Sample records for electronic public health

  1. Applications of Electronic Health Information in Public Health: Uses, Opportunities & Barriers

    PubMed Central

    Tomines, Alan; Readhead, Heather; Readhead, Adam; Teutsch, Steven

    2013-01-01

    Electronic health information systems can reshape the practice of public health including public health surveillance, disease and injury investigation and control, decision making, quality assurance, and policy development. While these opportunities are potentially transformative, and the federal program for the Meaningful Use (MU) of electronic health records (EHRs) has included important public health components, significant barriers remain. Unlike incentives in the clinical care system, scant funding is available to public health departments to develop the necessary information infrastructure and workforce capacity to capitalize on EHRs, personal health records, or Big Data. Current EHR systems are primarily built to serve clinical systems and practice rather than being structured for public health use. In addition, there are policy issues concerning how broadly the data can be used by public health officials. As these issues are resolved and workable solutions emerge, they should yield a more efficient and effective public health system. PMID:25848571

  2. The Public Health Community Platform, Electronic Case Reporting, and the Digital Bridge.

    PubMed

    Cooney, Mary Ann; Iademarco, Michael F; Huang, Monica; MacKenzie, William R; Davidson, Arthur J

    At the intersection of new technology advancements, ever-changing health policy, and fiscal constraints, public health agencies seek to leverage modern technical innovations and benefit from a more comprehensive and cooperative approach to transforming public health, health care, and other data into action. State health agencies recognized a way to advance population health was to integrate public health with clinical health data through electronic infectious disease case reporting. The Public Health Community Platform (PHCP) concept of bidirectional data flow and knowledge management became the foundation to build a cloud-based system connecting electronic health records to public health data for a select initial set of notifiable conditions. With challenges faced and lessons learned, significant progress was made and the PHCP grew into the Digital Bridge, a national governance model for systems change, bringing together software vendors, public health, and health care. As the model and technology advance together, opportunities to advance future connectivity solutions for both health care and public health will emerge.

  3. Using electronic health record alerts to provide public health situational awareness to clinicians

    PubMed Central

    Lurio, Joseph; Pichardo, Michelle; Berg, Rachel; Buck, Michael D; Wu, Winfred; Kitson, Kwame; Mostashari, Farzad; Calman, Neil

    2010-01-01

    Alerting providers to public health situations requires timeliness and context-relevance, both lacking in current systems. Incorporating decision support tools into electronic health records may provide a way to deploy public health alerts to clinicians at the point of care. A timely process for responding to Health Alert Network messages sent by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene was developed by a network of community health centers. Alerts with order sets and recommended actions were created to notify primary care providers of local disease outbreaks. The process, effect, and lessons learned from alerts for Legionella, toxogenic E coli, and measles outbreaks are described. Electronic alerts have the potential to improve management of diseases during an outbreak, including appropriate laboratory testing, management guidance, and diagnostic assistance as well as to enhance bi-directional data exchange between clinical and public health organizations. PMID:20190067

  4. Using electronic health record alerts to provide public health situational awareness to clinicians.

    PubMed

    Lurio, Joseph; Morrison, Frances P; Pichardo, Michelle; Berg, Rachel; Buck, Michael D; Wu, Winfred; Kitson, Kwame; Mostashari, Farzad; Calman, Neil

    2010-01-01

    Alerting providers to public health situations requires timeliness and context-relevance, both lacking in current systems. Incorporating decision support tools into electronic health records may provide a way to deploy public health alerts to clinicians at the point of care. A timely process for responding to Health Alert Network messages sent by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene was developed by a network of community health centers. Alerts with order sets and recommended actions were created to notify primary care providers of local disease outbreaks. The process, effect, and lessons learned from alerts for Legionella, toxogenic E coli, and measles outbreaks are described. Electronic alerts have the potential to improve management of diseases during an outbreak, including appropriate laboratory testing, management guidance, and diagnostic assistance as well as to enhance bi-directional data exchange between clinical and public health organizations.

  5. MDPHnet: Secure, Distributed Sharing of Electronic Health Record Data for Public Health Surveillance, Evaluation, and Planning

    PubMed Central

    Vogel, Joshua; Brown, Jeffrey S.; Land, Thomas; Platt, Richard

    2014-01-01

    Electronic health record systems contain clinically detailed data from large populations of patients that could significantly enrich public health surveillance. Clinical practices’ security, privacy, and proprietary concerns, however, have limited their willingness to share these data with public health agencies. We describe a novel distributed network for public health surveillance called MDPHnet. The system allows the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) to initiate custom queries against participating practices’ electronic health records while the data remain behind each practice’s firewall. Practices can review proposed queries before execution and approve query results before releasing them to the health department. MDPH is using the system for routine surveillance for priority conditions and to evaluate the impact of public health interventions. PMID:25322301

  6. Public Trust in Health Information Sharing: Implications for Biobanking and Electronic Health Record Systems

    PubMed Central

    Platt, Jodyn; Kardia, Sharon

    2015-01-01

    Biobanks are made all the more valuable when the biological samples they hold can be linked to health information collected in research, electronic health records, or public health practice. Public trust in such systems that share health information for research and health care practice is understudied. Our research examines characteristics of the general public that predict trust in a health system that includes researchers, health care providers, insurance companies and public health departments. We created a 119-item survey of predictors and attributes of system trust and fielded it using Amazon’s MTurk system (n = 447). We found that seeing one’s primary care provider, having a favorable view of data sharing and believing that data sharing will improve the quality of health care, as well as psychosocial factors (altruism and generalized trust) were positively and significantly associated with system trust. As expected, privacy concern, but counterintuitively, knowledge about health information sharing were negatively associated with system trust. We conclude that, in order to assure the public’s trust, policy makers charged with setting best practices for governance of biobanks and access to electronic health records should leverage critical access points to engage a diverse public in joint decision making. PMID:25654300

  7. Innovative uses of electronic health records and social media for public health surveillance.

    PubMed

    Eggleston, Emma M; Weitzman, Elissa R

    2014-03-01

    Electronic health records (EHRs) and social media have the potential to enrich public health surveillance of diabetes. Clinical and patient-facing data sources for diabetes surveillance are needed given its profound public health impact, opportunity for primary and secondary prevention, persistent disparities, and requirement for self-management. Initiatives to employ data from EHRs and social media for diabetes surveillance are in their infancy. With their transformative potential come practical limitations and ethical considerations. We explore applications of EHR and social media for diabetes surveillance, limitations to approaches, and steps for moving forward in this partnership between patients, health systems, and public health.

  8. Electronic health record - public health (EHR-PH) system prototype for interoperability in 21st century healthcare systems.

    PubMed

    Orlova, Anna O; Dunnagan, Mark; Finitzo, Terese; Higgins, Michael; Watkins, Todd; Tien, Allen; Beales, Steven

    2005-01-01

    Information exchange, enabled by computable interoperability, is the key to many of the initiatives underway including the development of Regional Health Information Exchanges, Regional Health Information Organizations, and the National Health Information Network. These initiatives must include public health as a full partner in the emerging transformation of our nation's healthcare system through the adoption and use of information technology. An electronic health record - public health (EHR-PH)system prototype was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of electronic data transfer from a health care provider, i.e. hospital or ambulatory care settings, to multiple customized public health systems which include a Newborn Metabolic Screening Registry, a Newborn Hearing Screening Registry, an Immunization Registry and a Communicable Disease Registry, using HL7 messaging standards. Our EHR-PH system prototype can be considered a distributed EHR-based RHIE/RHIO model - a principal element for a potential technical architecture for a NHIN.

  9. Progress in increasing electronic reporting of laboratory results to public health agencies--United States, 2013.

    PubMed

    2013-09-27

    Electronic reporting of laboratory results to public health agencies can improve public health surveillance for reportable diseases and conditions by making reporting more timely and complete. Since 2010, CDC has provided funding to 57 state, local, and territorial health departments through the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases cooperative agreement to assist with improving electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) from clinical and public health laboratories to public health agencies. As part of this agreement, CDC and state and large local health departments are collaborating to monitor ELR implementation in the United States by developing data from each jurisdiction regarding total reporting laboratories, laboratories sending ELR by disease category and message format, and the number of ELR laboratory reports compared with the total number of laboratory reports. At the end of July 2013, 54 of the 57 jurisdictions were receiving at least some laboratory reports through ELR, and approximately 62% of 20 million laboratory reports were being received electronically, compared with 54% in 2012. Continued progress will require collaboration between clinical laboratories, laboratory information management system (LIMS) vendors, and public health agencies.

  10. An Electronic Health Record - Public Health (EHR-PH) System Prototype for Interoperability in 21st Century Healthcare Systems

    PubMed Central

    Orlova, Anna O.; Dunnagan, Mark; Finitzo, Terese; Higgins, Michael; Watkins, Todd; Tien, Allen; Beales, Steven

    2005-01-01

    Information exchange, enabled by computable interoperability, is the key to many of the initiatives underway including the development of Regional Health Information Exchanges, Regional Health Information Organizations, and the National Health Information Network. These initiatives must include public health as a full partner in the emerging transformation of our nation’s healthcare system through the adoption and use of information technology. An electronic health record - public health (EHR-PH) system prototype was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of electronic data transfer from a health care provider, i.e. hospital or ambulatory care settings, to multiple customized public health systems which include a Newborn Metabolic Screening Registry, a Newborn Hearing Screening Registry, an Immunization Registry and a Communicable Disease Registry, using HL7 messaging standards. Our EHR-PH system prototype can be considered a distributed EHR-based RHIE/RHIO model - a principal element for a potential technical architecture for a NHIN. PMID:16779105

  11. Ethics in Public Health Research

    PubMed Central

    Myers, Julie; Frieden, Thomas R.; Bherwani, Kamal M.; Henning, Kelly J.

    2008-01-01

    Public health agencies increasingly use electronic means to acquire, use, maintain, and store personal health information. Electronic data formats can improve performance of core public health functions, but potentially threaten privacy because they can be easily duplicated and transmitted to unauthorized people. Although such security breaches do occur, electronic data can be better secured than paper records, because authentication, authorization, auditing, and accountability can be facilitated. Public health professionals should collaborate with law and information technology colleagues to assess possible threats, implement updated policies, train staff, and develop preventive engineering measures to protect information. Tightened physical and electronic controls can prevent misuse of data, minimize the risk of security breaches, and help maintain the reputation and integrity of public health agencies. PMID:18382010

  12. Government leadership in addressing public health priorities: strides and delays in electronic laboratory reporting in the United States.

    PubMed

    Gluskin, Rebecca Tave; Mavinkurve, Maushumi; Varma, Jay K

    2014-03-01

    For nearly a decade, interest groups, from politicians to economists to physicians, have touted digitization of the nation's health information. One frequently mentioned benefit is the transmission of information electronically from laboratories to public health personnel, allowing them to rapidly analyze and act on these data. Switching from paper to electronic laboratory reports (ELRs) was thought to solve many public health surveillance issues, including workload, accuracy, and timeliness. However, barriers remain for both laboratories and public health agencies to realize the full benefits of ELRs. The New York City experience highlights several successes and challenges of electronic reporting and is supported by peer-reviewed literature. Lessons learned from ELR systems will benefit efforts to standardize electronic medical records reporting to health departments.

  13. Hospital Adoption of Health Information Technology to Support Public Health Infrastructure.

    PubMed

    Walker, Daniel M; Diana, Mark L

    2016-01-01

    Health information technology (IT) has the potential to improve the nation's public health infrastructure. In support of this belief, meaningful use incentives include criteria for hospitals to electronically report to immunization registries, as well as to public health agencies for reportable laboratory results and syndromic surveillance. Electronic reporting can facilitate faster and more appropriate public health response. However, it remains unclear the extent that hospitals have adopted IT for public health efforts. To examine hospital adoption of IT for public health and to compare hospitals capable of using and not using public health IT. Cross-sectional design with data from the 2012 American Hospital Association annual survey matched with data from the 2013 American Hospital Association Information Technology Supplement. Multivariate logistic regression was used to compare hospital characteristics. Inverse probability weights were applied to adjust for selection bias because of survey nonresponse. All acute care general hospitals in the United States that matched across the surveys and had complete data available were included in the analytic sample. Three separate outcome measures were used: whether the hospital could electronically report to immunization registries, whether the hospital could send electronic laboratory results, and whether the hospital can participate in syndromic surveillance. A total of 2841 hospitals met the inclusion criteria. Weighted results show that of these hospitals, 62.7% can electronically submit to immunization registries, 56.6% can electronically report laboratory results, and 54.4% can electronically report syndromic surveillance. Adjusted and weighted results from the multivariate analyses show that small, rural hospitals and hospitals without electronic health record systems lag in the adoption of public health IT capabilities. While a majority of hospitals are using public health IT, the infrastructure still has

  14. Electronic laboratory data quality and the value of a health information exchange to support public health reporting processes.

    PubMed

    Dixon, Brian E; McGowan, Julie J; Grannis, Shaun J

    2011-01-01

    There is increasing interest in leveraging electronic health data across disparate sources for a variety of uses. A fallacy often held by data consumers is that clinical data quality is homogeneous across sources. We examined one attribute of data quality, completeness, in the context of electronic laboratory reporting of notifiable disease information. We evaluated 7.5 million laboratory reports from clinical information systems for their completeness with respect to data needed for public health reporting processes. We also examined the impact of health information exchange (HIE) enhancement methods that attempt to improve completeness. The laboratory data were heterogeneous in their completeness. Fields identifying the patient and test results were usually complete. Fields containing patient demographics, patient contact information, and provider contact information were suboptimal. Data processed by the HIE were often more complete, suggesting that HIEs can support improvements to existing public health reporting processes.

  15. Privacy, security, and the public health researcher in the era of electronic health record research

    PubMed Central

    Sarwate, Anand D.

    2016-01-01

    Health data derived from electronic health records are increasingly utilized in large-scale population health analyses. Going hand in hand with this increase in data is an increasing number of data breaches. Ensuring privacy and security of these data is a shared responsibility between the public health researcher, collaborators, and their institutions. In this article, we review the requirements of data privacy and security and discuss epidemiologic implications of emerging technologies from the computer science community that can be used for health data. In order to ensure that our needs as researchers are captured in these technologies, we must engage in the dialogue surrounding the development of these tools. PMID:28210428

  16. Privacy, security, and the public health researcher in the era of electronic health record research.

    PubMed

    Goldstein, Neal D; Sarwate, Anand D

    2016-01-01

    Health data derived from electronic health records are increasingly utilized in large-scale population health analyses. Going hand in hand with this increase in data is an increasing number of data breaches. Ensuring privacy and security of these data is a shared responsibility between the public health researcher, collaborators, and their institutions. In this article, we review the requirements of data privacy and security and discuss epidemiologic implications of emerging technologies from the computer science community that can be used for health data. In order to ensure that our needs as researchers are captured in these technologies, we must engage in the dialogue surrounding the development of these tools.

  17. Informational privacy and the public's health: the Model State Public Health Privacy Act.

    PubMed

    Gostin, L O; Hodge, J G; Valdiserri, R O

    2001-09-01

    Protecting public health requires the acquisition, use, and storage of extensive health-related information about individuals. The electronic accumulation and exchange of personal data promises significant public health benefits but also threatens individual privacy; breaches of privacy can lead to individual discrimination in employment, insurance, and government programs. Individuals concerned about privacy invasions may avoid clinical or public health tests, treatments, or research. Although individual privacy protections are critical, comprehensive federal privacy protections do not adequately protect public health data, and existing state privacy laws are inconsistent and fragmented. The Model State Public Health Privacy Act provides strong privacy safeguards for public health data while preserving the ability of state and local public health departments to act for the common good.

  18. Partners in Public Health: Public Health Collaborations With Schools of Pharmacy, 2015.

    PubMed

    DiPietro Mager, Natalie A; Ochs, Leslie; Ranelli, Paul L; Kahaleh, Abby A; Lahoz, Monina R; Patel, Radha V; Garza, Oscar W; Isaacs, Diana; Clark, Suzanne

    To collect data on public health collaborations with schools of pharmacy, we sent a short electronic survey to accredited and preaccredited pharmacy programs in 2015. We categorized public health collaborations as working or partnering with local and/or state public health departments, local and/or state public health organizations, academic schools or programs of public health, and other public health collaborations. Of 134 schools, 65 responded (49% response rate). Forty-six (71%) responding institutions indicated collaborations with local and/or state public health departments, 34 (52%) with schools or programs of public health, and 24 (37%) with local and/or state public health organizations. Common themes of collaborations included educational programs, community outreach, research, and teaching in areas such as tobacco control, emergency preparedness, chronic disease, drug abuse, immunizations, and medication therapy management. Interdisciplinary public health collaborations with schools of pharmacy provide additional resources for ensuring the health of communities and expose student pharmacists to opportunities to use their training and abilities to affect public health. Examples of these partnerships may stimulate additional ideas for possible collaborations between public health organizations and schools of pharmacy.

  19. Tweeting for and against public health policy: response to the Chicago Department of Public Health's electronic cigarette Twitter campaign.

    PubMed

    Harris, Jenine K; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Choucair, Bechara; Mansour, Raed; Staub, Mackenzie; Simmons, Kendall

    2014-10-16

    In January 2014, the Chicago City Council scheduled a vote on local regulation of electronic cigarettes as tobacco products. One week prior to the vote, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) released a series of messages about electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) through its Twitter account. Shortly after the messages, or tweets, were released, the department's Twitter account became the target of a "Twitter bomb" by Twitter users sending more than 600 tweets in one week against the proposed regulation. The purpose of our study was to examine the messages and tweet patterns in the social media response to the CDPH e-cigarette campaign. We collected all tweets mentioning the CDPH in the week between the e-cigarette campaign and the vote on the new local e-cigarette policy. We conducted a content analysis of the tweets, used descriptive statistics to examine characteristics of involved Twitter users, and used network visualization and descriptive statistics to identify Twitter users prominent in the conversation. Of the 683 tweets mentioning CDPH during the week, 609 (89.2%) were anti-policy. More than half of anti-policy tweets were about use of electronic cigarettes for cessation as a healthier alternative to combustible cigarettes (358/609, 58.8%). Just over one-third of anti-policy tweets asserted that the health department was lying or disseminating propaganda (224/609, 36.8%). Approximately 14% (96/683, 14.1%) of the tweets used an account or included elements consistent with "astroturfing"-a strategy employed to promote a false sense of consensus around an idea. Few Twitter users were from the Chicago area; Twitter users from Chicago were significantly more likely than expected to tweet in support of the policy. Our findings may assist public health organizations to anticipate, recognize, and respond to coordinated social media campaigns.

  20. Tweeting for and Against Public Health Policy: Response to the Chicago Department of Public Health's Electronic Cigarette Twitter Campaign

    PubMed Central

    Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Choucair, Bechara; Mansour, Raed; Staub, Mackenzie; Simmons, Kendall

    2014-01-01

    Background In January 2014, the Chicago City Council scheduled a vote on local regulation of electronic cigarettes as tobacco products. One week prior to the vote, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) released a series of messages about electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) through its Twitter account. Shortly after the messages, or tweets, were released, the department’s Twitter account became the target of a “Twitter bomb” by Twitter users sending more than 600 tweets in one week against the proposed regulation. Objective The purpose of our study was to examine the messages and tweet patterns in the social media response to the CDPH e-cigarette campaign. Methods We collected all tweets mentioning the CDPH in the week between the e-cigarette campaign and the vote on the new local e-cigarette policy. We conducted a content analysis of the tweets, used descriptive statistics to examine characteristics of involved Twitter users, and used network visualization and descriptive statistics to identify Twitter users prominent in the conversation. Results Of the 683 tweets mentioning CDPH during the week, 609 (89.2%) were anti-policy. More than half of anti-policy tweets were about use of electronic cigarettes for cessation as a healthier alternative to combustible cigarettes (358/609, 58.8%). Just over one-third of anti-policy tweets asserted that the health department was lying or disseminating propaganda (224/609, 36.8%). Approximately 14% (96/683, 14.1%) of the tweets used an account or included elements consistent with “astroturfing”—a strategy employed to promote a false sense of consensus around an idea. Few Twitter users were from the Chicago area; Twitter users from Chicago were significantly more likely than expected to tweet in support of the policy. Conclusions Our findings may assist public health organizations to anticipate, recognize, and respond to coordinated social media campaigns. PMID:25320863

  1. Data for Community Health Assessment in Rural Colorado: A Comparison of Electronic Health Records to Public Health Surveys to Describe Childhood Obesity.

    PubMed

    Gutilla, Margaret J; Davidson, Arthur J; Daley, Matthew F; Anderson, G Brooke; Marshall, Julie A; Magzamen, Sheryl

    Community-level data are necessary to inform community health assessments and to plan for appropriate interventions. However, data derived from public health surveys may be limited or unavailable in rural locations. We compared 2 sources of data for community health assessment in rural Colorado, electronic health records (EHRs) and routine public health surveys. Comparison of cross-sectional measures of childhood/youth obesity prevalence and data quality. Two rural Colorado counties, La Plata and Prowers. The EHR cohort comprised patients 2 to 19 years of age who underwent a visit with the largest health care provider in each county. These data included sex, age, weight, height, race, ethnicity, and insurance status. Public health survey data were obtained from 2 surveys, the Colorado Child Health Survey (2-14 years of age) and the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (15-19 years of age) and included caregiver and self-reported height and weight estimates. We calculated body mass index percentile for each patient and survey respondent and determined overweight/obesity prevalence by county. We evaluated data source quality indicators according to a rubric developed for this analysis. The EHR sample captured approximately 35% (n = 3965) and 70% (n = 2219) of all children living in La Plata and Prowers Counties, respectively. The EHR prevalence estimates of overweight/obesity were greater in precision than survey data in both counties among children 2 to 14 years of age. In addition, the EHR data were more timely and geographically representative than survey data and provided directly measured height and weight. Conversely, survey data were easier to access and more demographically representative of the overall population. Electronic health records describing the prevalence of obesity among children/youth living in rural Colorado may complement public health survey data for community health assessment and health improvement planning.

  2. Electronic health information quality challenges and interventions to improve public health surveillance data and practice.

    PubMed

    Dixon, Brian E; Siegel, Jason A; Oemig, Tanya V; Grannis, Shaun J

    2013-01-01

    We examined completeness, an attribute of data quality, in the context of electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) of notifiable disease information to public health agencies. We extracted more than seven million ELR messages from multiple clinical information systems in two states. We calculated and compared the completeness of various data fields within the messages that were identified to be important to public health reporting processes. We compared unaltered, original messages from source systems with similar messages from another state as well as messages enriched by a health information exchange (HIE). Our analysis focused on calculating completeness (i.e., the number of nonmissing values) for fields deemed important for inclusion in notifiable disease case reports. The completeness of data fields for laboratory transactions varied across clinical information systems and jurisdictions. Fields identifying the patient and test results were usually complete (97%-100%). Fields containing patient demographics, patient contact information, and provider contact information were suboptimal (6%-89%). Transactions enhanced by the HIE were found to be more complete (increases ranged from 2% to 25%) than the original messages. ELR data from clinical information systems can be of suboptimal quality. Public health monitoring of data sources and augmentation of ELR message content using HIE services can improve data quality.

  3. Academic impact of a public electronic health database: bibliometric analysis of studies using the general practice research database.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yu-Chun; Wu, Jau-Ching; Haschler, Ingo; Majeed, Azeem; Chen, Tzeng-Ji; Wetter, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    Studies that use electronic health databases as research material are getting popular but the influence of a single electronic health database had not been well investigated yet. The United Kingdom's General Practice Research Database (GPRD) is one of the few electronic health databases publicly available to academic researchers. This study analyzed studies that used GPRD to demonstrate the scientific production and academic impact by a single public health database. A total of 749 studies published between 1995 and 2009 with 'General Practice Research Database' as their topics, defined as GPRD studies, were extracted from Web of Science. By the end of 2009, the GPRD had attracted 1251 authors from 22 countries and been used extensively in 749 studies published in 193 journals across 58 study fields. Each GPRD study was cited 2.7 times by successive studies. Moreover, the total number of GPRD studies increased rapidly, and it is expected to reach 1500 by 2015, twice the number accumulated till the end of 2009. Since 17 of the most prolific authors (1.4% of all authors) contributed nearly half (47.9%) of GPRD studies, success in conducting GPRD studies may accumulate. The GPRD was used mainly in, but not limited to, the three study fields of "Pharmacology and Pharmacy", "General and Internal Medicine", and "Public, Environmental and Occupational Health". The UK and United States were the two most active regions of GPRD studies. One-third of GRPD studies were internationally co-authored. A public electronic health database such as the GPRD will promote scientific production in many ways. Data owners of electronic health databases at a national level should consider how to reduce access barriers and to make data more available for research.

  4. Academic Impact of a Public Electronic Health Database: Bibliometric Analysis of Studies Using the General Practice Research Database

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Yu-Chun; Wu, Jau-Ching; Haschler, Ingo; Majeed, Azeem; Chen, Tzeng-Ji; Wetter, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    Background Studies that use electronic health databases as research material are getting popular but the influence of a single electronic health database had not been well investigated yet. The United Kingdom's General Practice Research Database (GPRD) is one of the few electronic health databases publicly available to academic researchers. This study analyzed studies that used GPRD to demonstrate the scientific production and academic impact by a single public health database. Methodology and Findings A total of 749 studies published between 1995 and 2009 with ‘General Practice Research Database’ as their topics, defined as GPRD studies, were extracted from Web of Science. By the end of 2009, the GPRD had attracted 1251 authors from 22 countries and been used extensively in 749 studies published in 193 journals across 58 study fields. Each GPRD study was cited 2.7 times by successive studies. Moreover, the total number of GPRD studies increased rapidly, and it is expected to reach 1500 by 2015, twice the number accumulated till the end of 2009. Since 17 of the most prolific authors (1.4% of all authors) contributed nearly half (47.9%) of GPRD studies, success in conducting GPRD studies may accumulate. The GPRD was used mainly in, but not limited to, the three study fields of “Pharmacology and Pharmacy”, “General and Internal Medicine”, and “Public, Environmental and Occupational Health”. The UK and United States were the two most active regions of GPRD studies. One-third of GRPD studies were internationally co-authored. Conclusions A public electronic health database such as the GPRD will promote scientific production in many ways. Data owners of electronic health databases at a national level should consider how to reduce access barriers and to make data more available for research. PMID:21731733

  5. 42 CFR 425.506 - Electronic health records technology.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Electronic health records technology. 425.506 Section 425.506 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... Standards and Reporting § 425.506 Electronic health records technology. (a) ACOs, ACO participants, and ACO...

  6. 42 CFR 425.506 - Electronic health records technology.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Electronic health records technology. 425.506 Section 425.506 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... Standards and Reporting § 425.506 Electronic health records technology. (a) ACOs, ACO participants, and ACO...

  7. 42 CFR 425.506 - Electronic health records technology.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Electronic health records technology. 425.506 Section 425.506 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... Standards and Reporting § 425.506 Electronic health records technology. (a) ACOs, ACO participants, and ACO...

  8. Estimating Wisconsin Asthma Prevalence Using Clinical Electronic Health Records and Public Health Data

    PubMed Central

    Tomasallo, Carrie D.; Hanrahan, Lawrence P.; Tandias, Aman; Chang, Timothy S.; Cowan, Kelly J.

    2014-01-01

    Objectives. We compared a statewide telephone health survey with electronic health record (EHR) data from a large Wisconsin health system to estimate asthma prevalence in Wisconsin. Methods. We developed frequency tables and logistic regression models using Wisconsin Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and University of Wisconsin primary care clinic data. We compared adjusted odds ratios (AORs) from each model. Results. Between 2007 and 2009, the EHR database contained 376 000 patients (30 000 with asthma), and 23 000 (1850 with asthma) responded to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System telephone survey. AORs for asthma were similar in magnitude and direction for the majority of covariates, including gender, age, and race/ethnicity, between survey and EHR models. The EHR data had greater statistical power to detect associations than did survey data, especially in pediatric and ethnic populations, because of larger sample sizes. Conclusions. EHRs can be used to estimate asthma prevalence in Wisconsin adults and children. EHR data may improve public health chronic disease surveillance using high-quality data at the local level to better identify areas of disparity and risk factors and guide education and health care interventions. PMID:24228643

  9. Estimating Wisconsin asthma prevalence using clinical electronic health records and public health data.

    PubMed

    Tomasallo, Carrie D; Hanrahan, Lawrence P; Tandias, Aman; Chang, Timothy S; Cowan, Kelly J; Guilbert, Theresa W

    2014-01-01

    We compared a statewide telephone health survey with electronic health record (EHR) data from a large Wisconsin health system to estimate asthma prevalence in Wisconsin. We developed frequency tables and logistic regression models using Wisconsin Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and University of Wisconsin primary care clinic data. We compared adjusted odds ratios (AORs) from each model. Between 2007 and 2009, the EHR database contained 376,000 patients (30,000 with asthma), and 23,000 (1850 with asthma) responded to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System telephone survey. AORs for asthma were similar in magnitude and direction for the majority of covariates, including gender, age, and race/ethnicity, between survey and EHR models. The EHR data had greater statistical power to detect associations than did survey data, especially in pediatric and ethnic populations, because of larger sample sizes. EHRs can be used to estimate asthma prevalence in Wisconsin adults and children. EHR data may improve public health chronic disease surveillance using high-quality data at the local level to better identify areas of disparity and risk factors and guide education and health care interventions.

  10. Electronic media, violence, and adolescents: an emerging public health problem.

    PubMed

    David-Ferdon, Corinne; Hertz, Marci Feldman

    2007-12-01

    Adolescents' access to and use of new media technology (e.g., cell phone, personal data assistant, computer for Internet access) are on the rise, and this explosion of technology brings with it potential benefits and risks. Attention is growing about the risk of adolescents to become victims of aggression perpetrated by peers with new technology. In September 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened a panel of experts in technology and youth aggression to examine this specific risk. This special issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health presents the data and recommendations for future directions discussed at the meeting. The articles in the Journal support the argument that electronic aggression is an emerging public health problem in need of additional prevalence and etiological research to support the development and evaluation of effective prevention programs.

  11. Survey of patient and public perceptions of electronic health records for healthcare, policy and research: study protocol.

    PubMed

    Luchenski, Serena; Balasanthiran, Anjali; Marston, Cicely; Sasaki, Kaori; Majeed, Azeem; Bell, Derek; Reed, Julie E

    2012-05-23

    Immediate access to patients' complete health records via electronic databases could improve healthcare and facilitate health research. However, the possible benefits of a national electronic health records (EHR) system must be balanced against public concerns about data security and personal privacy. Successful development of EHR requires better understanding of the views of the public and those most affected by EHR: users of the National Health Service. This study aims to explore the correlation between personal healthcare experience (including number of healthcare contacts and number and type of longer term conditions) and views relating to development of EHR for healthcare, health services planning and policy and health research. A multi-site cross-sectional self-complete questionnaire designed and piloted for use in waiting rooms was administered to patients from randomly selected outpatients' clinics at a university teaching hospital (431 beds) and general practice surgeries from the four primary care trusts within the catchment area of the hospital. All patients entering the selected outpatients clinics and general practice surgeries were invited to take part in the survey during August-September 2011. Statistical analyses will be conducted using descriptive techniques to present respondents' overall views about electronic health records and logistic regression to explore associations between these views and participants' personal circumstances, experiences, sociodemographics and more specific views about electronic health records. The study design and implementation were successful, resulting in unusually high response rates and overall recruitment (85.5%, 5336 responses). Rates for face-to-face recruitment in previous work are variable, but typically lower (mean 76.7%, SD 20). We discuss details of how we collected the data to provide insight into how we obtained this unusually high response rate.

  12. Public Policy and Health Informatics.

    PubMed

    Bell, Katherine

    2018-05-01

    To provide an overview of the history of electronic health policy and identify significant laws that influence health informatics. US Department of Health and Human Services. The development of health information technology has influenced the process for delivering health care. Public policy and regulations are an important part of health informatics and establish the structure of electronic health systems. Regulatory bodies of the government initiate policies to ease the execution of electronic health record implementation. These same bureaucratic entities regulate the system to protect the rights of the patients and providers. Nurses should have an overall understanding of the system behind health informatics and be able to advocate for change. Nurses can utilize this information to optimize the use of health informatics and campaign for safe, effective, and efficient health information technology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Public Health Intelligence: Learning From the Ebola Crisis

    PubMed Central

    Weber, David Jay

    2015-01-01

    Today’s public health crises, as exemplified by the Ebola outbreak, lead to dramatic calls to action that typically include improved electronic monitoring systems to better prepare for, and respond to, similar occurrences in the future. Even a preliminary public health informatics evaluation of the current Ebola crisis exposes the need for enhanced coordination and sharing of trustworthy public health intelligence. We call for a consumer-centric model of public health intelligence and the formation of a national center to guide public health intelligence gathering and synthesis. Sharing accurate and actionable information with government agencies, health care practitioners, policymakers, and, critically, the general public, will mark a shift from doing public health surveillance on people to doing public health surveillance for people. PMID:26180978

  14. Public health surveillance and meaningful use regulations: a crisis of opportunity.

    PubMed

    Lenert, Leslie; Sundwall, David N

    2012-03-01

    The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act is intended to enhance reimbursement of health care providers for meaningful use of electronic health records systems. This presents both opportunities and challenges for public health departments. To earn incentive payments, clinical providers must exchange specified types of data with the public health system, such as immunization and syndromic surveillance data and notifiable disease reporting. However, a crisis looms because public health's information technology systems largely lack the capabilities to accept the types of data proposed for exchange. Cloud computing may be a solution for public health information systems. Through shared computing resources, public health departments could reap the benefits of electronic reporting within federal funding constraints.

  15. Timeliness of electronic reporting and acceptability of public health follow-up of routine nonparatyphoidal and nontyphoidal Salmonella infections, London and South East England, 2010 to 2011.

    PubMed

    Severi, E; Dabrera, G; Boxall, N; Harvey-Vince, L; Booth, L; Balasegaram, S

    2014-01-01

    Nonparatyphoidal and nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections are major causes of food poisoning in England. Diagnostic laboratories and clinicians have a statutory responsibility to report NTS infection cases to the Health Protection Agency via various means, with electronic reporting encouraged as the universal method. The Health Protection Agency (Public Health England since 1 April 2013) refers cases to environmental health departments for follow-up. Timeliness of reporting and adequacy of NTS infection case follow-up are key factors in the implementation of public health actions. Laboratories, health protection units, and environmental health departments in London and South East (SE) regions of England completed three surveys between December 2010 and April 2011, collecting data about the NTS infection case reporting methods and the time elapsed between symptom onset and public health actions. The median period between symptom onset and public health investigation was 25 days in London and 23 days in SE when electronic reporting was used and 12 days in London and 11 days in SE when other means of reporting were used. The most common follow-up method was a telephone questionnaire in London (53%) and a postal questionnaire in SE (52%). The telephone questionnaire had the highest response rate (98% in London; 96% in SE). Timeliness and efficiency of electronic NTS infection case reports can be improved by decreasing the electronic laboratory report period and using telephone-administered questionnaires to maximize the public health benefit when following up single cases of NTS infection.

  16. Peer-reviewed public health journals from Arabic-speaking countries: An updated snapshot.

    PubMed

    Aboul-Enein, Basil H; Bernstein, Joshua; Bowser, Jacquelyn E

    2017-02-01

    There is a positive association between availability of regional peer-reviewed public health information systems and progressive change in community and population health. The objective of this brief report was to identify public health journals in Arabic-speaking countries actively publishing as of 2016. We conducted an electronic search in several electronic database records for public health journals using a combination of search terms. We excluded journals that focused on human medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, and other discipline-specific or clinical health professions. We identified twenty-five public health journals for review. Five journals were interrupted or discontinued. Only three journals had a consistent, uninterrupted active publication history of greater than 20 years. Most journals were not in the regional native language. Introduction of regional public health-dedicated journals with in-print and electronic availability and also to be published in region-native languages may require interdisciplinary partnerships. Region-wide public health journals such as the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal could serve as an ideal model for the establishment of additional local and regional public health journals in Arabic-speaking countries.

  17. Prioritizing Sleep Health: Public Health Policy Recommendations.

    PubMed

    Barnes, Christopher M; Drake, Christopher L

    2015-11-01

    The schedules that Americans live by are not consistent with healthy sleep patterns. In addition, poor access to educational and treatment aids for sleep leaves people engaging in behavior that is harmful to sleep and forgoing treatment for sleep disorders. This has created a sleep crisis that is a public health issue with broad implications for cognitive outcomes, mental health, physical health, work performance, and safety. New public policies should be formulated to address these issues. We draw from the scientific literature to recommend the following: establishing national standards for middle and high school start times that are later in the day, stronger regulation of work hours and schedules, eliminating daylight saving time, educating the public regarding the impact of electronic media on sleep, and improving access to ambulatory in-home diagnostic testing for sleep disorders. © The Author(s) 2015.

  18. Public Health Surveillance and Meaningful Use Regulations: A Crisis of Opportunity

    PubMed Central

    Sundwall, David N.

    2012-01-01

    The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act is intended to enhance reimbursement of health care providers for meaningful use of electronic health records systems. This presents both opportunities and challenges for public health departments. To earn incentive payments, clinical providers must exchange specified types of data with the public health system, such as immunization and syndromic surveillance data and notifiable disease reporting. However, a crisis looms because public health’s information technology systems largely lack the capabilities to accept the types of data proposed for exchange. Cloud computing may be a solution for public health information systems. Through shared computing resources, public health departments could reap the benefits of electronic reporting within federal funding constraints. PMID:22390523

  19. The use of regional platforms for managing electronic health records for the production of regional public health indicators in France

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background In France, recent developments in healthcare system organization have aimed at strengthening decision-making and action in public health at the regional level. Firstly, the 2004 Public Health Act, by setting 100 national and regional public health targets, introduced an evaluative approach to public health programs at the national and regional levels. Meanwhile, the implementation of regional platforms for managing electronic health records (EHRs) has also been under assessment to coordinate the deployment of this important instrument of care within each geographic area. In this context, the development and implementation of a regional approach to epidemiological data extracted from EHRs are an opportunity that must be seized as soon as possible. Our article addresses certain design and organizational aspects so that the technical requirements for such use are integrated into regional platforms in France. The article will base itself on organization of the Rhône-Alpes regional health platform. Discussion Different tools being deployed in France allow us to consider the potential of these regional platforms for epidemiology and public health (implementation of a national health identification number and a national information system interoperability framework). The deployment of the Rhône-Alpes regional health platform began in the 2000s in France. By August 2011, 2.6 million patients were identified in this platform. A new development step is emerging because regional decision-makers need to measure healthcare efficiency. To pool heterogeneous information contained in various independent databases, the format, norm and content of the metadata have been defined. Two types of databases will be created according to the nature of the data processed, one for extracting structured data, and the second for extracting non-structured and de-identified free-text documents. Summary Regional platforms for managing EHRs could constitute an important data source for

  20. Electronic Health Record Meets Digital Library

    PubMed Central

    Humphreys, Betsy L.

    2000-01-01

    Linking the electronic health record to the digital library is a Web-era reformulation of the long-standing informatics goal of seamless integration of automated clinical data and relevant knowledge-based information to support informed decisions. The spread of the Internet, the development of the World Wide Web, and converging format standards for electronic health data and digital publications make effective linking increasingly feasible. Some existing systems link electronic health data and knowledge-based information in limited settings or limited ways. Yet many challenging informatics research problems remain to be solved before flexible and seamless linking becomes a reality and before systems become capable of delivering the specific piece of information needed at the time and place a decision must be made. Connecting the electronic health record to the digital library also requires positive resolution of important policy issues, including health data privacy, government envouragement of high-speed communications, electronic intellectual property rights, and standards for health data and for digital libraries. Both the research problems and the policy issues should be important priorities for the field of medical informatics. PMID:10984463

  1. Leveraging public health's participation in a Health Information Exchange to improve communicable disease reporting.

    PubMed

    Painter, Ian; Revere, Debra; Gibson, P Joseph; Baseman, Janet

    2017-01-01

    Infectious diseases can appear and spread rapidly. Timely information about disease patterns and trends allows public health agencies to quickly investigate and efficiently contain those diseases. But disease case reporting to public health has traditionally been paper-based, resulting in somewhat slow, burdensome processes. Fortunately, the expanding use of electronic health records and health information exchanges has created opportunities for more rapid, complete, and easily managed case reporting and investigation. To assess how this new service might impact the efficiency and quality of a public health agency's case investigations, we compared the timeliness of usual case investigation to that of case investigations based on case report forms that were partially pre-populated with electronic data. Between September 2013-March 2014, chlamydia disease report forms for certain clinics in Indianapolis were electronically pre-populated with clinical, lab and patient data available through the Indiana Health Information Exchange, then provided to the patient’s doctor. Doctors could then sign the form and deliver it to public health for investigation and population-level disease tracking. Methods: We utilized a novel matched case analysis of timeliness changes in receipt and processing of communicable disease report forms. Each Chlamydia cases reported with the pre-populated form were matched to cases reported in usual ways. We assessed the time from receipt of the case at the public health agency: 1) inclusion of the case into the public health surveillance system and 2) to close to case. A hierarchical random effects model was used to compare mean difference in each outcome between the target cases and the matched cases, with random intercepts for case. Twenty-one Chlamydia cases were reported to the public health agency using the pre-populated form. Sixteen of these pre-populated form cases were matched to at least one other case, with a mean of 23 matches

  2. eRegistries: Electronic registries for maternal and child health.

    PubMed

    Frøen, J Frederik; Myhre, Sonja L; Frost, Michael J; Chou, Doris; Mehl, Garrett; Say, Lale; Cheng, Socheat; Fjeldheim, Ingvild; Friberg, Ingrid K; French, Steve; Jani, Jagrati V; Kaye, Jane; Lewis, John; Lunde, Ane; Mørkrid, Kjersti; Nankabirwa, Victoria; Nyanchoka, Linda; Stone, Hollie; Venkateswaran, Mahima; Wojcieszek, Aleena M; Temmerman, Marleen; Flenady, Vicki J

    2016-01-19

    The Global Roadmap for Health Measurement and Accountability sees integrated systems for health information as key to obtaining seamless, sustainable, and secure information exchanges at all levels of health systems. The Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescent's Health aims to achieve a continuum of quality of care with effective coverage of interventions. The WHO and World Bank recommend that countries focus on intervention coverage to monitor programs and progress for universal health coverage. Electronic health registries - eRegistries - represent integrated systems that secure a triple return on investments: First, effective single data collection for health workers to seamlessly follow individuals along the continuum of care and across disconnected cadres of care providers. Second, real-time public health surveillance and monitoring of intervention coverage, and third, feedback of information to individuals, care providers and the public for transparent accountability. This series on eRegistries presents frameworks and tools to facilitate the development and secure operation of eRegistries for maternal and child health. In this first paper of the eRegistries Series we have used WHO frameworks and taxonomy to map how eRegistries can support commonly used electronic and mobile applications to alleviate health systems constraints in maternal and child health. A web-based survey of public health officials in 64 low- and middle-income countries, and a systematic search of literature from 2005-2015, aimed to assess country capacities by the current status, quality and use of data in reproductive health registries. eRegistries can offer support for the 12 most commonly used electronic and mobile applications for health. Countries are implementing health registries in various forms, the majority in transition from paper-based data collection to electronic systems, but very few have eRegistries that can act as an integrating backbone for health

  3. Electronic Health Records and US Public Health: Current Realities and Future Promise

    PubMed Central

    Parrish, R. Gibson; Ross, David A.

    2013-01-01

    Electronic health records (EHRs) could contribute to improving population health in the United States. Realizing this potential will require understanding what EHRs can realistically offer to efforts to improve population health, the requirements for obtaining useful information from EHRs, and a plan for addressing these requirements. Potential contributions of EHRs to improving population health include better understanding of the level and distribution of disease, function, and well-being within populations. Requirements are improved population coverage of EHRs, standardized EHR content and reporting methods, and adequate legal authority for using EHRs, particularly for population health. A collaborative national effort to address the most pressing prerequisites for and barriers to the use of EHRs for improving population health is needed to realize the EHR’s potential. PMID:23865646

  4. Public preferences for electronic health data storage, access, and sharing - evidence from a pan-European survey.

    PubMed

    Patil, Sunil; Lu, Hui; Saunders, Catherine L; Potoglou, Dimitris; Robinson, Neil

    2016-11-01

    To assess the public's preferences regarding potential privacy threats from devices or services storing health-related personal data. A pan-European survey based on a stated-preference experiment for assessing preferences for electronic health data storage, access, and sharing. We obtained 20 882 survey responses (94 606 preferences) from 27 EU member countries. Respondents recognized the benefits of storing electronic health information, with 75.5%, 63.9%, and 58.9% agreeing that storage was important for improving treatment quality, preventing epidemics, and reducing delays, respectively. Concerns about different levels of access by third parties were expressed by 48.9% to 60.6% of respondents.On average, compared to devices or systems that only store basic health status information, respondents preferred devices that also store identification data (coefficient/relative preference 95% CI = 0.04 [0.00-0.08], P = 0.034) and information on lifelong health conditions (coefficient = 0.13 [0.08 to 0.18], P < 0.001), but there was no evidence of this for devices with information on sensitive health conditions such as mental and sexual health and addictions (coefficient = -0.03 [-0.09 to 0.02], P = 0.24). Respondents were averse to their immediate family (coefficient = -0.05 [-0.05 to -0.01], P = 0.011) and home care nurses (coefficient = -0.06 [-0.11 to -0.02], P = 0.004) viewing this data, and strongly averse to health insurance companies (coefficient = -0.43 [-0.52 to 0.34], P < 0.001), private sector pharmaceutical companies (coefficient = -0.82 [-0.99 to -0.64], P < 0.001), and academic researchers (coefficient = -0.53 [-0.66 to -0.40], P < 0.001) viewing the data. Storing more detailed electronic health data was generally preferred, but respondents were averse to wider access to and sharing of this information. When developing frameworks for the use of electronic health data, policy makers should consider approaches that both highlight the benefits to the

  5. Public health ethics. Public justification and public trust.

    PubMed

    Childress, J F; Bernheim, R Gaare

    2008-02-01

    Viewing public health as a political and social undertaking as well as a goal of this activity, the authors develop some key elements in a framework for public health ethics, with particular attention to the formation of public health policies and to decisions by public health officials that are not fully determined by established public policies. They concentrate on ways to approach ethical conflicts about public health interventions. These conflicts arise because, in addition to the value of public health, societies have a wide range of other values that sometimes constrain the selection of means to achieve public health goals. The authors analyze three approaches for resolving these conflicts (absolutist, contextualist, and presumptivist), argue for the superiority of the presumptivist approach, and briefly explicate five conditions for rebutting presumptions in a process of public justification. In a liberal, pluralistic, democratic society, a presumptivist approach that engages the public in the context of a variety of relationships can provide a foundation for public trust, which is essential to public health as a political and social practice as well as to achieving public health goals.

  6. [Health services research for the public health service (PHS) and the public health system].

    PubMed

    Hollederer, A; Wildner, M

    2015-03-01

    There is a great need for health services research in the public health system and in the German public health service. However, the public health service is underrepresented in health services research in Germany. This has several structural, historical and disciplinary-related reasons. The public health service is characterised by a broad range of activities, high qualification requirements and changing framework conditions. The concept of health services research is similar to that of the public health service and public health system, because it includes the principles of multidisciplinarity, multiprofessionalism and daily routine orientation. This article focuses on a specified system theory based model of health services research for the public health system and public health service. The model is based on established models of the health services research and health system research, which are further developed according to specific requirements of the public health service. It provides a theoretical foundation for health services research on the macro-, meso- and microlevels in public health service and the public health system. Prospects for public health service are seen in the development from "old public health" to "new public health" as well as in the integration of health services research and health system research. There is a significant potential for development in a better linkage between university research and public health service as is the case for the "Pettenkofer School of Public Health Munich". © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  7. Dental public health in India: An insight

    PubMed Central

    Gambhir, Ramandeep Singh; Kaur, Amanpreet; Singh, Arshdeep; Sandhu, Anmol Rattan Singh; Dhaliwal, Angad Prakash Singh

    2016-01-01

    Oral diseases are a major public health problem, and their burden is on increase in many low- and middle-income countries. Dental public health (DPH) aims to improve the oral health of the population through preventive and curative services. However, its achievements in India are being questioned probably because of lack of proficiency and skill among DPH personnel. The literature search for the present study was conducted utilizing various search engines and electronic databases such as PubMed and MEDLINE. Documents related to the Central and State Governments of India were also considered. Finally, 26 articles were selected for the present study from which relevant information can be extracted. The present study focuses on some of the important aspects relating to DPH in India such as priority for oral health, DPH workforce and curriculum, utilization of DPH personnel in providing primary oral health care, role of mobile dental vans, and research in DPH. It was concluded that more attention should be given toward preventive oral health care by employing more number of public health dentists in public sector, strengthening DPH education and research, and combining oral health programs with general health-care programs. PMID:28348984

  8. Articles Published and Downloaded by Public Health Scientists: Analysis of Data From the CDC Public Health Library, 2011-2013.

    PubMed

    Iskander, John; Bang, Gail; Stupp, Emma; Connick, Kathy; Gomez, Onnalee; Gidudu, Jane

    2016-01-01

    To describe scientific information usage and publication patterns of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Library and Information Center patrons. Administratively collected patron usage data and aggregate data on CDC-authored publications from the CDC Library for 3 consecutive years were analyzed. The CDC Public Health Library and Information Center, which serves CDC employees nationally and internationally. Internal patrons and external users of the CDC Library. Three-year trends in full-text article publication and downloads including most common journals used for each purpose, systematic literature searches requested and completed, and subscriptions to a weekly public health current literature awareness service. From 2011 to 2013, CDC scientists published a total of 7718 articles in the peer-reviewed literature. During the same period, article downloads from the CDC Library increased 25% to more than 1.1 million, completed requests for reviews of the scientific literature increased by 34%, and electronic subscriptions to literature compilation services increased by 23%. CDC's scientific output and information use via the CDC Library are both increasing. Researchers and field staff are making greater use of literature review services and other customized information content delivery. Virtual public health library access is an increasingly important resource for the scientific practice of public health.

  9. Public health emergencies and the public health/managed care challenge.

    PubMed

    Rosenbaum, Sara; Skivington, Skip; Praeger, Sandra

    2002-01-01

    The relationship between insurance and public health is an enduring topic in public health policy and practice. Insurers share certain attributes with public health. But public health agencies operate in relation to the entire community that they are empowered by public law to serve and without regard to the insurance status of community residents; on the other hand, insurers (whether managed care or otherwise) are risk-bearing entities whose obligations are contractually defined and limited to enrolled members and sponsors. Public insurers such as Medicare and Medicaid operate under similar constraints. The fundamental characteristics that distinguish managed care-style insurance and public health become particularly evident during periods of public health emergency, when a public health agency's basic obligations to act with speed and flexibility may come face to face with the constraints on available financing that are inherent in the structure of insurance. Because more than 70% of all personal health care in the United States is financed through insurance, public health agencies effectively depend on insurers to finance necessary care and provide essential patient-level data to the public health system. Critical issues of state and federal policy arise in the context of the public health/insurance relations during public health emergencies. These issues focus on coverage and the power to make coverage decisions, as well as the power to define service networks and classify certain data as exempt from public reporting. The extent to which a formal regulatory approach may become necessary is significantly affected by the extent to which private entities themselves respond to the problem with active efforts to redesign their services and operations to include capabilities and accountability in the realm of public health emergency response.

  10. Training public health superheroes: five talents for public health leadership.

    PubMed

    Day, Matthew; Shickle, Darren; Smith, Kevin; Zakariasen, Ken; Moskol, Jacob; Oliver, Thomas

    2014-12-01

    Public health leaders have been criticized for their policy stances, relationships with governments and failure to train the next generation. New approaches to the identification and training of public health leaders may be required. To inform these, lessons can be drawn from public health 'superheroes'; public health leaders perceived to be the most admired and effective by their peers. Members and Fellows of the UK Faculty of Public Health were contacted via e-newsletter and magazine and asked to nominate their 'Public Health Superhero'. Twenty-six responses were received, nominating 40 different people. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis, based on 'grounded theory', was conducted. Five leadership 'talents' for public health were identified: mentoring-nurturing, shaping-organizing, networking-connecting, knowing-interpreting and advocating-impacting. Talent-based approaches have been effective for leadership development in other sectors. These talents are the first specific to the practice of public health and align with some aspects of existing frameworks. An increased focus on identifying and developing talents during public health training, as opposed to 'competency'-based approaches, may be effective in strengthening public health leadership. Further research to understand the combination and intensity of talents across a larger sample of public health leaders is required. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Notifiable condition reporting practices: implications for public health agency participation in a health information exchange.

    PubMed

    Revere, Debra; Hills, Rebecca H; Dixon, Brian E; Gibson, P Joseph; Grannis, Shaun J

    2017-03-11

    The future of notifiable condition reporting in the United States is undergoing a transformation with the increasing development of Health Information Exchanges which support electronic data-sharing and -transfer networks and the wider adoption of electronic laboratory reporting. Communicable disease report forms originating in clinics are an important source of surveillance data for public health agencies. However, problems of poor data quality and delayed submission of reports to public health agencies are common. In addition, studies of barriers and facilitators to reporting have assumed that the primary reporter is the treating physician, although the extent to which a provider is involved in the reporting workflow is unclear. We sought to better understand the barriers to and burden of notifiable condition reporting from the perspectives of the three primary groups involved in reporting workflow: providers, clinic staff who bear the principal responsibility for reporting, and the public health workers who receive and process reports from clinics. In addition, we sought to situate these findings within the context of the future of notifiable disease reporting and the potential impacts of electronic lab and medical records on the surveillance system. Seven ambulatory care clinics and 3 public health agencies that are part of a Health Information Exchange in the state of Indiana, USA, participated in the study. Data were obtained from a survey of clinic physicians (N = 29), interviews with clinic reporters (N = 11), and interviews with public health workers (N = 9). Survey data were summarized descriptively and interview transcripts underwent qualitative analysis. In both clinics and public health agencies, the laboratory report initiates reporting workflow. Provider involvement with reporting primarily revolves around ordering medications to treat a condition confirmed by the lab result. In clinics, reporting is typically the responsibility of clinic

  12. A knowledge management tool for public health: health-evidence.ca.

    PubMed

    Dobbins, Maureen; DeCorby, Kara; Robeson, Paula; Husson, Heather; Tirilis, Daiva; Greco, Lori

    2010-08-18

    The ultimate goal of knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) activities is to facilitate incorporation of research knowledge into program and policy development decision making. Evidence-informed decision making involves translation of the best available evidence from a systematically collected, appraised, and analyzed body of knowledge. Knowledge management (KM) is emerging as a key factor contributing to the realization of evidence-informed public health decision making. The goal of health-evidence.ca is to promote evidence-informed public health decision making through facilitation of decision maker access to, retrieval, and use of the best available synthesized research evidence evaluating the effectiveness of public health interventions. The systematic reviews that populate health evidence.ca are identified through an extensive search (1985-present) of 7 electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, BIOSIS, and SportDiscus; handsearching of over 20 journals; and reference list searches of all relevant reviews. Reviews are assessed for relevance and quality by two independent reviewers. Commonly-used public health terms are used to assign key words to each review, and project staff members compose short summaries highlighting results and implications for policy and practice. As of June 2010, there are 1913 reviews in the health-evidence.ca registry in 21 public health and health promotion topic areas. Of these, 78% have been assessed as being of strong or moderate methodological quality. Health-evidence.ca receives approximately 35,000 visits per year, 20,596 of which are unique visitors, representing approximately 100 visits per day. Just under half of all visitors return to the site, with the average user spending six minutes and visiting seven pages per visit. Public health nurses, program managers, health promotion workers, researchers, and program coordinators are among the largest groups of registered users, followed by

  13. Public and physician's expectations and ethical concerns about electronic health record: Benefits outweigh risks except for information security.

    PubMed

    Entzeridou, Eleni; Markopoulou, Evgenia; Mollaki, Vasiliki

    2018-02-01

    Electronic Health Record systems (EHRs) offer numerous benefits in health care but also pose certain risks. As we progress toward the implementation of EHRs, a more in-depth understanding of attitudes that influence overall levels of EHR support is required. To record public and physicians' awareness, expectations for, and ethical concerns about the use of EHRs. A convenience sample was surveyed for both the public and physicians. The Public's Questionnaire was distributed to the public in a printed and an online version. The Physicians' Questionnaire was distributed to physicians in an online version. The questionnaires requested demographic characteristics followed by close-ended questions enquiring about awareness, perceived impact, perceived risks, and ethical issues raised by EHR use. In total, 46% of the public and 91% of physicians were aware of EHRs. Physicians' and public opinions were comparable concerning the positive impact of EHRs on better, more effective, and faster decisions on the patients' health, on better coordination between hospitals/clinics and on quality and reduced cost of health care. However, physicians were concerned that an EHR system would be a burden for their finances, for their time concerning training on the system, for their everyday workload and workflow. The majority of the public generally agreed that they would worry about the possibility that a non-authorized, third party might gain access to their personal health information (48.8%), and that they would worry about future discriminations due to possible disclosure of their health information (48.8%). Most physicians disagreed that EHRs will disrupt the doctor-patient relationship (58.1%) but they would worry about the safety of their patients' information (53.1%). Overall, both the public and physicians were in favor of the implementation of an EHR system, evaluating that possible benefits are more important than possible risks. The majority of the public believed that

  14. Characteristics of Local Health Departments Associated with Implementation of Electronic Health Records and Other Informatics Systems.

