Public Health Concepts Research Articles

Dilemma, an innovative public health scientific animation for the youth, France, 2022

Abstract Background The spread of disinformation and institutions distrust increases individuals difficulty to adhere to public health recommendations. How citizens can critically appraise health information is a major public health matter and a need to favor health democracy. In this field, to both enhance curiosity and critical thinking, young people represent a population with specific needs for innovative approaches. Objectives To provide 15-24y people a space for experimentation and discussion on public health concepts, a multidisciplinary experts team created the “Dilemma” scientific animation that uses a playful approach. Trained young facilitators guide participants through four games (on proportions, risk/protective factors, scientific estimation, benefit/risk ratio). We assessed the program using mixed method (self-questionnaires; focus groups) to answer the following questions: can the approach generate curiosity and participation among young people? Is it effective in improving health literacy and confidence in control over one's own well-being? Results Dilemma was launched in a French region in Nov 2022 targeting high-school students; preliminary results are presented for 67 participants from a Bordeaux technical high school (extended results are awaiting). Of these, 76% were satisfied, 82% felt they improved their critical thinking skills and 79% their curiosity. Facilitators’ fun and friendly nature was an important aspect in participants’ satisfaction. However, they reported difficulties in remembering the messages behind the games and asked for more calm and shorter texts. No effect was found on health literacy or internal locus of control. Conclusions Dilemma shown promising results on how science animations on public health could interest young people. It should develop more games and closer collaboration with school teachers to improve its effectiveness. Fun aspects and peer support needs to be considered for future actions. Key messages • The scientific public health animation Dilemma shows promising results in increasing curiosity and critical thinking of the youth. • Using playful scenarios could contribute to favor health democracy.

E-Learning Evaluation Framework and Tools for Global Health and Public Health Education: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

There has been a significant increase in the use of e-learning for global and public health education recently, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. e-Learning holds the potential to offer equal opportunities, overcoming barriers like physical limitations and training costs. However, its effectiveness remains debated, with institutions unprepared for the sudden shift during the pandemic. To effectively evaluate the outcomes of e-learning, a standardized and rigorous approach is necessary. However, the existing literature on this subject often lacks standardized assessment tools and theoretical foundations, leading to ambiguity in the evaluation process. Consequently, it becomes imperative to identify a clear theoretical foundation and practical approach for evaluating global and public health e-learning outcomes. This protocol for a scoping review aims to map the state of e-learning evaluation in global and public health education to determine the existing theoretical evaluation frameworks, methods, tools, and domains and the gaps in research and practice. The scoping review will be conducted following the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. The initial search was performed in PubMed, Education Resource Information Center, Web of Science, and Scopus to identify peer-reviewed articles that report on the use of evaluation and assessment for e-learning training. The search strings combined the concepts of e-learning, public health, and health science education, along with evaluation and frameworks. After the initial search, a screening process will be carried out to determine the relevance of the identified studies to the research question. Data related to the characteristics of the included studies, the characteristics of the e-learning technology used in the studies, and the study outcomes will be extracted from the eligible articles. The extracted data will then undergo a structured, descriptive, quantitative, and qualitative content analysis to synthesize the information from the selected studies. Initial database searches yielded a total of 980 results. Duplicates have been removed, and title and abstract screening of the 805 remaining extracted articles are underway. Quantitative and qualitative findings from the reviewed articles will be presented to answer the study objective. This scoping review will provide global and public health educators with a comprehensive overview of the current state of e-learning evaluation. By identifying existing e-learning frameworks and tools, the findings will offer valuable guidance for further advancements in global and public health e-learning evaluation. The study will also enable the creation of a comprehensive, evidence-based e-learning evaluation framework and tools, which will improve the quality and accountability of global health and public health education. Ultimately, this will contribute to better health outcomes. DERR1-10.2196/49955.

