Annals of Global Health, 87(1), p.30. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2647
Our mission ‘To drive transformational change for continuous improvement of health and well-being of humans, animals, and environment through OH principles and approach to research, training and community service’ is a refined version of what we have always known about ourselves. Our focus, comm...itment and mission remain the same.
more
The spillover of infectious agents from animals to humans in recent decades has had a significant impact on the health of humans, animals, and our environment. To minimize the impact of future pandemic threats, the Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) was established in 2011 to dev...elop the next generation of skillful and competent One Health (OH) workforce with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development and its One Health Workforce project.
more
Environmental pollution, protection, quality and sustainability
In the light of the transmissibility of coronaviruses, and the global experience with MERS-CoV (ongoing) and SARS in 2003 which were also caused by coronaviruses, South African authorities have compiled this guideline document to support surveillance, case finding, diagnosis, management and public h...ealth responses to cases under investigation.
*Please note*
The interim guidelines are based on what is currently known about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The National Department of Health (NDOH) and National Institute for Communicable Diseases will update these interim guidelines as needed and as additional information becomes available.
more
Background: Healthcare workers’ mental health was affected by SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Aim: To evaluate healthcare workers’ mental health and its associated factors during the pandemic in Chile. Material and Methods: An online self-reported questionnaire was designed including the Goldberg Healt...h Questionnaire, the Patient Health
Questionnaire, (PHQ-9), and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale among other questions. It was sent to 28,038 healthcare workers.
Results: The questionnaire was answered by 1,934 participants, with a median age of 38 years (74% women). Seventy five percent were professionals, and 48% worked at a hospital. Fifty nine percent of respondents had a risk of having a mental health disorder, and 73% had depressive symptoms. Significant associations were found with sex, workplace, and some of the relevant experiences during the pandemic. Fifty one
percent reported the need for mental health support, and 38% of them received it.
Conclusions: There is a high percentage of health workers with symptoms of psychological distress, depression, and suicidal ideas. The gender approach is essential to understand the important differences found. Many health workers who required mental health care did not seek or received it.
more
Objectives: This paper reviews the mental health policies that have been implemented in Chile in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the international context of countries' responses. Even before the start of the pandemic, there were significant barriers to access mental health services in Chile, ...coupled with a scenario of nationwide social unrest and protests that questioned the legitimacy of public institutions; now the rapidly worsening outbreaks of COVID-19 are exacerbating the pre-existing mental health crisis.
Methods: We conducted a bibliometric and content analysis of the Chilean mental health public policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and then compared these policies with international experiences and emerging scientific evidence on the mental health impact of pandemics.
Results: Our analysis of the policies identifies five crucial points of action developed in Chile: (i) an established framework to address mental health in emergency and disaster situations; (ii) a timely COVID-19 Mental Health Action Plan; (iii) inclusion of mental health in the public health agenda; (iv) development of a presidential strategy during the pandemic for comprehensive mental health and well-being; and (v) emerging research assessing the mental health implications of COVID-19.
Conclusions: In Chile, the public policy responses to address the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been characterized by the coordinated implementation of mental health plans, ranging from a health sectoral initiative to inter-agency and intersectoral efforts. However, it is imperative that increased funding is allocated to mental health, and efforts should be made to promote the participation of people with lived experiences and communities in the design and implementation of the proposed actions. This aspect could be of key importance to social peace and community recovery after the pandemic.
more
The Lancet Planetary Health Published:May 17, 2022DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00090-0
Every year pollution causes 9 million deaths—1 in every 6 deaths worldwide, according to a Lancet Commission on pollution and health.