    PubMed

    Shah, Gulzar H; Leider, Jonathon P; Castrucci, Brian C; Williams, Karmen S; Luo, Huabin

    2016-01-01

    Assessing local health departments' (LHDs') informatics capacities is important, especially within the context of broader, systems-level health reform. We assessed a nationally representative sample of LHDs' adoption of information systems and the factors associated with adoption and implementation by examining electronic health records, health information exchange, immunization registry, electronic disease reporting system, and electronic laboratory reporting. We used data from the National Association of County and City Health Officials' 2013 National Profile of LHDs. We performed descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression for the five implementation-oriented outcome variables of interest, with three levels of implementation (implemented, plan to implement, and no activity). Independent variables included infrastructural and financial capacity and other characteristics associated with informatics capacity. Of 505 LHDs that responded to the survey, 69 (13.5%) had implemented health information exchanges, 122 (22.2%) had implemented electronic health records, 245 (47.5%) had implemented electronic laboratory reporting, 368 (73.0%) had implemented an electronic disease reporting system, and 416 (83.8%) had implemented an immunization registry. LHD characteristics associated with health informatics adoption included provision of greater number of clinical services, greater per capita public health expenditures, health information systems specialists on staff, larger population size, decentralized governance system, one or more local boards of health, metropolitan jurisdiction, and top executive with more years in the job. Many LHDs lack health informatics capacity, particularly in smaller, rural jurisdictions. Cross-jurisdictional sharing, investment in public health informatics infrastructure, and additional training may help address these shortfalls.

  15. Public health intelligence and the detection of potential pandemics.

    PubMed

    French, Martin; Mykhalovskiy, Eric

    2013-02-01

    This article considers contemporary developments in public health intelligence (PHI), especially their focus on health events of pandemic potential. It argues that the sociological study of PHI can yield important insights for the sociology of pandemics. PHI aims to detect health events as (or even before) they unfold. Whilst its apparatuses envelope traditional public health activities, such as epidemiological surveillance, they increasingly extend to non-traditional public health activities such as data-mining in electronically mediated social networks. With a focus on non-traditional PHI activities, the article first situates the study of PHI in relation to the sociology of public health. It then discusses the conceptualisation and actualisation of pandemics, reflecting on how public health professionals and organisations must equip themselves with diverse allies in order to realise the claims they make about pandemic phenomena. Finally, using the analytic tools of actor-network theory, sites for future empirical research that can contribute to the sociology of pandemics are suggested. © 2012 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2012 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  16. Effects of electronic cigarette smoking on human health.

    PubMed

    Meo, S A; Al Asiri, S A

    2014-01-01

    Electronic cigarette smoking is gaining dramatic popularity and is steadily spreading among the adolescents, high income, urban population around the world. The aim of this study is to highlight the hazards of e-cigarette smoking on human health. In this study, we identified 38 published studies through a systematic database searches including ISI-web of science and pub-med. We searched the related literature by using the key words including Electronic cigarette, E-cigarette, E-vapers, incidence, hazards. Studies in which electronic cigarette smoking hazards was investigated were included in the study. No limitations on publication status, study design of publication were implemented. Finally we included 28 publications and remaining 10 were excluded. E-smoking can cause, nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, choking, burn injuries, upper respiratory tract irritation, dry cough, dryness of the eyes and mucous membrane, release of cytokines and pro-inflammatory mediators, allergic airway inflammation, decreased exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) synthesis in the lungs, change in bronchial gene expression and risk of lung cancer. Electronic cigarettes are swiftly promoted as an alternative to conventional cigarette smoking, although its use is highly controversial. Electronic cigarettes are not a smoking cessation product. Non-scientific claims about e-cigarettes are creating confusion in public perception about e-cigarette and people believe that e-cigarettes are safe and less addictive, but its use is unsafe and hazardous to human health. E-cigarette smoking should be regulated in the same way as traditional cigarettes and must be prohibited to children and adolescents.

  17. Public Health in an Era of Personal Health Records: Opportunities for Innovation and New Partnerships

    PubMed Central

    Gates, Suzanne

    2010-01-01

    In the near future, citizens will be able to control and manage their own health information through electronic personal health record systems and tools. The clinical benefits of this innovation, such as cost savings, error reduction, and improved communication, have been discussed in the literature and public forums, as have issues related to privacy and confidentiality. Receiving little attention are the benefits these will have for public health. The benefits and potential for innovation are broad and speak directly to core public health functions such as health monitoring, outbreak management, empowerment, linking to services, and research. Coupled with this is a new relationship with citizens as key partners in protecting and promoting the public’s health. PMID:20699216

  18. Patient and public views on electronic health records and their uses in the United kingdom: cross-sectional survey.

    PubMed

    Luchenski, Serena A; Reed, Julie E; Marston, Cicely; Papoutsi, Chrysanthi; Majeed, Azeem; Bell, Derek

    2013-08-23

    The development and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) remains an international challenge. Better understanding of patient and public attitudes and the factors that influence overall levels of support toward EHRs is needed to inform policy. To explore patient and public attitudes toward integrated EHRs used simultaneously for health care provision, planning and policy, and health research. Cross-sectional questionnaire survey administered to patients and members of the public who were recruited from a stratified cluster random sample of 8 outpatient clinics of a major teaching hospital and 8 general practices in London (United Kingdom). 5331 patients and members of the public responded to the survey, with 2857 providing complete data for the analysis presented here. There were moderately high levels of support for integrated EHRs used simultaneously for health care provision, planning and policy, and health research (1785/2857, 62.47%), while 27.93% (798/2857) of participants reported being undecided about whether or not they would support EHR use. There were higher levels of support for specific uses of EHRs. Most participants were in favor of EHRs for personal health care provision (2563/2857, 89.71%), with 66.75% (1907/2857) stating that they would prefer their complete, rather than limited, medical history to be included. Of those "undecided" about integrated EHRs, 87.2% (696/798) were nevertheless in favor of sharing their full (373/798, 46.7%) or limited (323/798, 40.5%) records for health provision purposes. There were similar high levels of support for use of EHRs in health services policy and planning (2274/2857, 79.59%) and research (2325/2857, 81.38%), although 59.75% (1707/2857) and 67.10% (1917/2857) of respondents respectively would prefer their personal identifiers to be removed. Multivariable analysis showed levels of overall support for EHRs decreasing with age. Respondents self-identifying as Black British were more likely to

  19. Public health in England in 2016-the health of the public and the public health system: a review.

    PubMed

    Middleton, John

    2017-01-01

    This article describes the current state of the health of the public in England and the state of the public health professional service and systems. Data sources are wide ranging including the Global Burden of Disease, the Commonwealth Fund and Public Health England reports. There is a high burden of preventable disease and unacceptable inequalities in England. There is considerable expectation that there are gains to be made in preventing ill health and disability and so relieving demand on healthcare. Despite agreement on the need for prevention, the Government has cut public health budgets by a cumulative 10% to 2020. Public health professionals broadly supportive of remaining in the EU face an uphill battle to retain health, workplace and environmental protections following the 'Leave' vote. There is revitalized interest in air pollution. Extreme weather events are testing response and organizational skills of public health professionals and indicating the need for greater advocacy around climate change, biodiversity and protection of ecological systems. Planetary health and ecological public health are ideas whose time has certainly come. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  20. Building better connections: the National Library of Medicine and public health.

    PubMed

    Humphreys, Betsy L

    2007-07-01

    The paper describes the expansion of the public health programs and services of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in the 1990s and provides the context in which NLM's public health outreach programs arose and exist today. Although NLM has always had collections and services relevant to public health, the US public health workforce made relatively little use of the library's information services and programs in the twentieth century. In the 1990s, intensified emphases on outreach to health professionals, building national information infrastructure, and promoting health data standards provided NLM with new opportunities to reach the public health community. A seminal conference cosponsored by NLM in 1995 produced an agenda for improving public health access to and use of advanced information technology and electronic information services. NLM actively pursued this agenda by developing new services and outreach programs and promoting public health informatics initiatives. Historical analysis is presented. NLM took advantage of a propitious environment to increase visibility and understanding of public health information challenges and opportunities. The library helped create partnerships that produced new information services, outreach initiatives, informatics innovations, and health data policies that benefit the public health workforce and the diverse populations it serves.

  1. Undergraduate Public Health Majors: Why They Choose Public Health or Medicine?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hilton, Warren

    2013-01-01

    This mixed methods study examined the relationship between the motivations for attending college of undergraduate students with a focus on students with a public health major, and their desire to pursue graduate training in public health and subsequently, public health careers. The study highlighted the current public health workforce shortage and…

  2. 21 CFR 10.206 - Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency..., DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media... electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings. (a) To facilitate the agency's...

  3. 21 CFR 10.206 - Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency..., DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media... electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings. (a) To facilitate the agency's...

  4. 21 CFR 10.206 - Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency..., DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media... electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings. (a) To facilitate the agency's...

  5. 21 CFR 10.206 - Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency..., DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media... electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings. (a) To facilitate the agency's...

  6. 21 CFR 10.206 - Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Procedures for electronic media coverage of agency..., DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media... electronic media coverage of agency public administrative proceedings. (a) To facilitate the agency's...

  7. Dental Public Health In Action: Putting Oral Health on the Local Public Health Agenda.

    PubMed

    Walker, I F; Eapen-Simon, S; Gibson, S

    2018-04-18

    Oral health is a key public health issue across England. In Wakefield in the north of England, local data suggested the oral health of local children was significantly worse than the national average. This paper describes the work undertaken by Wakefield Council to strategically address this issue. A structured process was adopted. Key lessons include; having senior ownership from the Director of Public Health, partnership working across all key stakeholders, utilising dental public health expertise from Public Health England and the use of extensive engagement with stakeholders. Through this work, oral health is now identified with greater importance in Wakefield as a public health issue. Actions are now strategically co-ordinated across stakeholders to improve oral health in local children. Copyright© 2018 Dennis Barber Ltd.

  8. Electronic cigarettes: smoke-free laws, sale restrictions, and the public health.

    PubMed

    Paradise, Jordan

    2014-06-01

    Consumer use of e-cigarettes is rising despite a lack of rigorous safety testing, manufacturing controls, and a well-understood risk profile. Many states and municipalities have prohibited e-cigarette sale to minors or amended their smoke-free laws to restrict public use. I discuss the public health impact of e-cigarettes and the current lack of Food and Drug Administration regulation, and advocate that states and localities reexamine their smoke-free laws and sale restrictions to appropriately regulate public use and youth access.

  9. Behavioral Health Providers and Electronic Health Records: An Exploratory Beliefs Elicitation and Segmentation Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shank, Nancy

    2011-01-01

    The widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) is a public policy strategy to improve healthcare quality and reduce accelerating health care costs. Much research has focused on medical providers' perceptions of EHRs, but little is known about those of behavioral health providers. This research was informed by the theory of reasoned…

  10. Distributed Data Networks That Support Public Health Information Needs.

    PubMed

    Tabano, David C; Cole, Elizabeth; Holve, Erin; Davidson, Arthur J

    Data networks, consisting of pooled electronic health data assets from health care providers serving different patient populations, promote data sharing, population and disease monitoring, and methods to assess interventions. Better understanding of data networks, and their capacity to support public health objectives, will help foster partnerships, expand resources, and grow learning health systems. We conducted semistructured interviews with 16 key informants across the United States, identified as network stakeholders based on their respective experience in advancing health information technology and network functionality. Key informants were asked about their experience with and infrastructure used to develop data networks, including each network's utility to identify and characterize populations, usage, and sustainability. Among 11 identified data networks representing hundreds of thousands of patients, key informants described aggregated health care clinical data contributing to population health measures. Key informant interview responses were thematically grouped to illustrate how networks support public health, including (1) infrastructure and information sharing; (2) population health measures; and (3) network sustainability. Collaboration between clinical data networks and public health entities presents an opportunity to leverage infrastructure investments to support public health. Data networks can provide resources to enhance population health information and infrastructure.

  11. Public health economics: a systematic review of guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions and discussion of key methodological issues.

    PubMed

    Edwards, Rhiannon Tudor; Charles, Joanna Mary; Lloyd-Williams, Huw

    2013-10-24

    If Public Health is the science and art of how society collectively aims to improve health, and reduce inequalities in health, then Public Health Economics is the science and art of supporting decision making as to how society can use its available resources to best meet these objectives and minimise opportunity cost. A systematic review of published guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions within this broad public policy paradigm was conducted. Electronic databases and organisation websites were searched using a 22 year time horizon (1990-2012). References of papers were hand searched for additional papers for inclusion. Government reports or peer-reviewed published papers were included if they; referred to the methods of economic evaluation of public health interventions, identified key challenges of conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions or made recommendations for conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions. Guidance was divided into three categories UK guidance, international guidance and observations or guidance provided by individual commentators in the field of public health economics. An assessment of the theoretical frameworks underpinning the guidance was made and served as a rationale for categorising the papers. We identified 5 international guidance documents, 7 UK guidance documents and 4 documents by individual commentators. The papers reviewed identify the main methodological challenges that face analysts when conducting such evaluations. There is a consensus within the guidance that wider social and environmental costs and benefits should be looked at due to the complex nature of public health. This was reflected in the theoretical underpinning as the majority of guidance was categorised as extra-welfarist. In this novel review we argue that health economics may have come full circle from its roots in broad public policy economics. We may find it useful to think in this broader

  12. Defining and Developing a Global Public Health Course for Public Health Graduates.

    PubMed

    Karkee, Rajendra; Comfort, Jude; Alfonso, Helman

    2015-01-01

    Global public health is increasingly being seen as a speciality field within the university education of public health. However, the exact meaning of global public health is still unclear, resulting in varied curricula and teaching units among universities. The contextual differences between high- and low- and middle-income countries, and the process of globalization need to be taken into account while developing any global public health course. Global public health and public health are not separable and global public health often appears as an extension of public health in the era of globalization and interdependence. Though global public health is readily understood as health of global population, it is mainly practiced as health problems and their solutions set within low- and middle-income countries. Additional specialist competencies relevant to the context of low- and middle-income countries are needed to work in this field. Although there can be a long list of competencies relevant to this broad topic, available literature suggests that knowledge and skills related with ethics and vulnerable groups/issues; globalization and its impact on health; disease burden; culture, society, and politics; and management are important.

  13. From public health genomics to precision public health: a 20-year journey.

    PubMed

    Khoury, Muin J; Bowen, M Scott; Clyne, Mindy; Dotson, W David; Gwinn, Marta L; Green, Ridgely Fisk; Kolor, Katherine; Rodriguez, Juan L; Wulf, Anja; Yu, Wei

    2018-06-01

    In this paper, we review the evolution of the field of public health genomics in the United States in the past two decades. Public health genomics focuses on effective and responsible translation of genomic science into population health benefits. We discuss the relationship of the field to the core public health functions and essential services, review its evidentiary foundation, and provide examples of current US public health priorities and applications. We cite examples of publications to illustrate how Genetics in Medicine reflected the evolution of the field. We also reflect on how public-health genomics is contributing to the emergence of "precision public health" with near-term opportunities offered by the US Precision Medicine (AllofUs) Initiative.

  14. Patient and Public Views on Electronic Health Records and Their Uses in the United Kingdom: Cross-Sectional Survey

    PubMed Central

    Luchenski, Serena A; Reed, Julie E; Marston, Cicely; Papoutsi, Chrysanthi; Majeed, Azeem

    2013-01-01

    Background The development and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) remains an international challenge. Better understanding of patient and public attitudes and the factors that influence overall levels of support toward EHRs is needed to inform policy. Objective To explore patient and public attitudes toward integrated EHRs used simultaneously for health care provision, planning and policy, and health research. Methods Cross-sectional questionnaire survey administered to patients and members of the public who were recruited from a stratified cluster random sample of 8 outpatient clinics of a major teaching hospital and 8 general practices in London (United Kingdom). Results 5331 patients and members of the public responded to the survey, with 2857 providing complete data for the analysis presented here. There were moderately high levels of support for integrated EHRs used simultaneously for health care provision, planning and policy, and health research (1785/2857, 62.47%), while 27.93% (798/2857) of participants reported being undecided about whether or not they would support EHR use. There were higher levels of support for specific uses of EHRs. Most participants were in favor of EHRs for personal health care provision (2563/2857, 89.71%), with 66.75% (1907/2857) stating that they would prefer their complete, rather than limited, medical history to be included. Of those “undecided” about integrated EHRs, 87.2% (696/798) were nevertheless in favor of sharing their full (373/798, 46.7%) or limited (323/798, 40.5%) records for health provision purposes. There were similar high levels of support for use of EHRs in health services policy and planning (2274/2857, 79.59%) and research (2325/2857, 81.38%), although 59.75% (1707/2857) and 67.10% (1917/2857) of respondents respectively would prefer their personal identifiers to be removed. Multivariable analysis showed levels of overall support for EHRs decreasing with age. Respondents self

  15. Public health issues.

    PubMed

    Ward, R D

    1992-04-01

    In a recent MSMS survey, MSMS members ranked public health as one the top five issues of major concern to Michigan physicians. Tobacco use, chronic illness, and HIV-infected health care workers comprise some of the major public health issues facing physicians and patients in Michigan. Following is a brief examination of each of these issues. Also included is a brief discussion of medical doctors as public health directors. Should all public health directors be medical doctors? This question is addressed in this cover story.

  16. Health economics in public health.

    PubMed

    Ammerman, Alice S; Farrelly, Matthew A; Cavallo, David N; Ickes, Scott B; Hoerger, Thomas J

    2009-03-01

    Economic analysis is an important tool in deciding how to allocate scarce public health resources; however, there is currently a dearth of such analysis by public health researchers. Public health researchers and practitioners were surveyed to determine their current use of health economics and to identify barriers to use as well as potential strategies to decrease those barriers in order to allow them to more effectively incorporate economic analyses into their work. Data collected from five focus groups informed survey development. The survey included a demographic section and 14 multi-part questions. Participants were recruited in 2006 from three national public health organizations through e-mail; 294 academicians, practitioners, and community representatives answered the survey. Survey data were analyzed in 2007. Despite an expressed belief in the importance of health economics, more than half of the respondents reported very little or no current use of health economics in their work. Of those using health economics, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis and determination of public health costs were cited as the measures used most frequently. The most important barriers were lack of expertise, funding, time, tools, and data, as well as discomfort with economic theory. The resource deemed most important to using health economics was collaboration with economists or those with economic training. Respondents indicated a desire to learn more about health economics and tools for performing economic analysis. Given the importance of incorporating economic analysis into public health interventions, and the desire of survey respondents for more collaboration with health economists, opportunities for such collaborations should be increased.

  17. Modelling Medications for Public Health Research

    PubMed Central

    van Gaans, D.; Ahmed, S.; D’Onise, K.; Moyon, J.; Caughey, G.; McDermott, R.

    2016-01-01

    Most patients with chronic disease are prescribed multiple medications, which are recorded in their personal health records. This is rich information for clinical public health researchers but also a challenge to analyse. This paper describes the method that was undertaken within the Public Health Research Data Management System (PHReDMS) to map medication data retrieved from individual patient health records for population health researcher’s use. The PHReDMS manages clinical, health service, community and survey research data within a secure web environment that allows for data sharing amongst researchers. The PHReDMS is currently used by researchers to answer a broad range of questions, including monitoring of prescription patterns in different population groups and geographic areas with high incidence/prevalence of chronic renal, cardiovascular, metabolic and mental health issues. In this paper, we present the general notion of abstraction network, a higher level network that sits above a terminology and offers compact and more easily understandable view of its content. We demonstrate the utilisation of abstraction network methodology to examine medication data from electronic medical records to allow a compact and more easily understandable view of its content. PMID:28149446

  18. The digital divide in public e-health: barriers to accessibility and privacy in state health department websites.

    PubMed

    West, Darrell M; Miller, Edward Alan

    2006-08-01

    State health departments have placed a tremendous amount of information, data, and services online in recent years. With the significant increase in online resources at official health sites, though, have come questions concerning equity of access and the confidentiality of electronic medical materials. This paper reports on an examination of public health department websites maintained by the 50 state governments. Using a content analysis of health department sites undertaken each year from 2000 to 2005, we investigate several dimensions of accessibility and privacy: readability levels, disability access, non-English accessibility, and the presence of privacy and security statements. We argue that although progress has been made at improving the accessibility and confidentiality of health department electronic resources, there remains much work to be done to ensure quality access for all Americans in the area of public e-health.

  19. Public health ethics: from foundations and frameworks to justice and global public health.

    PubMed

    Kass, Nancy E

    2004-01-01

    Ethics dilemmas have been present throughout the history of public health, and bioethics has devoted considerable attention to issues relevant to public health. Only recently, however, has public health ethics emerged as a recognized subfield of bioethics. Public health ethics requires that public health improvement come through just and respectful means. Bioethics in the future not only will take on more issues of public ethics, but will apply it extensive scholarship in distributive justice to questions of global public health.

  20. Public health literacy defined.

    PubMed

    Freedman, Darcy A; Bess, Kimberly D; Tucker, Holly A; Boyd, David L; Tuchman, Arleen M; Wallston, Kenneth A

    2009-05-01

    Public health literacy is an emerging concept necessary to understand and address the broad array of factors, such as climate change, globalization, and poverty, that influence the public's health. Whereas health literacy has traditionally been operationalized as an individual-level construct, public health literacy takes into account the complex social, ecologic, and systemic forces affecting health and well-being. However, public health literacy has not yet been fully articulated. This paper addresses this gap by outlining a broad, new definition of public health literacy. This definition was developed through an inductive analytic process conducted in 2007 by a multidisciplinary research team, and two expert-panel sessions were convened to assess the consensual validity of the emergent definition. Based on this process, public health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals and groups can obtain, process, understand, evaluate, and act on information needed to make public health decisions that benefit the community. Three dimensions of public health literacy--conceptual foundations, critical skills, and civic orientation--and related competencies are also proposed. Public health literacy is distinct from individual-level health literacy, and together, the two types of literacy form a more comprehensive model of health literacy. A five-part agenda is offered for future research and action aimed at increasing levels of public health literacy.

  1. Family history in public health practice: a genomic tool for disease prevention and health promotion.

    PubMed

    Valdez, Rodolfo; Yoon, Paula W; Qureshi, Nadeem; Green, Ridgely Fisk; Khoury, Muin J

    2010-01-01

    Family history is a risk factor for many chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Professional guidelines usually include family history to assess health risk, initiate interventions, and motivate behavioral changes. The advantages of family history over other genomic tools include a lower cost, greater acceptability, and a reflection of shared genetic and environmental factors. However, the utility of family history in public health has been poorly explored. To establish family history as a public health tool, it needs to be evaluated within the ACCE framework (analytical validity; clinical validity; clinical utility; and ethical, legal, and social issues). Currently, private and public organizations are developing tools to collect standardized family histories of many diseases. Their goal is to create family history tools that have decision support capabilities and are compatible with electronic health records. These advances will help realize the potential of family history as a public health tool.

  2. Developing Electronic Cooperation Tools: A Case From Norwegian Health Care

    PubMed Central

    Mydske, Per Kristen

    2013-01-01

    Background Many countries aim to create electronic cooperational tools in health care, but the progress is rather slow. Objective The study aimed to uncover how the authoritys’ financing policies influence the development of electronic cooperational tools within public health care. Methods An interpretative approach was used in this study. We performed 30 semistructured interviews with vendors, policy makers, and public authorities. Additionally, we conducted an extensive documentation study and participated in 18 workshops concerning information and communication technology (ICT) in Norwegian health care. Results We found that the interorganizational communication in sectors like health care, that have undergone an independent development of their internal information infrastructure would find it difficult to create electronic services that interconnect the organizations because such connections would affect all interconnected organizations within the heterogenic structure. The organizations would, to a large extent, depend on new functionality in existing information systems. Electronic patient records play a central role in all parts of the health care sector and therefore dependence is established to the information systems and theirs vendors. The Norwegian government authorities, which run more than 80% of the Norwegian health care, have not taken extraordinary steps to compensate for this dependency–the government's political philosophy is that each health care institution should pay for further electronic patient record development. However, cooperational tools are complex due to the number of players involved and the way they are intertwined with the overall workflow. The customers are not able to buy new functionalities on the drawing table, while the electronic patient record vendors are not willing to take the economic risk in developing cooperational tools. Thus, the market mechanisms in the domain are challenged. We also found that public projects

  3. Developing electronic cooperation tools: a case from norwegian health care.

    PubMed

    Larsen, Eli; Mydske, Per Kristen

    2013-06-19

    Many countries aim to create electronic cooperational tools in health care, but the progress is rather slow. The study aimed to uncover how the authoritys' financing policies influence the development of electronic cooperational tools within public health care. An interpretative approach was used in this study. We performed 30 semistructured interviews with vendors, policy makers, and public authorities. Additionally, we conducted an extensive documentation study and participated in 18 workshops concerning information and communication technology (ICT) in Norwegian health care. We found that the interorganizational communication in sectors like health care, that have undergone an independent development of their internal information infrastructure would find it difficult to create electronic services that interconnect the organizations because such connections would affect all interconnected organizations within the heterogenic structure. The organizations would, to a large extent, depend on new functionality in existing information systems. Electronic patient records play a central role in all parts of the health care sector and therefore dependence is established to the information systems and theirs vendors. The Norwegian government authorities, which run more than 80% of the Norwegian health care, have not taken extraordinary steps to compensate for this dependency-the government's political philosophy is that each health care institution should pay for further electronic patient record development. However, cooperational tools are complex due to the number of players involved and the way they are intertwined with the overall workflow. The customers are not able to buy new functionalities on the drawing table, while the electronic patient record vendors are not willing to take the economic risk in developing cooperational tools. Thus, the market mechanisms in the domain are challenged. We also found that public projects that were only financed for the first

  4. The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute: Building Competencies for Public Health Practice.

    PubMed

    Luck, Jeff; Yoon, Jangho; Bernell, Stephanie; Tynan, Michael; Alvarado, Carla Sarai; Eversole, Tom; Mosbaek, Craig; Beathard, Candice

    2015-08-01

    The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute (PHPI) was designed to enhance public health policy competencies among state and local health department staff. The Oregon Health Authority funded the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University to develop the PHPI curriculum in 2012 and offer it to participants from 4 state public health programs and 5 local health departments in 2013. The curriculum interspersed short instructional sessions on policy development, implementation, and evaluation with longer hands-on team exercises in which participants applied these skills to policy topics their teams had selected. Panel discussions provided insights from legislators and senior Oregon health experts. Participants reported statistically significant increases in public health policy competencies and high satisfaction with PHPI overall.

  5. The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute: Building Competencies for Public Health Practice

    PubMed Central

    Yoon, Jangho; Bernell, Stephanie; Tynan, Michael; Alvarado, Carla Sarai; Eversole, Tom; Mosbaek, Craig; Beathard, Candice

    2015-01-01

    The Oregon Public Health Policy Institute (PHPI) was designed to enhance public health policy competencies among state and local health department staff. The Oregon Health Authority funded the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University to develop the PHPI curriculum in 2012 and offer it to participants from 4 state public health programs and 5 local health departments in 2013. The curriculum interspersed short instructional sessions on policy development, implementation, and evaluation with longer hands-on team exercises in which participants applied these skills to policy topics their teams had selected. Panel discussions provided insights from legislators and senior Oregon health experts. Participants reported statistically significant increases in public health policy competencies and high satisfaction with PHPI overall. PMID:26066925

  6. The University-Public Health Partnership for Public Health Research Training in Quebec, Canada.

    PubMed

    Paradis, Gilles; Hamelin, Anne-Marie; Malowany, Maureen; Levy, Joseph; Rossignol, Michel; Bergeron, Pierre; Kishchuk, Natalie

    2017-01-01

    Enhancing effective preventive interventions to address contemporary public health problems requires improved capacity for applied public health research. A particular need has been recognized for capacity development in population health intervention research to address the complex multidisciplinary challenges of developing, implementing, and evaluating public health practices, intervention programs, and policies. Research training programs need to adapt to these new realities. We have presented an example of a 2003 to 2015 training program in transdisciplinary research on public health interventions that embedded doctoral and postdoctoral trainees in public health organizations in Quebec, Canada. This university-public health partnership for research training is an example of how to link science and practice to meet emerging needs in public health.

  7. Implementing an Open Source Electronic Health Record System in Kenyan Health Care Facilities: Case Study

    PubMed Central

    Magare, Steve; Monda, Jonathan; Kamau, Onesmus; Houston, Stuart; Fraser, Hamish; Powell, John; English, Mike; Paton, Chris

    2018-01-01

    Background The Kenyan government, working with international partners and local organizations, has developed an eHealth strategy, specified standards, and guidelines for electronic health record adoption in public hospitals and implemented two major health information technology projects: District Health Information Software Version 2, for collating national health care indicators and a rollout of the KenyaEMR and International Quality Care Health Management Information Systems, for managing 600 HIV clinics across the country. Following these projects, a modified version of the Open Medical Record System electronic health record was specified and developed to fulfill the clinical and administrative requirements of health care facilities operated by devolved counties in Kenya and to automate the process of collating health care indicators and entering them into the District Health Information Software Version 2 system. Objective We aimed to present a descriptive case study of the implementation of an open source electronic health record system in public health care facilities in Kenya. Methods We conducted a landscape review of existing literature concerning eHealth policies and electronic health record development in Kenya. Following initial discussions with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, and implementing partners, we conducted a series of visits to implementing sites to conduct semistructured individual interviews and group discussions with stakeholders to produce a historical case study of the implementation. Results This case study describes how consultants based in Kenya, working with developers in India and project stakeholders, implemented the new system into several public hospitals in a county in rural Kenya. The implementation process included upgrading the hospital information technology infrastructure, training users, and attempting to garner administrative and clinical buy-in for adoption of the system. The initial deployment was

  8. [Brazilian bibliographical output on public oral health in public health and dentistry journals].

    PubMed

    Celeste, Roger Keller; Warmling, Cristine Maria

    2014-06-01

    The scope of this paper is to describe characteristics of the scientific output in the area of public oral health in journals on public health and dentistry nationwide. The Scopus database of abstracts and quotations was used and eight journals in public health, as well as ten in dentistry, dating from 1947 to 2011 were selected. A research strategy using key words regarding oral health in public health and key words about public health in dentistry was used to locate articles. The themes selected were based on the frequency of key words. Of the total number of articles, 4.7% (n = 642) were found in oral health journals and 6.8% (n = 245) in public health journals. Among the authors who published most, only 12% published in both fields. There was a percentile growth of public oral health publications in dentistry journals, though not in public health journals. In dentistry, only studies indexed as being on the topic of epidemiology showed an increase. In the area of public health, planning was predominant in all the phases studied. Research to evaluate the impact of research and postgraduate policies in scientific production is required.

  9. Public health economics: a systematic review of guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions and discussion of key methodological issues

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background If Public Health is the science and art of how society collectively aims to improve health, and reduce inequalities in health, then Public Health Economics is the science and art of supporting decision making as to how society can use its available resources to best meet these objectives and minimise opportunity cost. A systematic review of published guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions within this broad public policy paradigm was conducted. Methods Electronic databases and organisation websites were searched using a 22 year time horizon (1990–2012). References of papers were hand searched for additional papers for inclusion. Government reports or peer-reviewed published papers were included if they; referred to the methods of economic evaluation of public health interventions, identified key challenges of conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions or made recommendations for conducting economic evaluations of public health interventions. Guidance was divided into three categories UK guidance, international guidance and observations or guidance provided by individual commentators in the field of public health economics. An assessment of the theoretical frameworks underpinning the guidance was made and served as a rationale for categorising the papers. Results We identified 5 international guidance documents, 7 UK guidance documents and 4 documents by individual commentators. The papers reviewed identify the main methodological challenges that face analysts when conducting such evaluations. There is a consensus within the guidance that wider social and environmental costs and benefits should be looked at due to the complex nature of public health. This was reflected in the theoretical underpinning as the majority of guidance was categorised as extra-welfarist. Conclusions In this novel review we argue that health economics may have come full circle from its roots in broad public policy economics. We may

  10. School Health Connection Goes Electronic: Developing a Health Information Management System for New Orleans' School-Based Health Centers. Program Results Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rastorfer, Darl

    2011-01-01

    From February 2008 through April 2011, School Health Connection, a program of the Louisiana Public Health Institute, developed an electronic health information management system for newly established school-based health centers in Greater New Orleans. School Health Connection was established as part of a broader effort to restore community health…

  11. Electronic Cigarettes and Vaping: A New Challenge in Clinical Medicine and Public Health. A Literature Review

    PubMed Central

    Palazzolo, Dominic L.

    2013-01-01

    Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use, or vaping, in the United States and worldwide is increasing. Their use is highly controversial from scientific, political, financial, psychological, and sociological ideologies. Given the controversial nature of e-cigarettes and vaping, how should medical care providers advise their patients? To effectively face this new challenge, health care professionals need to become more familiar with the existing literature concerning e-cigarettes and vaping, especially the scientific literature. Thus, the aim of this article is to present a review of the scientific evidence-based primary literature concerning electronic cigarettes and vaping. A search of the most current literature using the pubmed database dating back to 2008, and using electronic cigarette(s) or e-cigarette(s) as key words, yielded a total of 66 highly relevant articles. These articles primarily deal with (1) consumer-based surveys regarding personal views on vaping, (2) chemical analysis of e-cigarette cartridges, solutions, and mist, (3) nicotine content, delivery, and pharmacokinetics, and (4) clinical and physiological studies investigating the effects of acute vaping. When compared to the effects of smoking, the scant available literature suggests that vaping could be a “harm reduction” alternative to smoking and a possible means for smoking cessation, at least to the same degree as other Food and Drug Administration-approved nicotine replacement therapies. However, it is unclear if vaping e-cigarettes will reduce or increase nicotine addiction. It is obvious that more rigorous investigations of the acute and long-term health effects of vaping are required to establish the safety and efficacy of these devices; especially parallel experiments comparing the cardiopulmonary effects of vaping to smoking. Only then will the medical community be able to adequately meet the new challenge e-cigarettes and vaping present to clinical medicine and public health. PMID

  12. Electronic cigarettes and vaping: a new challenge in clinical medicine and public health. A literature review.

    PubMed

    Palazzolo, Dominic L

    2013-11-18

    Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use, or vaping, in the United States and worldwide is increasing. Their use is highly controversial from scientific, political, financial, psychological, and sociological ideologies. Given the controversial nature of e-cigarettes and vaping, how should medical care providers advise their patients? To effectively face this new challenge, health care professionals need to become more familiar with the existing literature concerning e-cigarettes and vaping, especially the scientific literature. Thus, the aim of this article is to present a review of the scientific evidence-based primary literature concerning electronic cigarettes and vaping. A search of the most current literature using the pubmed database dating back to 2008, and using electronic cigarette(s) or e-cigarette(s) as key words, yielded a total of 66 highly relevant articles. These articles primarily deal with (1) consumer-based surveys regarding personal views on vaping, (2) chemical analysis of e-cigarette cartridges, solutions, and mist, (3) nicotine content, delivery, and pharmacokinetics, and (4) clinical and physiological studies investigating the effects of acute vaping. When compared to the effects of smoking, the scant available literature suggests that vaping could be a "harm reduction" alternative to smoking and a possible means for smoking cessation, at least to the same degree as other Food and Drug Administration-approved nicotine replacement therapies. However, it is unclear if vaping e-cigarettes will reduce or increase nicotine addiction. It is obvious that more rigorous investigations of the acute and long-term health effects of vaping are required to establish the safety and efficacy of these devices; especially parallel experiments comparing the cardiopulmonary effects of vaping to smoking. Only then will the medical community be able to adequately meet the new challenge e-cigarettes and vaping present to clinical medicine and public health.

  13. An opportune and unique research to evaluate the public health impact of electronic cigarettes.

    PubMed

    Besaratinia, Ahmad; Tommasi, Stella

    2017-10-01

    In response to the growing public health concern regarding the risks or benefits of electronic cigarettes (e-cig) use relative to smoking, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has recently introduced the first standardized- and well- characterized e-cig device to the research community (see, https://www.drugabuse.gov/funding/supplemental-information-nida-e-cig ). E-cig are promoted as safe alternatives to conventional tobacco cigarettes and/or as aides to smoking cessation. E-cig are highly popular among cigarette smokers who are unable/unwilling to quit but are willing to switch to putatively less-harmful tobacco substitutes. E-cig are also becoming increasingly popular among youth who have never experimented with combustible cigarettes. However, chemical analyses of e-cig juices (both in liquid form and after being heated into vapor) have shown that many carcinogens present in cigarette smoke are also found in a range of e-cig products. To date, the cancer-causing potential of e-cig has not been investigated in e-cig users (i.e., vapers). Use of e-cig without a prior history of smoking is currently a rare phenomenon in adults, but is increasingly common among youth. Consequently, investigating the carcinogenic potential of e-cig in nonsmoking youth provides a unique opportunity to verify the health impact of e-cig use, without the confounding effects of cigarette smoking. Within this context, the availability of the NIDA Standard Research e-cig offers a unique research opportunity with tremendous public health implications. Comparing and contrasting the cancer-causing potentials of standard vaping and smoking in youth will help determine the health risks or benefits of e-cig use relative to cigarette smoking. This information will be instrumental in making scientifically based decisions on the development and evaluation of policies and regulations on e-cig manufacture, marketing, and distribution. Ultimately, evidence-based guidelines and legislations on e

  14. Opportunities for Public Relations Research in Public Health.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wise, Kurt

    2001-01-01

    Considers how communication researchers have developed a solid body of knowledge in the health field but know little about the activities of public relations practitioners in public health bodies. Suggests that public relations scholarship and practice have much to offer the field of public health in helping public health bodies meet their…

  15. Training Public Health Advisors.

    PubMed

    Meyer, Pamela A; Brusuelas, Kristin M; Baden, Daniel J; Duncan, Heather L

    2015-01-01

    Federal public health advisors provide guidance and assistance to health departments to improve public health program work. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prepares them with specialized training in administering public health programs. This article describes the evolving training and is based on internal CDC documents and interviews. The first federal public health advisors worked in health departments to assist with controlling syphilis after World War II. Over time, more CDC prevention programs hired them. To meet emerging needs, 3 major changes occurred: the Public Health Prevention Service, a fellowship program, in 1999; the Public Health Associate Program in 2007; and integration of those programs. Key components of the updated training are competency-based training, field experience, supervision, recruitment and retention, and stakeholder support. The enduring strength of the training has been the experience in a public health agency developing practical skills for program implementation and management.

  16. Exploring Local Public Health Workflow in the Context of Automated Translation Technologies

    PubMed Central

    Mandel, Hannah; Turner, Anne M.

    2013-01-01

    Despite the growing limited English proficiency (LEP) population in the US, and federal regulations requiring multilingual health information be available for LEP individuals, there is a lack of available high quality multilingual health promotion materials. The costs and personnel time associated with creating high quality translations serve as barriers to their creation, especially in resource limited public health settings. To explore the potential adoption of novel machine translation and document dissemination technologies for improving the creation and sharing of translated public health materials, we interviewed key health department personnel in Washington State. We analyzed translation workflow, elucidated key themes regarding public health translation work, and assessed attitudes towards electronic document exchange and machine translation. Public health personnel expressed the need for human quality assurance and oversight, but appreciated the potential of novel information technologies to assist in the production and dissemination of translated materials for public health practice. PMID:24551385

  17. Career Satisfaction Among Dental Public Health Specialists in India - A Cross-sectional Survey.

    PubMed

    Janakiram, Chandrashekar; Joseph, Joe; Antony, Bobby

    2017-01-01

    The satisfaction in career is an important indicator for the growth of the discipline and the profession. An empirical investigation of satisfaction in career and amendments needed in course and profession may help in growth of discipline. To assess career satisfaction among Dental Public Health (DPH) specialists working in India and analyze their perspective on changes required in the profession. Questionnaire for this cross-sectional survey was adapted from Minnesota Job Satisfaction Survey which included 40 enquiries to understand the reasons for choosing public health dentistry as career, competencies of public health dentists, satisfaction as a public health dentist and changes required in the profession. The questions were both open and closed end type. Updated electronic mail details of all registered public health dentists were collected from the head office of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry. Each participant was contacted by electronic mail and consent to participate were sought. Reminders were e-mailed thrice during three months. A total of 580 participants were contacted. A total of 183 responses were received, among which 179 consented. Nearly half of the respondents felt they are yet to achieve the accomplishment from the present career as public health dentist. Only 46.9% felt that there is advancement in the profession as career. Nearly three-fourth of respondents could not attain recognition as a public health dentist. A 45.8% of respondents were of the opinion that career in public health dentistry would provide them a steady employment and 53.1% of public health dentists would envision as satisfied in their career in next 10 years. Nearly 85% felt public health dentistry training needs a major course correction. There has been some reservation or skepticism about the future of the specialty as the jobs are in declining stage. This information provides insight about success and failures of public health dentistry as profession which

  18. Assessing a decade of public health preparedness: progress on the precipice?

    PubMed

    Gursky, Elin A; Bice, Gregory

    2012-03-01

    September 11 and the subsequent anthrax attacks marked the beginning of significant investment by the federal government to develop a national public health emergency response capability. Recognizing the importance of the public health sector's contribution to the burgeoning homeland security enterprise, this investment was intended to convey a "dual benefit" by strengthening the overall public health infrastructure while building preparedness capabilities. In many instances, federal funds were used successfully for preparedness activities. For example, electronic health information networks, a Strategic National Stockpile, and increased interagency cooperation have all contributed to creating a more robust and prepared enterprise. Additionally, the knowledge of rarely seen or forgotten pathogens has been regenerated through newly established public health learning consortia, which, too, have strengthened relationships between the practice and academic communities. Balancing traditional public health roles with new preparedness responsibilities heightened public health's visibility, but it also presented significant complexities, including expanded lines of reporting and unremitting inflows of new guidance documents. Currently, a rapidly diminishing public health infrastructure at the state and local levels as a result of federal budget cuts and a poor economy serve as significant barriers to sustaining these nascent federal public health preparedness efforts. Sustaining these improvements will require enhanced coordination, collaboration, and planning across the homeland security enterprise; an infusion of innovation and leadership; and sustained transformative investment for governmental public health.

  19. Legal Protections in Public Accommodations Settings: A Critical Public Health Issue for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming People

    PubMed Central

    Reisner, Sari L; Hughto, Jaclyn M White; Dunham, Emilia E; Heflin, Katherine J; Begenyi, Jesse Blue Glass; Coffey-Esquivel, Julia; Cahill, Sean

    2015-01-01

    Context Gender minority people who are transgender or gender nonconforming experience widespread discrimination and health inequities. Since 2012, Massachusetts law has provided protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity in employment, housing, credit, public education, and hate crimes. The law does not, however, protect against discrimination in public accommodations (eg, hospitals, health centers, transportation, nursing homes, supermarkets, retail establishments). For this article, we examined the frequency and health correlates of public accommodations discrimination among gender minority adults in Massachusetts, with attention to discrimination in health care settings. Methods In 2013, we recruited a community-based sample (n = 452) both online and in person. The respondents completed a 1-time, electronic survey assessing demographics, health, health care utilization, and discrimination in public accommodations venues in the past 12 months. Using adjusted multivariable logistic regression models, we examined whether experiencing public accommodations discrimination in health care was independently associated with adverse self-reported health, adjusting for discrimination in other public accommodations settings. Findings Overall, 65% of respondents reported public accommodations discrimination in the past 12 months. The 5 most prevalent discrimination settings were transportation (36%), retail (28%), restaurants (26%), public gatherings (25%), and health care (24%). Public accommodations discrimination in the past 12 months in health care settings was independently associated with a 31% to 81% increased risk of adverse emotional and physical symptoms and a 2-fold to 3-fold increased risk of postponement of needed care when sick or injured and of preventive or routine health care, adjusting for discrimination in other public accommodations settings (which also conferred an additional 20% to 77% risk per discrimination setting endorsed

  20. Designing Health Information Technology Tools to Prevent Gaps in Public Health Insurance.

    PubMed

    Hall, Jennifer D; Harding, Rose L; DeVoe, Jennifer E; Gold, Rachel; Angier, Heather; Sumic, Aleksandra; Nelson, Christine A; Likumahuwa-Ackman, Sonja; Cohen, Deborah J

    2017-06-23

    Changes in health insurance policies have increased coverage opportunities, but enrollees are required to annually reapply for benefits which, if not managed appropriately, can lead to insurance gaps. Electronic health records (EHRs) can automate processes for assisting patients with health insurance enrollment and re-enrollment. We describe community health centers' (CHC) workflow, documentation, and tracking needs for assisting families with insurance application processes, and the health information technology (IT) tool components that were developed to meet those needs. We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and observation of clinic operations and insurance application assistance processes. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. We diagramed workflows and shared information with a team of developers who built the EHR-based tools. Four steps to the insurance assistance workflow were common among CHCs: 1) Identifying patients for public health insurance application assistance; 2) Completing and submitting the public health insurance application when clinic staff met with patients to collect requisite information and helped them apply for benefits; 3) Tracking public health insurance approval to monitor for decisions; and 4) assisting with annual health insurance reapplication. We developed EHR-based tools to support clinical staff with each of these steps. CHCs are uniquely positioned to help patients and families with public health insurance applications. CHCs have invested in staff to assist patients with insurance applications and help prevent coverage gaps. To best assist patients and to foster efficiency, EHR based insurance tools need comprehensive, timely, and accurate health insurance information.

  1. [Terrorism, public health and health services].

    PubMed

    Arcos González, Pedro; Castro Delgado, Rafael; Cuartas Alvarez, Tatiana; Pérez-Berrocal Alonso, Jorge

    2009-01-01

    Today the terrorism is a problem of global distribution and increasing interest for the international public health. The terrorism related violence affects the public health and the health care services in an important way and in different scopes, among them, increase mortality, morbidity and disability, generates a context of fear and anxiety that makes the psychopathological diseases very frequent, seriously alters the operation of the health care services and produces important social, political and economic damages. These effects are, in addition, especially intense when the phenomenon takes place on a chronic way in a community. The objective of this paper is to examine the relation between terrorism and public health, focusing on its effects on public health and the health care services, as well as to examine the possible frames to face the terrorism as a public health concern, with special reference to the situation in Spain. To face this problem, both the public health systems and the health care services, would have to especially adapt their approaches and operational methods in six high-priority areas related to: (1) the coordination between the different health and non health emergency response agencies; (2) the reinforcement of the epidemiological surveillance systems; (3) the improvement of the capacities of the public health laboratories and response emergency care systems to specific types of terrorism as the chemical or biological terrorism; (3) the mental health services; (4) the planning and coordination of the emergency response of the health services; (5) the relations with the population and mass media and, finally; (6) a greater transparency in the diffusion of the information and a greater degree of analysis of the carried out health actions in the scope of the emergency response.

  2. Canada's public health system: is the pace of progress sufficient?

    PubMed

    Lozon, Jeffrey C; Alikhan, L Miin

    2007-01-01

    Tilson and Berkowitz review the Institute of Medicine reports that catalyzed the serious re-examination of the United States public health enterprise. For Canada, a similar catalyst stemmed from the lessons learned during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak. While strong policy statements of commitment to strengthen the public health system are a necessary first step to stewarding change, they are insufficient without defined accountabilities, operationalized relationships and supporting legislation. Investments in critical enablers of sustainable reform, such as inter-sectoral partnerships, human capacity building and an electronic backbone, are also required. To support the value added by public health functions and services, both from a health benefit and economic perspective, a performance management system is necessary. While the 2004 establishment of the Public Health Agency of Canada was a progressive step, persistent political will and leadership are required to ensure this agency's effectiveness and preparedness before the next crisis hits.

  3. Use of Electronic Health Records in sub-Saharan Africa: Progress and challenges

    PubMed Central

    Akanbi, Maxwell O.; Ocheke, Amaka N.; Agaba, Patricia A.; Daniyam, Comfort A.; Agaba, Emmanuel I.; Okeke, Edith N.; Ukoli, Christiana O.

    2012-01-01

    Background The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a key component of medical informatics that is increasingly being utilized in industrialized nations to improve healthcare. There is limited information on the use of EHR in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper reviews availability of EHRs in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Searches were performed on PubMed and Google Scholar databases using the terms ‘Electronic Health Records OR Electronic Medical Records OR e-Health and Africa’. References from identified publications were reviewed. Inclusion criterion was documented use of EHR in Africa. Results The search yielded 147 publications of which 21papers from 15 sub-Saharan African countries documented the use of EHR in Africa and were reviewed. About 91% reported use of Open Source healthcare software, with OpenMRS being the most widely used. Most reports were from HIV related health centers. Barriers to adoption of EHRs include high cost of procurement and maintenance, poor network infrastructure and lack of comfort among health workers with electronic medical records. Conclusion There has been an increase in the use of EHRs in sub-Saharan Africa, largely driven by utilization by HIV treatment programs. Penetration is still however very low. PMID:25243111

  4. Benchmarking information needs and use in the Tennessee public health community*

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Patricia; Giuse, Nunzia B.; Sathe, Nila A.

    2003-01-01

    Objective: The objective is to provide insight to understanding public health officials' needs and promote access to data repositories and communication tools. Methods: Survey questions were identified by a focus group with members drawn from the fields of librarianship, public health, and informatics. The resulting comprehensive information needs survey, organized in five distinct broad categories, was distributed to 775 Tennessee public health workers from ninety-five counties in 1999 as part of the National Library of Medicine–funded Partners in Information Access contract. Results: The assessment pooled responses from 571 public health workers (73% return rate) representing seventy-two of ninety-five counties (53.4% urban and 46.6% rural) about their information-seeking behaviors, frequency of resources used, computer skills, and level of Internet access. Sixty-four percent of urban and 43% of rural respondents had email access at work and more than 50% of both urban and rural respondents had email at home (N = 289). Approximately 70% of urban and 78% of rural public health officials never or seldom used or needed the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Website. Frequency data pooled from eleven job categories representing a subgroup of 232 health care professionals showed 72% never or seldom used or needed MEDLINE. Electronic resources used daily or weekly were email, Internet search engines, internal databases and mailing lists, and the Tennessee Department of Health Website. Conclusions: While, due to the small sample size, data cannot be generalized to the larger population, a clear trend of significant barriers to computer and Internet access can be identified across the public health community. This contributes to an overall limited use of existing electronic resources that inhibits evidence-based practice. PMID:12883562

  5. Electronic health systems: challenges faced by hospital-based providers.

    PubMed

    Agno, Christina Farala; Guo, Kristina L

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to discuss specific challenges faced by hospitals adopting the use of electronic medical records and implementing electronic health record (EHR) systems. Challenges include user and information technology support; ease of technical use and software interface capabilities; compliance; and financial, legal, workforce training, and development issues. Electronic health records are essential to preventing medical errors, increasing consumer trust and use of the health system, and improving quality and overall efficiency. Government efforts are focused on ways to accelerate the adoption and use of EHRs as a means of facilitating data sharing, protecting health information privacy and security, quickly identifying emerging public health threats, and reducing medical errors and health care costs and increasing quality of care. This article will discuss physician and nonphysician staff training before, during, and after implementation; the effective use of EHR systems' technical features; the selection of a capable and secure EHR system; and the development of collaborative system implementation. Strategies that are necessary to help health care providers achieve successful implementation of EHR systems will be addressed.

  6. Implementing an Open Source Electronic Health Record System in Kenyan Health Care Facilities: Case Study.

    PubMed

    Muinga, Naomi; Magare, Steve; Monda, Jonathan; Kamau, Onesmus; Houston, Stuart; Fraser, Hamish; Powell, John; English, Mike; Paton, Chris

    2018-04-18

    The Kenyan government, working with international partners and local organizations, has developed an eHealth strategy, specified standards, and guidelines for electronic health record adoption in public hospitals and implemented two major health information technology projects: District Health Information Software Version 2, for collating national health care indicators and a rollout of the KenyaEMR and International Quality Care Health Management Information Systems, for managing 600 HIV clinics across the country. Following these projects, a modified version of the Open Medical Record System electronic health record was specified and developed to fulfill the clinical and administrative requirements of health care facilities operated by devolved counties in Kenya and to automate the process of collating health care indicators and entering them into the District Health Information Software Version 2 system. We aimed to present a descriptive case study of the implementation of an open source electronic health record system in public health care facilities in Kenya. We conducted a landscape review of existing literature concerning eHealth policies and electronic health record development in Kenya. Following initial discussions with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, and implementing partners, we conducted a series of visits to implementing sites to conduct semistructured individual interviews and group discussions with stakeholders to produce a historical case study of the implementation. This case study describes how consultants based in Kenya, working with developers in India and project stakeholders, implemented the new system into several public hospitals in a county in rural Kenya. The implementation process included upgrading the hospital information technology infrastructure, training users, and attempting to garner administrative and clinical buy-in for adoption of the system. The initial deployment was ultimately scaled back due to a

  7. Complementary competencies: public health and health sciences librarianship

    PubMed Central

    Banks, Marcus A.; Cogdill, Keith W.; Selden, Catherine R.; Cahn, Marjorie A.

    2005-01-01

    Objectives: The authors sought to identify opportunities for partnership between the communities of public health workers and health sciences librarians. Methods: The authors review competencies in public health and health sciences librarianship. They highlight previously identified public health informatics competencies and the Medical Library Association's essential areas of knowledge. Based on points of correspondence between the two domains, the authors identify specific opportunities for partnership. Results: The points of correspondence between public health and health sciences librarianship are reflected in several past projects involving both communities. These previous collaborations and the services provided by health sciences librarians at many public health organizations suggest that some health sciences librarians may be considered full members of the public health workforce. Opportunities remain for productive collaboration between public health workers and health sciences librarians. Conclusions: Drawing on historical and contemporary experience, this paper presents an initial framework for forming collaborations between health sciences librarians and members of the public health workforce. This framework may stimulate thinking about how to form additional partnerships between members of these two communities. PMID:16059423

  8. Health for all: a public health vision.

    PubMed

    McBeath, W H

    1991-12-01

    The approach of a millennial passage invites public health to a review of past performance and a preview of future prospects toward assuring a healthy public. Since the 1974 Canadian Lalonde report, the best national plans for health progress have emphasized disease prevention and health promotion. WHO's multinational Health for All by the Year 2000 promotes basic health services essential to leading a socially and economically productive life. Healthy People 2000, the latest US guide, establishes three goals: increase healthy life span, reduce health disparities, and achieve universal access to preventive services. Its objectives can be used to excite public understanding, equip program development, evaluate progress, and encourage public accountability for health initiatives. Needed is federal leadership in defining requisite action and securing necessary resources. Elsewhere a "new public health" emphasizes community life-style and multisectoral "healthy public policy." In the United States, a national health program is needed to achieve equity in access to personal health care. Even more essential is equitable sharing in basic health determinants in society--nutritious food, basic education, safe water, decent housing, secure employment, adequate income, and peace. Vital to such a future is able and active leadership now from governments and public health professionals.

  9. Health for all: a public health vision.

    PubMed Central

    McBeath, W H

    1991-01-01

    The approach of a millennial passage invites public health to a review of past performance and a preview of future prospects toward assuring a healthy public. Since the 1974 Canadian Lalonde report, the best national plans for health progress have emphasized disease prevention and health promotion. WHO's multinational Health for All by the Year 2000 promotes basic health services essential to leading a socially and economically productive life. Healthy People 2000, the latest US guide, establishes three goals: increase healthy life span, reduce health disparities, and achieve universal access to preventive services. Its objectives can be used to excite public understanding, equip program development, evaluate progress, and encourage public accountability for health initiatives. Needed is federal leadership in defining requisite action and securing necessary resources. Elsewhere a "new public health" emphasizes community life-style and multisectoral "healthy public policy." In the United States, a national health program is needed to achieve equity in access to personal health care. Even more essential is equitable sharing in basic health determinants in society--nutritious food, basic education, safe water, decent housing, secure employment, adequate income, and peace. Vital to such a future is able and active leadership now from governments and public health professionals. PMID:1746649

  10. Quality of nursing documentation: Paper-based health records versus electronic-based health records.

    PubMed

    Akhu-Zaheya, Laila; Al-Maaitah, Rowaida; Bany Hani, Salam

    2018-02-01

    To assess and compare the quality of paper-based and electronic-based health records. The comparison examined three criteria: content, documentation process and structure. Nursing documentation is a significant indicator of the quality of patient care delivery. It can be either paper-based or organised within the system known as the electronic health records. Nursing documentation must be completed at the highest standards, to ensure the safety and quality of healthcare services. However, the evidence is not clear on which one of the two forms of documentation (paper-based versus electronic health records is more qualified. A retrospective, descriptive, comparative design was used to address the study's purposes. A convenient number of patients' records, from two public hospitals, were audited using the Cat-ch-Ing audit instrument. The sample size consisted of 434 records for both paper-based health records and electronic health records from medical and surgical wards. Electronic health records were better than paper-based health records in terms of process and structure. In terms of quantity and quality content, paper-based records were better than electronic health records. The study affirmed the poor quality of nursing documentation and lack of nurses' knowledge and skills in the nursing process and its application in both paper-based and electronic-based systems. Both forms of documentation revealed drawbacks in terms of content, process and structure. This study provided important information, which can guide policymakers and administrators in identifying effective strategies aimed at enhancing the quality of nursing documentation. Policies and actions to ensure quality nursing documentation at the national level should focus on improving nursing knowledge, competencies, practice in nursing process, enhancing the work environment and nursing workload, as well as strengthening the capacity building of nursing practice to improve the quality of nursing care and

  11. Profile of Public Health Leadership.

    PubMed

    Little, Ruth Gaskins; Greer, Annette; Clay, Maria; McFadden, Cheryl

    2016-01-01

    Public health leaders play pivotal roles in ensuring the population health for our nation. Since 2000, the number of schools of public health has almost doubled. The scholarly credentials for leaders of public health in academic and practice are important, as they make decisions that shape the future public health workforce and important public health policies. This research brief describes the educational degrees of deans of schools of public health and state health directors, as well as their demographic profiles, providing important information for future public health leadership planning. Data were extracted from a database containing information obtained from multiple Web sites including academic institution Web sites and state government Web sites. Variables describe 2 sets of public health leaders: academic deans of schools of public health and state health directors. Deans of schools of public health were 73% males and 27% females; the PhD degree was held by 40% deans, and the MD degree by 33% deans. Seventy percent of deans obtained their terminal degree more than 35 years ago. State health directors were 60% males and 40% females. Sixty percent of state health directors had an MD degree, 4% a PhD degree, and 26% no terminal degree at all. Sixty-four percent of state health directors received their terminal degree more than 25 years ago. In addition to terminal degrees, 56% of deans and 40% of state health directors held MPH degrees. The findings call into question competencies needed by future public health professionals and leadership and the need to clarify further the level of public health training and degree type that should be required for leadership qualifications in public health.

