Assessing Potential Public Health Implications of Changing Climate and Land Uses: The New York Climate and Health Project

Healthcare providers need to be aware of the facts regarding the environmental impact of regulated medical wastes and be prepared to voice concern over unnecessary and costly regulations. The wash-ups of waste, a small percentage of which was medical waste, on the beaches on New York and New Jersey in the summers of 1987 and 1988 prompted an immediate response by state and federal governments. Although it was demonstrated that this medical waste did not originate in healthcare facilities,' the public demanded that their elected representatives do something about what they perceived to be the degradation of the environment and a risk to public health caused by “uncontrolled dumping” of “medical wastes” into the ocean. As a result of these and other occurrences, several environmental concerns regarding the treatment and disposal of medical waste were voiced by the public and acknowledged by the legislators. These included the following: aesthetic damage to the environment; potential public health problems associated with infectious agents in medical waste; and potential environmental contamination with hazardous chemicals and radioactivity associated with medical wastes.

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Jaggers in the pokey: understanding tattooing in prisons and reacting rationally to it

Australian Health Review ◽

10.1071/ah020162 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 162 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Niyi Awofeso

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Multifaceted Approach ◽

Health Implications ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Correctional Settings ◽

Potential Public Health

The legalisation of tattooing in prisons, as well as the provision of access by inmates to professional tattooists duringincarceration, have remained contentious issues between custodial and health authorities in most Western prisons. This article examines the arguments of both stakeholders as well as the attitudes of inmates vis-�-vis tattooing, and suggestsa multifaceted approach that takes cognisance of inmates' motivation to have prison tattoos, and (potential) public health implications of tattooing in correctional settings.

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Co-developing climate services for public health: stakeholder needs and perceptions for the prevention and control ofAedes-transmitted diseases in the Caribbean

10.1101/587188 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Anna M. Stewart-Ibarra ◽

Moory Romero ◽

Avery Q. J. Hinds ◽

Rachel Lowe ◽

Roché Mahon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Sector ◽

Early Warning Systems ◽

Small Island ◽

Caribbean Region ◽

Climate Services ◽

Changing Climate ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Climate And Health ◽

The Caribbean

AbstractBackgroundSmall island developing states (SIDS) in the Caribbean region are challenged with managing the health outcomes of a changing climate. Health and climate sectors have partnered to co-develop climate services to improve the management of these diseases, for example, through the development of climate-driven early warning systems. The objective of this study was to identify health and climate stakeholder perceptions and needs in the Caribbean, with respect to the development of climate services for arboviruses (e.g. dengue, chikungunya, and Zika).MethodsStakeholders included public decision makers and practitioners from the climate and health sectors at the regional (Caribbean) level and from the countries of Dominica and Barbados. From April to June 2017, we conducted interviews (n=41), surveys (n=32), and national workshops with stakeholders. Survey responses were tabulated and audio recordings were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative coding to identify responses by research topic, country/region, and sector.ResultsHealth practitioners indicated that their jurisdiction is currently experiencing an increased risk of diseases transmitted byAe. aegyptidue to climate variability, and most anticipated that this risk will increase in the future. National health sectors reported financial limitations and a lack of technical expertise in geographic information systems (GIS), statistics, and modeling, which constrained their ability to implement climate services for arboviruses. National climate sectors were constrained by a lack of personnel. Stakeholders highlighted the need to strengthen partnerships with the private sector, academia, and civil society. They identified a gap in local research on climate-arbovirus linkages, which constrained the ability of the health sector to make informed decisions. Strategies to strengthen the climate-health partnership included a top-down approach by engaging senior leadership, multi-lateral collaboration agreements, national committees on climate and health, and shared spaces of dialogue. Mechanisms for mainstreaming climate services for health operations to control arboviruses included climate-health bulletins and an online GIS platform that would allow for regional data sharing and the generation of spatiotemporal epidemic forecasts.ConclusionsThese findings support the creation of interdisciplinary and intersectoral communities of practices and the co-design of climate services for the Caribbean public health sector. By fostering the effective use of climate information within health policy, research and practice, nations will have greater capacity to adapt to a changing climate.

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