scholarly journals Healthy Design and Urban Planning Strategies, Actions, and Policy to Achieve Salutogenic Cities

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 2698 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Capolongo ◽  
Andrea Rebecchi ◽  
Marco Dettori ◽  
Letizia Appolloni ◽  
Antonio Azara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Environmental Planning ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
Adverse Weather ◽  
Functional Features

Starting from a previous experience carried out by the working group “Building and Environmental Hygiene” of the Italian Society of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine (SItI), the aim of the present work is to define new strategic goals for achieving a “Healthy and Salutogenic City”, which will be useful to designers, local governments and public bodies, policy makers, and all professionals working at local health agencies. Ten key points have been formulated: 1. climate change and management of adverse weather events; 2. land consumption, sprawl, and shrinking cities; 3. tactical urbanism and urban resilience; 4. urban comfort, safety, and security perception; 5. strengths and weaknesses of urban green areas and infrastructures; 6. urban solid waste management; 7. housing emergencies in relation to socio-economic and environmental changes; 8. energy aspects and environmental planning at an urban scale; 9. socio-assistance and welfare network at an urban scale: importance of a rational and widespread system; and 10. new forms of living, conscious of coparticipation models and aware of sharing quality objectives. Design strategies, actions, and policies, identified to improve public health and wellbeing, underline that the connection between morphological and functional features of urban context and public health is crucial for contemporary cities and modern societies.

Health Promotion at the Ballpark

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonni C. Hodges
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
New York ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Collegiate Baseball

The arrival of a new summer collegiate baseball league franchise to a small central New York city was seen as an opportunity for health promotion. The initiative was set up to explore two overarching questions: (1) Are summer collegiate baseball events acceptable to local public health organizations as viable places for health promotion activities addressing local health issues? (2) Are summer collegiate baseball organizations amenable to health promotion activities built in to their fan and/or player experiences? Planning and implementation were guided by precede–proceed, social cognitive theory, social marketing, and diffusion of innovations constructs. Environmental changes were implemented to support healthy eating and nontobacco use by players and fans; four health awareness nights were implemented at home games corresponding to local public health priorities and included public service announcements, between inning quizzes, information dissemination at concession and team market locations, and special guests. Sales and fan feedback support mostly healthy concession offerings and a tobacco-free ballpark; postseason evaluations from team staff and public health partners support continuing the trials of this sports event as a venue for health promotion.

scholarly journals Towards an Effective Collaboration Between South Western Sydney Local Health District and Local Councils: Insights from the Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vilas Kovai ◽  
Zeenat Mahjabeen ◽  
Bin Jalaludin
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Deductive Reasoning ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Health District ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Government Planning

Abstract Background Urban planning is of fundamental use in promoting a healthy urban environment, prompting increased collaboration between public health and local government planning authorities. A major challenge to the success of this co-operation, however, is the difficulty of ensuring that the views of the health sector are, ultimately, reflected in planning policy. To facilitate this, a qualitative study was designed by Population Health, South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) in 2016. Objective The aim of the study was to understand and help improving the effectiveness of collaboration between local governments and public health sector. Methods Qualitative data was collected from 14 in-depth interviews with staff representing five local councils: Bankstown, Camden, Liverpool, Campbelltown, and Fairfield. The data was thematically analysed using inductive and deductive reasoning by applying NVivo software. Results While councils recognise the potential value of consultation (and partnership) with SWSLHD, the fact is that the status quo is one of limited communication and the absence of any clearly defined process for collaboration. Councils perceive knowledge gaps in relation to basic issues such as who provides what services to whom and how to access services from health experts related to evidence based local government level data. Implications: The study demonstrated that a shift in provision of public health evidence that has local applicability in a timely manner on issues of mutual concern, and proactive and ongoing consultations between SWSLHD and councils would enable effective engagement, coordinated and sustained actions. As the concerns raised in this study about the need for practical information on effective interventions and impact of social determinants of health echo the findings from studies that were conducted in other local government settings of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales, the study findings may be applied to other councils beyond the SWSLHD.

scholarly journals Solid Waste Management and Public Health Challenges: Appraisal of Local Government Capacity to Achieve Effective Environmental Governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ngozi Nwogwugwu ◽  
Adebola Olubunmi Ishola
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
Public Health Challenges