  12. Does More Public Health Spending Buy Better Health?

    PubMed Central

    Sung, Jaesang; Honore, Peggy

    2015-01-01

    Background: In this article, we attempt to address a persistent question in the health policy literature: Does more public health spending buy better health? This is a difficult question to answer due to unobserved differences in public health across regions as well as the potential for an endogenous relationship between public health spending and public health outcomes. Methods: We take advantage of the unique way in which public health is funded in Georgia to avoid this endogeneity problem, using a twelve year panel dataset of Georgia county public health expenditures and outcomes in order to address the “unobservables” problem. Results: We find that increases in public health spending lead to increases in mortality by several different causes, including early deaths and heart disease deaths. We also find that increases in such spending leads to increases in morbidity from heart disease. Conclusions: Our results suggest that more public health funding may not always lead to improvements in health outcomes at the county level. PMID:28462255

  13. Electronic cigarettes: human health effects.

    PubMed

    Callahan-Lyon, Priscilla

    2014-05-01

    With the rapid increase in use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), users and non-users are exposed to the aerosol and product constituents. This is a review of published data on the human health effects of exposure to e-cigarettes and their components. Literature searches were conducted through September 2013 using multiple electronic databases. Forty-four articles are included in this analysis. E-cigarette aerosols may contain propylene glycol, glycerol, flavourings, other chemicals and, usually, nicotine. Aerosolised propylene glycol and glycerol produce mouth and throat irritation and dry cough. No data on the effects of flavouring inhalation were identified. Data on short-term health effects are limited and there are no adequate data on long-term effects. Aerosol exposure may be associated with respiratory function impairment, and serum cotinine levels are similar to those in traditional cigarette smokers. The high nicotine concentrations of some products increase exposure risks for non-users, particularly children. The dangers of secondhand and thirdhand aerosol exposure have not been thoroughly evaluated. Scientific evidence regarding the human health effects of e-cigarettes is limited. While e-cigarette aerosol may contain fewer toxicants than cigarette smoke, studies evaluating whether e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes are inconclusive. Some evidence suggests that e-cigarette use may facilitate smoking cessation, but definitive data are lacking. No e-cigarette has been approved by FDA as a cessation aid. Environmental concerns and issues regarding non-user exposure exist. The health impact of e-cigarettes, for users and the public, cannot be determined with currently available data.

  14. Experiences of Healthcare Professionals to the Introduction in Sweden of a Public eHealth Service: Patients' Online Access to their Electronic Health Records.

    PubMed

    Ålander, Ture; Scandurra, Isabella

    2015-01-01

    Patients' increasing demands for medical information, the digitization of health records and the fast spread of Internet access form a basis of introducing new eHealth services. An international trend is to provide access for patients to health information of various kind. In Sweden, access by patients to their proper electronic health record (EHR) has been provided in a pilot county since November 2012. This eHealth service is controversial and criticism has arised from the clinical professions, mainly physicians. Two web surveys were conducted to discover whether the opinions of healthcare professionals differ; between staff that have had experience with patients accessing their own EHR and those who have no such expericence. Experienced nurses found the EHR more important for the patients and a better reform, compared to unexperienced nurses in the rest of the country. Similarly, physicians with their own experience had a more positive attitude compared to non-experienced physicians. The conclusion of this study is that healthcare professionals must be involved in the implementation of public eHealth services such as EHRs and that real experiences of the professionals should be better disseminated to their inexperienced peers.

  15. Discover: What Is Public Health?

    MedlinePlus

    ... Resources Contact About Membership Contact Discover What is Public Health? Public health protects and improves the health of individuals, families, communities, and populations, locally and globally. Public health is personal. Public health professionals focus on preventing ...

  16. The Public Health Innovation Model: Merging Private Sector Processes with Public Health Strengths.

    PubMed

    Lister, Cameron; Payne, Hannah; Hanson, Carl L; Barnes, Michael D; Davis, Siena F; Manwaring, Todd

    2017-01-01

    Public health enjoyed a number of successes over the twentieth century. However, public health agencies have arguably been ill equipped to sustain these successes and address the complex threats we face today, including morbidity and mortality associated with persistent chronic diseases and emerging infectious diseases, in the context of flat funding and new and changing health care legislation. Transformational leaders, who are not afraid of taking risks to develop innovative approaches to combat present-day threats, are needed within public health agencies. We propose the Public Health Innovation Model (PHIM) as a tool for public health leaders who wish to integrate innovation into public health practice. This model merges traditional public health program planning models with innovation principles adapted from the private sector, including design thinking, seeking funding from private sector entities, and more strongly emphasizing program outcomes. We also discuss principles that leaders should consider adopting when transitioning to the PHIM, including cross-collaboration, community buy-in, human-centered assessment, autonomy and creativity, rapid experimentation and prototyping, and accountability to outcomes.

  17. The Public Health Innovation Model: Merging Private Sector Processes with Public Health Strengths

    PubMed Central

    Lister, Cameron; Payne, Hannah; Hanson, Carl L.; Barnes, Michael D.; Davis, Siena F.; Manwaring, Todd

    2017-01-01

    Public health enjoyed a number of successes over the twentieth century. However, public health agencies have arguably been ill equipped to sustain these successes and address the complex threats we face today, including morbidity and mortality associated with persistent chronic diseases and emerging infectious diseases, in the context of flat funding and new and changing health care legislation. Transformational leaders, who are not afraid of taking risks to develop innovative approaches to combat present-day threats, are needed within public health agencies. We propose the Public Health Innovation Model (PHIM) as a tool for public health leaders who wish to integrate innovation into public health practice. This model merges traditional public health program planning models with innovation principles adapted from the private sector, including design thinking, seeking funding from private sector entities, and more strongly emphasizing program outcomes. We also discuss principles that leaders should consider adopting when transitioning to the PHIM, including cross-collaboration, community buy-in, human-centered assessment, autonomy and creativity, rapid experimentation and prototyping, and accountability to outcomes. PMID:28824899

  18. Dietary Behaviors among Public Health Center Clients with Electronic Benefit Transfer Access at Farmers' Markets.

    PubMed

    Robles, Brenda; Montes, Christine E; Nobari, Tabashir Z; Wang, May C; Kuo, Tony

    2017-01-01

    Although increasing access to electronic benefit transfer (EBT) at farmers' markets has become a popular strategy for encouraging healthy eating, its relationships to a number of dietary behaviors in low-income populations are not well understood. To describe the frequency of and relationships between EBT access, fruit and vegetable intake, and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption among public health center (PHC) clients with access to EBT at farmers' markets during 2011-2012. Cross-sectional. Low-income participants recruited from the waiting rooms of five multipurpose PHCs operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Fruit and vegetable and SSB consumption (number per week). Data from the 2012 Los Angeles County Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed using multivariable regressions, with EBT access at farmers' markets as the primary independent variable. Covariates included EBT use, transportation behaviors, neighborhood attributes, and sociodemographic characteristics. A total of 1,503 adults participated in the survey (response rate=69%). Of these, 529 reported receiving EBT benefits. Among these benefits recipients, 64% were women, 54% were aged 25 to 44 years, 62% were black, and 75% were unemployed or part-time employed. In multivariable regression analyses, EBT access at farmers' markets was positively associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption; however, an association to SSB consumption was not demonstrated. EBT access at farmers' markets is related to higher fruit and vegetable consumption among PHC clients in Los Angeles County. However, the finding of no association to SSB consumption raises important questions about the need for strategies to discourage EBT recipients' purchase of foods of minimal nutritional value in other venues that accept nutrition assistance program benefits. Copyright © 2017 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Feminism and public health nursing: partners for health.

    PubMed

    Leipert, B D

    2001-01-01

    It is a well-known fact that nursing and feminism have enjoyed an uneasy alliance. In recent years, however, nursing has begun to recognize the importance of feminism. Nevertheless, the literature still rarely addresses the relevance of feminism for public health nursing. In this article, I articulate the relevance of feminism for public health nursing knowledge and practice. First, I define and describe feminism and public health nursing and then I discuss the importance of feminism for public health nursing practice. The importance of feminism for the metaparadigm concepts of public health nursing is then reviewed. Finally, I examine several existing challenges relating to feminism and public health nursing research, education, and practice. The thesis of this article is that feminism is vitally important for the development of public health nursing and for public health care.

  20. Family physicians' interests in special features of electronic publication

    PubMed Central

    Torre, Dario M.; Wright, Scott M.; Wilson, Renee F.; Diener-West, Marie; Bass, Eric B.

    2003-01-01

    Objective: Because many of the medical journals read by family physicians now have an electronic version, the authors conducted a survey to determine the interest of family physicians in specific features of electronic journal publications. Setting and Participants: We surveyed 175 family physicians randomly selected from the American Academy of Family Physicians. Results: The response rate was 63%. About half of family physicians reported good to excellent computer proficiency, and about one quarter used online journals sometimes or often. Many respondents reported high interest in having links to: an electronic medical text (48% for original articles, 56% for review articles), articles' list of references (52% for original articles, 56% for review articles), and health-related Websites (48% for original and review articles). Conclusion: Primary care–oriented journals should consider the interests of family physicians when developing and offering electronic features for their readers. PMID:12883561

  1. Electronic Health Object

    PubMed Central

    Almunawar, Mohammad Nabil; Anshari, Muhammad; Younis, Mustafa Z.; Kisa, Adnan

    2015-01-01

    Electronic health records (EHRs) store health-related patient information in an electronic format, improving the quality of health care management and increasing efficiency of health care processes. However, in existing information systems, health-related records are generated, managed, and controlled by health care organizations. Patients are perceived as recipients of care and normally cannot directly interact with the system that stores their health-related records; their participation in enriching this information is not possible. Many businesses now allow customers to participate in generating information for their systems, strengthening customer relationships. This trend is supported by Web 2.0, which enables interactivity through various means, including social networks. Health care systems should be able to take advantage of this development. This article proposes a novel framework in addressing the emerging need for interactivity while preserving and extending existing electronic medical data. The framework has 3 dimensions of patient health record: personal, social, and medical dimensions. The framework is designed to empower patients, changing their roles from static recipient of health care services to dynamic and active partners in health care processes. PMID:26660486

  2. A review of electronic journal acquisition, management, and use in health sciences libraries.

    PubMed

    Burrows, Suzetta

    2006-01-01

    The paper describes patterns of electronic journal usage in health sciences libraries during the past decade. The paper presents a case study, documenting the pattern of acquisition, management, and usage at the Louis Calder Memorial Library of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Health sciences journals were early to offer electronic alternatives to print. As a result, health sciences libraries, their patrons, and the public at large were early to embrace the new versions and continue to embrace the significant changes in scholarly communication they enable. Although the patterns of electronic journals among health sciences libraries and other special and academic libraries have similarities, they also have differences. Broad studies of electronic journals in non-health sciences libraries have been published, but a retrospective review of electronic journals in health sciences libraries has not.

  3. A review of electronic journal acquisition, management, and use in health sciences libraries

    PubMed Central

    Burrows, Suzetta

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: The paper describes patterns of electronic journal usage in health sciences libraries during the past decade. Method: The paper presents a case study, documenting the pattern of acquisition, management, and usage at the Louis Calder Memorial Library of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Results: Health sciences journals were early to offer electronic alternatives to print. As a result, health sciences libraries, their patrons, and the public at large were early to embrace the new versions and continue to embrace the significant changes in scholarly communication they enable. Although the patterns of electronic journals among health sciences libraries and other special and academic libraries have similarities, they also have differences. Broad studies of electronic journals in non–health sciences libraries have been published, but a retrospective review of electronic journals in health sciences libraries has not. PMID:16404472

  4. Strengthening the public health system.

    PubMed

    Roper, W L; Baker, E L; Dyal, W W; Nicola, R M

    1992-01-01

    Although the American public health system has made major contributions to life expectancy for residents of this country over the past century, the system now faces more complex health problems that require comprehensive approaches and increased capacity, particularly in local and State public health agencies. To strengthen the public health system, concerted action is needed to meet these five critical needs: First, the knowledge base of public health workers needs to be supplemented through on-the-job training and continuing education programs. To this end, self-study courses will be expanded, and a network of regional training centers will be established throughout the country. Second, communities need dynamic leadership from public health officials and their agencies. To enhance leadership skills and expand the leadership role of public health agencies, focused personal leadership development activities, including a Public Health Leadership Institute, and national conferences will provide a vision of the future role of public health agencies. Third, local and State public health agencies need access to data on the current health status of the people in their communities and guidance from the nation's public health experts. To improve access to information resources, state-of-the-art technologies will be deployed to create integrated information and communication systems linking all components of the public health system. Fourth, local and State agencies need disease prevention and health promotion plans that target problems and develop strategies and the capacity to address them. To provide communities with structured approaches to this process, planning tools have been developed and distributed, and technical assistance will be provided to local and State health agencies to involve each community in planning,priority setting, and constituency building.Finally, public health agencies need adequate resources to fund prevention programs. To improve the use of

  5. Measuring the Value of Public Health Systems: The Disconnect Between Health Economists and Public Health Practitioners

    PubMed Central

    Jacobson, Peter D.; Palmer, Jennifer A.

    2008-01-01

    We investigated ways of defining and measuring the value of services provided by governmental public health systems. Our data sources included literature syntheses and qualitative interviews of public health professionals. Our examination of the health economic literature revealed growing attempts to measure value of public health services explicitly, but few studies have addressed systems or infrastructure. Interview responses demonstrated no consensus on metrics and no connection to the academic literature. Key challenges for practitioners include developing rigorous, data-driven methods and skilled staff; being politically willing to base allocation decisions on economic evaluation; and developing metrics to capture “intangibles” (e.g., social justice and reassurance value). Academic researchers evaluating the economics of public health investments should increase focus on the working needs of public health professionals. PMID:18923123

  6. Public health ethics related training for public health workforce: an emerging need in the United States.

    PubMed

    Kanekar, A; Bitto, A

    2012-01-01

    Ethics is a discipline, which primarily deals with what is moral and immoral behavior. Public Health Ethics is translation of ethical theories and concepts into practice to address complex multidimensional public health problems. The primary purpose of this paper was to conduct a narrative literature review-addressing role of ethics in developing curriculum in programs and schools of public health, ethics-related instruction in schools and programs of public health and the role of ethics in developing a competent public health workforce. An open search of various health databases including Google scholar and Ebscohost yielded 15 articles related to use of ethics in public health practice or public health training and the salient features were reported. Results indicated a variable amount of ethics' related training in schools and programs of public health along with public health practitioner training across the nation. Bioethics, medical ethics and public health ethics were found to be subspecialties' needing separate ethical frameworks to guide decision making. Ethics based curricular and non-curricular training for emerging public health professionals from schools and programs of public health in the United States is extremely essential. In the current age of public health challenges faced in the United States and globally, to have an ethically untrained public health force is arguably, immoral and unethical and jeopardizes population health. There is an urgent need to develop innovative ethic based curriculums in academia as well as finding effective means to translate these curricular competencies into public health practice.

  7. The next public health revolution: public health information fusion and social networks.

    PubMed

    Khan, Ali S; Fleischauer, Aaron; Casani, Julie; Groseclose, Samuel L

    2010-07-01

    Social, political, and economic disruptions caused by natural and human-caused public health emergencies have catalyzed public health efforts to expand the scope of biosurveillance and increase the timeliness, quality, and comprehensiveness of disease detection, alerting, response, and prediction. Unfortunately, efforts to acquire, render, and visualize the diversity of health intelligence information are hindered by its wide distribution across disparate fields, multiple levels of government, and the complex interagency environment. Achieving this new level of situation awareness within public health will require a fundamental cultural shift in methods of acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating information. The notion of information "fusion" may provide opportunities to expand data access, analysis, and information exchange to better inform public health action.

  8. The Next Public Health Revolution: Public Health Information Fusion and Social Networks

    PubMed Central

    Fleischauer, Aaron; Casani, Julie; Groseclose, Samuel L.

    2010-01-01

    Social, political, and economic disruptions caused by natural and human-caused public health emergencies have catalyzed public health efforts to expand the scope of biosurveillance and increase the timeliness, quality, and comprehensiveness of disease detection, alerting, response, and prediction. Unfortunately, efforts to acquire, render, and visualize the diversity of health intelligence information are hindered by its wide distribution across disparate fields, multiple levels of government, and the complex interagency environment. Achieving this new level of situation awareness within public health will require a fundamental cultural shift in methods of acquiring, analyzing, and disseminating information. The notion of information “fusion” may provide opportunities to expand data access, analysis, and information exchange to better inform public health action. PMID:20530760

  9. Feminism and public health ethics

    PubMed Central

    Rogers, W A

    2006-01-01

    This paper sketches an account of public health ethics drawing upon established scholarship in feminist ethics. Health inequities are one of the central problems in public health ethics; a feminist approach leads us to examine not only the connections between gender, disadvantage, and health, but also the distribution of power in the processes of public health, from policy making through to programme delivery. The complexity of public health demands investigation using multiple perspectives and an attention to detail that is capable of identifying the health issues that are important to women, and investigating ways to address these issues. Finally, a feminist account of public health ethics embraces rather than avoids the inescapable political dimensions of public health. PMID:16731735

  10. Feminism and public health ethics.

    PubMed

    Rogers, W A

    2006-06-01

    This paper sketches an account of public health ethics drawing upon established scholarship in feminist ethics. Health inequities are one of the central problems in public health ethics; a feminist approach leads us to examine not only the connections between gender, disadvantage, and health, but also the distribution of power in the processes of public health, from policy making through to programme delivery. The complexity of public health demands investigation using multiple perspectives and an attention to detail that is capable of identifying the health issues that are important to women, and investigating ways to address these issues. Finally, a feminist account of public health ethics embraces rather than avoids the inescapable political dimensions of public health.

  11. "Blueprint version 2.0": updating public health surveillance for the 21st century.

    PubMed

    Smith, Perry F; Hadler, James L; Stanbury, Martha; Rolfs, Robert T; Hopkins, Richard S

    2013-01-01

    Rapid changes to the United States public health system challenge the current strategic approach to surveillance. During 2011, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists convened national experts to reassess public health surveillance in the United States and update surveillance strategies that were published in a 1996 report and endorsed by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. Although surveillance goals, historical influences, and most methods have not changed, surveillance is being transformed by 3 influences: public health information and preparedness as national security issues; new information technologies; and health care reform. Each offers opportunities for surveillance, but each also presents challenges that public health epidemiologists can best meet by rigorously applying surveillance evaluation concepts, engaging in national standardization activities driven by electronic technologies and health care reform, and ensuring an adequately trained epidemiology workforce.

  12. Gambling and the Health of the Public: Adopting a Public Health Perspective.

    PubMed

    Korn, David A.; Shaffer, Howard J.

    1999-01-01

    During the last decade there has been an unprecedented expansion of legalized gambling throughout North America. Three primary forces appear to be motivating this growth: (1) the desire of governments to identify new sources of revenue without invoking new or higher taxes; (2) tourism entrepreneurs developing new destinations for entertainment and leisure; and (3) the rise of new technologies and forms of gambling (e.g., video lottery terminals, powerball mega-lotteries, and computer offshore gambling). Associated with this phenomenon, there has been an increase in the prevalence of problem and pathological gambling among the general adult population, as well as a sustained high level of gambling-related problems among youth. To date there has been little dialogue within the public health sector in particular, or among health care practitioners in general, about the potential health impact of gambling or gambling-related problems. This article encourages the adoption of a public health perspective towards gambling. More specifically, this discussion has four primary objectives:1. Create awareness among health professionals about gambling, its rapid expansion and its relationship with the health care system;2. Place gambling within a public health framework by examining it from several perspectives, including population health, human ecology and addictive behaviors;3. Outline the major public health issues about how gambling can affect individuals, families and communities;4. Propose an agenda for strengthening policy, prevention and treatment practices through greater public health involvement, using the framework of The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion as a guide.By understanding gambling and its potential impacts on the public's health, policy makers and health practitioners can minimize gambling's negative impacts and appreciate its potential benefits.

  13. Observations Illustrating the Use of Health Informatics to Link Public Health Immunization Registries and Pharmacies to Increase Adult Immunization Rates and Improve Population Health Outcomes.

    PubMed

    Popovich, Michael; Altstadter, Brandy; Popovich, Lara Hargraves

    2016-01-01

    The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act encourages health information exchange between clinical care and public health through Meaningful Use measures. Meaningful Use specifically identifies objectives to support a number of public health programs including immunizations, cancer registries, syndromic surveillance, and disease case reports. The objective is to improve public and population health. Stage 2 of Meaningful Use focused on compliance to sending of information to public health. The next phase focuses on bi-directional information exchange to support immunization intelligence and to empower providers, pharmacists, and the consumer. The HITECH Act Stage 2 initiative provided incentive and motivation for healthcare providers to encourage their Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendors to implement data exchanges with public health, with the expected result being timely awareness of health risks. The empowerment nugget in the HITECH Act is not in the compliance reporting to public health. The nugget is the ability for a provider to receive relevant information on the patient or consumer currently in front of them or to those they will connect to through their outreach efforts. The ability for public health to retain current immunization records of individuals from a variety of providers supports their program goals to increase immunization rates and mitigate the risk of vaccine-preventable disease (VPD). The ability for providers to receive at the point of service more complete immunization histories integrated with decision support enhances their delivery of care, thereby reducing the risk of VPD to their patients. Indirectly payers benefit through healthcare cost savings and when the focus is expanded from a health model to a business model, there are significant return on investment (ROI) opportunities that exponentially increase the value of a bi-directional immunization data exchange. This paper will provide

  14. Electronic cigarettes: human health effects

    PubMed Central

    Callahan-Lyon, Priscilla

    2014-01-01

    Objective With the rapid increase in use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), users and non-users are exposed to the aerosol and product constituents. This is a review of published data on the human health effects of exposure to e-cigarettes and their components. Methods Literature searches were conducted through September 2013 using multiple electronic databases. Results Forty-four articles are included in this analysis. E-cigarette aerosols may contain propylene glycol, glycerol, flavourings, other chemicals and, usually, nicotine. Aerosolised propylene glycol and glycerol produce mouth and throat irritation and dry cough. No data on the effects of flavouring inhalation were identified. Data on short-term health effects are limited and there are no adequate data on long-term effects. Aerosol exposure may be associated with respiratory function impairment, and serum cotinine levels are similar to those in traditional cigarette smokers. The high nicotine concentrations of some products increase exposure risks for non-users, particularly children. The dangers of secondhand and thirdhand aerosol exposure have not been thoroughly evaluated. Conclusions Scientific evidence regarding the human health effects of e-cigarettes is limited. While e-cigarette aerosol may contain fewer toxicants than cigarette smoke, studies evaluating whether e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes are inconclusive. Some evidence suggests that e-cigarette use may facilitate smoking cessation, but definitive data are lacking. No e-cigarette has been approved by FDA as a cessation aid. Environmental concerns and issues regarding non-user exposure exist. The health impact of e-cigarettes, for users and the public, cannot be determined with currently available data. PMID:24732161

  15. Information Seeking When Problem Solving: Perspectives of Public Health Professionals.

    PubMed

    Newman, Kristine; Dobbins, Maureen; Yost, Jennifer; Ciliska, Donna

    2017-04-01

    Given the many different types of professionals working in public health and their diverse roles, it is likely that their information needs, information-seeking behaviors, and problem-solving abilities differ. Although public health professionals often work in interdisciplinary teams, few studies have explored their information needs and behaviors within the context of teamwork. This study explored the relationship between Canadian public health professionals' perceptions of their problem-solving abilities and their information-seeking behaviors with a specific focus on the use of evidence in practice settings. It also explored their perceptions of collaborative information seeking and the work contexts in which they sought information. Key Canadian contacts at public health organizations helped recruit study participants through their list-servs. An electronic survey was used to gather data about (a) individual information-seeking behaviors, (b) collaborative information-seeking behaviors, (c) use of evidence in practice environments, (d) perceived problem-solving abilities, and (e) demographic characteristics. Fifty-eight public health professionals were recruited, with different roles and representing most Canadian provinces and one territory. A significant relationship was found between perceived problem-solving abilities and collaborative information-seeking behavior (r = -.44, p < .00, N = 58), but not individual information seeking. The results suggested that when public health professionals take a shared, active approach to problem solving, maintain personal control, and have confidence, they are more likely collaborate with others in seeking information to complete a work task. Administrators of public health organizations should promote collaboration by implementing effective communication and information-seeking strategies, and by providing information resources and retrieval tools. Public health professionals' perceived problem-solving abilities can

  16. Preparing Master of Public Health Graduates to Work in Local Health Departments.

    PubMed

    Hemans-Henry, Calaine; Blake, Janice; Parton, Hilary; Koppaka, Ram; Greene, Carolyn M

    2016-01-01

    To identify key competencies and skills that all master of public health (MPH) graduates should have to be prepared to work in a local health department. In 2011-2012, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene administered electronic surveys to 2 categories of staff: current staff with an MPH as their highest degree, and current hiring managers. In all, 312 (77%) staff members with an MPH as their highest degree and 170 (57%) hiring managers responded to the survey. Of the respondents with an MPH as their highest degree, 85% stated that their MPH program prepared them for work at the New York City Health Department. Skills for which MPH graduates most often stated they were underprepared included facility in using SAS® statistical software, quantitative data analysis/statistics, personnel management/leadership, and data collection/database management/data cleaning. Among the skills hiring managers identified as required of MPH graduates, the following were most often cited as those for which newly hired MPH graduates were inadequately prepared: quantitative data analysis, researching/conducting literature reviews, scientific writing and publication, management skills, and working with contracts/requests for proposals. These findings suggest that MPH graduates could be better prepared to work in a local health department upon graduation. To be successful, new MPH graduate hires should possess fundamental skills and knowledge related to analysis, communication, management, and leadership. Local health departments and schools of public health must each contribute to the development of the current and future public health workforce through both formal learning opportunities and supplementary employment-based training to reinforce prior coursework and facilitate practical skill development.

  17. Development of an online tool for public health: the European Public Health Law Network.

    PubMed

    Basak, P

    2011-09-01

    The European Public Health Law Network was established in 2007 as part of the European Union (EU) co-funded Public Health Law Flu project. The aims of the website consisted of designing an interactive network of specialist information and encouraging an exchange of expertise amongst members. The website sought to appeal to academics, public health professionals and lawyers. The Public Health Law Flu project team designed and managed the website. Registered network members were recruited through publicity, advertising and word of mouth. Details of the network were sent to health organizations and universities throughout Europe. Corresponding website links attracted many new visitors. Publications, news, events and a pandemic glossary became popular features on the site. Although the website initially focused only on pandemic diseases it has grown into a multidisciplinary website covering a range of public health law topics. The network contains over 700 publications divided into 28 public health law categories. News, events, front page content, legislation and the francophone section are updated on a regular basis. Since 2007 the website has received over 15,000 views from 156 countries. Newsletter subscribers have risen to 304. There are now 723 followers on the associated Twitter site. The European Public Health Law Network has been a successful and innovative site in the area of public health law. Interest in the site continues to grow. Future funding can contribute to a bigger site with interactive features and pages in a wider variety of languages to attract a wider global audience. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Public health and peace.

    PubMed

    Laaser, Ulrich; Donev, Donco; Bjegović, Vesna; Sarolli, Ylli

    2002-04-01

    The modern concept of public health, the New Public Health, carries a great potential for healthy and therefore less aggressive societies. Its core disciplines are health promotion, environmental health, and health care management based on advanced epidemiological methodologies. The main principles of living together in healthy societies can be summarized as four ethical concepts of the New Public Health essential to violence reduction equity, participation, subsidiarity, and sustainability. The following issues are discussed as violence determinants: the process of urbanization; type of neighborhood and accommodation, and consequent stigmatization; level of education; employment status; socialization of the family; women's status; alcohol and drug consumption; availability of the firearms; religious, ethnic, and racial prejudices; and poverty. Development of the health systems has to contribute to peace, since aggression, violence, and warfare are among the greatest risks for health and the economic welfare. This contribution can be described as follows: 1) full and indiscriminate access to all necessary services, 2) monitoring of their quality, 3) providing special support to vulnerable groups, and 4) constant scientific and public accountability of the evaluation of the epidemiological outcome. Violence can also destroy solidarity and social cohesion of groups, such as family, team, neighborhood, or any other social organization. Durkheim coined the term anomie for a state in which social disruption of the community results in health risks for individuals. Health professionals can make a threefold contribution to peace by 1) analyzing the causal interrelationships of violence phenomena, 2) curbing the determinants of violence according to the professional standards, and 3) training professionals for this increasingly important task. Because tolerance is an essential part of an amended definition of health, monitoring of the early signs of public intolerance is

  19. Enhancing surveillance for hepatitis C through public health informatics.

    PubMed

    Heisey-Grove, Dawn M; Church, Daniel R; Haney, Gillian A; Demaria, Alfred

    2011-01-01

    Disease surveillance for hepatitis C in the United States is limited by the occult nature of many of these infections, the large volume of cases, and limited public health resources. Through a series of discrete processes, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health modified its surveillance system in an attempt to improve timeliness and completeness of reporting and case follow-up of hepatitis C. These processes included clinician-based reporting, electronic laboratory reporting, deployment of a Web-based disease surveillance system, automated triage of pertinent data, and automated character recognition software for case-report processing. These changes have resulted in an increase in the timeliness of reporting.

  20. Transportation and public health.

    PubMed

    Litman, Todd

    2013-01-01

    This article investigates various ways that transportation policy and planning decisions affect public health and better ways to incorporate public health objectives into transport planning. Conventional planning tends to consider some public health impacts, such as crash risk and pollution emissions measured per vehicle-kilometer, but generally ignores health problems resulting from less active transport (reduced walking and cycling activity) and the additional crashes and pollution caused by increased vehicle mileage. As a result, transport agencies tend to undervalue strategies that increase transport system diversity and reduce vehicle travel. This article identifies various win-win strategies that can help improve public health and other planning objectives.

  1. The human factor: re-organisations in public health policy.

    PubMed

    Oliver, Kathryn; Everett, Martin; Verma, Arpana; de Vocht, Frank

    2012-06-01

    Public health policy-making activities are currently split between local authority and NHS organisations. Despite an increasing body of research on evidence-based policy (EBP), few studies explore the process of policy-making. Little is known about how policies are made in a local context, or how (scientific) evidence is used. Previous research has ignored the 'human element' in EBP. Social network analysis (SNA) techniques are becoming increasingly important in health policy. This paper describes an innovative study giving a fresh perspective on policy-making processes in public health. A social network analysis of public health policy making networks in Greater Manchester based on publicly available data (documents, websites and meeting papers) and an electronic survey, asking actors to nominate those who influenced their own views, those who were powerful, and those who were a source of evidence or information. Policy-making networks are described. Formal executive roles are loosely related to perceived influence and power. Evidence-seeking networks are less coherent, with key organisations not represented. These data indicate the importance of collaboration and good relationships between researchers and policy-makers, but few academic researchers with a direct impact on health policy were identified within the networks. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Public health systems under attack in Canada: Evidence on public health system performance challenges arbitrary reform.

    PubMed

    Guyon, Ak'ingabe; Perreault, Robert

    2016-10-20

    Public health is currently being weakened in several Canadian jurisdictions. Unprecedented and arbitrary cuts to the public health budget in Quebec in 2015 were a striking example of this. In order to support public health leaders and citizens in their capacity to advocate for evidence-informed public health reforms, we propose a knowledge synthesis of elements of public health systems that are significantly associated with improved performance. Research consistently and significantly associates four elements of public health systems with improved productivity: 1) increased financial resources, 2) increased staffing per capita, 3) population size between 50,000 and 500,000, and 4) specific evidence-based organizational and administrative features. Furthermore, increased financial resources and increased staffing per capita are significantly associated with improved population health outcomes. We contend that any effort at optimization of public health systems should at least be guided by these four evidence-informed factors. Canada already has existing capacity in carrying out public health systems and services research. Further advancement of our academic and professional expertise on public health systems will allow Canadian public health jurisdictions to be inspired by the best public health models and become stronger advocates for public health's resources, interventions and outcomes when they need to be celebrated or defended.

  3. Health-oriented electronic oral health record: development and evaluation.

    PubMed

    Wongsapai, Mansuang; Suebnukarn, Siriwan; Rajchagool, Sunsanee; Beach, Daryl; Kawaguchi, Sachiko

    2014-06-01

    This study aims to develop and evaluate a new Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record that implements the health-oriented status and intervention index. The index takes the principles of holistic oral healthcare and applies them to the design and implementation of the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record. We designed an experiment using focus groups and a consensus (Delphi process) method to develop a new health-oriented status and intervention index and graphical user interface. A comparative intervention study with qualitative and quantitative methods was used to compare an existing Electronic Oral Health Record to the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record, focusing on dentist satisfaction, accuracy, and completeness of oral health status recording. The study was conducted by the dental staff of the Inter-country Center for Oral Health collaborative hospitals in Thailand. Overall, the user satisfaction questionnaire had a positive response to the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record. The dentists found it easy to use and were generally satisfied with the impact on their work, oral health services, and surveillance. The dentists were significantly satisfied with the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record compared to the existing Electronic Oral Health Record (p < 0.001). The accuracy and completeness values of the oral health information recorded using the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record were 97.15 and 93.74 percent, respectively. This research concludes that the Health-oriented Electronic Oral Health Record satisfied many dentists, provided benefits to holistic oral healthcare, and facilitated the planning, managing, and evaluation of the healthcare delivery system.

  4. Competence necessary for Japanese public health center directors in responding to public health emergencies.

    PubMed

    Tachibanai, Tomoko; Takemura, Shinji; Sone, Tomofumi; Segami, Kiyotaka; Kato, Noriko

    2005-11-01

    To clarify the "competencies" required of public health center directors in "public health emergency responses." We selected as our subjects six major public health emergencies in Japan that accorded with a definition of a "health crisis." Their types were: (1) natural disaster; (2) exposure to toxic substances caused by individuals; (3) food poisoning; and (4) accidental hospital infection. Item analysis was conducted using the Incident Analysis Method, based on the "Medical SAFER Technique." The competencies of public health center directors required the following actions: (1) to estimate the impact on local health from the "first notification" of the occurrence and the "initial investigation"; (2) to manage a thorough investigation of causes; (3) to manage organizations undertaking countermeasures; (4) to promptly provide precise information on countermeasures, etc.; and (5) to create systems enabling effective application of countermeasures against recurrence of incidents, and to achieve social consensus. For public health preparedness, public health center directors should have the following competencies: (1) the ability to estimate the "impact" of public health emergencies that have occurred or may occur; (2) be able to establish and carry out proactive policies; (3) be persuasive; and (4) have organizational management skills.

  5. Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe: introduction to the supplement.

    PubMed

    McCarthy, Mark; Zeegers Paget, Dineke

    2013-11-01

    competitive research funding through Ministries of Health is potentially beneficial. There is limited contact between national and European public health research programmes and calls. Experts who were sent the draft PHIRE Summary Report gave generally positive responses on the validity and usefulness of the results. Dissemination has been achieved through meetings during the study and by electronic means thereafter. PHIRE has increased knowledge about public health innovation at national and European levels. Strengthening the public health research system, and demonstrating innovation in public health markets will maximize benefits to Europe's citizens.

  6. Transitions in state public health law: comparative analysis of state public health law reform following the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act.

    PubMed

    Meier, Benjamin Mason; Hodge, James G; Gebbie, Kristine M

    2009-03-01

    Given the public health importance of law modernization, we undertook a comparative analysis of policy efforts in 4 states (Alaska, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Nebraska) that have considered public health law reform based on the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act. Through national legislative tracking and state case studies, we investigated how the Turning Point Act's model legal language has been considered for incorporation into state law and analyzed key facilitating and inhibiting factors for public health law reform. Our findings provide the practice community with a research base to facilitate further law reform and inform future scholarship on the role of law as a determinant of the public's health.

  7. Moving from Intersection to Integration: Public Health Law Research and Public Health Systems and Services Research

    PubMed Central

    Burris, Scott; Mays, Glen P; Douglas Scutchfield, F; Ibrahim, Jennifer K

    2012-01-01

    Context For three decades, experts have been stressing the importance of law to the effective operation of public health systems. Most recently, in a 2011 report, the Institute of Medicine recommended a review of state and local public health laws to ensure appropriate authority for public health agencies; adequate access to legal counsel for public health agencies; evaluations of the health effects and costs associated with legislation, regulations, and policies; and enhancement of research methods to assess the strength of evidence regarding the health effects of public policies. These recommendations, and the continued interest in law as a determinant of health system performance, speak to the need for integrating the emerging fields of Public Health Law Research (PHLR) and Public Health Systems and Services Research (PHSSR). Methods Expert commentary. Findings This article sets out a unified framework for the two fields and a shared research agenda built around three broad inquiries: (1) the structural role of law in shaping the organization, powers, prerogatives, duties, and limitations of public health agencies and thereby their functioning and ultimately their impact on public health (“infrastructure”); (2) the mechanisms through which public health system characteristics influence the implementation of interventional public health laws (“implementation”); and (3) the individual and system characteristics that influence the ability of public health systems and their community partners to develop and secure enactment of legal initiatives to advance public health (“innovation”). Research to date has laid a foundation of evidence, but progress requires better and more accessible data, a new generation of researchers comfortable in both law and health research, and more rigorous methods. Conclusions The routine integration of law as a salient factor in broader PHSSR studies of public health system functioning and health outcomes will enhance the

  8. Public health workforce taxonomy.

    PubMed

    Boulton, Matthew L; Beck, Angela J; Coronado, Fátima; Merrill, Jacqueline A; Friedman, Charles P; Stamas, George D; Tyus, Nadra; Sellers, Katie; Moore, Jean; Tilson, Hugh H; Leep, Carolyn J

    2014-11-01

    Thoroughly characterizing and continuously monitoring the public health workforce is necessary for ensuring capacity to deliver public health services. A prerequisite for this is to develop a standardized methodology for classifying public health workers, permitting valid comparisons across agencies and over time, which does not exist for the public health workforce. An expert working group, all of whom are authors on this paper, was convened during 2012-2014 to develop a public health workforce taxonomy. The purpose of the taxonomy is to facilitate the systematic characterization of all public health workers while delineating a set of minimum data elements to be used in workforce surveys. The taxonomy will improve the comparability across surveys, assist with estimating duplicate counting of workers, provide a framework for describing the size and composition of the workforce, and address other challenges to workforce enumeration. The taxonomy consists of 12 axes, with each axis describing a key characteristic of public health workers. Within each axis are multiple categories, and sometimes subcategories, that further define that worker characteristic. The workforce taxonomy axes are occupation, workplace setting, employer, education, licensure, certification, job tasks, program area, public health specialization area, funding source, condition of employment, and demographics. The taxonomy is not intended to serve as a replacement for occupational classifications but rather is a tool for systematically categorizing worker characteristics. The taxonomy will continue to evolve as organizations implement it and recommend ways to improve this tool for more accurate workforce data collection. Copyright © 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Legal Protections in Public Accommodations Settings: A Critical Public Health Issue for Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming People.

    PubMed

    Reisner, Sari L; Hughto, Jaclyn M White; Dunham, Emilia E; Heflin, Katherine J; Begenyi, Jesse Blue Glass; Coffey-Esquivel, Julia; Cahill, Sean

    2015-09-01

    Since 2012, Massachusetts law has provided legal protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity in employment, housing, credit, public education, and hate crimes. The law does not protect against discrimination based on gender identity in public accommodations settings such as transportation, retail stores, restaurants, health care facilities, and bathrooms. A 2013 survey of Massachusetts transgender and other gender minority adults found that in the past 12 months, 65% had experienced public accommodations discrimination since the law was passed. This discrimination was associated with a greater risk of adverse emotional and physical symptoms in the past 30 days. Nondiscrimination laws inclusive of gender identity should protect against discrimination in public accommodations settings to support transgender people's health and their ability to access health care. Gender minority people who are transgender or gender nonconforming experience widespread discrimination and health inequities. Since 2012, Massachusetts law has provided protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity in employment, housing, credit, public education, and hate crimes. The law does not, however, protect against discrimination in public accommodations (eg, hospitals, health centers, transportation, nursing homes, supermarkets, retail establishments). For this article, we examined the frequency and health correlates of public accommodations discrimination among gender minority adults in Massachusetts, with attention to discrimination in health care settings. In 2013, we recruited a community-based sample (n = 452) both online and in person. The respondents completed a 1-time, electronic survey assessing demographics, health, health care utilization, and discrimination in public accommodations venues in the past 12 months. Using adjusted multivariable logistic regression models, we examined whether experiencing public accommodations discrimination in

  10. Integrated Nationwide Electronic Health Records system: Semi-distributed architecture approach.

    PubMed

    Fragidis, Leonidas L; Chatzoglou, Prodromos D; Aggelidis, Vassilios P

    2016-11-14

    The integration of heterogeneous electronic health records systems by building an interoperable nationwide electronic health record system provides undisputable benefits in health care, like superior health information quality, medical errors prevention and cost saving. This paper proposes a semi-distributed system architecture approach for an integrated national electronic health record system incorporating the advantages of the two dominant approaches, the centralized architecture and the distributed architecture. The high level design of the main elements for the proposed architecture is provided along with diagrams of execution and operation and data synchronization architecture for the proposed solution. The proposed approach effectively handles issues related to redundancy, consistency, security, privacy, availability, load balancing, maintainability, complexity and interoperability of citizen's health data. The proposed semi-distributed architecture offers a robust interoperability framework without healthcare providers to change their local EHR systems. It is a pragmatic approach taking into account the characteristics of the Greek national healthcare system along with the national public administration data communication network infrastructure, for achieving EHR integration with acceptable implementation cost.

  11. Core competency model for the family planning public health nurse.

    PubMed

    Hewitt, Caroline M; Roye, Carol; Gebbie, Kristine M

    2014-01-01

    A core competency model for family planning public health nurses has been developed, using a three stage Delphi Method with an expert panel of 40 family planning senior administrators, community/public health nursing faculty and seasoned family planning public health nurses. The initial survey was developed from the 2011 Title X Family Planning program priorities. The 32-item survey was distributed electronically via SurveyMonkey(®). Panelist attrition was low, and participation robust resulting in the final 28-item model, suggesting that the Delphi Method was a successful technique through which to achieve consensus. Competencies with at least 75% consensus were included in the model and those competencies were primarily related to education/counseling and administration of medications and contraceptives. The competencies identified have implications for education/training, certification and workplace performance. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. A public health training center experience: professional continuing education at schools of public health.

    PubMed

    Potter, Margaret A; Fertman, Carl I; Eggleston, Molly M; Holtzhauer, Frank; Pearsol, Joanne

    2008-01-01

    The Public Health Training Center (PHTC) national program was first established at accredited schools of public health in 2000. The PHTC program used the US Health Resources and Services Administration's grants to build workforce development programs, attracting schools as training providers and the workforce as training clients. This article is a reflection on the experience of two schools, whose partnership supported one of the PHTCs, for the purpose of opening a conversation about the future of continuing education throughout schools and degree programs of public health. This partnership, the Pennsylvania & Ohio Public Health Training Center (POPHTC), concentrated its funding on more intensive training of public healthcare workers through a relatively narrow inventory of courses that were delivered typically in-person rather than by distance-learning technologies. This approach responded to the assessed needs and preferences of the POPHTC's workforce population. POPHTC's experience may not be typical among the PHTCs nationally, but the collective experience of all PHTCs is instructive to schools of public health as they work to meet an increasing demand for continuing education from the public health workforce.

  13. Enhancing undergraduate public health education through public health interest groups.

    PubMed

    Jang, Ji-Hyun; Alston, Jill; Tyler, Ingrid; Hau, Monica; Donovan, Denise; Johnson, Ian; Shore, Barbie; Shahin, Melissa

    2013-07-01

    Since 2007, all Canadian medical schools have had at least one established student-led public health interest group (PHIG). The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC), the Public Health Task Group, and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) have supported these PHIGs. The authors describe the activities and structure of PHIGs in Canada from 2007 to 2011, plus the extent to which PHIGs met the objectives set out for them by the AFMC Public Health Task Group. Using a standardized template, the authors analyzed funding applications and reports that PHIG executives submitted to the AFMC from 2007 through 2011. The authors created activity categories and collected simple counts of activities within categories. They then used these data to assess how successfully PHIGs have been able to meet their objectives. Fifty-two funding applications, 50 interim reports, and 48 final reports were available for analysis. All 17 Canadian medical schools had at least one established PHIG between 2007 and 2011, and 9 schools (53%) applied for PHIG funding in all four years. Academic activities such as lectures, seminars, and workshops were the most common activities conducted by PHIGs, followed by career exploration and networking. This study found that the AFMC, with funding support from PHAC, was instrumental in initiating PHIGs in 82% (n = 14) of Canadian medical schools. With consistent funding, national networking opportunities, and a common operating structure, PHIGs have been able to accomplish AFMC's objectives for increasing public health awareness amongst medical students.

  14. Transforming Public Health?

    PubMed Central

    ALDOUS, Chris

    2008-01-01

    Historical assessments of the Occupation’s efforts to tackle enteric diseases (cholera, typhoid, paratyphoid and dysentery) have generally reflected a celebratory narrative of US-inspired public health reforms, strongly associated with the head of the Public Health and Welfare Section, Crawford F. Sams. Close inspection of the documentary record, however, reveals much greater continuity with pre-war Japanese public health practices than has hitherto been acknowledged. Indeed, there are strong grounds for disputing American claims of novelty and innovation in such areas as immunisation, particularly in relation to typhoid vaccine, and environmental sanitation, where disparaging comments about the careless use of night soil and a reluctance to control flies and other disease vectors reveal more about the politics of public health reform than the reality of pre-war practices. Likewise, the representation of American-inspired sanitary teams as clearly distinct from and far superior to traditional sanitary associations (eisei kumiai) was closer to propaganda than an accurate rendering of past and present developments. PMID:19048809

  15. Transitions in State Public Health Law: Comparative Analysis of State Public Health Law Reform Following the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act

    PubMed Central

    Meier, Benjamin Mason; Gebbie, Kristine M.

    2009-01-01

    Given the public health importance of law modernization, we undertook a comparative analysis of policy efforts in 4 states (Alaska, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Nebraska) that have considered public health law reform based on the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act. Through national legislative tracking and state case studies, we investigated how the Turning Point Act's model legal language has been considered for incorporation into state law and analyzed key facilitating and inhibiting factors for public health law reform. Our findings provide the practice community with a research base to facilitate further law reform and inform future scholarship on the role of law as a determinant of the public's health. PMID:19150900

  16. Educating the future public health workforce: do schools of public health teach students about the private sector?

    PubMed

    Rutkow, Lainie; Traub, Arielle; Howard, Rachel; Frattaroli, Shannon

    2013-01-01

    Recent surveys indicate that approximately 40% of graduates from schools of public health are employed within the private sector or have an employer charged with regulating the private sector. These data suggest that schools of public health should provide curricular opportunities for their students--the future public health workforce--to learn about the relationship between the private sector and the public's health. To identify opportunities for graduate students in schools of public health to select course work that educates them about the relationship between the private sector and public health. We systematically identified and analyzed data gathered from publicly available course titles and descriptions on the Web sites of accredited schools of public health. Data were collected in the United States. The sample consisted of accredited schools of public health. Descriptions of the number and types of courses that schools of public health offer about the private sector and identification of how course descriptions frame the private sector relative to public health. We identified 104 unique courses with content about the private sector's relationship to public health. More than 75% of accredited schools of public health offered at least 1 such course. Nearly 25% of identified courses focused exclusively on the health insurance industry. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed 5 frames used to describe the private sector, including its role as a stakeholder in the policy process. Schools of public health face a curricular gap, with relatively few course offerings that teach students about the relationship between the private sector and the public's health. By developing new courses or revising existing ones, schools of public health can expose the future public health workforce to the varied ways public health professionals interact with the private sector, and potentially influence students' career paths.

  17. Patient and public attitudes towards informed consent models and levels of awareness of Electronic Health Records in the UK.

    PubMed

    Riordan, Fiona; Papoutsi, Chrysanthi; Reed, Julie E; Marston, Cicely; Bell, Derek; Majeed, Azeem

    2015-04-01

    The development of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) forms an integral part of the information strategy for the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, with the aim of facilitating health information exchange for patient care and secondary use, including research and healthcare planning. Implementing EHR systems requires an understanding of patient expectations for consent mechanisms and consideration of public awareness towards information sharing as might be made possible through integrated EHRs across primary and secondary health providers. To explore levels of public awareness about EHRs and to examine attitudes towards different consent models with respect to sharing identifiable and de-identified records for healthcare provision, research and planning. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was administered to adult patients and members of the public in primary and secondary care clinics in West London, UK in 2011. In total, 5331 individuals participated in the survey, and 3157 were included in the final analysis. The majority (91%) of respondents expected to be explicitly asked for consent for their identifiable records to be accessed for health provision, research or planning. Half the respondents (49%) did not expect to be asked for consent before their de-identified records were accessed. Compared with White British respondents, those from all other ethnic groups were more likely to anticipate their permission would be obtained before their de-identified records were used. Of the study population, 59% reported already being aware of EHRs before the survey. Older respondents and individuals with complex patterns of interaction with healthcare services were more likely to report prior awareness of EHRs. Individuals self-identifying as belonging to ethnic groups other than White British, and those with lower educational qualifications were less likely to report being aware of EHRs than White British respondents and respondents with degree-level education

  18. Patient and public attitudes towards informed consent models and levels of awareness of Electronic Health Records in the UK

    PubMed Central

    Riordan, Fiona; Papoutsi, Chrysanthi; Reed, Julie E.; Marston, Cicely; Bell, Derek; Majeed, Azeem

    2015-01-01

    Background The development of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) forms an integral part of the information strategy for the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, with the aim of facilitating health information exchange for patient care and secondary use, including research and healthcare planning. Implementing EHR systems requires an understanding of patient expectations for consent mechanisms and consideration of public awareness towards information sharing as might be made possible through integrated EHRs across primary and secondary health providers. Objectives To explore levels of public awareness about EHRs and to examine attitudes towards different consent models with respect to sharing identifiable and de-identified records for healthcare provision, research and planning. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was administered to adult patients and members of the public in primary and secondary care clinics in West London, UK in 2011. In total, 5331 individuals participated in the survey, and 3157 were included in the final analysis. Results The majority (91%) of respondents expected to be explicitly asked for consent for their identifiable records to be accessed for health provision, research or planning. Half the respondents (49%) did not expect to be asked for consent before their de-identified records were accessed. Compared with White British respondents, those from all other ethnic groups were more likely to anticipate their permission would be obtained before their de-identified records were used. Of the study population, 59% reported already being aware of EHRs before the survey. Older respondents and individuals with complex patterns of interaction with healthcare services were more likely to report prior awareness of EHRs. Individuals self-identifying as belonging to ethnic groups other than White British, and those with lower educational qualifications were less likely to report being aware of EHRs than White British respondents and

  19. Why Do People Work in Public Health? Exploring Recruitment and Retention Among Public Health Workers.

    PubMed

    Yeager, Valerie A; Wisniewski, Janna M; Amos, Kathleen; Bialek, Ron

    2016-01-01

    The public health workforce is critical to the functioning of the public health system and protection of the population's health. Ensuring a sufficient workforce depends on effectively recruiting and retaining workers. This study examines factors influencing decisions to take and remain in jobs within public health, particularly for workers employed in governmental public health. This cross-sectional study employed a secondary data set from a 2010 national survey of US public health workers. Survey respondents were included in this study if they responded to at least 1 survey item related to recruitment and retention. A total of 10 859 survey responses fit this criterion. Data examined demographics of public health workers and factors that influenced decisions to take jobs in and remain in public health. Job security (β = 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.28-0.56) and competitive benefits (β = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.28-0.70) were significantly and positively associated with governmental employees' decisions to take positions with their current employers compared with public health workers employed by other types of organizations. The same finding held with regard to retention: job security (β = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.23-0.57) and competitive benefits (β = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.24-0.83). Two personal factors, personal commitment to public service (β = 0.30; 95% CI, 0.17-0.42) and wanted a job in the public health field (β = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.18-0.69), were significantly and positively related to governmental employees deciding to remain with their current employers. It is important to recognize the value of competitive benefits for both current and potential employees. Public health agencies should maintain these if possible and make the value of these benefits known to policy makers or other agencies setting these benefit policies. Job security associated with governmental public health jobs also appears to offer public health an advantage in recruiting and retaining employees.

  20. Public Health Law Reform

    PubMed Central

    Gostin, Lawrence O.

    2001-01-01

    Public health law reform is necessary because existing statutes are outdated, contain multiple layers of regulation, and are inconsistent. A model law would define the mission and functions of public health agencies, provide a full range of flexible powers, specify clear criteria and procedures for activities, and provide protections for privacy and against discrimination. The law reform process provides an opportunity for public health agencies to draw attention to their resource needs and achievements and to form ties with constituency groups and enduring relations with the legislative branch of government. Ultimately, the law should become a catalyst, rather than an impediment, to reinvigorating the public health system. PMID:11527757

  1. Public health law reform.

    PubMed

    Gostin, L O

    2001-09-01

    Public health law reform is necessary because existing statutes are outdated, contain multiple layers of regulation, and are inconsistent. A model law would define the mission and functions of public health agen cies, provide a full range of flexible powers, specify clear criteria and procedures for activities, and provide protections for privacy and against discrimination. The law reform process provides an opportunity for public health agencies to draw attention to their resource needs and achievements and to form ties with constituency groups and enduring relations with the legislative branch of government. Ultimately, the law should become a catalyst, rather than an impediment, to reinvigorating the public health system.

  2. Social marketing in public health.

    PubMed

    Grier, Sonya; Bryant, Carol A

    2005-01-01

    Social marketing, the use of marketing to design and implement programs to promote socially beneficial behavior change, has grown in popularity and usage within the public health community. Despite this growth, many public health professionals have an incomplete understanding of the field. To advance current knowledge, we provide a practical definition and discuss the conceptual underpinnings of social marketing. We then describe several case studies to illustrate social marketing's application in public health and discuss challenges that inhibit the effective and efficient use of social marketing in public health. Finally, we reflect on future developments in the field. Our aim is practical: to enhance public health professionals' knowledge of the key elements of social marketing and how social marketing may be used to plan public health interventions.

  3. Public Health Nursing Staff Health Education Attitudes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Collins, Terence R.; And Others

    Health education attitudes toward prevention, detection, and treatment of selected chronic diseases and conditions confronting public health nursing staffs were investigated at a Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services District, which is composed of 16 county public health units (CPHU). Findings were used to determine type of…

  4. Public mental health.

    PubMed

    Lindert, Jutta; Bilsen, Johan; Jakubauskiene, Marija

    2017-10-01

    Public mental health (PMH) is a major challenge for public health research and practice. This article is organized in six parts. First, we will highlight the significance of PMH; second, we will define mental health and mental disorders; third, we identify and describe determinants of mental health and mental disorders on which we worked in the past 10 years since the establishment of the PMH section such as social determinants and violence. Fourth, we will describe the development of the EUPHA PMH section and provide details on vulnerable groups in the field of PMH, on violence as a main determinant and on suicide as an outcome which affects all countries in the European region. Fifth, we describe policy and practice implications of the development of PMH and highlight the European dimension of PMH. We will conclude this article by providing an outlook on potential further development of PMH as regards research and policy and practice. Finally, we hope that the EUPHA PMH section will contribute to public health in the next 25 years and we can contribute to improvement of PMH in Europe. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  5. Social media in public health.

    PubMed

    Kass-Hout, Taha A; Alhinnawi, Hend

    2013-01-01

    While social media interactions are currently not fully understood, as individual health behaviors and outcomes are shared online, social media offers an increasingly clear picture of the dynamics of these processes. Social media is becoming an increasingly common platform among clinicians and public health officials to share information with the public, track or predict diseases. Social media can be used for engaging the public and communicating key public health interventions, while providing an important tool for public health surveillance. Social media has advantages over traditional public health surveillance, as well as limitations, such as poor specificity, that warrant additional study. Social media can provide timely, relevant and transparent information of public health importance; such as tracking or predicting the spread or severity of influenza, west nile virus or meningitis as they propagate in the community, and, in identifying disease outbreaks or clusters of chronic illnesses. Further work is needed on social media as a valid data source for detecting or predicting diseases or conditions. Also, whether or not it is an effective tool for communicating key public health messages and engaging both, the general public and policy-makers.

