Insomnia, Medicalization, and Expert Knowledge

Sleep Medicine ◽

Health Intervention ◽

Human Condition ◽

Boundary Object ◽

Medical Expertise ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Historians have clearly articulated the ways in which sleeplessness has long been part of the human condition. As an object of medical expertise and public health intervention, however, insomnia is a much more recent invention, having gained its status as a pathology during the 1870s. But while insomnia has attracted considerable and concerted attention from public health authorities allied with sleep medicine specialists, this phenomenon is not well explained by classical medicalization theory, in part because it is the sleepless sufferers, not the medical experts, who typically have the authority to diagnose insomnia. The dynamics of insomnia’s history are better described as those of a boundary object, around which concepts and practices of biomedicine and psychology coalesce to frame contemporary notions of self-medicalization and self-experiment.

Control of Raw Pork Liver Sausage Production Can Reduce the Prevalence of HEV Infection

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens10020107 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 107

Author(s):

Paolo Ripellino ◽

Enea Pianezzi ◽

Gladys Martinetti ◽

Cinzia Zehnder ◽

Barbara Mathis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Hepatitis E ◽

Local Public Health ◽

The Public ◽

Pork Liver ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Before And After ◽

After an acute hepatitis E (HEV) outbreak in Southern Switzerland, in January 2017 the local public health authorities started an active program of food chain control and public education. In this retrospective study, we analysed all laboratory-confirmed acute cases of HEV infection diagnosed between 2014 and 2020. In the period before the public health intervention, the number of cases increased steadily from 2014 (4 of 40 tests, 10%) reaching a peak in the last quarter of 2016 (42 of 285 tests, 14.7 %). Afterwards, the number of positive cases decreased steadily, reaching its lowest value (0.3%) in the second quarter of 2019. There was a statistically significant difference between the frequency of positive cases and period of testing, i.e., before and after the introduction of the public health interventions. Our study shows that active public health measures to control sausages containing raw pork liver can reduce the prevalence of HEV infection.

Introduction

Strangling Angel ◽

10.5949/liverpool/9781786940469.003.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Michael Dwyer

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Active Immunization ◽

Medical Community ◽

Childhood Immunization ◽

Immunization Programme ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Parents And Children ◽

Prior to the mass social acceptance of childhood immunization in the 1940s, diphtheria was one of the most prolific child killers in history. The formation of a leathery membrane in the lower airways induced death by suffocation and earned diphtheria the moniker ‘strangling angel of children’. It showed scant regard for social status and infiltrated Europe’s royal palaces as sinuously as her slums and hovels. For parents and children of nineteenth and early twentieth-century Ireland, diphtheria represented the ‘most dreaded disease of childhood’ however, for their modern-day counterparts’ diphtheria has been relegated to a somewhat obscure disease. Few Irish doctors have seen a case of diphtheria, let alone treated one. In Ireland, diphtheria has been consigned to history, and so too have the horrors and mass fatalities once associated with it. But how was this achieved? Was active immunization received with open arms by public health authorities, the wider medical community, and the general public? This book tackles these questions by undertaking the first historical examination of the issues that underpin the origins of active immunization in Ireland. It explores the driving forces that shaped the national childhood immunization programme, and those that opposed them. In addition, it examines the complex social implications attendant on the introduction of this mass public health intervention.

Aetiology of Diphtheria in Pre-independence Ireland

Strangling Angel ◽

10.5949/liverpool/9781786940469.003.0002 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 13-31

Author(s):

Michael Dwyer

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Infectious Disease ◽

Twentieth Century ◽

Statistical Data ◽

Health Intervention ◽

Early Twentieth Century ◽

Health Authorities

The opening chapter rescues diphtheria from obscurity, offering a rationale as to why Irish health authorities opted to embrace a new and radical public health intervention and why they set the eradication of diphtheria amongst the first of their national goals. A study of surviving statistical data relating to infectious disease in nineteenth and early twentieth-century Ireland does not suggest that such an intervention was warranted. However, despite the distinct lack of diphtheria notifications recorded in this period, this chapter will show that diphtheria was indeed a major child killer.

