scholarly journals Assessing The Public Health Benefits of Parkrun By Modelling Performance And Participation At Events In Scotland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Gilburn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Public Health Initiative ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Travelling Time ◽  
Female Bias ◽  
Sport Events

Abstract Background: parkrun is a hugely successful public health initiative that encourages inactive people to exercise. The parkrun results database is likely to contain a wealth of potentially important public health information on the fitness benefits and participation patterns of parkrun, yet this resource has been ignored. The aim was to identify patterns in performance and attendance of participants at parkrun events in Scotland to enhance the future health benefits of parkrun through widening participation particularly by identifying features of events that overcome barriers to women taking part.Study design: The study conducted linear and binomial mixed models of age-graded performance, sex ratio and age of participants at parkrun events held in Scotland. Predictor variables were age, sex, parkrun ID number, number of runs, elevation gain, surface type and travelling time to the next nearest parkrun event. The data were generated from parkrun results pages for 56 events in Scotland. Results: There was a decline in the mean performance of participants at events, however individual performances improved over time. The sex ratio was male biased but the proportion of female participants has been increasing. Events in the most remote parts of Scotland had the lowest age graded performance scores and the highest proportion of female participants with the remotest events exhibiting a female bias in participation. Events on slower surfaces had a higher proportion of female participants.Conclusion: This study reports that parkrun events are becoming more inclusive with new participants being increasingly unfit women. In remoter parts of Scotland the traditional male bias in participation in sport has actually become a slight female bias revealing parkrun has seemingly overcome traditional barriers to female participation in sport. Events with slower surfaces had more female participants. Prioritising the creation of events at more remote locations and on slower surfaces could increase inclusivity and widen participation further. These findings could also help general practitioners prescribe those events that are most likely to benefit new participants making the parkrun practice initiative more effective. For example, women might be encouraged to attend traditionally slower events than men.

Japanese-language videos on YouTube as a source of public health information for COVID-19 (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Yasu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The State ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Spread Of Infection

BACKGROUND Serious public health problems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can cause an infodemic. Sources of information that may cause an infodemic include social networking services; YouTube, which consists of content created and uploaded by individuals, is one such source. OBJECTIVE To survey the content and changes in YouTube videos that present public health information about COVID-19 in Japan. METHODS We surveyed YouTube content regarding public health information pertaining to COVID-19 in Japan. YouTube searches were performed on March 6, 2020 (before the state of emergency), April 14 (during the state of emergency), and May 27 (after the state of emergency was lifted), with 136, 113, and 140 sample videos evaluated, respectively. The main outcome measures were: (1) The total number of views for each video, (2) video content, and (3) the usefulness of the video. RESULTS In the 100 most viewed YouTube videos during the three periods, the number of videos on public health information in March was significantly higher than in May (p = .02). Of the 331 unique videos, 9.1% (n = 30) were released by healthcare professionals. Useful videos providing public health information about the prevention of the spread of infection comprised only 13.0% of the sample but were viewed significantly more often than not useful videos (p = .006). CONCLUSIONS Individuals need to take care when obtaining information from YouTube before or early in a pandemic, during which time scientific evidence is scarce.

Current State of (Dis)Integration: Public Health and Fusion Centers

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cody Minks ◽  
Anke Richter
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Fusion Centers ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Public Health Information

AbstractObjectiveResponding to large-scale public health emergencies relies heavily on planning and collaboration between law enforcement and public health officials. This study examines the current level of information sharing and integration between these domains by measuring the inclusion of public health in the law enforcement functions of fusion centers.MethodsSurvey of all fusion centers, with a 29.9% response rate.ResultsOnly one of the 23 responding fusion centers had true public health inclusion, a decrease from research conducted in 2007. Information sharing is primarily limited to information flowing out of the fusion center, with little public health information coming in. Most of the collaboration is done on a personal, informal, ad-hoc basis. There remains a large misunderstanding of roles, capabilities, and regulations by all parties (fusion centers and public health). The majority of the parties appear to be willing to work together, but there but there is no forward momentum to make these desires a reality. Funding and staffing issues seem to be the limiting factor for integration.ConclusionThese problems need to be urgently addressed to increase public health preparedness and enable a decisive and beneficial response to public health emergencies involving a homeland security response.

