scholarly journals Development of a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Using a Public Health Lens to Determine Local Health Vulnerabilities: An Ontario Health Unit Experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Levison ◽  
Ainslie Butler ◽  
Steven Rebellato ◽  
Brenda Armstrong ◽  
Marina Whelan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Local Public Health

Climate change is negatively impacting the health of Canadians and is accordingly expected to have a significant impact on public health agencies and their response to these health impacts throughout the twenty-first century. While national and international research and assessments have explored the potential human health impacts of climate change, few assessments have explored the implications of climate change from a local public health perspective. An applied research approach to expand local knowledge and action of health vulnerabilities through a climate change action plan and vulnerability assessment was utilized by a local public health agency. Adoption and adaptation of the approach used may be valuable for public health organizations to assist their communities. Through completing a vulnerability assessment, an evidentiary base was generated for public health to inform adaptation actions to reduce negative health impacts and increase resiliency. Challenges in completing vulnerability assessments at the local level include the framing and scoping of health impacts and associated indicators, as well as access to internal expertise surrounding the analysis of data. While access to quantitative data may be limiting at the local level, qualitative data can enhance knowledge of local impacts, while also supporting the creation of key partnerships with community stakeholders which can ensure climate action continues beyond the scope of the vulnerability assessment.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Contact Tracing

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-58
Author(s):  
Teresa Scassa
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Rights Issues

This article surveys the rise of contact tracing technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic and some of the privacy, ethical, and human rights issues they raise. It examines the relationship of these technologies to local public health initiatives, and how the privacy debate over these apps made the technology in some cases less responsive to public health agency needs. The article suggests that as countries enter the return to normal phase, the more important and more invasive contact tracing and disease surveillance technologies will be deployed at the local level in the context of employment, transit, retail services, and other activities. The smart city may be co-opted for COVID-19 surveillance, and individuals will experience tracking and monitoring as they go to work, shop, dine, and commute. The author questions whether the attention given to national contact tracing apps has overshadowed more local contexts where privacy, ethical, and human rights issues remain deeply important but relatively unexamined. This raises issues for city local governance and urban e-planning.

scholarly journals Public health agendas addressing violence against rural women - an analysis of local level health services in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1379-1387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Cocco da Costa ◽  
Marta Julia Marques Lopes ◽  
Joannie dos Santos Fachinelli Soares
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
The State ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Rio Grande Do Sul ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Municipal Health ◽  
Health Managers

This study analyses health managers' perceptions of local public health agendas addressing violence against rural women in municipalities in the southern part of the State Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. It consists of an exploratory descriptive study utilizing a qualitative approach. Municipal health managers responsible for planning actions directed at women's health and primary health care were interviewed. The analysis sought to explore elements of programmatic vulnerability related to violence in the interviewees' narratives based on the following dimensions of programmatic vulnerability: expression of commitment, transformation of commitment into action, and planning and coordination. It was found that local health agendas directed at violence against rural women do not exist. Health managers are therefore faced with the challenge of defining lines of action in accordance with the guidelines and principles of the SUS. The repercussions of this situation are expressed in fragile comprehensive services for these women and programmatic vulnerability.

scholarly journals Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of a Fluvial Environment Recovery Project in a Medium-Sized Spanish Town

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1484
Author(s):  
Cristina Casajuana Kögel ◽  
Tània Rodríguez Peña ◽  
Isabel Sánchez ◽  
Montserrat Tobella ◽  
José Alonso López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
City Council ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Health Determinants ◽  
Health In All Policies

Introduction: The Interdepartamental Public Health Plan of Catalonia (2014) seeks to enforce Health in All Policies (HiAP) at the regional and local levels. Within this context, the City Council of Sant Andreu de la Barca (SAB), the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (MAB), and the Public Health Agency of Catalonia started a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of an urbanistic redesign of the Llobregat fluvial area in SAB, the results of which are presented in this paper. Methodology: In 2018, after a HIA screening, a prospective nonquantitative HIA was conducted. Politicians, professionals, and citizens participated in identifying potential impacts. Impacts were prioritized and linked to health determinants, scientific evidence, and potentially affected social groups. Afterwards, recommendations were formulated in order to improve the health impacts of the project. Finally, indicators were selected to evaluate HIA implementation. Results: The HIA was successfully implemented with the participation of technicians and citizens of SAB. The health impacts identified were mainly related to environmental, public safety, lifestyle, socioeconomic, and political contexts. Ten recommendations were defined to minimize the potential negative health impacts of the project, with six of them directly included and only one dismissed due to incompatibility. Conclusion: A HIA was successfully carried out in the medium-sized town of Catalonia, promoting Health in all Policies at a local level and improving health impacts of an urbanistic project.