Public Health, Health Promotion and the Problem of Positivism

Abstract Introduction Even though in public health and health promotion (HP) the most fundamental concepts refer to philosophical notions like equality, equity, fairness, justice or well-being, the practice of empirical research in HP is dominated by quantitative and standardized measures (seen widely on Health Literacy studies). Most of the quantitative empirical research has hardly any contact to these notions above referred. Public health and HP concepts shared by the WHO, UNESCO, UNHCR (asf. charters and declarations) deserve to be better explored. Development It is argued that there are several reasons that reproduce the domination of numbers in the field of public health and HP, rather than the insightful and transformative thoughts of theoretical developments. One reason is the power from medicine and similar disciplines that use their statistical and evidence-based methods as standard rules of evaluation. A second reason is the promise of public health and HP to make things better. A third reason is that in public health-related study programs very little attention is given to philosophy or sociological insights, although these are basic foundations of public health and HP. Explore some problems and shortages of a positivistic understanding of public health and HP, i.e. the scientific practice that overwhelms the reality by its methods and sees only what can be seen through the lens of the used methods, is needed to reflect on sustainability of human action. Discussion Public health and HP both refer immanently to - although contested - concepts and theories of democracy, freedom and justice. These concepts and theories are resistant against a pure mathematization and cannot be operationalized fully by quantitative numbers. There is a normative surplus in the subject of public health and HP that needs to be addressed differently. Finally, the relationship between empirical research and theory building in public health and HP is a quest yet to be firmly rooted.

Creating the conditions for robust early language development for all: Part two: Evidence informed public health framework for child language in the early years.

One of the most significant developmental accomplishments is the emergence of language in early childhood. Whilst this process is effortless for most children, others can face significant hurdles. Identifying, in the early years, which children will go on to have developmental language disorder is, however, fraught with several well-documented challenges. In the preceding paper we described and linked new research evidence about factors that influence language development in the early years, noting that exposure to some may be time sensitive and that these influences cluster together and can accumulate over time. We demonstrated that risk profiles were associated with and characterised low language trajectories, and we considered how this information could be integrated into a concept that moves beyond screening at single time points in the early years. We argue that this evidence might be used to build an improved early years framework for language thereby creating a more equitable surveillance system that does not leave children living in less advantageous circumstances behind. Underpinning this thinking was a bioecological framework that incorporates the social, environmental and family factors in the child's ecosystem known to influence language development in the early years. To develop a proposal for the design and implementation of an early language public health framework based on current best evidence METHODS: We synthesised the findings from the companion paper (Reilly & McKean 2023) regarding early language trajectories, inequalities and clustering of risks with key public health concepts, relevant intervention evidence and implementation theories to develop a new framework for language surveillance and preventative interventions in the early years. An evidence informed early language public health framework is presented. Describing in turn (1) essential components; (2) relevant interventions; (3) essential qualities for implementation ((i) probabilistic, (ii) proportionate, (iii) developmental and sustained and (iv) codesigned); (4) system-level structures and (5) processes required to adopt and embed an early language public health framework in an existing Local Government Area's child health surveillance and early prevention-intervention systems. Children's language development influences their life chances across the life course and language difficulties are unfairly distributed across society. Current evidence points to the need for whole systems approaches to early child language and enables a blueprint for such a framework to be described. What is already known on the subject Early child language development sets the stage for a child's life chances and language difficulties can have profound long-term consequences. Such difficulties are unfairly distributed across society and the reach of preventative services is not universal or equitable. Several effective primary and secondary preventative interventions exist but their successful implementation is not straightforward. An early language public health framework of surveillance and intervention is described to provide equitable and effective early interventions to children from 0-4 years. We detail the essential components, interventions and qualities of that framework and describe system-level structures and processes required to adopt and embed an early language public health framework in a given locality. WHAT ARE THE CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THIS WORK?: A whole systems approach to early child language is required and should be co-designed through local collaboration with family, community and children's services stakeholders. A public health speech and language therapist role could catalyse the implementation of such approaches and support continuous improvement.

On the issue of concept of public health: traits of Charles Winslow biography (1877—1957)

On the issue of concept of public health: traits of Charles Winslow biography (1877—1957)

“They'll take a gun to me before I get that shot”: Rationalization, emotions, and misinformation in COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy

AbstractVaccine hesitancy—the reluctance, delay, or refusal to vaccinate regardless of availability—is not a new concept in psychology, medicine, or public health. However, given the emotions surrounding the COVID‐19 vaccine, hesitancy has proven difficult to overcome. To‐date, the bulk of available data on vaccine hesitancy are quantitative, leaving room for exploratory investigations into the reasons adults remain unvaccinated. This qualitative study assessed the motivations, beliefs, and perceptions of individuals who have decided to remain unvaccinated against COVID‐19. We had one exploratory research question: What social psychological justifications emerge from vaccine hesitant people's explanations of their decisions to remain unvaccinated? To assess this question, we conducted 18 interviews with unvaccinated adults throughout 2021–2022. The interviews consisted of 20 questions regarding participants' perceptions of the COVID‐19 vaccine and their intentions to get vaccinated. Thematic analysis revealed four main themes in the answers provided by participants: rationalization; identity, beliefs and potential modifiers; emotional responses; and information sources. These results offer insight for future vaccination efforts.