  6. Public health and precision medicine share a goal.

    PubMed

    Vaithinathan, Asokan G; Asokan, Vanitha

    2017-05-01

    The advances made in genomics and molecular tools aid public health programs in the investigation of outbreaks and control of diseases by taking advantage of the precision medicine. Precision medicine means "segregating the individuals into subpopulations who vary in their disease susceptibility and response to a precise treatment" and not merely designing of drugs or creation of medical devices. By 2017, the United Kingdom 100,000 Genomes Project is expected to sequence 100,000 genomes from 70,000 patients. Similarly, the Precision Medicine Initiative of the United States plans to increase population-based genome sequencing and link it with clinical data. A national cohort of around 1 million people is to be established in the long term, to investigate the genetic and environmental determinants of health and disease, and further integrated to their electronic health records that are optional. Precision public health can be seen as administering the right intervention to the needy population at an appropriate time. Precision medicine originates from a wet-lab while evidence-based medicine is nurtured in a clinic. Linking the quintessential basic science research and clinical practice is necessary. In addition, new technologies to employ and analyze data in an integrated and dynamic way are essential for public health and precision medicine. The transition from evidence-based approach in public health to genomic approach to individuals with a paradigm shift of a "reactive" medicine to a more "proactive" and personalized health care may sound exceptional. However, a population perspective is needed for the precision medicine to succeed. © 2016 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  7. Insights in Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Hayes, Donald

    2014-01-01

    There are significant shortages in the public health workforce and it's expected to worsen. Efforts to reduce this shortage are varied and include building the workforce by increasing exposure of students and young professionals in applied public health experiences. Providing these experiences increases productivity, and may help alleviate some of the workforce shortages in public health. This article seeks to highlight the work done at the Family Health Services Division (FHSD) in the Hawai‘i Department of Health over the past 6 and half years in working with students in epidemiology practicum and fellowship experiences. PMID:24660128

  8. Are public health professionals prepared for public health genomics? A cross-sectional survey in Italy

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Public health genomics is an emerging multidisciplinary approach, which aims to integrate genome-based knowledge in a responsible and effective way into public health. Despite several surveys performed to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and professional behaviors of physicians towards predictive genetic testing, similar surveys have not been carried out for public health practitioners. This study is the first to assess knowledge, attitudes and training needs of public health professionals in the field of predictive genetic testing for chronic diseases. Methods A self-administered questionnaire was used to carry out a cross-sectional survey of a random sample of Italian public health professionals. Results A response rate of 67.4% (797 questionnaires) was achieved. Italian public health professionals have the necessary attitudinal background to contribute to the proper use of predictive genetic testing for chronic diseases, but they need additional training to increase their methodological knowledge. Knowledge significantly increases with exposure to predictive genetic testing during postgraduate training (odds ratio (OR) = 1.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05–2.88), time dedicated to continuing medical education (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.14–2.04) and level of English language knowledge (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.07–1.72). Adequate knowledge is the strongest predictor of positive attitudes from a public health perspective (OR = 3.98, 95% CI = 2.44–6.50). Physicians show a lower level of knowledge and more public health attitudes than other public health professionals do. About 80% of public health professionals considered their knowledge inadequate and 86.0% believed that it should be improved through specific postgraduate training courses. Conclusions Specific and targeted training initiatives are needed to develop a skilled public health workforce competent in identifying genomic technology that is ready for use in

  9. Creating opportunities for training California's public health workforce.

    PubMed

    Demers, Anne L; Mamary, Edward; Ebin, Vicki J

    2011-01-01

    Today there are significant challenges to public health, and effective responses to them will require complex approaches and strategies implemented by a qualified workforce. An adequately prepared workforce requires long-term development; however, local health departments have limited financial and staff resources. Schools and programs accredited by the Council for Education on Public Health (CEPH) are required to provide continuing education but are constrained by the lack of resources, limited time, and geography. To meet these challenges, a statewide university/community collaborative model for delivering continuing education programs was developed. A needs assessment of California's public health workforce was conducted to identify areas of interest, and two continuing education trainings were developed and implemented using innovative distance education technology. Thirty-six percent of the participants completed electronic evaluations of learning outcomes and use of the digital technology platform. Participants indicated a significant increase in knowledge, reported that the trainings were cost effective and convenient, and said that they would participate in future online trainings. Collaborative partners found that this model provides a cost-effective, environmentally sound, and institutionally sustainable method for providing continuing education to public health professionals. Offering continuing education via distance technology requires substantial institutional infrastructure and resources that are often beyond what many public institutions can provide alone. This project provides a model for collaborating with community partners to provide trainings, using a digital technology platform that requires minimal training and allows presenters and participants to log on from anywhere there is Internet access. Copyright © 2011 The Alliance for Continuing Medical Education, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME

  10. The impact of globalization on public health: implications for the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine.

    PubMed

    Lee, K

    2000-09-01

    There has been substantial discussion of globalization in the scholarly and popular press yet limited attention so far among public health professionals. This is so despite the many potential impacts of globalization on public health. Defining public health broadly, as focused on the collective health of populations requiring a range of intersectoral activities, globalization can be seen to have particular relevance. Globalization, in turn, can be defined as a process that is changing the nature of human interaction across a wide range of spheres and along at least three dimensions. Understanding public health and globalization in these ways suggests the urgent need for research to better understand the linkages between the two, and effective policy responses by a range of public health institutions, including the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine. The paper is based on a review of secondary literature on globalization that led to the development of a conceptual framework for understanding potential impacts on the determinants of health and public health. The paper then discusses major areas of public health in relation to these potential impacts. It concludes with recommendations on how the UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine might contribute to addressing these impacts through its various activities. Although there is growing attention to the importance of globalization to public health, there has been limited research and policy development in the United Kingdom. The UK Faculty of Public Health Medicine needs to play an active role in bringing relevant issues to the attention of policy makers, and encourage its members to take up research, teaching and policy initiatives. The potential impacts of globalization support a broader understanding and practice of public health that embraces a wide range of health determinants.

  11. The public health leadership certificate: a public health and primary care interprofessional training opportunity.

    PubMed

    Matson, Christine C; Lake, Jeffrey L; Bradshaw, R Dana; Matson, David O

    2014-03-01

    This article describes a public health leadership certificate curriculum developed by the Commonwealth Public Health Training Center for employees in public health and medical trainees in primary care to share didactic and experiential learning. As part of the program, trainees are involved in improving the health of their communities and thus gain a blended perspective on the effectiveness of interprofessional teams in improving population health. The certificate curriculum includes eight one-credit-hour didactic courses offered through an MPH program and a two-credit-hour, community-based participatory research project conducted by teams of trainees under the mentorship of health district directors. Fiscal sustainability is achieved by sharing didactic courses with MPH degree students, thereby enabling trainees to take advantage of a reduced, continuing education tuition rate. Public health employee and primary care trainees jointly learn knowledge and skills required for community health improvement in interprofessional teams and gain an integrated perspective through opportunities to question assumptions and broaden disciplinary approaches. At the same time, the required community projects have benefited public health in Virginia.

  12. Sustaining success: aligning the public health workforce in South-Eastern Europe with strategic public health priorities.

    PubMed

    Bjegovic-Mikanovic, Vesna; Santric-Milicevic, Milena; Cichowska, Anna; von Krauss, Martin Krayer; Perfilieva, Galina; Rebac, Boris; Zuleta-Marin, Ingrid; Dieleman, Marjolein; Zwanikken, Prisca

    2018-06-01

    To map out the Public Health Workforce (PHW) involved in successful public health interventions. We did a pilot assessment of human resources involved in successful interventions addressing public health challenges in the countries of South-Eastern Europe (SEE). High-level representatives of eight countries reported about success stories through the coaching by experts. During synthesizing qualitative data, experts applied triangulation by contacting additional sources of evidence and used the framework method in data analysis. SEE countries tailored public health priorities towards social determinants, health equalities, and prevention of non-communicable diseases. A variety of organizations participated in achieving public health success. The same applies to the wide array of professions involved in the delivery of Essential Public Health Operations (EPHOs). Key enablers of the successful work of PHW were staff capacities, competences, interdisciplinary networking, productivity, and funding. Despite diversity across countries, successful public health interventions have similar ingredients. Although PHW is aligned with the specific public health success, a productive interface between health and other sectors is crucial for rolling-out successful interventions.

  13. Electronic Health Records in the Cloud: Improving Primary Health Care Delivery in South Africa.

    PubMed

    Cilliers, Liezel; Wright, Graham

    2017-01-01

    In South Africa, the recording of health data is done manually in a paper-based file, while attempts to digitize healthcare records have had limited success. In many countries, Electronic Health Records (EHRs) has developed in silos, with little or no integration between different operational systems. Literature has provided evidence that the cloud can be used to 'leapfrog' some of these implementation issues, but the adoption of this technology in the public health care sector has been very limited. This paper aims to identify the major reasons why the cloud has not been used to implement EHRs for the South African public health care system, and to provide recommendations of how to overcome these challenges. From the literature, it is clear that there are technology, environmental and organisational challenges affecting the implementation of EHRs in the cloud. Four recommendations are provided that can be used by the National Department of Health to implement EHRs making use of the cloud.

  14. Health needs and public health functions addressed in scientific publications in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa.

    PubMed

    Benie-Bi, J; Cambon, L; Grimaud, O; Kivits, J; Alla, F

    2013-09-01

    To describe the reporting of public health research in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa (FSA). A bibliometric research study of scientific public health publications in FSA, which includes 24 countries and approximately 260 million people. Two researchers analysed original articles published in 2007 in the medical or social sciences fields and indexed in Scopus. At least one co-author of articles had to be based in FSA. The analysis focused on research field, public health function (WHO classification), FSA country author's affiliation, language, journal type and global burden of disease (WHO classification). Of 1047 articles retrieved by the search, 212 were from the public health field. The number of articles per country varied from 0 to 36. Public health functions examined were health service research (24.5%), health monitoring (27.4%), prevention (15%) and legislation (0.5%). The distribution of health needs described in the articles was close to that of the WHO data for Africa for 2004: infectious and parasitic diseases (70% vs 54%), maternal and perinatal conditions (15% vs 17%), non-communicable diseases (15.6% vs 21%), and injuries (0.5% vs 8%). The areas reported in published articles from sub-Saharan Africa reflect the health needs distribution in Africa; however, the number of publications is low, particularly for prevention. In light of the current focus on evidence-based public health, this study questions whether the international scientific community adequately considers the expertise and perspectives of African researchers and professionals. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Rethinking public health: promoting public engagement through a new discursive environment.

    PubMed

    Sun, Ye

    2014-01-01

    I reexamine the notion of public health after reviewing critiques of the prevalent individualistic conception of health. I argue that public health should mean not only the health of the public but also health in the public and by the public, and I expound on the social contingency of health and highlight the importance of the interpersonal dimensions of health conditions and health promotion efforts. Promoting public health requires activating health-enhancing communicative behaviors (such as interpersonal advocacy and mutual responsibility taking) in addition to individual behavioral change. To facilitate such communicative behaviors, it is imperative to first construct a new discursive environment in which to think and talk about health in a language of interdependence and collective efforts.

  16. Emphasizing Public Health Within a Health Information Exchange: An Evaluation of the District of Columbia’s Health Information Exchange Program

    PubMed Central

    Goldwater, Jason; Jardim, Juliette; Khan, Tasnuva; Chan, Karen

    2014-01-01

    .C. HIE program in its entirety, the results indicated the value of utilizing the HIE for public health reporting to enhance the surveillance activities of the DOH. Specifically, the DHCF and DOH collaboration resulted in using the HIE to electronically capture and report immunization data; and in requiring electronic lab reporting and results as part of the Meaningful Use Requirement—which can assist in detecting HIV/AIDS and providing better care for the district’s high population of individuals with HIV/AIDS. Electronic lab reporting and electronic prescribing within the HIE can assist the DOH and providers in identifying specific diseases, such as tuberculosis and viral hepatitis, before they affect a significant part of the population. Discussion: Given the severe health disparities in the district, the ability of the D.C. HIE program to collect public health information on affected populations will be instrumental in better understanding and identifying methods of supporting these populations through improved surveillance and identification of the appropriate treatments. The D.C. HIE program is uniquely positioned to support these populations due to the partnership of DHCF with the D.C. DOH. Conclusion and Next Steps: The District of Columbia has made significant strides in expanding its public health infrastructure and activities. Three key areas of growth were identified that have the potential to transform the District of Columbia’s public health approach: establishing sufficient feedback loops, collection of environmental data, integration, and interoperability. PMID:25848617

  17. Public health and media advocacy.

    PubMed

    Dorfman, Lori; Krasnow, Ingrid Daffner

    2014-01-01

    Media advocacy blends communications, science, politics, and advocacy to advance public health goals. In this article, we explain how media advocacy supports the social justice grounding of public health while addressing public health's "wicked problems" in the context of American politics. We outline media advocacy's theoretical foundations in agenda setting and framing and describe its practical application, from the layers of strategy to storytelling, which can illuminate public health solutions for journalists, policy makers, and the general public. Finally, we describe the challenges in evaluating media advocacy campaigns.

  18. Assessing Entrepreneurship in Governmental Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Wasserman, Jeffrey; Wu, Helen W.; Lauer, Johanna R.

    2015-01-01

    Objectives. We assessed the feasibility and desirability of public health entrepreneurship (PHE) in governmental public health. Methods. Using a qualitative case study approach with semistructured interview protocols, we conducted interviews between April 2010 and January 2011 at 32 local health departments (LHDs) in 18 states. Respondents included chief health officers and senior LHD staff, representatives from national public health organizations, health authorities, and public health institutes. Results. Respondents identified PHE through 3 overlapping practices: strategic planning, operational efficiency, and revenue generation. Clinical services offer the strongest revenue-generating potential, and traditional public health services offer only limited entrepreneurial opportunities. Barriers include civil service rules, a risk-averse culture, and concerns that PHE would compromise core public health values. Conclusions. Ongoing PHE activity has the potential to reduce LHDs’ reliance on unstable general public revenues. Yet under the best of circumstances, it is difficult to generate revenue from public health services. Although governmental public health contains pockets of entrepreneurial activity, its culture does not sustain significant entrepreneurial activity. The question remains as to whether LHDs’ current public revenue sources are sustainable and, if not, whether PHE is a feasible or desirable alternative. PMID:25689182

  19. Assessing entrepreneurship in governmental public health.

    PubMed

    Jacobson, Peter D; Wasserman, Jeffrey; Wu, Helen W; Lauer, Johanna R

    2015-04-01

    We assessed the feasibility and desirability of public health entrepreneurship (PHE) in governmental public health. Using a qualitative case study approach with semistructured interview protocols, we conducted interviews between April 2010 and January 2011 at 32 local health departments (LHDs) in 18 states. Respondents included chief health officers and senior LHD staff, representatives from national public health organizations, health authorities, and public health institutes. Respondents identified PHE through 3 overlapping practices: strategic planning, operational efficiency, and revenue generation. Clinical services offer the strongest revenue-generating potential, and traditional public health services offer only limited entrepreneurial opportunities. Barriers include civil service rules, a risk-averse culture, and concerns that PHE would compromise core public health values. Ongoing PHE activity has the potential to reduce LHDs' reliance on unstable general public revenues. Yet under the best of circumstances, it is difficult to generate revenue from public health services. Although governmental public health contains pockets of entrepreneurial activity, its culture does not sustain significant entrepreneurial activity. The question remains as to whether LHDs' current public revenue sources are sustainable and, if not, whether PHE is a feasible or desirable alternative.

  20. Teaching Public Health Networks in England: an innovative approach to building public health capacity and capability.

    PubMed

    Orme, J; Pilkington, P; Gray, S; Rao, M

    2009-12-01

    This paper examines the development and achievements of the Teaching Public Health Networks (TPHNs) in England; an initiative that aimed to catalyse collaborative working between the public health workforce and further and higher education, to enhance public health knowledge in the wider workforce with a view to enhancing capacity to tackle inequalities and meeting public health targets. This paper highlights activities under three outcomes: mobilizing resources, people, money and materials; building capacity through training and infrastructure development; and raising public and political awareness. The TPHN approach is shown to have led to innovative developments in public health education and training, including engagement with professionals that have not previously had exposure to public health. This paper aims to disseminate the learning from this complex public health initiative, now in its third year of development, and to share examples of good practice. It is hoped that other countries can use the TPHN approach as a model to address the various common and country-specific challenges in public health workforce development.

  1. Division of Public Health

    Science.gov Websites

    State Employees Public Health DHSS State of Alaska Home Divisions and Agencies Alaska Pioneer Homes Behavioral Health Office of Children's Services Office of the Commissioner Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention Finance & Management Services Health Care Services Juvenile Justice Public

  2. Implementing health information exchange for public health reporting: a comparison of decision and risk management of three regional health information organizations in New York state.

    PubMed

    Phillips, Andrew B; Wilson, Rosalind V; Kaushal, Rainu; Merrill, Jacqueline A

    2014-02-01

    Health information exchange (HIE) is a significant component of healthcare transformation strategies at both the state and national levels. HIE is expected to improve care coordination, and advance public health, but implementation is massively complex and involves significant risk. In New York, three regional health information organizations (RHIOs) implemented an HIE use case for public health reporting by demonstrating capability to deliver accurate responses to electronic queries via a set of services called the Universal Public Health Node. We investigated process and outcomes of the implementation with a comparative case study. Qualitative analysis was structured around a decision and risk matrix. Although each RHIO had a unique operational model, two common factors influenced risk management and implementation success: leadership capable of agile decision-making and commitment to a strong organizational vision. While all three RHIOs achieved certification for the public health reporting, only one has elected to deploy a production version.

  3. [The key role of public health medical resident education for future public health challenges].

    PubMed

    Costantino, Claudio; Cinquetti, Sandro; Garavelli, Elena; Marcantoni, Claudio; Murru, Claudia; Pieroni, Giovanni; Privitera, Gaetano; Ricciardi, Walter; Soncini, Francesco; Tedesco, Dario; Triassi, Maria; Vitale, Francesco; Campanella, Francesca

    2014-01-01

    The Italian Committee of medical residents in Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health is a member of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health with the aim of developing a network among Italian resident in public health and promoting the educational path improvement through comparisons and debates between postgraduate medical schools. In this perspective, during last years account has been taken of some essential topics concerning education of public health medical residents, which represent future health-care and public health experts. Cross-sectional researches were conducted among Italian public health medical residents (PHMRs) through self-administered and web-based questionnaires. Each questionnaire was previously validated by pilot studies conducted during the 46th National Conference of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health. Seventy percent of Italian PHMRs considered the actual length of Public Health postgraduate medical school excessively long, with regard to predetermined educational goals. Confirming this statement, 90% of respondents were inclined to a reduction from 5 to 4 years of postgraduate medical school length, established by Law Decree 104/2013. Seventy seven percent of surveyed PHMRs stand up for a rearrangement on a national setting of the access contest to postgraduate medical schools. Moreover 1/3 of Italian schools performed less than 75%of learning and qualifying activities specified in Ministerial Decree of August 2005. In particular, data analysis showed considerable differences among Italian postgraduate schools. Finally, in 2015 only four Italian Universities (Napoli Federico II, Palermo, Pavia, Roma Tor Vergata) provide for the Second Level Master qualify for the functions of occupational doctor. This offer makes available 60 positions against a request of over 200 future Public Health medical doctors who have shown interest in the Master. In Italy, after the

  4. Public health educational comprehensiveness: The strategic rationale in establishing networks among schools of public health.

    PubMed

    Otok, Robert; Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Foldspang, Anders

    2017-11-01

    The establishment and continuing development of a sufficient and competent public health workforce is fundamental for the planning, implementation, evaluation, effect and ethical validity of public health strategies and policies and, thus, for the development of the population's health and the cost-effectiveness of health and public health systems and interventions. Professional public health strategy-making demands a background of a comprehensive multi-disciplinary curriculum including mutually, dynamically coherent competences - not least, competences in sociology and other behavioural sciences and their interaction with, for example, epidemiology, biostatistics, qualitative methods and health promotion and disease prevention. The size of schools and university departments of public health varies, and smaller entities may run into problems if seeking to meet the comprehensive curriculum challenge entirely by use of in-house resources. This commentary discusses the relevance and strength of establishing comprehensive curriculum development networks between schools and university departments of public health, as one means to meet the comprehensiveness challenge. This commentary attempts to consider a two-stage strategy to develop complete curricula at the bachelor and master's as well as PhD levels.

  5. Expert searching in public health

    PubMed Central

    Alpi, Kristine M.

    2005-01-01

    Objective: The article explores the characteristics of public health information needs and the resources available to address those needs that distinguish it as an area of searching requiring particular expertise. Methods: Public health searching activities from reference questions and literature search requests at a large, urban health department library were reviewed to identify the challenges in finding relevant public health information. Results: The terminology of the information request frequently differed from the vocabularies available in the databases. Searches required the use of multiple databases and/or Web resources with diverse interfaces. Issues of the scope and features of the databases relevant to the search questions were considered. Conclusion: Expert searching in public health differs from other types of expert searching in the subject breadth and technical demands of the databases to be searched, the fluidity and lack of standardization of the vocabulary, and the relative scarcity of high-quality investigations at the appropriate level of geographic specificity. Health sciences librarians require a broad exposure to databases, gray literature, and public health terminology to perform as expert searchers in public health. PMID:15685281

  6. Rethinking Public Health: Promoting Public Engagement Through a New Discursive Environment

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    I reexamine the notion of public health after reviewing critiques of the prevalent individualistic conception of health. I argue that public health should mean not only the health of the public but also health in the public and by the public, and I expound on the social contingency of health and highlight the importance of the interpersonal dimensions of health conditions and health promotion efforts. Promoting public health requires activating health-enhancing communicative behaviors (such as interpersonal advocacy and mutual responsibility taking) in addition to individual behavioral change. To facilitate such communicative behaviors, it is imperative to first construct a new discursive environment in which to think and talk about health in a language of interdependence and collective efforts. PMID:24228674

  7. 42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Public health advisory. 90.9 Section 90.9 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH... PROCEDURES § 90.9 Public health advisory. ATSDR may issue a public health advisory based on the findings of a...

  8. 42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Public health advisory. 90.9 Section 90.9 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH... PROCEDURES § 90.9 Public health advisory. ATSDR may issue a public health advisory based on the findings of a...

  9. 42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Public health advisory. 90.9 Section 90.9 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH... PROCEDURES § 90.9 Public health advisory. ATSDR may issue a public health advisory based on the findings of a...

  10. 42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Public health advisory. 90.9 Section 90.9 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH... PROCEDURES § 90.9 Public health advisory. ATSDR may issue a public health advisory based on the findings of a...

  11. 42 CFR 90.9 - Public health advisory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Public health advisory. 90.9 Section 90.9 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH... PROCEDURES § 90.9 Public health advisory. ATSDR may issue a public health advisory based on the findings of a...

  12. Is housing a public health issue? A survey of directors of public health.

    PubMed

    Roderick, P; Victor, C; Connelly, J

    1991-01-19

    To determine the views of directors of public health on the importance of housing for public health and their departments' and health authorities' participation in housing issues. Postal self administered questionnaire survey. All district health authorities in England and health boards in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. All 221 district directors of public health in England and chief administrative medical officers in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Response to questionnaire consisting of fixed and open ended questions on housing issues. The response rate was 89% (196/221). Housing was perceived as a major health problem by 33% (65/196) of directors. Positive responses were most likely from inner city districts. In 47% (93/196) of departments there was a formal time commitment to housing issues with a median time of one session/week (range one per month to 10 per week). The main function was allocation of medical priority for public sector rehousing. Overall, 73% (144/196) reported some participation in this process. Reported participation in joint care planning and links with non-statutory housing organisations were uncommon. 53% (104/196) of directors had included housing issues in their annual health report. In 16% (32/196) of districts specific services for the homeless had been set up. Although concern about the impact of current housing policy on public health was shown by a substantial number of directors, the main activity was still allocation of medical priority despite a background of increasing housing need and homelessness. The underlying need is for greater advocacy to produce a healthy housing policy for all, and the annual public health report could be used to promote this objective.

  13. Public Participation Guide: Electronic Democracy

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Electronic democracy describes a wide range of interactive tools that embrace existing and emergent media sources as a forum for allowing members of the public to express opinions and seek to influence decision-making.

  14. Access to health information on the internet: a public health issue?

    PubMed

    Moretti, Felipe Azevedo; Oliveira, Vanessa Elias de; Silva, Edina Mariko Koga da

    2012-01-01

    To progress in the understanding of the user profile and of search trends for health information on the internet. Analyses were performed based on 1,828 individuals who completed an electronic questionnaire available on a very popular health website. At the same time, through the "elite survey" method, 20 specialists were interviewed, aiming at assessing quality control strategies regarding health information disseminated online. A predominance of female users who research information for themselves (= 90%), who consider the internet one of their main sources of health information (86%), and who spend from 5 to 35 hours online every week (62%) was verified. High reliability is assigned to information from specialists (76%), and low reliability to television, radio, or blogs (14%). It can be concluded that the internet is proving to be a major source of health information for the population, and that website certification is a strategy to be contemplated to improve the quality of information and to promote public health.

  15. Trust in government and support for governmental regulation: the case of electronic health records.

    PubMed

    Herian, Mitchel N; Shank, Nancy C; Abdel-Monem, Tarik L

    2014-12-01

    This paper presents results from a public engagement effort in Nebraska, USA, which measured public opinions about governmental involvement in encouraging the use of electronic health records (EHRs). We examine the role of trust in government in contributing to public support for government involvement in the development of EHR technologies. We hypothesize that trust in government will lead to support for federal and state governmental encouragement of the use of EHRs among doctors and insurance companies. Further, because individual experiences with health-care professionals will reduce perceptions of risk, we expect that support for governmental involvement will be tempered by greater personal experience with the health-care industry. Examining a small survey of individuals on the issue, we find general support for both of our hypotheses. The findings suggest that trust in government does have a positive relationship with support for government involvement in the policy domain, but that the frequency of personal experiences with health-care providers reduces the extent to which the public supports governmental involvement in the development of EHR technology. This inquiry contributes to our understanding of public attitudes towards government involvement in EHRs in the United States specifically and contributes to social science examining links between trust in government and support for governmental activity in the emerging policy domain regarding electronic health records systems. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Training Physicians for Public Health Careers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hernandez, Lyla M., Ed.; Munthali, A. Wezi, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    Public health efforts have resulted in tremendous improvements in the health of individuals and communities. The foundation for effective public health interventions rests, in large part, on a well-trained workforce. Unfortunately there is a major shortage of public health physicians who are prepared to face today's public health challenges.…

  17. Assessment of Public Health Infrastructure to Determine Public Health Preparedness

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-03-01

    and Theodore M. Brown, "The Unfulfilled Promise of Public Health: Deja Vu all Over again," Health Affairs 21, no. 6 (November/December, 2002): 31...Health: Deja Vu all Over Again." Health Affairs 21, no. 6 (November/December 2002). http://proquest.umi.com/ (accessed February 3, 2006). Flynn

  18. 77 FR 28883 - Draft Public Health Action Plan-A National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-16

    ...-2012-0004] Draft Public Health Action Plan--A National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection...), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment..., Division of Reproductive Health, Attn: National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection, Prevention...

  19. Mental health in prisons: A public health agenda.

    PubMed

    Fraser, A

    2009-01-01

    Mental illness affects the majority of prisoners. Mental health issues are beginning to take a central position in the development of prison health services, reflecting this burden of disease. This change in focus is not before time. But prison mental health services cannot exist in isolation. Public health systems should lead provision of care for patients with acute and severe illness. A whole prison approach to health and, specifically, mental health will offer the greatest likelihood that offenders will thrive, benefit from imprisonment, and lead law-abiding lives after release. Public awareness of the scale and commitment of prisons to mental health and illness, and understanding of prisons' role in society, are necessary developments that would protect and enhance public mental health, as well as creating a healthier and safer society. This article draws on recent reviews, information and statements to set out a public health agenda for mental health in prisons.

  20. Health visitor or public health nurse? A Scottish study.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Susan

    2006-09-01

    The Scottish Executive and the National Health Service (NHS) have been consistently promoting 'public health nursing' as a new way forward in the community. In addition, since 2001 traditional health visitor and school nurse education programmes have been replaced by a single public health nurse training curriculum. However, many of the roles, responsibilities and job descriptions of clinical health visiting staff have remained unchanged within health board areas. This has led to apparent confusion among staff, both newly qualified and those already in post. This lack of clarity in policy and role prompted this research study, which set out to investigate the perceptions of the public health role of the health visitor within a health board area in Scotland. Initially, a review of the relevant literature was undertaken to provide in-depth background information on the topic, to enable a critical analysis of the current public health role of the health visitor. This analysis was further informed by obtaining qualitative and quantitative data via a questionnaire sent to 89 health visitors, to determine the attitudes and opinions of health visitors currently working within a Scottish health board area. Results from the study indicate that, despite the plethora of public health-related Scottish Executive publications and the changes in educational programmes, many health visitors still carry out what is perceived as a traditional role with mainly the under-five age group. The study also identified the need for clear direction in the public health role for health visitors, with many health visitors expressing a willingness to make changes to their current role.

  1. A Public Health Grid (PHGrid): Architecture and value proposition for 21st century public health.

    PubMed

    Savel, T; Hall, K; Lee, B; McMullin, V; Miles, M; Stinn, J; White, P; Washington, D; Boyd, T; Lenert, L

    2010-07-01

    This manuscript describes the value of and proposal for a high-level architectural framework for a Public Health Grid (PHGrid), which the authors feel has the capability to afford the public health community a robust technology infrastructure for secure and timely data, information, and knowledge exchange, not only within the public health domain, but between public health and the overall health care system. The CDC facilitated multiple Proof-of-Concept (PoC) projects, leveraging an open-source-based software development methodology, to test four hypotheses with regard to this high-level framework. The outcomes of the four PoCs in combination with the use of the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) and the newly emerging Federal Segment Architecture Methodology (FSAM) was used to develop and refine a high-level architectural framework for a Public Health Grid infrastructure. The authors were successful in documenting a robust high-level architectural framework for a PHGrid. The documentation generated provided a level of granularity needed to validate the proposal, and included examples of both information standards and services to be implemented. Both the results of the PoCs as well as feedback from selected public health partners were used to develop the granular documentation. A robust high-level cohesive architectural framework for a Public Health Grid (PHGrid) has been successfully articulated, with its feasibility demonstrated via multiple PoCs. In order to successfully implement this framework for a Public Health Grid, the authors recommend moving forward with a three-pronged approach focusing on interoperability and standards, streamlining the PHGrid infrastructure, and developing robust and high-impact public health services. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  2. How to enhance public health service utilization in community pharmacy?: general public and health providers' perspectives.

    PubMed

    Saramunee, Kritsanee; Krska, Janet; Mackridge, Adam; Richards, Jacqueline; Suttajit, Siritree; Phillips-Howard, Penelope

    2014-01-01

    Community pharmacists (PHs) in England are increasingly providing a range of public health services. However, the general public view pharmacists as drug experts and not experts in health, and therefore, services may be underutilized. To explore experiences and views of 4 groups of participants, the general public, PHs, general practitioners (GPs), and other stakeholders (STs) on pharmacy-based public health services, and identify potential factors affecting service use. The study was undertaken in a locality of North West England. Three focus groups were conducted with the general public (n=16), grouped by socioeconomic status. Fourteen semistructured interviews were undertaken with PHs (n=9), GPs (n=2), and STs (n=3). Discussions/interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. All 4 groups of participants agreed that community pharmacies are a good source of advice on medicines and minor ailments but were less supportive of public health services. Six factors were identified affecting utilization of pharmacy services: community pharmacy environment, pharmacist and support staff, service publicity, general public, GP services, and health care system and policies. Crucial obstacles that could inhibit service utilization are perceptions of both the general public and other health providers toward pharmacists' competencies, privacy and confidentiality in pharmacies, high dispensing workload, and inadequate financial support. Networking between local health professionals could enhance confidence in service delivery, general awareness, and thus utilization. Community pharmacy has the potential to deliver public health services, although the impact on public health may be limited. Addressing the factors identified could help to increase utilization and impact of pharmacy public health services. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Electronic Health Records

    MedlinePlus

    ... Doctors and hospitals are turning to new health information technology, and while these changes won't happen overnight, they are coming. Understanding EHRs Electronic health records (EHR) — ... information like your age, gender, ethnicity, health history, medications, ...

  4. Implementing health information exchange for public health reporting: a comparison of decision and risk management of three regional health information organizations in New York state

    PubMed Central

    Phillips, Andrew B; Wilson, Rosalind V; Kaushal, Rainu; Merrill, Jacqueline A

    2014-01-01

    Health information exchange (HIE) is a significant component of healthcare transformation strategies at both the state and national levels. HIE is expected to improve care coordination, and advance public health, but implementation is massively complex and involves significant risk. In New York, three regional health information organizations (RHIOs) implemented an HIE use case for public health reporting by demonstrating capability to deliver accurate responses to electronic queries via a set of services called the Universal Public Health Node. We investigated process and outcomes of the implementation with a comparative case study. Qualitative analysis was structured around a decision and risk matrix. Although each RHIO had a unique operational model, two common factors influenced risk management and implementation success: leadership capable of agile decision-making and commitment to a strong organizational vision. While all three RHIOs achieved certification for the public health reporting, only one has elected to deploy a production version. PMID:23975626

  5. Towards public health decision support: a systematic review of bidirectional communication approaches

    PubMed Central

    Dixon, Brian E; Gamache, Roland E; Grannis, Shaun J

    2013-01-01

    Objective To summarize the literature describing computer-based interventions aimed at improving bidirectional communication between clinical and public health. Materials and Methods A systematic review of English articles using MEDLINE and Google Scholar. Search terms included public health, epidemiology, electronic health records, decision support, expert systems, and decision-making. Only articles that described the communication of information regarding emerging health threats from public health agencies to clinicians or provider organizations were included. Each article was independently reviewed by two authors. Results Ten peer-reviewed articles highlight a nascent but promising area of research and practice related to alerting clinicians about emerging threats. Current literature suggests that additional research and development in bidirectional communication infrastructure should focus on defining a coherent architecture, improving interoperability, establishing clear governance, and creating usable systems that will effectively deliver targeted, specific information to clinicians in support of patient and population decision-making. Conclusions Increasingly available clinical information systems make it possible to deliver timely, relevant knowledge to frontline clinicians in support of population health. Future work should focus on developing a flexible, interoperable infrastructure for bidirectional communications capable of integrating public health knowledge into clinical systems and workflows. PMID:23467470

  6. Towards public health decision support: a systematic review of bidirectional communication approaches.

    PubMed

    Dixon, Brian E; Gamache, Roland E; Grannis, Shaun J

    2013-05-01

    To summarize the literature describing computer-based interventions aimed at improving bidirectional communication between clinical and public health. A systematic review of English articles using MEDLINE and Google Scholar. Search terms included public health, epidemiology, electronic health records, decision support, expert systems, and decision-making. Only articles that described the communication of information regarding emerging health threats from public health agencies to clinicians or provider organizations were included. Each article was independently reviewed by two authors. Ten peer-reviewed articles highlight a nascent but promising area of research and practice related to alerting clinicians about emerging threats. Current literature suggests that additional research and development in bidirectional communication infrastructure should focus on defining a coherent architecture, improving interoperability, establishing clear governance, and creating usable systems that will effectively deliver targeted, specific information to clinicians in support of patient and population decision-making. Increasingly available clinical information systems make it possible to deliver timely, relevant knowledge to frontline clinicians in support of population health. Future work should focus on developing a flexible, interoperable infrastructure for bidirectional communications capable of integrating public health knowledge into clinical systems and workflows.

  7. Patient and public views about the security and privacy of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in the UK: results from a mixed methods study.

    PubMed

    Papoutsi, Chrysanthi; Reed, Julie E; Marston, Cicely; Lewis, Ruth; Majeed, Azeem; Bell, Derek

    2015-10-14

    Although policy discourses frame integrated Electronic Health Records (EHRs) as essential for contemporary healthcare systems, increased information sharing often raises concerns among patients and the public. This paper examines patient and public views about the security and privacy of EHRs used for health provision, research and policy in the UK. Sequential mixed methods study with a cross-sectional survey (in 2011) followed by focus group discussions (in 2012-2013). Survey participants (N = 5331) were recruited from primary and secondary care settings in West London (UK). Complete data for 2761 (51.8 %) participants were included in the final analysis for this paper. The survey results were discussed in 13 focus groups with people living with a range of different health conditions, and in 4 mixed focus groups with patients, health professionals and researchers (total N = 120). Qualitative data were analysed thematically. In the survey, 79 % of participants reported that they would worry about the security of their record if this was part of a national EHR system and 71 % thought the National Health Service (NHS) was unable to guarantee EHR safety at the time this work was carried out. Almost half (47 %) responded that EHRs would be less secure compared with the way their health record was held at the time of the survey. Of those who reported being worried about EHR security, many would nevertheless support their development (55 %), while 12 % would not support national EHRs and a sizeable proportion (33 %) were undecided. There were also variations by age, ethnicity and education. In focus group discussions participants weighed up perceived benefits against potential security and privacy threats from wider sharing of information, as well as discussing other perceived risks: commercial exploitation, lack of accountability, data inaccuracies, prejudice and inequalities in health provision. Patient and public worries about the security risks associated

  8. [Views of health system administrators, professionals, and users concerning the electronic health record and facilitators and obstacles to its implementation].

    PubMed

    Costa, Jose Felipe Riani; Portela, Margareth Crisóstomo

    2018-02-05

    The design and deployment of complex technologies like the electronic health record (EHR) involve technical, personal, social, and organizational issues. The Brazilian public and private scenario includes different local and regional initiatives for implementation of the electronic health record. The Brazilian Ministry of Health also has a proposal to develop a national EHR. The current study aimed to provide a comprehensive view of perceptions by health system administrators, professionals, and users concerning their experiences with the electronic health record and their opinions of the possibility of developing a national EHR. This qualitative study involved 28 semi-structured interviews. The results revealed both the diversity of factors that can influence the implementation of an electronic health record and the existence of convergences and aspects that tend to be valued differently according to the different points of view. Key aspects include discussions on the electronic health record's attributes and it impact on healthcare, especially in the case of local electronic health records, concerns over costs and confidentiality and privacy pertaining to electronic health records in general, and the possible implications of centralized versus decentralized data storage in the case of a national EHR. The interviews clearly showed the need to establish more effective communication among the various stakeholders, and that the different perspectives should be considered when drafting and deploying an EHR at the local, regional, and national levels.

  9. Training the public health workforce at the National School of Public Health: meeting Africa's needs.

    PubMed

    Mokwena, Kebogile; Mokgatle-Nthabu, Mathilda; Madiba, Sphiwe; Lewis, Helen; Ntuli-Ngcobo, Busi

    2008-01-01

    The inadequate number of trained public health personnel in Africa remains a challenge. In sub-Saharan Africa, the estimated workforce of public health practitioners is 1.3% of the world's health workforce addressing 25% of the world's burden of disease. To address this gap, the National School of Public Health at the then Medical University of Southern Africa created an innovative approach using distance learning components to deliver its public health programmes. Compulsory classroom teaching is limited to four two-week blocks. Combining mainly online components with traditional classroom curricula reduced limitations caused by geographical distances. At the same time, the curriculum was structured to contextualize continental health issues in both course work and research specific to students' needs. The approach used by the National School of Public Health allows for a steady increase in the number of public health personnel in Africa. Because of the flexible e-learning components and African-specific research projects, graduates from 16 African countries could benefit from this programme. An evaluation showed that such programmes need to constantly motivate participants to reduce student dropout rates and computer literacy needs to be a pre-requisite for entry into the programme. Short certificate courses in relevant public health areas would be beneficial in the African context. This programme could be replicated in other regions of the continent.

  10. Training of public health workforce at the National School of Public Health: meeting Africa's needs.

    PubMed

    Mokwena, Kebogile; Mokgatle-Nthabu, Mathilda; Madiba, Sphiwe; Lewis, Helen; Ntuli-Ngcobo, Busi

    2007-12-01

    The inadequate number of trained public health personnel in Africa remains a challenge. In sub-Saharan Africa, the estimated workforce of public health practitioners is 1.3% of the world's health workforce addressing 25% of the world's burden of disease. To address this gap, the National School of Public Health at the then Medical University of Southern Africa created an innovative approach using distance learning components to deliver its public health programmes. Compulsory classroom teaching is limited to four two-week blocks. RELEVABT CHANGES: Combining mainly online components with traditional classroom curricula reduced limitations caused by geographical distances. At the same time, the curriculum was structured to contextualize continental health issues in both course work and research specific to students' needs. The approach used by the National School of Public Health allows for a steady increase in the number of public health personnel in Africa. Because of the flexible e-learning components and African-specific research projects, graduates from 16 African countries could avail of this programme. An evaluation showed that such programmes need to constantly motivate participants to reduce student dropout rates and computer literacy needs to be a pre-requisite for entry into the programme. Short certificate courses in relevant public health areas would be beneficial in the African context. This programme could be replicated in other regions of the continent.

  11. Development of Systematic Knowledge Management for Public Health: A Public Health Law Ontology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keeling, Jonathan

    2012-01-01

    The Institute of Medicine has stated that legal structures and the authority vested in health agencies and other partners within the public health system are essential to improving the public's health. Variation between the laws of different jurisdictions within the United States allows for natural experimentation and research into their…

  12. The Australian general public's perceptions of having a personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR).

    PubMed

    Andrews, Lynda; Gajanayake, Randike; Sahama, Tony

    2014-12-01

    The move internationally by Governments and other health providers to encourage patients to have their own electronic personal health record (e-PHRs) is growing exponentially. In Australia the initiative for a personally controlled electronic health record (known as PCEHR) is directed towards the public at large. The first objective of this study then, is to examine how individuals in the general population perceive the promoted idea of having a PCEHR. The second objective is to extend research on applying a theoretically derived consumer technology acceptance model to guide the research. An online survey was conducted to capture the perceptions and beliefs about having a PCEHR identified from technology acceptance models and extant literature. The survey was completed by 750 Queensland respondents, 97% of whom did not have a PCEHR at that time. The model was examined using exploratory factor analysis, regressions and mediation tests. Findings support eight of the 11 hypothesised relationships in the model. Perceived value and perceived risk were the two most important variables explaining attitude, with perceived usefulness and compatibility being weak but significant. The perception of risk was reduced through partial mediation from trust and privacy concerns. Additionally, web-self efficacy and ease of use partially mediate the relationship between attitude and intentions. The findings represent a snapshot of the early stages of implementing this Australian initiative and capture the perceptions of Queenslanders who at present do not have a PCEHR. Findings show that while individuals appreciate the value of having this record, they do not appear to regard it as particularly useful at present, nor is it particularly compatible with their current engagement with e-services. Moreover, they will need to have any concerns about the risks alleviated, particularly through an increased sense of trust and reduction of privacy concerns. It is noted that although the

  13. Public Health Nursing: Public Health Centers

    Science.gov Websites

    Locations Anchorage-based Itinerants Bethel Craig Delta Junction Dillingham Fairbanks Homer Juneau Kenai agencies with state grant assistance Frontier Region Delta Junction Dillingham Fairbanks Kodiak Nome Tok [back to top] Delta Junction Public Health Center 2857 Alaska Hwy, Room 210 Delta Junction, Alaska 99737

  14. Public Health Literature Review of Fragile X Syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Raspa, Melissa; Wheeler, Anne C.; Riley, Catharine

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVES The purpose of this systematic literature review is to describe what is known about fragile X syndrome (FXS) and to identify research gaps. The results can be used to help inform future public health research and provide pediatricians with up-to-date information about the implications of the condition for individuals and their families. METHODS An electronic literature search was conducted, guided by a variety of key words. The search focused on 4 areas of both clinical and public health importance: (1) the full mutation phenotype, (2) developmental trajectories across the life span, (3) available interventions and treatments, and (4) impact on the family. A total of 661 articles were examined and 203 were included in the review. RESULTS The information is presented in the following categories: developmental profile (cognition, language, functional skills, and transition to adulthood), social-emotional profile (cooccurring psychiatric conditions and behavior problems), medical profile (physical features, seizures, sleep, health problems, and physiologic features), treatment and interventions (educational/behavioral, allied health services, and pharmacologic), and impact on the family (family environment and financial impact). Research gaps also are presented. CONCLUSIONS The identification and treatment of FXS remains an important public health and clinical concern. The information presented in this article provides a more robust understanding of FXS and the impact of this complex condition for pediatricians. Despite a wealth of information about the condition, much work remains to fully support affected individuals and their families. PMID:28814537

  15. Public Health Literature Review of Fragile X Syndrome.

    PubMed

    Raspa, Melissa; Wheeler, Anne C; Riley, Catharine

    2017-06-01

    The purpose of this systematic literature review is to describe what is known about fragile X syndrome (FXS) and to identify research gaps. The results can be used to help inform future public health research and provide pediatricians with up-to-date information about the implications of the condition for individuals and their families. An electronic literature search was conducted, guided by a variety of key words. The search focused on 4 areas of both clinical and public health importance: (1) the full mutation phenotype, (2) developmental trajectories across the life span, (3) available interventions and treatments, and (4) impact on the family. A total of 661 articles were examined and 203 were included in the review. The information is presented in the following categories: developmental profile (cognition, language, functional skills, and transition to adulthood), social-emotional profile (cooccurring psychiatric conditions and behavior problems), medical profile (physical features, seizures, sleep, health problems, and physiologic features), treatment and interventions (educational/behavioral, allied health services, and pharmacologic), and impact on the family (family environment and financial impact). Research gaps also are presented. The identification and treatment of FXS remains an important public health and clinical concern. The information presented in this article provides a more robust understanding of FXS and the impact of this complex condition for pediatricians. Despite a wealth of information about the condition, much work remains to fully support affected individuals and their families. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  16. Wisconsin’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network: Information Systems Design for Childhood Cancer Surveillance

    PubMed Central

    Hanrahan, Lawrence P.; Anderson, Henry A.; Busby, Brian; Bekkedal, Marni; Sieger, Thomas; Stephenson, Laura; Knobeloch, Lynda; Werner, Mark; Imm, Pamela; Olson, Joseph

    2004-01-01

    In this article we describe the development of an information system for environmental childhood cancer surveillance. The Wisconsin Cancer Registry annually receives more than 25,000 incident case reports. Approximately 269 cases per year involve children. Over time, there has been considerable community interest in understanding the role the environment plays as a cause of these cancer cases. Wisconsin’s Public Health Information Network (WI-PHIN) is a robust web portal integrating both Health Alert Network and National Electronic Disease Surveillance System components. WI-PHIN is the information technology platform for all public health surveillance programs. Functions include the secure, automated exchange of cancer case data between public health–based and hospital-based cancer registrars; web-based supplemental data entry for environmental exposure confirmation and hypothesis testing; automated data analysis, visualization, and exposure–outcome record linkage; directories of public health and clinical personnel for role-based access control of sensitive surveillance information; public health information dissemination and alerting; and information technology security and critical infrastructure protection. For hypothesis generation, cancer case data are sent electronically to WI-PHIN and populate the integrated data repository. Environmental data are linked and the exposure–disease relationships are explored using statistical tools for ecologic exposure risk assessment. For hypothesis testing, case–control interviews collect exposure histories, including parental employment and residential histories. This information technology approach can thus serve as the basis for building a comprehensive system to assess environmental cancer etiology. PMID:15471739

  17. New paradigms for measuring clinical performance using electronic health records.

    PubMed

    Weiner, Jonathan P; Fowles, Jinnet B; Chan, Kitty S

    2012-06-01

    Measures of provider success are the centerpiece of quality improvement and pay-for-performance programs around the globe. In most nations, these measures are derived from administrative records, paper charts and consumer surveys; increasingly, electronic patient record systems are also being used. We use the term 'e-QMs' to describe quality measures that are based on data found within electronic health records and other related health information technology (HIT). We offer a framework or typology for e-QMs and describe opportunities and impediments associated with the transition from old to new If public and private systems of care are to effectively use HIT to support and evaluate health-care system quality and safety, the quality measurement field must embrace new paradigms and strategically address a series of technical, conceptual and practical challenges.

  18. 77 FR 38296 - Draft Public Health Action Plan-A National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-06-27

    ...-2012-0004] Draft Public Health Action Plan--A National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection...), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Extension of public comment period. SUMMARY: On May 16... National Public Health Action Plan for the Detection, Prevention, and Management of Infertility (77 FR...

  19. Assuring the privacy and security of transmitting sensitive electronic health information.

    PubMed

    Peng, Charlie; Kesarinath, Gautam; Brinks, Tom; Young, James; Groves, David

    2009-11-14

    The interchange of electronic health records between healthcare providers and public health organizations has become an increasingly desirable tool in reducing healthcare costs, improving healthcare quality, and protecting population health. Assuring privacy and security in nationwide sharing of Electronic Health Records (EHR) in an environment such as GRID has become a top challenge and concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) and The Science Application International Corporation (SAIC) have jointly conducted a proof of concept study to find and build a common secure and reliable messaging platform (the SRM Platform) to handle this challenge. The SRM Platform is built on the open standards of OASIS, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) web-services standards, and Web Services Interoperability (WS-I) specifications to provide the secure transport of sensitive EHR or electronic medical records (EMR). Transmitted data may be in any digital form including text, data, and binary files, such as images. This paper identifies the business use cases, architecture, test results, and new connectivity options for disparate health networks among PHIN, NHIN, Grid, and others.

  20. 21 CFR 10.205 - Electronic media coverage of public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Electronic media coverage of public administrative... SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media Coverage of Public Administrative Proceedings; Guideline on Policy and Procedures § 10.205 Electronic media coverage of public administrative...

  1. 21 CFR 10.205 - Electronic media coverage of public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Electronic media coverage of public administrative... SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media Coverage of Public Administrative Proceedings; Guideline on Policy and Procedures § 10.205 Electronic media coverage of public administrative...

  2. 21 CFR 10.205 - Electronic media coverage of public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Electronic media coverage of public administrative... SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media Coverage of Public Administrative Proceedings; Guideline on Policy and Procedures § 10.205 Electronic media coverage of public administrative...

  3. 21 CFR 10.205 - Electronic media coverage of public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Electronic media coverage of public administrative... SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media Coverage of Public Administrative Proceedings; Guideline on Policy and Procedures § 10.205 Electronic media coverage of public administrative...

  4. 21 CFR 10.205 - Electronic media coverage of public administrative proceedings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Electronic media coverage of public administrative... SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES Electronic Media Coverage of Public Administrative Proceedings; Guideline on Policy and Procedures § 10.205 Electronic media coverage of public administrative...

  5. Trauma is a public health issue.

    PubMed

    Magruder, Kathryn M; McLaughlin, Katie A; Elmore Borbon, Diane L

    2017-01-01

    Exposure to trauma is pervasive in societies worldwide and is associated with substantial costs to the individual and society, making it a significant global public health concern. We present evidence for trauma as a public health issue by highlighting the role of characteristics operating at multiple levels of influence - individual, relationship, community, and society - as explanatory factors in both the occurrence of trauma and its sequelae. Within the context of this multi-level framework, we highlight targets for prevention of trauma and its downstream consequences and provide examples of where public health approaches to prevention have met with success. Finally, we describe the essential role of public health policies in addressing trauma as a global public health issue, including key challenges for global mental health and next steps for developing and implementing a trauma-informed public health policy agenda. A public health framework is critical for understanding risk and protective factors for trauma and its aftermath operating at multiple levels of influence and generating opportunities for prevention.

  6. PPACA and public health: creating a framework to focus on prevention and wellness and improve the public's health.

    PubMed

    Majette, Gwendolyn Roberts

    2011-01-01

    PPACA epitomizes comprehensive health care reform legislation. Public health, disease prevention, and wellness were integral considerations in its development. This article reveals the author's personal experiences while working on the framework for health care reform in the United States Senate and reviews activity in the United States House of Representatives. This insider's perspective delineates PPACA's positive effect on public health by examining the infrastructure Congress designed to focus on prevention, wellness, and public health, with a particular focus on the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council; the National Prevention, Health Promotion, Public Health, and Integrative Health Care Strategy; and the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Council, strategy, and fund are especially important because they reflect compliance with some of the Institute of Medicine's recommendations to improve public health in the United States, as well as international health and human rights norms that protect the right to health. © 2011 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

  7. One Health Perspectives on Emerging Public Health Threats

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases, including avian influenza, Ebola virus disease, and Zika virus disease have significantly affected humankind in recent years. In the premodern era, no distinction was made between animal and human medicine. However, as medical science developed, the gap between human and animal science grew deeper. Cooperation among human, animal, and environmental sciences to combat emerging public health threats has become an important issue under the One Health Initiative. Herein, we presented the history of One Health, reviewed current public health threats, and suggested opportunities for the field of public health through better understanding of the One Health paradigm. PMID:29207450

  8. Climate Change and Public Health.

    PubMed

    Ciesielski, Timothy

    2017-05-01

    It is clear that the public health community is concerned about the human health impacts of climate change, but are we inadvertently underestimating the scope of the problem and obfuscating potentially useful interventions by using a narrow intellectual frame in our discussions with policy makers? If we take a more holistic approach, we see that the public health impacts of climate change are only one subset of the enormous public health impacts of fossil fuel burning. This broader perspective can provide a more accurate and comprehensive assessment that is more useful for decision making in public policy settings.

  9. The health care home model: primary health care meeting public health goals.

    PubMed

    Grant, Roy; Greene, Danielle

    2012-06-01

    In November 2010, the American Public Health Association endorsed the health care home model as an important way that primary care may contribute to meeting the public health goals of increasing access to care, reducing health disparities, and better integrating health care with public health systems. Here we summarize the elements of the health care home (also called the medical home) model, evidence for its clinical and public health efficacy, and its place within the context of health care reform legislation. The model also has limitations, especially with regard to its degree of involvement with the communities in which care is delivered. Several actions could be undertaken to further develop, implement, and sustain the health care home.

  10. Enhancing crisis leadership in public health emergencies.

    PubMed

    Deitchman, Scott

    2013-10-01

    Reviews of public health emergency responses have identified a need for crisis leadership skills in health leaders, but these skills are not routinely taught in public health curricula. To develop criteria for crisis leadership in public health, published sources were reviewed to identify attributes of successful crisis leadership in aviation, public safety, military operations, and mining. These sources were abstracted to identify crisis leadership attributes associated with those disciplines and compare those attributes with crisis leadership challenges in public health. Based on this review, the following attributes are proposed for crisis leadership in public health: competence in public health science; decisiveness with flexibility; ability to maintain situational awareness and provide situational assessment; ability to coordinate diverse participants across very different disciplines; communication skills; and the ability to inspire trust. Of these attributes, only competence in public health science is currently a goal of public health education. Strategies to teach the other proposed attributes of crisis leadership will better prepare public health leaders to meet the challenges of public health crises.

  11. Building Public Health Ontario: experience in developing a new public health agency.

    PubMed

    Goel, Vivek

    2012-06-05

    The history and development of Ontario's new public health agency, Public Health Ontario, is explored. The governance model and organizational structure are identified along with an overview of the relationship with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The strategic mission and vision are described as are the key functions. The building of the organization through new investments and divestments is explained. The paper concludes with an overview of the challenges encountered and the opportunities ahead.

  12. Understanding the public's health problems: applications of symbolic interaction to public health.

    PubMed

    Maycock, Bruce

    2015-01-01

    Public health has typically investigated health issues using methods from the positivistic paradigm. Yet these approaches, although they are able to quantify the problem, may not be able to explain the social reasons of why the problem exists or the impact on those affected. This article will provide a brief overview of a sociological theory that provides methods and a theoretical framework that has proven useful in understanding public health problems and developing interventions. © 2014 APJPH.

  13. Surfing the net for public health resources.

    PubMed

    Angell, C; Hemingway, A; Hartwell, H

    2011-08-01

    To identify public health open educational resources (OER) available online, map the identified OER to The Public Health Skills and Career Framework (PHSCF), and triangulate these findings with public health practitioners. Systematic online search for public health OER. An online search was undertaken using a pre-defined set of search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Public health OER were then mapped against the UK PHSCF. The findings of the search were discussed with public health specialists to determine whether or not they used these resources. A number of public health OER were identified, located on 42 websites from around the world. Mapping against the UK PHSCF demonstrated a lack of coverage in some areas of public health education. It was noted that many of the OER websites identified were not those generally used in practice, and those sites preferred by public health specialists were not identified by the online search. Public health OER are available from a number of providers, frequently universities and government organizations. However, these reflect a relatively small pool of original OER providers. Tagging of websites does not always identify their public health content. In addition, users of public health OER may not use search engines to identify resources but locate them using other means. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Electronic health record meets digital library: a new environment for achieving an old goal.

    PubMed

    Humphreys, B L

    2000-01-01

    Linking the electronic health record to the digital library is a Web-era reformulation of the long-standing informatics goal of seamless integration of automated clinical data and relevant knowledge-based information to support informed decisions. The spread of the Internet, the development of the World Wide Web, and converging format standards for electronic health data and digital publications make effective linking increasingly feasible. Some existing systems link electronic health data and knowledge-based information in limited settings or limited ways. Yet many challenging informatics research problems remain to be solved before flexible and seamless linking becomes a reality and before systems become capable of delivering the specific piece of information needed at the time and place a decision must be made. Connecting the electronic health record to the digital library also requires positive resolution of important policy issues, including health data privacy, government encouragement of high-speed communications, electronic intellectual property rights, and standards for health data and for digital libraries. Both the research problems and the policy issues should be important priorities for the field of medical informatics.

  15. The State Public Health Laboratory System.

    PubMed

    Inhorn, Stanley L; Astles, J Rex; Gradus, Stephen; Malmberg, Veronica; Snippes, Paula M; Wilcke, Burton W; White, Vanessa A

    2010-01-01

    This article describes the development since 2000 of the State Public Health Laboratory System in the United States. These state systems collectively are related to several other recent public health laboratory (PHL) initiatives. The first is the Core Functions and Capabilities of State Public Health Laboratories, a white paper that defined the basic responsibilities of the state PHL. Another is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Laboratory System (NLS) initiative, the goal of which is to promote public-private collaboration to assure quality laboratory services and public health surveillance. To enhance the realization of the NLS, the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) launched in 2004 a State Public Health Laboratory System Improvement Program. In the same year, APHL developed a Comprehensive Laboratory Services Survey, a tool to measure improvement through the decade to assure that essential PHL services are provided.

  16. Electronic cigarette: a threat or an opportunity for public health? State of the art and future perspectives.

    PubMed

    Protano, C; Di Milia, L M; Orsi, G B; Vitali, M

    2015-01-01

    The e-cigarette, also known as e-cig, represents an emerging issue of great concern for public health. The aim of the present report was to explore the scientific literature about the use of electronic cigarette (e-cig), with a particular reference to the features of "toxicological safety", "effectiveness in overcoming the addiction to smoking the traditional cigarette" and "necessary research agenda". The efficacy of e-cig for smoking cessation is uncertain: some authors found that it can be a valid support, but long-term cessation rate has not be assessed. Other studies evidenced that e-cig is often used not for quitting smoking but to avoid smoking ban for traditional cigarettes and, even, some researches evidenced that it appears to contribute to nicotine addiction. E-cig smoking seems to be less dangerous of conventional cigarettes, but its use is not risk-free. Besides, cases of accidental or intentional poisoning with liquid solutions of e-cig have been reported. Also, the smoke of e-cig decreases indoor air quality, releasing particulate matter and other toxics that can persist on surfaces for days and generating passive exposure. These phenomena are similar to environmental tobacco smoke produced by conventional smoking, that is the sum of second- and third-hand smoke. We propose to call them "environmental electronic smoke", "electronic-second- hand smoke" and "electronic-third-hand smoke", respectively. Uncertainties relating to e-cig features determined the sequence, in the short term, of warnings and regulations approved and then replaced. In conclusion, although in recent years many researches were performed, evidences is limited and there is a need to study in deep all these issues.

  17. Factors influencing women's utilization of public health care services during childbirth in Malawi Public health facility utilization.