Solid waste management is an essential social service of the local government system in Nigeria. The lack of adequate funding of the local governments has created a situation where most of the cities are dirty as solid waste is disposed indiscriminately resulting to various public health issues. The establishment of the ecological fund has not provided effective relief to the problems of environmental governance, including solid waste management. The study examined the relationship between solid waste management and public health challenges in Ibadan city, Nigeria. The study adopted survey design, while the population of study was Ibadan city in Oyo State, Nigeria. Quantitative data was collected using validated questionnaire with response rate of 100%. Correlation coefficient and ANOVA were employed in the testing of the hypotheses. The study found that there was significant relationship between Politicization of Waste Management and Public Health Challenges (r = .325, p<.05). In addition, there was significant relationship between Ineffective Management of Solid Waste and Public Health Challenges (r = .662, p<.05). Indiscriminate Disposal of Solid Waste, Politicization of Solid Waste and Ineffective Management of solid waste had joint significant effect on Public Health Challenges (F(3, 296) = 22.078, Adj. R2 = .696, p<0.05). The study concluded that the politicization of solid waste management in the selected local governments had resulted in ineffective management of solid wastes, with the residents being exposed to several public health challenges. It was recommended that there should be improved funding of the waste management agencies to enable them adopt modern waste disposal techniques.

The Rise of Anchor Institutions and the Threat to Community Health: Protecting Community Wealth, Building Community Power

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence T. Brown ◽  
Ashley Bachelder ◽  
Marisela B. Gomez ◽  
Alicia Sherrell ◽  
Imani Bryan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Anchor Institutions ◽  
Health Related Research ◽  
Research Parks ◽  
Wealth Building

Academic institutions are increasingly playing pivotal roles in economic development and community redevelopment in cities around the United States. Many are functioning in the role of anchor institutions and building technology, biotechnology, or research parks to facilitate biomedical research. In the process, universities often partner with local governments, implementing policies that displace entire communities and families, thereby inducing a type of trauma that researcher Mindy Thompson Fullilove has termed “root shock.” We argue that displacement is a threat to public health and explore the ethical implications of university-led displacement on public health research, especially the inclusion of vulnerable populations into health-related research. We further explicate how the legal system has sanctioned the exercise of eminent domain by private entities such as universities and developers.Strategies that communities have employed in order to counter such threats are highlighted and recommended for communities that may be under the threat of university-led displacement. We also offer a critical look at the three dominant assumptions underlying university-sponsored development: that research parks are engines of economic development, that deconcentrating poverty via displacement is effective, and that poverty is simply the lack of economic or financial means. Understanding these fallacies will help communities under the threat of university-sponsored displacement to protect community wealth, build power, and improve health.

Patterns of Cross-Sector Collaboration in Local Health Departments: A Cluster Analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 152483992097298
Author(s):  
Alexis K. Grant
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Cluster Assignment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Top Executive

Local health departments (LHDs) are positioned to act as the community health strategist for their catchment area, which requires cross-sector collaboration. However, little research exists to understand how much and what types of cross-sector collaboration occur and its impact on LHD practice. Data from 490 LHDs who participated in the 2016 National Profile of Local Health Departments survey were analyzed to identify patterns of cross-sector collaboration among LHDs. In the survey, LHDs reported the presence of collaborative activities for each of 22 categories of organizations. Factor analysis was used to identify patterns in the types of organizations with which LHDs collaborate. Then, cluster analysis was conducted to identify patterns in the types of cross-sector collaboration, and cross-sectional analyses examined which LHD characteristics were associated with cluster assignment. LHDs collaborated most with traditional health care–oriented organizations, but less often with organizations focused on upstream determinants of health such as housing. Three distinct clusters represented collaboration patterns in LHDs: coordinators, networkers, and low-collaborators. LHDs who were low-collaborators were more likely to serve smaller populations, be unaccredited, have a smaller workforce, have a White top executive, and have a top executive without a graduate degree. These findings imply that public health practitioners should prioritize building bridges to a variety of organizations and engage in collaboration beyond information sharing. Furthermore, LHDs should prioritize accreditation and workforce development activities for supporting cross-sector collaboration. With these investments, the public health system can better address the social and structural determinants of health and promote health equity.