De-medicalising public mental health with the Power Threat Meaning Framework

To propose that the language and concepts in public mental health are often medicalised and to suggest that the power threat meaning framework (PTMF), can be a useful resource for those wishing to take a de-medicalising approach. Examples of medicalisation from the literature and from practice are discussed and key constructs in the PTMF are explained, drawing from the report which presented its research base. Examples of medicalisation in public mental health include: the uncritical use of psychiatric diagnostic categories; the 'illness like any other' approach in anti-stigma campaigns; and the implicit privileging of biology in the biopsychosocial model. The negative operations of power in society are seen as posing threats to human needs and people make sense of such situations in varied ways, though there are some commonalities. This gives rise to culturally available and bodily enabled threat responses which serve a variety of functions. From a medicalised perspective, these responses to threat are characteristically seen as 'symptoms' of underlying disorders. The PTMF is both a conceptual framework and a practical tool that can be used by individuals, groups and communities. Consistent with social epidemiological research, prevention efforts should focus on preventing adversity rather than 'disorders' but the added value of the PTMF is that varied problems can be understood in an integrated manner as responses to a variety of threats whose functions could be met in different ways. Its message that mental distress is often a response to adversity is comprehensible to the public and can be communicated in an accessible way.

Cosmetic Surveillance: An update and comprehensive Review

Surveillance has recently been expanded to include the safety of herbal and cosmetic products. A new phrase has emerged characterizing industry monitoring known as “Kosmetonadzor” to ensure the safety of cosmetic products. Wigan (1997) was the first in the literature to use the term to refer to the safety management of cosmetic products. It is now recognized as a public health concept worldwide. 
 As there is no systematic reporting system, side effects or side effects of cosmetics are relatively insignificant or overlooked. There is a follow-up management system for preparation. In India, market surveillance is usually focused on drug side effects. As a result, more emphasis has been placed on medical devices, blood products, biologics, natural products, and special diets, and less on related side effects. To sum up, Cosmetology refers to the monitoring of cosmetic products that have recently entered the market.
 Conclusions
 Cosmetic surveillance is a new approach to regulating the safety of cosmetic products. It is an important component of public health initiatives. As post-sale surveillance of cosmetics becomes more and more common worldwide, malfunctions in these items can be detected and corrected, so safety can be achieved. Physicians Family doctors and general practitioners play an important role in detecting ADRs caused by cosmetic items and, as a result, urge patients to report ADRs. Raising awareness of this new notion will be an important contribution to global public health. 
 In general, the Cosmetovigilance system can avoid both significant and minor adverse effects. Because the notification procedure is critical to the system, healthcare workers must be taught and supported as part of the Cosmetovigilance feedback system. Some regulation modifications are required to keep up with Turkey's developing cosmetics business.
 In general, cosmetic monitoring systems can prevent both serious and minor side effects. As the reporting process is a key element of the system, medical professionals must be educated and supported in terms of cosmetic oversight within the feedback system. Some regulatory updates are needed to keep pace with the changing Turkish cosmetics market.

PERANCANGAN KAWASAN WISATA KESEHATAN DAN KEBUGARAN DI TEPIAN DANAU SARI EMBUN BATI-BATI KABUPATEN TANAH LAUT

ABSTRACT
 Improving health and body fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a concern for many people to survive. Starting at the end of 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the whole world, including Indonesia. Many prevention methods have been carried out to avoid exposure to this virus, such as using masks, keeping a distance from other people, maintaining cleanliness, and doing activities at home. However, now the pandemic period has passed and has been replaced by a post-pandemic policy, namely the new normal so that we can return to doing activities outside the home, especially recreation. Health and wellness tourism is a resort object based on education, recreation, exercise and sports for the purpose of improving health and body fitness. The background is post-pandemic and applies the concept of public health to avoid exposure to COVID-19. As well as with a sustainable architecture design strategy through environmentally friendly designs.

