Battle For Health Research Articles

School counselling key in mental health battle

The children's commissioner wants to see more funding and incentives for in-school counselling and other low-level mental health support

Tobacco and alcohol – the last great public health battles?

Tobacco and alcohol – the last great public health battles?

A Call to Action: Developing and Strengthening New Strategies to Promote Adolescent Sexual Health

Through considerable efforts and investments of resources, adolescent pregnancy and birth rates in the United States have decreased significantly over the past two decades. Nonetheless, large disparities persist for many populations of youth. Reducing unintended adolescent pregnancies is considered a “winnable public health battle,” but one that will require innovative thinking and continued persistence. This paper reviews the recent research literature and innovative programmatic efforts to identify six promising strategies that address the challenge of adolescent pregnancy in new ways. These strategies aim to: (1) understand and address the complexity of adolescent lives; (2) expand the provision of quality sexual health education; (3) engage youth through technology and media; (4) increase access to contraceptives and other sexual health services; (5) create tailored interventions for populations with special needs; and (6) create a supportive policy environment. By building upon lessons learned from past efforts, we can move the field toward the development, strengthening, and promotion of future strategies that enhance the sexual well-being of all adolescents.

The battle for health and beauty: What drives supermarket and drugstore category-promotion lifts?

This paper studies promotion-induced competition between supermarkets and drugstores, resulting from increased channel blurring and category overlap. It documents the relative impact of price cuts and feature ads at the two channels, and establishes substantive factors underlying their differences in promotion effectiveness. Estimates from a household-level model of category purchase incidence, store choice, and quantity, in five large health and beauty-care categories, show that the promotion effects are much larger for supermarket than drugstore chains. Though this partly follows from asymmetries in the channels' drawing power and from differences in in-store response, a key driver is the accessibility of promotional price information: because they are visited more frequently than drugstores and their store flyers are read more often, supermarkets gain relatively more from price cuts and feature ads than drug chains. Managerial implications are discussed.

The top ten global health supply chain issues: Perspectives from the field

In the battle for global health, supply chains are often found wanting. Yet most of what is known about in-country pharmaceutical supply chains resides in the experiences of individual stakeholders, with limited amounts of this knowledge captured in technical reports and papers. This short communication taps into the collective experience and wisdom of global health supply chain professionals through interviews and surveys to identify and prioritize the top 10 global health pharmaceutical supply chain challenges: (1) lack of coordination, (2) inventory management, (3) absent demand information, (4) human resource dependency, (5) order management, (6) shortage avoidance, (7) expiration, (8) warehouse management, (9) temperature control, and (10) shipment visibility. As such, this work contributes to the foundational knowledge of global health pharmaceutical supply chains. These challenges must be addressed by researchers, policy makers, and practitioners alike if global pharmaceutical supply chains are to be developed and improved in emerging regions of the world.

PP47 The Cost of Overweight and Obesity on the Island of Ireland

BackgroundOverweight and obesity are increasing in prevalence worldwide In Ireland, their prevalence makes up over 60% of the population. The incidence of many chronic diseases, and some cancers, is increased...

Nutritional antioxidants: A battle for better health

Nutritional antioxidants: A battle for better health

Notes from Cuba: the importance of primary care.

Notes from Cuba: the importance of primary care.

Iraq to Give Primary Care Lead in MH Treatment

Iraq to Give Primary Care Lead in MH Treatment

Battle for health

Nursing education in Turkey seems to be flourishing, but many barriers to comprehensive health provision remain.

Framework of Flesh: Builders' Labourers Battle for Health & Safety by Humphrey McQueen (review)

Framework of Flesh: Builders' Labourers Battle for Health & Safety by Humphrey McQueen (review)

Libby, Montana (2005) Drury Gunn Carr & Doug Hawes‐Davis, directors and Those Who Know Don't Tell: The Ongoing Battle for Workers' Health (2000). Abby Ginzberg, producer

Libby, Montana (2005) Drury Gunn Carr & Doug Hawes‐Davis, directors and Those Who Know Don't Tell: The Ongoing Battle for Workers' Health (2000). Abby Ginzberg, producer

Alcohol – the next health battle?

