scholarly journals Advancing Access to Health Information and Publication: Shifting Paradigms, Trends and Innovations

Author(s):  
José Florencio F. Lapeña

The World Health Organization Constitution “enshrines the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being. The right to health includes access to timely, acceptable, and affordable health care of appropriate quality … as well as the underlying determinants of health, such as … access to health-related education and information.”1 On the other hand, “social determinants of health can themselves pose barriers to education … and ‘damaged brains and bodies’ cannot learn optimally.”2 While there are no clear-cut solutions to such multifactorial issues involving complex-systems, the sustainable developmental goals of the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015 address both health and education.3   Health research fundamentally underpins the key aspiration of the sustainable development goals to realize universal health coverage.3 It is the responsibility of researchers and publishers to make this research available and accessible to all those who need it, in order to assist policymakers and practitioners to progressively realize the right to health of every global citizen. It would seem that the speed and reach of present-day information and communication technology would have facilitated the dissemination of health information. “However, despite the promises of the information revolution, and some successful initiatives, there is little if any evidence that the majority of health professionals in the developing world are any better informed than they were 10 years ago.”4 This observation made over a decade ago still holds true today.   How can we advance access to health information and publication in our current “glocal” situation?  How can the health information produced by research conducted by our students, residents and fellows, be shared with all those who may need and use the information? The Philipp J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg has been actively pursuing multiple means of ensuring the availability of our research and innovation through traditional means, including indexing on various Index Medici and databases. While our visibility has increased dramatically in the 10 years of my editorship, we need to explore new paradigms, trends and innovations, especially with regard the social media. This includes using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and RSS feeds, to name a few. It also calls us to consider the transition to a full open access model and adopting Creative Commons licenses.   It is timely that the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME) will explore this very theme of shifting paradigms, trends and innovations in advancing access to health information and publication in the forthcoming APAME2015 Annual Convention and Joint Meeting with the Western Pacific Region Index Medicus at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza and WHO Western Pacific Region Office from August 24-26 (http://apame2015.healthresearch.ph) in conjunction with the Global Health Forum 2015 at the Philippine International Convention Center (http://www.forum2015.org).   Close to a thousand editors, reviewers, authors, researchers, librarians, and publishers of medical journals from Asia Pacific states, local delegates representing various institutions and organizations, including the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), Department of Health, University of the Philippines Manila, Medical and Health Librarians Association of the Philippines (MAHLAP), the Philippine Medical Association, the Philippine Nursing Association, the Philippine Dental Association and others will exchange ideas in three days of meetings, scientific sessions and workshops.  At the same time, the over 70 conjoint Forum 2015 sessions across 2 tracks covering 6 themes will provide “a platform where several other thousand key global actors in health gather to learn, debate and shape the global agenda on research and innovation for health, to arrive at new solutions that are driving health equity and socio-economic development.”   Whether you are a beginning researcher or a seasoned scientist, a novice trainee or senior subspecialist, a community-based health worker or health policy-maker, there will be something for you to learn and share at these meetings that recognize “people (are) at the center of health research and innovation.” Medical and health professions students, ORL-HNS residents and consultants of all training and academic institutions are particularly enjoined to participate in this rare opportunity that will benefit us as well as the people we serve.     Meet me at the Forum!