Capacity building in the public health field in the Tunisian medical faculties

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Coman ◽  
O Oltean ◽  
M Palianopoulou ◽  
D Plancikova ◽  
C Zedini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
National Level ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Local Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Training ◽  
Medical Faculties ◽  
Health Field

Abstract Over the past years, Tunisia has experienced important reforms in the field of public health. The Tunisian medical faculties (Universities of Sfax, Tunis el Manar, Sousse and Monastir) play a key role in this endeavor by training public health professionals who can contribute to the modernization of the health system. Funded by the EC through Erasmus+ programme, the CONFIDE project (coordinated by Babes-Bolyai University, having as EU partners the Universities of Southern Denmark and Trnava, and the above mentioned Tunisian universities) has established the Research into Policy training programme by strengthening their capacity to provide public health training. The Research into Policy training programme has been delivered by the Centres for Evidence into Health Policy (C4EHPs) established within the Tunisian partner universities for the needs of CONFIDE. The training programme was implemented in four steps: (1) train the trainer sessions - the European experts trained 18 Tunisian trainers; (2) shadowing sessions - the trainers participated in shadowing sessions in the European partner institutions; (3) training delivery - the CONFIDE trainers, assisted by the European experts, delivered the training to an interdisciplinary group of 25 students and professionals; (4) internships - the students participated in internships in local health institutions. Three modules have been built within the Research into Policy training programme: Public health research, Health promotion policies and Evidence based public health policy. They contributed to increasing the public health knowledge and skills of the professionals trained. The training programme was well received by the Tunisian universities and the material developed so far during the project was adapted to the Tunisian context in the third step of implementation. On the long term, the project is expected to have an impact at the national level and produce updates at curricula level in the Tunisian medical faculties. Key messages Research into Policy training programme developed by the EC partners and culturally adapted by the Tunisian partners to the Tunisian public health context. Research into Policy training is a well-received tool for the high quality learning process in the public health field in Tunisian medical faculties.

scholarly journals Specific Functional Features of the Cell Integrity MAP Kinase Pathway in the Dimorphic Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces japonicus

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 482
Author(s):  
Elisa Gómez-Gil ◽  
Alejandro Franco ◽  
Beatriz Vázquez-Marín ◽  
Francisco Prieto-Ruiz ◽  
Armando Pérez-Díaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Yeast Species ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Cell Integrity ◽  
Mitogen Activated Protein ◽  
Functional Features

Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways execute essential functions in eukaryotic organisms by transducing extracellular stimuli into adaptive cellular responses. In the fission yeast model Schizosaccharomyces pombe the cell integrity pathway (CIP) and its core effector, MAPK Pmk1, play a key role during regulation of cell integrity, cytokinesis, and ionic homeostasis. Schizosaccharomyces japonicus, another fission yeast species, shows remarkable differences with respect to S. pombe, including a robust yeast to hyphae dimorphism in response to environmental changes. We show that the CIP MAPK module architecture and its upstream regulators, PKC orthologs Pck1 and Pck2, are conserved in both fission yeast species. However, some of S. pombe’s CIP-related functions, such as cytokinetic control and response to glucose availability, are regulated differently in S. japonicus. Moreover, Pck1 and Pck2 antagonistically regulate S. japonicus hyphal differentiation through fine-tuning of Pmk1 activity. Chimeric MAPK-swapping experiments revealed that S. japonicus Pmk1 is fully functional in S. pombe, whereas S. pombe Pmk1 shows a limited ability to execute CIP functions and promote S. japonicus mycelial development. Our findings also suggest that a modified N-lobe domain secondary structure within S. japonicus Pmk1 has a major influence on the CIP signaling features of this evolutionarily diverged fission yeast.

scholarly journals Actionable lessons for the US COVID vaccine program

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary L. Freed
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Local Health ◽  
National Strategy ◽  
Individual State ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Local Health Departments ◽  
Public Health Infrastructure ◽  
Health Infrastructure ◽  
The Us ◽  
Vaccine Distribution

