scholarly journals Public Health Policies in the Akyem Abuakwa of Ghana (1850-1957)

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-157
Author(s):  
Samuel Adu Gyamfi ◽  
Phinehas Asiamah ◽  
Benjamin Dompreh Darkwa ◽  
Lucky Tomdi

Abstract Akyem Abuakwa is one of the largest states of the Akan ethnic group in Ghana. Notwithstanding its size and important contribution to Ghana’s development, historians have paid little attention in doing academic research on the health history of the people. Using a qualitative method of research, this paper does a historical study on public health policies in Akyem Abuakwa from the 1850s to 1957. We utilised documentary and non-documentary sources to discuss the various public health policies implemented in Akyem Abuakwa from the pre-colonial era to the colonial era. We examined the impact of the policies on the people of Akyem Abuakwa and the various challenges faced by the British colonial administration in their quest to implement public health policies.

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402096277
Author(s):  
Leena Eklund Karlsson ◽  
Anne Leena Ikonen ◽  
Kothar Mohammed Alqahtani ◽  
Pernille Tanggaard Andersen ◽  
Subash Thapa

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), no studies have been documented to analyze the equity aspects of public health policies. The aims of the study were to identify policy documents in the KSA relevant to public health and to explore whether these include an equity approach. Twenty health-related documents were identified from various ministries’ websites and analyzed through directed content analysis. The results showed that the term “equity” was neither defined nor explained in the documents and suggestions on how to tackle health inequities were lacking. None of the suggested measures communicated an explicit focus on promoting health equity or the social gradient. Several upstream, midstream, and downstream measures were suggested to improve justice and public health for the people. The study reveals that there is a need for an in-depth assessment of the policy measures across sectors and their influence on health equity to inform future health policy development and action in the KSA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-43
Author(s):  
Maurício De Bonis ◽  
Fábio Scucuglia

This report contemplates an instrumental composition as a project for audiovisual production in social isolation, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on the problematization of the impact of the pandemic in music making, solutions were sought that were not only viable as an artistic result but that could also be projected in a purposeful and prospective way in times of humanitarian crisis, of dismal symmetry between capitalist neoliberalism and programmed neglect in public health policies. After a description of the research on the use of art in past pandemics as a guiding principle in the choice of materials, the audiovisual production is detailed. The piece was written in April 2020 as a result of the analysis of a Renaissance motet, which, in turn, was conceived as a tribute to a composer who had perished from the plague and as a palliative against the disease.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarafa A. Iyaniwura ◽  
Musa Rabiu ◽  
Jummy F. David ◽  
Jude D. Kong

AbstractAdherence to public health policies such as the non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented against COVID-19 plays a major role in reducing infections and controlling the spread of the diseases. In addition, understanding the transmission dynamics of the disease is also important in order to make and implement efficient public health policies. In this paper, we developed an SEIR-type compartmental model to assess the impact of adherence to COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions and indirect transmission on the dynamics of the disease. Our model considers both direct and indirect transmission routes and stratifies the population into two groups: those that adhere to COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and those that do not adhere to the NPIs. We compute the control reproduction number and the final epidemic size relation for our model and study the effect of different parameters of the model on these quantities. Our results show that direct transmission has more effect on the reproduction number and final epidemic size, relative to indirect transmission. In addition, we showed that there is a significant benefit in adhering to the COVID-19 NPIs.


Author(s):  
Ines Abdeljaoued-Tej ◽  
Marc Dhenain

ABSTRACTEstimating the number of people affected by COVID-19 is crucial in deciding which public health policies to follow. The authorities in different countries carry out mortality counts. We propose that the mortality reported in each country can be used to create an index of the number of actual cases at a given time. The specificity of whether or not deaths are rapid or not by COVID-19 also affects the number of actual cases. The number of days between the declaration of illness and death varies between 12 and 18 days. For a delay of 18 days, and using an estimated mortality rate of 2%, the number of cases in April 2020 in Tunisia would be 5 580 people. The pessimistic scenario predicts 22 320 infected people, and the most optimistic predicts 744 (which is the number of reported cases on April 12, 2020). Modeling the occurrence of COVID-19 cases is critical to assess the impact of policies to prevent the spread of the virus.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Genecand ◽  
Flora Koegler ◽  
Dan Lebowitz ◽  
Denis Mongin ◽  
Simon Regard ◽  
...  

