scholarly journals Gender Issue in COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-158
Author(s):  
Santoshi Giri ◽  
Sitaram Khadka ◽  
Sushma Ranabhat ◽  
Mariam Agha
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Gender Issue ◽  
Vulnerable Group ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Policies And Measures ◽  
Women And Girls ◽  
Socio Economic Impact ◽  
Bounce Back

Since the first outbreak, COVID-19 has manifested itself as a serious public health threat with severe social and economic implications. Gender is an essential component that requires special attention and action in such crisis. This review is aimed at finding the gender-related issues amid COVID-19 pandemic that need to be considered and help stimulate related stakeholders to devise effective policies and actions. Health, socio-economical and education, all domains of gender are viciously affected by this pandemic. Though men and women have the same prevalence, men with COVID-19 are more at risk of worse outcomes and death. Even though the direct impact of disease is observed significantly high in men, the secondary socio-economic impact is catastrophic in women and girls considering their status in society as they are systemically oppressed and vulnerable group of population. The pandemic will have a prolong effect on socioeconomic dynamics. Hardly achieved milestones on gender equality reached low, which will take long to bounce back. From this crisis, government and policy makers should take a lesson and formulate public health policies and measures to contain the epidemic that takes account of gender and its interactions with all areas of inequality.  

scholarly journals NeMoR: a New Method Based on Data-Driven for Neonatal Mortality Rate Forecasting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Eduardo Beluzo ◽  
Luciana Correia Alves ◽  
Natália Martins Arruda ◽  
Cátia Sepetauskas ◽  
Everton Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Machine Learning ◽  
Neonatal Mortality ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Neonatal Mortality Rate ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Health Policies

ABSTRACTReduction in child mortality is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. In Brazil, despite recent reduction in child mortality in the last decades, the neonatal mortality is a persistent problem and it is associated with the quality of prenatal, childbirth care and social-environmental factors. In a proper health system, the effect of some of these factors could be minimized by the appropriate number of newborn intensive care units, number of health care units, number of neonatal incubators and even by the correct level of instruction of mothers, which can lead to a proper care along the prenatal period. With the intent of providing knowledge resources for planning public health policies focused on neonatal mortality reduction, we propose a new data-driven machine leaning method for Neonatal Mortality Rate forecasting called NeMoR, which predicts neonatal mortality rates for 4 months ahead, using NeoDeathForecast, a monthly base time series dataset composed by these factors and by neonatal mortality rates history (2006-2016), having 57,816 samples, for all 438 Brazilian administrative health regions. In order to build the model, Extra-Tree, XGBoost Regressor, Gradient Boosting Regressor and Lasso machine learning regression models were evaluated and a hyperparameters search was also performed as a fine tune step. The method has been validated using São Paulo city data, mainly because of data quality. On the better configuration the method predicted the neonatal mortality rates with a Mean Square Error lower than 0.18. Besides that, the forecast results may be useful as it provides a way for policy makers to anticipate trends on neonatal mortality rates curves, an important resource for planning public health policies.Graphical AbstractHighlightsProposition of a new data-driven approach for neonatal mortality rate forecast, which provides a way for policy-makers to anticipate trends on neonatal mortality rates curves, making a better planning of health policies focused on NMR reduction possible;a method for NMR forecasting with a MSE lower than 0.18;an extensive evaluation of different Machine Learning (ML) regression models, as well as hyperparameters search, which accounts for the last stage in NeMoR;a new time series database for NMR prediction problems;a new features projection space for NMR forecasting problems, which considerably reduces errors in NRM prediction.

A Dissenter's Journey

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Philip T. James
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Spongiform Encephalopathy ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Tony Blair ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Food Standards ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
The Caribbean

After I studied medicine, my career took an early and unusual course when I was offered a clinical research post in Jamaica dealing with childhood malnutrition, of which I knew nothing. My subsequent nutritional explorations allowed gastrointestinal and metabolic analyses to have an impact on several public health policies. The biggest challenges came from unexpected political demands: coping with poor school performers in the Caribbean; addressing UK public health initiatives in health education; breaking the siege of Sarajevo; developing a Food Standards Agency as a sudden need for Tony Blair as incoming prime minister; dealing with widespread bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Europe; and responding to a United Nations request to assess global malnutrition. This last task revealed the need for a lifelong approach to nutrition, which also encompassed pregnancy. But perhaps the biggest challenge was establishing the criteria for obesity assessment, management, and prevention for policy makers across the globe. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Nutrition, Volume 41 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals Formulating evidence-based public health policies: A guide to policy makers

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
SaurabhR Shrivastava ◽  
PrateekS Shrivastava ◽  
Jegadeesh Ramasamy
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Health Policies

scholarly journals The EU Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Knowledge Gateway

