Health Nexus Research Articles

Healthy planet healthy people

AbstractOne Health is a cross‐sectoral and transdisciplinary approach that emphasizes the fundamental ways in which the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, fungi, plants, microbes, and natural and built ecosystems are interdependent. One Health approaches recognize the links between human health and a range of environmental concerns including biodiversity, climate, freshwater, food, harmful chemicals, and healthy oceans. Yet the conservation community and its broad interest in biodiversity and the natural world has been notably lacking in discussions about One Health. Partly as a result, both policy and practice have been narrowly focused on one or a few links between human and other healths, such as the human and wildlife health nexus. We provide a set of principles and components that will balance existing discussions by including the natural world and biodiversity and provide a framework for more active involvement by the conservation community. Incorporating these principles and components will enable One Health practice to guide inclusive, multidisciplinary, and cross‐sectoral efforts that consider the shared costs and benefits of human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health and help readjust humanity's pursuit of a green, just, and equitable sustainability pathway.

Ten new insights in climate science 2022

Non-technical summaryWe summarize what we assess as the past year's most important findings within climate change research: limits to adaptation, vulnerability hotspots, new threats coming from the climate–health nexus, climate (im)mobility and security, sustainable practices for land use and finance, losses and damages, inclusive societal climate decisions and ways to overcome structural barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2°C.Technical summaryWe synthesize 10 topics within climate research where there have been significant advances or emerging scientific consensus since January 2021. The selection of these insights was based on input from an international open call with broad disciplinary scope. Findings concern: (1) new aspects of soft and hard limits to adaptation; (2) the emergence of regional vulnerability hotspots from climate impacts and human vulnerability; (3) new threats on the climate–health horizon – some involving plants and animals; (4) climate (im)mobility and the need for anticipatory action; (5) security and climate; (6) sustainable land management as a prerequisite to land-based solutions; (7) sustainable finance practices in the private sector and the need for political guidance; (8) the urgent planetary imperative for addressing losses and damages; (9) inclusive societal choices for climate-resilient development and (10) how to overcome barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2°C.Social media summaryScience has evidence on barriers to mitigation and how to overcome them to avoid limits to adaptation across multiple fields.

Differences in Attitudes toward Mental Health among Boys from Religious and Non-religious Families Experiencing Religious and Secular Education

Post-industrial society faces multiple stresses and developmental risks, both environmental and biological. The issues of mental health have become more dramatic and subject to debate. The current discourse about the religiosity-mental health nexus makes the study of differences in attitudes towards mental health among children from religious and non-religious families experiencing religious and secular education significant and relevant for practice. We studied the attitudes toward different spheres of life of children from Orthodox and non-religious families experiencing religious and secular education. We hypothesized differences in attitudes toward mental health by children from Orthodox families and non-religious families regardless of school choice. We expected the positive attitudes toward mental health to be greater for the children experiencing religious and secular education. Our study assessed 340 primary school boys on a number of measures. The boys' average age was 10.4 years old. The participants were divided into three groups, taking into consideration the family's religiosity and educational characteristics. The boys from Orthodox families had more positive attitudes toward family, life, people, their bodies, and their mental health than the boys from nonreligious families. These differences were also significant between groups of boys from religious and non-religious families experiencing secular education. The boys from religious families experiencing religious education had more positive attitudes toward their physical and mental health than the boys from religious families experiencing secular education. Positive attitudes toward both physical and mental health are more likely to be formed within religious families.

A hot topic at the environment–health nexus: investigating the impact of climate change on infectious diseases

Climate change — the ultimate challenge of our timeCOVID-19 pandemic aside, climate change is the ultimate challenge of our time. However, to date, there has been insufficient political thrust to make that much-needed climate action a reality. Climate change and infectious diseasesInfectious diseases represent only one facet of the threats arising from climate change. Direct impacts from climate change include the more frequent occurrence and increased magnitude of extreme weather events, as well as changing temperatures and precipitation patterns. For climate-sensitive infectious diseases, these changes implicate a shift in geographical and temporal distribution, seasonality, and transmission intensity. Sizing up the problemSusceptibility to the deleterious effects of climate change is a net result of the interplay of not only environmental factors, but also human, societal, and economic factors, with social inequalities being a major determinant of vulnerability. The global South is already disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. The financial capacity to pursue adaptation options is also limited and unevenly distributed. ConclusionsClimate change-induced mortality and morbidity from both infectious and non-infectious diseases, among other adverse scenarios, are expected to rise globally in the future. The coming decade will be crucial for using all remaining opportunities to develop and implement adequate mitigation and adaptation strategies.

