scholarly journals Situational Awareness – Key Safety Factor For The Officer Of The Watch

2021 ◽  
Vol 93 (7s) ◽  
pp. 225-240
Author(s):  
Hrvoje Jaram ◽  
◽  
Pero Vidan ◽  
Srđan Vukša ◽  
Ivan Pavić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Safety Factor ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
World Health ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Human Element ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
High Level ◽  
Human And Organizational Factors

One of the main causes of many maritime accidents are errors caused by the human element. Analysis of many maritime accidents at sea shows that situational awareness is one of the most important safety factors. The purpose and objective of this paper is to define the concept, importance and application of situational awareness throughout history until today. It also aims to highlight the high level of situational awareness as an important safety factor possessed by the Officer of the Watch and the overall importance of the same in the maritime domain. It is important to define the role of International Maritime Organization and the World Health Organization in relation to seafarer regulations and situational awareness. To identify the prevalence of low situational awareness as a root cause of accidents through the analysis of statistical data. To demonstrate the consequences of low situational awareness among ship’s crew through examples of tragic maritime accidents, along with identifying human and organizational factors that significantly reduce situational awareness. By defining the role and application of maritime training and modern technological solutions in the efforts to prevent maritime accidents and improve the situational awareness of ship officers. The questionnaire was conducted with the aim of collecting data on the importance of situational awareness from the experienced mariners as a target group. The questionnaire also aimed to obtain more detailed information about the effectiveness offered by modern technological solutions to improve situational awareness. Based on the collected information, arguments and assertions about situational awareness as an important safety factor for the Officer of the Watch, safety recommendations are presented.

Non-Communicable Diseases and Global Health Politics

2019 ◽  
pp. 626-659
Author(s):  
Roger Magnusson
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Response ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases ◽  
Health Politics ◽  
Chronic Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
High Level ◽  
And Control

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes, are responsible for around 70 percent of global deaths each year. This chapter describes how NCDs have become prevalent and critically evaluates global efforts to address NCDs and their risk factors, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) system. It explores the factors that have prevented those addressing NCDs from achieving access to resources and a priority commensurate with their impact on people’s lives. The chapter evaluates the global response to NCDs both prior to and since the UN High-Level Meeting on Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, held in 2011, and considers opportunities for strengthening that response in future.

scholarly journals Study of Well Waters from High-Level Natural Radiation Areas in Northern Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 469
Author(s):  
Van-Hao Duong ◽  
Thanh-Duong Nguyen ◽  
Miklos Hegedus ◽  
Erika Kocsis ◽  
Tibor Kovacs
Keyword(s):  
Natural Radionuclide ◽  
World Health ◽  
Natural Radiation ◽  
Lifetime Cancer Risk ◽  
Northern Vietnam ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
High Level ◽  
Radiological Hazard Indices ◽  
Well Waters

The determination of natural radionuclide concentrations plays an important role for assuring public health and in the estimation of the radiological hazards. This is especially true for high level radiation areas. In this study, 226Ra, 228Ra and 238U concentrations were measured in well waters surrounding eight of the high-level natural radiation areas in northern Vietnam. The 226Ra, 228Ra and 238U activity concentrations vary from <1.2 × 10−3–2.7 (0.46), <2.6 × 10−3–0.43 (0.07) and <38 × 10−3–5.32 Bq/L (0.50 of median), respectively. 226Ra and 238U isotopes in most areas are in equilibrium, except for the DT-Thai Nguyen area. The calculated radiological hazard indices are generally higher than WHO (World Health Organization) recommendations. Average annual effective dose and excess lifetime cancer risk values due to drinking well water range from to 130 to 540 μSv/year and 7.4 × 10−6 to 3.1 × 10−5, respectively.

scholarly journals An Extended Study on Training and Physical Exercise in Esports

2019 ◽  
pp. 270-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Kari ◽  
Miia Siutila ◽  
Veli-Matti Karhulahti
Keyword(s):  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Qualitative Interview ◽  
World Health ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
The World ◽  
Survey Sample ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
High Level ◽  
Positive Effect

This chapter is an extended revision of the authors' earlier study (2016) on the training routines of professional and high-level esport players, with added focus on their physical exercise. The study is methodologically mixed with a quantitative survey sample (n=115) and a qualitative interview sample (n=7). Based on this data, high-level esport players train approximately 5.28 hours every day around the year, and professional esport players at least the same amount. Approximately 1.08 hours of that training is physical exercise. More than half (55.6%) of the professional and high-level esport players believe that integrating physical exercise into their training programs has a positive effect on esport performance; however, no less than 47.0% do the physical exercise chiefly to maintain their overall state of health. Accordingly, the study indicates that professional and high-level esport players are physically active as well: those of age 18 and older exercising more than three times the daily 21-minute physical activity recommendation given by the World Health Organization.

