IMPACTS OF THE PARTIAL RELOCATION OF HAZARIBAGH TANNERIES ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH: FOCUS ON CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE POPULATION

Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study is to determine whether the partial relocation of Hazaribagh tanneries has any effect on the area’s soil quality with respect to chromium and to determine a possible link between human exposure/diseases to chromium, with the focus being placed on children and vulnerable population. Methodology: Geochemical sampling and public health research related to fieldwork (Focus Group Discussions, two In-Depth Interview, and Key Informant Interview). Main Findings: The study indicates that there is a significant presence of chromium in the area’s soil two years following the partial relocation of Hazaribagh tanneries. Flu-like symptoms, generalized skin rash, and fertility issues are common in the vulnerable population. The residents are ignorant, belong to the marginalized section of the society, and do not fully comprehend of the impact of environmental exposure to chromium. Applications of this study: The geochemical data may be used to identify in situ treatment technologies for remediation of the area’s soil. The public health data will allow health policymakers to generate ideas and implement solutions to one of the greatest health challenges faced by the impacted population. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study is multidisciplinary by nature and employs science and technology to systematically develop an insight into the environmental contamination resulting from the release of untreated effluent and solid waste containing chromium.

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The Risk Perception, Behavior of the Public and Public Emotional Guidance Under Emergency of Public Health Research

Journal of Emergency Management and Disaster Communications ◽

10.1142/s2689980921310023 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Hui-Min Zong ◽

Yu-Jia Wang ◽

Lin-Ling Shi ◽

Yi-Bo Wu

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Risk Perception ◽

Public Health Research ◽

The Public ◽

Public Health Emergencies ◽

Public Risk ◽

Depth Study ◽

Emergency Decision Making ◽

Emergency Decision ◽

The Impact

The psychological changes and behavior of the public in the face of public health emergencies are the important reference for emergency decision-making. This paper systematically reviews the risk perception, behavior and emotion under public health emergencies, and attempts to provide a theoretical framework for the in-depth study of the relationship and influencing factors among the three, so as to further explore the impact of emergency communication resource allocation on public risk perception, behavior and emotion. To provide a theoretical basis for the establishment of a multi-level and comprehensive emotional guidance mechanism.

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Navigating the Ethics of Big Data in Public Health

The Oxford Handbook of Public Health Ethics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190245191.013.31 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 353-367

Author(s):

Effy Vayena ◽

Lawrence Madoff

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Big Data ◽

Credit Card ◽

Health Sector ◽

Public Health Research ◽

Ethical Challenges ◽

The Public ◽

Health Community ◽

Digital Disease Detection ◽

The Public Sphere

“Big data,” which encompasses massive amounts of information from both within the health sector (such as electronic health records) and outside the health sector (social media, search queries, cell phone metadata, credit card expenditures), is increasingly envisioned as a rich source to inform public health research and practice. This chapter examines the enormous range of sources, the highly varied nature of these data, and the differing motivations for their collection, which together challenge the public health community in ethically mining and exploiting big data. Ethical challenges revolve around the blurring of three previously clearer boundaries: between personal health data and nonhealth data; between the private and the public sphere in the online world; and, finally, between the powers and responsibilities of state and nonstate actors in relation to big data. Considerations include the implications for privacy, control and sharing of data, fair distribution of benefits and burdens, civic empowerment, accountability, and digital disease detection.

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Green Deal as a Climate Changes Dam on the Road to Health

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.295 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

M Jevtic ◽

C Bouland

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Climate Change ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Clinical Medicine ◽