Author(s):  
APAME WPRIM

We, the participants in the Joint Meeting of the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME) and the Western Pacific Region Index Medicus (WPRIM) held in Singapore from November 4 to 5, 2009:   CONSIDERING   That quality scientific and technical health information is essential for health policy makers, healthcare providers and health researchers to develop, improve, and implement efficient and effective healthcare systems and services;   That inequitable access to quality health information could result in poor health planning and healthcare delivery which adversely affect the health conditions of the public;   That surmounting this inequity requires public - private partnerships to facilitate equitable access to both production and consumption of health information for all;   That the Western Pacific Region Index Medicus (WPRIM), the Global Health Library (GHL), and the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Journal Editors (APAME) are important collaborative initiatives which are vital instruments to ensure the global accessibility and dissemination of quality health information in the Western Pacific Region;   CONFIRM   Our commitment to free and universal dissemination and access to quality health information through the WPRIM and the GHL;   Our commitment to pursue the goals and objectives of APAME by further building networks, convening conferences, and organizing events to educate and empower editors, peer reviewers and authors in generating quality scientific and technical publications;   CALL ON   Member States of the Western Pacific Region, in collaboration with stakeholders from the private sector, to formulate and implement policies that endorse free and equitable access to quality health information;   Stakeholders from the public and private sectors, national and international organizations, to support WPRIM and the GHL in order to ensure the free and global accessibility of health research done in the Western Pacific Region;   Governments, the private sector and other editors’ associations to support APAME in implementing various activities, guidelines and practices that would improve the quality of scientific writing and publications n the Asia Pacific Region;       COMMIT   Ourselves to persevere in the pursuit of the WPRIM  and GHL initiatives through APAME, by encouraging peer-to-peer relationships that will allow editors, editorial staff and librarians to maintain balance, work out ideas and provide mutual support;   Our organization, APAME, to building further networks, convening conferences, and organizing events to educate and empower editors, peer reviewers and authors to achieve and maintain internationally acceptable, but regionally realistic, scholarly standards.     November 6, 2009, Singapore   www.wpro.who.int/apame   [email protected]   (This declaration was launched at the International Forum on Academic Medical Publishing held in conjunction with the Singapore Medical Journal Golden Jubilee Conference on November 6, 2009. It is simultaneously published in the Singapore Med J 2009; 50(11):1043 and several other regional journals.)


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-78
Author(s):  
Maria Inês de Oliveira Martins

Abstract The need of private insurers for information on the candidate’s health risks is recognized by the law, which places pre-contractual duties of disclosure upon the candidates. When the risks are influenced by health factors, e.g. in the case of life- and health insurances, it implies the provision of health information by the candidates, who thus voluntarily limit their right to privacy. This consent, however, often happens in a context of factual coercion to contract. Next to this, from a legal standpoint, the collection of personal information must respond to the principle of proportionality. Against this background, this article assesses the compatibility of questionnaire techniques that rely on open-ended health related questions with the right to privacy, as protected by Portuguese and international law. It then analyses the extent of pre-contractual duties of disclosure as defined by the Portuguese Insurance Act, which requires the candidate to volunteer all the relevant information independently of being asked for it. In doing so, the article also refers to some other European countries. It concludes that the relevant Portuguese legislation is incompatible both with Portuguese constitutional law and with international law.


Author(s):  
Joia Mukherjee ◽  
Paul Farmer

What has called so many young people to the field of global health is the passion to be a force for change, to work on the positive side of globalization, and to be part of a movement for human rights. This passion stems from the knowledge that the world is not OK. Impoverished people are suffering and dying from treatable diseases, while the wealthy live well into their 80s and 90s. These disparities exist between and within countries. COVID-19 has further demonstrated the need for global equity and our mutual interdependence. Yet the road to health equity is long. People living in countries and communities marred by slavery, colonialism, resource extraction, and neoliberal market policies have markedly less access to health care than the wealthy. Developing equitable health systems requires understanding the history and political economy of communities and countries and working to adequately resource health delivery. Equitable health care also requires strong advocacy for the right to health. In fact, the current era in global health was sparked by advocacy—the activist movement for AIDS treatment access, for the universality of the right to health and to a share of scientific advancement. The same advocacy is needed now as vaccines and treatments are developed for COVID-19. This book centers global health in principles of equity and social justice and positions global health as a field to fulfill the universal right to health.