(Post-)crisis policing, public health and private security: the COVID-19 pandemic and the private security sector

ABSTRACT While the role of the public police in the law enforcement-public health (LEPH) nexus has received increased attention in recent years, much less is known about the involvement of private security actors in this field. However, understanding the new and shifting roles of private security companies in LEPH is vitally important. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the security industry witnessed increased demands for health-care related services worldwide. This article explores the effects of the crisis on the provision of private security, by investigating the intersections between private policing and public health throughout the pandemic. With specific attention to the emergence of private security in the field of LEPH, the impact on the operations (e.g. disruptions in resources, temporary unemployment), and services (e.g. use of technological innovations such as fever screening, policing COVID-19, monitoring public health) are considered in greater detail. The findings contribute to the understanding of private security provision where public health, safety and security intersect. Important new insights are offered on the impact of the public health crisis on (the concept of) private security, and consideration is made relating to the longer-term role of the industry in the context of the crisis’ transforming potential of the policing landscape.

Trade, health and social reproduction in a COVID world

ABSTRACT Building on feminist International Political Economy scholarship, my paper traces the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the trade and health nexus, taking into account the global productive economy and the realm of social reproduction. I argue that COVID-19 has exacerbated the socio-economic inequalities, including the crisis in social reproduction, that characterised the trade and health nexus prior to COVID-19. However, no ideational shift has taken place during the pandemic whereby trade policy communities conceive of trade as a tool for equitable and sustainable forms of social reproduction, as advocated by feminists, environmentalists, and others. This leaves the exploitative nature of global trade relations and their ambivalent relationship with health and social reproduction intact. I conclude that building back better from COVID-19 requires an ambitious redrawing of global trade relations and discuss a number of reforms that could be applied by global trade institutions today.

The ENBEL project: From research findings to policy

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The Horizon 2020 ENBEL project (Enhancing Belmont Research Action to support EU policy making on climate change and health) brings together climate change and health research projects from Belmont Forum, EU’s Horizon2020 and other international and national funding schemes. The aim is to achieve convergence between climate change and health research and policy making, to optimise research outputs across the projects, standardise epidemiological measures and research approaches, where possible, and contribute to policy advice. ENBEL focuses on three major climate change related health hazards: environmental and occupational heat, air pollution (particularly from wildfires) and climate-sensitive infectious diseases, with specific attention to high-risk groups. METHODS: The overall concept of ENBEL is a bottom-up approach to networking and cooperation across often separate worlds of climate and health research communities. We aim to mainstream climate change into health conferences and vice versa to increase understanding, knowledge exchange and collaboration and enable integrated and evidence-based policy advice for mitigating impacts of climate change on human health. The network is synthesizing research evidence on climate change and health links and engaging with policymakers to translate science into policies. We will undertake evidence gap analysis of adaptation policies, strategies and measures to identify evidence gaps in Europe and Africa and produce tailor-made knowledge products. RESULTS:The network is bringing together researchers and experts on climate change and health and contribute to bridge gaps in approaches and methods that can make collaboration difficult, and thereby laying the ground for establishing actionable knowledge on climate change-related health risks. CONCLUSIONS:ENBEL will formalise a strong network of projects and researchers at the forefront of the climate change and health nexus. The synthesis of knowledge from a broad range of scientific institutions will enable decision-makers to make evidence-based decision to alleviate climate change impacts on health. KEYWORDS: Climate, Wildfires, Infectious diseases, International collaboration, Research translation to affect policy and practice

Does Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Affect Workers' Health?