While the number of deaths caused by household air pollution a...nd water pollution decreased from 2015 to 2019, overall deaths remain roughly the same because of a 7% increase in deaths caused by air pollution and toxic chemical pollution.
more
An outbreak of a disease called monkeypox is currently taking place in many countries that do not typically have cases. This can beconcerning, especially for people whose loved ones or community have been affected. Some cases have been identified through sexual health clinics in communities of gay, ...bisexual and other men who have sex with men. It is important to note that the risk of monkeypox is not limited to men who have sex with men. Anyone who has close contact with someone who is infectious is at risk. However, given that the virus is being identified in these communities, learning about monkeypox will help ensure that as few people as possible are affected and that the outbreak can be stopped.
more
In Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, Pope Francis acknowledged that “numerous scientists, philosophers, theologians and civic groups have enriched the Church’s thinking” on sustainability. Hospitals and health care organizations may not be an obvious resource for ecological inspirati...on, but they have been responsible for shaping the contours of sustainability as well. While some Catholic health care organizations have already established measures to mitigate climate change, Laudato Si’ challenges all of Catholic health care to reflect the dual concerns for “God’s creation and the poor and outcast.” Concretely, two ways this can be achieved are by cutting carbon emissions and reducing water footprints.
more
The Lancet Planetary Health Volume 6, ISSUE 5, e388-e390, May 01, 2022. As the Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment turns 50, the role of the health stakeholder community in forward-looking environmental agendas is more important than ever. Breathing air, drinking water, and eating food i...s a daily requirement for healthy human bodies. These basic needs inextricably link human health to the health of our environment. Hence, core elements of the global environmental movement were built on concern for the negative impact of pollution on human and ecosystem health.
more
Human rights-based approaches to the creation of knowledge involve application of human rights principles to both the content and process of knowledge creation. Human rights-based approaches have special significance for the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of all people, in particul...ar for women and girls, people living with disability, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or Intersex (LGBTQI) populations, refugees, migrants and other marginalised populations.
more
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(24), 13339; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182413339
The climate crisis threatens to exacerbate numerous climate-sensitive health risks, including heatwave mortality, malnutrition from reduced crop yields, water- and vector-borne infectious diseases, and... respiratory illness from smog, ozone, allergenic pollen, and wildfires. Recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stress the urgent need for action to mitigate climate change, underscoring the need for more scientific assessment of the benefits of climate action for health and wellbeing.
more
The COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErs Study (HEROES): Regional Report from the Americas is a multicenter prospective cohort study to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of health care workers in 26 countries on four continents and how it is affected by several factors at diffe...rent interrelated levels: individual, family, occupational, and social. This brief report presents the evidence generated from the baseline survey of 11 participating countries in the Region of the Americas. Using validated scales, the findings show high rates of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and psychological distress in several countries of the Region. The spirit of the project is not only to generate quality scientific evidence on the mental health of health care workers, but also to help develop interventions (both individual and institutional) and policies to address the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health.
more
14 June 2022.
The aim of this document is to provide concise advice to public health authorities and guide their prevention, awareness-raising and behaviour change interventions before, during and after upcoming summer events.
Addressing gaps and improving health system performance is simply not enough to prepare a health system to tackle the effects of the climate crisis. Climate change’s impact on the health and well-being of people globally is reaching catastrophic levels. As the earth continues to warm, tens of mill...ions of people are at increased risk from rapid and unpredictable spread of infectious diseases, heatwaves, water and food insecurity and scarcity, air pollution, poverty and homelessness. Health services are often regarded as a first line defense in preventing adverse health outcomes, especially from those caused by climate impacts
more
Since the re-emergence of monkeypox in Nigeria in September 2017, the Nigeria Centre
for Disease Control(NCDC) has continued to receive reports and respond to cases of the
disease from States across the country. Between September 2017 when the outbreak started and November 2018, about 300 suspecte...d cases had been reported from 26 out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The highest number of cases were reported from States in the South-South region of Nigeria. Monkeypox is a zoonotic orthopox virus, which presents in humans with symptoms such as fever, headache, body pain, malaise, lymphadenopathy (enlargement of glands),
sore throat and the typical generalised vesiculopustular rash. Transmission is via direct or
indirect contact with infected animals, human, or contaminated materials.
more
After a decade of crisis, Syria remains one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises. Continued hostilities, new and protracted displacement, increased returns and the sustained destruction of communities have impacted Syrians’ lives and futures in a devastating way. The 2021 Humanitarian... Needs Overview (HNO) identified that 13.4 million people, more than half of country’s pre-crisis population, need humanitarian support. Of this figure, 12.4 million require health care.
more
Climate Central communicates climate change science, effects, and solutions to the public and decision-makers.