Arsenic neurotoxicity — A review

2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 823-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Vahidnia ◽  
G.B. van der Voet ◽  
F.A. de Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Environmental Fate ◽  
Protein Composition ◽  
World Health ◽  
Inorganic Species ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Neurological Effects ◽  
Soles Of The Feet ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
High Level

Arsenic (As) is one of the oldest poisons known to men. Its applications throughout history are wide and varied: murder, make-up, paint and even as a pesticide. Chronic As toxicity is a global environmental health problem, affecting millions of people in the USA and Germany to Bangladesh and Taiwan. Worldwide, As is released into the environment by smelting of various metals, combustion of fossil fuels, as herbicides and fungicides in agricultural products. The drinking water in many countries, which is tapped from natural geological resources, is also contaminated as a result of the high level of As in groundwater. The environmental fate of As is contamination of surface and groundwater with a contaminant level higher than 10 particle per billion (ppb) as set by World Health Organization (WHO). Arsenic exists in both organic and inorganic species and either form can also exist in a trivalent or pentavalent oxidation state. Long-term health effects of exposure to these As metabolites are severe and highly variable: skin and lung cancer, neurological effects, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Neurological effects of As may develop within a few hours after ingestion, but usually are seen in 2—8 weeks after exposure. It is usually a symmetrical sensorimotor neuropathy, often resembling the Guillain—Barré syndrome. The predominant clinical features of neuropathy are paresthesias, numbness and pain, particularly in the soles of the feet. Electrophysiological studies performed on patients with As neuropathy have revealed a reduced nerve conduction velocity, typical of those seen in axonal degeneration. Most of the adverse effects of As, are caused by inactivated enzymes in the cellular energy pathway, whereby As reacts with the thiol groups of proteins and enzymes and inhibits their catalytic activity. Furthermore, As-induced neurotoxicity, like many other neurodegenerative diseases, causes changes in cytoskeletal protein composition and hyperphosphorylation. These changes may lead to disorganization of the cytoskeletal framework, which is a potential mechanism of As-induced neurotoxicity. Human & Experimental Toxicology (2007) 26, 823— 832

Zika Virus Awareness and Prevention Practices Among University Students in Miami: Fall 2016

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 967-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Darrow ◽  
Chintan Bhatt ◽  
Cassandra Rene ◽  
Lakisha Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Zika Virus ◽  
World Health ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
School Officials ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
First Case ◽  
Blackboard Learn ◽  
Multistage Sampling ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
High Level

In January 2016, the first case of mosquito-borne Zika infection in the mainland United States was confirmed in Miami, Florida. The first locally acquired case was reported 6 months later. Local public health and school officials began warning students of the outbreak on their return to the classroom in August 2016. In November–December 2016, we conducted a survey of students attending a large public university in Miami to determine how well informed they were about Zika. A multistage sampling design was used to contact teaching assistants and ask them for help in recruiting their students. Eligible students had to be 18 years of age or older and enrolled in at least one three-credit course during fall semester. A 25-item questionnaire based on the World Health Organization Zika Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice Resource Pack was developed, pretested, and approved by the university’s institutional review board before it was made available to eligible students through Blackboard Learn or a survey link. About half (50.4%) of the 139 respondents had heard about Zika prior to 2016. Only one student was unaware of Zika before our survey. Most (47.1%) first learned about Zika through television, 18.8% from family or friends, and 15.2% from the Internet, social media, or university e-mail. Two thirds (66.2%) believed Zika could be prevented, 15.1% thought it might be prevented, and 85.7% had taken some precautions. A high level of awareness of the risk of Zika infection was apparent. Most students reported taking steps to avoid exposure to the Zika virus.