    PubMed

    Machira, Kennedy; Palamuleni, Martin

    2017-06-01

    Maternal mortality remains a public health challenge claiming many lives at the time of giving birth lives. However, there have been scanty studies investigating factors influencing women's use of public health facilities during childbirth. The aim of the study was to explore the factors associated with women choice of public health facility during childbirth. The study used 2010 Malawi Demographic Health Survey dataset and a binary logistics regression analysis to estimate the determinants influencing women's use of public health facilities at the time they give birth. Of 23020 women respondents, 8454(36.7%) chose to give birth in public health facilities. Multivariate analysis reported that frequency of antenatal care (ANC), birth order, women's education, wealth status and quality of care were the major predictors increasing women's choice to use public health facilities at childbirth. There is need to use multimedia approach to engage women on significance of utilizing public health facilities during childbirth and promote quality of care in facilities if their health outcome is to improve in Malawi.

  18. Ethics in public health: call for shared moral public health literacy.

    PubMed

    Maeckelberghe, Els L M; Schröder-Bäck, Peter

    2017-10-01

    Public Health (PH) in Europe has become much more vocal about its moral understandings since 1992. The rising awareness that PH issues were inseparable from issues of human rights and social justice almost self-evidently directed the agenda of EUPHA and the European Public Health (EPH)-conferences. Problems of cultural and behavioural change, and environmental issues on a global scale were also added. The Section Ethics in PH invited the EPH community to join in 'arm chair thinking': coming together at conferences not only to share the 'how' and 'what' of PH research, practices and policies but also the 'why'. Time has been reserved to genuinely discuss what moral values are at stake in the work of PH and to actively develop a moral language and framework for PH Ethics. The challenge for the next decades is to find ways to involve the general public in the cultivation of a shared moral PH literacy. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  19. Public health, GIS, and the internet.

    PubMed

    Croner, Charles M

    2003-01-01

    Internet access and use of georeferenced public health information for GIS application will be an important and exciting development for the nation's Department of Health and Human Services and other health agencies in this new millennium. Technological progress toward public health geospatial data integration, analysis, and visualization of space-time events using the Web portends eventual robust use of GIS by public health and other sectors of the economy. Increasing Web resources from distributed spatial data portals and global geospatial libraries, and a growing suite of Web integration tools, will provide new opportunities to advance disease surveillance, control, and prevention, and insure public access and community empowerment in public health decision making. Emerging supercomputing, data mining, compression, and transmission technologies will play increasingly critical roles in national emergency, catastrophic planning and response, and risk management. Web-enabled public health GIS will be guided by Federal Geographic Data Committee spatial metadata, OpenGIS Web interoperability, and GML/XML geospatial Web content standards. Public health will become a responsive and integral part of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.

  20. Intercultural Competency in Public Health: A Call for Action to Incorporate Training into Public Health Education

    PubMed Central

    Fleckman, Julia M.; Dal Corso, Mark; Ramirez, Shokufeh; Begalieva, Maya; Johnson, Carolyn C.

    2015-01-01

    Due to increasing national diversity, programs addressing cultural competence have multiplied in U.S. medical training institutions. Although these programs share common goals for improving clinical care for patients and reducing health disparities, there is little standardization across programs. Furthermore, little progress has been made to translate cultural competency training from the clinical setting into the public health setting where the focus is on population-based health, preventative programming, and epidemiological and behavioral research. The need for culturally relevant public health programming and culturally sensitive public health research is more critical than ever. Awareness of differing cultures needs to be included in all processes of planning, implementation and evaluation. By focusing on community-based health program planning and research, cultural competence implies that it is possible for public health professionals to completely know another culture, whereas intercultural competence implies it is a dual-sided process. Public health professionals need a commitment toward intercultural competence and skills that demonstrate flexibility, openness, and self-reflection so that cultural learning is possible. In this article, the authors recommend a number of elements to develop, adapt, and strengthen intercultural competence education in public health educational institutions. PMID:26389109

  1. Intercultural Competency in Public Health: A Call for Action to Incorporate Training into Public Health Education.

    PubMed

    Fleckman, Julia M; Dal Corso, Mark; Ramirez, Shokufeh; Begalieva, Maya; Johnson, Carolyn C

    2015-01-01

    Due to increasing national diversity, programs addressing cultural competence have multiplied in U.S. medical training institutions. Although these programs share common goals for improving clinical care for patients and reducing health disparities, there is little standardization across programs. Furthermore, little progress has been made to translate cultural competency training from the clinical setting into the public health setting where the focus is on population-based health, preventative programming, and epidemiological and behavioral research. The need for culturally relevant public health programming and culturally sensitive public health research is more critical than ever. Awareness of differing cultures needs to be included in all processes of planning, implementation and evaluation. By focusing on community-based health program planning and research, cultural competence implies that it is possible for public health professionals to completely know another culture, whereas intercultural competence implies it is a dual-sided process. Public health professionals need a commitment toward intercultural competence and skills that demonstrate flexibility, openness, and self-reflection so that cultural learning is possible. In this article, the authors recommend a number of elements to develop, adapt, and strengthen intercultural competence education in public health educational institutions.

  2. Housing and Health: Time Again for Public Health Action

    PubMed Central

    Krieger, James; Higgins, Donna L.

    2002-01-01

    Poor housing conditions are associated with a wide range of health conditions, including respiratory infections, asthma, lead poisoning, injuries, and mental health. Addressing housing issues offers public health practitioners an opportunity to address an important social determinant of health. Public health has long been involved in housing issues. In the 19th century, health officials targeted poor sanitation, crowding, and inadequate ventilation to reduce infectious diseases as well as fire hazards to decrease injuries. Today, public health departments can employ multiple strategies to improve housing, such as developing and enforcing housing guidelines and codes, implementing “Healthy Homes” programs to improve indoor environmental quality, assessing housing conditions, and advocating for healthy, affordable housing. Now is the time for public health to create healthier homes by confronting substandard housing. PMID:11988443

  3. Missed Policy Opportunities to Advance Health Equity by Recording Demographic Data in Electronic Health Records

    PubMed Central

    Dawes, Daniel E.; Holden, Kisha B.; Mack, Dominic

    2015-01-01

    The science of eliminating health disparities is complex and dependent on demographic data. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) encourages the adoption of electronic health records and requires basic demographic data collection; however, current data generated are insufficient to address known health disparities in vulnerable populations, including individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, with disabilities, and with diverse sexual identities. We conducted an administrative history of HITECH and identified gaps between the policy objective and required measure. We identified 20 opportunities for change and 5 changes, 2 of which required the collection of less data. Until health care demographic data collection requirements are consistent with public health requirements, the national goal of eliminating health disparities cannot be realized. PMID:25905840

  4. Public health workforce: challenges and policy issues

    PubMed Central

    Beaglehole, Robert; Dal Poz, Mario R

    2003-01-01

    This paper reviews the challenges facing the public health workforce in developing countries and the main policy issues that must be addressed in order to strengthen the public health workforce. The public health workforce is diverse and includes all those whose prime responsibility is the provision of core public health activities, irrespective of their organizational base. Although the public health workforce is central to the performance of health systems, very little is known about its composition, training or performance. The key policy question is: Should governments invest more in building and supporting the public health workforce and infrastructure to ensure the more effective functioning of health systems? Other questions concern: the nature of the public health workforce, including its size, composition, skills, training needs, current functions and performance; the appropriate roles of the workforce; and how the workforce can be strengthened to support new approaches to priority health problems. The available evidence to shed light on these policy issues is limited. The World Health Organization is supporting the development of evidence to inform discussion on the best approaches to strengthening public health capacity in developing countries. WHO's priorities are to build an evidence base on the size and structure of the public health workforce, beginning with ongoing data collection activities, and to map the current public health training programmes in developing countries and in Central and Eastern Europe. Other steps will include developing a consensus on the desired functions and activities of the public health workforce and developing a framework and methods for assisting countries to assess and enhance the performance of public health training institutions and of the public health workforce. PMID:12904251

  5. Why feminism in public health?

    PubMed

    Hammarström, A

    1999-12-01

    The issues raised in this editorial and exemplified within a number of the studies reported in this issue indicate new directions for public health, directions which take feminist scholarship, both outside and within the medical framework, into account. The changing potential of feminist public health, as derived from the articles in this issue, can be summarised within the following issues: new research areas, positioning women as actors, development of theoretical frameworks, reflexive theory of science, interplay between sex and gender, gender-sensitive methods, diversities among women/men, pro-feminist research on men's health and using the results for change. Thus, feminist public health represents a shift towards the new public health, with holistic and multidisciplinary activities, based on theoretical pluralism, multiple perspectives and collective actions with the aim of improving the health of gender-subordinated groups.

  6. Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity

    PubMed Central

    Hahn, Robert A.; Truman, Benedict I.

    2015-01-01

    This article describes a framework and empirical evidence to support the argument that educational programs and policies are crucial public health interventions. Concepts of education and health are developed and linked, and we review a wide range of empirical studies to clarify pathways of linkage and explore implications. Basic educational expertise and skills, including fundamental knowledge, reasoning ability, emotional self-regulation, and interactional abilities, are critical components of health. Moreover, education is a fundamental social determinant of health – an upstream cause of health. Programs that close gaps in educational outcomes between low-income or racial and ethnic minority populations and higher-income or majority populations are needed to promote health equity. Public health policy makers, health practitioners and educators, and departments of health and education can collaborate to implement educational programs and policies for which systematic evidence indicates clear public health benefits. PMID:25995305

  7. Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity.

    PubMed

    Hahn, Robert A; Truman, Benedict I

    2015-01-01

    This article describes a framework and empirical evidence to support the argument that educational programs and policies are crucial public health interventions. Concepts of education and health are developed and linked, and we review a wide range of empirical studies to clarify pathways of linkage and explore implications. Basic educational expertise and skills, including fundamental knowledge, reasoning ability, emotional self-regulation, and interactional abilities, are critical components of health. Moreover, education is a fundamental social determinant of health - an upstream cause of health. Programs that close gaps in educational outcomes between low-income or racial and ethnic minority populations and higher-income or majority populations are needed to promote health equity. Public health policy makers, health practitioners and educators, and departments of health and education can collaborate to implement educational programs and policies for which systematic evidence indicates clear public health benefits. © The Author(s) 2015.

  8. 40 CFR 158.2204 - Public health and nonpublic health claims.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... Public health and nonpublic health claims. (a) Public health claim. An antimicrobial pesticide is considered to make a public health claim if the pesticide product bears a claim to control pest microorganisms that pose a threat to human health, and whose presence cannot readily be observed by the user...

  9. 40 CFR 158.2204 - Public health and nonpublic health claims.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... Public health and nonpublic health claims. (a) Public health claim. An antimicrobial pesticide is considered to make a public health claim if the pesticide product bears a claim to control pest microorganisms that pose a threat to human health, and whose presence cannot readily be observed by the user...

  10. Public health preparedness: evolution or revolution?

    PubMed

    Lurie, Nicole; Wasserman, Jeffrey; Nelson, Christopher D

    2006-01-01

    The recent emphasis on preparedness has created heightened expectations and has raised questions about the extent to which U.S. public health systems have evolved in recent years. This paper describes how public health preparedness is transforming public health agencies. Key signs of change include new partnerships, changes in the workforce, new technologies, and evolving organizational structures. Each of these elements has had some positive impact on public health; however, integration of preparedness with other public health functions remains challenging. The preparedness mission has also raised challenges in the areas of leadership, governance, quality, and accountability.

  11. Applications of health information exchange information to public health practice.

    PubMed

    Kierkegaard, Patrick; Kaushal, Rainu; Vest, Joshua R

    2014-01-01

    Increased information availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness through health information exchange (HIE) can support public health practice. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served as an important justification for the US' investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature. However, no single department realized all the potential benefits of HIE identified. These findings suggest ways to improve HIE usage in public health.

  12. Applications of Health Information Exchange Information to Public Health Practice

    PubMed Central

    Kierkegaard, Patrick; Kaushal, Rainu; Vest, Joshua R

    2014-01-01

    Increased information availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness through health information exchange (HIE) can support public health practice. The potential benefits to disease monitoring, disaster response, and other public health activities served as an important justification for the US’ investments in HIE. After several years of HIE implementation and funding, we sought to determine if any of the anticipated benefits of exchange participation were accruing to state and local public health practitioners participating in five different exchanges. Using qualitative interviews and template analyses, we identified public health efforts and activities that were improved by participation in HIE. HIE supported public health activities consistent with expectations in the literature. However, no single department realized all the potential benefits of HIE identified. These findings suggest ways to improve HIE usage in public health. PMID:25954386

  13. The Public Health Challenge.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ember, Lois R.

    1987-01-01

    Discussed are public health challenges related to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). A major challenge is changing habits and damping incipient fear. Education is considered by some to be one of the major public health weapons. Described are various programs, legal issues, and policies being considered and implemented. (RH)

  14. Development of a new graduate public health nurse residency program using the core competencies of public health nursing.

    PubMed

    Larsen, Rachelle; Ashley, Julia; Ellens, Tess; Frauendienst, Renee; Jorgensen-Royce, Karen; Zelenak, Mary

    2018-06-27

    Due to the continued shortage of public health nurses, some local public health agencies have begun hiring new graduate baccalaureate nurses into the public health nurse role. These new graduates require an increased level of support for transition to practice. The goal of this project was creation of a transition to practice program designed specifically to meet the needs of new graduates hired in public health settings. The core competencies of public health nursing were used as a framework to develop this residency program. A group of public health staff, supervisors, and faculty met monthly for three years to develop this program. Key features include general orientation, preceptors, looping experiences, case studies and peer support. The program is available as a web resource beginning spring 2018. In order to evaluate this program, data on job satisfaction, employee retention and level of competence in the core competencies of public health will occur using instruments administered prior to beginning and immediately following completion of the new graduate residency. The components of the program mirror best practices for new graduate residencies and are based on core competencies for public health nursing. This residency program is an important step for enhancing the professional development of new baccalaureate graduates in public health settings, and preparing the next generation of public health nurses. Through the increased support and intentional education of the residency program, public health agencies will be able to attract and retain new graduates who develop the essential knowledge and skills to provide safe and effective care in the public health setting. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Influencing public health without authority.

    PubMed

    Suresh, K

    2012-01-01

    This paper analyzes the present processes, products and needs of post-graduate public health education for the health programming, implementation and oversight responsibilities at field level and suggests some solutions for the institutes to adopt or adapt for improving the quality of their scholars. Large number of institutions has cropped up in India in the recent years to meet the growing demand of public health specialists/practitioners in various national health projects, international development partners, national and international NGOs. Throwing open MPH courses to multi-disciplinary graduate's is a new phenomenon in India and may be a two edged sword. On one hand it is advantageous to produce multi-faceted Public health postgraduates to meet the multi tasking required, on the other hand getting all of them to a common basic understanding, demystifying technical teaching and churning out products that are acceptable to the traditional health system. These Institutions can and must influence public health in the country through producing professionals of MPH/ MD degree with right attitude and skill-mix. Engaging learners in experimentation, experience sharing projects, stepping into health professionals' roles and similar activities lead to development of relatively clear and permanent neural traces in the brain. The MPH institutes may not have all efficient faculties, for which they should try to achieve this by inviting veterans in public health and professionals from corporate health industry for interface with students on a regular basis. The corporate and public health stalwarts have the capacities to transmit the winning skills and knowledge and also inspire them to adopt or adapt in order to achieve the desired goals.

  16. Public health financial management needs: report of a national survey.

    PubMed

    Costich, Julia F; Honoré, Peggy A; Scutchfield, F Douglas

    2009-01-01

    The work reported here builds on the identification of public health financial management practice competencies by a national expert panel. The next logical step was to provide a validity check for the competencies and identify priority areas for educational programming. We developed a survey for local public health finance officers based on the public health finance competencies and field tested it with a convenience sample of officials. We asked respondents to indicate the importance of each competency area and the need for training to improve performance; we also requested information regarding respondent education, jurisdiction size, and additional comments. Our local agency survey sample drew on the respondent list from the National Association of County and City Health Officials 2005 local health department survey, stratified by agency size and limited to jurisdiction populations of 25,000 to 1,000,000. Identifying appropriate respondents was a major challenge. The survey was fielded electronically, yielding 112 responses from 30 states. The areas identified as most important and needing most additional training were knowledge of budget activities, financial data interpretation and communication, and ability to assess and correct the organization's financial status. The majority of respondents had some postbaccalaureate education. Many provided additional comments and recommendations. Health department finance officers demonstrated a high level of general agreement regarding the importance of finance competencies in public health and the need for training. The findings point to a critical need for additional training opportunities that are accessible, cost-effective, and targeted to individual needs.

  17. 4 CFR 201.3 - Publicly available documents and electronic reading room.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 4 Accounts 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Publicly available documents and electronic reading room. 201.3 Section 201.3 Accounts RECOVERY ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD PUBLIC INFORMATION AND REQUESTS § 201.3 Publicly available documents and electronic reading room. (a) Many Board records are available electronically at the Board's Web sit...

  18. 4 CFR 201.3 - Publicly available documents and electronic reading room.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 4 Accounts 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Publicly available documents and electronic reading room. 201.3 Section 201.3 Accounts RECOVERY ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD PUBLIC INFORMATION AND REQUESTS § 201.3 Publicly available documents and electronic reading room. (a) Many Board records are available electronically at the Board's Web sit...

  19. 4 CFR 201.3 - Publicly available documents and electronic reading room.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 4 Accounts 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Publicly available documents and electronic reading room. 201.3 Section 201.3 Accounts RECOVERY ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD PUBLIC INFORMATION AND REQUESTS § 201.3 Publicly available documents and electronic reading room. (a) Many Board records are available electronically at the Board's Web sit...

  20. 4 CFR 201.3 - Publicly available documents and electronic reading room.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 4 Accounts 1 2014-01-01 2013-01-01 true Publicly available documents and electronic reading room. 201.3 Section 201.3 Accounts RECOVERY ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD PUBLIC INFORMATION AND REQUESTS § 201.3 Publicly available documents and electronic reading room. (a) Many Board records are available electronically at the Board's Web site...

  1. Twitter and Public Health (Part 1): How Individual Public Health Professionals Use Twitter for Professional Development.

    PubMed

    Hart, Mark; Stetten, Nichole E; Islam, Sabrina; Pizarro, Katherine

    2017-09-20

    The use of social networking sites is increasingly being adopted in public health, in part, because of the barriers to funding and reduced resources. Public health professionals are using social media platforms, specifically Twitter, as a way to facilitate professional development. The objective of this study was to identify public health professionals using Twitter and to analyze how they use this platform to enhance their formal and informal professional development within the context of public health. Keyword searches were conducted to identify and invite potential participants to complete a survey related to their use of Twitter for public health and professional experiences. Data regarding demographic attributes, Twitter usage, and qualitative information were obtained through an anonymous Web-based survey. Open-response survey questions were analyzed using the constant comparison method. "Using Twitter makes it easier to expand my networking opportunities" and "I find Twitter useful for professional development" scored highest, with a mean score of 4.57 (standard deviation [SD] 0.74) and 4.43 (SD 0.76) on a 5-point Likert scale. Analysis of the qualitative data shows the emergence of the following themes for why public health professionals mostly use Twitter: (1) geography, (2) continuing education, (3) professional gain, and (4) communication. For public health professionals in this study, Twitter is a platform best used for their networking and professional development. Furthermore, the use of Twitter allows public health professionals to overcome a series of barriers and enhances opportunities for growth. ©Mark Hart, Nichole E Stetten, Sabrina Islam, Katherine Pizarro. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 20.09.2017.

  2. Public health terminology: Hindrance to a Health in All Policies approach?

    PubMed

    Synnevåg, Ellen S; Amdam, Roar; Fosse, Elisabeth

    2018-02-01

    National public health policies in Norway are based on a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach. At the local level, this means that public health, as a cross-sectional responsibility, should be implemented in all municipal sectors by integrating public health policies in municipal planning and management systems. The paper investigates these local processes, focusing on the use of public health terminology and how this terminology is translated from national to local contexts. We ask whether the terms 'public health' and 'public health work' are suitable when implementing an HiAP approach. A qualitative case study based on analyses of interviews and planning documents was performed in three Norwegian municipalities. The results present dilemmas associated with using public health terminology when implementing an HiAP approach. On the one hand, the terms are experienced as wide, complex, advanced and unnecessary. On the other hand, the terms are experienced as important for a systematic approach towards understanding public health ideology and cross-sectional responsibility. One municipality used alternative terminology. This paper promotes debate about the appropriateness of using the terms 'public health' and 'public health work' at the local level. It suggests that adaptation is suitable and necessary, unless it compromises knowledge, responsibility and a systematic approach. This study concludes that the use of terminology is a central factor when implementing the Norwegian Public Health Act at the local level.

  3. Public health challenges in sun protection.

    PubMed

    Eide, Melody J; Weinstock, Martin A

    2006-01-01

    Sunscreens are a popular choice for protection from ultraviolet radiation, and hence, important components in the public health campaign to reduce the burden of skin cancer. Public health messages in skin cancer prevention have been used effectively in educational campaigns. The benefits of sunscreen extend beyond skin cancer prevention into other aspects of health and disease prevention: sunscreen decreases the risk for sunburn during physical activity outdoors and seems not to increase the risk for osteoporosis. Public health efforts have laid a solid foundation on which to face the continuing challenge of promoting and developing effective public health campaigns and health policies that encourage sunscreen use, sun protection, and the primary prevention of skin cancer. In this article, the controversies, concerns, and challenges of sunscreen use as it relates to public health are discussed.

  4. Federal Public Health Actions - PHE

    Science.gov Websites

    and reload this page. Skip over global navigation links U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Emergency - Leading a Nation Prepared Search Search PHE Home > PHE Newsroom > Federal Public Health Actions Federal Public Health Actions Main Content April 20, 2018: Renewal of Determination that a

  5. Attitude Towards Health Information Privacy and Electronic Health Records Among Urban Sri Lankan Adults.

    PubMed

    Tissera, Shaluni R; Silva, S N

    2016-01-01

    Sri Lanka is planning to move towards an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. This research argues that the public preparedness should be considered in order to implement a functioning and an effective EHR system in a country. When asked about how concerned the participants were about the security of their health records, 40.5% stated they were concerned and 38.8% were very concerned. They were asked to rate the 'level of trust' they have on health institutes in Sri Lanka on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 lowest level of trust and 10 highest), 66.1% rated at level 5 or less.

  6. Public Health Autonomy: A Critical Reappraisal.

    PubMed

    Zimmerman, Frederick J

    2017-11-01

    The ethical principle of autonomy is among the most fundamental in ethics, and it is particularly salient for those in public health, who must constantly balance the desire to improve health outcomes by changing behavior with respect for individual freedom. Although there are some areas in which there is a genuine tension between public health and autonomy-childhood vaccine mandates, for example-there are many more areas where not only is there no tension, but public health and autonomy come down to the same thing. These areas of overlap are often rendered invisible by a thin understanding of autonomy. Better integrating newer theoretical insights about autonomy into applied ethics can make discussions of public health ethics more rigorous, incisive, and effective. Even more importantly, bringing modern concepts of autonomy into public health ethics can showcase the many areas in which public health and autonomy have the same goals, face the same threats, and can be mutually advanced by the same kinds of solutions. This article provides a schema for relational autonomy in a public health context and gives concrete examples of how autonomy can be served through public-health interventions. It marshals insights from sociology, psychology, and philosophy to advance a theory of autonomy and coercion that recognizes three potential threats to autonomy: threats to choice sets, threats to knowledge, and threats to preferences. © 2017 The Hastings Center.

  7. (Public) Health and Human Rights in Practice.

    PubMed

    Annas, George J; Mariner, Wendy K

    2016-02-01

    Public health's reliance on law to define and carry out public activities makes it impossible to define a set of ethical principles unique to public health. Public health ethics must be encompassed within--and consistent with--a broader set of principles that define the power and limits of governmental institutions. These include human rights, health law, and even medical ethics. The human right to health requires governments not only to respect individual human rights and personal freedoms, but also, importantly, to protect people from harm from external sources and third parties, and to fulfill the health needs of the population. Even if human rights are the natural language for public health, not all public health professionals are comfortable with the language of human rights. Some argue that individual human rights--such as autonomy and privacy--unfairly limit the permissible means to achieve the goal of health protection. We argue that public health should welcome and promote the human rights framework. In almost every instance, this will make public health more effective in the long run, because the goals of public health and human rights are the same: to promote human flourishing. Copyright © 2016 by Duke University Press.

  8. Public Health's Lean Year.

    PubMed

    Price, Sean

    2017-08-01

    Medicine's agenda advanced on many fronts in the 2017 Texas Legislature, but it made only modest gains in public health. The most significant came in a package of reforms and budget increases for mental health care. Other victories included the passage of House Bill 62, a statewide ban on texting while driving, and House Bill 3576, which provides resources to the Texas Department of State Health Services to track, study, and prevent the spread of Zika. Medicine kept several bad public health bills bottled up in committee.

  9. Primary Health Care and Public Health: Foundations of Universal Health Systems

    PubMed Central

    White, Franklin

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this review is to advocate for more integrated and universally accessible health systems, built on a foundation of primary health care and public health. The perspective outlined identified health systems as the frame of reference, clarified terminology and examined complementary perspectives on health. It explored the prospects for universal and integrated health systems from a global perspective, the role of healthy public policy in achieving population health and the value of the social-ecological model in guiding how best to align the components of an integrated health service. The importance of an ethical private sector in partnership with the public sector is recognized. Most health systems around the world, still heavily focused on illness, are doing relatively little to optimize health and minimize illness burdens, especially for vulnerable groups. This failure to improve the underlying conditions for health is compounded by insufficient allocation of resources to address priority needs with equity (universality, accessibility and affordability). Finally, public health and primary health care are the cornerstones of sustainable health systems, and this should be reflected in the health policies and professional education systems of all nations wishing to achieve a health system that is effective, equitable, efficient and affordable. PMID:25591411

  10. Primary health care and public health: foundations of universal health systems.

    PubMed

    White, Franklin

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this review is to advocate for more integrated and universally accessible health systems, built on a foundation of primary health care and public health. The perspective outlined identified health systems as the frame of reference, clarified terminology and examined complementary perspectives on health. It explored the prospects for universal and integrated health systems from a global perspective, the role of healthy public policy in achieving population health and the value of the social-ecological model in guiding how best to align the components of an integrated health service. The importance of an ethical private sector in partnership with the public sector is recognized. Most health systems around the world, still heavily focused on illness, are doing relatively little to optimize health and minimize illness burdens, especially for vulnerable groups. This failure to improve the underlying conditions for health is compounded by insufficient allocation of resources to address priority needs with equity (universality, accessibility and affordability). Finally, public health and primary health care are the cornerstones of sustainable health systems, and this should be reflected in the health policies and professional education systems of all nations wishing to achieve a health system that is effective, equitable, efficient and affordable. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  11. Public health medicine: the constant dilemma.

    PubMed

    Eskin, Frada

    2002-03-01

    There is a well-known quotation by the nineteenth-century sociologist Virchow (quoted in Ref. 1) that aptly captures the dilemma that has confronted public health medicine since the specialty was created as a discrete entity in 1848. Virchow said: 'Medicine is politics and social medicine is politics writ large!' What does this mean in relation to effective public health medicine practice and how is it likely to affect its future? There is increasingly limited freedom of expression within the current context of political correctness, central control and a rapidly burgeoning litigious climate. The purpose of this paper is to explore these issues and to propose a means of maintaining public health medicine integrity within a working environment where action is becoming rapidly constrained by political rigidity. An additional factor to be included in the dialogue is the current context within which public health physicians work. Because the majority of public health doctors are employed within the National Health Service (NHS), they are finding themselves being expected to take on tasks and responsibilities marginal to their essential purpose and function. For example, public health physicians spend a great deal of time involved in detailed deliberations about health service provision. Although there is a great deal of evidence to show that good quality health care provision positively affects the health of the individual, there is no evidence to show that this activity has any effect on the population's health status. The essence of public health medicine practice is the prevention of ill-health and the promotion of the health of the population and, consequently, attention needs to be focused on the root causes of disease. However, as these are outside the aegis of the NHS, public health medicine involvement in such issues as education, nutrition, housing, transport and poverty is regarded as marginal to the NHS corporate agenda.

  12. Strengthening the public health workforce: An estimation of the long-term requirements for public health specialists in Serbia.

    PubMed

    Santric Milicevic, Milena; Vasic, Milena; Edwards, Matt; Sanchez, Cristina; Fellows, John

    2018-06-01

    At the beginning of the 21st century, planning the public health workforce requirements came into the focus of policy makers. The need for improved provision of essential public health services, driven by a challenging non-communicable disease and causes of death and disability within Serbia, calls for a much needed estimation of the requirements of the public health professionals. Mid and long-term public health specialists' supply and demand estimations out to 2025were developed based on national staffing standards and regional distribution of the workforce in public health institutes of Serbia. By 2025, the supply of specialists, taking into account attrition rate of -1% reaches the staffing standard. However, a slight increase in attrition rates has the impact of revealing supply shortage risks. Demand side projections show that public health institutes require an annual input of 10 specialists or 2.1% annual growth rate in order for the four public health fields to achieve a headcount of 487 by 2025 as well as counteract workforce attrition rates. Shortage and poor distribution of public health specialists underline the urgent need for workforce recruitment and retention in public health institutes in order to ensure the coordination, management, surveillance and provision of essential public health services over the next decade. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Recruiting the future public health workforce: an analysis of prospect communication among accredited Schools of Public Health.

    PubMed

    Purcell, Jennifer M

    2009-06-01

    Schools of Public Health cannot sustain the national momentum for public health justice and human rights without recruiting and training a skilled public health workforce. With growing demand for public health workers, schools must work to increase their applicant pools. This project examined prospect communication materials from accredited Schools of Public Health and found that the vast majority of schools did not capitalize on opportunities to move prospects to applicants. Whereas most responded within a reasonable time, several schools made no communication efforts at all. Recruitment materials varied widely from institution to institution and between epidemiology and health education programs. Strategic, personalized communication strategies-the 3 Cs-are recommended to increase the pools of qualified applicants nationwide and can be utilized to increase prospect pools in a wide range of health sciences.

  14. American Public Health Association

    MedlinePlus

    ... is Public Health? Creating Healthy Communities Topics & Issues Climate Change Environmental Health Gun Violence Health Equity Health Reform ... utm_campaign=be2b0… Yet another example of why climate change is the health challenge of our generation: https:// ...

  15. A decade of environmental public health tracking (2002-2012): progress and challenges.

    PubMed

    Kearney, Gregory D; Namulanda, Gonza; Qualters, Judith R; Talbott, Evelyn O

    2015-01-01

    The creation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Environmental Public Health Tracking Program spawned an invigorating and challenging approach toward implementing the nation's first population-based, environmental disease tracking surveillance system. More than 10 years have passed since its creation and an abundance of peer-reviewed articles have been published spanning a broad variety of public health topics related primarily to the goal of reducing diseases of environmental origin. To evaluate peer-reviewed literature related to Environmental Public Health Tracking during 2002-2012, recognize major milestones and challenges, and offer recommendations. A narrative overview was conducted using titles and abstracts of peer-reviewed articles, key word searches, and science-based search engine databases. Eighty published articles related to "health tracking" were identified and categorized according to 4 crossed-central themes. The Science and Research theme accounted for the majority of published articles, followed by Policy and Practice, Collaborations Among Health and Environmental Programs, and Network Development. Overall, progress was reported in the areas of data linkage, data sharing, surveillance methods, and network development. Ongoing challenges included formulating better ways to establish the connections between health and the environment, such as using biomonitoring, public water systems, and private well water data. Recommendations for future efforts include use of data to inform policy and practice and use of electronic health records data for environmental health surveillance.

  16. Electronic publications, a useful technique for astronomy outreach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stavinschi, M.; Mosoia, C.

    2012-09-01

    Thanks to modern technology, astronomy can be communicated to the public through a variety of techniques, from classic conferences (also upgraded to the video projectors, etc.) to TV, print media and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, MySpace, etc. We are going to present advantages of electronic publishing, starting from informing the public with latest astronomy news, to providing a place for public debate. In an era of global crisis e-publishing is a must do, be it seen from the financially perspective, or the desired impact to the public. We are going to present a constant example of year electronic publication dedicated to promoting science and communication; also, the Science Communicators Network Interested in spreading the word of astronomy. The aim is to establish connections with all OEP participants with a view to know each other and try to work in common for the better message transmission to the public. Together, we might build a single platform with multiple educational results.

  17. History of health, a valuable tool in public health.

    PubMed

    Perdiguero, E; Bernabeu, J; Huertas, R; Rodríguez-Ocaña, E

    2001-09-01

    The aim of this article is to highlight the importance of the history of public health for public health research and practice itself. After summarily reviewing the current great vitality of the history of collective health oriented initiatives, we explain three particular features of the historical vantage point in public health, namely the importance of the context, the relevance of a diachronic attitude and the critical perspective. In order to illustrate those three topics, we bring up examples taken from three centuries of fight against malaria, the so called "re-emerging diseases" and the 1918 influenza epidemic. The historical approach enriches our critical perception of the social effects of initiatives undertaken in the name of public health, shows the shortcomings of public health interventions based on single factors and asks for a wider time scope in the assessment of current problems. The use of a historical perspective to examine the plurality of determinants in any particular health condition will help to solve the longlasting debate on the primacy of individual versus population factors, which has been particularly intense in recent times.

  18. Public health in community pharmacy: a systematic review of pharmacist and consumer views.

    PubMed

    Eades, Claire E; Ferguson, Jill S; O'Carroll, Ronan E

    2011-07-21

    The increasing involvement of pharmacists in public health will require changes in the behaviour of both pharmacists and the general public. A great deal of research has shown that attitudes and beliefs are important determinants of behaviour. This review aims to examine the beliefs and attitudes of pharmacists and consumers towards pharmaceutical public health in order to inform how best to support and improve this service. Five electronic databases were searched for articles published in English between 2001 and 2010. Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher according to the inclusion criteria. Papers were included if they assessed pharmacy staff or consumer attitudes towards pharmaceutical public health. Full papers identified for inclusion were assessed by a second researcher and data were extracted by one researcher. From the 5628 papers identified, 63 studies in 67 papers were included. Pharmacy staff: Most pharmacists viewed public health services as important and part of their role but secondary to medicine related roles. Pharmacists' confidence in providing public health services was on the whole average to low. Time was consistently identified as a barrier to providing public health services. Lack of an adequate counselling space, lack of demand and expectation of a negative reaction from customers were also reported by some pharmacists as barriers. A need for further training was identified in relation to a number of public health services. Consumers: Most pharmacy users had never been offered public health services by their pharmacist and did not expect to be offered. Consumers viewed pharmacists as appropriate providers of public health advice but had mixed views on the pharmacists' ability to do this. Satisfaction was found to be high in those that had experienced pharmaceutical public health There has been little change in customer and pharmacist attitudes since reviews conducted nearly 10 years previously. In order to improve the public

  19. Public health in community pharmacy: A systematic review of pharmacist and consumer views

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background The increasing involvement of pharmacists in public health will require changes in the behaviour of both pharmacists and the general public. A great deal of research has shown that attitudes and beliefs are important determinants of behaviour. This review aims to examine the beliefs and attitudes of pharmacists and consumers towards pharmaceutical public health in order to inform how best to support and improve this service. Methods Five electronic databases were searched for articles published in English between 2001 and 2010. Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher according to the inclusion criteria. Papers were included if they assessed pharmacy staff or consumer attitudes towards pharmaceutical public health. Full papers identified for inclusion were assessed by a second researcher and data were extracted by one researcher. Results From the 5628 papers identified, 63 studies in 67 papers were included. Pharmacy staff: Most pharmacists viewed public health services as important and part of their role but secondary to medicine related roles. Pharmacists' confidence in providing public health services was on the whole average to low. Time was consistently identified as a barrier to providing public health services. Lack of an adequate counselling space, lack of demand and expectation of a negative reaction from customers were also reported by some pharmacists as barriers. A need for further training was identified in relation to a number of public health services. Consumers: Most pharmacy users had never been offered public health services by their pharmacist and did not expect to be offered. Consumers viewed pharmacists as appropriate providers of public health advice but had mixed views on the pharmacists' ability to do this. Satisfaction was found to be high in those that had experienced pharmaceutical public health Conclusions There has been little change in customer and pharmacist attitudes since reviews conducted nearly 10 years

  20. [Survey on public health nursing education-in the comparison of nursing education courses, universities, advanced courses for public health nurse with junior nursing colleges, and public health nursing school].

    PubMed

    Hirano, Kayoko; Ikeda, Nobuko; Kanagawa, Katuko; Shiomi, Sigeki; Suzuki, Akira; Hirayama, Tomoko; Furuya, Akie; Ymazaki, Kyoko; Yasumura, Seiji

    2005-08-01

    Changes in public health nursing education have been consideration. Theses changes include a dramatic increase in the number of public health nurses (PHNs) who have enrolled for nursing courses at university. This study was conducted to assess the current status and future of public health nursing education as perceived by teachers and students at three types of schools: universities offering nursing courses, advanced courses for PHNs with junior nursing colleges, and public health nursing schools. Questionnaires were distributed to teachers and students by mail. The questions that were sent to teachers asked which subjects were required to become a certified PHN, which lecture methods were employed to teach public health-particularly community health assessment methods, and what was the level of awareness of the activities of PHNs. Students were asked about their motivation to be a PHN, their understanding of public health, their views of public health activities and their images of PHNs. Responses were analyzed and differences between questionnaires from different schools were noted. These included the number of subjects and the total number of hours spent doing practical training and field experience in universities and the other types of schools, and the number of teachers. Differences also were noted among students at three types of schools about their age, methods of public health activities, knowledge about activities undertaken by PHNs, and their images of PHNs. No differences were observed among the schools with respect to the students' conceptual understanding of public health. Student age, practical training and field experience were found to contribute to their level of understanding of public health and public health nursing. It is thus necessary to consider the teaching methods employed by universities that administer nursing courses and the effectiveness of courses offered by graduate schools.

  1. Protecting Health and Saving Lives: The Part-Time/Internet-Based Master of Public Health Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bruce, Linda; Gresh, Kathy; Vanchiswaran, Rohini; Werapitiya, Deepthi

    2007-01-01

    This article discusses the part-time/Internet-based Master of Public Health (MPH) program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH). The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was the first school of public health in the United States to offer a Master of Public Health program via the Internet. The JHSPH MPH Program…

  2. National action for European public health research.

    PubMed

    McCarthy, Mark; Zeegers Paget, Dineke; Barnhoorn, Floris

    2013-11-01

    Research and innovation are the basis for improving health and health services. The European Union (EU) supports research through multi-annual programmes. Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe (PHIRE) investigated how European countries cooperate for action in public health research. In PHIRE, following stakeholder workshops and consultations, a national report on public health research was created for 24 of 30 European countries. The report template asked five questions, on national links to European public health research and on national research through the Structural Funds and Ministry of Health. The national reports were assessed with framework analysis, and the country actions were classified strong/partial/weak or none. There were responses to the five questions sufficient for this analysis for between 14 and 20 countries Six countries had public health research aligned with the EU, while three (large) countries were reported not aligned. Only two countries expressed strong engagement in developing public health research within Horizon 2020: most Ministries of Health had no position and only had contact with EU health research through other ministries. Only two countries reported use of the 2007-13 Structural Funds for public health research. While seven Ministries of Health led research from their own funds, or linked with Ministries of Science in six, the Ministries of Health of seven countries were reported not to be involved in public health research. Ministries of Health and stakeholders are poorly engaged in developing public health research, with the Horizon 2020 research programme, or the Structural Funds. The European Commission should give more attention to coordination of public health research with member states if it is to give best value to European citizens.

  3. Mapping Africa's advanced public health education capacity: the AfriHealth project.

    PubMed

    Ijsselmuiden, C B; Nchinda, T C; Duale, S; Tumwesigye, N M; Serwadda, D

    2007-12-01

    Literature on human resources for health in Africa has focused on personal health services. Little is known about graduate public health education. This paper maps "advanced" public health education in Africa. Public health includes all professionals needed to manage and optimize health systems and the public's health. Data were collected through questionnaires and personal visits to departments, institutes and schools of community medicine or public health. Simple descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. For more than 900 million people, there are fewer than 500 full-time staff, around two-thirds of whom are male. More men (89%) than women (72%) hold senior degrees. Over half (55%) of countries do not have any postgraduate public health programme. This shortage is most severe in lusophone and francophone Africa. The units offering public health programmes are small: 81% have less than 20 staff, and 62% less than 10. On the other hand, over 80% of Africans live in countries where at least one programme is available, and there are six larger schools with over 25 staff. Programmes are often narrowly focused on medical professionals, but "open" programmes are increasing in number. Public health education and research are not linked. Africa urgently needs a plan for developing its public health education capacity. Lack of critical mass seems a key gap to be addressed by strengthening subregional centres, each of which should provide programmes to surrounding countries. Research linked to public health education and to educational institutions needs to increase.

  4. Awareness and Use of Electronic Cigarettes: Perceptions of Health Science Programme Students in Malaysia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goh, Yin Hoong; Dujaili, Juman Abdulelah; Blebil, Ali Qais; Ahmed, Syed Imran

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: In recent years, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or e-cigarettes appear to be gaining in popularity despite controversy over their health effects and public health impacts. This paper is the first in Malaysia to assess sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics associated with ENDS awareness, perceptions and use among…

  5. Hackathon Public Health.

    PubMed

    Firenze, A; Provenzano, S; Santangelo, O E; Alagna, E; Piazza, D; Torregrossa, M V

    2017-01-01

    It is necessary to implement current teaching in the healthcare and university sector by promoting new tools for the enhancement of public health, bearing in mind that some health determinants seek to create a context in which to present their own idea of innovative Startup, can represent the opportunity to give your professional contribution to the development of another's idea or to propose an improved solution to the private business. On the other hand, networking with companies and networking between training participants will allow us to recognize the importance of demonstrating their diverse skills as a key element to create a successful Startup or to implement the activities of a reality already consolidated. This paper describes the research protocol of a Hackathon Public Health (HPH) teaching methodology aimed at: a) increasing public health knowledge; b) changing the proactive approach of the healthcare provider, especially by increasing the sectoral training activity; c) to promote educational and training activities in Italian regions. The subjects involved will be healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, health professions, psychologists, biologists, assistants in training) who are selected to receive or not the intervention through the implementation of a HPH which also includes training activity. HPH is an innovation in the national health landscape, with the aim of creating environments and training policies aimed at promoting proper clinical risk management as part of the continuous improvement of the quality of healthcare organizations and proper training activities.

  6. Citizen Science for public health.

    PubMed

    Den Broeder, Lea; Devilee, Jeroen; Van Oers, Hans; Schuit, A Jantine; Wagemakers, Annemarie

    2018-06-01

    Community engagement in public health policy is easier said than done. One reason is that public health policy is produced in a complex process resulting in policies that may appear not to link up to citizen perspectives. We therefore address the central question as to whether citizen engagement in knowledge production could enable inclusive health policy making. Building on non-health work fields, we describe different types of citizen engagement in scientific research, or 'Citizen Science'. We describe the challenges that Citizen Science poses for public health, and how these could be addressed. Despite these challenges, we expect that Citizen Science or similar approaches such as participatory action research and 'popular epidemiology' may yield better knowledge, empowered communities, and improved community health. We provide a draft framework to enable evaluation of Citizen Science in practice, consisting of a descriptive typology of different kinds of Citizen Science and a causal framework that shows how Citizen Science in public health might benefit both the knowledge produced as well as the 'Citizen Scientists' as active participants.

  7. What Ails Public Health?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alcabes, Philip

    2007-01-01

    Public health, once the gem of American social programs, has turned to dross. During the 20th century, the public-health sector wiped smallpox and polio off the U.S. map; virtually eliminated rickets, rubella, and goiter; stopped epidemic typhoid and yellow fever; and brought tuberculosis--once the leading cause of death in U.S. cities--under…

  8. Global Trade and Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Shaffer, Ellen R.; Waitzkin, Howard; Brenner, Joseph; Jasso-Aguilar, Rebeca

    2005-01-01

    Global trade and international trade agreements have transformed the capacity of governments to monitor and to protect public health, to regulate occupational and environmental health conditions and food products, and to ensure affordable access to medications. Proposals under negotiation for the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the regional Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement cover a wide range of health services, health facilities, clinician licensing, water and sanitation services, and tobacco and alcohol distribution services. Public health professionals and organizations rarely participate in trade negotiations or in resolution of trade disputes. The linkages among global trade, international trade agreements, and public health deserve more attention than they have received to date. PMID:15623854

  9. Developing the public health workforce: training and recognizing specialists in public health from backgrounds other than medicine: experience in the UK.

    PubMed

    Gray, Selena F; Evans, David

    2018-01-01

    There is increasing recognition that improving health and tackling inequalities requires a strong public health workforce capable of delivering key public health functions across systems. The World Health Organization in Europe has identified securing the delivery of the Essential Public Health Operations and strengthening public health capacities within this as a priority.It is acknowledged that current public health capacities and arrangements of public health services vary considerably across the World Health Organization in European Region, and investment in multidisciplinary workforce with new skills is essential if public health services are to be delivered. This paper describes the current situation in the UK where there are nationally funded multidisciplinary programmes for training senior public health specialists. Uniquely, the UK provides public health registration for multidisciplinary as well as medical public health specialists. The transition from a predominantly medical to a multidisciplinary public health specialist workforce over a relatively short timescale is unprecedented globally and was the product of a sustained period of grass roots activism aligned with national policy innovation. the UK experience might provide a model for other countries seeking to develop public health specialist workforce capacity in line with the Essential Public Health Operations.

  10. Blurring personal health and public priorities: an analysis of celebrity health narratives in the public sphere.

    PubMed

    Beck, Christina S; Aubuchon, Stellina M; McKenna, Timothy P; Ruhl, Stephanie; Simmons, Nathaniel

    2014-01-01

    This article explores the functions of personal celebrity health narratives in the public sphere. This study examines data about 157 celebrities, including athletes, actors, musicians, and politicians, who have shared private information regarding a personal health situation (or that of a loved one) with others in the public domain. Part of a larger project on celebrity health narratives, this article highlights three key functions that celebrity health narratives perform--education, inspiration, and activism--and discusses the implications for celebrities and for public conversations about health-related issues.

  11. Public Health Education for Emergency Medicine Residents

    PubMed Central

    Betz, Marian E.; Bernstein, Steven L.; Gutman, Deborah; Tibbles, Carrie D.; Joyce, Nina; Lipton, Robert; Schweigler, Lisa; Fisher, Jonathan

    2015-01-01

    Emergency medicine (EM) has an important role in public health, but the ideal approach for teaching public health to EM residents is unclear. As part of the national regional public health–medicine education centers-graduate medical education (RPHMEC-GM) initiative from the CDC and the American Association of Medical Colleges, three EM programs received funding to create public health curricula for EM residents. Curricula approaches varied by residency. One program used a modular, integrative approach to combine public health and EM clinical topics during usual residency didactics, one partnered with local public health organizations to provide real-world experiences for residents, and one drew on existing national as well as departmental resources to seamlessly integrate more public health–oriented educational activities within the existing residency curriculum. The modular and integrative approaches appeared to have a positive impact on resident attitudes toward public health, and a majority of EM residents at that program believed public health training is important. Reliance on pre-existing community partnerships facilitated development of public health rotations for residents. External funding for these efforts was critical to their success, given the time and financial restraints on residency programs. The optimal approach for public health education for EM residents has not been defined. PMID:21961671

  12. An estimation of Canada's public health physician workforce.

    PubMed

    Russell, Margaret L; McIntyre, Lynn

    2009-01-01

    Public health emergency planning includes a consideration of public health human resource requirements. We addressed the hypothetical question: How many public health physicians could Canada mobilize in the event of a public health emergency? We used the 2004 National Physician Survey (NPS) to estimate the number of public health physicians in Canada. Using weighting to account for non-response, we estimated the numbers and population estimates of public health physicians who were active versus 'in reserve'. We explored the impact of using diverse definitions of public health physician based upon NPS questions on professional activity, self-reported degrees and certifications, and physician database classifications. Of all Canadian physicians, an estimated 769 (1.3%) are qualified to practice public health by virtue of degrees and certifications relevant to public health, of whom 367 (48%) also report active 'community medicine/public health' practice. Even among Canada's 382 Community Medicine specialists, only 60% report active public health practice. The estimation of the size of Canada's public health physician workforce is currently limited by the lack of a clear definition and appropriate monitoring. It appears that, even with a reserve public health physician workforce that would almost double its numbers, Canada's available workforce is only 40% of projected requirements. Public health emergency preparedness planning exercises should clearly delineate public health physician roles and needs, and action should be taken accordingly to enhance the numbers of Canadian public health physicians and their capacity to meet these requirements.

  13. Factors influencing publication of scientific articles derived from masters theses in public health.

    PubMed

    Hollmann, Malen; Borrell, Carme; Garin, Olatz; Fernández, Esteve; Alonso, Jordi

    2015-05-01

    To evaluate theses of a Masters program in Public Health (MPH), in terms of the students' and theses' characteristics that influence publication of the thesis as a scientific article. Longitudinal study of students who successfully completed the MPH at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain) from 2006 to 2010. Participants completed an electronic survey and additional data were gathered from university files. 162 students participated in the study (83 % response rate). 60.5 % had already published an article derived from their thesis at the time of the study or were in process of publishing it. The likelihood of publishing in a peer-reviewed journal was greater among women (aRR = 1.41), among those who had a bachelor's degree in sciences other than health (aRR = 1.40), had completed the MPH on time (aRR = 2.10), had enrolled in a doctoral program after the MPH (aRR = 1.44) or had a masters thesis score of ≥7 (aRR = 1.61). The majority of MPH students published their thesis in a peer-reviewed journal. The strongest predictors of successful publication were related to academic performance.

  14. Mind the public health leadership gap: the opportunities and challenges of engaging high-profile individuals in the public health agenda.

    PubMed

    Shickle, Darren; Day, Matthew; Smith, Kevin; Zakariasen, Ken; Moskol, Jacob; Oliver, Thomas

    2014-12-01

    Public health leadership has been criticized as being ineffective. The public health profession is relatively small. Critics have argued that there is over-emphasis on technical aspects and insufficient use of the 'community as a source of public health actions'. The paper analyses the resources, motivations and skills utilized by high-profile individuals who have made contributions to the public health agenda. The phenomenon of celebrity diplomacy is critiqued. Two exemplars are discussed: Jamie Oliver and Michael Bloomberg. The risks of involving celebrities are also considered. Leaders for public health demonstrate 'a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will' to make the 'right decisions happen'. While they may have ego or self-interest, in this context, at least, they channel their ambition for the public health cause, not themselves. Leaders from outside public health may have no understanding of what public health is nor consider their work as part of a wider public health agenda. It is important to understand why they become leaders for public health. This will inform a strategy for how others may be encouraged to collaborate for public health causes. Some key points for working with high-profile leaders for public health are identified. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Public Health Education in Florida.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Florida State Dept. of Education, Tallahassee.

    This report documents issues related to the work of the Florida Comprehensive Health Professions Education Plan. Public health education prepares students for initial employment or advancement in a number of positions. While the public health work force is primarily employed in various units in local, state, and federal governments, industry also…

  16. Public health decisions: Actions and consequences☆

    PubMed Central

    Pohl, H.R.; Jones, D.E.; Holler, J.S.; Murray, H.E.

    2017-01-01

    The goal of public health is to promote the best possible health for the whole population. Public health issues are numerous and can be unbelievably complex in form, scope, and possible consequence. Most public health decisions involve assessing several different options, weighing the respective benefits and risks of those options, and making difficult decisions that hopefully provide the greatest benefit to the affected populations. Many risk management decisions involve a variety of societal factors which modify risk assessment choices. The purpose of this paper is to point out difficulties in making decisions that impact public health. The intent of such decisions is to improve public health, but as illustrated in the paper, there can be unintended adverse consequences. Such unplanned issues require continued attention and efforts for responsible officials in the protection of environmental public health. This article presents examples of such events, when in the past, it was necessary to assess and regulate a number of potentially hazardous chemicals commonly used as insecticides, gasoline additives, and wood preservatives. PMID:25092130

  17. The Public Health Responsibility Deal: brokering a deal for public health, but on whose terms?

    PubMed

    Panjwani, Clare; Caraher, Martin

    2014-02-01

    Coalitions of multinational food and drink businesses have pledged to reformulate their products and to market them responsibly. Largely business-led and self-regulated, the integrity of these voluntary initiatives has been questioned. The Public Health Responsibility Deal in England is an example of a voluntary initiative that is government-led. Does this approach provide evidence that with public leadership there is potential for voluntary actions to deliver meaningful results for public health? The subject of the research is the calorie reduction initiative of the Responsibility Deal. Source material was obtained primarily through a series of UK Freedom of Information requests and comprises previously unpublished Department of Health documentation relating to relevant meetings held during 2011 and 2012. The Responsibility Deal approach to calorie reduction deliberately involves the food industry in the specification of the measures it is to implement (reformulation and portion control). Finding the common ground between private and public interests has resulted in the deflection of public health objectives and the preclusion of adequate monitoring and evaluation. The Responsibility Deal approach is fundamentally flawed in its expectation that industry will take voluntary actions that prioritise public health interests above its own. Being government-led counts for little in the absence of sanctions to drive compliance. Instead the initiative affords private interests the opportunity to influence in their favour the public health policies and strategies that affect their products. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Public health legal preparedness in Indian country.

    PubMed

    Bryan, Ralph T; Schaefer, Rebecca McLaughlin; DeBruyn, Lemyra; Stier, Daniel D

    2009-04-01

    American Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments are sovereign entities with inherent authority to create laws and enact health regulations. Laws are an essential tool for ensuring effective public health responses to emerging threats. To analyze how tribal laws support public health practice in tribal communities, we reviewed tribal legal documentation available through online databases and talked with subject-matter experts in tribal public health law. Of the 70 tribal codes we found, 14 (20%) had no clearly identifiable public health provisions. The public health-related statutes within the remaining codes were rarely well integrated or comprehensive. Our findings provide an evidence base to help tribal leaders strengthen public health legal foundations in tribal communities.

  19. "Globalized public health." A transdisciplinary comprehensive framework for analyzing contemporary globalization's influences on the field of public health.

    PubMed

    Lapaige, Véronique

    2009-01-01

    The current phase of globalization represents a "double-edged sword" challenge facing public health practitioners and health policy makers. The first "edge" throws light on two constructs in the field of public health: global health (formerly international health) and globalized public health. The second "edge" is that of global governance, and raises the question, "how can we construct public health regulations that adequately respond to both global and local complexities related to the two constructs mentioned earlier (global health and globalized public health)?" The two constructs call for the development of norms that will assure sustained population-wide health improvement and these two constructs have their own conceptual tools and theoretical models that permit a better understanding of them. In this paper, we introduce the "globalized public health" construct and we present an interactive comprehensive framework for critically analyzing contemporary globalization's influences on the field of public health. "Globalized public health", simultaneously a theoretical model and a conceptual framework, concerns the transformation of the field of public health in the sociohistorical context of globalization. The model is the fruit of an original theoretical research study conducted from 2005 to 2008 ("contextualized research," Gibbons' Mode II of knowledge production), founded on a QUAL-quant sequential mixed-method design. This research also reflects our political and ideological position, fuelled with aspirations of social democracy and cosmopolitical values. It is profoundly anchored in the pragmatic approach to globalization, looking to "reconcile" the market and equity. The model offers several features to users: (1) it is transdisciplinary; (2) it is interactive (CD-ROM); (3) it is nonlinear (nonlinear interrelations between the contextual globalization and the field of public health); (4) it is synchronic/diachronic (a double-crossed perspective permits

  20. Systematic review of public health branding.

    PubMed

    Evans, W Douglas; Blitstein, Jonathan; Hersey, James C; Renaud, Jeanette; Yaroch, Amy L

    2008-12-01

    Brands build relationships between consumers and products, services, or lifestyles by providing beneficial exchanges and adding value to their objects. Brands can be measured through associations that consumers hold for products and services. Public health brands are the associations that individuals hold for health behaviors, or lifestyles that embody multiple health behaviors. We systematically reviewed the literature on public health brands; developed a methodology for describing branded health messages and campaigns; and examined specific branding strategies across a range of topic areas, campaigns, and global settings. We searched the literature for published studies on public health branding available through all relevant, major online publication databases. Public health branding was operationalized as any manuscripts in the health, social science, and business literature on branding or brands in health promotion marketing. We developed formalized decision rules and applied them in identifying articles for review. We initially identified 154 articles and reviewed a final set of 37, 10 from Africa, Australia, and Europe. Branded health campaigns spanned most of the major domains of public health and numerous communication strategies and evaluation methodologies. Most studies provided clear information on planning, development, and evaluation of the branding effort, while some provided minimal information. Branded health messages typically are theory based, and there is a body of evidence on their behavior change effectiveness, especially in nutrition, tobacco control, and HIV/AIDS. More rigorous research is needed, however, on how branded health messages impact specific populations and behaviors.

  1. Making the case for investment in public health: experiences of Directors of Public Health in English local government.

    PubMed

    Willmott, M; Womack, J; Hollingworth, W; Campbell, R

    2016-06-01

    Amid local government budget cuts, there is concern that the ring-fenced public health grant is being appropriated, and Directors of Public Health (DsPH) find it difficult to make the case for investment in public health activity. This paper describes what DsPH are making the case for, the components of their case and how they present the case for public health. Thirteen semi-structured telephone interviews and a group discussion were carried out with DsPH (November 2013 to May 2014) in the Southern region of England. DsPH make the case for control of the public health grant and investing in action on wider determinants of health. The cases they present incorporate arguments about need, solutions and their effectiveness, health outcomes, cost and economic impact but also normative, political arguments. Many types of evidence were used to substantiate the cases; evidence was carefully framed to be accessible and persuasive. DsPH are responding to a new environment; economic arguments and evidence of impact are key components of the case for public health, although multiple factors influence local government (LG) decisions around health improvement. Further evidence of economic impact would be helpful in making the case for public health in LG. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health.