The role of the national oral health program in the development of oral health service and related thinkings

Conception of public health was firstly put forward by American professor Winslow. Ensuring and promoting the health of general population is the key connotation for the definition of public health. Oral disease has become a public health problem. Caries which preventable and curable is the most common oral disease and the etiology is also clear. Oral health comprehensive intervention program for children in central and western regions was set up in 2008 by Chinese government. The program included sealing on the first permanent molar and oral health education towards primary school children covering mid-west area. This was the first oral health program invested by government and managed by Chinese Stomatological Association. Six years later, the program was popularized to the whole nation, and renamed as national oral health comprehensive intervention program for children in China. The program had made deep impact on development of oral health service in China. The study tries to analyze the challenges of oral health service through reviewing the background, content, organization and effectiveness of the program, aiming to provide suggestions on policy, financing, system, ability and technology for the future development.

The emerging public health legislation in Ukraine

As Ukraine has started the legal process for a public health legislation, this narrative review attempts to: i) characterize recent legal acts (which are current as well as drafts) and international standards in the sphere of public health; ii) analyze the definitions of public health legally relevant to Ukraine, in particular: public health and public health protection; iii) discuss related definitions relevant to the health sector; iv) characterize the main subjects tasked to protect public health; v) and clarify the necessary educational innovations, which are the basis in the preparation of human resources for an efficient implementation of the public health concept. After referring to the current legislative process and a discussion of some of the concepts and terminologies available in the literature, the following understanding of the terminology is proposed here: i) ‘Public Health’ should be understood as mental and physical health of the population in a certain territory, determined by the best achievable demographic indicators, characterized by decreasing morbidity and mortality and increasing the potential to lead an active and long life; ii) the term ‘Public Health Protection’ (or, ‘Protection of Public Health’) should address a system of measures which are aimed at prevention and control of morbidity, optimization of demographic indicators, promoting a value-oriented state policy, securing biological and genetic safety and relying on joint societal efforts. It is essential that the implementation of a public health law is underpinned by adapting the postgraduate educational system to the new challenges in Ukraine.

Empowerment through health self-testing apps? Revisiting empowerment as a process

Empowerment, an already central concept in public health, has gained additional relevance through the expansion of mobile health (mHealth). Especially direct-to-consumer self-testing app companies mobilise the term to advertise their products, which allow users to self-test for various medical conditions independent of healthcare professionals. This article first demonstrates the absence of empowerment conceptualisations in the context of self-testing apps by engaging with empowerment literature. It then contrasts the service these apps provide with two widely cited empowerment definitions by the WHO, which describe the term as a process that, broadly, leads to knowledge and control of health decisions. We conclude that self-testing apps can only partly empower their users, as they, we argue, do not provide the type of knowledge and control the WHO definitions describe. More importantly, we observe that this shortcoming stems from the fact that in the literature on mHealth and in self-testing marketing, empowerment is understood as a goal rather than a process. This characterises a shift in the meaning of empowerment in the context of self-testing and mHealth, one that reveals a lack of awareness for relational and contextual factors that contribute to empowerment. We argue that returning to a process-understanding of empowerment helps to identify these apps’ deficits, and we conclude the article by briefly suggesting several strategies to increase self-testing apps’ empowerment function.

Broadening the public health approach to policing

Abstract There is growing interest in a public health approach to policing. In Britain, it has attracted major government investment and is advocated as a way to improve understanding and prevention of violence. We largely support efforts better to integrate public health and policing. We do, however, argue in this paper that the current conception of public health is unduly narrow, focussing overwhelmingly on early intervention and paying little attention to situational measures directed at more immediate causes of crime. We argue that the neglect of situational intervention rests on a partial interpretation of the public health literature, and ignores a long history of situational measures being effectively used to reduce harmful behaviours. If a public health approach is to generate improvements in policing and crime prevention, we argue that a broader conception of public health is needed.