‘I was struck by a headline in the Guardian last month, which stated:There is not a God-given right to dispense alcohol.’ The quote came from an interview with Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish government’s cabinet secretary for justice, a lawyer who is on a mission to consign the stereotype of the Scottish drunk to the history books.

Veterinary public health: Past success, new opportunities

Animal diseases are known to be the origin of many human diseases, and there are many examples from ancient civilizations of plagues that arose from animals, domesticated and wild. Records of attempts to control zoonoses are almost as old. The early focus on food-borne illness evolved into veterinary medicine's support of public health efforts. Key historical events, disease outbreaks, and individuals responsible for their control are reviewed and serve as a foundation for understanding the current and future efforts in veterinary public health. Animal medicine and veterinary public health have been intertwined since humans first began ministrations to their families and animals. In the United States, the veterinary medical profession has effectively eliminated those major problems of animal health that had serious public health ramifications. These lessons and experiences can serve as a model for other countries. Our past must also be a reminder that the battle for human and animal health is ongoing. New agents emerge to threaten human and animal populations. With knowledge of the past, coupled with new technologies and techniques, we must be vigilant and carry on.

Angiotensin AT1 and AT2 receptors the battle for health and disease

Angiotensin AT1 and AT2 receptors the battle for health and disease

Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Sex Workers: Two Feminist Projects in Brazil

The sexual and reproductive health needs of sex workers have been neglected both in research and public health interventions, which have almost exclusively focused on STI/HIV prevention. Among the reasons for this are the condemnation, stigma and ambiguous legal status of sex work. This paper describes work carried out by two feminist NGOs in Brazil, Mulher e Saúde (MUSA) in Belo Horizonte and Coletivo Feminista Sexualidade e Saúde in São Paulo, to promote sexual and reproductive health for sex workers. MUSA's project “In the Battle for Health”, was begun in 1992; sex workers were trained as peer educators and workshops were offered on self-care for sex workers and their clients. In São Paulo, the Coletivo project “Get Friendly with Her”, begun in 2002, offers clinic consultations and self-care workshops on sexuality, contraception, STI/HIV prevention and self-examination. Health care needs during menstruation and unhealthy vaginal practices led to promotion of the diaphragm as a contraceptive, for prevention of reproductive tract infection and to catch menstrual blood. Meeting the sexual and reproductive health needs of sex workers depends on the promotion of their human rights, access to health care without discrimination, and attention to psychosocial health issues, alcohol and drug abuse, and violence from clients, partners, pimps and police.RésuméLa recherche et les interventions de santé publique ont négligé les besoins en santé génésique des professionnelles du sexe et se sont presque exclusivement concentrées sur la prévention des IST et du VIH, notamment en raison de la condamnation et de la stigmatisation attachées à la prostitution, ainsi que de l'ambiguïté de son statut juridique. Au Brésil, deux ONG féministes, Mulher e Saúde à Belo Horizonte et Coletivo Feminista Sexualidade e Saúde à São Paulo, améliorent la santé génésique des professionnelles du sexe. Dans le projet de MUSA, lancé en 1992, des professionnelles du sexe ont été formées à l'éducation des pairs et des ateliers ont abordé les mesures d'autoprotection de la santé des professionnelles du sexe et de leurs clients. À São Paulo, le projet a commencé en 2002; il offre des consultations et des ateliers sur la sexualité, la contraception, la prévention des IST et du VIH, et l'auto-examen. Les besoins de santé pendant les règles et les pratiques vaginales malsaines ont conduit à promouvoir le diaphragme comme contraceptif, pour prévenir les infections gynécologiques et retenir le sang menstruel. Pour répondre aux besoins de santé génésique des professionnelles du sexe, il faut promouvoir leurs droits fondamentaux, leur garantir un accès aux soins de santé sans discrimination et s'intéresser aux problèmes de santé psychosociale, d'alcoolisme et de toxicomanie, et à la violence des clients, des partenaires, des proxénètes et de la police.ResumenLas necesidades de salud sexual y reproductiva de las trabajadoras sexuales han sido olvidadas tanto en las investigaciones como en intervenciones de salud pública, las cuales se han centrado casi exclusivamente en la prevención del VIH/ITS. Esto se debe a la condena, al estigma y a la situación legal ambigua del trabajo sexual, entre otras. En este artículo se describe el trabajo realizado por dos ONG feministas en Brasil, Mulher e Saúde, en Belo Horizonte, y Coletivo Feminista Sexualidade e Saúde, en São Paulo, para promover la salud sexual y reproductiva de las trabajadoras sexuales. El proyecto de MUSA fue iniciado en 1992; las trabajadoras sexuales recibieron capacitación como educadoras de pares, y se ofrecieron talleres sobre el auto-cuidado para las trabajadoras sexuales y sus clientes. En São Paulo, el proyecto, iniciado en 2002, ofrece consultas clínicas y talleres de auto-cuidado sobre sexualidad, anticoncepción, prevención del VIH/ITS y auto-examen. Las necesidades de salud durante la menstruación y las prácticas vaginales no saludables llevaron a la promoción del diafragma: como anticonceptivo, para la prevención de infecciones del tracto reproductivo y para recoger la sangre menstrual. Para atender las necesidades de salud sexual y reproductiva de las trabajadoras sexuales se requiere la promoción de sus derechos humanos, acceso a servicios de salud sin discriminación y atención a los aspectos de salud psicosociales, alcoholismo y drogadicción, y violencia perpetrada por clientes, parejas, proxenetas y policías.