  2. Global public health today: connecting the dots.

    PubMed

    Lomazzi, Marta; Jenkins, Christopher; Borisch, Bettina

    2016-01-01

    Global public health today faces new challenges and is impacted by a range of actors from within and outside state boundaries. The diversity of the actors involved has created challenges and a complex environment that requires a new context-tailored global approach. The World Federation of Public Health Associations has embarked on a collaborative consultation with the World Health Organization to encourage a debate on how to adapt public health to its future role in global health. A qualitative study was undertaken. High-level stakeholders from leading universities, multilateral organizations, and other institutions worldwide participated in the study. Inductive content analyses were performed. Stakeholders underscored that global public health today should tackle the political, commercial, economic, social, and environmental determinants of health and social inequalities. A multisectoral and holistic approach should be guaranteed, engaging public health in broad dialogues and a concerted decision-making process. The connection between neoliberal ideology and public health reforms should be taken into account. The WHO must show leadership and play a supervising and technical role. More and better data are required across many programmatic areas of public health. Resources should be allocated in a sustainable and accountable way. Public health professionals need new skills that should be provided by a collaborative global education system. A common framework context-tailored to influence governments has been evaluated as useful. The study highlighted some of the main public health challenges currently under debate in the global arena, providing interesting ideas. A more inclusive integrated vision of global health in its complexity, shared and advocated for by all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes, is crucial. This vision represents the first step in innovating public health at the global level and should lead to a serious rethinking of education

  3. A tale of two health literacies: public health and clinical approaches to health literacy.

    PubMed

    Pleasant, Andrew; Kuruvilla, Shyama

    2008-06-01

    Public health concerns underlie a considerable portion of the global burden of disease, increasing the utility and need for promoting and assessing the knowledge about public health issues. Health literacy is generally agreed upon as a means to find, understand, analyze and use information to make better decisions about health and to ultimately reduce inequities in health. A public health literacy knowledge scale was tested in China, Mexico, Ghana and India. A somewhat unexpected finding, which was that experts 'scored' less on the scale than the general public, led to consideration of differences between clinical and public health approaches to health literacy and their implications. These differences in perspective, for instance consideration of single case effects versus impacts at the societal level, pose significant challenges to developing and assessing health literacy. We suggest that a comprehensive approach to health literacy will include both clinical and public health approaches.

  4. Petroleum Scarcity and Public Health: Considerations for Local Health Departments

    PubMed Central

    Parker, Cindy L.; Caine, Virginia A.; McKee, Mary; Shirley, Lillian M.; Links, Jonathan M.

    2011-01-01

    Recognition of petroleum as a finite global resource has spurred increasing interest in the intersection between petroleum scarcity and public health. Local health departments represent a critical yet highly vulnerable component of the public health infrastructure. These frontline agencies currently face daunting resource constraints and rely heavily on petroleum for vital population-based health services. Against this backdrop, petroleum scarcity may necessitate reconfiguring local public health service approaches. We describe the anticipated impacts of petroleum scarcity on local health departments, recommend the use of the 10 Essential Public Health Services as a framework for examining attendant operational challenges and potential responses to them, and describe approaches that local health departments and their stakeholders could consider as part of timely planning efforts. PMID:21778471

  5. Public health ethics: the voices of practitioners.

    PubMed

    Bernheim, Ruth Gaare

    2003-01-01

    Public health ethics is emerging as a new field of inquiry, distinct not only from public health law, but also from traditional medical ethics and research ethics. Public health professional and scholarly attention is focusing on ways that ethical analysis and a new public health code of ethics can be a resource for health professionals working in the field. This article provides a preliminary exploration of the ethical issues faced by public health professionals in day-to-day practice and of the type of ethics education and support they believe may be helpful.

  6. Medicare and state health care programs: fraud and abuse; safe harbors for certain electronic prescribing and electronic health records arrangements under the anti-kickback statute. Final rule.

    PubMed

    2006-08-08

    As required by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), Public Law 108-173, this final rule establishes a new safe harbor under the Federal anti-kickback statute for certain arrangements involving the provision of electronic prescribing technology. Specifically, the safe harbor would protect certain arrangements involving hospitals, group practices, and prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors and Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations that provide to specified recipients certain nonmonetary remuneration in the form of hardware, software, or information technology and training services necessary and used solely to receive and transmit electronic prescription information. In addition, in accordance with section 1128B(b)(3)(E) of the Social Security Act (the Act), this final rule creates a separate new safe harbor for certain arrangements involving the provision of nonmonetary remuneration in the form of electronic health records software or information technology and training services necessary and used predominantly to create, maintain, transmit, or receive electronic health records.

  7. Public health and the Australian Constitution.

    PubMed

    Reynolds, C

    1995-06-01

    The powers vested in the Commonwealth Government by the Constitution contain the basis of much public health law in Australia. Yet this is not often recognised; public health law is generally, and historically, seen as the states' responsibility. This article surveys the broad range of constitutional powers that the Commonwealth Government can rely upon to make public health laws. It considers areas of power specified in the Constitution, such as those with respect to external affairs and corporations. Decisions of the High Court have interpreted the various heads of power very broadly and have significantly enhanced the potential of the Commonwealth to pass detailed and far-reaching public health law. To this fact must be added the taxation arrangements in Australia and, with these, the very extensive control that the Commonwealth can exercise through its monopoly of major taxation sources. Its power to make financial arrangements can tie dependent states into specific policies (including public health policies) as a condition of the grants made to them. However, these broad powers may be limited in some important respects: the High Court is increasingly identifying rights and freedoms in the Constitution that may increasingly bring both state and Commonwealth public health law under challenge. Despite this possibility, the Commonwealth may prove to be our most significant source of public health law, and public health policy makers should recognise the full potential of its power to make such laws.

  8. Public health, the APHA, and urban renewal.

    PubMed

    Lopez, Russ P

    2009-09-01

    Joint efforts by fields of public health in the last decade have advocated use of the built environment to protect health. Past involvement by public health advocates in urban policy, however, has had mixed results. Although public health has significantly contributed to health improvements, its participation in urban renewal activities was problematic. Health advocates and the American Public Health Association produced guidelines that were widely used to declare inner-city areas blighted and provided a scientific justification for demolishing neighborhoods and displacing mostly poor and minority people. Furthermore, health departments failed to uphold their legal responsibility to ensure that relocated families received safe, affordable housing alternatives. These failures have important implications for future health-related work on the built environment and other core public health activities.

  9. Public health finance: a conceptual framework.

    PubMed

    Moulton, Anthony D; Halverson, Paul K; Honoré, Peggy A; Berkowitz, Bobbie

    2004-01-01

    In an attempt to stimulate development of public health finance as a field of practice, policy, and scholarship, this article proposes a working definition of the term "public health finance," embeds it in the context of the maturing literature on the public health system and its infrastructure, and proposes a four-part typology that spans both public-sector and private-sector contributions to the financing of prevention and health promotion. A developmental strategy for the field--in applied research, training and education, and performance standards--is outlined as well.

  10. Publication ethics in public health emergencies.

    PubMed

    Shaw, David; Elger, Bernice S

    2017-09-01

    In this article, we describe and analyse three issues in publication ethics that are raised when conducting research in emergencies and disasters. These include reluctance to share data and samples because of concerns about publications, loss of individual authorship in high high-profile multi-entity publications, and the deaths of authors during dangerous research projects. An emergency research pledge may be useful in avoiding some of these issues. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. An ecological public health approach to understanding the relationships between sustainable urban environments, public health and social equity.

    PubMed

    Bentley, Michael

    2014-09-01

    The environmental determinants of public health and social equity present many challenges to a sustainable urbanism-climate change, water shortages and oil dependency to name a few. There are many pathways from urban environments to human health. Numerous links have been described but some underlying mechanisms behind these relationships are less understood. Combining theory and methods is a way of understanding and explaining how the underlying structures of urban environments relate to public health and social equity. This paper proposes a model for an ecological public health, which can be used to explore these relationships. Four principles of an ecological public health-conviviality, equity, sustainability and global responsibility-are used to derive theoretical concepts that can inform ecological public health thinking, which, among other things, provides a way of exploring the underlying mechanisms that link urban environments to public health and social equity. Theories of more-than-human agency inform ways of living together (conviviality) in urban areas. Political ecology links the equity concerns about environmental and social justice. Resilience thinking offers a better way of coming to grips with sustainability. Integrating ecological ethics into public health considers the global consequences of local urban living and thus attends to global responsibility. This way of looking at the relationships between urban environments, public health and social equity answers the call to craft an ecological public health for the twenty-first century by re-imagining public health in a way that acknowledges humans as part of the ecosystem, not separate from it, though not central to it. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. History of health, a valuable tool in public health

    PubMed Central

    Perdiguero, E; Bernabeu, J; Huertas, R; Rodriguez-Ocana, E

    2001-01-01

    The aim of this article is to highlight the importance of the history of public health for public health research and practice itself. After summarily reviewing the current great vitality of the history of collective health oriented initiatives, we explain three particular features of the historical vantage point in public health, namely the importance of the context, the relevance of a diachronic attitude and the critical perspective. In order to illustrate those three topics, we bring up examples taken from three centuries of fight against malaria, the so called "re-emerging diseases" and the 1918 influenza epidemic. The historical approach enriches our critical perception of the social effects of initiatives undertaken in the name of public health, shows the shortcomings of public health interventions based on single factors and asks for a wider time scope in the assessment of current problems. The use of a historical perspective to examine the plurality of determinants in any particular health condition will help to solve the longlasting debate on the primacy of individual versus population factors, which has been particularly intense in recent times.


Keywords: history PMID:11511647

  13. Analyzing public health policy: three approaches.

    PubMed

    Coveney, John

    2010-07-01

    Policy is an important feature of public and private organizations. Within the field of health as a policy arena, public health has emerged in which policy is vital to decision making and the deployment of resources. Public health practitioners and students need to be able to analyze public health policy, yet many feel daunted by the subject's complexity. This article discusses three approaches that simplify policy analysis: Bacchi's "What's the problem?" approach examines the way that policy represents problems. Colebatch's governmentality approach provides a way of analyzing the implementation of policy. Bridgman and Davis's policy cycle allows for an appraisal of public policy development. Each approach provides an analytical framework from which to rigorously study policy. Practitioners and students of public health gain much in engaging with the politicized nature of policy, and a simple approach to policy analysis can greatly assist one's understanding and involvement in policy work.

  14. The University of Washington's Community-Oriented Public Health Practice program and Public Health-Seattle & King County partnership.

    PubMed

    House, Peter J; Hartfield, Karen; Nicola, Bud; Bogan, Sharon L

    2014-01-01

    The Community-Oriented Public Health Practice (COPHP) program, a 2-year in-residence MPH degree program in the University of Washington School of Public Health, has partnered with Public Health-Seattle & King County (PHSKC) since 2002 to create a mutually beneficial set of programs to improve teaching and address community-based public health problems in a practice setting. The COPHP program uses a problem-based learning approach that puts students in small groups to work on public health problems. Both University of Washington-based and PHSKC-based faculty facilitate the classroom work. In the first year for students, COPHP, in concert with PHSKC, places students in practicum assignments at PHSKC; in the second year, students undertake a master's project (capstone) in a community or public health agency. The capstone project entails taking on a problem in a community-based agency to improve either the health of a population or the capacity of the agency to improve population health. Both the practicum and the capstone projects emphasize applying classroom learning in actual public health practice work for community-based organizations. This partnership brings PHSKC and COPHP together in every aspect of teaching. In essence, PHSKC acts as the "academic health department" for COPHP. There are detailed agreements and contracts that guide all aspects of the partnership. Both the practicum and capstone projects require written contracts. The arrangements for getting non-University of Washington faculty paid for teaching and advising also include formal contracts.

  15. Integration, influence and change in public health: findings from a survey of Directors of Public Health in England.

    PubMed

    Jenkins, L M; Bramwell, D; Coleman, A; Gadsby, E W; Peckham, S; Perkins, N; Segar, J

    2016-09-01

    Following the Health and Social Care Act in England, public health teams were formally transferred from the NHS to local authorities in April 2013. Online survey of Directors of Public Health (DsPH) in local authorities in England (n = 152) to investigate their experience within local government 1 year on. Tests of association were used to explore relationships between the perceived integration and influence of public health, and changes in how the public health budget was being spent. The organization of and managerial arrangements for public health within councils varied. Most DsPH felt that good relationships had been established within the council, and the move had made them more able to influence priorities for health improvement, even though most felt their influence was limited. Changes in commissioning using the public health budget were already widespread and included the de-commissioning of services. There was a widespread feeling amongst DsPH that they had greater influence since the reforms, and that this went across the local authority and beyond. Public health's influence was most apparent when the transfer of staff to local government had gone well, when collaborative working relationships had developed, and when local partnership groups were seen as being effective. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Improving public health through health visitor services.

    PubMed

    Glasper, Alan

    Professor Alan Glasper discusses the Department of Health's plans to expand health visiting services in England, in an initiative which aims to support families and address public health issues such as childhood obesity.

  17. Public health practice is not research.

    PubMed

    Otto, Jean Lin; Holodniy, Mark; DeFraites, Robert F

    2014-04-01

    Scientific and clinical activities undertaken by public health agencies may be misconstrued as medical research. Most discussions of regulatory and legal oversight of medical research focus on activities involving either patients in clinical practice or volunteers in clinical trials. These discussions often exclude similar activities that constitute or support core functions of public health practice. As a result, public health agencies and practitioners may be held to inappropriate regulatory standards regarding research. Through the lens of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and using several case studies from these departments, we offer a framework for the adjudication of activities common to research and public health practice that could assist public health practitioners, research oversight authorities, and scientific journals in determining whether such activities require regulatory review and approval as research.

  18. Public Health Practice Is Not Research

    PubMed Central

    Holodniy, Mark; DeFraites, Robert F.

    2014-01-01

    Scientific and clinical activities undertaken by public health agencies may be misconstrued as medical research. Most discussions of regulatory and legal oversight of medical research focus on activities involving either patients in clinical practice or volunteers in clinical trials. These discussions often exclude similar activities that constitute or support core functions of public health practice. As a result, public health agencies and practitioners may be held to inappropriate regulatory standards regarding research. Through the lens of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and using several case studies from these departments, we offer a framework for the adjudication of activities common to research and public health practice that could assist public health practitioners, research oversight authorities, and scientific journals in determining whether such activities require regulatory review and approval as research. PMID:24524499

  19. Gender issues in medical and public health education.

    PubMed

    Wong, Y L

    2000-01-01

    There is no doubt that gender bias has been inherent in medical and public health education, research, and clinical practice. This paper discusses the central question for medical and public health educators viz. whether women's health concerns and needs could be best addressed by the conventional biomedical approach to medical and public health education, research, and practice. Gender inequalities in health and gender bias in medical and public health education are revealed. It is found that in most public health and prevention issues related to women's health, the core issue is male-female power relations, and not merely the lack of public health services, medical technology, or information. There is, thus, an urgent need to gender-sensitize public health and medical education. The paper proposes a gender analysis of health to distinguish between biological causes and social explanations for the health differentials between men and women. It also assessed some of the gender approaches to public health and medical education currently adopted in the Asia-Pacific region. It poses the pressing question of how medical and public health educators integrate the gender perspective into medical and public health education. The paper exhorts all medical and public health practitioners to explore new directions and identify innovative strategies to formulate a gender-sensitive curriculum towards the best practices in medicine and public health that will meet the health needs of women and men in the 21st century.

  20. Public Health, the APHA, and Urban Renewal

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Joint efforts by fields of public health in the last decade have advocated use of the built environment to protect health. Past involvement by public health advocates in urban policy, however, has had mixed results. Although public health has significantly contributed to health improvements, its participation in urban renewal activities was problematic. Health advocates and the American Public Health Association produced guidelines that were widely used to declare inner-city areas blighted and provided a scientific justification for demolishing neighborhoods and displacing mostly poor and minority people. Furthermore, health departments failed to uphold their legal responsibility to ensure that relocated families received safe, affordable housing alternatives. These failures have important implications for future health-related work on the built environment and other core public health activities. PMID:19608955

  1. A personalist approach to public-health ethics.

    PubMed

    Petrini, Carlo; Gainotti, Sabina

    2008-08-01

    First we give an overview of the historical development of public health. Then we present some public-health deontology codes and some ethical principles. We highlight difficulties in defining ethics for public health, with specific reference to three of them that concern: (i) the adaptability to public health of the classical principles of bioethics; (ii) the duty to respect and safeguard the individual while acting within the community perspective that is typical of public health; and (iii) the application-oriented nature of public health and the general lack of attention towards the ethical implications of collective interventions (compared with research). We then mention some proposals drafted from North American bioethics "principles" and utilitarian, liberal and communitarian views. Drawing from other approaches, personalism is outlined as being the theory that offers a consistent set of values and alternative principles that are relevant for public health.

  2. Public health nursing, ethics and human rights.

    PubMed

    Ivanov, Luba L; Oden, Tami L

    2013-05-01

    Public health nursing has a code of ethics that guides practice. This includes the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health, and the Scope and Standards of Public Health Nursing. Human rights and Rights-based care in public health nursing practice are relatively new. They reflect human rights principles as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied to public health practice. As our health care system is restructured and there are new advances in technology and genetics, a focus on providing care that is ethical and respects human rights is needed. Public health nurses can be in the forefront of providing care that reflects an ethical base and a rights-based approach to practice with populations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. What does social justice require for the public's health? Public health ethics and policy imperatives.

    PubMed

    Gostin, Lawrence O; Powers, Madison

    2006-01-01

    Justice is so central to the mission of public health that it has been described as the field's core value. This account of justice stresses the fair disbursement of common advantages and the sharing of common burdens. It captures the twin moral impulses that animate public health: to advance human well-being by improving health and to do so particularly by focusing on the needs of the most disadvantaged. This Commentary explores how social justice sheds light on major ongoing controversies in the field, and it provides examples of the kinds of policies that public health agencies, guided by a robust conception of justice, would adopt.

  4. Public policy involvement by health commissioners.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Amy; Boardley, Debra; Kerr, Dianne; Greene, Tiffany; Jenkins, Melissa

    2009-08-01

    The purpose of this national study was to determine advocacy activities and level of involvement of health commissioners regarding public policy. Benefits, barriers, and perceived outcomes of advocacy efforts were also explored. A previously validated (Holtrop et al., Am J Health Behav 24(2):132-142, 2000) four-page survey was mailed to 700 health commissioners, who were randomly selected from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) database. A three-wave mailing was performed which yielded a 50% response rate. Of these respondents, the majority (70%) were female and (88%) Caucasian. Overall, 31% of health commissioners reported being involved in influencing public policy in the last 4 years. The most common reported activities engaged in by health commissioners included voting (84%), and providing policy information to consumers or other professionals (77%). Perceived barriers to influencing policy were time, (64%), and other priorities (46%). Perceived benefits to influencing policy included improving the health of the public (94%) and making a difference in others' lives (87%). Only 15% perceived their knowledge regarding the process of changing public policy was excellent. Although health commissioners are often spokespersons for health agencies and communities, their public policy involvement is marginal. Professional preparation programs and continuing education opportunities should focus on advocacy, public policy development, and removing barriers to action.

  5. Data, Staff, and Money: Leadership Reflections on the Future of Public Health Informatics.

    PubMed

    Leider, Jonathon P; Shah, Gulzar H; Williams, Karmen S; Gupta, Akrati; Castrucci, Brian C

    Health informatics can play a critical role in supporting local health departments' (LHDs') delivery of certain essential public health services and improving evidence base for decision support. However, LHDs' informatics capacities are below an optimum level. Efforts to build such capacities face ongoing challenges. Moreover, little is known about LHD leaders' desires for the future of public health informatics. Conduct a qualitative analysis of LHDs' future informatics plans, perceived barriers to accomplishing those plans, and potential impact of future advances in public health informatics on the work of the public health enterprise. This research presents findings from 49 in-depth key informant interviews with public health leaders and informatics professionals from LHDs, representing insights from across the United States. Interviewees were selected on the basis of the size of the population their LHD serves, as well as level of informatics capacity. Interviews were transcribed, verified, and double coded. Major barriers to doing more with informatics included staff capacity and training, financial constraints, dependency on state health agency, and small LHD size/lack of regionalization. When asked about the role of leadership in expanding informatics, interviewees said that leaders could make it a priority through (1) learning more about informatics and (2) creating appropriate budgets for integrated information systems. Local health department leaders said that they desired data that were timely and geographically specific. In addition, LHD leaders said that they desired greater access to clinical data, especially around chronic disease indicators. Local health department leadership desires to have timely or even real-time data. Local health departments have a great potential to benefit from informatics, particularly electronic health records in advancing their administrative practices and service delivery, but financial and human capital represents the

  6. Global public health today: connecting the dots

    PubMed Central

    Lomazzi, Marta; Jenkins, Christopher; Borisch, Bettina

    2016-01-01

    Background Global public health today faces new challenges and is impacted by a range of actors from within and outside state boundaries. The diversity of the actors involved has created challenges and a complex environment that requires a new context-tailored global approach. The World Federation of Public Health Associations has embarked on a collaborative consultation with the World Health Organization to encourage a debate on how to adapt public health to its future role in global health. Design A qualitative study was undertaken. High-level stakeholders from leading universities, multilateral organizations, and other institutions worldwide participated in the study. Inductive content analyses were performed. Results Stakeholders underscored that global public health today should tackle the political, commercial, economic, social, and environmental determinants of health and social inequalities. A multisectoral and holistic approach should be guaranteed, engaging public health in broad dialogues and a concerted decision-making process. The connection between neoliberal ideology and public health reforms should be taken into account. The WHO must show leadership and play a supervising and technical role. More and better data are required across many programmatic areas of public health. Resources should be allocated in a sustainable and accountable way. Public health professionals need new skills that should be provided by a collaborative global education system. A common framework context-tailored to influence governments has been evaluated as useful. Conclusions The study highlighted some of the main public health challenges currently under debate in the global arena, providing interesting ideas. A more inclusive integrated vision of global health in its complexity, shared and advocated for by all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes, is crucial. This vision represents the first step in innovating public health at the global level and should lead

  7. Building Data and Information Capacity in Environmental Public Health: A Best-Worst Scaling Experiment.

    PubMed

    Wallar, Lauren E; Sargeant, Jan M; McEwen, Scott A; Mercer, Nicola J; Papadopoulos, Andrew

    Environmental public health practitioners rely on information technology (IT) to maintain and improve environmental health. However, current systems have limited capacity. A better understanding of the importance of IT features is needed to enhance data and information capacity. (1) Rank IT features according to the percentage of respondents who rated them as essential to an information management system and (2) quantify the relative importance of a subset of these features using best-worst scaling. Information technology features were initially identified from a previously published systematic review of software evaluation criteria and a list of software options from a private corporation specializing in inspection software. Duplicates and features unrelated to environmental public health were removed. The condensed list was refined by a working group of environmental public health management to a final list of 57 IT features. The essentialness of features was electronically rated by environmental public health managers. Features where 50% to 80% of respondents rated them as essential (n = 26) were subsequently evaluated using best-worst scaling. Ontario, Canada. Environmental public health professionals in local public health. Importance scores of IT features. The majority of IT features (47/57) were considered essential to an information management system by at least half of the respondents (n = 52). The highest-rated features were delivery to printer, software encryption capability, and software maintenance services. Of the 26 features evaluated in the best-worst scaling exercise, the most important features were orientation to all practice areas, off-line capability, and ability to view past inspection reports and results. The development of a single, unified environmental public health information management system that fulfills the reporting and functionality needs of system users is recommended. This system should be implemented by all public health units

  8. Putting the public (back) into public health: leadership, evidence and action.

    PubMed

    South, J; Connolly, A M; Stansfield, J A; Johnstone, P; Henderson, G; Fenton, K A

    2018-03-13

    There is a strong evidence-based rationale for community capacity building and community empowerment as part of a strategic response to reduce health inequalities. Within the current UK policy context, there are calls for increased public engagement in prevention and local decision-making in order to give people greater control over the conditions that determine health. With reference to the challenges and opportunities within the English public health system, this essay seeks to open debate about what is required to mainstream community-centred approaches and ensure that the public is central to public health. The essay sets out the case for a reorientation of public health practice in order to build impactful action with communities at scale leading to a reduction in the health gap. National frameworks that support local practice are described. Four areas of challenge that could potentially drive an implementation gap are discussed: (i) achieving integration and scale, (ii) effective community mobilization, (iii) evidencing impact and (iv) achieving a shift in power. The essay concludes with a call to action for developing a contemporary public health practice that is rooted in communities and offers local leadership to strengthen local assets, increase community control and reduce health inequalities.

  9. Electronic Health Record Application Support Service Enablers.

    PubMed

    Neofytou, M S; Neokleous, K; Aristodemou, A; Constantinou, I; Antoniou, Z; Schiza, E C; Pattichis, C S; Schizas, C N

    2015-08-01

    There is a huge need for open source software solutions in the healthcare domain, given the flexibility, interoperability and resource savings characteristics they offer. In this context, this paper presents the development of three open source libraries - Specific Enablers (SEs) for eHealth applications that were developed under the European project titled "Future Internet Social and Technological Alignment Research" (FI-STAR) funded under the "Future Internet Public Private Partnership" (FI-PPP) program. The three SEs developed under the Electronic Health Record Application Support Service Enablers (EHR-EN) correspond to: a) an Electronic Health Record enabler (EHR SE), b) a patient summary enabler based on the EU project "European patient Summary Open Source services" (epSOS SE) supporting patient mobility and the offering of interoperable services, and c) a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) enabler (PACS SE) based on the dcm4che open source system for the support of medical imaging functionality. The EHR SE follows the HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) V2.0 and supports the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) profiles (recently awarded in Connectathon 2015). These three FI-STAR platform enablers are designed to facilitate the deployment of innovative applications and value added services in the health care sector. They can be downloaded from the FI-STAR cataloque website. Work in progress focuses in the validation and evaluation scenarios for the proving and demonstration of the usability, applicability and adaptability of the proposed enablers.

  10. An Ethics Framework for Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Kass, Nancy E.

    2001-01-01

    More than 100 years ago, public health began as an organized discipline, its purpose being to improve the health of populations rather than of individuals. Given its population-based focus, however, public health perennially faces dilemmas concerning the appropriate extent of its reach and whether its activities infringe on individual liberties in ethically troublesome ways. In this article a framework for ethics analysis of public health programs is proposed. To advance traditional public health goals while maximizing individual liberties and furthering social justice, public health interventions should reduce morbidity or mortality; data must substantiate that a program (or the series of programs of which a program is a part) will reduce morbidity or mortality; burdens of the program must be identified and minimized; the program must be implemented fairly and must, at times, minimize preexisting social injustices; and fair procedures must be used to determine which burdens are acceptable to a community. PMID:11684600

  11. Defining the functions of public health governance.

    PubMed

    Carlson, Valeria; Chilton, Marita J; Corso, Liza C; Beitsch, Leslie M

    2015-04-01

    We conducted a literature review in 2011 to determine if accepted governance functions continue to reflect the role of public health governing entities. Reviewing literature and other source documents, as well as consulting with practitioners, resulted in an iterative process that identified 6 functions of public health governance and established definitions for each of these: policy development; resource stewardship; continuous improvement; partner engagement; legal authority; and oversight of a health department. These functions provided context for the role of governing entities in public health practice and aligned well with existing public health accreditation standards. Public health systems research can build from this work in future explorations of the contributions of governance to health department performance.

  12. Defining the Functions of Public Health Governance

    PubMed Central

    Chilton, Marita J.; Corso, Liza C.; Beitsch, Leslie M.

    2015-01-01

    We conducted a literature review in 2011 to determine if accepted governance functions continue to reflect the role of public health governing entities. Reviewing literature and other source documents, as well as consulting with practitioners, resulted in an iterative process that identified 6 functions of public health governance and established definitions for each of these: policy development; resource stewardship; continuous improvement; partner engagement; legal authority; and oversight of a health department. These functions provided context for the role of governing entities in public health practice and aligned well with existing public health accreditation standards. Public health systems research can build from this work in future explorations of the contributions of governance to health department performance. PMID:25689187

  13. Electronic health records to facilitate clinical research.

    PubMed

    Cowie, Martin R; Blomster, Juuso I; Curtis, Lesley H; Duclaux, Sylvie; Ford, Ian; Fritz, Fleur; Goldman, Samantha; Janmohamed, Salim; Kreuzer, Jörg; Leenay, Mark; Michel, Alexander; Ong, Seleen; Pell, Jill P; Southworth, Mary Ross; Stough, Wendy Gattis; Thoenes, Martin; Zannad, Faiez; Zalewski, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    Electronic health records (EHRs) provide opportunities to enhance patient care, embed performance measures in clinical practice, and facilitate clinical research. Concerns have been raised about the increasing recruitment challenges in trials, burdensome and obtrusive data collection, and uncertain generalizability of the results. Leveraging electronic health records to counterbalance these trends is an area of intense interest. The initial applications of electronic health records, as the primary data source is envisioned for observational studies, embedded pragmatic or post-marketing registry-based randomized studies, or comparative effectiveness studies. Advancing this approach to randomized clinical trials, electronic health records may potentially be used to assess study feasibility, to facilitate patient recruitment, and streamline data collection at baseline and follow-up. Ensuring data security and privacy, overcoming the challenges associated with linking diverse systems and maintaining infrastructure for repeat use of high quality data, are some of the challenges associated with using electronic health records in clinical research. Collaboration between academia, industry, regulatory bodies, policy makers, patients, and electronic health record vendors is critical for the greater use of electronic health records in clinical research. This manuscript identifies the key steps required to advance the role of electronic health records in cardiovascular clinical research.

  14. Public Housing, Health, and Health Behaviors: Is There a Connection?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fertig, Angela R.; Reingold, David A.

    2007-01-01

    This paper explores the relationship between public housing, health outcomes, and health behaviors among low-income housing residents. While public housing can be a dangerous and unhealthy environment in which to live, the subsidized rent may free up resources for nutritious food and health care. In addition, public housing may be of higher…

  15. [Notes for understanding the problem of "public" health in the health sector].

    PubMed

    Guimarães, Cristian Fabiano; da Silva, Rosane Azevedo Neves

    2015-03-01

    This paper presents a theoretical review of how the public health concept has been perceived in health practices, based on the problematic field introduced in Italian and Brazilian health reforms, in order to understand the construction of public health and the meanings that this term acquires in the health arena. The main goal is to understand how public health appears in the context of health movements in Italy and Brazil, as well as its movement of variation. In this sense, an attempt is made to identify elements that contribute to the composition of a genealogy of public health. From the investigation of public health practices, the tensions produced by this concept are analyzed, giving visibility to those practices that demonstrate the public health experience as a force in the world of health.

  16. Soil and public health: invisible bridges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pachepsky, Yakov

    2017-04-01

    Public health institutions, as ancient as civilizations itself, are intrinsically connected with soils. The massive body of the empirical knowledge about this connection has been accumulated. Recently unraveling the underlying mechanisms of this link has begun, and many of them appear to have the microbiological origin. The impressive progress in understanding the nexus between soil and health has been achieved by experimentation with preserved soil microbial systems functioning along with the metagenomic characterization. The objective of this work is to present an overview of some recent onsets. In the food safety arena, survival of human pathogens in soils has been related to the degree of soil eutrophication and/or related structure of soil microbial communities. Soil microbial systems affect the affinity of plants to internalizing pathogenic organisms. Pharmaceutical arsenals benefit from using field soil environment for developing antibiotics. Enzyme production by soil bacteria is used as the signal source for drug activation. Sanitary functions of sols are dependent on soil microbial system workings. The healthy living can be enhanced by the human immune system training received from direct contact with soils. The hygiene hypothesis considers the microbial input due to exposure to soil as the essential ecosystem service. The invisible links between soil and public health result in large-scale consequences. Examples of concurrent degradation of soil and public health are worth scrutinizing. Public health records can provide valuable sources of 'soil-public health' interactions. It may be worthwhile to examine current assessments of soil health from the public health standpoint. Soil management can be an efficient instrument of public health control.

  17. The case for transforming governmental public health.

    PubMed

    Salinsky, Eileen; Gursky, Elin A

    2006-01-01

    Changing threats to the public's health necessitate a profound transformation of the public health enterprise. Despite recent attention to the biodefense role of public health, policymakers have not developed a clear, realistic vision for the structure and functionality of the governmental public health system. Lack of leadership and organizational disconnects across levels of government have prevented strategic alignment of resources and undermined momentum for meaningful change. A transformed public health system is needed to address the demands of emergency preparedness and health protection. Such transformation should include focused, risk-based resource allocation; regional planning; technological upgrades; workforce restructuring; improved integration of private-sector assets; and better performance monitoring.

  18. Use of Electronic Technologies to Promote Community and Personal Health for Individuals Unconnected to Health Care Systems

    PubMed Central

    Crilly, John F.; Volpe, Fred

    2011-01-01

    Ensuring health care services for populations outside the mainstream health care system is challenging for all providers. But developing the health care infrastructure to better serve such unconnected individuals is critical to their health care status, to third-party payers, to overall cost savings in public health, and to reducing health disparities. Our increasingly sophisticated electronic technologies offer promising ways to more effectively engage this difficult to reach group and increase its access to health care resources. This process requires developing not only newer technologies but also collaboration between community leaders and health care providers to bring unconnected individuals into formal health care systems. We present three strategies to reach vulnerable groups, outline benefits and challenges, and provide examples of successful programs. PMID:21566023

  19. Beyond Research Ethics: Novel Approaches of 3 Major Public Health Institutions to Provide Ethics Input on Public Health Practice Activities.

    PubMed

    Klingler, Corinna; Barrett, Drue H; Ondrusek, Nancy; Johnson, Brooke R; Saxena, Abha; Reis, Andreas A

    2018-02-23

    Public health institutions increasingly realize the importance of creating a culture in their organizations that values ethics. When developing strategies to strengthen ethics, institutions will have to take into account that while public health research projects typically undergo thorough ethics review, activities considered public health practice may not be subjected to similar oversight. This approach, based on a research-practice dichotomy, is increasingly being criticized as it does not adequately identify and manage ethically relevant risks to those affected by nonresearch activities. As a reaction, 3 major public health institutions (the World Health Organization, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Public Health Ontario) have implemented mechanisms for ethics review of public health practice activities. In this article, we describe and critically discuss the different modalities of the 3 approaches. We argue that although further evaluation is necessary to determine the effectiveness of the different approaches, public health institutions should strive to implement procedures to ensure that public health practice adheres to the highest ethical standards.

  20. AGU Council makes major commitment to the future of electronic publication

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    The establishment of a "perpetual care trust fund for AGU's electronic archives," which was done at the December 1996 meeting, is perhaps one of the most far-reaching actions ever taken by the AGU Council. The Union recognizes that it has a responsibility to the scientific community to assure that AGU publications are available in the future. Without the careful protection and upgrading of the files developed for AGU's electronic publications, there could be a hiatus in the archive of the body of knowledge. The costs associated with the maintenance of the electronic archive for these publications will be a continuing obligation of the Union, one that may be too large to be absorbed in the annual operating budget. Thus, the Council at the recommendation of the Publications Committee set up a trust fund to help ensure that AGU has the financial resources to maintain an archive of the material included in its electronic publications, to refresh these files on a regular basis, and to migrate the material in the archive to new formats and media as the technology for electronic publishing changes.

  1. Zoning, equity, and public health.

    PubMed

    Maantay, J

    2001-07-01

    Zoning, the most prevalent land use planning tool in the United States, has substantial implications for equity and public health. Zoning determines where various categories of land use may go, thereby influencing the location of resulting environmental and health impacts. Industrially zoned areas permit noxious land uses and typically carry higher environmental burdens than other areas. Using New York City as a case study, the author shows that industrial zones have large residential populations within them or nearby. Noxious uses tend to be concentrated in poor and minority industrial neighborhoods because more affluent industrial areas and those with lower minority populations are rezoned for other uses, and industrial zones in poorer neighborhoods are expanded. Zoning policies, therefore, can have adverse impacts on public health and equity. The location of noxious uses and the pollution they generate have ramifications for global public health and equity; these uses have been concentrated in the world's poorer places as well as in poorer places within more affluent countries. Planners, policymakers, and public health professionals must collaborate on a worldwide basis to address these equity, health, and land use planning problems.

  2. Zoning, equity, and public health.

    PubMed Central

    Maantay, J

    2001-01-01

    Zoning, the most prevalent land use planning tool in the United States, has substantial implications for equity and public health. Zoning determines where various categories of land use may go, thereby influencing the location of resulting environmental and health impacts. Industrially zoned areas permit noxious land uses and typically carry higher environmental burdens than other areas. Using New York City as a case study, the author shows that industrial zones have large residential populations within them or nearby. Noxious uses tend to be concentrated in poor and minority industrial neighborhoods because more affluent industrial areas and those with lower minority populations are rezoned for other uses, and industrial zones in poorer neighborhoods are expanded. Zoning policies, therefore, can have adverse impacts on public health and equity. The location of noxious uses and the pollution they generate have ramifications for global public health and equity; these uses have been concentrated in the world's poorer places as well as in poorer places within more affluent countries. Planners, policymakers, and public health professionals must collaborate on a worldwide basis to address these equity, health, and land use planning problems. PMID:11441726

  3. Public Health Educational Information Other Resources

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This page provides educational information and resources to assist public health officials, air quality managers, health care providers and others in providing information on the health effects of wildfire and wildland fire smoke to the public.

  4. [Health and environment: the 2nd public health revolution.].

    PubMed

    Cicolella, André

    2010-01-01

    As of the mid-19th century, most infectious disease epidemics have been fought and slowed down by taking action on the environment (water, housing, waste) and education. This constitutes the 1st public health revolution paradigm. As we face the current epidemic of chronic diseases and the failure of the dominant biomedical model to stop them, a 2nd public health revolution is needed. The vision for this 2nd public health revolution requires a new paradigm built upon an eco-systemic definition of health and the recognition of the legitimacy for citizen participation based on the precautionary principle.

  5. Do we develop public health leaders?- association between public health competencies and emotional intelligence: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Malho, André; Schröder-Bäck, Peter; Popa, Daniela; Burazeri, Genc

    2014-04-17

    Professional development of public health leaders requires a form of instruction which is competency-based to help them develop the abilities to address complex and evolving demands of health care systems. Concurrently, emotional intelligence (EI) is a key to organisational success. Our aim was twofold: i) to assess the relationship between the level of self-assessed public health and EI competencies among Master of European Public Health (MEPH) students and graduates at Maastricht University, and; ii) to determine the relationship between different groups of public health competencies and specific EI skills. A cross-sectional study was conducted including all recent MEPH graduates and students from 2009-2012, out of 67 eligible candidates N = 51 were contacted and N = 33 responded (11 males and 22 females; overall response: 64.7%).Two validated tools were employed: i) public health competencies self-assessment questionnaire, and; ii) Assessing Emotions Scale. Females scored higher than males in all seven domains of the self-assessed key public health competencies (NS) and emotional intelligence competences (P = 0.022). Overall, the mean value of public health competencies was the lowest in students with "staff" preferences and the highest among students with mixed job preferences (P < 0.001). There was evidence of a correlation between the overall public health competencies and the overall emotional intelligence competencies (r = 0.61, P < 0.001). The study shows a positive correlation between public health specific competencies and EI attributes. It can contribute to the improvement of the educational content of PH curricula by rising awareness through self-assessment and supporting the identification of further educational needs related to leadership.

  6. Health for all: a fundamental goal of public health in our region.

    PubMed

    Binns, Colin; Lee, Mi Kyung

    2015-01-01

    Since its foundation 30 years ago, the mission of the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health has been promoting "health for all" through public health. "Health for all" became the theme of Walter Patrick's public health career and inspired his contribution to APACPH. However, the universality of health care is now under threat, more from economists and politicians than public health workers. Health for all remains a continuing challenge for all public health workers in our region. Progress is being made toward this goal as life expectancy in the Western Pacific has increased from 64 to 78 in the past 3 decades. Prof Walter Patrick was strong public health advocate, and this review was written as a tribute to good friend and inspiring colleague who believed in, and worked for "health for all." © 2014 APJPH.

  7. The Indian Health Program of the U.S. Public Health Service.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Public Health Service (DHEW), Arlington, VA.

    As reported in this publication, about 410,000 Alaskan Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts receive a full range of curative, preventive, and rehabilitative health services--including hospitalization, outpatient medical care, public health nursing, maternal and child health care, dental and nutrition services, and health education. The U.S. Public Health…

  8. Health Care Personnel Perception of the Privacy of Electronic Health Records.

    PubMed

    Saito, Kenji; Shofer, Frances S; Saberi, Poune; Green-McKenzie, Judith

    2017-06-01

    : Health care facilities are increasingly converting paper medical records to electronic health records. This study investigates the perception of privacy health care personnel have of electronic health records. A pilot tested, anonymous survey was administered to a convenience sample of health care personnel. Standard summary statistics and Chi-square analysis were used to assess differences in perception. Of the 93% (96/103) who responded, 65% were female and 43% white. The mean age was 44.3 years. Most (94%) felt that Medical Record privacy was important and one-third reported they would not seek care at their workplace if Electronic Health Records were used. Efforts to assure and communicate the integrity of electronic health records are essential toward reducing deterrents for health care personnel to access geographically convenient and timely health care.

  9. Systems Science Methods in Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Luke, Douglas A.; Stamatakis, Katherine A.

    2012-01-01

    Complex systems abound in public health. Complex systems are made up of heterogeneous elements that interact with one another, have emergent properties that are not explained by understanding the individual elements of the system, persist over time and adapt to changing circumstances. Public health is starting to use results from systems science studies to shape practice and policy, for example in preparing for global pandemics. However, systems science study designs and analytic methods remain underutilized and are not widely featured in public health curricula or training. In this review we present an argument for the utility of systems science methods in public health, introduce three important systems science methods (system dynamics, network analysis, and agent-based modeling), and provide three case studies where these methods have been used to answer important public health science questions in the areas of infectious disease, tobacco control, and obesity. PMID:22224885

  10. Firearms, Youth Homicide, and Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Levine, Robert S.; Goldzweig, Irwin; Kilbourne, Barbara; Juarez, Paul

    2012-01-01

    Homicide is seven times as common among U.S. non-Hispanic Black as among non-Hispanic White youth ages 15 to 24 years. In 83% of these youth homicides, the murder weapon is a firearm. Yet, for more than a decade, the national public health position on youth violence has been largely silent about the role of firearms, and tools used by public health professionals to reduce harm from other potential hazards have been unusable where guns are concerned. This deprives already underserved populations from the full benefits public health agencies might be able to deliver. In part, political prohibitions against research about direct measures of firearm control and the absence of valid public health surveillance are responsible. More refined epidemiologic theories as well as traditional public health methods are needed if the U.S. aims to reduce disparate Black-White youth homicide rates. PMID:22643459

  11. Speculating on health: public health meets finance in 'health impact bonds'.

    PubMed

    Rowe, Rachel; Stephenson, Niamh

    2016-11-01

    Where modern public health developed techniques to calculate probability, potentiality, risk and uncertainty, contemporary finance introduces instruments that redeploy these. This article traces possibilities for interrogating the connection between health and financialisation as it is arising in one particular example - the health impact bond. It locates the development of this very recent financial innovation in an account of public health's role within governance strategies over the 20th century to the present. We examine how social impact bonds for chronic disease prevention programmes bring two previously distinct ways of thinking about and addressing risk into the same domain. Exploring the derivative-type properties of health impact bonds elucidates the financial processes of exchange, hedging, bundling and leveraging. As tools for speculation, the functions of health impact bonds can be delinked from any particular outcome for participants in health interventions. How public health techniques for knowing and acting on risks to population health will contest, rework or be subsumed within finance's speculative response to risk, is to be seen. © 2016 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

  12. Political Theory, Values and Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Latham, Stephen R.

    2016-01-01

    This article offers some general criticisms of the idea that any political theory can legitimate public health interventions, and then some particular criticisms of Civic Republicanism as a political theory for public health. Civic Republicanism, I argue, legitimizes liberty-infringing public health interventions by demanding high levels of civic engagement in framing and reviewing them; to demand such engagement in pursuit of such a baseline value as health will leave insufficient civic energy for the pursuit of higher values. PMID:27551295

  13. Statistical methods used in the public health literature and implications for training of public health professionals

    PubMed Central

    Hayat, Matthew J.; Powell, Amanda; Johnson, Tessa; Cadwell, Betsy L.

    2017-01-01

    Statistical literacy and knowledge is needed to read and understand the public health literature. The purpose of this study was to quantify basic and advanced statistical methods used in public health research. We randomly sampled 216 published articles from seven top tier general public health journals. Studies were reviewed by two readers and a standardized data collection form completed for each article. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and frequency distributions. Results were summarized for statistical methods used in the literature, including descriptive and inferential statistics, modeling, advanced statistical techniques, and statistical software used. Approximately 81.9% of articles reported an observational study design and 93.1% of articles were substantively focused. Descriptive statistics in table or graphical form were reported in more than 95% of the articles, and statistical inference reported in more than 76% of the studies reviewed. These results reveal the types of statistical methods currently used in the public health literature. Although this study did not obtain information on what should be taught, information on statistical methods being used is useful for curriculum development in graduate health sciences education, as well as making informed decisions about continuing education for public health professionals. PMID:28591190

  14. Statistical methods used in the public health literature and implications for training of public health professionals.

    PubMed

    Hayat, Matthew J; Powell, Amanda; Johnson, Tessa; Cadwell, Betsy L

    2017-01-01

    Statistical literacy and knowledge is needed to read and understand the public health literature. The purpose of this study was to quantify basic and advanced statistical methods used in public health research. We randomly sampled 216 published articles from seven top tier general public health journals. Studies were reviewed by two readers and a standardized data collection form completed for each article. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and frequency distributions. Results were summarized for statistical methods used in the literature, including descriptive and inferential statistics, modeling, advanced statistical techniques, and statistical software used. Approximately 81.9% of articles reported an observational study design and 93.1% of articles were substantively focused. Descriptive statistics in table or graphical form were reported in more than 95% of the articles, and statistical inference reported in more than 76% of the studies reviewed. These results reveal the types of statistical methods currently used in the public health literature. Although this study did not obtain information on what should be taught, information on statistical methods being used is useful for curriculum development in graduate health sciences education, as well as making informed decisions about continuing education for public health professionals.

  15. Malware and Disease: Lessons from Cyber Intelligence for Public Health Surveillance.

    PubMed

    Smith, Frank L

    2016-01-01

    Malicious software and infectious diseases are similar is several respects, as are the functional requirements for surveillance and intelligence to defend against these threats. Given these similarities, this article compares and contrasts the actors, relationships, and norms at work in cyber intelligence and disease surveillance. Historical analysis reveals that civilian cyber defense is more decentralized, private, and voluntary than public health in the United States. Most of these differences are due to political choices rather than technical necessities. In particular, political resistance to government institutions has shaped cyber intelligence over the past 30 years, which is a troubling sign for attempts to improve disease surveillance through local, state, and federal health departments. Information sharing about malware is also limited, despite information technology being integral to cyberspace. Such limits suggest that automation through electronic health records will not automatically improve public health surveillance. Still, certain aspects of information sharing and analysis for cyber defense are worth emulating or, at the very least, learning from to help detect and manage health threats.

  16. Malware and Disease: Lessons from Cyber Intelligence for Public Health Surveillance

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Frank L.

    2016-01-01

    Malicious software and infectious diseases are similar is several respects, as are the functional requirements for surveillance and intelligence to defend against these threats. Given these similarities, this article compares and contrasts the actors, relationships, and norms at work in cyber intelligence and disease surveillance. Historical analysis reveals that civilian cyber defense is more decentralized, private, and voluntary than public health in the United States. Most of these differences are due to political choices rather than technical necessities. In particular, political resistance to government institutions has shaped cyber intelligence over the past 30 years, which is a troubling sign for attempts to improve disease surveillance through local, state, and federal health departments. Information sharing about malware is also limited, despite information technology being integral to cyberspace. Such limits suggest that automation through electronic health records will not automatically improve public health surveillance. Still, certain aspects of information sharing and analysis for cyber defense are worth emulating or, at the very least, learning from to help detect and manage health threats. PMID:27564783

  17. The Problem With Estimating Public Health Spending.

    PubMed

    Leider, Jonathon P

    2016-01-01

    Accurate information on how much the United States spends on public health is critical. These estimates affect planning efforts; reflect the value society places on the public health enterprise; and allows for the demonstration of cost-effectiveness of programs, policies, and services aimed at increasing population health. Yet, at present, there are a limited number of sources of systematic public health finance data. Each of these sources is collected in different ways, for different reasons, and so yields strikingly different results. This article aims to compare and contrast all 4 current national public health finance data sets, including data compiled by Trust for America's Health, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the Census, which underlie the oft-cited National Health Expenditure Account estimates of public health activity. In FY2008, ASTHO estimates that state health agencies spent $24 billion ($94 per capita on average, median $79), while the Census estimated all state governmental agencies including state health agencies spent $60 billion on public health ($200 per capita on average, median $166). Census public health data suggest that local governments spent an average of $87 per capita (median $57), whereas NACCHO estimates that reporting LHDs spent $64 per capita on average (median $36) in FY2008. We conclude that these estimates differ because the various organizations collect data using different means, data definitions, and inclusion/exclusion criteria--most notably around whether to include spending by all agencies versus a state/local health department, and whether behavioral health, disability, and some clinical care spending are included in estimates. Alongside deeper analysis of presently underutilized Census administrative data, we see harmonization efforts and the creation of a standardized expenditure reporting system as a way to

  18. Public Acceptability of E-Mental Health Treatment Services for Psychological Problems: A Scoping Review

    PubMed Central

    Kemper, Jessica; Stürmer, Carolina

    2017-01-01

    Background Over the past decades, the deficient provision of evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental health problems has become a global challenge across health care systems. In view of the ongoing diffusion of new media and mobile technologies into everyday life, Web-delivered electronic mental health (e-mental health) treatment services have been suggested to expand the access to professional help. However, the large-scale dissemination and adoption of innovative e-mental health services is progressing slowly. This discrepancy between potential and actual impact in public health makes it essential to explore public acceptability of e-mental health treatment services across health care systems. Objective This scoping review aimed to identify and evaluate recent empirical evidence for public acceptability, service preferences, and attitudes toward e-mental health treatments. On the basis of both frameworks for technology adoption and previous research, we defined (1) perceived helpfulness and (2) intentions to use e-mental health treatment services as indicators for public acceptability in the respective general population of reviewed studies. This mapping should reduce heterogeneity and help derive implications for systematic reviews and public health strategies. Methods We systematically searched electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, Psyndex, PsycARTICLES, and Cochrane Library, using reference management software for parallel searches) to identify surveys published in English in peer-reviewed journals between January 2010 and December 2015, focusing on public perceptions about e-mental health treatments outside the context of clinical, psychosocial, or diagnostic interventions. Both indicators were obtained from previous review. Exclusion criteria further involved studies targeting specific groups or programs. Results The simultaneous database search identified 76 nonduplicate records. Four articles from Europe and

  19. Extended use of electronic health records by primary care physicians: Does the electronic health record artefact matter?

    PubMed

    Raymond, Louis; Paré, Guy; Marchand, Marie

    2017-04-01

    The deployment of electronic health record systems is deemed to play a decisive role in the transformations currently being implemented in primary care medical practices. This study aims to characterize electronic health record systems from the perspective of family physicians. To achieve this goal, we conducted a survey of physicians practising in private clinics located in Quebec, Canada. We used valid responses from 331 respondents who were found to be representative of the larger population. Data provided by the physicians using the top three electronic health record software products were analysed in order to obtain statistically adequate sub-sample sizes. Significant differences were observed among the three products with regard to their functional capability. The extent to which each of the electronic health record functionalities are used by physicians also varied significantly. Our results confirm that the electronic health record artefact 'does matter', its clinical functionalities explaining why certain physicians make more extended use of their system than others.

  20. Public health research systems in the European union

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Strengthening health research is an important objective for international health organisations, but there has been less attention to support for health research in Europe. We describe the public-health (population and organisational level) research systems in the 27 European Union countries. Methods We developed a typology for describing health research structures based on funding streams and strategies. We drew data from internet sources and asked country informants to review these for consistency and completeness. The structures were described as organograms and narratives in country profiles for each of the 27 EU member states. National public-health research structures included public and independent funding organisations, 'mixed' institutions (which receive funds, and both use and allocate them) and provider institutions. Results Most health research is funded through ministries of science or science councils (and sometimes foundations), while parliaments and regions may also contribute. National institutes of public health are usually funded by ministries of health. Many national research organisations both determine research programmes and undertake health research, but there is a move towards public-health sciences within the universities, and a transition from internal grants to competitive funding. Of 27 national research strategies, 17 referred to health and 11 to public health themes. Although all countries had strategies for public health itself, we found little coherence in public-health research programmes. The European Commission has country contact points for both EU research and health programmes, but they do not coordinate with national health-research programmes. Conclusions Public-health research is broadly distributed across programmes in EU countries. Better understanding of research structures, programmes and results would improve recognition for public health in Europe, and contribute to practice. EU ministries of health should

  1. Enabling Patient Control of Personal Electronic Health Records Through Distributed Ledger Technology.

    PubMed

    Cunningham, James; Ainsworth, John

    2017-01-01

    The rise of distributed ledger technology, initiated and exemplified by the Bitcoin blockchain, is having an increasing impact on information technology environments in which there is an emphasis on trust and security. Management of electronic health records, where both conformation to legislative regulations and maintenance of public trust are paramount, is an area where the impact of these new technologies may be particularly beneficial. We present a system that enables fine-grained personalized control of third-party access to patients' electronic health records, allowing individuals to specify when and how their records are accessed for research purposes. The use of the smart contract based Ethereum blockchain technology to implement this system allows it to operate in a verifiably secure, trustless, and openly auditable environment, features crucial to health information systems moving forward.

  2. Building an Ontology for Identity Resolution in Healthcare and Public Health.

    PubMed

    Duncan, Jeffrey; Eilbeck, Karen; Narus, Scott P; Clyde, Stephen; Thornton, Sidney; Staes, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    Integration of disparate information from electronic health records, clinical data warehouses, birth certificate registries and other public health information systems offers great potential for clinical care, public health practice, and research. Such integration, however, depends on correctly matching patient-specific records using demographic identifiers. Without standards for these identifiers, record linkage is complicated by issues of structural and semantic heterogeneity. Our objectives were to develop and validate an ontology to: 1) identify components of identity and events subsequent to birth that result in creation, change, or sharing of identity information; 2) develop an ontology to facilitate data integration from multiple healthcare and public health sources; and 3) validate the ontology's ability to model identity-changing events over time. We interviewed domain experts in area hospitals and public health programs and developed process models describing the creation and transmission of identity information among various organizations for activities subsequent to a birth event. We searched for existing relevant ontologies. We validated the content of our ontology with simulated identity information conforming to scenarios identified in our process models. We chose the Simple Event Model (SEM) to describe events in early childhood and integrated the Clinical Element Model (CEM) for demographic information. We demonstrated the ability of the combined SEM-CEM ontology to model identity events over time. The use of an ontology can overcome issues of semantic and syntactic heterogeneity to facilitate record linkage.

  3. Building an Ontology for Identity Resolution in Healthcare and Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Duncan, Jeffrey; Eilbeck, Karen; Narus, Scott P.; Clyde, Stephen; Thornton, Sidney; Staes, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    Integration of disparate information from electronic health records, clinical data warehouses, birth certificate registries and other public health information systems offers great potential for clinical care, public health practice, and research. Such integration, however, depends on correctly matching patient-specific records using demographic identifiers. Without standards for these identifiers, record linkage is complicated by issues of structural and semantic heterogeneity. Objectives: Our objectives were to develop and validate an ontology to: 1) identify components of identity and events subsequent to birth that result in creation, change, or sharing of identity information; 2) develop an ontology to facilitate data integration from multiple healthcare and public health sources; and 3) validate the ontology’s ability to model identity-changing events over time. Methods: We interviewed domain experts in area hospitals and public health programs and developed process models describing the creation and transmission of identity information among various organizations for activities subsequent to a birth event. We searched for existing relevant ontologies. We validated the content of our ontology with simulated identity information conforming to scenarios identified in our process models. Results: We chose the Simple Event Model (SEM) to describe events in early childhood and integrated the Clinical Element Model (CEM) for demographic information. We demonstrated the ability of the combined SEM-CEM ontology to model identity events over time. Conclusion: The use of an ontology can overcome issues of semantic and syntactic heterogeneity to facilitate record linkage. PMID:26392849

  4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Public Health: Online and Integrated into Core Master of Public Health Subjects

    PubMed Central

    Angus, Lynnell; Ewen, Shaun; Coombe, Leanne

    2016-01-01

    The Master of Public Health (MPH) is an internationally recognised post-graduate qualification for building the public health workforce. In Australia, MPH graduate attributes include six Indigenous public health (IPH) competencies. The University of Melbourne MPH program includes five core subjects and ten specialisation streams, of which one is Indigenous health. Unless students complete this specialisation or electives in Indigenous health, it is possible for students to graduate without attaining the IPH competencies. To address this issue in a crowded and competitive curriculum an innovative approach to integrating the IPH competencies in core MPH subjects was developed. Five online modules that corresponded with the learning outcomes of the core public health subjects were developed, implemented and evaluated in 2015. This brief report outlines the conceptualisation, development, and description of the curriculum content; it also provides preliminary student evaluation and staff feedback on the integration project. Significance for public health This approach to a comprehensive, online, integrated Indigenous public health (IPH) curriculum is significant, as it ensures that all University of Melbourne Master of Public Health (MPH) graduates will have the competencies to positively contribute to Indigenous health status. A workforce that is attuned not only to the challenges of IPH, but also to the principles of self-determination, Indigenous agency and collaboration is better equipped to be comprised of ethical and judgment-safe practitioners. Additionally, the outlined approach of utilizing IPH content and examples into core MPH subjects ensures both the Australian relevance for an Australian-based health professional course and international appeal through the modules inclusion of International Indigenous case-studies and content. Furthermore, approaches learned in a challenging Indigenous Australian context are transferable and applicable to other IPH

  5. Text Messaging to Communicate With Public Health Audiences: How the HIPAA Security Rule Affects Practice

    PubMed Central

    Karasz, Hilary N.; Eiden, Amy; Bogan, Sharon

    2013-01-01

    Text messaging is a powerful communication tool for public health purposes, particularly because of the potential to customize messages to meet individuals’ needs. However, using text messaging to send personal health information requires analysis of laws addressing the protection of electronic health information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule is written with flexibility to account for changing technologies. In practice, however, the rule leads to uncertainty about how to make text messaging policy decisions. Text messaging to send health information can be implemented in a public health setting through 2 possible approaches: restructuring text messages to remove personal health information and retaining limited personal health information in the message but conducting a risk analysis and satisfying other requirements to meet the HIPAA Security Rule. PMID:23409902

  6. Text messaging to communicate with public health audiences: how the HIPAA Security Rule affects practice.

    PubMed

    Karasz, Hilary N; Eiden, Amy; Bogan, Sharon

    2013-04-01

    Text messaging is a powerful communication tool for public health purposes, particularly because of the potential to customize messages to meet individuals' needs. However, using text messaging to send personal health information requires analysis of laws addressing the protection of electronic health information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule is written with flexibility to account for changing technologies. In practice, however, the rule leads to uncertainty about how to make text messaging policy decisions. Text messaging to send health information can be implemented in a public health setting through 2 possible approaches: restructuring text messages to remove personal health information and retaining limited personal health information in the message but conducting a risk analysis and satisfying other requirements to meet the HIPAA Security Rule.