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
I Bakogianni
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Issue/ problem Unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, alcohol and tobacco use are leading risk factors for non-communicable diseases. They are all modifiable and health promotion policies can support that. Description of the problem However, information overload, controversies and uncertainties, budget constraints and difficulties in balancing disparate interests are common challenges that can hamper action by policy makers in the field of public health. To support them, the European Commission has created the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Knowledge Gateway. It is a reference point for independent and reliable information to assist policy making; it summarises both the data and knowledge needed to support prioritisation of public health policies and justify investments in health promotion. Results The Knowledge Gateway currently covers the areas of nutrition, physical activity, alcohol, marketing of foods and beverages, and related societal impacts such as disease burden and health inequalities. These topics have been prioritised by Member States representatives and policy makers. The content is organised into concise, well-structured briefs which include definition of each issue, health related effects, and examples of policy recommendations and implemented policies. The high-quality source documents are selected in a tiered approach and are mainly authored or endorsed by authoritative public health organisations. Lessons Judging by the positive feedback received, the Knowledge Gateway is being used widely across Member States and stakeholders. The content of the Knowledge Gateway will be further expanded to support other health priorities such as mental health promotion. Policy makers have a unique, trusted “one-stop-shop” with high quality information to support, justify and strengthen the development of public health policies and health promotion. Key messages The use of reliable authoritative information for the development of public health policies can support the prevention of major non-communicable disease risk factors. The EU Knowledge Gateway is a unique reference point of reliable, independent information to support policy making in the area of public health.

scholarly journals Skills building seminar: How can data on adolescents’ health behavior contribute to public health policies? Lessons from HBSC

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Research And Policy

Abstract Adolescents (10-19) are usually thought of as rather healthy and as low users of health care compared with other age groups. Nevertheless, adolescence is a crucial and challenging transitional journey towards adult life, a time when protective health behaviours and the value of a healthy lifestyle can be adopted, or not, depending on complex interactions between determinants and individual factors. Integration of young people’s health in all policies and research agendas is crucial, beyond the health sector, and keeping in mind the needs to reduce health inequalities and to ensure equitable access to services, in a broad Public health perspective. However, Public health policies targeting young people cannot be fully relevant and efficient if they do not rely on quality data collected among young people, on their health and their health behaviours. Under the auspices of WHO, the Health behaviour in School-aged children (HBSC) survey collects data among 11-13 and 15 years-old students since 1982, in a growing number of mostly European countries, every 4 years, through anonymous self-completed questionnaires filled in in class, using shared validated instruments and methods. Our workshop aims at showing how data collected among adolescents, by improving our understanding of their health and health behaviours as well as their determinants and settings, can be used to inform and improve policies at national level. HBSC will be used as an exemple, because of its longevity, breadth, expertise, reputation and uniqueness in the field of adolescent health. Five contrasted experiences will be presented, illustrating the relevance of linking scientific evidence and policy relevance in a Public health perspective. They have been chosen to offer various perspectives in terms of countries (Ireland, Luxembourg, Israel, UK), topics (well-being, suicide, substance-use, school-health), and levels of links between research and policy. All presenters are skilled researchers, have a longstanding experience of conducting the HBSC survey and they share a strong interest in linking with policy makers in advocating the improvement of the health and well-being of the adolescents in their country. Because they all work on the same population (adolescents), and mainly work on the same survey (HBSC), the presentations and debates will start from a common ground, saving space and time to really illustrate how health behaviour data can inform Public health policies. The presenters should give contrasted perspectives, without denying their failures and difficulties, to engage with the audience for a wider discussion, towards a better partnership between research and policy. Key messages There are national examples that illustrate that research on adolescents’ health behaviour can inform Public health policy targeted at this specific population and improve its health and well-being. Networking and exchanging on failures and success through case studies can provide perspectives to other teams and countries on how to better build the link between researchers and policy makers.

scholarly journals A review of the One Health concept and its application as a tool for policy-makers

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-89
Author(s):  
Rodrigo de Macedo Couto ◽  
Danie Friguglietti Brandespim
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
One Health ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Health Concept ◽  
The Government ◽  
The One

The One Health concept represents the inseparability of human, animal, and environmental health through a unified view of health care. This article addressed the topic of public health policies from the One Health perspective, demonstrating its inclusion in various health agendas such as emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, basic sanitation, mental health, chronic non-communicable diseases, interpersonal violence, and food safety. The results showed that the application of the One Health concept to the development and implementation of policies is associated with a growing need to involve transdisciplinary teams for solving complex problems to improve communication and to ensure the relevance and acceptability of public policies, thus guaranteeing governance. According to the principle of efficiency, the government must be aware of the evolution of technical knowledge and should use the One Health approach to improve the efficacy of already existing systems. We, therefore, conducted this review to contextualize current knowledge in this topic which is becoming an essential tool for public health policy-makers and practitioners around the world promoting a reflection on the importance of multiprofessional articulation in the implementation of intersectoral public health policies.

scholarly journals Comment on “The COVID-19 infodemic does not affect vaccine acceptance”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Gallotti ◽  
Federico Pilati ◽  
Pier Luigi Sacco ◽  
Manlio De Domenico
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Main Claim ◽  
Vaccine Acceptance ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Media Data