Mechanism of knowledge change and algorithm of empowerment: Focusing on hygiene education as a sub-discipline

근대의 위생 지식은 전통적인 양생 개념과는 달리 사회적 영향력을 확대해 가면서 여러 형태의 권력을 파생시킨다. 지식의 영향력 확대가 지식 권력 형성의 메커니즘의 토대라고 한다면, 지식 권력의 구체적인 형태는 권력화를 이루는 알고리즘을 분석하는 대상이 될 수 있다. 이 글은 근대 위생지식 형성과 영향력 확대 과정에 나타나는 지식 변화의 메커니즘과 권력화의 알고리즘을 도출하는데 목표를 두고 있다. 근대의 위생지식은 전근대적 ‘양생’과는 달리 실증과학의 발전에 따라 개인적 효용성뿐만 아니라 사회적 담론, 국가 차원의 새로운 지식권력의 형성 과정을 보여준다. 지식 변화의 메커니즘에는 지식의 전문화⋅세분화 또는 기존 지식의 통합과 재구조화 등과 같은 일정한 변화 원리가 작용하며, 새로운 권력이 형성되는 알고리즘으로서 사회적⋅국가적 효용성에 따른 제도의 산출, 교육을 통한 영향력 강화 현상 등을 도출해 낼 수 있다. 이 논문에서는 위생학이 체계화되는 과정, 전문화⋅세분화되는 과정, 그 과정에서 기존 지식이 통합되거나 재구조화되는 과정, 이를 바탕으로 등장한 공중 위생의 개념, 위생교육의 제도화와 영향력, 권력화의 알고리즘으로서, ‘새로운 관념의 출현(위생 관념) → 전문화⋅세분화⋅재구조화를 통한 새로운 지식 체계 형성(위생학) → 효용성(지식의 내적, 외적 조건) → 지식권력의 형성 → 권력의 유지와 확대 및 축소’의 단계화 등을 모색하고자 하였다. 이 연구는 지식 권력의 알고리즘에 대한 실험적 연구에 해당하나, 근대 위생지식뿐만 아니라 새로운 지식의 탄생에 따른 지식권력 형성과 영향력을 예측하고 대응하는 데 꼭 필요한 장치가 될 수 있다는 점에서 의미 있는 연구가 될 수 있을 것으로 기대한다.Unlike the traditional YANGSAENG(health care) concept, modern hygiene knowledge derives various forms of power while expanding its social influence. If the expansion of the influence of knowledge is the basis of the mechanism of knowledge power formation, the specific form of knowledge power can be the subject of analysis of the algorithm that achieves power. This article aims to derive the mechanism of knowledge change and the algorithm of empowerment that appears in the process of forming modern sanitary knowledge and expanding influence. Unlike the pre-modern ‘health care’, modern hygiene knowledge shows not only personal utility but also the process of forming a new knowledge power at the national level as well as personal utility according to the development of empirical science. A certain change principle such as specialization and subdivision of knowledge or integration and restructuring of existing knowledge acts on the mechanism of knowledge change. As an algorithm for forming new power, it is an algorithm for generating new power according to social and national utility and strengthening influence through education. etc can be derived. In this paper, as the process of systematization of hygiene, the process of specialization and subdivision, the process of integrating or restructuring existing knowledge in the process, the concept of public health that emerged based on this, the institutionalization and influence of hygiene education, and the algorithm of empowerment, Emergence of a new idea (sanitary idea) → Formation of a new knowledge system through specialization, subdivision, and restructuring (hygiene) → Utility (internal and external conditions of knowledge) → Formation of knowledge power → Maintenance, expansion, and reduction of power I was trying to find a fire, etc. Although this study corresponds to an experimental study on the algorithm of knowledge power, it is a meaningful study in that it can become an essential device for predicting and responding to the formation and influence of knowledge power according to the birth of new knowledge as well as modern hygiene knowledge.

Public Health Management a Curative Tool for the Public Health Related Problems

Health always remains a core component in the life of human beings and considered as a major instrument of overall socio-economic development. Concept of health has been defined and understood in different ways by different cultures. The two major division of medicine namely curative and preventive medicine came into light at the close of 19th century. Although origin of Medicine and Public health goes back to ancient Greek mythology, Asclepius was the Greek god of Healing. He was the son of Apollo and the Coronis. Asclepius was married to Epione, with whom he had five daughters: Hygieia, Panacea, Aceso, Iaso, and Aglaea. Hygieia was the goddess of health, cleanliness and hygiene. Follower of panacea practiced curative medicine and were called healer and followers of Hygieia were called as Hygienist or Public Health experts (1). Concept of Public Health came from this hygienist category of healthcare personals. The Constitution of the World Health Organization, which came into force on April 7, 1948, defines health “as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.”(2) In today’s world more emphasis is given on physical health and most of the resources are diverted for the care of physical health especially for the medical treatment. Other domains of health care remain neglected. Public health applies to the holistic approach for the care of health. Physical health is best taken care by the judicious mix of public health and medical domain of health. The evolution of concepts of public health tries to address new challenges of population health like non communicable diseases, cancers, accidents, injuries, inequities, increasing cost of care, poor quality of care, and poor patient satisfaction etc.