  7. The Partnership of Public Health and Anthropology.

    PubMed

    Jelenc, Marjetka

    2016-06-01

    Public health focuses on health of the population and it is concerned with threats to health based on population health analysis. Anthropology covers most aspects that concern human beings. Both sciences converge on community and this fact represents a foundation for the partnership between public health and anthropology. Biological/medical anthropology is one of the highly developed fi elds of anthropology and the most important for public health.

  8. World Health Organization and disease surveillance: Jeopardizing global public health?

    PubMed

    Blouin Genest, Gabriel

    2015-11-01

    Health issues now evolve in a global context. Real-time global surveillance, global disease mapping and global risk management characterize what have been termed 'global public health'. It has generated many programmes and policies, notably through the work of the World Health Organization. This globalized form of public health raises, however, some important issues left unchallenged, including its effectiveness, objectivity and legitimacy. The general objective of this article is to underline the impacts of WHO disease surveillance on the practice and theorization of global public health. By using the surveillance structure established by the World Health Organization and reinforced by the 2005 International Health Regulations as a case study, we argue that the policing of 'circulating risks' emerged as a dramatic paradox for global public health policy. This situation severely affects the rationale of health interventions as well as the lives of millions around the world, while travestying the meaning of health, disease and risks. To do so, we use health surveillance data collected by the WHO Disease Outbreak News System in order to map the impacts of global health surveillance on health policy rationale and theory. © The Author(s) 2014.

  9. Migration: a core public health ethics issue.

    PubMed

    Wild, V; Dawson, A

    2018-05-01

    In this article, we outline the link between migration, public health and ethics. Discussing relevant arguments about migration from the perspective of public health and public health ethics. Critical review of theories and frameworks, case-based analysis and systematic identification and discussion of challenges. Migration is a core issue of public health ethics and must take a case-based approach: seeking to identify the specific ethical dimensions and vulnerabilities in each particular context. Public health as a practice, built upon the core value of justice, requires the protection and promotion of migrants' well-being (even if this produces tension with immigration services). Ethical analysis should take all phases of migration into account: before, during and after transit. We argue that migration policies, at least as they relate to migrants' well-being, should be founded upon a shared humanity, respect for human rights and on the idea that effective public health cannot and should not be confined within the borders and to the citizens of any host country. We make the case for migration to be seen as a core issue of public health ethics. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. The National Public Health Leadership Institute: evaluation of a team-based approach to developing collaborative public health leaders.

    PubMed

    Umble, Karl; Steffen, David; Porter, Janet; Miller, Delesha; Hummer-McLaughlin, Kelley; Lowman, Amy; Zelt, Susan

    2005-04-01

    Recent public health literature contains calls for collaborative public health interventions and for leaders capable of guiding them. The National Public Health Leadership Institute aims to develop collaborative leaders and to strengthen networks of leaders who share knowledge and jointly address public health problems. Evaluation results show that completing the institute training increases collaborative leadership and builds knowledge-sharing and problem-solving networks. These practices and networks strengthen interorganizational relationships, coalitions, services, programs, and policies. Intensive team-and project-based learning are key to the program's impact.

  11. Evaluating community-based public health leadership training.

    PubMed

    Ceraso, Marion; Gruebling, Kirsten; Layde, Peter; Remington, Patrick; Hill, Barbara; Morzinski, Jeffrey; Ore, Peggy

    2011-01-01

    Addressing the nation's increasingly complex public health challenges will require more effective multisector collaboration and stronger public health leadership. In 2005, the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute launched an annual, year-long intensive "community teams" program. The goal of this program is to develop collaborative leadership and public health skills among Wisconsin-based multisectoral teams mobilizing their communities to improve public health. To measure the scope of participation and program impacts on individual learning and practice, including application of new knowledge and collective achievements of teams on coalition and short-term community outcomes. End-of-year participant program evaluations and follow-up telephone interviews with participants 20 months after program completion. Community-based public health leadership training program. Sixty-eight participants in the Community Teams Program during the years 2006 to 2007 and 2007 to 2008. Professional diversity of program participants; individual learning and practice, including application of new knowledge; and collective achievements of teams, including coalition and short-term community outcomes. Participants in the Community Teams Program represent a diversity of sectors, including nonprofit, governmental, academic, business, and local public health. Participation increased knowledge across all public health and leadership competency areas covered in the program. Participating teams reported outcomes, including increased engagement of community leadership, expansion of preventive services, increased media coverage, strengthened community coalitions, and increased grant funding. Evaluation of this community-based approach to public health leadership training has shown it to be a promising model for building collaborative and public health leadership skills and initiating sustained community change for health improvement.

  12. [Professionalization of public health officers in Japan].

    PubMed

    Yokota, Yoko

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, I describe how public health officers in Japan in the period of the late Taisho and early Showa eras claimed their position as professionals in the sanitary administrations of central and local governments. In the background of this push for recognition, there were related international and national movements. Internationally, public health ministries were established in developed countries and the League of Nations Health Organization (LNHO) was created. LNHO wanted to improve the level of public health officials world-wide, so the organization sponsored international exchanges of officials. These activities made a strong impression on Japanese public health officials, who realized that they belonged to an internationally recognized profession and that they needed to work hard to improve the substandard Japanese public health situation. Meanwhile, at the level of domestic politics, there were several movements of technical experts in different fields of government administration that worked to fight the unfair treatment of administrative officials, a situation that had existed since Meiji Period. The public health officers collaborated with the other technical experts to improve their positions and to play key roles in society. But while the other technical experts actively pursued social leadership, public health officials wanted to remain scientists. This is because the sanitary departments in the local governments were organized within police departments. In this environment, the law was dominant and science was secondary. But public health officials insisted that the basis of public health should be science, so they emphasized their scientific expertise.

  13. Do we develop public health leaders?- association between public health competencies and emotional intelligence: a cross-sectional study

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Professional development of public health leaders requires a form of instruction which is competency-based to help them develop the abilities to address complex and evolving demands of health care systems. Concurrently, emotional intelligence (EI) is a key to organisational success. Our aim was twofold: i) to assess the relationship between the level of self-assessed public health and EI competencies among Master of European Public Health (MEPH) students and graduates at Maastricht University, and; ii) to determine the relationship between different groups of public health competencies and specific EI skills. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted including all recent MEPH graduates and students from 2009–2012, out of 67 eligible candidates N = 51 were contacted and N = 33 responded (11 males and 22 females; overall response: 64.7%).Two validated tools were employed: i) public health competencies self-assessment questionnaire, and; ii) Assessing Emotions Scale. Results Females scored higher than males in all seven domains of the self-assessed key public health competencies (NS) and emotional intelligence competences (P = 0.022). Overall, the mean value of public health competencies was the lowest in students with “staff” preferences and the highest among students with mixed job preferences (P < 0.001). There was evidence of a correlation between the overall public health competencies and the overall emotional intelligence competencies (r = 0.61, P < 0.001). Conclusions The study shows a positive correlation between public health specific competencies and EI attributes. It can contribute to the improvement of the educational content of PH curricula by rising awareness through self-assessment and supporting the identification of further educational needs related to leadership. PMID:24742091

  14. Electronic Publication: Writing for the Screen.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharples, Mike

    1999-01-01

    Addresses paper versus electronic publication, discussing the implications for reading and writing, and whether it is as easy to read from a screen as from a book. Notes that the computer medium arose from a research project to design the perfect book, the Dynabook. (SR)

  15. A National Agenda for Public Health Informatics

    PubMed Central

    Yasnoff, William A.; Overhage, J. Marc; Humphreys, Betsy L.; LaVenture, Martin

    2001-01-01

    The AMIA 2001 Spring Congress brought together members of the the public health and informatics communities to develop a national agenda for public health informatics. Discussions of funding and governance; architecture and infrastructure; standards and vocabulary; research, evaluation, and best practices; privacy, confidentiality, and security; and training and workforce resulted in 74 recommendations with two key themes—that all stakeholders need to be engaged in coordinated activities related to public health information architecture, standards, confidentiality, best practices, and research; and that informatics training is needed throughout the public health workforce. Implementation of this consensus agenda will help promote progress in the application of information technology to improve public health. PMID:11687561

  16. Reducing health inequities: the contribution of core public health services in BC

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Within Canada, many public health leaders have long identified the importance of improving the health of all Canadians especially those who face social and economic disadvantages. Future improvements in population health will be achieved by promoting health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Many Canadian documents, endorsed by government and public health leaders, describe commitments to improving overall health and promoting health equity. Public health has an important role to play in strengthening action on the social determinants and promoting health equity. Currently, public health services in British Columbia are being reorganized and there is a unique opportunity to study the application of an equity lens in public health and the contribution of public health to reducing health inequities. Where applicable, we have chosen mental health promotion, prevention of mental disorders and harms of substance use as exemplars within which to examine specific application of an equity lens. Methods/design This research protocol is informed by three theoretical perspectives: complex adaptive systems, critical social justice, and intersectionality. In this program of research, there are four inter-related research projects with an emphasis on both integrated and end of grant knowledge translation. Within an overarching collaborative and participatory approach to research, we use a multiple comparative case study research design and are incorporating multiple methods such as discourse analysis, situational analysis, social network analysis, concept mapping and grounded theory. Discussion An important aim of this work is to help ensure a strong public health system that supports public health providers to have the knowledge, skills, tools and resources to undertake the promotion of health equity. This research will contribute to increasing the effectiveness and contributions of public health in reducing unfair and inequitable differences

  17. Zoos and public health: A partnership on the One Health frontier.

    PubMed

    Robinette, C; Saffran, L; Ruple, A; Deem, S L

    2017-06-01

    Today, accredited zoos are not just places for entertainment, they are actively involved in research for conservation and health. During recent decades in which the challenges for biodiversity conservation and public health have escalated, zoos have made significant changes to address these difficulties. Zoos increasingly have four key areas of focus: education, recreation, conservation, and research. These key areas are important in addressing an interrelated global conservation ( i.e. habitat and wildlife loss) and public health crisis. Zoo and public health professionals working together within a One Health framework represent a powerful alliance to address current and future conservation and public health problems around the world. For researchers, practitioners, and students, the collaboration between zoos and public health institutions offers the opportunity to both teach and operationalize this transdisciplinary approach. Using examples from our programs, we give a template for moving forward with collaborative initiatives and sustainable solutions involving partners in both zoos and public health institutions. We provide examples of cooperative programs and suggest a model for consideration in the development of further activities in this area.

  18. Public relations effectiveness in public health institutions.

    PubMed

    Springston, Jeffrey K; Weaver Lariscy, Ruth Ann

    2005-01-01

    This article explores public relations effectiveness in public health institutions. First, the two major elements that comprise public relations effectiveness are discussed: reputation management and stakeholder relations. The factors that define effective reputation management are examined, as are the roles of issues and crisis management in building and maintaining reputation. The article also examines the major facets of stakeholder relations, including an inventory of stakeholder linkages and key audiences, such as the media. Finally, methods of evaluating public relations effectiveness at both the program level and the institutional level are explored.

  19. 42 CFR 93.220 - Public Health Service or PHS.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Public Health Service or PHS. 93.220 Section 93.220 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS STUDIES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES RELEASES AND FACILITIES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE POLICIES ON...

  20. 42 CFR 93.220 - Public Health Service or PHS.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Public Health Service or PHS. 93.220 Section 93.220 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS STUDIES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES RELEASES AND FACILITIES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE POLICIES ON...

  1. Pooling academic resources for public health.

    PubMed

    Michael, J M; Hayakawa, J M

    1994-01-01

    In January 1984, the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) was established, bringing together 5 schools of public health with the objectives: to raise the quality of professional education in public health; to enhance the knowledge and skills of health workers through joint projects; to solve health problems through closer links with each other and with ministries of health; to increase opportunities for graduate students through curriculum development; and to make child survival a major priority. The Consortium now comprises 31 academic institutions or units in 16 countries, and is supported by UNICEF, The World Health Organization, the China Medical Board of New York, and the governments of Japan and Malaysia. During 1985-1992, it also received major support from the United States through the US Agency for International Development and the University of Hawaii. During the past 10 years, APACPH has carried out such activities as setting up a data bank on the programs of its members, assessing public health problems, designing new curriculum and systems for service delivery, facilitating information and faculty exchanges, and running workshops for academic administrators. It has also organized conferences on the impact of urbanization on health, aging, child survival, AIDS, and occupational health. Since 1987 it has published the Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, the only English language journal on public health issues in the Asia and Pacific region, which will feature work being done by non-English-speaking researchers. Emphasis in the coming years will be placed on setting common standards for teaching and research, so that members can make more use of each other's programs. It is hoped that membership of the Consortium will continue to expand. A particular concern will be to focus more resources on preventive care rather than curative.

  2. Improving organizational capacity to address health literacy in public health: a rapid realist review.

    PubMed

    Willis, C D; Saul, J E; Bitz, J; Pompu, K; Best, A; Jackson, B

    2014-06-01

    electronic materials, community organizations and school-based programs. Contextual factors for success include positive leadership models, interorganizational relationships, and a culture committed to experimentation and learning. Potential mechanisms activated by strategies and contextual factors include increased visibility and recognition of health literacy efforts, enthusiasm and momentum for health literacy activities, reduced cognitive dissonance between vision and action, a sense of ownership for health literacy data, and creation of a common language and understanding. Government initiated interventions and policies are powerful strategies by which organizational capacity to improve health literacy may be affected. Using the foundations created by the government policy environment, organizations may improve the impact of health literacy interventions through supported distributed leadership. Copyright © 2014 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Insights in Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Canyon, Deon V

    2013-01-01

    The strengthening of health systems is fundamental to improving health outcomes, crisis preparedness, and our capacity to meet global challenges, such as accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, reducing maternal and child mortality, combating HIV, malaria and other diseases, limiting the effects of a new influenza pandemic, and responding appropriately to climate change. To meet these complex needs, the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health, the World Health Organization, and the Institute of Medicine promote systems thinking as the only sensible means to respond to issues that greatly exceed the normal capacity of health and medical services. This paper agrees with the application of systems thinking but argues that health organizations have misunderstood and misapplied systems thinking to the extent that the term has become meaningless. This paper presents the basic constructs of systems thinking, explains why systems thinking has been misapplied, examines some misapplications of systems thinking in health, and suggests how the concept can be applied correctly to medicine and public health to achieve the reason it was adopted in the first place. PMID:24377080

  4. Public Health Policies and Practices of the Ottoman Empire with Special Reference to the Gallipoli Campaign.

    PubMed

    Aboul-Enein, Basil; Puddy, William

    2015-06-01

    To review the selected historiographic and contemporary literature that examined the Ottoman public health practices and policies with special reference to the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War. To date, no work has been published surrounding the Ottoman public health policies and responses during the battle of Gallipoli. A historiographic methodology was used to examine relevant primary and secondary publications using ten academic electronic databases. The literature discussed pre-war Hapsburg efforts to improve the Ottoman medical infrastructure, the activities of military medical students and units at Gallipoli, quarantine and vaccination procedures, and general medical issues throughout the empire during the war. Access to the official Turkish archives and translating relevant official documents into English are warranted. This represents an opportunity for military and public health historians to examine and identify relevant public health practices and policies that the Ottoman Empire implemented during the First World War and, in particular, the Gallipoli campaign.

  5. The National Public Health Leadership Institute: Evaluation of a Team-Based Approach to Developing Collaborative Public Health Leaders

    PubMed Central

    Umble, Karl; Steffen, David; Porter, Janet; Miller, Delesha; Hummer-McLaughlin, Kelley; Lowman, Amy; Zelt, Susan

    2005-01-01

    Recent public health literature contains calls for collaborative public health interventions and for leaders capable of guiding them. The National Public Health Leadership Institute aims to develop collaborative leaders and to strengthen networks of leaders who share knowledge and jointly address public health problems. Evaluation results show that completing the institute training increases collaborative leadership and builds knowledge-sharing and problem-solving networks. These practices and networks strengthen interorganizational relationships, coalitions, services, programs, and policies. Intensive team-and project-based learning are key to the program’s impact. PMID:15798124

  6. Keeping the “Public” in Schools of Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Klitzman, Susan; Diamond, Catherine; El-Mohandes, Ayman

    2015-01-01

    In this article, we compared the characteristics of public and private accredited public health training programs. We analyzed the distinct opportunities and challenges that publicly funded schools of public health face in preparing the nation’s public health workforce. Using our experience in creating a new, collaborative public school of public health in the nation’s largest urban public university system, we described efforts to use our public status and mission to develop new approaches to educating a workforce that meets the health needs of our region and contributes to the goal of reducing health inequalities. Finally, we considered policies that could protect and strengthen the distinct contributions that public schools of public health make to improving population health and reducing health inequalities. PMID:25706006

  7. Law, liability, and public health emergencies.

    PubMed

    Hoffman, Sharona; Goodman, Richard A; Stier, Daniel D

    2009-06-01

    According to many experts, a public health emergency arising from an influenza pandemic, bioterrorism attack, or natural disaster is likely to develop in the next few years. Meeting the public health and medical response needs created by such an emergency will likely involve volunteers, health care professionals, public and private hospitals and clinics, vaccine manufacturers, governmental authorities, and many others. Conducting response activities in emergency circumstances may give rise to numerous issues of liability, and medical professionals and other potential responders have expressed concern about liability exposure. Providers may face inadequate resources, an insufficient number of qualified personnel, overwhelming demand for services, and other barriers to providing optimal treatment, which could lead to injury or even death in some cases. This article describes the different theories of liability that may be used by plaintiffs and the sources of immunity that are available to public health emergency responders in the public sector, private sector, and as volunteers. It synthesizes the existing immunity landscape and analyzes its gaps. Finally, the authors suggest consideration of the option of a comprehensive immunity provision that addresses liability protection for all health care providers during public health emergencies and that, consequently, assists in improving community emergency response efforts.

  8. Ethical analysis in public health.

    PubMed

    Roberts, Marc J; Reich, Michael R

    2002-03-23

    Public-health regularly encounters serious ethical dilemmas, such as rationing scarce resources, influencing individuals to change their behaviour, and limiting freedom to diminish disease transmission. Yet unlike medical ethics, there is no agreed-upon framework for analysing these difficulties. We offer such a framework. It distinguishes three philosophical views, often invoked in public-health discourse: positions based on outcomes (utilitarianism), positions focused on rights and opportunities (liberalism), and views that emphasise character and virtue (communitarianism). We explore critical variations within each approach, and identify practical problems that arise in addressing the ethical dimensions of health policy. We conclude by examining challenges posed by the feminist argument of ethics-of-care and by postmodern views about the nature of ethics. Health professionals need enhanced skills in applied philosophy to improve the coherence, transparency, and quality of public deliberations over ethical issues inherent in health policy.

  9. Hawaii's public mental health system.

    PubMed

    VanderVoort, Debra J

    2005-03-01

    The following article addresses the nature of and problems with the public mental health system in Hawaii. It includes a brief history of Hawaii's public mental health system, a description and analysis of this system, economic factors affecting mental health, as well as a needs assessment of the elderly, individuals with severe mental illness, children and adolescents, and ethnically diverse individuals. In addition to having the potential to increase suicide rates and unnecessarily prolong personal suffering, problems in the public mental health system such as inadequate services contribute to an increase in social problems including, but not limited to, an increase in crime rates (e.g., domestic violence, child abuse), divorce rates, school failure, and behavioral problems in children. The population in need of mental health services in Hawaii is under served, with this inadequacy of services due to economic limitations and a variety of other factors.

  10. Using environmental public health tracking to identify community targets for public health actions in childhood lead poisoning in Wisconsin.

    PubMed

    Berney, Dawn; Camponeschi, Jenny; Coons, Marjorie; Creswell, Paul D; Schirmer, Joe; Walsh, Reghan

    2015-01-01

    In an effort to improve the ability of local public health departments to target resources to the highest need regions, the Wisconsin Environmental Public Health Tracking (WI EPHT) Program worked to enhance its public portal to benefit the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (WCLPPP) and other programs. The WI EPHT Program conducted this enhancement in collaboration with WCLPPP. The WI EPHT enhanced public portal is the next phase of Wisconsin's ongoing efforts in environmental public health tracking. As part of this process, this new mapping application includes mapping capacity that provides information on childhood lead testing and results at county and census tract levels in Wisconsin. The WI EPHT Program will update its public portal to have the capability to map data at a subcounty level (ie, census tract or zip code) for some data topics when such data are available. This tool is available to local public health departments and other public health organizations throughout Wisconsin as a resource to identify communities most affected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new guidelines with regard to childhood lead poisoning. The collaboration between WI EPHT and WCLPPP on updating and enhancing the portal exemplifies the power of environmental health data to inform a more accurate understanding of public health problems.

  11. Public health and nursing: a natural partnership.

    PubMed

    Savage, Christine; Kub, Joan

    2009-11-01

    The health of individuals occurs within the context of their environment and the other individuals they interact with in the communities they live in, work in and visit. Promoting the health of the public requires multiple strategies aimed at improving the environment, the health knowledge of groups and individuals, maintaining adequate food and water, and reducing the spread of disease. Many disciplines are needed to meet these goals, but the largest segment of the professional health work force required to meet these needs is nursing. Historically, nursing leaders in public health such as Florence Nightingale and Lillian Wald made significant inroads related to serious health issues because they were nurses. Today across the globe, nurses provide the key components of public health interventions including well baby care, health education, screening and immunization clinics, disaster management and emergency preparedness. With the growing nursing shortage in acute care settings, the brain drain of nurses from certain areas of the world, the shrinking public dollars for preventive health care, the nursing workforce needed to continue to provide these essential health care services is threatened. It is essential to put the spot light on nursing's role in public health with the hopes of attracting more public funds and more nurses to provide these essential services.

  12. How Many Principles for Public Health Ethics?

    PubMed Central

    Coughlin, Steven S.

    2009-01-01

    General moral (ethical) principles play a prominent role in certain methods of moral reasoning and ethical decision-making in bioethics and public health. Examples include the principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Some accounts of ethics in public health have pointed to additional principles related to social and environmental concerns, such as the precautionary principle and principles of solidarity or social cohesion. This article provides an overview of principle-based methods of moral reasoning as they apply to public health ethics including a summary of advantages and disadvantages of methods of moral reasoning that rely upon general principles of moral reasoning. Drawing upon the literature on public health ethics, examples are provided of additional principles, obligations, and rules that may be useful for analyzing complex ethical issues in public health. A framework is outlined that takes into consideration the interplay of ethical principles and rules at individual, community, national, and global levels. Concepts such as the precautionary principle and solidarity are shown to be useful to public health ethics to the extent that they can be shown to provide worthwhile guidance and information above and beyond principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice, and the clusters of rules and maxims that are linked to these moral principles. Future directions likely to be productive include further work on areas of public health ethics such as public trust, community empowerment, the rights of individuals who are targeted (or not targeted) by public health interventions, individual and community resilience and wellbeing, and further clarification of principles, obligations, and rules in public health disciplines such as environmental science, prevention and control of chronic and infectious diseases, genomics, and global health. PMID:20072707

  13. Public Health 3.0: A Call to Action for Public Health to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Y. Claire; Harris, Andrea; Auerbach, John; Koo, Denise; O’Carroll, Patrick

    2017-01-01

    Public health is what we do together as a society to ensure the conditions in which everyone can be healthy. Although many sectors play key roles, governmental public health is an essential component. Recent stressors on public health are driving many local governments to pioneer a new Public Health 3.0 model in which leaders serve as Chief Health Strategists, partnering across multiple sectors and leveraging data and resources to address social, environmental, and economic conditions that affect health and health equity. In 2016, the US Department of Health and Human Services launched the Public Health 3.0 initiative and hosted listening sessions across the country. Local leaders and community members shared successes and provided insight on actions that would ensure a more supportive policy and resource environment to spread and scale this model. This article summarizes the key findings from those listening sessions and recommendations to achieve Public Health 3.0. PMID:28880837

  14. Public Health 3.0: A Call to Action for Public Health to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century.

    PubMed

    DeSalvo, Karen B; Wang, Y Claire; Harris, Andrea; Auerbach, John; Koo, Denise; O'Carroll, Patrick

    2017-09-07

    Public health is what we do together as a society to ensure the conditions in which everyone can be healthy. Although many sectors play key roles, governmental public health is an essential component. Recent stressors on public health are driving many local governments to pioneer a new Public Health 3.0 model in which leaders serve as Chief Health Strategists, partnering across multiple sectors and leveraging data and resources to address social, environmental, and economic conditions that affect health and health equity. In 2016, the US Department of Health and Human Services launched the Public Health 3.0 initiative and hosted listening sessions across the country. Local leaders and community members shared successes and provided insight on actions that would ensure a more supportive policy and resource environment to spread and scale this model. This article summarizes the key findings from those listening sessions and recommendations to achieve Public Health 3.0.

  15. Climate change and ecological public health.

    PubMed

    Goodman, Benny

    2015-02-17

    Climate change has been identified as a serious threat to human health, associated with the sustainability of current practices and lifestyles. Nurses should expand their health promotion role to address current and emerging threats to health from climate change and to address ecological public health. This article briefly outlines climate change and the concept of ecological public health, and discusses a 2012 review of the role of the nurse in health promotion.

  16. Special Report: E-Waste Management in the United States and Public Health Implications.

    PubMed

    Seeberger, Jessica; Grandhi, Radhika; Kim, Stephani S; Mase, William A; Reponen, Tiina; Ho, Shuk-mei; Chen, Aimin

    2016-10-01

    Electronic waste (e-waste) generation is increasing worldwide, and its management becomes a significant challenge because of the many toxicants present in electronic devices. The U.S. is a major producer of e-waste, although its management practice and policy regulation are not sufficient to meet the challenge. We reviewed e-waste generation, current management practices and trends, policy challenges, potential health impact, and toxicant exposure prevention in the U.S. A large amount of toxic metals, flame retardants, and other persistent organic pollutants exist in e-waste or can be released from the disposal of e-waste (e.g., landfill, incineration, recycling). Landfill is still a major method used to dispose of obsolete electronic devices, and only about half of the states have initiated a landfill ban for e-waste. Recycling of e-waste is an increasing trend in the past few years. There is potential, however, for workers to be exposed to a mixture of toxicants in e-waste and these exposures should be curtailed. Perspectives and recommendations are provided regarding managing e-waste in the U.S. to protect public health, including enacting federal legislation, discontinuing landfill disposal, protecting workers in recycling facilities from toxicant exposure, reducing toxicant release into the environment, and raising awareness of this growing environmental health issue among the public.

  17. Willingness to share personal health record data for care improvement and public health: a survey of experienced personal health record users.

    PubMed

    Weitzman, Elissa R; Kelemen, Skyler; Kaci, Liljana; Mandl, Kenneth D

    2012-05-22

    Data stored in personally controlled health records (PCHRs) may hold value for clinicians and public health entities, if patients and their families will share them. We sought to characterize consumer willingness and unwillingness (reticence) to share PCHR data across health topics, and with different stakeholders, to advance understanding of this issue. Cross-sectional 2009 Web survey of repeat PCHR users who were patients over 18 years old or parents of patients, to assess willingness to share their PCHR data with an-out-of-hospital provider to support care, and the state/local public health authority to support monitoring; the odds of reticence to share PCHR information about ten exemplary health topics were estimated using a repeated measures approach. Of 261 respondents (56% response rate), more reported they would share all information with the state/local public health authority (63.3%) than with an out-of-hospital provider (54.1%) (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1, 1.9; p = .005); few would not share any information with these parties (respectively, 7.9% and 5.2%). For public health sharing, reticence was higher for most topics compared to contagious illness (ORs 4.9 to 1.4, all p-values < .05), and reflected concern about anonymity (47.2%), government insensitivity (41.5%), discrimination (24%). For provider sharing, reticence was higher for all topics compared to contagious illness (ORs 6.3 to 1.5, all p-values < .05), and reflected concern for relevance (52%), disclosure to insurance (47.6%) and/or family (20.5%). Pediatric patients and their families are often willing to share electronic health information to support health improvement, but remain cautious. Robust trust models for PCHR sharing are needed.

  18. Status report, The Public Health and Planning 101 project: strengthening collaborations between the public health and planning professions.

    PubMed

    Mahendra, A; Vo, T; Einstoss, C; Weppler, J; Gillen, P; Ryan, L; Haley, K

    2017-01-01

    Land use planning is a complex field comprised of legislation, policies, processes and tools. A growing body of evidence supports the relationship between land use planning decisions, community design and health. The built environment has been shown to be associated with physical inactivity, obesity, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and mental illness. Consequently, there is a growing interest within public health to work with planners on land use planning initiatives such as official plans and transportation master plans. Two surveys were developed: one for public health professionals and the other for planning professionals (survey questions available upon request to the corresponding author). The surveys were pilot tested in two separate focus group sessions with public health and planning professionals. Focus group volunteers helped to validate the surveys by verifying survey questions, design and overall flow. In early 2012, 304 public health professionals and 301 planning professionals completed the two separate surveys, comprising the total survey respondents for each respective profession used to calculate proportions. The survey results represent a convenience sample and are not generalizable to the entire population of public health and planning professionals in Ontario. Results compare survey responses from both groups where appropriate. Most respondents worked either as public health staff (78%) or planners/senior planners (58%). A smaller percentage of public health and planning professionals worked either as managers (15% and 11%, respectively) or directors (5% and 9%, respectively). Health is associated with how communities are planned and built, and the services and resources provided within them. Inspired by the results of our survey and based on user feedback from the pilot tests, a free online training program entitled "Public Health and Planning 101: An Online Course for Public Health and Planning Professionals to Create Healthier

  19. The private partners of public health: public-private alliances for public good.

    PubMed

    McDonnell, Sharon; Bryant, Carol; Harris, Jeff; Campbell, Marci Kramish; Lobb, Ano; Hannon, Peggy A; Cross, Jeffrey L; Gray, Barbara

    2009-04-01

    We sought to convey lessons learned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) about the value and challenges of private-sector alliances resulting in innovative health promotion strategies. Several PRCs based in a variety of workplace and community settings contributed. We conducted interviews with principal investigators, a literature review, and a review of case studies of private-sector alliances in a microbusiness model, a macrobusiness model, and as multiparty partnerships supporting public health research, implementation, and human resource services. Private-sector alliances provide many advantages, particularly access to specialized skills generally beyond the expertise of public health entities. These skills include manufacturing, distribution, marketing, business planning, and development. Alliances also allow ready access to employee populations. Public health entities can offer private-sector partners funding opportunities through special grants, data gathering and analysis skills, and enhanced project credibility and trust. Challenges to successful partnerships include time and resource availability and negotiating the cultural divide between public health and the private sector. Critical to success are knowledge of organizational culture, values, mission, currency, and methods of operation; an understanding of and ability to articulate the benefits of the alliance for each partner; and the ability and time to respond to unexpected changes and opportunities. Private-public health alliances are challenging, and developing them takes time and resources, but aspects of these alliances can capitalize on partners' strengths, counteract weaknesses, and build collaborations that produce better outcomes than otherwise possible. Private partners may be necessary for program initiation or success. CDC guidelines and support materials may help nurture these alliances.

  20. Global Disease Detection-Achievements in Applied Public Health Research, Capacity Building, and Public Health Diplomacy, 2001-2016.

    PubMed

    Rao, Carol Y; Goryoka, Grace W; Henao, Olga L; Clarke, Kevin R; Salyer, Stephanie J; Montgomery, Joel M

    2017-11-01

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established 10 Global Disease Detection (GDD) Program regional centers around the world that serve as centers of excellence for public health research on emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. The core activities of the GDD Program focus on applied public health research, surveillance, laboratory, public health informatics, and technical capacity building. During 2015-2016, program staff conducted 205 discrete projects on a range of topics, including acute respiratory illnesses, health systems strengthening, infectious diseases at the human-animal interface, and emerging infectious diseases. Projects incorporated multiple core activities, with technical capacity building being most prevalent. Collaborating with host countries to implement such projects promotes public health diplomacy. The GDD Program continues to work with countries to strengthen core capacities so that emerging diseases can be detected and stopped faster and closer to the source, thereby enhancing global health security.

  1. Identifying core competencies for public health epidemiologists.

    PubMed

    Bondy, Susan J; Johnson, Ian; Cole, Donald C; Bercovitz, Kim

    2008-01-01

    Public health authorities have prioritized the identification of competencies, yet little empirical data exist to support decisions on competency selection among particular disciplines. We sought perspectives on important competencies among epidemiologists familiar with or practicing in public health settings (local to national). Using a sequential, qualitative-quantitative mixed method design, we conducted key informant interviews with 12 public health practitioners familiar with front-line epidemiologists' practice, followed by a web-based survey of members of a provincial association of public health epidemiologists (90 respondents of 155 eligible) and a consensus workshop. Competency statements were drawn from existing core competency lists and those identified by key informants, and ranked by extent of agreement in importance for entry-level practitioners. Competencies in quantitative methods and analysis, critical appraisal of scientific evidence and knowledge transfer of scientific data to other members of the public health team were all regarded as very important for public health epidemiologists. Epidemiologist competencies focused on the provision, interpretation and 'translation' of evidence to inform decision-making by other public health professionals. Considerable tension existed around some potential competency items, particularly in the areas of more advanced database and data-analytic skills. Empirical data can inform discussions of discipline-specific competencies as one input to decisions about competencies appropriate for epidemiologists in the public health workforce.

  2. The formal electronic recycling industry: Challenges and opportunities in occupational and environmental health research.

    PubMed

    Ceballos, Diana Maria; Dong, Zhao

    2016-10-01

    E-waste includes electrical and electronic equipment discarded as waste without intent of reuse. Informal e-waste recycling, typically done in smaller, unorganized businesses, can expose workers and communities to serious chemical health hazards. It is unclear if formalization into larger, better-controlled electronics recycling (e-recycling) facilities solves environmental and occupational health problems. To systematically review the literature on occupational and environmental health hazards of formal e-recycling facilities and discuss challenges and opportunities to strengthen research in this area. We identified 37 publications from 4 electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Environmental Index, NIOSHTIC-2) specific to chemical exposures in formal e-recycling facilities. Environmental and occupational exposures depend on the degree of formalization of the facilities but further reduction is needed. Reported worker exposures to metals were often higher than recommended occupational guidelines. Levels of brominated flame-retardants in worker's inhaled air and biological samples were higher than those from reference groups. Air, dust, and soil concentrations of metals, brominated flame-retardants, dioxins, furans, polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons, or polychlorinated biphenyls found inside or near the facilities were generally higher than reference locations, suggesting transport into the environment. Children of a recycler had blood lead levels higher than public health recommended guidelines. With mounting e-waste, more workers, their family members, and communities could experience unhealthful exposures to metals and other chemicals. We identified research needs to further assess exposures, health, and improve controls. The long-term solution is manufacturing of electronics without harmful substances and easy-to-disassemble components. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. Caring for the health of the public: cross sectional study of the activities of UK public health departments.

    PubMed

    Lawlor, D A; Morgan, K; Frankel, S

    2002-03-01

    The relative time spent in different areas of work in public health departments in the UK was assessed by means of a postal questionnaire. Departments spend one third of their time on population health work, this being similar to the amount of time spent on planning health services. Having a planning department in the health authority did not affect the amount of time spent in any area of work. Having a greater number of consultants in the department was associated with a tendency to spend more time on population health and being involved in training was associated with spending less time on planning. Public health departments in the UK are the only part of the health service with responsibility for the broader aspects of public health. Whilst the tensions between medical care and the wider influences upon population health may represent a false dichotomy, public health professionals must maintain a central focus of their work on the wider influences upon population health if balance is to be maintained within the National Health Service.

  4. The Dutch National Atlas of Public Health.

    PubMed

    Zwakhals, S L N; Giesbers, H; Mac Gillavry, E; van Boven, P F; van der Veen, A A

    2004-09-01

    The Dutch National Atlas of Public Health (http://www.zorgatlas.nl) maps the regional distribution of demand and usage of health care, public health status and influencing factors. The Atlas provides answers to locational questions, e. g. 'Where are the highest mortality rates?', 'Where are the longest waiting lists?' and 'Where are hospitals located?' Maps play a pivotal role in the Atlas. Texts, graphics and diagrams support the interpretation of the maps. The information in the Atlas specifically targets policy makers at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. For them, the Atlas is a tool for problem detection, policy making and policy evaluation. The Atlas is also aimed at all professionals in health care. In practice, also the general public appears to access and use the Atlas. The Atlas is part of the Dutch Public Health Status and Forecasts (PHSF). The PHSF is made by the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment mandated by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

  5. Governance for public health and health equity: The Tröndelag model for public health work.

    PubMed

    Lillefjell, Monica; Magnus, Eva; Knudtsen, Margunn SkJei; Wist, Guri; Horghagen, Sissel; Espnes, Geir Arild; Maass, Ruca; Anthun, Kirsti Sarheim

    2018-06-01

    Multi-sectoral governance of population health is linked to the realization that health is the property of many societal systems. This study aims to contribute knowledge and methods that can strengthen the capacities of municipalities regarding how to work more systematically, knowledge-based and multi-sectoral in promoting health and health equity in the population. Process evaluation was conducted, applying a mixed-methods research design, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Processes strengthening systematic and multi-sectoral development, implementation and evaluation of research-based measures to promote health, quality of life, and health equity in, for and with municipalities were revealed. A step-by-step model, that emphasizes the promotion of knowledge-based, systematic, multi-sectoral public health work, as well as joint ownership of local resources, initiatives and policies has been developed. Implementation of systematic, knowledge-based and multi-sectoral governance of public health measures in municipalities demand shared understanding of the challenges, updated overview of the population health and impact factors, anchoring in plans, new skills and methods for selection and implementation of measures, as well as development of trust, ownership, shared ethics and goals among those involved.

  6. Digital government and public health.

    PubMed

    Fountain, Jane E

    2004-10-01

    Digital government is typically defined as the production and delivery of information and services inside government and between government and the public using a range of information and communication technologies. Two types of government relationships with other entities are government-to-citizen and government-to-government relationships. Both offer opportunities and challenges. Assessment of a public health agency's readiness for digital government includes examination of technical, managerial, and political capabilities. Public health agencies are especially challenged by a lack of funding for technical infrastructure and expertise, by privacy and security issues, and by lack of Internet access for low-income and marginalized populations. Public health agencies understand the difficulties of working across agencies and levels of government, but the development of new, integrated e-programs will require more than technical change - it will require a profound change in paradigm.

  7. An Analysis of State Public Health Emergency Declarations

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Disaster responses often involve coordination among multiple levels of government and public and private sector collaboration. When emergencies raise health concerns, governments must include public health and health care systems in their response. A state government’s declaration of “public health emergency” can provide that state’s health sector with flexibility and guidance about response parameters. Although events including Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and the H1N1 influenza outbreak provided opportunities for states to deploy their public health emergency powers, little has been reported about how states have used their authority to declare a public health emergency. I present a systematic identification and analysis of states’ public health emergency declarations, examine why these declarations were issued, and discuss their potential value. PMID:25033156

  8. USGS Science Serves Public Health

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Buxton, Herbert T.

    2010-01-01

    Human health so often depends on the health of the environment and wildlife around us. The presence of naturally occurring or human environmental contaminants and the emergence of diseases transferred between animals and humans are growing concerns worldwide. The USGS is a source of natural science information vital for understanding the quantity and quality of our earth and living resources. This information improves our understanding not only of how human activities affect environmental and ecological health, but also of how the quality of our environment and wildlife in turn affects human health. USGS is taking a leadership role in providing the natural science information needed by health researchers, policy makers, and the public to safeguard public health

  9. Legal issues concerning electronic health information: privacy, quality, and liability.

    PubMed

    Hodge, J G; Gostin, L O; Jacobson, P D

    1999-10-20

    Personally identifiable health information about individuals and general medical information is increasingly available in electronic form in health databases and through online networks. The proliferation of electronic data within the modern health information infrastructure presents significant benefits for medical providers and patients, including enhanced patient autonomy, improved clinical treatment, advances in health research and public health surveillance, and modern security techniques. However, it also presents new legal challenges in 3 interconnected areas: privacy of identifiable health information, reliability and quality of health data, and tortbased liability. Protecting health information privacy (by giving individuals control over health data without severely restricting warranted communal uses) directly improves the quality and reliability of health data (by encouraging individual uses of health services and communal uses of data), which diminishes tort-based liabilities (by reducing instances of medical malpractice or privacy invasions through improvements in the delivery of health care services resulting in part from better quality and reliability of clinical and research data). Following an analysis of the interconnectivity of these 3 areas and discussing existing and proposed health information privacy laws, recommendations for legal reform concerning health information privacy are presented. These include (1) recognizing identifiable health information as highly sensitive, (2) providing privacy safeguards based on fair information practices, (3) empowering patients with information and rights to consent to disclosure (4) limiting disclosures of health data absent consent, (5) incorporating industry-wide security protections, (6) establishing a national data protection authority, and (7) providing a national minimal level of privacy protections.

  10. Racism & Health: A public health perspective on racial discrimination.

    PubMed

    Cobbinah, Stefania Sarsah; Lewis, Jan

    2018-03-06

    Racial discrimination has been increasingly reported to have a causal link with morbidity and mortality of Black Americans, yet this issue is rarely addressed in a public health perspective. Racism affects health at different levels: institutional racism is a structural and legalized system that results in differential access to health services; cultural racism refers to the negative racial stereotypes, often reinforced by media, that results in poorer psychological and physiological wellbeing of the minorities. Lastly, interpersonal racism refers to the persistence of racial prejudice that seriously undermines the doctor-patient relationship. After analysing these concepts with examples and relevant studies, this paper explores current literature. Racism as a Determinant of Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (Paradies et al, 2015) is the most recent and comprehensive research on the issue, yet it cannot be used to base public health interventions as it contains several limitations. Forward Through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equity (Ferguson Commission, 2015) is a report that identifies 4 priority areas for framing public health interventions: Racial Equity, Justice for All, Youth at the Centre and Opportunity to Thrive. This study represents an important milestone in the application of public health on racial injustices, yet racism must be tackled with a sustained, multilevel, and interdisciplinary approach. In conclusion, this paper addresses how public health interventions can empower Black minorities and bring forward long-term policies. Racism is a structural and long-standing system that can be eliminated only with the collective effort. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. 38 CFR 3.753 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Public Health Service. 3... Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Retirement § 3.753 Public Health Service... of the Public Health Service, who was receiving disability compensation on December 31, 1956, as...

  12. 38 CFR 3.753 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Public Health Service. 3... Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Retirement § 3.753 Public Health Service... of the Public Health Service, who was receiving disability compensation on December 31, 1956, as...

  13. 38 CFR 3.753 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Public Health Service. 3... Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Retirement § 3.753 Public Health Service... of the Public Health Service, who was receiving disability compensation on December 31, 1956, as...

  14. 38 CFR 3.753 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Public Health Service. 3... Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Retirement § 3.753 Public Health Service... of the Public Health Service, who was receiving disability compensation on December 31, 1956, as...

  15. 38 CFR 3.753 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Public Health Service. 3... Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Retirement § 3.753 Public Health Service... of the Public Health Service, who was receiving disability compensation on December 31, 1956, as...

  16. Scholarly Electronic Full-Text Publications via the Internet: Issues and Impacts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kosmin, Linda J.

    1999-01-01

    On-line access to complete texts of scholarly journal articles, conference papers, and books is facilitated by rapidly developing World-wide Web Internet access and capabilities. Meanwhile, print publications continue to be produced and read in spite of the proliferation of many networked electronic publications. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight fundamental issues impacting stakeholder groups, as the trend continues towards migration from paper to affordable ubiquitous networked full-text publications. Librarians, publishers, authors and end-users have various viewpoints, interests, and concerns. There are many issues challenging all stakeholder groups. For instance, all share concerns about administering copyright compliance and enforcing fair use. Uncontrollable electronic downstreaming could result in infringed copyright, while limiting a publisher's entitled revenue stream. Moreover, metered fee-based access may hamper scholarly information research. And, self-authoring on the Internet without peer filtering could lead to information clutter. Many related issues challenge librarians in particular. Among these are rising journal subscription prices, regardless if offered in print or electronic. Some electronic offerings are independent of print, others supplement or duplicate print; several publishers presently require subscribing to print in order to access electronic. Furthermore, numbers of publications are n'ow being marketed via the Internet directly to end-users, which can be viewed as encouraging users to bypass the traditional library. A key issue challenging publishers today is the rapidly expanding electronic user base that is demanding delivery of added-value full-text to desktop computers. Also of growing concern appears to be the decline in print sales to libraries, thereby reducing traditional revenue stream potential. Nowadays, publishers are more hesitant about investing in the production of publications geared toward small niche

  17. Electronic health records: eliciting behavioral health providers' beliefs.

    PubMed

    Shank, Nancy; Willborn, Elizabeth; Pytlikzillig, Lisa; Noel, Harmonijoie

    2012-04-01

    Interviews with 32 community behavioral health providers elicited perceived benefits and barriers of using electronic health records. Themes identified were (a) quality of care, (b) privacy and security, and (c) delivery of services. Benefits to quality of care were mentioned by 100% of the providers, and barriers by 59% of providers. Barriers involving privacy and security concerns were mentioned by 100% of providers, and benefits by 22%. Barriers to delivery of services were mentioned by 97% of providers, and benefits by 66%. Most providers (81%) expressed overall positive support for electronic behavioral health records.

  18. A qualitative study of health information technology in the Canadian public health system.

    PubMed

    Zinszer, Kate; Tamblyn, Robyn; Bates, David W; Buckeridge, David L

    2013-05-25

    Although the adoption of health information technology (HIT) has advanced in Canada over the past decade, considerable challenges remain in supporting the development, broad adoption, and effective use of HIT in the public health system. Policy makers and practitioners have long recognized that improvements in HIT infrastructure are necessary to support effective and efficient public health practice. The objective of this study was to identify aspects of health information technology (HIT) policy related to public health in Canada that have succeeded, to identify remaining challenges, and to suggest future directions to improve the adoption and use of HIT in the public health system. A qualitative case study was performed with 24 key stakeholders representing national and provincial organizations responsible for establishing policy and strategic direction for health information technology. Identified benefits of HIT in public health included improved communication among jurisdictions, increased awareness of the need for interoperable systems, and improvement in data standardization. Identified barriers included a lack of national vision and leadership, insufficient investment, and poor conceptualization of the priority areas for implementing HIT in public health. The application of HIT in public health should focus on automating core processes and identifying innovative applications of HIT to advance public health outcomes. The Public Health Agency of Canada should develop the expertise to lead public health HIT policy and should establish a mechanism for coordinating public health stakeholder input on HIT policy.

  19. Island health: hope and challenges for public health.

    PubMed

    Binns, Colin; Hokama, Tomiko; Low, Wah Yun

    2010-01-01

    The Asia-Pacific region is a region of small islands, perhaps 100 000 of them. The health, communication, and development problems of islands present difficult challenges for the delivery of health care. The discussions at the Okinawa Symposium centred on how health can be provided to all in the region, not only those in metropolitan areas, but also the poor in rural areas and those on living on far-flung island archipelagos. It is important to apply principles of "public health" and "primary health care" so that all island residents may have a reasonable expectation of health care. Schools of public health have a special responsibility to educate those who are responsible for the delivery and management of health care in these remote locations. The development of telehealth systems will be important to support health workers in remote locations and to deliver continuing education programs.

  20. Eugenics and public health in American history.

    PubMed

    Pernick, M S

    1997-11-01

    Supporters of eugenics, the powerful early 20th-century movement for improving human heredity, often attacked that era's dramatic improvements in public health and medicine for preserving the lives of people they considered hereditarily unfit. Eugenics and public health also battled over whether heredity played a significant role in infectious diseases. However, American public health and eugenics had much in common as well. Eugenic methods often were modeled on the infection control techniques of public health. The goals, values, and concepts of disease of these two movements also often overlapped. This paper sketches some of the key similarities and differences between eugenics and public health in the United States, and it examines how their relationship was shaped by the interaction of science and culture. The results demonstrate that eugenics was not an isolated movement whose significance is confined to the histories of genetics and pseudoscience, but was instead an important and cautionary part of past public health and a general medical history as well.

  1. Eugenics and public health in American history.

    PubMed Central

    Pernick, M S

    1997-01-01

    Supporters of eugenics, the powerful early 20th-century movement for improving human heredity, often attacked that era's dramatic improvements in public health and medicine for preserving the lives of people they considered hereditarily unfit. Eugenics and public health also battled over whether heredity played a significant role in infectious diseases. However, American public health and eugenics had much in common as well. Eugenic methods often were modeled on the infection control techniques of public health. The goals, values, and concepts of disease of these two movements also often overlapped. This paper sketches some of the key similarities and differences between eugenics and public health in the United States, and it examines how their relationship was shaped by the interaction of science and culture. The results demonstrate that eugenics was not an isolated movement whose significance is confined to the histories of genetics and pseudoscience, but was instead an important and cautionary part of past public health and a general medical history as well. PMID:9366633

  2. Conflicts of Interest: Manipulating Public Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stein, Richard; Davis, Devra Lee

    2014-01-01

    Evaluating the potential health impacts of chemical, physical, and biological environmental factors represents a challenging task with profound medical, public health, and historical implications. The history of public health is replete with instances, ranging from tobacco to lead and asbestos, where the ability to obtain evidence on potential…

  3. Public health and human values

    PubMed Central

    Häyry, M

    2006-01-01

    The ends and means of public health activities are suggested to be at odds with the values held by human individuals and communities. Although promoting longer lives in better health for all seems like an endeavour that is obviously acceptable, it can be challenged by equally self‐evident appeals to autonomy, happiness, integrity and liberty, among other values. The result is that people's actual concerns are not always adequately dealt with by public health measures and assurances. PMID:16943332

  4. Innovations in public health education: promoting professional development and a culture of health.

    PubMed

    Levy, Marian; Gentry, Daniel; Klesges, Lisa M

    2015-03-01

    As the field of public health advances toward addressing complex, systemic problems, future public health professionals must be equipped with leadership and interprofessional skills that support collaboration and a culture of health. The University of Memphis School of Public Health has infused innovative strategies into graduate education via experiential learning opportunities to enhance leadership, collaboration, and professional development. Novel training programs such as Day One, Public Health Interdisciplinary Case Competition, and Memphis Healthy U support Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health cross-cutting competencies and prepare Master of Public Health and Master of Health Administration graduates to function effectively at the outset of their careers and become catalysts for creating a culture of health.

  5. Innovations in Public Health Education: Promoting Professional Development and a Culture of Health

    PubMed Central

    Gentry, Daniel; Klesges, Lisa M.

    2015-01-01

    As the field of public health advances toward addressing complex, systemic problems, future public health professionals must be equipped with leadership and interprofessional skills that support collaboration and a culture of health. The University of Memphis School of Public Health has infused innovative strategies into graduate education via experiential learning opportunities to enhance leadership, collaboration, and professional development. Novel training programs such as Day One, Public Health Interdisciplinary Case Competition, and Memphis Healthy U support Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health cross-cutting competencies and prepare Master of Public Health and Master of Health Administration graduates to function effectively at the outset of their careers and become catalysts for creating a culture of health. PMID:25706016

  6. Public health departments and accountable care organizations: finding common ground in population health.

    PubMed

    Ingram, Richard; Scutchfield, F Douglas; Costich, Julia F

    2015-05-01

    We examined areas of potential collaboration between accountable care organizations and public health agencies, as well as perceived barriers and facilitators. We interviewed 9 key informants on 4 topics: advantages of public health agency involvement in accountable care organizations; services public health agencies could provide; practical, cultural, and legal barriers to accountable care organization-public health agency involvement; and business models that facilitate accountable care organization-public health agency collaboration. Public health agencies could help accountable care organizations partner with community organizations and reach vulnerable patients, provide population-based services and surveillance data, and promote policies that improve member health. Barriers include accountable care organizations' need for short-term financial yield, limited public health agency technical and financial capacity, and the absence of a financial model.

  7. Obesity Stigma: Important Considerations for Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Heuer, Chelsea A.

    2010-01-01

    Stigma and discrimination toward obese persons are pervasive and pose numerous consequences for their psychological and physical health. Despite decades of science documenting weight stigma, its public health implications are widely ignored. Instead, obese persons are blamed for their weight, with common perceptions that weight stigmatization is justifiable and may motivate individuals to adopt healthier behaviors. We examine evidence to address these assumptions and discuss their public health implications. On the basis of current findings, we propose that weight stigma is not a beneficial public health tool for reducing obesity. Rather, stigmatization of obese individuals threatens health, generates health disparities, and interferes with effective obesity intervention efforts. These findings highlight weight stigma as both a social justice issue and a priority for public health. PMID:20075322

  8. Developing public health performance measures to capture the effects of transportation facilities on multiple public health outcomes.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-04-15

    Increasingly, federal transportation and public health agencies are working together to identify : transportation investments that improve public health. Investments in transportation : infrastructure represent one method to utilize transportation to...

  9. Occupational Health and Safety in Aquaculture: Insights on Brazilian Public Policies.

    PubMed

    de Oliveira, Pedro Keller; Cavalli, Richard Souto; Kunert Filho, Hiran Castagnino; Carvalho, Daiane; Benedetti, Nadine; Rotta, Marco Aurélio; Peixoto Ramos, Augusto Sávio; de Brito, Kelly Cristina Tagliari; de Brito, Benito Guimarães; da Rocha, Andréa Ferretto; Stech, Marcia Regina; Cavalli, Lissandra Souto

    2017-01-01

    Aquaculture has many occupational hazards, including those that are physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, and mechanical. The risks in aquaculture are inherent, as this activity requires particular practices. The objective of the present study was to show the risks associated with the aquaculture sector and present a critical overview on the Brazilian public policies concerning aquaculture occupational health. Methods include online research involved web searches and electronic databases including Pubmed, Google Scholar, Scielo and government databases. We conducted a careful revision of Brazilian labor laws related to occupational health and safety, rural workers, and aquaculture. The results and conclusion support the idea that aquaculture requires specific and well-established industry programs and policies, especially in developing countries. Aquaculture still lacks scientific research, strategies, laws, and public policies to boost the sector with regard to occupational health and safety. The establishment of a safe workplace in aquaculture in developing countries remains a challenge for all involved in employer-employee relationships.

  10. [Ethics versus economics in public health? On the integration of economic rationality in a discourse of public health ethics].

    PubMed

    Rothgang, H; Staber, J

    2009-05-01

    In the course of establishing the discourse of public health ethics in Germany, we discuss whether economic efficiency should be part of public health ethics and, if necessary, how efficiency should be conceptualized. Based on the welfare economics theory, we build a theoretical framework that demands an integration of economic rationality in public health ethics. Furthermore, we consider the possible implementation of welfare efficiency against the background of current practice in an economic evaluation of health care in Germany. The indifference of the welfare efficiency criterion with respect to distribution leads to the conclusion that efficiency must not be the only criteria of public health ethics. Therefore, an ethical approach of principles should be chosen for public health ethics. Possible conflicts between principles of such an approach are outlined.

  11. Strategic Methodologies in Public Health Cost Analyses.

    PubMed

    Whittington, Melanie; Atherly, Adam; VanRaemdonck, Lisa; Lampe, Sarah

    The National Research Agenda for Public Health Services and Systems Research states the need for research to determine the cost of delivering public health services in order to assist the public health system in communicating financial needs to decision makers, partners, and health reform leaders. The objective of this analysis is to compare 2 cost estimation methodologies, public health manager estimates of employee time spent and activity logs completed by public health workers, to understand to what degree manager surveys could be used in lieu of more time-consuming and burdensome activity logs. Employees recorded their time spent on communicable disease surveillance for a 2-week period using an activity log. Managers then estimated time spent by each employee on a manager survey. Robust and ordinary least squares regression was used to measure the agreement between the time estimated by the manager and the time recorded by the employee. The 2 outcomes for this study included time recorded by the employee on the activity log and time estimated by the manager on the manager survey. This study was conducted in local health departments in Colorado. Forty-one Colorado local health departments (82%) agreed to participate. Seven of the 8 models showed that managers underestimate their employees' time, especially for activities on which an employee spent little time. Manager surveys can best estimate time for time-intensive activities, such as total time spent on a core service or broad public health activity, and yet are less precise when estimating discrete activities. When Public Health Services and Systems Research researchers and health departments are conducting studies to determine the cost of public health services, there are many situations in which managers can closely approximate the time required and produce a relatively precise approximation of cost without as much time investment by practitioners.

  12. 41 CFR 101-5.307 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2014-07-01 2012-07-01 true Public Health Service... AND COMPLEXES 5.3-Federal Employee Health Services § 101-5.307 Public Health Service. (a) The only authorized contact point for assistance of and consultation with the Public Health Service is the Federal...

  13. 41 CFR 101-5.307 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2011-07-01 2007-07-01 true Public Health Service... AND COMPLEXES 5.3-Federal Employee Health Services § 101-5.307 Public Health Service. (a) The only authorized contact point for assistance of and consultation with the Public Health Service is the Federal...