Health Sector ◽

The Public ◽

The Road ◽

National Public Health ◽

On The Road ◽

The Impact

Abstract Public health professionals (PHP) have a dual task in climate change. They should persuade their colleagues in clinical medicine of the importance of all the issues covered by the GD. The fact that the health sector contributes to the overall emissions of 4.4% speaks to the lack of awareness within the health sector itself. The issue of providing adequate infrastructure for the health sector is essential. Strengthening the opportunities and development of the circular economy within healthcare is more than just a current issue. The second task of PHP is targeting the broader population. The public health mission is being implemented, inter alia, through numerous activities related to environmental monitoring and assessment of the impact on health. GD should be a roadmap for priorities and actions in public health, bearing in mind: an ambitious goal of climate neutrality, an insistence on clean, affordable and safe energy, a strategy for a clean and circular economy. GD provides a framework for the development of sustainable and smart transport, the development of green agriculture and policies from field to table. It also insists on biodiversity conservation and protection actions. The pursuit of zero pollution and an environment free of toxic chemicals, as well as incorporating sustainability into all policies, is also an indispensable part of GD. GD represents a leadership step in the global framework towards a healthier future and comprises all the non-EU members as well. The public health sector should consider the GD as an argument for achieving goals at national levels, and align national public health policies with the goals of this document. There is a need for stronger advocacy of health and public-health interests along with incorporating sustainability into all policies. Achieving goals requires the education process for healthcare professionals covering all of topics of climate change, energy and air pollution to a much greater extent than before.

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Conceptualising natural and quasi experiments in public health

BMC Medical Research Methodology ◽

10.1186/s12874-021-01224-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Frank de Vocht ◽

Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi ◽

Cheryl McQuire ◽

Kate Tilling ◽

Matthew Hickman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Study Design ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Public Health Research ◽

Natural Experiments ◽

Target Trial ◽

Design Elements ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Study Designs ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Natural or quasi experiments are appealing for public health research because they enable the evaluation of events or interventions that are difficult or impossible to manipulate experimentally, such as many policy and health system reforms. However, there remains ambiguity in the literature about their definition and how they differ from randomized controlled experiments and from other observational designs. We conceptualise natural experiments in the context of public health evaluations and align the study design to the Target Trial Framework. Methods A literature search was conducted, and key methodological papers were used to develop this work. Peer-reviewed papers were supplemented by grey literature. Results Natural experiment studies (NES) combine features of experiments and non-experiments. They differ from planned experiments, such as randomized controlled trials, in that exposure allocation is not controlled by researchers. They differ from other observational designs in that they evaluate the impact of events or process that leads to differences in exposure. As a result they are, in theory, less susceptible to bias than other observational study designs. Importantly, causal inference relies heavily on the assumption that exposure allocation can be considered ‘as-if randomized’. The target trial framework provides a systematic basis for evaluating this assumption and the other design elements that underpin the causal claims that can be made from NES. Conclusions NES should be considered a type of study design rather than a set of tools for analyses of non-randomized interventions. Alignment of NES to the Target Trial framework will clarify the strength of evidence underpinning claims about the effectiveness of public health interventions.

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Effect of COVID-19 on childhood Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in Chengdu, China

BMC Pediatrics ◽

10.1186/s12887-021-02679-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ying Zhang ◽

Yijie Huang ◽

Tao Ai ◽

Jun Luo ◽

Hanmin Liu

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mycoplasma Pneumoniae ◽

Close Contact ◽

Serum Antibody ◽

Pathogen Transmission ◽

Western China ◽

Public Health Response ◽

The Public ◽

Health Response ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a change in the incidence and transmission of respiratory pathogens was observed. Here, we retrospectively analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on the epidemiologic characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection among children in Chengdu, one of the largest cities of western China. Method M. pneumoniae infection was diagnosed in 33,345 pediatric patients with respiratory symptoms at the Chengdu Women’s & Children’s Central Hospital between January 2017 and December 2020, based on a serum antibody titer of ≥1:160 measured by the passive agglutination assay. Differences in infection rates were examined by sex, age, and temporal distribution. Results Two epidemic outbreaks occurred between October-December 2017 and April-December 2019, and two infection peaks were detected in the second and fourth quarters of 2017, 2018, and 2019. Due to the public health response to COVID-19, the number of positive M. pneumoniae cases significantly decreased in the second quarter of 2020. The number of M. pneumoniae infection among children aged 3–6 years was higher than that in other age groups. Conclusions Preschool children are more susceptible to M. pneumoniae infection and close contact appears to be the predominant factor favoring pathogen transmission. The public health response to COVID-19 can effectively control the transmission of M. pneumoniae.

