social workers and clinical fields—nursing and rehabilitation disciplines—are critical to helping the public manage the extreme dislocation this epidemic has brought to many, many people’s lives. Sadly, the response of our country has been lacking, and our healthcare system has been sorely ill-prepared to respond swiftly. All this is to say that health-focused research is critical to improving the health and well-being of Americans and key to improving the U.S. healthcare system and, importantly, the public health infrastructure.  It is only fitting, then, that it is under these circumstances—and just before National Public Health Week—that we launch CommonHealth, the journal of Temple University’s College of Public Health. The COVID-19 pandemic is a testament to the importance, and power, of accurate information shared responsibly. It is our job to not only generate new knowledge, but also to share that knowledge with the public and those practicing on the front lines. In doing so, we inform new practices and improve upon old ones, continually moving toward a world with better health and well-being for all. In CommonHealth, you will find research that approaches the health issues of our day from multiple angles and across many health disciplines. We in the College of Public Health know that health is about more than just a disease or a disability; positive health involves your environment, your state of mind, and your behaviors. Our college embraces this diversity of perspectives, and that will be evident in each issue of this journal. Complex healthcare problems, from pandemics to personal health, to issues of social justice, are intertwined, and they call for equally complex solutions. We are united across our departments—Communication Sciences and Disorders, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Health Services Administration and Policy, Kinesiology, Nursing, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the School of Social Work—to improve quality of life for everyone, no matter their zip code or economic status. For many of our students, this will be an introduction to academic publication. The journal will be managed by a team of talented graduate students who will gain invaluable experience, from soliciting and editing articles to publication and promotion. In my time at the College of Public Health, I have seen firsthand the impressive work of our student and faculty researchers, and we in the college are so excited to share that work with a wider audience. In these times, our mission to train the next generation of health professionals and create new knowledge toward building healthier communities is more important than ever. As we have seen over the past month—and as we will see even more in the coming ones—what we do with that information is just as important as the findings themselves. CommonHealth will be an important tool in the dissemination of new knowledge and cutting-edge research.

scholarly journals Biodiversity and Health in the Urban Environment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa R. Marselle ◽  
Sarah J. Lindley ◽  
Penny A. Cook ◽  
Aletta Bonn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Purpose of review Biodiversity underpins urban ecosystem functions that are essential for human health and well-being. Understanding how biodiversity relates to human health is a developing frontier for science, policy and practice. This article describes the beneficial, as well as harmful, aspects of biodiversity to human health in urban environments. Recent findings Recent research shows that contact with biodiversity of natural environments within towns and cities can be both positive and negative to human physical, mental and social health and well-being. For example, while viruses or pollen can be seriously harmful to human health, biodiverse ecosystems can promote positive health and well-being. On balance, these influences are positive. As biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, research suggests that its loss could threaten the quality of life of all humans. Summary A key research gap is to understand—and evidence—the specific causal pathways through which biodiversity affects human health. A mechanistic understanding of pathways linking biodiversity to human health can facilitate the application of nature-based solutions in public health and influence policy. Research integration as well as cross-sector urban policy and planning development should harness opportunities to better identify linkages between biodiversity, climate and human health. Given its importance for human health, urban biodiversity conservation should be considered as public health investment.

scholarly journals Advancing environmental public health in Latin America and the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Marcelo Korc ◽  
Fred Hauchman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Public Health ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Health And Well Being

This paper highlights the important leadership role of the public health sector, working with other governmental sectors and nongovernmental entities, to advance environmental public health in Latin America and the Caribbean toward the achievement of 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 3: Health and Well-Being. The most pressing current and future environmental public health threats are discussed, followed by a brief review of major historical and current international and regional efforts to address these concerns. The paper concludes with a discussion of three major components of a regional environmental public health agenda that responsible parties can undertake to make significant progress toward ensuring the health and well-being of all people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Communicating the Public Health Risks of Climate Change

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda R. Weathers ◽  
Edward Maibach ◽  
Matthew Nisbet
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Public Health Community ◽  
Health Organizations ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Community ◽  
Public Health Organizations ◽  
Health And Well Being