The 40-year Public Health Battle Against Cigarette Smoking

The 40-year Public Health Battle Against Cigarette Smoking

Alternative medicine committee: Dr Mehmet Oz on maintaining wellness through alternative therapies

In our personal journey on this planet, many of us find ourselves fighting difficult health battles. In addition, two thirds of Americans believe that their jobs sap them of emotional strength. Americans are seeking not only solutions to disease but also ways to feel well. There is no universal panacea, but unconventional approaches, both high-tech and alternative low-tech, can help us navigate this challenging path. We should keep these potential healing techniques on our radar screen. Dr Mehmet Oz will discuss in an open forum alternative therapies he has determined can help our patients control their healing process during conventional medical and surgical interventions.

Collateral damage in the battle against hypovitaminosis A?

Chinese diplomats killed in the embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Belgrade, Red Cross workers bombed in a warehouse in Kandahar, and Afghani women crushed by a crate of humanitarian rations are recent examples of collateral damage, which occurs when innocent people become casualties of missions of supreme urgency and high moral justification. It is the consequence of being caught in the path of “friendly fire.” Collateral damage has its reflection in medical and public health risk assessment as well. When we and other young house physicians were undergoing clinical training in the 1970s, we would often discuss the example of smallpox vaccination and comment among ourselves that more people were succumbing to vaccinia from the vaccinations than were then actually dying of smallpox itself. Shortly thereafter, of course, obligatory vaccinations were suspended, and the book was closed on the smallpox pandemic. When 3200 persons were killed in the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers, the specter of biological terrorism with the smallpox virus reopened that book, with a call for universal vaccination of the 280 million residents of the United States. According to calculations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000‐3000 deaths would be attributable to any universal smallpox vaccination campaign, almost the number of deaths that occurred during the first strike of the new war. Such are the equations for collateral damage in the public health aspects of war and in public health battles. For some of us involved in micronutrient deficiency issues in developing countries, it has been disconcerting to see the brouhaha arising in the medical press over something gone (fatally) awry in a recent mass distribution of high-dose oral vitamin A supplements by the United Nations Children’s Fund to 3 million children younger than 6 y in the Assam province of India. Despite the flurry of commentary that appeared on the pages (1) and web pages (2‐7) of the British Medical Journal, the facts remain elusive, pending the filing of an official inquiry. What is clear, however, is that 1) the vitamin A preparation was a liquid, produced less expensively within India (rather than the more costly, imported gelatin capsules); 2) the possibility of giving more than the intended 2-mL dose was produced by shifting from 2-mL spoons to 5-mL medicine cups for dosing; and 3) it was widely claimed in the Indian press that numerous recipients of the vitamin A supplements were made ill and that the deaths of 14 recipients are attributable to the vitamin A distribution (1, 2, 4, 5). In belligerent tones from within India came the allegation that rates of vitamin A deficiency in the Assam province did not justify public health intervention and that vitamin A supplementation will not reduce child mortality (4, 5). In this latter

‘The Battle for Health'. A Political History of the Socialist Medical Association, 1930–51.

‘The Battle for Health'. A Political History of the Socialist Medical Association, 1930–51.