scholarly journals EpiCore: Crowdsourcing Health Professionals to Verify Disease Outbreaks

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Local Information ◽  
Outbreak Detection ◽  
False Information ◽  
The World ◽  
Geographic Regions ◽  
Human Animal

IntroductionEpiCore draws on the knowledge of a global community of human,animal, and environmental health professionals to verify informationon disease outbreaks in their geographic regions. By using innovativesurveillance techniques and crowdsourcing these experts, EpiCoreenables faster global outbreak detection, verification, and reporting.MethodsThrough a secure online platform, members are able to easily andquickly provide local information to expedite outbreak verification.EpiCore volunteer applications are vetted to ensure that they possessthe public health and epidemiologic expertise necessary to contributeto the platform.ResultsEpiCore currently has over 1600 members that span 135 countries.During the first 8 months of EpiCore’s launch, 172 requests forinformation to volunteers have been posted with an average responserate of over 80%.ConclusionsWith its geographical distribution of members and high responserate, EpiCore is poised to enable the world to verify potential outbreaksignals faster. By improving situational awareness, de-escalatingrumors or false information, and corroborating using other existingsources, EpiCore is able to reduce the signal to noise ratio in diseasesurveillance. Hence, by detecting and verifying outbreaks faster,health officials can generate early responses that can curb epidemicsand save lives.

scholarly journals Utility of massive open online courses (MOOCs) concerning outbreaks of emerging and reemerging diseases

F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Bendezu-Quispe ◽  
Junior Smith Torres-Roman ◽  
Brenda Salinas-Ochoa ◽  
Akram Hernández-Vásquez
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
The World ◽  
Education Courses ◽  
Skilled Health

The emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases such as Ebola, chikungunya, and Zika increase the necessity of knowledgeable and skilled health professionals. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) arise as opportunities that allow people around the world to participate in higher education courses. A search was conducted on specialized MOOC platforms to find courses related to outbreaks, using terms included in the list of the WHO disease outbreaks from January 1st to December 31st, 2016. We found seven courses about Ebola, two about Zika, three about the dynamics of epidemics and pandemics, and only one course about dengue, chikungunya, and malaria. Most of the courses were conducted in English. The courses on Ebola, Zika and chikungunya were released after their last outbreak. MOOCs could be used to learn about health issues of global relevance, and with the necessity of fast divulgation of knowledge and skills. Translating the courses into more languages could give these courses more traction, and allow participation of professionals in regions affected by these outbreaks.

scholarly journals Gaining the upper hand on COVID-19 misinformation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Alex Cen ◽  
Lara Parlatan
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
World Health ◽  
Factual Information ◽  
False Information ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

As the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic evolved, information about the virus also accumulated. However, accompanied by the quick emergence of factual information was an even greater abundance of false information. For example, by March 2020, videos containing non-factual information on COVID-19 accounted for over one-quarter of the most viewed videos on YouTube — greatly exceeding the popularity of factual videos released by governments and health professionals [1]. The World Health Organization declared this massive flux of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 an “infodemic”, where it is hard to distinguish between factual and non-factual information [2].

scholarly journals Utility of massive open online courses (MOOCs) concerning outbreaks of emerging and reemerging diseases

F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Bendezu-Quispe ◽  
Junior Smith Torres-Roman ◽  
Brenda Salinas-Ochoa ◽  
Akram Hernández-Vásquez
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Massive Open Online ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
The World ◽  
Education Courses ◽  
Skilled Health

The emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases such as Ebola, chikungunya, and Zika increase the necessity of knowledgeable and skilled health professionals. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) arise as opportunities that allow people around the world to participate in higher education courses. A search was conducted on specialized MOOC platforms to find courses related to outbreaks, using terms included in the list of the WHO disease outbreaks from January 1st to December 31st, 2016. We found seven courses about Ebola, two about Zika, three about the dynamics of epidemics and pandemics, and only one course about dengue, chikungunya, and malaria. Most of the courses were conducted in English. The courses on Ebola, Zika and chikungunya were released after their last outbreak. MOOCs could be used to learn about health issues of global relevance, and with the necessity of fast divulgation of knowledge and skills. Translating the courses into more languages could give these courses more traction, and allow participation of professionals in regions affected by these outbreaks.

scholarly journals A conceptual framework for Emergency department design in a pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gayathri Devi Nadarajan ◽  
Eunizar Omar ◽  
Benjamin S. Abella ◽  
Pei Shan Hoe ◽  
Sang Do Shin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreak ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Scoping Literature Review ◽  
The World ◽  
Constant State ◽  
Staff Protection