Effective public communication and engagement have played important roles in ameliorating and managing a wide range of public health problems including tobacco and substance use, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, vaccine preventable diseases, sudden infant death syndrome, and automobile injuries and fatalities. The public health community must harness what has been learned about effective public communication to alert and engage the public and policy makers about the health threats of climate change. This need is driven by three main factors. First, people’s health is already being harmed by climate change, and the magnitude of this harm is almost certain to get much worse if effective actions are not soon taken to limit climate change and to help communities successfully adapt to unavoidable changes in their climate. Therefore, public health organizations and professionals have a responsibility to inform communities about these risks and how they can be averted. Second, historically, climate change public engagement efforts have focused primarily on the environmental dimensions of the threat. These efforts have mobilized an important but still relatively narrow range of the public and policy makers. In contrast, the public health community holds the potential to engage a broader range of people, thereby enhancing climate change understanding and decision-making capacity among members of the public, the business community, and government officials. Third, many of the actions that slow or prevent climate change, and that protect human health from the harms associated with climate change, also benefit health and well-being in ways unrelated to climate change. These “cobenefits” to societal action on climate change include reduced air and water pollution, increased physical activity and decreased obesity, reduced motor-vehicle–related injuries and death, increased social capital in and connections across communities, and reduced levels of depression. Therefore, from a public health perspective, actions taken to address climate change are a “win-win” in that in addition to responsibly addressing climate change, they can help improve public health and well-being in other ways as well. Over the past half decade, U.S.-based researchers have been investigating the factors that shape public views about the health risks associated with climate change, the communication strategies that motivate support for actions to reduce these risks, and the practical implications for public health organizations and professionals who seek to effectively engage individuals and their communities. This research serves as a model for similar work that can be conducted across country settings and international publics. Until only recently, the voices of public health experts have been largely absent from the public dialogue on climate change, a dialogue that is often erroneously framed as an “economy versus the environment” debate. Introducing the public health voice into the public dialogue can help communities see the issue in a new light, motivating and promoting more thoughtful decision making.

scholarly journals A Public Health Approach to Negative News Media: The 3-to-1 Solution

2020 ◽  
pp. 089011712091422
Author(s):  
Tyler J. VanderWeele ◽  
Arthur C. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Population Health ◽  
News Media ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
The Past ◽  
Negative News ◽  
Health And Well Being

There is clear evidence that the prevalence of negative media reporting has increased substantially over the past years. There is evidence that this negative reporting adversely affects social interactions, and thereby also health and well-being outcomes. Given the wide reach of negative media reporting and the contagion of such reporting and the resulting interactions, the effects on health are arguably substantial. Moreover, there is little incentive at present for media outlets to change practices. A commitment of news outlets to report one positive story for every 3 negative stories, and of news consumers to restrict attention to outlets that do, could dramatically alter practices and, consequently, population health.

Imposing Unfair Risks

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín ◽  
Kristen Intemann
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Reliable Criterion ◽  
Good Science ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health And Well Being

This chapters evaluates whether inductive risks judgments can serve as a reliable criterion to identify normatively inappropriate dissent (NID). Dissent that calls for rejecting certain consensus views related to public policy can be risky. When consensus views are mistakenly rejected, it can have serious consequences for public health and well-being. These risks may not be worth taking when the risks disproportionately fall on the public, or when the dissent in question fails to conform to widely shared standards of good science. It concludes that this account also fails to offer a criterion to reliably identify NID. In part this is because of the difficulties presented by the criterion of shared standards in science. Also, the ambiguities present in judgments about inductive risks lead to serious problems in practice.

scholarly journals Representations of Free-Living and Unrestrained Dogs as an Emerging Public Health Issue in Australian Newspapers

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5807
Author(s):  
Chris Degeling ◽  
Julie Hall ◽  
Lily M. van Eeden ◽  
Summer M. Finlay ◽  
Suk Maya Gurung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Free Living ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Risks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

That dogs can live and breed as free-living animals contributes to public health risks including zoonotic transmission, dog bites, and compromising people’s sense of safety in public spaces. In Australia, free-living dog populations are comprised of domestic dogs, dingoes, and dog–dingo hybrids, and are described using various terms (for example, stray or community), depending on social or geographic context. Urban expansion and regional migration mean that risks associated with contact between humans and free-living dogs are increasing. Public health authorities, local governments, and community organisations have called for transdisciplinary partnerships to address dog-related health risks with a sustainable long-term approach. Values pluralism and a lack of sustained community engagement in affected areas have meant that the outcome of such efforts to date has been mixed. To identify ideas in public circulation about the impact of unrestrained and free-living dogs on human health and well-being, and understand the framework through which these animals are problematised and solutions are proposed in public discourse, we systematically examined coverage of these issues in print media. Our analyses indicate that reporting in Australian newspapers tends to frame the public health impacts of free-living dogs as problems of public order requiring direct government action to re-establish control. The public health impacts of free-living dog populations in Australia have complex causes that intersect at the nexus between human and canine behaviour, agricultural and land management practices, local bylaws, and efforts to conserve ecological systems. Placing responsibility on governments limits opportunities for greater community involvement in developing integrated One Health approaches. Better-quality evidence of the impacts of dog populations on community health and well-being, and broad community support are needed to reshape public debates on animal control, which, ultimately, will promote more effective approaches to mitigate dog-related public health risks at the human–animal–environment interface.