scholarly journals Assessing perceptions and priorities for health impacts of climate change within local Michigan health departments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Carter ◽  
Patricia D. Koman ◽  
Lorraine Cameron ◽  
Aaron Ferguson ◽  
Patrick Jacuzzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Respiratory Illness ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Local Impacts ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

AbstractClimate change affects Michigan’s public health in several primary ways, including increased incidences of vector-borne, waterborne, heat-related, and respiratory illness. Because local health departments (LHDs) play a central role in surveillance and preventative health services, they are among the first institutions to contend with the local impacts of climate change. To assess current perceptions among Michigan public health officials, an online survey was conducted in partnership with the Michigan Association for Local Public Health (MALPH). Most of the Michigan respondents (62%, n = 34) agreed that their jurisdictions have experienced climate change in the last 20 years, and 77% agreed that climate change will impact their jurisdictions in the coming 20 years. However, only 35% (n = 34) of Michigan officials agreed that climate change is a priority in their departments. About one quarter (25%, n = 34) of Michigan LHD respondents did not know about the level of expertise of either the state and federal agencies, responsible for assisting them with information and programs related to climate change and health. Uncertainty regarding the resources available to them may hinder LHDs from developing necessary preparedness, so meeting this need could bolster the public health response to climate change.

scholarly journals A Meaningful Journey to Onboard Syndromic Data through a Local HIE

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Johnson ◽  
Jessica Yen ◽  
Brit Colanter ◽  
Eric McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Health Information Exchange ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Meaningful Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Public Health Agencies

This presentation aims to highlight key activities, technical approaches, data discoveries, lessons learned and outcomes achieved while onboarding local hospitals for syndromic Meaningful Use Stage 2 through a local health information exchange. The federal meaningful use initiative is currently a major driver to enable greater establishment of syndromic surveillance capacity across the United States. The role and efforts by local and state public health agencies in the syndromic onboarding process varies greatly. We describe efforts from a local public health agency to onboard, validate and integrate meaningful use syndromic information.

scholarly journals The Effects of Funding Change and Reorganization on Patterns of Emergency Response in a Local Health Agency

2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (6_suppl4) ◽  
pp. 166-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell G. Schuh ◽  
Michelle Basque ◽  
Margaret A. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Response Data ◽  
Equal Rate ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
Categorical Response ◽  
Internal Function

Indicators for Stress Adaptation Analytics (ISAAC) is a protocol to measure the emergency response behavior of organizations within local public health systems. We used ISAAC measurements to analyze how funding and structural changes may have affected the emergency response capacity of a local health agency. We developed ISAAC profiles for an agency's consecutive fiscal years 2013 and 2014, during which funding cuts and organizational restructuring had occurred. ISAAC uses descriptive and categorical response data to obtain a function stress score and a weighted contribution score to the agency's total response. In the absence of an emergency, we simulated one by assuming that each function was stressed at an equal rate for each of the two years and then we compared the differences between the two years. The simulations revealed that seemingly minor personnel or budget changes in health departments can mask considerable variation in change at the internal function level.

scholarly journals At udskyde det uundgåelige: Om brugen af kausal viden i forebyggende tiltag

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Hulvej Rod ◽  
Tine Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Causal Knowledge ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
The Future ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion ◽  
Local Public Health Agency ◽  
Public Health Practitioners

This paper discusses the heavy reliance upon a particular kind of causal knowledge in prevention and health promotion. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with prevention professionals working with interventions targeting teenage drinking in Denmark, the paper argues that, while attempting to provide predictions for the future, prevention creates certain problems for itself in the moments of social interaction where it is practiced. The paper suggests that prevention can be seen as an attempt at postponing the future and through empirical examples it is illustrated how this project causes a number of practical problems to prevention professionals. The paper begins by sketching the causal epistemology that dominates current public health research. Next, ethnographic descriptions of (i) an educational intervention in Danish schools and (ii) a meeting for parents arranged by a local public health agency provide the material for discussing the practical use of causal knowledge. It is shown that this knowledge becomes contradicted and undermined in the social interaction between public health practitioners and their target groups, and that – paradoxically – this knowledge tends to actualize the very phenomenon it seeks to prevent. The paper employs Bourdieu’s distinction between two modes of anticipatory intelligence, the project and the protention, and argues that, in the interaction between prevention professionals and target group, the widespread use of causal knowledge might inhibit and counteract the situational competencies of prevention professionals.

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