Purpose The Actionable Register of Geneva Outpatients with SARS-CoV-2 (ARGOS) is an ongoing prospective cohort created by the Geneva Directorate of Health (GDH). It consists of an operational database compiling all SARS-CoV-2 test results conducted in the Geneva area since late February 2020. While the disease evolution of patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 are now relatively numerous, the same cannot be said for outpatients. This article aims at presenting a comprehensive outpatient cohort in light of the varying public health measures in Geneva, Switzerland, since March 2020. Participants As of July 28, 2020, the database included 58 226 patients, among which 6848 had at least one positive test result for SARS-CoV-2. Among all positive patients, 66.8% were contacted once, and 21% of participants had 3 or more follow-up calls. Participation rate is 96.9%. Data collection is ongoing. Findings to date ARGOS data illustrates the magnitude of COVID-19 pandemic in Geneva, Switzerland, and details a variety of population factors and outcomes. The content of the cohort includes demographic data, comorbidities and risk factors for poor clinical outcome, COVID-19 symptoms, environmental and socio-economic factors, contact tracing data, hospitalizations and deaths. Future plans: The data of this large real-world registry provides a valuable resource for various types of research, such as epidemiological research or policy assessment as it illustrates the impact of public health policies and overall disease burden of COVID-19. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY - ARGOS main strength consists of its large number of cases, representative of all diagnosed cases on a regional level with the primary aim of assessing all cases. - ARGOS involves every tested individual and is not limited to hospitalized patients, thus providing a valuable resource to assess the impact of public health policies and overall disease burden of COVID-19 in a geographically defined population. - To mitigate confounding effects and improve data analysis and interpretation, we present the data according to four policy periods. - This cohort is multicentric as it includes all tests performed in Geneva's hospitals (both public and private), private practices and medical centers. - Due to operational needs, symptoms and comorbidities are self-reported, which may lead to measurement error or misclassification.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-135
Author(s):  
Lorena G. Barberia ◽  
Kelly Senters Piazza

Non-pharmaceutical interventions to increase physical distancing have been instrumental in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Governments have enacted stringent public health policies that impose limits on mobility outside the household. However, for containment policies to be effective, there is a growing understanding that emergency aid programs must be designed to ensure that the most vulnerable receive financial and in-kind aid resources to support their ability to “stay at home.” In this study, we use survey data from an Oxford  USP-FGV collaborative research initiative to empirically assess the effectiveness of these two policies in reducing mobility with an eye to those at-risk or living in conditions of poverty in eight Brazilian capitals. We learn that, in general, neither stringent public health policies and receipt nor promised receipt of the Auxílio Emergencial were effective in limiting mobility outside of the home. We do, however, find limited evidence that receipt or promised receipt of the Auxílio Emergencial marginally limited non-work trips outside of the home, especially in city/state combinations with stringent public health policies. We conclude by discussing the policy implications of our findings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-102
Author(s):  
Militcyano Samuel Sapulette ◽  
Teguh Santoso

Given the unprecedentedness and scale of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact and effectiveness of fiscal, monetary, and public health policies in response to the pandemic are largely unknown. This paper aims at presenting empirical evidence on the response of the financial sector to fiscal, monetary, and public health policies implemented during the pandemic. Using random effect estimation with data from 40 economies, we find that the financial sector does not respond significantly to fiscal stimulus, the monetary policy relaxation during the pandemic also has less magnitude of impact, stricter physical containment measures are also found to be positively and significantly affect financial sector performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 8905-8932
Author(s):  
Sarafa A. Iyaniwura ◽  
◽  
Musa Rabiu ◽  
Jummy F. David ◽  
Jude D. Kong ◽  
...  

<abstract><p>Adherence to public health policies such as the non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented against COVID-19 plays a major role in reducing infections and controlling the spread of the diseases. In addition, understanding the transmission dynamics of the disease is also important in order to make and implement efficient public health policies. In this paper, we developed an SEIR-type compartmental model to assess the impact of adherence to COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions and indirect transmission on the dynamics of the disease. Our model considers both direct and indirect transmission routes and stratifies the population into two groups: those that adhere to COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and those that do not adhere to the NPIs. We compute the control reproduction number and the final epidemic size relation for our model and study the effect of different parameters of the model on these quantities. Our results show that there is a significant benefit in adhering to the COVID-19 NPIs.</p></abstract>


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