scholarly journals Creating Community During COVID-19: A Virtual Art Gallery to Address Social Isolation During a Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483992110646
Author(s):  
Sara E. Baumann ◽  
Jessica G. Burke
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public University ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Art Gallery ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Health And Well Being

The COVID-19 pandemic, a public health crisis, significantly impacted millions of people around the world. “Creating Community During COVID-19” is a community-engaged virtual art gallery that explores resilience, social cohesion, and creativity during the onset of the pandemic in the United States. It aimed to address social isolation and encourage inclusion at a large public university in the early days of the pandemic. The community was invited to submit artworks that reflected how they are staying connected during the pandemic. The artworks were then qualitatively analyzed and highlighted three key themes: (1) reflecting (turning inward), (2) advocating (turning outward), and (3) engaging (coming together). This arts-based project demonstrates promise as a creative approach for promoting social cohesion and positive health and well-being, especially in times of uncertainty.

scholarly journals Physical Activity and Health Promotion in Esports and Gaming–Discussing Unique Opportunities for an Unprecedented Cultural Phenomenon

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Ketelhut ◽  
Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken ◽  
Patrick Zimmermann ◽  
Claudio R. Nigg
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
All Cause Mortality ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Evidence Based Guidelines ◽  
Health And Well Being

Due to long periods of sedentary behavior, and unhealthy diets gamers and esports players are at risk for numerous chronic diseases and all-cause mortality. Health research has started addressing the public health implications of the esports phenomenon, drawing a bleak picture of this megatrend. However, instead of just highlighting adverse public health implications of this trend, it is recommended to become involved in this phenomenon and positively influence it. Esports has an enormous potential for physical activity and health-promoting efforts, provides a context for broadly disseminating interventions, and offers new ways of gaining access to an often-neglected population. This paper presents: the potential of the esports phenomenon to promote physical activity, health, and well-being in gamers and esports players; the strategic and preventive solutions to ameliorate esports possible adverse health impacts; and the utilization of esports technology (streams, media platforms, exergames, etc.) as an innovative health promotion tool, especially reaching gamers and esports players with attractive and interactive interventions. This is to encourage systematic scientific research so that evidence-based guidelines and intervention strategies involving regular physical activity, healthy diet, and sleep hygiene for esports will be developed. The goal is to promote public health approaches that move toward a better integration of esports and gaming.

scholarly journals Naming Institutionalized Racism in the Public Health Literature: A Systematic Literature Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 133 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel R. Hardeman ◽  
Katy A. Murphy ◽  
J’Mag Karbeah ◽  
Katy Backes Kozhimannil
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Core Concept ◽  
Institutionalized Racism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Literature ◽  
Health Field ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Public Health Literature

Objectives: Although a range of factors shapes health and well-being, institutionalized racism (societal allocation of privilege based on race) plays an important role in generating inequities by race. The goal of this analysis was to review the contemporary peer-reviewed public health literature from 2002-2015 to determine whether the concept of institutionalized racism was named (ie, explicitly mentioned) and whether it was a core concept in the article. Methods: We used a systematic literature review methodology to find articles from the top 50 highest-impact journals in each of 6 categories (249 journals in total) that most closely represented the public health field, were published during 2002-2015, were US focused, were indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE and/or Ovid/MEDLINE, and mentioned terms relating to institutionalized racism in their titles or abstracts. We analyzed the content of these articles for the use of related terms and concepts. Results: We found only 25 articles that named institutionalized racism in the title or abstract among all articles published in the public health literature during 2002-2015 in the 50 highest-impact journals and 6 categories representing the public health field in the United States. Institutionalized racism was a core concept in 16 of the 25 articles. Conclusions: Although institutionalized racism is recognized as a fundamental cause of health inequities, it was not often explicitly named in the titles or abstracts of articles published in the public health literature during 2002-2015. Our results highlight the need to explicitly name institutionalized racism in articles in the public health literature and to make it a central concept in inequities research. More public health research on institutionalized racism could help efforts to overcome its substantial, longstanding effects on health and well-being.

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