Abstract Background The current COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting gaps around the world in the design and workflow of Emergency Departments (ED). These gaps have an impact on both patient care and staff safety and represent a risk to public health. There is a need for a conceptual framework to guide ED design and workflow to address these challenges. Such a framework is important as the ED environment will always remain vulnerable to infectious diseases outbreaks in the future. Aims This paper aims to address issues and principles around ED design and workflow amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose a conceptual framework and checklist for EDs to be prepared for future outbreaks as well. Methods A scoping literature review was conducted, of the experiences of EDs in managing outbreaks such as SARS, H1N1 and COVID-19. The combined experiences of the authors and the experiences from the literature were grouped under common themes to develop the conceptual framework. Results Four key principles were derived- (1) situational awareness, surveillance and perimeter defence, (2) ED staff protection, (3) surge capacity management and (4) ED recovery. The findings were integrated in a proposed conceptual framework to guide ED design in response to an infectious disease outbreak. There are various elements which need to be considered at ED input, throughput and output. These elements can be categorised into (1) system (workflow, protocols and communication), (2) staff (human resources), (3) space (infrastructure), and (4) supply (logistics) and are placed in a checklist for pragmatic use. Conclusion The ED needs to be in a constant state of preparedness. A framework can be useful to guide ED design and workflow to achieve this. As all ED systems are different with varying capabilities, our framework may help EDs across the world prepare for infectious disease outbreaks.

Uncountable Matter

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-41
Author(s):  
Jacques Lezra
Keyword(s):  
New Materialism ◽  
Human Hand ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The World ◽  
Human Animal

Humanism returns for the New Materialism in ‘nonhuman’ form as matter. New ‘matter’ and new materialism thus fashion the world to human advantage in the gesture of abjecting us. They commit us to the humanism of masochists. They offer an animistic and paradisiacal realm of immediate transactions, human to human, human to and with nonhuman, face to face, world without end. The impulse is tactically and strategically useful. But ‘matter’ will not help us if we fashion it so that it bears in its concept the signature of a human hand in its making. Can we do otherwise? Only by conceiving matter as what absolutizes what is not-one: matter from which no discipline will normally, normatively, produce an object or take its concept; on which heroical abjection will founder; matter non-human in ways the human animal can neither designate, nor ever count.

Recomendações de equipamentos de proteção individual no combate ao COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (31) ◽  
pp. 87-95
Author(s):  
Nicole Maria Miyamoto Bettini ◽  
Fabiana Tomé Ramos ◽  
Priscila Masquetto Vieira de Almeida
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Personnel ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
World Health ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Effective Strategy ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

A Organização Mundial da Saúde - OMS confirmou a circulação internacional do novo Coronavírus em janeiro de 2020, nomeando-o como COVID-19 e, declarando uma pandemia. É de extrema importância que durante a pandemia, os profissionais de saúde tenham acesso e conhecimento sobre o uso correto dos Equipamentos de Proteção Individual (EPIs) e suas indicações, tomando assim, as devidas precauções na prevenção de infecções. O presente estudo buscou identificar a padronização mundial quanto ao uso dos EPIs utilizados no atendimento a pacientes suspeitos e/ou confirmados de COVID-19 no Brasil, EUA, China, Espanha, Itália e demais países europeus. Os guidelines apresentam a padronização quanto ao uso dos EPIs utilizados no atendimento a suspeitos e/ou confirmados de COVID-19, indo ao encontro das recomendações fornecidas pela OMS. Até o momento, o uso de EPIs é sem dúvida a estratégia mais importante e eficaz para proteger os profissionais de saúde durante a assistência ao paciente com COVID-19.Descritores: Infecções por Coronavírus, Equipamento de Proteção Individual, Pessoal de Saúde, Enfermagem. Recommendations for personal protective equipment to combat COVID-19Abstract: The World Health Organization - WHO confirmed the international circulation of the new Coronavirus in January 2020, naming it as COVID-19 and declaring a pandemic. It is extremely important that during the pandemic, health professionals have access and knowledge about the correct use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and its indications, thus taking appropriate precautions to prevent infections. The present study sought to identify the worldwide standardization regarding the use of PPE utilized to take care of suspected and confirmed patients with COVID-19 in Brazil, USA, China, Spain, Italy and other European countries. The guidelines present a standardization regarding the use of PPE utilized to take care of suspected and confirmed with COVID-19, in line with the recommendations provided by WHO. To date, the use of PPE is undoubtedly the most important and effective strategy to protect healthcare professionals during care for patients with COVID-19.Descriptors: Coronavirus Infections, Personal Protective Equipment, Health Personnel, Nursing. Recomendaciones para el equipo de protección personal para combatir COVID-19Resumen: La Organización Mundial de la Salud - La OMS confirmó la circulación internacional del nuevo Coronavirus en enero de 2020, nombrándolo COVID-19 y declarando una pandemia. Es extremadamente importante que durante la pandemia, los profesionales de la salud tengan acceso y conocimiento sobre el uso correcto del Equipo de Protección Personal (EPP) y sus indicaciones, tomando así las precauciones adecuadas para prevenir infecciones. El presente estudio buscó identificar la estandarización mundial con respecto al uso de EPP utilizado para atender a pacientes sospechosos y/o confirmados con COVID-19 en Brasil, Estados Unidos, China, España, Italia y otros países europeos. Las pautas presentan la estandarización con respecto al uso de EPP utilizado para cuidar COVID-19 sospechoso y/o confirmado, de acuerdo con las recomendaciones proporcionadas por la OMS. Hasta la fecha, el uso de EPP es, sin duda, la estrategia más importante y efectiva para proteger a los profesionales de la salud durante la atención de pacientes con COVID-19.Descriptores: Infecciones por Coronavirus, Equipo de Protección Personal, Personal de Salud, Enfermería.