Nationwide 2.5-Year School-Based Public Health Intervention Program Designed to Reduce the Incidence of Caries in Children of Grenada

Caries Research ◽

10.1159/000439058 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 50 (Suppl. 1) ◽

pp. 68-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Mark S. Wolff ◽

Rachel Hill ◽

Maureen Wilson-Genderson ◽

Stuart Hirsch ◽

Ananda P. Dasanayake

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Oral Health ◽

Intervention Program ◽

Age Groups ◽

School Personnel ◽

Dental Students ◽

Health Intervention ◽

This paper describes an innovative public health intervention, called ‘Smile Grenada', targeting the oral health of children in Grenada utilizing the resources of a US dental school, several oral health care companies, local governmental and public health authorities, and Grenadian school personnel. Methods: Preintervention visual/tactile caries examinations were collected from 1,092 schoolchildren (mean age 9.9 years, standard deviation, SD = 3.7) in 2010. The intervention included: (1) classroom-based toothbrushing with fluoridated toothpaste, (2) fluoride varnish applied by trained dental students, teachers and local providers 3 times a year and (3) glass ionomer sealants placed on first permanent molars in children aged 6-8 years. Postintervention data were collected in May, 2013 (n = 2,301, mean age 9.8 years, SD = 3.7). Decayed and demineralized surfaces were examined for the whole sample and decay/demineralization and sealant retention on 6-year molars were examined separately (ages 6-8 in 2013 cohort). Results: The number of decayed/demineralized surfaces declined across all age groups. The average number of decayed surfaces dropped from 9 at baseline to just over 6 (F1, 3,393 = 69.8, p < 0.0001) and the average number of demineralized surfaces dropped from 6 to less than 2 (1.8 surfaces; F1, 3,393 = 819.0, p < 0.0001). For children aged 6-8 years, there were statistically significantly fewer decayed surfaces (t1, 2,086 = 12.40, p < 0.0001; mean baseline 0.93, SD = 1.75; mean follow-up 0.23, SD = 0.83) and demineralized surfaces (t1, 2,086 = 19.7, p < 0.0001; mean baseline 2.11, SD = 2.74; mean follow-up 0.50, SD = 0.97) on 6-year molars. The Smile Grenada program successfully demonstrated a locally sustainable model for improving oral health in children in a developing country.

Quarantine and the Law: The 2003 SARS Experience in Canada (A New Disease Calls on Old Public Health Tools)

Alberta Law Review ◽

10.29173/alr1268 ◽

1969 ◽

pp. 529

Author(s):

Nola M. Ries

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Infectious Agent ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Her Family ◽

The Public ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Authorities ◽

The Impact

The authority to quarantine individuals was tested by the 2003 global outbreak of SARS. Quarantine was used during that lime as a public health intervention tool to attempt to control the disease in Toronto. The outbreak put the public health preparedness of the Ontario legal system to the test. This article examines the legal issues related to the use of quarantine as a tool to control infectious disease outbreaks using the Ontario SARS epidemic as a case study. The author first analyzes the laws authorizing public health officials to use quarantine and then identifies the legislative gaps that SARS exposed in these laws. The article then looks at the current legislative reform efforts to create a more prepared legal environment in the event of another public health crisis such as SARS. In addition, the impact of quarantine on an individual and his or her family, including social and economic impacts, as well as its effect on the health care system is discussed. Finally, the legal limits on the use of quarantine are further examined. The author concludes that, because it is likely that a novel infectious agent such as SARS will surface in the future, the public health authorities must be vigilant by ensuring public health legal preparedness.

The Affective Politics of Karma among Buddhist Cancer Charities in Vietnam

Journal of Vietnamese Studies ◽

10.1525/vs.2020.15.4.33 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 33-62

Author(s):

Sara Swenson

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Global Existence ◽

Food Production ◽

Health Intervention ◽

Moral Failure ◽

Cancer Rates ◽

Charity Work

In this article, I explore how Buddhist charity workers in Vietnam interpret rising cancer rates through understandings of karma. Rather than framing cancer as a primarily physical or medical phenomenon, volunteers state that cancer is a product of collective moral failure. Corruption in public food production is both caused by and perpetuates bad karma, which negatively impacts global existence. Conversely, charity work creates merit, which can improve collective karma and benefit all living beings. I argue that through such interpretations of karma, Buddhist volunteers understand their charity at cancer hospitals as an affective and ethical form of public health intervention.