Cancer screening and prevention in gynaecology

2020 ◽  
pp. 755-765
Author(s):  
Lynette Denny ◽  
Rengaswamy Sankaranarayan
Keyword(s):  
Specific Antigen ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
World Health ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Level Of Evidence ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Screening And Prevention ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
High Level ◽  
Current Screening

In 1968, the World Health Organization published guidelines on the principles and practice of screening for disease, which are often referred to as the ‘Wilson and Jungner criteria’. These principles are still applicable today. With the onset of genetic screening, new controversies around screening emerged and in 2008, Andermann et al. synthesized and modified the Wilson criteria. Screening is a systematic attempt to select those who are at high risk of a specific disease from among apparently healthy individuals. The ultimate aim of screening is prevention of disease or to detect disease at an early, curable stage. There are many controversies about screening for cancer, such as the use of prostatic-specific antigen screening for prostate cancer, mammography screening for breast cancer, and debates around current screening for colorectal, lung, and cervical cancers. Controversies also exist with regard to the level of evidence required before screening for a disease is initiated. Even if there is a high level of evidence for efficacy and effectiveness, how the programme should be implemented needs careful consideration, particularly a clear understanding of benefits versus harms, potential or actual. In some countries, mass population screening programmes are implemented and in others, screening is dependent on access to health insurance. This chapter explores past and current screening activities among women for early detection and prevention of gynaecological cancers including cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancers and discusses screening for vulval and vaginal cancer.

scholarly journals Psycho-social perspective of COVID-19 in Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-135
Author(s):  
Sharmila Maharjan
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Social Effects ◽  
World Health ◽  
Emotional Management ◽  
The World ◽  
After Effect ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Relaxation Exercises ◽  
Opinion Article

This ‘opinion article’ is based on World Health Organization (WHO) news and online publications along with the cases handled by the writer. It aims at overviewing psycho-social angle of collectivistic social structure of Nepal during the pandemic called COVID-19 caused by Coronavirus. Majority of Nepalese are dependent on agriculture, remaining on private or public services either in or out of the country. COVID-19 entered the world health threatening their existence, authority and leaving social system in halt. Coronavirus attacked breathing system and lungs claiming hundreds of thousand people’s lives around the world. No vaccine or medicine to combat it has been developed till date. Educational, professional and service organizations have been shut down leaving families isolated from friends and relatives. People are living with fear, denial, panic reactions, dissociation, depression, and socially distressed in ‘lockdown’ condition. It can damage trust in authority and socialization pattern as after-effect. Doctors, Politicians, educators, local government, social workers, psychologists and people themselves can reduce negative psycho-social effects occurring in future. Emotional management (situational awareness and acceptance), relationship management, meditation and relaxation exercises can contribute positively in reducing psychological problems of COVID-19.

Media Reporting of the Emergence of the 1968 Influenza Pandemic in Hong Kong: Implications for Modern-day Situational Awareness

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. S148-S153 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Wilson ◽  
Marissa Iannarone ◽  
Chunhui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
News Media ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
English Language ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
World Health ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Health Organization

ABSTRACTObjective: We investigated local media reporting during the emergence of influenza A/Hong Kong/68 in Hong Kong to understand how indolent social awareness contributed to delays in warning of the pandemic.Methods: Daily output from 1 English-language and 4 local Chinese-language newspapers published in Hong Kong between July 1 and August 31, 1968 were manually reviewed for all references to the presence of respiratory disease or influenza in southern China and Hong Kong. Public announcements from the World Health Organization Weekly Epidemiological Record were used to approximate international awareness.Results: Influenza A/Hong Kong/68 appeared abruptly in Hong Kong and within 1 week began to affect the functioning of the health care sector as well as civil infrastructure due to worker infection and absenteeism. Substantial delays in communication between Guangzhou, China, and Hong Kong officials contributed to delays in warning globally.Conclusions: The 1968 experience emphasizes the need to use the news media in the operational setting as a critical component in warning of a pandemic. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3(Suppl 2):S148–S153)

scholarly journals Is health workforce sustainability in Australia and New Zealand a realistic policy goal?

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 152 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Buchan ◽  
Lucio Naccarella ◽  
Peter M. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
World Health ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Policy Direction ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
High Level ◽  
Agreed Definition

This paper assesses what health workforce ‘sustainability’ might mean for Australia and New Zealand, given the policy direction set out in the World Health Organization draft code on international recruitment of health workers. The governments in both countries have in the past made policy statements about the desirability of health workforce ‘self-sufficiency’, but OECD data show that both have a high level of dependence on internationally recruited health professionals relative to most other OECD countries. The paper argues that if a target of ‘self-sufficiency’ or sustainability were to be based on meeting health workforce requirements from home based training, both Australia and New Zealand fall far short of this measure, and continue to be active recruiters. The paper stresses that there is no common agreed definition of what health workforce ‘self-sufficiency’, or ‘sustainability’ is in practice, and that without an agreed definition it will be difficult for policy-makers to move the debate on to reaching agreement and possibly setting measurable targets or timelines for achievement. The paper concludes that any policy decisions related to health workforce sustainability will also have to taken in the context of a wider community debate on what is required of a health system and how is it to be funded.

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