scholarly journals Mass gathering public health and emergency medicine literature review: Levels of evidence

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Arbon ◽  
Lynette Cusack ◽  
Naomi Oenol

Introduction The science of mass gatherings is a relatively new and developing field. It is currently at a stage where summarising the rigour of knowledge gained about the complex interrelationships between key characteristics of an event, spectator profiles and health implications are critical. This study seeks to summarise the levels of evidence in peer-reviewed journal articles concerning mass gathering public health and emergency medicine published 2001 to 2011. Until now, the evidence behind the science of mass gathering public health and emergency medicine has not been critically analysed. Methods Publications were reviewed by searching the following online databases: GALE, NLM, Web of Science, Elsevier, Wiley, BMJ Journals, OUP, IngentaConnect, RMIT, DOAJ and JSTOR. Published news articles and grey literature were omitted. The peer-reviewed articles were organised into pre-determined World Health Organisation categories and the levels of evidence were assessed using the effectiveness classifications developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Descriptive statistical analysis was then undertaken using Microsoft Excel®. Results Of all publications examined, 38·86% (n = 89) of the articles found in this review were categorised as observational studies, 36·68% (n = 84) were expert opinion or consensus, 20·09% (n = 46) were cohort studies, 2·18% (n = 5) were case-controlled studies and 2·18% (n = 5) were quasi-experimental studies. Conclusion High-level evidence studies may not be possible in the mass gathering context, but research in the middle-level should be encouraged to ensure that literature is less reliant on experience and expert opinion when applied to event management strategies which impact on public health and emergency medicine.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelley Lee ◽  
Karen A Grépin ◽  
Catherine Worsnop ◽  
Summer Marion ◽  
Julianne Piper ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundThe near universal adoption of cross-border health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has prompted significant debate about their effectiveness and compliance with international law. The number of measures used, and the range of measures applied, have far exceeded previous public health emergencies of international concern. However, efforts to advance research, policy and practice to support their effective use has been hindered by a lack of clear and consistent definition. ResultsBased on a review of existing datasets for cross-border health measures, such as the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker and World Health Organization Public Health and Social Measures, along with analysis of secondary and grey literature, we propose six categories to define measures more clearly and consistently – type of movement (travel and trade), policy goal, level of jurisdiction, use by public versus private sector, stage of journey, and degree of restrictiveness. These categories are then be brought together into a proposed typology that can support research with generalizable findings and comparative analyses across jurisdictions. The typology facilitates evidence-informed decision-making which takes account of policy complexity including trade-offs and externalities. Finally, the typology can support efforts to strengthen coordinated global responses to outbreaks and inform future efforts to revise the WHO International Health Regulations (2005). ConclusionsThe widespread use of cross-border health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted significant reflection on available evidence, previous practice and existing legal frameworks. The typology put forth in this paper aims to provide a starting point for strengthening research, policy and practice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javiera Leniz ◽  
Anna Weil ◽  
Irene J Higginson ◽  
Katherine E Sleeman

ObjectivesTo systematically search, evaluate and report the state of the science of electronic palliative care coordination systems (EPaCCS).MethodsWe searched CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library and grey literature for articles evaluating or discussing electronic systems to facilitate sharing of information about advance care plans. Two independent review authors screened full‐text articles for inclusion, assessed quality and extracted data.ResultsIn total, 30 articles and reports were included. Of the 26 articles, 14 were ‘expert opinion’ articles (editorials, discussion papers or commentaries), 9 were observational studies (cross-sectional, retrospective cohort studies or service evaluations), 2 were qualitative studies and 1 a mixed-methods study. No study had an experimental design. Quantitative studies described the proportion of people with EPaCCS dying in their preferred place, and associations between EPaCCS use and hospital utilisation. Qualitative, mixed-methods studies and reports described the burden of inputting data and difficulties with IT systems as main challenges of implementing EPaCCS.ConclusionsMuch of the current scientific literature on EPaCCS comprises expert opinion, and there is an absence of experimental studies evaluating the impact of EPaCCS on end-of-life outcomes. Given the current drive for national roll-out of EPaCCS by 2020, it is essential that rigorous evaluation of EPaCCS is prioritised.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
G Damiani ◽  
M Sapienza

