scholarly journals COVID-19 and healthcare-associated infections

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 181-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Cioffi ◽  
Raffaella Rinaldi

National Health Systems are facing a very serious health emergency related to COVID-19. In this phase of emergency, it is essential to ensure the care of all affected patients but also to ensure the economic stability of the National Health System. This stability is undermined by the potential exponential increase in claims caused by healthcare-associated infections related to COVID-19. That is why it will be essential to use all means necessary to prevent this economic crisis, which could overlap with the health crisis.

Author(s):  
Sara Loiti-Rodríguez ◽  
Aingeru Genaut-Arratibel ◽  
María-José Cantalapiedra-González

Throughout 2020 it has been seen that the Covid-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented health crisis that has involved a major change at both level informative and media. Audiovisual content has increased considerably and there is interest on the part of health institutions to demonstrate their ability as a reliable and first-order source of information. In fact, since the declaration of the pandemic, in just 2 months the number of content disseminated throughout 2019 was exceeded. This study seeks to describe the response given to this health crisis by the Spanish National Health System on YouTube. For this purpose, we analyze the 1035 audiovisual content that the official channels published in 2020. To carry out the analysis, the contents have been classified into 7 types, from press conferences to tutorials, recommendations, informative pieces or testimonies; the topic covered in each of them has been identified, the format, as well as the number of views and user feedback.The period of greatest production corresponds to the first wave and the de-scalding wave, and the health institution that has disseminated the most messages has been the Ministry of Health: 603 vídeos, 170 animations and 263 hybrid pieces –combining real vídeo, text and icons– have been identified. Animations and hybrid pieces are the most successful messages, and are primarily used on an appealing nature to disseminate healthy recommendations and habits. This study values the use of animations as an appropriate information resource for education and health promotion. In addition, it has allowed us to identify the main weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities presented by audiovisual health information on YouTube.


Author(s):  
A. A. Sokolov

The article analyzes the main global health systems, their advantages and disadvantages. The evaluation of the introduction of each of them in reality. Recommendations for modernization of the national health system, which should be focused on the creation of effective national systems capable to provide the population with timely preventive measures, accessible and quality medical care, using medical science, rehabilitation and sanatorium-resort help. The task of providing free medical care to population throughout the Russian Federation in the conditions of insufficient financial support. Therefore, it is necessary to abandon single-payer systems to return to budgetary funding, to reinforce the insurance character of the OMC, to ensure the priority of quality indicators of health system efficiency, to ensure the continuity of the work of the modern Russian model of financing of the health sector of the country. The main conclusions of the study are the need to implement an alternative to the liberal-market approach to health reform ecosystem approach, to develop the ecosystem public health, involving its fuel economic modernization based on the achievements of the Semashko system. Applying this approach, it should abandon the mindless copying elements of Western health systems and to identify cooperative segments.


2021 ◽  
pp. 375-394
Author(s):  
Mamas Theodorou ◽  
Kostas Athanasakis

This chapter offers an in-depth look at health politics and the health system in Cyprus. It traces the development of Cyprus’s healthcare system, which underwent only minor incremental change from its founding in 1957 until 2019, despite numerous studies and proposals. Though calls for universal coverage and free-at-the-point-of-service care had become louder in the early 1990s, it took until 2001 for Parliament to establish the legal foundation for a new national health system. Still, full implementation was repeatedly postponed for many reasons, from concerns about the new system’s cost to resistance from important stakeholders, especially those that benefitted from the shortcomings of the earlier system. As the chapter explains, economic crisis ultimately created the momentum for reform, resulting in the actual full launch of the new system in 2019 and 2020.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002073142110249
Author(s):  
Maria Luisa Buzelli ◽  
Tammy Boyce

Hospitals play a critical role in providing essential care during emergencies; however, this essential care can overwhelm the functional capacity of health systems. In Italy, substantial cuts in funding have drastically reduced the resources of the National Health Service (NHS) and contributed to the expansion of the private health sector which, unlike the public health system, does not have the capacity to deal with a health emergency such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The purpose of this article is to show how the privatization of the NHS contributed to making Italy more vulnerable and unprepared to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The available capacity and resources in the public and private emergency services systems in Italy are compared, including a focus on the numbers of hospital staff, hospitals, and hospital beds. The reduced funding and subsequent shortfalls in services in the NHS are reasons why extreme measures were needed to increase these resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. A public NHS in Italy would be better prepared for future health emergencies. The lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic can help to inform future health systems strategies, to halt the current financial decline and performance loss of national health systems, and to enable better preparation for future health emergencies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Archana Shrestha ◽  
Rashmi Maharjan ◽  
Biraj Man Karmacharya ◽  
Swornim Bajracharya ◽  
Niharika Jha ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of deaths and disability in Nepal. Health systems can improve CVD health outcomes even in resource-limited settings by directing efforts to meet critical system gaps. This study aimed to identify Nepal’s health systems gaps to prevent and manage CVDs. Methods We formed a task force composed of the government and non-government representatives and assessed health system performance across six building blocks: governance, service delivery, human resources, medical products, information system, and financing in terms of equity, access, coverage, efficiency, quality, safety and sustainability. We reviewed 125 national health policies, plans, strategies, guidelines, reports and websites and conducted 52 key informant interviews. We grouped notes from desk review and transcripts’ codes into equity, access, coverage, efficiency, quality, safety and sustainability of the health system. Results National health insurance covers less than 10% of the population; and more than 50% of the health spending is out of pocket. The efficiency of CVDs prevention and management programs in Nepal is affected by the shortage of human resources, weak monitoring and supervision, and inadequate engagement of stakeholders. There are policies and strategies in place to ensure quality of care, however their implementation and supervision is weak. The total budget on health has been increasing over the past five years. However, the funding on CVDs is negligible. Conclusion Governments at the federal, provincial and local levels should prioritize CVDs care and partner with non-government organizations to improve preventive and curative CVDs services.


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