Public mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 has presented society with a public health threat greater than any in living memory, leaving us to question almost every aspect of our society. An ever increasing concern is how we protect the global population from mental illness and whether public mental health policies can achieve this. In this article I reflect on the history of mental health service development, and furthermore on how COVID-19 might impact on the delivery of public mental health strategies into the future.

Utilising te Tiriti o Waitangi to approach health intervention development and research: pharmacist-facilitated medicines review interventions for Māori older adults

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTIONte Tiriti o Waitangi guarantees Māori the right to: self-determination, equitable health outcomes, be well informed, health care options, including kaupapa Māori and culturally safe mainstream services, and partnership in the health care journey. Despite integration of these principles into policy, there remains a lack of application in health service development, and health inequities remain. AIMWe aimed to use te Tiriti o Waitangi to structure the development of a culturally safe health intervention, using as an exemplar pharmacist-facilitated medicines review for Māori older adults. METHODSPrevious research undertaken by our group (a systematic review, and interviews with stakeholders including Māori older adults) was used to inform the aspects to include in the intervention. Kaupapa Māori theory was used to underpin the approach. Intended outcomes, requirements for change, and outcome measures to assess change were mapped to te Tiriti o Waitangi principles as a way to structure the pharmacist-facilitated medicines review intervention and research processes. RESULTSFindings from our previous research identified 12 intended intervention outcomes, including that the intervention be flexible to adapt to diverse needs in a way that is acceptable and culturally safe for Māori and that it supports Māori older adults to control and have confidence in their medicine treatment and wellbeing. DISCUSSIONWe present an approach to the development of a pharmacist-facilitated medicines review intervention for Māori older adults, structured around the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi, to support the implementation of a culturally safe, pro-equity intervention.

Malaria

This chapter covers all aspects of malaria control in a humanitarian emergency setting including diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and epidemic preparedness and management. With an estimated greater than 80% of humanitarian emergencies occurring in areas endemic for malaria, this chapter provides the essential background information on malaria epidemiology and health service development, as well as clinical management aspects including disease recognition, diagnosis, and management guidelines for the multiple clinical presentations. It also outlines special considerations for at-risk groups, and details information on surveillance and prevention.

Evidence-based practice in Chile

Over the past few decades, the emergence of evidence-based practice medicine (EBP) has allowed a change in the integration of knowledge with policy making and health service development, and Chile has been influenced by EBP with no exemption. In this paper, we will describe the impact of the EBP model at different levels of the Chilean health system, including the development of national clinical guidelines, medical training and in-patient involvement in health awareness.