Abstract The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a complex system comprising 169 targets and about 230 indicators. Urban Health could be considered a complex system since it deals with 15 out of 17 SDGs, excluding the two related to life below water and life on land. According to the World Health Organization, to achieve the SDGs, countries have committed to organize Urban Health initiatives to improve the social, economic, and physical environments promoting health and sustainability globally. Cities will become more inclusive, safer and more sustainable, which are important driving forces to implement the development equation. To set up a framework to point out that Urban Health is a complex system oriented to the achievement of the SDGs. It has been conducted an extensive literature review on databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus) using keywords in 3 strings combined with Boolean operators: SDGs and Urban Health, Urban Health as Complex System and Urban Health, Environmental Health and Public Health as Complex Systems. In addition, a grey literature review has been carried out. Out of 1005 publications, 21 were eventually included: 14 publications relate to the interdependent relationships between SDGs and Urban Health, with regard to the association between Urban Health and complex system, 3 publication studied the effects and implications of such correlation, 4 focused on Environmental Health and Public Health in relation with the complex system. The selected publications suggested methodologies aimed at setting up an urban health framework to achieve SDGs. There is an initial orientation focused on the study of Urban Health problems aimed at achieving SDGs from the perspective of complex systems. We highlight the need to conduct further studies on a more detailed framework in order to address this type of approach.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelley Lee ◽  
Karen A. Grépin ◽  
Catherine Worsnop ◽  
Summer Marion ◽  
Julianne Piper ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The near universal adoption of cross-border health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has prompted significant debate about their effectiveness and compliance with international law. The number of measures used, and the range of measures applied, have far exceeded previous public health emergencies of international concern. However, efforts to advance research, policy and practice to support their effective use has been hindered by a lack of clear and consistent definition. Results Based on a review of existing datasets for cross-border health measures, such as the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker and World Health Organization Public Health and Social Measures, along with analysis of secondary and grey literature, we propose six categories to define measures more clearly and consistently – policy goal, type of movement (travel and trade), adopted by public or private sector, level of jurisdiction applied, stage of journey, and degree of restrictiveness. These categories are then brought together into a proposed typology that can support research with generalizable findings and comparative analyses across jurisdictions. Addressing the current gaps in evidence about travel measures, including how different jurisdictions apply such measures with varying effects, in turn, enhances the potential for evidence-informed decision-making based on fuller understanding of policy trade-offs and externalities. Finally, through the adoption of standardized terminology and creation of an agreed evidentiary base recognized across jurisdictions, the typology can support efforts to strengthen coordinated global responses to outbreaks and inform future efforts to revise the WHO International Health Regulations (2005). Conclusions The widespread use of cross-border health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted significant reflection on available evidence, previous practice and existing legal frameworks. The typology put forth in this paper aims to provide a starting point for strengthening research, policy and practice.


Author(s):  
Katherine Cullerton ◽  
Jean Adams ◽  
Martin White

The issue of public health and policy communities engaging with food sector companies has long caused tension and debate. Ralston and colleagues’ article ‘Towards Preventing and Managing Conflict of Interest in Nutrition Policy? An Analysis of Submissions to a Consultation on a Draft WHO Tool’ further examines this issue. They found widespread food industry opposition, not just to the details of the World Health Organization (WHO) tool, but to the very idea of it. In this commentary we reflect on this finding and the arguments for and against interacting with the food industry during different stages of the policy process. While involving the food industry in certain aspects of the policy process without favouring their business goals may seem like an intractable problem, we believe there are opportunities for progress that do not compromise our values as public health professionals. We suggest three key steps to making progress.


Coronaviruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Mohan ◽  
Vinod Kumar

: World Health Organization (WHO) office in China received the information of pneumonia cases of unknown aetiology from Wuhan, central China on 31st December 2019, subsequently this disease spreading in china and rest of world. Till the March 2020 end, more than 2 lakhs confirmed cases with more than 70000 deaths were reported worldwide, very soon researchers identified it as novel beta Corona virus (virus SARS-CoV-2) and its infection coined as COVID-19. Health ministries of various countries and WHO together fighting to this health emergency, which not only affects public health, but also started affecting various economic sectors as well. The main aim of the current article is to explore the various pandemic situations (SARS, MERS) in past, life cycle of COVID-19, diagnosis procedures, prevention and comparative analysis of COVID-19 with other epidemic situations.


Author(s):  
Timur Khetsuriani ◽  
Elena Chaplygina ◽  
Tatyana Zhukova ◽  
Elgudzha Khetsuriani

The article presents an overview of the mass development of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in the don river of the Rostov region, which leads to the phenomenon, received in the literature the name of harmful “flowering” of water. The harmfulness of the mass development of cyanobacteria is changes in organoleptic characteristics of drinking water, which lead to the production of a large number of dangerous to human health and animal toxins, to reduce water quality, violation of the aesthetic appearance of the reservoir, the loss of useful human properties of the aquatic ecosystem and are factors of epidemic safety of public health. Experimental studies of the properties of cyanobacteria and toxins produced by blue-green algae are pre-sented. The first studies were carried out at the pilot plant on the technology of purification of flowering don water to ensure environmental safety of drinking water and public health.


Author(s):  
Mary Robinson

Institutions matter for the advancement of human rights in global health. Given the dramatic development of human rights under international law and the parallel proliferation of global institutions for public health, there arises an imperative to understand the implementation of human rights through global health governance. This volume examines the evolving relationship between human rights, global governance, and public health, studying an expansive set of health challenges through a multi-sectoral array of global organizations. To analyze the structural determinants of rights-based governance, the organizations in this volume include those international bureaucracies that implement human rights in ways that influence public health in a globalizing world. Bringing together leading health and human rights scholars and practitioners from academia, non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations system, this volume explores: (1) the foundations of human rights as a normative framework for global health governance, (2) the mandate of the World Health Organization to pursue a human rights-based approach to health, (3) the role of inter-governmental organizations across a range of health-related human rights, (4) the influence of rights-based economic governance on public health, and (5) the focus on global health among institutions of human rights governance. Contributing chapters map the distinct human rights activities within a specific institution of global governance for health. Through the comparative institutional analysis in this volume, the contributing authors examine institutional efforts to operationalize human rights in organizational policies, programs, and practices and assess institutional factors that facilitate or inhibit human rights mainstreaming for global health advancement.


Author(s):  
Amal Chakraborty ◽  
Mark Daniel ◽  
Natasha J. Howard ◽  
Alwin Chong ◽  
Nicola Slavin ◽  
...  

The high prevalence of preventable infectious and chronic diseases in Australian Indigenous populations is a major public health concern. Existing research has rarely examined the role of built and socio-political environmental factors relating to remote Indigenous health and wellbeing. This research identified built and socio-political environmental indicators from publicly available grey literature documents locally-relevant to remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. Existing planning documents with evidence of community input were used to reduce the response burden on Indigenous communities. A scoping review of community-focused planning documents resulted in the identification of 1120 built and 2215 socio-political environmental indicators. Indicators were systematically classified using an Indigenous indicator classification system (IICS). Applying the IICS yielded indicators prominently featuring the “community infrastructure” domain within the built environment, and the “community capacity” domain within the socio-political environment. This research demonstrates the utility of utilizing existing planning documents and a culturally appropriate systematic classification system to consolidate environmental determinants that influence health and disease occurrence. The findings also support understanding of which features of community-level built and socio-political environments amenable to public health and social policy actions might be targeted to help reduce the prevalence of infectious and chronic diseases in Indigenous communities.


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