  14. 41 CFR 101-5.307 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Public Health Service... AND COMPLEXES 5.3-Federal Employee Health Services § 101-5.307 Public Health Service. (a) The only authorized contact point for assistance of and consultation with the Public Health Service is the Federal...

  15. 41 CFR 101-5.307 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Public Health Service... AND COMPLEXES 5.3-Federal Employee Health Services § 101-5.307 Public Health Service. (a) The only authorized contact point for assistance of and consultation with the Public Health Service is the Federal...

  16. 41 CFR 101-5.307 - Public Health Service.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2013-07-01 2012-07-01 true Public Health Service... AND COMPLEXES 5.3-Federal Employee Health Services § 101-5.307 Public Health Service. (a) The only authorized contact point for assistance of and consultation with the Public Health Service is the Federal...

  17. Considerations for increasing the competences and capacities of the public health workforce: assessing the training needs of public health workers in Texas

    PubMed Central

    Borders, Stephen; Blakely, Craig; Quiram, Barbara; McLeroy, Kenneth

    2006-01-01

    Background Over the last two decades, concern has been expressed about the readiness of the public health workforce to adequately address the scientific, technological, social, political and economic challenges facing the field. A 1988 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) served as a catalyst for the re-examination of the public health workforce. The IOM's call to increase the relevance of public health education and training prompted a renewed effort to identify competences needed by public health personnel and the organizations that employ them. Methods A recent evaluation sought to address the role of the 10 essential public health services in job services among the Texas public health workforce. Additionally, the evaluation examined the Texas public health workforce's need for training in the 10 essential public health services. Results and conclusion Overall, the level of perceived training needs varied dramatically by job category and health department type. When comparing aggregate training needs, public health workers with greater day-to-day contact (nurses, health educators) indicated a greater need for training than their peers who did not, such as those working in administrative positions. When prioritizing and designing future training modules regarding the 10 essential public health services, trainers should consider the effects of job function, location and contact with the public. PMID:16872494

  18. Is globalization really good for public health?

    PubMed

    Tausch, Arno

    2016-10-01

    In the light of recent very prominent studies, especially that of Mukherjee and Krieckhaus (), one should be initially tempted to assume that nowadays globalization is a driver of a good public health performance in the entire world system. Most of these studies use time series analyses based on the KOF Index of Globalization. We attempt to re-analyze the entire question, using a variety of methodological approaches and data. Our re-analysis shows that neoliberal globalization has resulted in very important implosions of public health development in various regions of the world and in increasing inequality in the countries of the world system, which in turn negatively affect health performance. We use standard ibm/spss ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions, time series and cross-correlation analyses based on aggregate, freely available data. Different components of the KOF Index, most notably actual capital inflows, affect public health negatively. The "decomposition" of the available data suggests that for most of the time period of the last four decades, globalization inflows even implied an aggregate deterioration of public health, quite in line with globalization critical studies. We introduce the effects of inequality on public health, widely debated in global public health research. Our annual time series for 99 countries show that globalization indeed leads to increased inequality, and this, in turn, leads to a deteriorating public health performance. In only 19 of the surveyed 99 nations with complete data (i.e., 19.1%), globalization actually preceded an improvement in the public health performance. Far from falsifying globalization critical research, our analyses show the basic weaknesses of the new "pro-globalization" literature in the public health profession. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Ethical Issues in Public Health Practice in Michigan

    PubMed Central

    Gollust, Sarah E.; Goold, Susan D.; Jacobson, Peter D.

    2009-01-01

    Objectives. We sought to ascertain the types of ethical challenges public health practitioners face in practice and to identify approaches used to resolve such challenges. Methods. We conducted 45 semistructured interviews with public health practitioners across a range of occupations (e.g., health officers, medical directors, sanitarians, nurses) at 13 health departments in Michigan. Results. Through qualitative analysis, we identified 5 broad categories of ethical issues common across occupations and locations: (1) determining appropriate use of public health authority, (2) making decisions related to resource allocation, (3) negotiating political interference in public health practice, (4) ensuring standards of quality of care, and (5) questioning the role or scope of public health. Participants cited a variety of values guiding their decision-making that did not coalesce around core values often associated with public health, such as social justice or utilitarianism. Public health practitioners relied on consultations with colleagues to resolve challenges, infrequently using frameworks for decision-making. Conclusions. Public health practitioners showed a nuanced understanding of ethical issues and navigated ethical challenges with minimal formal assistance. Decision-making guides that are empirically informed and tailored for practitioners might have some value. PMID:19059850

  20. Public and private health-care financing with alternate public rationing rules.

    PubMed

    Cuff, Katherine; Hurley, Jeremiah; Mestelman, Stuart; Muller, Andrew; Nuscheler, Robert

    2012-02-01

    We develop a model to analyze parallel public and private health-care financing under two alternative public sector rationing rules: needs-based rationing and random rationing. Individuals vary in income and severity of illness. There is a limited supply of health-care resources used to treat individuals, causing some individuals to go untreated. Insurers (both public and private) must bid to obtain the necessary health-care resources to treat their beneficiaries. Given individuals' willingnesses-to-pay for private insurance are increasing in income, the introduction of private insurance diverts treatment from relatively poor to relatively rich individuals. Further, the impact of introducing parallel private insurance depends on the rationing mechanism in the public sector. We show that the private health insurance market is smaller when the public sector rations according to need than when allocation is random. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Labor Unions: A Public Health Institution

    PubMed Central

    Malinowski, Beth; Stock, Laura

    2015-01-01

    Using a social–ecological framework, we drew on a targeted literature review and historical and contemporary cases from the US labor movement to illustrate how unions address physical and psychosocial conditions of work and the underlying inequalities and social determinants of health. We reviewed labor involvement in tobacco cessation, hypertension control, and asthma, limiting articles to those in English published in peer-reviewed public health or medical journals from 1970 to 2013. More rigorous research is needed on potential pathways from union membership to health outcomes and the facilitators of and barriers to union–public health collaboration. Despite occasional challenges, public health professionals should increase their efforts to engage with unions as critical partners. PMID:25521905

  2. Labor unions: a public health institution.

    PubMed

    Malinowski, Beth; Minkler, Meredith; Stock, Laura

    2015-02-01

    Using a social-ecological framework, we drew on a targeted literature review and historical and contemporary cases from the US labor movement to illustrate how unions address physical and psychosocial conditions of work and the underlying inequalities and social determinants of health. We reviewed labor involvement in tobacco cessation, hypertension control, and asthma, limiting articles to those in English published in peer-reviewed public health or medical journals from 1970 to 2013. More rigorous research is needed on potential pathways from union membership to health outcomes and the facilitators of and barriers to union-public health collaboration. Despite occasional challenges, public health professionals should increase their efforts to engage with unions as critical partners.

  3. A Review of Global Health Competencies for Postgraduate Public Health Education

    PubMed Central

    Sawleshwarkar, Shailendra; Negin, Joel

    2017-01-01

    During the last decade, the literature about global health has grown exponentially. Academic institutions are also exploring the scope of their public health educational programs to meet the demand for a global health professional. This has become more relevant in the context of the sustainable development goals. There have been attempts to describe global health competencies for specific professional groups. The focus of these competencies has been variable with a variety of different themes being described ranging from globalization and health care, analysis and program management, as well as equity and capacity strengthening. This review aims to describe global health competencies and attempts to distill common competency domains to assist in curriculum development and integration in postgraduate public health education programs. A literature search was conducted using relevant keywords with a focus on public health education. This resulted in identification of 13 articles that described global health competencies. All these articles were published between 2005 and 2015 with six from the USA, two each from Canada and Australia, and one each from UK, Europe, and Americas. A range of methods used to describe competency domains included literature review, interviews with experts and employers, surveys of staff and students, and description or review of an academic program. Eleven competency domains were distilled from the selected articles. These competency domains primarily referred to three main aspects, one that focuses on burden of disease and the determinants of health. A second set focuses on core public health skills including policy development, analysis, and program management. Another set of competency domains could be classified as “soft skills” and includes collaboration, partnering, communication, professionalism, capacity building, and political awareness. This review presents the landscape of defined global health competencies for postgraduate

  4. Public and private health initiatives in Kansas.

    PubMed

    Fonner, E

    1998-01-01

    This article summarizes several health initiatives in Kansas that are being forwarded by way of public/private partnerships. Consensus is being shaped on the standardization of health data and use of actionable indicators. Statewide public health improvement planning is also being pursued. A group of large employers and state agencies are creating a basis for group purchasing, consumer assessments of health plans, and coordinated public policy formulation.

  5. The Delivery of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Services; Public Health or Primary Care Settings?

    PubMed

    Bjørn Jensen, Lene; Lukic, Irena; Gulis, Gabriel

    2018-05-07

    The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed a set of public health functions resulting in the ten Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO). Public health or primary care settings seem to be favorable to embrace all actions included into EPHOs. The presented paper aims to guide readers on how to assign individual health promotion and environmental health services to public health or primary care settings. Survey tools were developed based on EPHO 2, 3 and 4; there were six key informant surveys out of 18 contacted completed via e-mails by informants working in Denmark on health promotion and five face-to-face interviews were conducted in Australia (Melbourne and Victoria state) with experts from environmental health, public health and a physician. Based on interviews, we developed a set of indicators to support the assignment process. Population or individual focus, a system approach or one-to-one approach, dealing with hazards or dealing with effects, being proactive or reactive were identified as main element of the decision tool. Assignment of public health services to one of two settings proved to be possible in some cases, whereas in many there is no clear distinction between the two settings. National context might be the one which guides delivery of public health services.

  6. [Mesoamerican Public Health Institute: technical support and capacity strengthening arm of the Mesoamerican Public Health System].

    PubMed

    González-Block, Miguel A; Molina-Rodríguez, Juan Francisco; Becerril, Víctor; Vargas, Emily

    2011-01-01

    The Mesoamerican Public Health Institute (IMSP) was constituted in 2009 as the technical organ of the Mesoamerican Public Health System (SMSP) and the Virtual Network of Academic Institutions. Health system capacity strengthening needs and preliminary training results were assessed in the first phase. The SMSP Master Plans were content-analyzed for each priority and members of the Malaria and Dengue Working Group were surveyed. The training needs required for each SMSP priority area were identified and knowledge management needs for malaria and dengue analyzed. Competencies were mapped across strategic, tactical and operative personnel that will be requiring them. IMSP trained in its first year 91 persons in eight countries. IMSP is responding to the Mesoamerican region's public health needs.

  7. Genomics and the Public Health Code of Ethics

    PubMed Central

    Thomas, James C.; Irwin, Debra E.; Zuiker, Erin Shaugnessy; Millikan, Robert C.

    2005-01-01

    We consider the public health applications of genomic technologies as viewed through the lens of the public health code of ethics. We note, for example, the potential for genomics to increase our appreciation for the public health value of interdependence, the potential for some genomic tools to exacerbate health disparities because of their inaccessibility by the poor and the way in which genomics forces public health to refine its notions of prevention. The public health code of ethics sheds light on concerns raised by commercial genomic products that are not discussed in detail by more clinically oriented perspectives. In addition, the concerns raised by genomics highlight areas of our understanding of the ethical principles of public health in which further refinement may be necessary. PMID:16257942

  8. Public Health Interventions: School Nurse Practice Stories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Linda J. W.; Schaffer, Marjorie A.; Hiltz, Cynthia; O'Leary, Stacie A.; Luehr, Ruth Ellen; Yoney, Erika L.

    2018-01-01

    This study describes and analyzes school nurses' (SN) experiences with understanding and using public health interventions from the Public Health Intervention Wheel. The Wheel offers a model for naming interventions provided by SNs from a public health perspective. Research teams from academic and SN practice settings conducted six focus groups…

  9. Health co-benefits and risks of public health adaptation strategies to climate change: a review of current literature.

    PubMed

    Cheng, June J; Berry, Peter

    2013-04-01

    Many public health adaptation strategies have been identified in response to climate change. This report reviews current literature on health co-benefits and risks of these strategies to gain a better understanding of how they may affect health. A literature review was conducted electronically using English language literature from January 2000 to March 2012. Of 812 articles identified, 22 peer-reviewed articles that directly addressed health co-benefits or risks of adaptation were included in the review. The co-benefits and risks identified in the literature most commonly relate to improvements in health associated with adaptation actions that affect social capital and urban design. Health co-benefits of improvements in social capital have positive influences on mental health, independently of other determinants. Risks included reinforcing existing misconceptions regarding health. Health co-benefits of urban design strategies included reduced obesity, cardiovascular disease and improved mental health through increased physical activity, cooling spaces (e.g., shaded areas), and social connectivity. Risks included pollen allergies with increased urban green space, and adverse health effects from heat events through the use of air conditioning. Due to the current limited understanding of the full impacts of the wide range of existing climate change adaptation strategies, further research should focus on both unintended positive and negative consequences of public health adaptation.

  10. Public Libraries As Partners for Health

    PubMed Central

    Dupuis, Roxanne; Morgan, Anna U.; D’Alonzo, Bernadette; Epstein, Caleb; Klusaritz, Heather; Cannuscio, Carolyn C.

    2018-01-01

    Introduction Public libraries are free and accessible to all and are centers of community engagement and education, making them logical choices as partners for improving population health. Library staff members routinely assist patrons with unmet health and social needs. Methods We used a 100-question, self-administered web survey sent to all library directors listed in the Pennsylvania Library Association database (N = 621), to investigate staff interactions with library patrons to address social determinants of health. We conducted statistical comparisons of quantitative responses and a content analysis of open-ended responses. Results Respondents (N = 262) reported frequently interacting with patrons around health and social concerns — well beyond those related to literacy and education — including help with employment (94%), nutrition (70%), exercise (66%), and social welfare benefits (51%). Acute emergencies were not uncommon in Pennsylvania’s public libraries, with nearly 12% of respondents having witnessed a drug overdose at the library in the past year. Most respondents felt that their professional training left them inadequately prepared to assist patrons with health and social issues. Although at least 40% of respondents offered some health programming at their library branch, their offerings did not meet the high level of need reflected in common patron inquiries. Conclusion The challenges library staff members experience in meeting their patrons’ information needs suggest opportunities for public libraries to advance population health. Library staff members need additional training and resources and collaboration with public health and health care institutions to respond to community needs through effective, evidence-based public health programming. PMID:29806580

  11. Public Libraries As Partners for Health.

    PubMed

    Whiteman, Eliza D; Dupuis, Roxanne; Morgan, Anna U; D'Alonzo, Bernadette; Epstein, Caleb; Klusaritz, Heather; Cannuscio, Carolyn C

    2018-05-24

    Public libraries are free and accessible to all and are centers of community engagement and education, making them logical choices as partners for improving population health. Library staff members routinely assist patrons with unmet health and social needs. We used a 100-question, self-administered web survey sent to all library directors listed in the Pennsylvania Library Association database (N = 621), to investigate staff interactions with library patrons to address social determinants of health. We conducted statistical comparisons of quantitative responses and a content analysis of open-ended responses. Respondents (N = 262) reported frequently interacting with patrons around health and social concerns - well beyond those related to literacy and education - including help with employment (94%), nutrition (70%), exercise (66%), and social welfare benefits (51%). Acute emergencies were not uncommon in Pennsylvania's public libraries, with nearly 12% of respondents having witnessed a drug overdose at the library in the past year. Most respondents felt that their professional training left them inadequately prepared to assist patrons with health and social issues. Although at least 40% of respondents offered some health programming at their library branch, their offerings did not meet the high level of need reflected in common patron inquiries. The challenges library staff members experience in meeting their patrons' information needs suggest opportunities for public libraries to advance population health. Library staff members need additional training and resources and collaboration with public health and health care institutions to respond to community needs through effective, evidence-based public health programming.

  12. The right to health, health systems development and public health policy challenges in Chad.

    PubMed

    Azétsop, Jacquineau; Ochieng, Michael

    2015-02-15

    There is increasing consensus that the right to health can provide ethical, policy and practical groundings for health systems development. The goals of the right to health are congruent with those of health systems development, which are about strengthening health promotion organizations and actions so as to improve public health. The poor shape and performance of health systems in Chad question the extent of realization of the right to health. Due to its comprehensiveness and inclusiveness, the right to health has the potential of being an organizational and a normative backbone for public health policy and practice. It can then be understood and studied as an integral component of health systems development. This paper uses a secondary data analysis of existing documents by the Ministry of Public Health, Institut National de la Statistique, des Etudes Economiques et Démographiques (INSEED), the Ministry of Economy and Agence Française de Cooperation to analyze critically the shape and performance of health systems in Chad based on key concepts and components of the right to health contained in article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and on General Comment 14. The non-realization of the right to health, even in a consistently progressive manner, raises concerns about the political commitment of state officials to public health, about the justice of social institutions in ensuring social well-being and about individual and public values that shape decision-making processes. Social justice, democratic rule, transparency, accountability and subsidiarity are important groundings for ensuring community participation in public affairs and for monitoring the performance of public institutions. The normative ideals of health systems development are essentially democratic in nature and are rooted in human rights and in ethical principles of human dignity, equality, non-discrimination and social justice. These ideals are grounded

  13. Public Health Departments and Accountable Care Organizations: Finding Common Ground in Population Health

    PubMed Central

    Ingram, Richard; Scutchfield, F. Douglas

    2015-01-01

    We examined areas of potential collaboration between accountable care organizations and public health agencies, as well as perceived barriers and facilitators. We interviewed 9 key informants on 4 topics: advantages of public health agency involvement in accountable care organizations; services public health agencies could provide; practical, cultural, and legal barriers to accountable care organization–public health agency involvement; and business models that facilitate accountable care organization–public health agency collaboration. Public health agencies could help accountable care organizations partner with community organizations and reach vulnerable patients, provide population-based services and surveillance data, and promote policies that improve member health. Barriers include accountable care organizations’ need for short-term financial yield, limited public health agency technical and financial capacity, and the absence of a financial model. PMID:25790392

  14. 42 CFR 93.220 - Public Health Service or PHS.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the offices of the... 42 Public Health 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Public Health Service or PHS. 93.220 Section 93.220 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND...

  15. 42 CFR 93.220 - Public Health Service or PHS.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the offices of the... 42 Public Health 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Public Health Service or PHS. 93.220 Section 93.220 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND...

  16. 42 CFR 93.220 - Public Health Service or PHS.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the offices of the... 42 Public Health 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Public Health Service or PHS. 93.220 Section 93.220 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND...

  17. Climate Change and Public Health Policy.

    PubMed

    Smith, Jason A; Vargo, Jason; Hoverter, Sara Pollock

    2017-03-01

    Climate change poses real and immediate impacts to the public health of populations around the globe. Adverse impacts are expected to continue throughout the century. Emphasizing co-benefits of climate action for health, combining adaptation and mitigation efforts, and increasing interagency coordination can effectively address both public health and climate change challenges.

  18. Prisoner reentry: a public health or public safety issue for social work practice?

    PubMed

    Patterson, George T

    2013-01-01

    A significant literature identifies the policy, economic, health, and social challenges that confront released prisoners. This literature also describes the public health and public safety risks associated with prisoner reentry, provides recommendations for improving the reentry process, and describes the effectiveness of prison-based programs on recidivism rates. Public health and public safety risks are particularly significant in communities where large numbers of prisoners are released and few evidence-based services exist. The purpose of this article is to describe the public health and public safety risks that released prisoners experience when they reenter communities, and to discuss the social justice issues relevant for social work practice.

  19. Public health insurance under a nonbenevolent state.

    PubMed

    Lemieux, Pierre

    2008-10-01

    This paper explores the consequences of the oft ignored fact that public health insurance must actually be supplied by the state. Depending how the state is modeled, different health insurance outcomes are expected. The benevolent model of the state does not account for many actual features of public health insurance systems. One alternative is to use a standard public choice model, where state action is determined by interaction between self-interested actors. Another alternative--related to a strand in public choice theory--is to model the state as Leviathan. Interestingly, some proponents of public health insurance use an implicit Leviathan model, but not consistently. The Leviathan model of the state explains many features of public health insurance: its uncontrolled growth, its tendency toward monopoly, its capacity to buy trust and loyalty from the common people, its surveillance ability, its controlling nature, and even the persistence of its inefficiencies and waiting lines.

  20. Educating Nurses for Public Health Leadership. Project Report of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Models To Prepare Public Health Nurses for Leadership in a Changing Health Care System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Josten, LaVohn; And Others

    This report discusses the role of graduate nurses in public health leadership and the development of new models of graduate education to prepare nurses for public health leadership. It reviews the need for graduate nurses in public health leadership positions, the health needs of the population, the role of public health in a changing health care…

  1. Quality and Certification of Electronic Health Records

    PubMed Central

    Hoerbst, A.; Ammenwerth, E.

    2010-01-01

    Background Numerous projects, initiatives, and programs are dedicated to the development of Electronic Health Records (EHR) worldwide. Increasingly more of these plans have recently been brought from a scientific environment to real life applications. In this context, quality is a crucial factor with regard to the acceptance and utility of Electronic Health Records. However, the dissemination of the existing quality approaches is often rather limited. Objectives The present paper aims at the description and comparison of the current major quality certification approaches to EHRs. Methods A literature analysis was carried out in order to identify the relevant publications with regard to EHR quality certification. PubMed, ACM Digital Library, IEEExplore, CiteSeer, and Google (Scholar) were used to collect relevant sources. The documents that were obtained were analyzed using techniques of qualitative content analysis. Results The analysis discusses and compares the quality approaches of CCHIT, EuroRec, IHE, openEHR, and EN13606. These approaches differ with regard to their focus, support of service-oriented EHRs, process of (re-)certification and testing, number of systems certified and tested, supporting organizations, and regional relevance. Discussion The analyzed approaches show differences with regard to their structure and processes. System vendors can exploit these approaches in order to improve and certify their information systems. Health care organizations can use these approaches to support selection processes or to assess the quality of their own information systems. PMID:23616834

  2. 86th Annual Georgia Public Health Association Meeting & Conference Report.

    PubMed

    Smith, Selina A; Abbott, Regina; Sims, Christy

    2015-01-01

    Ebola crisis, palliative care, and essentials of advocacy in action for public health. Concurrent workshops focused on Board of Health training, public health accreditation, capacity building, collaboration, patient-centered outcomes, synthetic cannabinoid use, the HIV care continuum, use of data for informed decision making, environmental threats, organizational development, epidemiology, policy, and regulation. Thirty-two (32) awards were presented, including Lawmaker of the Year Award to Governor Nathan and First Lady Sandra Deal for their active and engaged role in promoting public health in Georgia; and the Sellers-McCroan Award to Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) State Health Officer, for her leadership of the Georgia Ebola Response Team and leadership of the newly formed department. The conference attracted 569 registrants primarily through pre-registration (n=561) with limited onsite registration (n=8). For this year's conference, there was a significant increase in attendance (36%) and exhibitors (33%) relative to 2014. Of registrants reporting GPHA section participation, representation included: academic (5%); administration (10%); boards of health (13%); career development (15%); emergency preparedness (2%); epidemiology (5%); health education and promotion (2%); information technology (2%); maternal and child health (3%); medical/dental (3%); nursing (10%); nutrition (<1%); and other/no record (15%). There was 100% participation in the conference from the state's 18 public health districts. The conference evaluation completed by a representative sample of registrants indicated areas of potential improvement as: starting sessions on time, using electronic and social media for the conference agenda/syllabus, and decreasing workshop sessions to 45 minutes. Most rated the conference as "good" or "excellent."

  3. Public Health Interventions for School Nursing Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schaffer, Marjorie A.; Anderson, Linda J. W.; Rising, Shannon

    2016-01-01

    School nurses (SNs) use public health nursing knowledge and skills to provide nursing services to school populations. The Public Health Intervention Wheel is a practice framework that can be used to explain and guide public health nursing interventions. SNs who were also members of the National Association of School Nurses completed an electronic…

  4. ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH INDICATORS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Environmental Public Health Indicators (EPHIs), quantitative measures of health factors and environmental influences tracked over time, can be used to identify specific areas and populations for intervention and prevention efforts and to evaluate the outcomes of implemented polic...

  5. System impact research - increasing public health and health care system performance.

    PubMed

    Malmivaara, Antti

    2016-01-01

    Interventions directed to system features of public health and health care should increase health and welfare of patients and population. To build a new framework for studies aiming to assess the impact of public health or health care system, and to consider the role of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and of Benchmarking Controlled Trials (BCTs). The new concept is partly based on the author's previous paper on the Benchmarking Controlled Trial. The validity and generalizability considerations were based on previous methodological studies on RCTs and BCTs. The new concept System Impact Research (SIR) covers all the studies which aim to assess the impact of the public health system or of the health care system on patients or on population. There are two kinds of studies in System Impact Research: Benchmarking Controlled Trials (observational) and Randomized Controlled Trials (experimental). The term impact covers in particular accessibility, quality, effectiveness, safety, efficiency, and equality. System Impact Research - creating the scientific basis for policy decision making - should be given a high priority in medical, public health and health economic research, and should also be used for improving performance. Leaders at all levels of health and social care can use the evidence from System Impact Research for the benefit of patients and population. Key messages The new concept of SIR is defined as a research field aiming at assessing the impacts on patients and on populations of features of public health and health and social care systems or of interventions trying to change these features. SIR covers all features of public health and health and social care system, and actions upon these features. The term impact refers to all effects caused by the public health and health and social care system or parts of it, with particular emphasis on accessibility, quality, effectiveness, adverse effects, efficiency, and equality of services. SIR creates the

  6. Teaching public health in UK medical schools: 'things have improved: teaching no longer feels like an expensive hobby'.

    PubMed

    Lyon, Anna K; Hothersall, Eleanor J; Gillam, Steve

    2016-09-01

    Recent policy initiatives in the UK have underlined the importance of public health education for healthcare professionals. We aimed to describe teaching inputs to medical undergraduate curricula, to identify perceived challenges in the delivery of public health teaching and make recommendations that may overcome them. We undertook a cross-sectional survey; questionnaires were sent electronically to 32 teaching leads in academic departments of public health in UK medical schools and followed up by telephone interviews. We obtained a 75% response rate; 13 public health teaching leads were interviewed. We found much variability between schools in teaching methods, curricular content and resources used. Concerns regarding the long-term sustainability of teaching focus on: staffing levels and availability, funding and the prioritization of research over teaching. We give examples of integration of public health with clinical teaching, innovative projects in public health and ways of enabling students to witness public health in action. There is a need to increase the supply of well-trained and motivated teachers and combine the best traditional teaching methods with more innovative approaches. Suggestions are made as to how undergraduate public health teaching can be strengthened. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. The public health nurse--the linchpin of primary health care.

    PubMed

    Siivola, U; Martikainen, T

    1990-01-01

    Finland is an example of a country in which primary health care has been put successfully into practice. This could not have been done without the help of public health nurses. At a time when socioeconomic and health status was low, a simple and effective public health nursing service was created to bring primary care to people in their homes and neighbourhoods.

  8. Electronic health records: postadoption physician satisfaction and continued use.

    PubMed

    Wright, Edward; Marvel, Jon

    2012-01-01

    One goal of public-policy makers in general and health care managers in particular is the adoption and efficient utilization of electronic health record (EHR) systems throughout the health care industry. Consequently, this investigation focused on the effects of known antecedents of technology adoption on physician satisfaction with EHR technology and the continued use of such systems. The American Academy of Family Physicians provided support in the survey of 453 physicians regarding their satisfaction with their EHR use experience. A conceptual model merging technology adoption and computer user satisfaction models was tested using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that effort expectancy (ease of use) has the most substantive effect on physician satisfaction and the continued use of EHR systems. As such, health care managers should be especially sensitive to the user and computer interface of prospective EHR systems to avoid costly and disruptive system selection mistakes.

  9. Health Data Sharing Preferences of Consumers: Public Policy and Legal Implications of Consumer-Mediated Data Management

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moon, Lisa A.

    2017-01-01

    An individual's choice to share or have control of the sharing or withholding of their personal health information is one of the most significant public policy challenges associated with electronic information exchange. There were four aims of this study. First, to describe predictors of health data sharing preferences of consumers. Second, to…

  10. Globalisation and public health.

    PubMed

    Bettcher, D; Lee, K

    2002-01-01

    At the dawn of the 21st century, globalisation is a word that has become a part of everyday communication in all corners of the world. It is a concept that for some holds the promise of a new and brighter future, while for others it represents a threat that needs to be confronted and counteracted. In the area of public health, a wide range of claims have been made about the various impacts, both positive and negative, that can be attributed to globalisation. In the ever expanding literature on globalisation and health, it has become apparent that considerable confusion is emerging in both the ways that terminology is applied and concepts are defined. The determinants of health are increasingly multisectoral, and in tackling these challenges it is necessary to take a multidisciplinary approach that includes policy analyses in such areas as trade, environment, defence/security, foreign policy, and international law. In assembling the terms for this glossary, we have attempted to demonstrate the richness of the globalisation and public health debate, and in so doing have selected some of the core terms that require definition. We hope that this glossary will help to clarify this interesting and challenging area, and will also serve as a useful entry point to this new debate in public health.

  11. Targeted marketing and public health.

    PubMed

    Grier, Sonya A; Kumanyika, Shiriki

    2010-01-01

    Targeted marketing techniques, which identify consumers who share common needs or characteristics and position products or services to appeal to and reach these consumers, are now the core of all marketing and facilitate its effectiveness. However, targeted marketing, particularly of products with proven or potential adverse effects (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, entertainment violence, or unhealthful foods) to consumer segments defined as vulnerable raises complex concerns for public health. It is critical that practitioners, academics, and policy makers in marketing, public health, and other fields recognize and understand targeted marketing as a specific contextual influence on the health of children and adolescents and, for different reasons, ethnic minority populations and other populations who may benefit from public health protections. For beneficial products, such understanding can foster more socially productive targeting. For potentially harmful products, understanding the nature and scope of targeted marketing influences will support identification and implementation of corrective policies.

  12. Crowdsourcing applications for public health.

    PubMed

    Brabham, Daren C; Ribisl, Kurt M; Kirchner, Thomas R; Bernhardt, Jay M

    2014-02-01

    Crowdsourcing is an online, distributed, problem-solving, and production model that uses the collective intelligence of networked communities for specific purposes. Although its use has benefited many sectors of society, it has yet to be fully realized as a method for improving public health. This paper defines the core components of crowdsourcing and proposes a framework for understanding the potential utility of crowdsourcing in the domain of public health. Four discrete crowdsourcing approaches are described (knowledge discovery and management; distributed human intelligence tasking; broadcast search; and peer-vetted creative production types) and a number of potential applications for crowdsourcing for public health science and practice are enumerated. © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine Published by American Journal of Preventive Medicine All rights reserved.

  13. An electronic consumer health library: NetWellness.

    PubMed Central

    Guard, R; Haag, D; Kaya, B; Marine, S; Morris, T; Schick, L; Shoemaker, S

    1996-01-01

    NetWellness is a community-based, consumer-defined grant program supporting the delivery of electronic health information to rural residents of southern Ohio and urban and suburban communities in the Greater Cincinnati tri-state region. NetWellness is a collaboratively developed and publicly and privately funded demonstration project. Information is delivered via ISDN, standard dial, dedicated network connections, and the Internet. TriState Online (Greater Cincinnati's Free-Net) and other southern Ohio Free-Nets are key access points in the larger project communities. The other access points are more than forty workstations distributed at public sites throughout the project's primary geographical area. Design strengths and limitations, training initiatives, technical issues, and the project's impact on medical librarianship are examined in this paper. Also discussed are ways of determining community needs and interest, building political alliances, finding and developing funding sources, and overcoming technical obstacles. NetWellness's Internet address is: http:@www.netwellness.org. PMID:8913548

  14. Machine-Learning Algorithms to Code Public Health Spending Accounts

    PubMed Central

    Leider, Jonathon P.; Resnick, Beth A.; Alfonso, Y. Natalia; Bishai, David

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: Government public health expenditure data sets require time- and labor-intensive manipulation to summarize results that public health policy makers can use. Our objective was to compare the performances of machine-learning algorithms with manual classification of public health expenditures to determine if machines could provide a faster, cheaper alternative to manual classification. Methods: We used machine-learning algorithms to replicate the process of manually classifying state public health expenditures, using the standardized public health spending categories from the Foundational Public Health Services model and a large data set from the US Census Bureau. We obtained a data set of 1.9 million individual expenditure items from 2000 to 2013. We collapsed these data into 147 280 summary expenditure records, and we followed a standardized method of manually classifying each expenditure record as public health, maybe public health, or not public health. We then trained 9 machine-learning algorithms to replicate the manual process. We calculated recall, precision, and coverage rates to measure the performance of individual and ensembled algorithms. Results: Compared with manual classification, the machine-learning random forests algorithm produced 84% recall and 91% precision. With algorithm ensembling, we achieved our target criterion of 90% recall by using a consensus ensemble of ≥6 algorithms while still retaining 93% coverage, leaving only 7% of the summary expenditure records unclassified. Conclusions: Machine learning can be a time- and cost-saving tool for estimating public health spending in the United States. It can be used with standardized public health spending categories based on the Foundational Public Health Services model to help parse public health expenditure information from other types of health-related spending, provide data that are more comparable across public health organizations, and evaluate the impact of evidence

  15. Machine-Learning Algorithms to Code Public Health Spending Accounts.

    PubMed

    Brady, Eoghan S; Leider, Jonathon P; Resnick, Beth A; Alfonso, Y Natalia; Bishai, David

    Government public health expenditure data sets require time- and labor-intensive manipulation to summarize results that public health policy makers can use. Our objective was to compare the performances of machine-learning algorithms with manual classification of public health expenditures to determine if machines could provide a faster, cheaper alternative to manual classification. We used machine-learning algorithms to replicate the process of manually classifying state public health expenditures, using the standardized public health spending categories from the Foundational Public Health Services model and a large data set from the US Census Bureau. We obtained a data set of 1.9 million individual expenditure items from 2000 to 2013. We collapsed these data into 147 280 summary expenditure records, and we followed a standardized method of manually classifying each expenditure record as public health, maybe public health, or not public health. We then trained 9 machine-learning algorithms to replicate the manual process. We calculated recall, precision, and coverage rates to measure the performance of individual and ensembled algorithms. Compared with manual classification, the machine-learning random forests algorithm produced 84% recall and 91% precision. With algorithm ensembling, we achieved our target criterion of 90% recall by using a consensus ensemble of ≥6 algorithms while still retaining 93% coverage, leaving only 7% of the summary expenditure records unclassified. Machine learning can be a time- and cost-saving tool for estimating public health spending in the United States. It can be used with standardized public health spending categories based on the Foundational Public Health Services model to help parse public health expenditure information from other types of health-related spending, provide data that are more comparable across public health organizations, and evaluate the impact of evidence-based public health resource allocation.

  16. A system dynamics evaluation model: implementation of health information exchange for public health reporting.

    PubMed

    Merrill, Jacqueline A; Deegan, Michael; Wilson, Rosalind V; Kaushal, Rainu; Fredericks, Kimberly

    2013-06-01

    To evaluate the complex dynamics involved in implementing electronic health information exchange (HIE) for public health reporting at a state health department, and to identify policy implications to inform similar implementations. Qualitative data were collected over 8 months from seven experts at New York State Department of Health who implemented web services and protocols for querying, receipt, and validation of electronic data supplied by regional health information organizations. Extensive project documentation was also collected. During group meetings experts described the implementation process and created reference modes and causal diagrams that the evaluation team used to build a preliminary model. System dynamics modeling techniques were applied iteratively to build causal loop diagrams representing the implementation. The diagrams were validated iteratively by individual experts followed by group review online, and through confirmatory review of documents and artifacts. Three casual loop diagrams captured well-recognized system dynamics: Sliding Goals, Project Rework, and Maturity of Resources. The findings were associated with specific policies that address funding, leadership, ensuring expertise, planning for rework, communication, and timeline management. This evaluation illustrates the value of a qualitative approach to system dynamics modeling. As a tool for strategic thinking on complicated and intense processes, qualitative models can be produced with fewer resources than a full simulation, yet still provide insights that are timely and relevant. System dynamics techniques clarified endogenous and exogenous factors at play in a highly complex technology implementation, which may inform other states engaged in implementing HIE supported by federal Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) legislation.

  17. Public health nurses' contribution to maternal and infant health in Ireland.

    PubMed

    O'Dwyer, Patricia

    2009-05-01

    As the health practitioners most closely involved with new mothers and babies, public health nurses in Ireland have an important contribution to make to the health of this population group.They deliver a service of preventative health care to mothers and babies that begins in the postnatal period. This paper considers the role of the public health nurse in maternal and infant health, and explores the notion that public health nurses are afforded the appropriate opportunities to contribute to the health of this population group. In order to reduce the health inequalities that are known to exist for new mothers and babies, the commitment of the health executive is needed for the development of a new model of delivering nursing services in the community.

  18. Partners in public health law: elected officials, health directors, and attorneys.

    PubMed

    Benjamin, Georges; Lopez, Wilfredo; Monson, Angela Zoe

    2002-01-01

    The partnership that has developed over the years between elected officials, health directors, and attorneys came about through necessity and practicality. This article examines this partnership and some of the conflicts and problems it contains. The article discusses the problems of overlap of authority between public health departments and elected officials. It also emphasizes that existing laws and regulations often provide sufficiently flexible authority, and that such laws and regulations can be exercised in new ways to address current public health problems. The article concludes with a discussion of the challenges faced by public health officials and legislators in forming a partnership to secure necessary financial support and legal authority for public health activities.

  19. Public health and business: a partnership that makes cents.

    PubMed

    Simon, Paul A; Fielding, Jonathan E

    2006-01-01

    Historically, public health agencies have had relatively few formal partnerships with private business. However, both groups share an interest in ensuring a healthy population. Businesses have a financial interest in supporting organized public health efforts; in turn, business partnerships can increase the reach and effectiveness of public health. This paper makes the case for the business sector's participation in the broad public health system and its support of governmental public health agencies. Examples of past and current partnerships exemplify how public health efforts benefit business and suggest opportunities for future collaboration to improve the public's health.

  20. Inequalities in public health care delivery in Zambia

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Access to adequate health services that is of acceptable quality is important in the move towards universal health coverage. However, previous studies have revealed inequities in health care utilisation in the favour of the rich. Further, those with the greatest need for health services are not getting a fair share. In Zambia, though equity in access is extolled in government documents, there is evidence suggesting that those needing health services are not receiving their fair share. This study seeks therefore, to assess if socioeconomic related inequalities/inequities in public health service utilisation in Zambia still persist. Methods The 2010 nationally representative Zambia Living Conditions and Monitoring Survey data are used. Inequality is assessed using concentration curves and concentrations indices while inequity is assessed using a horizontal equity index: an index of inequity across socioeconomic status groups, based on standardizing health service utilisation for health care need. Public health services considered include public health post visits, public clinic visits, public hospital visits and total public facility visits. Results There is evidence of pro-poor inequality in public primary health care utilisation but a pro-rich inequality in hospital visits. The concentration indices for public health post visits and public clinic visits are −0.28 and −0.09 respectively while that of public hospitals is 0.06. After controlling for need, the pro-poor distribution is maintained at primary facilities and with a pro-rich distribution at hospitals. The horizontal equity indices for health post and clinic are estimated at −0.23 and −0.04 respectively while that of public hospitals is estimated at 0.11. A pro-rich inequity is observed when all the public facilities are combined (horizontal equity index = 0.01) though statistically insignificant. Conclusion The results of the paper point to areas of focus in ensuring equitable access

  1. Population health intervention research training: the value of public health internships and mentorship.

    PubMed

    Hamelin, Anne-Marie; Paradis, Gilles

    2018-01-01

    Better alignment between academia and public health practice and policies are critical to improve public health actions. Training of future researchers to address complex issues and to conduct transdisciplinary and collaborative research will help improve this alignment. In this paper, we describe the role of internship placements and mentorship for trainees' skills development in population health intervention research and the benefits of embedding research trainees within public health organizations. This qualitative descriptive study assessed the perceptions of the role and benefits of internships and mentorship for population health intervention research training among former doctoral and postdoctoral students, public health mentors, and senior public health managers who participated in the 4P Program, a research training program which bridges academic training and the public health system in Quebec, Canada. Two types of interviews were conducted: telephone semi-structured interviews by an external evaluator and face-to-face trainee "exit" interviews by the Program co-director. Semi-annual evaluation reports from each trainee were also reviewed. Qualitative data were subjected to a thematic analysis. Internships provided trainees with a working knowledge of the public health system and the context in which decisions and public health interventions are implemented. It was an opportunity for trainees to interact with knowledge-user partners and assess the gap between research and practice. Effective mentorship was key to help trainees interpret the public health reality and develop population health intervention research skills. Trainees learned to ask the "how" questions that are critical for in-depth understanding of complex interventions and the conditions under which they can be best implemented. Conditions of success of internships and mentorship for population health intervention research included the alignment of the interests between the trainee, the

  2. Public Health System Research in Public Health Emergency Preparedness in the United States (2009-2015): Actionable Knowledge Base.

    PubMed

    Savoia, Elena; Lin, Leesa; Bernard, Dottie; Klein, Noah; James, Lyndon P; Guicciardi, Stefano

    2017-09-01

    In 2008, the Institute of Medicine released a letter report identifying 4 research priority areas for public health emergency preparedness in public health system research: (1) enhancing the usefulness of training, (2) improving timely emergency communications, (3) creating and maintaining sustainable response systems, and (4) generating effectiveness criteria and metrics. To (1) identify and characterize public health system research in public health emergency preparedness produced in the United States from 2009 to 2015, (2) synthesize research findings and assess the level of confidence in these findings, and (3) describe the evolution of knowledge production in public health emergency preparedness system research. Search Methods and Selection Criteria. We reviewed and included the titles and abstracts of 1584 articles derived from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and gray literature databases that focused on the organizational or financial aspects of public health emergency preparedness activities and were grounded on empirical studies. We included 156 articles. We appraised the quality of the studies according to the study design. We identified themes during article analysis and summarized overall findings by theme. We determined level of confidence in the findings with the GRADE-CERQual tool. Thirty-one studies provided evidence on how to enhance the usefulness of training. Results demonstrated the utility of drills and exercises to enhance decision-making capabilities and coordination across organizations, the benefit of cross-sector partnerships for successfully implementing training activities, and the value of integrating evaluation methods to support training improvement efforts. Thirty-six studies provided evidence on how to improve timely communications. Results supported the use of communication strategies that address differences in access to information, knowledge, attitudes, and practices across segments of the population as well as evidence on specific

  3. Sexual and reproductive health and rights in public health education.

    PubMed

    Allotey, Pascale A; Diniz, Simone; Dejong, Jocelyn; Delvaux, Thérèse; Gruskin, Sofia; Fonn, Sharon

    2011-11-01

    This paper addresses the challenges faced in mainstreaming the teaching of sexual and reproductive health and rights into public health education. For this paper, we define sexual and reproductive health and rights education as including not only its biomedical aspects but also an understanding of its history, values and politics, grounded in gender politics and social justice, addressing sexuality, and placed within a broader context of health systems and global health. Using a case study approach with an opportunistically selected sample of schools of public health within our regional contexts, we examine the status of sexual and reproductive health and rights education and some of the drivers and obstacles to the development and delivery of sexual and reproductive health and rights curricula. Despite diverse national and institutional contexts, there are many commonalities. Teaching of sexual and reproductive health and rights is not fully integrated into core curricula. Existing initiatives rely on personal faculty interest or short-term courses, neither of which are truly sustainable or replicable. We call for a multidisciplinary and more comprehensive integration of sexual and reproductive health and rights in public health education. The education of tomorrow's public health leaders is critical, and a strategy is needed to ensure that they understand and are prepared to engage with the range of sexual and reproductive health and rights issues within their historical and political contexts. Copyright © 2011 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Social movements and public health advocacy in action: the UK people's health movement.

    PubMed

    Kapilashrami, Anuj; Smith, Katherine E; Fustukian, Suzanne; Eltanani, Mor Kandlik; Laughlin, Sue; Robertson, Tony; Muir, Janet; Gallova, Eva; Scandrett, Eurig

    2016-09-01

    There are growing calls within public health for researchers and practitioners working to improve and protect the public's health to become more involved in politics and advocacy. Such a move takes practitioners and researchers beyond the traditional, evidence-based public health paradigm, raising potential dilemmas and risks for those who undertake such work. Drawing on the example of the People's Health Movement, this short paper argues that advocacy and social movements are an essential component of public health's efforts to achieve great health equity. It outlines how the Scottish branch of the People's Health Movement sought to overcome potential tensions between public health evidence and advocacy by developing a regional manifesto for health via transparent and democratic processes which combine empirical and experiential evidence. We suggest that this is an illustrative example of how potential tensions between public health research and advocacy can be overcome, through bottom-up movements of solidarity and action. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Nuclear education in public health and nursing

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Winder, A.E.; Stanitis, M.A.

    Twenty-three public health schools and 492 university schools of nursing were surveyed to gather specific information on educational programs related to nuclear war. Twenty public health schools and 240 nursing schools responded. Nuclear war-related content was most likely to appear in disaster nursing and in environmental health courses. Three schools of public health report that they currently offer elective courses on nuclear war. Innovative curricula included political action projects for nuclear war prevention.

  6. Health assessment for Tansitor Electronics, Inc. Site, Bennington County, Vermont, Region 1. CERCLIS No. VTD000509174. Preliminary report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1991-03-26

    The Tansitor Electronics, Inc. site, located in Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont, has been proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency for inclusion onto the National Priorities List (NPL). Most of the investigations into site contamination have been coordinated by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. Tansitor Electronics, Inc. operates an electronic capacitor manufacturing facility on a 36-acre parcel located along Route 9 and about 3 miles west of downtown Bennington, Bennington County, Vermont. The site is of potential public health concern because of the risk to human health resulting from possible exposure to hazardous substances at concentrations that may result inmore » adverse health effects. There are no monitoring data or information indicating that appreciable human exposure to site-related contaminants is currently occurring. However, additional monitoring data or information is needed to evaluate the on-site and off-site ground water (shallow aquifer and bedrock aquifer), ambient air, sediment, surface soil, and surface water. The monitoring data or information may form the basis of future ATSDR evaluation of the undefined human exposure pathways and public health implications associated with these pathways. The site is not recommended for follow-up health activities at this time.« less

  7. Recent Developments in Public Health Nursing in the Americas

    PubMed Central

    Nigenda, Gustavo; Magaña-Valladares, Laura; Cooper, Kelly; Ruiz-Larios, Jose Arturo

    2010-01-01

    This study presents an assessment of the participation and training of nurses in public health areas in the Americas. Information was gathered through a literature review and interviews with key informants from Mexico, Colombia, and Paraguay. Results demonstrate that there is significant variation in definitions of public health nursing across the region and current systematized data about the workforce profile of public health nursing personnel is not available for many countries in the Americas. There are significant regional differences in the levels and types of training of nurses working in public health areas and an increasing number of nurses are pursuing training in public health at the master’s and doctoral levels. Many nurses carry out some or all of the essential functions of public health, but are not considered to be public health nurses. Generally, auxiliary and technical nurses have a broader presence in public health areas than professional nurses. In the future, regional health systems reforms should support increased recruitment and training of public health nurses, as well as stronger roles in public health research and health care at the individual, community, and population levels. PMID:20617000

  8. Workshop salutogenesis and the future of health promotion and public health.

    PubMed

    Lindström, Bengt

    2018-02-01

    This presentation is a synthesis of a workshop on Salutogenesis and the Future of Health Promotion and Public Health at the Nordic Health Promotion Research Conference in June 2016. A brief historical review of Public Health and Health Promotion development in a Nordic perspective is included. However, the main thrust of the article is to present how the salutogenic theory and approach could strengthen society's organised efforts to prevent disease, promote health and prolong life. A critical view based on existing evidence is maintained through the presentation that arrives at the conclusion it would be worthwhile to invest in effective theory driven approaches to the development of Public Health and Health Promotion in the future.

  9. Evaluating New York City's abortion reporting system: insights for public health data collection systems.

    PubMed

    Toprani, Amita; Madsen, Ann; Das, Tara; Gambatese, Melissa; Greene, Carolyn; Begier, Elizabeth

    2014-01-01

    New York City (NYC) mandates reporting of all abortion procedures. These reports enable tracking of abortion incidence and underpin programs, policy, and research. Since January 2011, the majority of abortion facilities must report electronically. We conducted an evaluation of NYC's abortion reporting system and its transition to electronic reporting. We summarize the evaluation methodology and results and draw lessons relevant to other vital statistics and public health reporting systems. The evaluation followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for evaluating public health surveillance systems. We interviewed key stakeholders and conducted a data provider survey. In addition, we compared the system's abortion counts with external estimates and calculated the proportion of missing and invalid values for each variable on the report form. Finally, we assessed the process for changing the report form and estimated system costs. NYC Health Department's Bureau of Vital Statistics. Usefulness, simplicity, flexibility, data quality, acceptability, sensitivity, timeliness, and stability of the abortion reporting system. Ninety-five percent of abortion data providers considered abortion reporting important; 52% requested training regarding the report form. Thirty percent reported problems with electronic biometric fingerprint certification, and 18% reported problems with the electronic system's stability. Estimated system sensitivity was 88%. Of 17 variables, education and ancestry had more than 5% missing values in 2010. Changing the electronic reporting module was costly and time-consuming. System operating costs were estimated at $80 136 to $89 057 annually. The NYC abortion reporting system is sensitive and provides high-quality data, but opportunities for improvement include facilitating biometric certification, increasing electronic platform stability, and conducting ongoing outreach and training for data providers. This evaluation will help data

  10. Governance of public health: Norway in a Nordic context.

    PubMed

    Helgesen, Marit K

    2014-11-01

    The two pillars of public health are health promotion and disease prevention. Based on a notion of governance in the state -local relation as changing from hierarchical via New Public Management (NPM) to New Public Governance (NPG), the governance of public health in Norway is contrasted to governance of public health in the other Nordic states: Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The article aims to present and discuss the governance of public health as it is played out in the state-local relationship. The method is to study central state documents in the four countries, as well as articles, research reports and papers on public health. The article shows that the governance modes (hierarchy, NPM and NPG) exist in parallel, but that their mechanisms actually vary in use. Legal, economic and informational mechanisms are, to a varying degree, in use. In Finnish and Swedish public health policies, health promotion is at the forefront; while Danish and Norwegian public health policies spur the local governments to carry out interventions to prevent disease and hospital admissions. © 2014 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

  11. Bioterrorism, public health, and the law.

    PubMed

    Bayer, Ronald; Colgrove, James

    2002-01-01

    The controversy over the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act has underscored the enduring tension in public health between guarding the common welfare and respecting individual liberty. The current version of the act, crafted in response to extensive public commentary, attempts to strike a balance between these values but has failed to allay the concerns of many civil libertarians and privacy advocates. Although the debates over the model act have been triggered by the threat of bioterrorism, they illustrate broader philosophical differences, with profound implications for all realms of public health policy.

  12. Reinvigorating public health core functions: restructuring Los Angeles county's public health system.

    PubMed

    Fielding, Jonathan E; Luck, Jeff; Tye, Grace

    2003-01-01

    In 1997, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services launched an effort to revitalize its Public Health Services division. County investments resulted in the creation of 241 new positions, facilitating the establishment of new offices addressing neglected chronic disease prevention, staff development, training, and communication. Service effectiveness and community responsiveness were enhanced by decentralizing leadership through eight Area Health Offices and strengthening partnerships with private health care providers, community-based organizations, and managed care organizations. Infrastructure enhancements included the development of program performance measures, countywide health indicators, a central health assessment and epidemiology office, and a new countywide biennial survey.

  13. Health Manpower Source Book. Manpower Supply and Educational Statistics for Selected Health Occupations: 1968. Public Health Service Publication Number 263, Section 20.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Institutes of Health (DHEW), Bethesda, MD. Bureau of Health Professions Education and Manpower Training.

    This publication is a compilation of statistics on supply and education of health manpower in medicine and osteopathy, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, podiatry, veterinary medicine, nursing, public health, and eight selected allied health occupations. The material is organized by occupations and the following information is presented for each…

  14. Developing a speciality: regearing the specialist public health workforce.

    PubMed

    Chapman, J; Abbott, S; Carter, Y H

    2005-03-01

    To identify issues surrounding the future training needs of the specialist public health workforce following the most recent restructuring of the National Health Service (NHS) in England. All directors of public health (DsPH) based in strategic health authorities and nine senior staff working in public health at the regional level were invited to participate in a semi-structured telephone interview. Twenty-six people were interviewed. Many interviewees expressed concern that because consultants and specialists in public health will be working in much smaller teams than hitherto, they will have to generalize their skills to cover a much wider range of functions (including board-level duties). This may result in a loss of specialist expertise. Successful public health practice in the new structures will require new ways of interorganizational working that will add an administrative burden to specialists in public health. Also, the creation of a board-level post in each primary care trust (PCT) has resulted in more time spent on corporate responsibilities and less on public health for DsPH, who are often the only fully trained specialist in public health in their PCT. Furthermore, interviewees expressed their anxiety about the lack of diversity in the posts available to specialists in public health and particularly to those newly completing their specialist training. Generally, interviewees felt that traditional public health roles and responsibilities were being eclipsed by corporate and managerial ones. Professional development activities were being carried out, but in a rather ad-hoc fashion. Interviewees were hopeful that public health networks would lead professional development initiatives once they were more established. It is important that excellence in public health is maintained through a set of accreditable standards, whilst corporate skills, essential to successful public health practice in the new UK NHS, are developed among specialists in public health.

  15. Public Health Perspectives on Aquaculture.

    PubMed

    Gormaz, Juan G; Fry, Jillian P; Erazo, Marcia; Love, David C

    2014-01-01

    Nearly half of all seafood consumed globally comes from aquaculture, a method of food production that has expanded rapidly in recent years. Increasing seafood consumption has been proposed as part of a strategy to combat the current non-communicable disease (NCD) pandemic, but public health, environmental, social, and production challenges related to certain types of aquaculture production must be addressed. Resolving these complicated human health and ecologic trade-offs requires systems thinking and collaboration across many fields; the One Health concept is an integrative approach that brings veterinary and human health experts together to combat zoonotic disease. We propose applying and expanding the One Health approach to facilitate collaboration among stakeholders focused on increasing consumption of seafood and expanding aquaculture production, using methods that minimize risks to public health, animal health, and ecology. This expanded application of One Health may also have relevance to other complex systems with similar trade-offs.

  16. CDC WONDER: a cooperative processing architecture for public health.

    PubMed Central

    Friede, A; Rosen, D H; Reid, J A

    1994-01-01

    CDC WONDER is an information management architecture designed for public health. It provides access to information and communications without the user's needing to know the location of data or communication pathways and mechanisms. CDC WONDER users have access to extractions from some 40 databases; electronic mail (e-mail); and surveillance data processing. System components include the Remote Client, the Communications Server, the Queue Managers, and Data Servers and Process Servers. The Remote Client software resides in the user's machine; other components are at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Remote Client, the Communications Server, and the Applications Server provide access to the information and functions in the Data Servers and Process Servers. The system architecture is based on cooperative processing, and components are coupled via pure message passing, using several protocols. This architecture allows flexibility in the choice of hardware and software. One system limitation is that final results from some subsystems are obtained slowly. Although designed for public health, CDC WONDER could be useful for other disciplines that need flexible, integrated information exchange. PMID:7719813

  17. Teaching undergraduate nursing students about environmental health: addressing public health issues through simulation.

    PubMed

    Stanley, Mary Jo; Rojas, Deb

    2014-01-01

    Schools of nursing are challenged to find clinical placements in public health settings. Use of simulation can address situations unique to public health, with attention to specific concerns, such as environmental health. Environmental health is an integral part of public health nursing and is a standard of professional practice. Current simulations focus on acute care situations, offering limited scenarios with a public health perspective and excluding environmental health. This study's simulation scenario was created to enhance nursing students' understanding of public health concepts within an environmental health context. Outcomes from the simulation include the need for integration of environmental issues in public health teaching. Students stated that this scenario provided a broader understanding of the environmental influences that can affect the client's and family's health. This scenario fills a void in simulation content, while providing an interactive teaching and learning strategy to help students to apply knowledge to practice. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

  18. Culture, Health, and Science: A Multidisciplinary Liberal Arts Alternative to the Public Health Major.

    PubMed

    Morgan, Lynn M; Knight, Sabina; Gubrium, Aline C

    2016-01-01

    Since the 2003 call by the Institute of Medicine to educate undergraduates in public health, various models have emerged for incorporating public health into the liberal arts and sciences. One model is a professionalized public health major that uses core public health competencies to prepare a workforce of health professionals. A second model offers a broad-based public health major rooted in liberal arts principles, resisting the utilitarian trend toward human capital formation. A third model resists even the label of "public health," preferring instead to introduce undergraduates to many ways of analyzing human health and healing. The multidisciplinary Culture, Health, and Science Program, based on six key commitments for preparing liberal arts students to analyze health and respond to global health challenges, is offered as an alternative to the public health major. © The Author(s) 2016.

  19. A History of Social Work in Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Ruth, Betty J.

    2017-01-01

    Social work is a core health profession with origins deeply connected to the development of contemporary public health in the United States. Today, many of the nation’s 600 000 social workers practice broadly in public health and in other health settings, drawing on a century of experience in combining clinical, intermediate, and population approaches for greater health impact. Yet, the historic significance of this long-standing interdisciplinary collaboration—and its current implications—remains underexplored in the present era. This article builds on primary and contemporary sources to trace the historic arc of social work in public health, providing examples of successful collaborations. The scope and practices of public health social work practice are explored, and we articulate a rationale for an expanded place for social work in the public health enterprise. PMID:29236533

  20. A History of Social Work in Public Health.

    PubMed

    Ruth, Betty J; Marshall, Jamie Wyatt

    2017-12-01

    Social work is a core health profession with origins deeply connected to the development of contemporary public health in the United States. Today, many of the nation's 600 000 social workers practice broadly in public health and in other health settings, drawing on a century of experience in combining clinical, intermediate, and population approaches for greater health impact. Yet, the historic significance of this long-standing interdisciplinary collaboration-and its current implications-remains underexplored in the present era. This article builds on primary and contemporary sources to trace the historic arc of social work in public health, providing examples of successful collaborations. The scope and practices of public health social work practice are explored, and we articulate a rationale for an expanded place for social work in the public health enterprise.