AbstractWhen attempting to provide lessons for other countries from the successful Israeli COVID-19 vaccine experience, it is important to distinguish between the modifiable and non-modifiable components identified in the article by Rosen, et al. Two specific modifiable components included in the Israeli program from which the US can learn are (a) a national (not individual state-based) strategy for vaccine distribution and administration and (b) a functioning public health infrastructure. As a federal government, the US maintains an often complex web of state and national authorities and responsibilities. The federal government assumed responsibility for the ordering, payment and procurement of COVID vaccine from manufacturers. In designing the subsequent steps in their COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration plan, the Trump administration decided to rely on the states themselves to determine how best to implement guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This strategy resulted in 50 different plans and 50 different systems for the dissemination of vaccine doses, all at the level of each individual state. State health departments were neither financed, experienced nor uniformly possessed the expertise to develop and implement such plans. A national strategy for the distribution, and the workforce for the provision, of vaccine beyond the state level, similar to that which occurred in Israel, would have provided for greater efficiency and coordination across the country. The US public health infrastructure was ill-prepared and ill-staffed to take on the responsibility to deliver > 450 million doses of vaccine in an expeditious fashion, even if supply of vaccine was available. The failure to adequately invest in public health has been ubiquitous across the nation at all levels of government. Since the 2008 recession, state and local health departments have lost > 38,000 jobs and spending for state public health departments has dropped by 16% per capita and spending for local health departments has fallen by 18%. Hopefully, COVID-19 will be a wakeup call to the US with regard to the need for both a national strategy to address public health emergencies and the well-maintained infrastructure to make it happen.

scholarly journals After Action Review of the 2019 measles outbreak in Clark County, Washington, U.S.A

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Stoto ◽  
R Piltch-Loeb ◽  
R Wolfe ◽  
R Albrandt ◽  
A Melnick
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Clark County ◽  
After Action Review ◽  
Measles Outbreak ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Public Health Practitioners

Abstract Issue Clark County experienced a measles outbreak that challenged public health authorities. Description of the practice: We conducted a formal After Action Review with state and local health officials, school officials, and others to identify lessons for public health practitioners facing future outbreaks. Results Following the early identification of measles in a child who had recently arrived from Ukraine, active surveillance identified 71 confirmed cases, most in unvaccinated persons under 18 years of age. 4,138 contacts were traced and public health personnel made daily monitoring calls to 816. 53 potential exposure sites in healthcare facilities, schools and other public places were identified and communicated to the public. As a social distancing measure, unvaccinated students, teachers, and staff were excluded from schools in which exposure had occurred. Ascertaining susceptibility status was challenging. The national anti-vaccination sentiment and a parallel outbreak in a New York religious community created challenges in representing community risk while avoiding stigmatization of a community in which the first reported case was identified. Rather than respond to every false claim on social media, the health department developed talking points about emerging issues and engaged the community in dialogue. Lessons Responding to the measles outbreak required innovative approaches to surveillance and contact tracing, social distancing (school exclusions), and emergency risk communication. The response required extensive coordinated efforts of the county and state health departments, school systems, and many other organizations. Mutual aid enabled an influx of resources but managing the surge of responders proved challenging. Key messages Public health emergencies require effective emergency management practices. Carefully conducted After Action Reviews of health emergencies can help public health practitioners identify challenges and innovative practices.

Towards flexible evaluation schemes in areas with lacking information: a case of waste governance in Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232110179
Author(s):  
Dolores Elizabeth Turcott Cervantes ◽  
Beatriz Adriana Venegas Sahagún ◽  
Amaya Lobo García de Cortázar
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste Management ◽  
Stage Of Development

Local governments face the need to achieve sustainability in the provision of public services, and to do so, proper governance is essential. This work proposes a method to assess governance in local waste management systems based on a set of indicators that are flexible and robust enough to allow objective and reliable evaluation even where the information that is available is deficient. The proposal is based on a set of indicators divided into six categories that represent an increasing order of governance maturity: institutional framework; government effectiveness; transparency and accountability; network creation; participation; and corruption control. The article presents the proposal and a first test in two Mexican municipalities, which are an example of municipal solid waste management systems in an incipient stage of development, where there may be serious limitations in terms of access to information. The results show that the methodology can be replicated in different contexts and can be useful for making decisions about improvements in municipal solid waste management systems or for comparing them with others. In addition, sufficient information was obtained for a first diagnosis of the cases studied, which indicates the coherence of the proposed framework. Points for practitioners Proper governance is essential to achieve sustainability in the provision of public services. The assessment of local governance must be robust enough to motivate changes and, at the same time, flexible enough to allow reliable evaluation where the quality of service and the availability of information may be scant. We propose a new framework for the assessment of governance in municipal solid waste management systems that meets these requirements, based on a set of indicators clustered according to governance maturity.

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