The Spread of Hygiene Concepts and the Making of Public Health Discourse in Modern East Asia.

If public health can be defined as "all activities to ensure universal medical use of the people and protect and promote health," it can be said that public health emerged in the process of developing the concept of hygiene in East Asia. While traditional hygiene emphasized individual curing and longevity, modern hygiene was the state in charge of individual body and discipline. East Asian countries had to practice modern tasks in the field of hygiene and medical care in line with the construction of modern countries, and it was considered legitimate for modern countries to intervene in individual bodies. As the demand for modern national construction became stronger, interest in public health rather than personal hygiene increased. In East Asia, a new interpretation of the concept of hygiene began in Japan. Sensai Nagayo(1838-1902) newly defined the concept of 'sanitation' to justify the physical intervention of the modern state in Meiji period. The concept of 'public health' began to be used in earnest in 1890, when Ogai Mori(1862-1922) translated Western-style health protection measures for the public as public health. Since then, public health has evolved into a universal social discourse in Japan. Japan's public health expanded to colonial Joseon, Taiwan, and China. Japan's victory in the Sino-Japanese War led East Asian countries to believe that hygiene was the root of the Japanese nation's power. In the early 20th century, the government of the Republic of China began to imitate the case of Japan while promoting modern education reform and institutional reform. Japanese-style 'public health' was transplanted into various hygiene laws and sanitary equipment. In Korea, modern hygiene was introduced and spread from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, and the concept of 'public health' in Japan was mainly spreading. Public health in Japan was vaguely defined as an activity to protect and promote the health of the people, but in practice, it was focused on improving quarantine and environmental infrastructure. In response, the concept of American-style public health, which values prevention and treatment at the same time, has already begun to emerge under the Japanese colonial rule. In East Asia in the 1920s and 1930s, Japanese-style public health and American-style public health discourse competed, and measures to solve medical inequality were discussed in earnest. Interestingly, in common in East Asian countries, Actual Medical Expenses Campaigns to improve medical access at low cost and social medicine to universally provide prevention and treatment to the people have drawn attention. This was also a phenomenon caused by intensifying medical inequality as rapid urbanization and industrialization progressed in East Asian countries in the first half of the 20th century. Although it was impossible to resolve social contradictions or move toward fundamental reform of the national medical system due to the nature of the private movement, the actual medical movement further imprinted the need for public health care in the country and society. Social medicine studied the effects and relationships of the social environment on diseases and health, and studied ways to promote public health by using preventive medicine and therapeutic medicine. If social medicine was supported by state power, it was possible to go forward with practice such as State Medicine like China, otherwise it would only be a civilian movement such as the People's Health Movement, as in colonial Korea. Liberation and the Korean War were a dramatic turning point in American-style health that led to Japanese-style hygiene. Immediately after Liberation, there was a discussion between the left and right camps over medical nationalization to enhance the publicity of medical care. The medical community was sympathetic to the nationalization of medical care, but due to the lack of medical personnel and financial resources, specific alternatives could not be proposed. As American-style health studies gradually expanded their influence after the Korean War, American-style public health, which emphasized prevention and treatment activities, became established, and efforts were made to establish a health center system.