In a recent paper by Valensise et al [1], the authors present an analysis of social media data – from Facebook and Twitter – and vaccine hesitancy data – from Facebook – to provide evidence that the overabundance of potentially unreliable information, known as infodemic, does not affect vaccine acceptance. If confirmed, this result could have a dramatic impact on public health policies across the world, suggesting that current actions taken in place to contain and prevent the spreading of disinformation and misinformation might be useless to significantly hinder vaccine hesitancy. We disagree with this conclusion on the basis of existing literature that the authors fail to consider,of methodological concerns that suggest that their approach might have crucial flaws, and of an alternative empirical analysis unraveling a broader and richer picture to interpret.Simplistic analyses are not enough to assess the complex interplay between two complex social and behavioral phenomena such as vaccine hesitancy and infodemic: more sophisticated analyses are needed to account for the different intervening socio-cultural, behavioral, environmental and epidemiological factors. Under these conditions, we conclude that the authors’ main claim is conceptually and empirically unsupported. We are sincerely concerned that, if measures disregarding the circulating disinformation around the COVID19 vaccines were endorsed by policy makers in the design of future public health policies, it might lead to serious negative consequences by dangerously overlooking a major potential driver of dysfunctional behavioral responses to public health policies and goals.

scholarly journals Capacity to reduce inequities in health in Norwegian municipalities

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 77-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marit Kristine Helgesen ◽  
Elisabeth Fosse ◽  
Susanne Hagen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Inequities ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policies And Measures ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Public Health Act

Aims: One of the goals of the Norwegian Public Health Act is to reduce health inequities. The act mandates the implementation of policies and measures with municipalities and county municipalities to accomplish this goal. The article explores the prerequisites for municipal capacity to reduce health inequities and how the capacity is built and sustained. Methods: The paper is a literature study of articles and reports using data from two surveys on the implementation of public health policies sent to all Norwegian municipalities: the first, a few months before the implementation of the Public Health Act in 2012; the second in 2014. Results: Six dimensions are included in the capacity concept. Leadership and governance refers to the regulating tool of laws that frame the local implementation of public health policies. Municipalities implement inter-sectoral working groups and public health coordinators to coordinate their public health policies and measures. Financing of public health is fragmented. Possibilities for municipalities to enter into partnerships with county municipalities are not equally distributed. Owing to the organisational structures, municipalities largely define public health as health policy. Workforce and competence refers to the employment of public health coordinators, and knowledge development refers to the mandated production of health overviews in municipalities. Conclusions: The capacity to reduce health inequities varies among municipalities. However, if municipalities build on the prerequisites they control, establishing inter-sectoral working groups and employing public health coordinators in authoritative positions, national governance instruments and regional resources may sustain their capacity.

Beyond ‘evidence-based policy’ in a ‘post-truth’ world: the role of ideas in public health policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine E. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Evidence Based Policy ◽  
Cultural Gaps

This chapter discusses the role of ideas in policy making. The existence of conflicts between evidence-based and ideological approaches to politically contentious issues is widely recognised. However, for policy issues — such as public health — in which there seems to be rather more of a consensus about the overarching objectives, it seems less obvious how or why ‘politics’ might obstruct the use of evidence within policy making. Indeed, the majority of civil servants and politicians in a post-1997 UK context have signed up to taking an evidence-based approach to improving population health and reducing health inequalities. The existence of such a cross-sector consensus suggests that public heath might be one area in which evidence-based policy and practice are feasible. Yet, disappointingly, most assessments of public health policies continue to conclude that they are not evidence-based. A popular explanation for this disjuncture is that it results from communicative, institutional, and cultural gaps between researchers and policy makers.

scholarly journals Food industry influence on public health policy, research and practice in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Mialon ◽  
E Perez ◽  
C Corvalan ◽  
C Monteiro ◽  
P Jaime ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Research And Practice

Abstract One of the key barriers to the development of public health policies, such as restrictions on marketing of unhealthy foods to children, is the influence of corporations, also known as corporate political activity' (CPA). This project aimed to identify the CPA of the food industry in Brazil, Colombia and Chile, over a 2-year period. This research consisted of a document analysis of publicly available information triangulated with interviews. It contributed to, and was based on methods developed by INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity / non-communicable Diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support), which aims to monitor food environments. In all three countries, the food industry lobbied against public health policies and had direct access to high ranking officials and policy makers. It also shifted the blame away from its products in the obesity and non-communicable diseases epidemic onto individuals and their lack of education. In Brazil, the food industry was active against a new front-of-pack labeling, setting up its own website to promote an alternative model and self-regulation. In Colombia, the food industry captured the media and had strong ties with the government, including through nutrition programmes. Public health advocates felt unsafe when speaking against the industry or its products. In Chile, despite advances with the introduction of public health policies to limit the sales and marketing of unhealthy products, the food industry, including the sweeteners industry, which was not affected by the recent legislation, was still influencing policy, research and practice. Food industry actors, including local companies and transnationals, used several CPA strategies in Latin America to try and influence public health policy, research and practice. It is urgent that policy makers, academics and other individuals in public health are aware of these practices and equipped with solutions to address undue influence by the food industry Key messages In Latin America, the food industry used several CPA practices, which collectively could have a negative influence on public health policy, research and practice. These practices could delay efforts to protect and promote public health in the region.

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