Public health messages about COVID-19 prevention in multilingual Taiwan

Multilingua ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-606
Author(s):  
Chun-Mei Chen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Health Messages ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Substantive Content ◽  
Public Health Messages ◽  
Public Health Information

AbstractIn this paper, I explore multilingual preventative public health messages against the spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan between January and April 2020. Based on empirical data, the symbolic and substantive content of multilingual top-down and bottom-up public health strategies was analyzed and discussed. Findings suggest that the voices of indigenous people have largely been excluded from top-down efforts and strategies in public health communications. Top-down communication did not address the actual concerns of indigenous populations who relied on tourism to bolster their economy. Bottom-up efforts emerged from social exclusion and the inaccessibility of public health information to indigenous populations; such efforts were over-communicated, and the problems of indigenous populations remained unaddressed. I conclude by relating multilingualism and the needs of minority groups, and suggest an inclusive approach to social challenges and solutions for future pandemic preparedness.

scholarly journals Microcredit as a public health initiative? Exploring mechanisms and pathways to health and wellbeing

2021 ◽  
Vol 270 ◽  
pp. 113633
Author(s):  
Fatma Ibrahim ◽  
Neil McHugh ◽  
Olga Biosca ◽  
Rachel Baker ◽  
Tim Laxton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Health Initiative ◽  
Public Health Initiative

scholarly journals Health Impacts of Urban Bicycling in Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2300
Author(s):  
David Rojas-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Traffic Fatalities ◽  
Premature Deaths ◽  
Air Pollution Exposure ◽  
Pollution Exposure

Background: Bicycling has been associated with health benefits. Local and national authorities have been promoting bicycling as a tool to improve public health and the environment. Mexico is one of the largest Latin American countries, with high levels of sedentarism and non-communicable diseases. No previous studies have estimated the health impacts of Mexico’s national bicycling scenarios. Aim: Quantify the health impacts of Mexico urban bicycling scenarios. Methodology: Quantitative Health Impact Assessment, estimating health risks and benefits of bicycling scenarios in 51,718,756 adult urban inhabitants in Mexico (between 20 and 64 years old). Five bike scenarios were created based on current bike trends in Mexico. The number of premature deaths (increased or reduced) was estimated in relation to physical activity, road traffic fatalities, and air pollution. Input data were collected from national publicly available data sources from transport, environment, health and population reports, and surveys, in addition to scientific literature. Results: We estimated that nine premature deaths are prevented each year among urban populations in Mexico on the current car-bike substitution and trip levels (1% of bike trips), with an annual health economic benefit of US $1,897,920. If Mexico achieves similar trip levels to those reported in The Netherlands (27% of bike trips), 217 premature deaths could be saved annually, with an economic impact of US $45,760,960. In all bicycling scenarios assessed in Mexico, physical activity’s health benefits outweighed the health risks related to traffic fatalities and air pollution exposure. Conclusion: The study found that bicycling promotion in Mexico would provide important health benefits. The benefits of physical activity outweigh the risk from traffic fatalities and air pollution exposure in bicyclists. At the national level, Mexico could consider using sustainable transport policies as a tool to promote public health. Specifically, the support of active transportation through bicycling and urban design improvements could encourage physical activity and its health co-benefits.

scholarly journals An economic and disease transmission model of human papillomavirus and oropharyngeal cancer in Texas

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengxue Zhong ◽  
Li Xu ◽  
Ho-Lan Peng ◽  
Samantha Tam ◽  
Li Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Papillomavirus ◽  
Oropharyngeal Cancer ◽  
Hpv Vaccine ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Quality Adjusted Life ◽  
The U.S

AbstractIn 2017, 46,157 and 3,127 new oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) cases were reported in the U.S. and Texas, respectively. About 70% of OPC were attributed to human papillomavirus (HPV). However, only 51% of U.S. and 43.5% of Texas adolescents have completed the HPV vaccine series. Therefore, modeling the demographic dynamics and transmission of HPV and OPC progression is needed for accurate estimation of the economic and epidemiological impacts of HPV vaccine in a geographic area. An age-structured population dynamic model was developed for the U.S. state of Texas. With Texas-specific model parameters calibrated, this model described the dynamics of HPV-associated OPC in Texas. Parameters for the Year 2010 were used as the initial values, and the prediction for Year 2012 was compared with the real age-specific incidence rates in 23 age groups for model validation. The validated model was applied to predict 100-year age-adjusted incidence rates. The public health benefits of HPV vaccine uptake were evaluated by computer simulation. Compared with current vaccination program, increasing vaccine uptake rates by 50% would decrease the cumulative cases by 4403, within 100 years. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of this strategy was $94,518 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. Increasing the vaccine uptake rate by 50% can: (i) reduce the incidence rates of OPC among both males and females; (ii) improve the quality-adjusted life years for both males and females; (iii) be cost-effective and has the potential to provide tremendous public health benefits in Texas.

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