Contamination of personal protective equipment and environmental surfaces in Fangcang shelter hospitals

BackgroundFangcang shelter hospitals emerged as a new public health concept after COVID-19. Data regarding contamination of Fangcang shelter environments remains scarce. This study aims to investigate the extent of SARS-CoV-2 contamination on personal protective equipment and surfaces in Fangcang hospitals. MethodsBetween March and May 2022, during wave of omicron variant, a prospective study was conducted in 2 Fangcang hospitals in Shanghai, China. Swabs of personal protective equipment worn and environmental surfaces of contaminated areas, doffing rooms, and potentially contaminated areas were collected. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. If viral RNA was detected, sampling was repeated after cleaning and disinfection. ResultsA total of 602 samples were collected. 13.3% of the personal protective equipment were contaminated. Positive rate was higher in the contaminated areas (48.4%) than in the doffing rooms (11.7%) and the potentially contaminated areas (0; P<.05). Contamination was highest in patient occupied areas (67.5%). After cleaning, samples taken at previously contaminated surfaces are all negative. ConclusionsSARS-CoV-2 RNA contamination is prevalent in Fangcang hospitals and healthcare workers are under risk of infection. Potentially contaminated areas and surfaces after cleaning and disinfection are negative, underlying the importance of infection control policy.

PRESENCE//Gifted: On Poetry, Antiracism, and Epistemic Violence in Health Promotion.

Through poetry, I offer a critical reflection on the racialized contexts, consequences, and (mis)representations of overlapping pandemics-COVID-19 and structural racism-crafted as counternarrative to public health's and medicine's ahistorical, apolitical, and racist proclivities in times of crises (e.g., plague, 1918 flu, HIV/AIDS, addiction, racialized police violence). I weave public health and medical concepts together with Black music, poetry, scholarship, and history to (re)frame/analyze interconnections between COVID-19 and structural racism-centering love, resistance, and solidarity to counter Black erasure within the public health knowledge canon. I contextualize the poem/use of poetry as praxis in public health antiracism discourse through a brief essay, drawing from critical, critical race, and Black feminist theory to position poetry as a space of health equity testimony, and a mode of antiracist praxis to reclaim/center the margin as site of knowing and resistance. Specifically, I discuss testimonial quieting, testimonial smothering, and testimonial incompetence as critical concepts for health promotion scholars, practitioners, and students to engage as germane to interrogating our present knowledge production norms in regards to epistemic violence and its implications for prospects of antiracist public health futures. In doing so, I suggest that poetry can play a critical role in challenging, opening up, and reimagining discourse of antiracism for advancing health equity knowledge and action.

Engaging Engineering Students in Public Health Responses to Disease Outbreaks Through Hackathons

Contribution: Although engineering hackathon events are common, this is one of the first reports of such an event used for the purpose of teaching engineering students about public health concepts. Results from this study suggest that hackathons are an effective format for teaching topics that are not core to the engineering discipline in a short period of time. Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the essential role that computer scientists and engineers have in controlling disease outbreaks. However, engineering programs generally do not provide training on public health issues. Thus, there is a critical need to develop innovative and engaging ways to educate engineering students about public health without interfering with required discipline-specific content. Intended Outcomes: Hackathons, short-term events, held outside of the classroom, can provide an engaging and effective method for increasing the interest and knowledge of engineering students in disease outbreaks. In this article, the effectiveness of a hack day in increasing the interest and knowledge of engineering students in disease outbreaks is assessed. Application Design: One-hundred-six undergraduate students, 30 of whom were engineering majors, participated in a multidisciplinary disease focused hackathon. Student learning and engagement during the hackathon was assessed for the 30 engineering students that participated through pre- and post-event surveys. Findings: The results indicated that the hackathon increased both content knowledge and engagement of engineering students in public health issues. Additionally, students gained an increased understanding of public health professions and how they can contribute to disease tracking, prevention, and treatment. Therefore, hackathons are an effective and efficient tool for teaching engineering students about topics outside of their discipline.

Revisiting perspectives in public health for people’s health and wellbeing

The paper traces the evolution of modern healthcare services on the ground and the changing concept of public health in India to see how these differ from the countries of their origin and why? It traces the transition of public health in India over three distinct periods - the colonial period, its initial welfare oriented social democracy and its drift into the contemporary neo-liberal phase. It explores the links between the shifting political ideologies and health policy and its links with international players, highlighting the structural changes brought in by the Reforms. The Health Sector Reforms have deformed the public sector healthcare system that is now fragmented and stagnating. They have allowed the private/corporate sector to take over medical care, rather than be a partner in strengthening the public sector healthcare system. The conceptual digressions within public health that rationalise the Health Sector Reforms are critiqued and the paper proposes the kind of intellectual enquiry that is required to resurrect public health and make wellbeing of the majority possible.