2021 ◽  
pp. 135-153
Author(s):  
Vladimir Batyuk

Despite the critical attitude of the current American President towards his predecessor, the Trump administration actually continued the course of the Obama administration to turn the Asia-Pacific region into the most important priority of American foreign policy. Moreover, the US Asia-Pacific strategy was transformed under Trump into the Indo-Pacific strategy, when the Indian Ocean was added to the Asia-Pacific region in the US strategic thinking. The US Pacific command was renamed the Indo-Pacific command (May 2018), and the US Department of defense developed the Indo-Pacific strategy (published in June 2019). The Indo-Pacific strategy is an integral part of Trump’s national security strategy, according to which China, along with Russia, was declared US adversary. The American side complained about both the economic and military-political aspects of the Chinese presence in the Indo-Pacific region. At the same time, official Washington is no longer confident that it can cope with those adversaries, China and Russia, alone. Trying to implement the main provisions of the Indo-Pacific strategy, official Washington has staked not only on building up its military power in the Indo-Pacific, but also on trying to build an anti-Chinese system of alliances in this huge region. Along with such traditional American allies in the region as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, the American side in the recent years has made active attempts to attract India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam to this system of alliances as well. These American attempts, however, can only cause serious concerns not only in Beijing, but also in Moscow, thereby contributing to the mutual rapprochement of the Russian Federation and China. Meanwhile, the Russian-Chinese tandem is able to devalue American efforts to strategically encircle China, creating a strong Eurasian rear for the Middle Kingdom.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-218
Author(s):  
David Robie

Few books have been published in Oceania offering the political and social resonance achieved by some photojournalists in the Asia-Pacific region and further afield internationally. Books come to mind such as Depth of Field, a powerful collection of photographs of poverty and repression in the Philippines; The Brotherhood, a revealing portrayal of a corrupt police precinct in Manila by Alex Baluyut for the Philippines Centre for Investigative Journalism.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Edson P. Yarcia ◽  
Jan Michael Alexandre C. Bernadas

Purpose This paper aims to examine key obligations of states to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) under the right to health framework in the context of COVID-19. As a case study, it also describes the state of health in places of detention in the Philippines during the pandemic, with an end view of providing granular recommendations for prison policy reforms. Design/methodology/approach Relevant rules under international human rights law related to places of detention were thematically analyzed to articulate the scope of the right to health of PDLs. To describe the state of places of detention in the Philippines, this paper relied on archival research of news from selected local mainstream and specialized media. Findings The right to health framework provides a foundation for the response to COVID-19 in places of detention. Key concerns include increase in the number of infections, vulnerabilities in physical and mental health, and the spread of infection among correctional staff. Long-standing structural constraints and limited health information compound the threat of COVID-19. The Philippines must comply with its human rights obligations to PDLs to effectively address COVID-19-related concerns. Practical implications Policy reforms in Philippine places of detention must include application of community standards on physical and mental health, implementation of emergency release and application of non-custodial measures for long-term prison decongestion. Originality/value This is one of the few papers to analyze human rights in health care in places of detention during a pandemic, as nuanced in the context of the Philippines.


Author(s):  
María Cruz Berrocal ◽  
Cheng-Hwa Tsang

We briefly review the topics that our case studies in Vanuatu, Marianas, the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, and Japan highlight, and note the value of these studies in framing a comparative approach to colonialism in the Asia-Pacific region. Each case study highlights different aspects in the colonial relationship. The chapters have been grouped following a geographical criterion, and the imbalance reflects the fact that some areas have been better studied than others (e.g. for Marianas), albeit with different perspectives. We express our hope that the book has gathered some previously little systematic or accessible evidence, offered comprehensive histories of some of the areas, and raised questions for the future.


Author(s):  
John N. Hawkins

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Please check back later for the full article. The demographic, historical, cultural, and political-economic complexity of the vast Asia Pacific Region poses a great challenge to making sense of the region’s higher education (HE) trends. Yet, several of these trends are indeed enduring and comparable. The interplay of these trends and developments continually shape the architecture of higher education in the region. A sampling of these trends focuses on one of the basic frames of higher education, namely that of increasing access, equity, and capacity. This, in turn, has led to the tension between massification on the one hand, and issues of quality assurance on the other. While national development is often the primary goal of tertiary education, regionalism has increasingly challenged these more parochial concerns. Within the region, student and faculty mobility, migration, and internationalization have emerged with greater force within the sometimes confusing context of globalization. At the upper end of the HE spectrum, the pressure of seeking to achieve excellence in research and innovation has resulted in another predicament, leading to what might be called an accelerated academy. These forces and factors, among others, are influencing the pathway of HE in the Asia Pacific region as we move into the 21st century.


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