International broadcasting: stages of development, specificity and functional structure

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4(13)) ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Ksenia Olegovna NEVMERZHITSKAYA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Global Media ◽  
False Information ◽  
Broadcast Media ◽  
World Community ◽  
Media Agenda ◽  
International Broadcasting ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports

The media influence politics by providing intelligence and arena for political statements. Therefore, the danger of spreading false information and deliberate disinformation can have serious consequences. It is impossible to accuse specific media outlets of unfair coverage, but one cannot fail to note the existing resonance in media reports from different countries. Interpretations of the same events are radically different, while a journalist must rely on facts. The world is faced with the problem of global misunderstanding and information discord. Modern international broadcasting plays an important role in shaping the picture of the event for the world community. It is impossible to deny that the information agenda of many foreign broadcast media depends to some extent on a number of reasons: nationality, foreign policy of his state, profitability. Otherwise, the global media would not contradict each other. We want to track how modern foreign broadcasting builds its agenda and what principles it is guided by. Keywords: Broadcasting, media, Media agenda

scholarly journals Infectious disease outbreaks in the African region: overview of events reported to the World Health Organization in 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Mboussou ◽  
P. Ndumbi ◽  
R. Ngom ◽  
Z. Kassamali ◽  
O. Ogundiran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Disease Onset ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
World Health ◽  
African Region ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Member States ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
The World

Abstract The WHO African region is characterised by the largest infectious disease burden in the world. We conducted a retrospective descriptive analysis using records of all infectious disease outbreaks formally reported to the WHO in 2018 by Member States of the African region. We analysed the spatio-temporal distribution, the notification delay as well as the morbidity and mortality associated with these outbreaks. In 2018, 96 new disease outbreaks were reported across 36 of the 47 Member States. The most commonly reported disease outbreak was cholera which accounted for 20.8% (n = 20) of all events, followed by measles (n = 11, 11.5%) and Yellow fever (n = 7, 7.3%). About a quarter of the outbreaks (n = 23) were reported following signals detected through media monitoring conducted at the WHO regional office for Africa. The median delay between the disease onset and WHO notification was 16 days (range: 0–184). A total of 107 167 people were directly affected including 1221 deaths (mean case fatality ratio (CFR): 1.14% (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07%–1.20%)). The highest CFR was observed for diseases targeted for eradication or elimination: 3.45% (95% CI 0.89%–10.45%). The African region remains prone to outbreaks of infectious diseases. It is therefore critical that Member States improve their capacities to rapidly detect, report and respond to public health events.

scholarly journals 13.D. Workshop: SDGs in the focus of environmental and health issues

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The World ◽  
Environmental And Health Issues ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This workshop is dedicated on SDGs in the focus of environmental and health issues, as very important and actual topic. One of the characteristics of today's societies is the significant availability of modern technologies. Over 5 billion (about 67%) people have a cellphone today. More than 4.5 billion people worldwide use the Internet, close to 60% of the total population. At the same time, one third of the people in the world does not have access to safe drinking water and half of the population does not have access to safe sanitation. The WHO at UN warns of severe inequalities in access to water and hygiene. Air, essential to life, is a leading risk due to ubiquitous pollution and contributes to the global disease burden (7 million deaths per year). Air pollution is a consequence of traffic and industry, but also of demographic trends and other human activities. Food availability reflects global inequality, famine eradication being one of the SDGs. The WHO warns of the urgency. As technology progresses, social inequality grows, the gap widens, and the environment continues to suffer. Furthermore, the social environment in societies is “ruffled” and does not appear to be beneficial toward well-being. New inequalities are emerging in the availability of technology, climate change, education. The achievement reports on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also point out to the need of reviewing individual indicators. According to the Sustainable Development Agenda, one of the goals is to reduce inequalities, and environmental health is faced by several specific goals. The Global Burden of Disease is the most comprehensive effort to date to measure epidemiological levels and trends worldwide. It is the product of a global research collaborative and quantifies the impact of hundreds of diseases, injuries, and risk factors in countries around the world. This workshop will also discuss Urban Health as a Complex System in the light of SDGs. Climate Change, Public Health impacts and the role of the new digital technologies is also important topic which is contributing to SDG3, improving health, to SDG4, allowing to provide distance health education at relatively low cost and to SDG 13, by reducing the CO2 footprint. Community Engagement can both empower vulnerable populations (so reducing inequalities) and identify the prior environmental issues to be addressed. The aim was to search for public health programs using Community Engagement tools in healthy environment building towards achievement of SDGs. Key messages Health professionals are involved in the overall process of transformation necessary to achieve the SDGs. Health professionals should be proactive and contribute to the transformation leading to better health for the environment, and thus for the human population.

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