Users’ Beliefs Toward Physical Distancing in Facebook Pages of Public Health Authorities During COVID-19 Pandemic in Early 2020

Health Education & Behavior ◽

10.1177/10901981211014428 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 109019812110144

Author(s):

Soon Guan Tan ◽

Aravind Sesagiri Raamkumar ◽

Hwee Lin Wee

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Belief Model ◽

United States Public Health ◽

Health Belief ◽

The United States ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Public Health Authorities ◽

Control And Prevention ◽

Belief Model ◽

The Health Belief Model

This study aims to describe Facebook users’ beliefs toward physical distancing measures implemented during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic using the key constructs of the health belief model. A combination of rule-based filtering and manual classification methods was used to classify user comments on COVID-19 Facebook posts of three public health authorities: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, Public Health England, and Ministry of Health, Singapore. A total of 104,304 comments were analyzed for posts published between 1 January, 2020, and 31 March, 2020, along with COVID-19 cases and deaths count data from the three countries. Findings indicate that the perceived benefits of physical distancing measures ( n = 3,463; 3.3%) was three times higher than perceived barriers ( n = 1,062; 1.0%). Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 ( n = 2,934; 2.8%) was higher compared with perceived severity ( n = 2,081; 2.0%). Although susceptibility aspects of physical distancing were discussed more often at the start of the year, mentions on the benefits of intervention emerged stronger toward the end of the analysis period, highlighting the shift in beliefs. The health belief model is useful for understanding Facebook users’ beliefs at a basic level, and it provides a scope for further improvement.

Comparison of the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea: Importance of early public health intervention

International Journal of Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1016/j.ijid.2021.02.004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 104 ◽

pp. 742-745

Author(s):

Hye Seong ◽

Hak Jun Hyun ◽

Jin Gu Yun ◽

Ji Yun Noh ◽

Hee Jin Cheong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

South Korea ◽

Health Intervention

Measuring the Efficacy of a Pilot Public Health Intervention for Engaging Communities of Puerto Rico to Rapidly Write Hurricane Protection Plans

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x20001429 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Mark E. Keim ◽

Laura A. Runnels ◽

Alexander P. Lovallo ◽

Margarita Pagan Medina ◽

Eduardo Roman Rosa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Puerto Rico ◽

User Satisfaction ◽

National Guard ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Health Intervention ◽

Project Work ◽

Community Members ◽

Community Based

Abstract Objective: The efficacy is measured for a public health intervention related to community-based planning for population protection measures (PPMs; ie, shelter-in-place and evacuation). Design: This is a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) prospective study of intervention efficacy, measured in terms of usability related to effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, and degree of community engagement. Setting: Two municipalities in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are included. Participants: Community members consisting of individuals; traditional leaders; federal, territorial, and municipal emergency managers; municipal mayors; National Guard; territorial departments of education, health, housing, public works, and transportation; health care; police; Emergency Medical Services; faith-based organizations; nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); and the private sector. Intervention: The intervention included four community convenings: one for risk communication; two for plan-writing; and one tabletop exercise (TTX). This study analyzed data collected from the project work plan; participant rosters; participant surveys; workshop outputs; and focus group interviews. Main Outcome Measures: Efficacy was measured in terms of ISO 9241-11, an international standard for usability that includes effectiveness, efficiency, user satisfaction, and “freedom from risk” among users. Degree of engagement was considered an indicator of “freedom from risk,” measurable through workshop attendance. Results: Two separate communities drafted and exercised ~60-page-long population protection plans, each within 14.5 hours. Plan-writing workshops completed 100% of plan objectives and activities. Efficiency rates were nearly the same in both communities. Interviews and surveys indicated high degrees of community satisfaction. Engagement was consistent among community members and variable among governmental officials. Conclusions: Frontline communities have successfully demonstrated the ability to understand the environmental health hazards in their own community; rapidly write consensus-based plans for PPMs; participate in an objective-based TTX; and perform these activities in a bi-lingual setting. This intervention appears to be efficacious for public use in the rapid development of community-based PPMs.

Fueling the Covid-19 pandemic: summer school holidays and incidence rates in German districts

Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/pubmed/fdab080 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Plümper ◽

Eric Neumayer

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Summer School ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Robert Koch Institute ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Holiday Period ◽

Health Authorities ◽

AbstractBackgroundThe Robert-Koch-Institute reports that during the summer holiday period a foreign country is stated as the most likely place of infection for an average of 27 and a maximum of 49% of new SARS-CoV-2 infections in Germany.MethodsCross-sectional study on observational data. In Germany, summer school holidays are coordinated between states and spread out over 13 weeks. Employing a dynamic model with district fixed effects, we analyze the association between these holidays and weekly incidence rates across 401 German districts.ResultsWe find effects of the holiday period of around 45% of the average district incidence rates in Germany during their respective final week of holidays and the 2 weeks after holidays end. Western states tend to experience stronger effects than Eastern states. We also find statistically significant interaction effects of school holidays with per capita taxable income and the share of foreign residents in a district’s population.ConclusionsOur results suggest that changed behavior during the holiday season accelerated the pandemic and made it considerably more difficult for public health authorities to contain the spread of the virus by means of contact tracing. Germany’s public health authorities did not prepare adequately for this acceleration.