Effective public health policies are not harder to fund than drugs or advice

BMJ ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 349 (sep03 6) ◽  
pp. g5082-g5082
Author(s):  
S. Capewell
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Maha Alkaid Albqoor, RN, MPH, MSN, PhD

<p><em>Despite the concerns about very high rates of smoking in Jordanian population and the growing efforts to combat the tobacco epidemic, smoking at hospitals in Jordan and the poor complying with smoking prevention policies are important aspects of the problem. The paper examined the scope </em><em>and the progress </em><em>of smoking problem in Jordanian hospitals, </em><em>recognized public health policies on tobacco control </em><em>in hospitals in Jordan, and explored the obstacles in applying tobacco control policies in hospitals. The paper also proposed some recommendations for effective public health policies that regulate tobacco smoking in hospitals and other health care facilities in Jordan.</em></p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A B Gilmore ◽  
L Robertson ◽  
M Petticrew ◽  
N Maani Hessari

Abstract Current models of the determinants of health risk framing public health problems and solutions in ways that obscure the role that the private sector, in particular large transnational companies, play in shaping population health. This presentation will propose a new conceptual model of the commercial determinants of health which recognises the commercial sector's direct, indirect, upstream and downstream influences on health. It will also present emerging evidence-based taxonomies that draw together evidence on the key corporate practices which stymie the implementation of effective public health policies. In so doing, the presentation will explore how we move from understanding to addressing the commercial determinants of health.


2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-216240
Author(s):  
Iona MacDonald ◽  
Jye-Lin Hsu

With almost no community-transmitted cases and without any complete lockdown throughout 2020, Taiwan is one of very few countries worldwide that has recorded minimal impact from the COVID-19 pandemic attack. This is despite being only 130 km from China and having frequent business communications with that country, where COVID-19 first emerged. At the end of December 2020, Taiwan had recorded just 873 cases and 7 deaths, in a country of around 24 million people. How to determine the effectiveness of public health policies is an important issue that must be resolved, especially in those countries that have experienced few cases of community-transmitted COVID-19. Our analysis of epidemiological data in Taiwan relating to influenza-like illness (ILI), enterovirus and diarrhoea from the past 3 years reveals dramatic reductions in the incidence of ILI and enterovirus in 2020, compared with 2018 and 2019. These reductions occurred within 2 weeks of the government issuing public health policies for COVID-19 and indicate that such policies can effectively reduce infectious diseases overall. In contrast, no such reduction in ILI activity was observed in 2020 after the first COVID-19 case was reported in the USA. We suggest that infectious diseases data can be used to inform effective public health policies needed to break the transmission chain of COVID-19 and that ongoing monitoring of infectious diseases data can provide confidence about nationwide health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Randall ◽  
E. T. Ewing ◽  
L. C. Marr ◽  
J. L. Jimenez ◽  
L. Bourouiba

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed major gaps in our understanding of the transmission of viruses through the air. These gaps slowed recognition of airborne transmission of the disease, contributed to muddled public health policies and impeded clear messaging on how best to slow transmission of COVID-19. In particular, current recommendations have been based on four tenets: (i) respiratory disease transmission routes can be viewed mostly in a binary manner of ‘droplets’ versus ‘aerosols’; (ii) this dichotomy depends on droplet size alone; (iii) the cut-off size between these routes of transmission is 5 µm; and (iv) there is a dichotomy in the distance at which transmission by each route is relevant. Yet, a relationship between these assertions is not supported by current scientific knowledge. Here, we revisit the historical foundation of these notions, and how they became entangled from the 1800s to today, with a complex interplay among various fields of science and medicine. This journey into the past highlights potential solutions for better collaboration and integration of scientific results into practice for building a more resilient society with more sound, far-sighted and effective public health policies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kishan Kalia ◽  
Gayatri Saberwal ◽  
Gaurav Sharma

Genomic surveillance has enabled the identification of several SARS-CoV-2 variants, allowing the formulation of appropriate public health policies. However, surveillance could be made more effective. We have determined that the time taken from strain collection to genome submission for over 1.7 million SARS-CoV-2 strains available at GISAID. We find that strain-wise, time lag in this process ranges from one day to over a year. Country-wise, the UK has taken a median of 16 days (for 417,287 genomes), India took 57 days (for 15,614 genomes), whereas Qatar spent 289 days (for 2298 genomes). We strongly emphasize that along with increasing the number of genomes of COVID-19 positive cases sequenced, their accelerated submission to GISAID should also be strongly encouraged and facilitated. This will enable researchers across the globe to track the spreading of variants in a timely manner; analyse their biology, epidemiology, and re-emerging infections; and define effective public health policies.


JAMIA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Peng ◽  
Rowland W Pettit ◽  
Christopher I Amos

Abstract Objectives We developed COVID-19 Outbreak Simulator (https://ictr.github.io/covid19-outbreak-simulator/) to quantitatively estimate the effectiveness of preventative and interventive measures to prevent and battle COVID-19 outbreaks for specific populations. Materials and methods Our simulator simulates the entire course of infection and transmission of the virus among individuals in heterogeneous populations, subject to operations and influences, such as quarantine, testing, social distancing, and community infection. It provides command-line and Jupyter notebook interfaces and a plugin system for user-defined operations. Results The simulator provides quantitative estimates for COVID-19 outbreaks in a variety of scenarios and assists the development of public health policies, risk-reduction operations, and emergency response plans. Discussion Our simulator is powerful, flexible, and customizable, although successful applications require realistic estimation and robustness analysis of population-specific parameters. Conclusion Risk assessment and continuity planning for COVID-19 outbreaks are crucial for the continued operation of many organizations. Our simulator will be continuously expanded to meet this need.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
R S Caló ◽  
B S N Souza ◽  
N D Galvão ◽  
R A G Souza ◽  
J C S Oliveira ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer has been one of the cancers that most contributed to mortality, in both sexes in the world. In Brazil, cancer is among the top five causes of death and colorectal cancer is ranked on the fifth position. Of the Federative Units belonging to the Legal Amazon, Mato Grosso stands out for the higher adjusted incidence of colorectal cancer for both sexes. Thus, the objective is to characterize deaths from colorectal cancer, according to sociodemographic variables in Mato Grosso from 2000 to 2016. Methods A descriptive study was carried out, using data from the Mortality Information System, made available by the Department of Health of the Mato Grosso State. Deaths of all ages were selected, whose basic cause was identified by the codes from the International Classification of Diseases: (C.18) colon cancer, (C.19) rectosigmoid junction cancer, (C.20) rectal cancer or (C.21) anus cancer. Results Between 2000 and 2016, 31,607 deaths from cancer were registered. Of these, 1,750 (5.6%) were due to colorectal cancer. An increased number of deaths was observed at the end of the period, with a variation from 46 deaths in 2000 from 173 in 2016. Highest frequency was verified in men (51.3%), people aged 60 years or older (59.7%), black (54.6%), married (52.3%) and those with primary education (55.2%). According to Brazilian occupation classification options or those answers filled out on the death certificate, highest frequency were for “Retired” (26.2%), “Housewife” (23.1%), Agricultural/Forestry and Fisheries” (11.3%) and “Production of Industrial Goods and Services” (10.3%). Conclusions This study evidenced the increased number of deaths due to colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State, and identified priority groups for interventions through public health policies which should include screening and early diagnosis to cope with the disease. Key messages Evidenced the increased number of deaths due to colorectal cancer in Mato Grosso State. Identified priority groups for interventions through public health policies.


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