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Impact of the Affordable Care Act’s Dependent Coverage Expansion on the Health Care and Health Status of Young Adults: What Do We Know So Far?

Medical Care Research and Review ◽

10.1177/1077558716682171 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 75 (2) ◽

pp. 131-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Joshua Breslau ◽

Bradley D. Stein ◽

Bing Han ◽

Shoshanna Shelton ◽

Hao Yu

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Status ◽

Insurance Coverage ◽

Health Impact ◽

Care Utilization ◽

The Public ◽

Behavioral Health Treatment ◽

Coverage Expansion ◽

Dependent Coverage ◽

The Impact

The dependent coverage expansion (DCE), a component of the Affordable Care Act, required private health insurance policies that cover dependents to offer coverage for policyholders’ children through age 25. This review summarizes peer-reviewed research on the impact of the DCE on the chain of consequences through which it could affect public health. Specifically, we examine the impact of the DCE on insurance coverage, access to care, utilization of care, and health status. All studies find that the DCE increased insurance coverage, but evidence regarding downstream impacts is inconsistent. There is evidence that the DCE reduced high out-of-pocket expenditures and frequent emergency room visits and increased behavioral health treatment. Evidence regarding the impact of the DCE on health is sparse but suggestive of positive impacts on self-rated health and health behavior. Inferences regarding the public health impact of the DCE await studies with greater methodological diversity and longer follow-up periods.

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Human rights restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland and Russia. Legal and comparative aspects

Zeszyty Naukowe Instytutu Administracji Akademii im Jana Długosza w Częstochowie Gubernaculum et Administratio ◽

10.16926/gea.2021.02.35 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2(24) ◽

pp. 323-340

Author(s):

Marta Pietras-Eichberger

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

European Union ◽

Human Rights ◽

Public Interest ◽

The European Union ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

The Public ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Research Problems ◽

The Impact

The study analyzed selected issues related to the scope of human rights and freedoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland and Russia. The author wanted to compare the regulations issued by a Member State of the European Union and a country outside the European Union, often using undemocratic methods of exercising power. The work focuses on research problems related to the principles of protection, the confrontation of individual interests with the public interest, and the impact of the regimes introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic on human rights law in both countries. The thesis of the study is that in the event of a threat to public health, analogous restrictions on human rights are introduced both in an undemocratic country and in a country belonging to international structures identifying with democratic values. The state of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed, and in some area even contributed to the creation of mechanisms reserved for crisis situations, posing a direct and real threat to public safety and health.

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The Public Health Research Institute of the City of New York

Science ◽

10.1126/science.96.2499.464-b ◽

1942 ◽

Vol 96 (2499) ◽

pp. 464-465

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

New York ◽

Health Research ◽

Public Health Research ◽

The Public ◽

The City ◽

Research Institute

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Can the Health-Care System Meet the Challenge of Pandemic Flu? Planning, Ethical, and Workforce Considerations

Public Health Reports ◽

10.1177/003335490712200503 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 122 (5) ◽

pp. 573-578 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Peter J. Levin ◽

Eric N. Gebbie ◽

Kristine Qureshi

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Care Delivery ◽

Care Staff ◽

Health Care Staff ◽

Accurate Information ◽

The Public ◽

Health Care Delivery Systems ◽

The Impact

The federal pandemic influenza plan predicts that 30% of the population could be infected. The impact of this pandemic would quickly overwhelm the public health and health-care delivery systems in the U.S. and throughout the world. Surge capacity for staffing, availability of drugs and supplies, and alternate means to provide care must be included in detailed plans that are tested and drilled ahead of time. Accurate information on the disease must be made available to health-care staff and the public to reduce fear. Spokespersons must provide clear, consistent messages about the disease, including actions to be taken to contain its spread and treat the afflicted. Home care will be especially important, as hospitals will be quickly overwhelmed. Staff must be prepared ahead of time to assure their ability and willingness to report to work, and public health must plan ahead to adequately confront ethical issues that will arise concerning the availability of treatment resources. The entire community must work together to meet the challenges posed by an epidemic. Identification and resolution of these challenges and issues are essential to achieve adequate public health preparedness.

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