During recent decades, the elevation of workers' health has become the utmost point of concern since it is considered among the primary indicators of economies. The economies, especially the emerging ones, are primarily focusing on every indicator to uplift their businesses. Along with the other aspects, it is also required to assess the impact of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) on workers' health conditions in small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs). With this aim, we are presenting a detailed analysis to reveal useful insights regarding the COPD-workers' health nexus. The sample set of 1,008 workers is working in various SMEs in Beijing and Tianjin from September, 2020. The findings infer that a rise in COPD concerning wages will uplift the worker health problems due to COPD affecting worker health. Whereas, the working condition and tools, smoking years, and health safety training have a statistically adverse effect on workers' health concerning wages. The outcomes in terms of insights would be useful for planning future perspectives.

Proposing Anticipated Solastalgia as a New Concept on the Human-Ecosystem Health Nexus.

Proposing Anticipated Solastalgia as a New Concept on the Human-Ecosystem Health Nexus.

Family Physician Perceptions of Climate Change, Migration, Health, and Healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Exploratory Study.

Although family physicians (FPs) are community-oriented primary care generalists and should be the entry point for the population’s interaction with the health system, they are underrepresented in research on the climate change, migration, and health(care) nexus (hereafter referred to as the nexus). Similarly, FPs can provide valuable insights into building capacity through integrating health-determining sectors for climate-resilient and migration-inclusive health systems, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Here, we explore FPs’ perceptions on the nexus in SSA and on intersectoral capacity building. Three focus groups conducted during the 2019 WONCA-Africa conference in Uganda were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. Participants’ perceived interactions related to (1) migration and climate change, (2) migration for better health and healthcare, (3) health impacts of climate change and the role of healthcare, and (4) health impacts of migration and the role of healthcare were studied. We coined these complex and reinforcing interactions as continuous feedback loops intertwined with socio-economic, institutional, and demographic context. Participants identified five intersectoral capacity-building opportunities on micro, meso, macro, and supra (international) levels: multi-dimensional and multi-layered governance structures; improving FP training and primary healthcare working conditions; health advocacy in primary healthcare; collaboration between the health sector and civil society; and more responsibilities for high-income countries. This exploratory study presents a unique and novel perspective on the nexus in SSA which contributes to interdisciplinary research agendas and FP policy responses on national, regional, and global levels.

Insights on Water and Climate Change in the Greater Horn of Africa: Connecting Virtual Water and Water-Energy-Food-Biodiversity-Health Nexus

Water is the key limiting factor in socioeconomic and ecological development, but it is adversely affected by climate change. The novel virtual water (VW) concept and water, energy, food, biodiversity, and human health (WEFBH) nexus approach are powerful tools to assess the sustainability of a region through the lens of climate change. Climate change-related challenges and water are complex and intertwined. This paper analyzed the significant WEFBH sectors using the multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model. The AHP model demonstrated quantitative relationships among WEFBH nexus sustainability indicators in the Greater Horn of Africa countries. Besides, the net VW imports and water footprints of major staple crops were assessed. The composite WEFBH nexus indices varied from 0.10 to 0.14. The water footprint of crops is increasing period by period. The results also revealed that most countries in the study area are facing WEFBH domains unsustainability due to weak planning or improper management strategies. The strong policy constancy among the WEFBH sector is vital for dissociating the high-water consumption from crop production, energy, environmental, and human health system. Thus, this study enhances insights into the interdependencies, interconnectedness, and interactions of sectors thereby strengthening the coordination, complementarities, and synergies among them. To attain sustainable development, we urgently call all public and private entities to value the amount of VW used in their daily activities and design better policies on the complex WEFBH nexus and future climate change.

The Effect of Housing Quality on Self-Reported Health Status in Cameroon

Housing and health nexus has become a widely area of concern among many researchers. This study concentrates on housing quality and self-reported health status in Cameroon. The two concepts are inextricably intertwined. Housing quality is an essential social determinant of health but in Cameroon it tends to be a neglected site for public health action. Housing conditions play a major role in the health status of the individual and a wide variety of housing features have been reported to influence the physical, social, economic, healthy living and well-being of occupants. This study uses the 2014 Cameroon Household Consumption Survey (CHCS 4, 2014) from the National Institute of Statistics. This dataset is built from a survey study on 46,090 households. The method of data analysis employed is the ordered logistic regression given that self-reported health status is an ordered dependent variable. The respondents were asked to declare their state of health through a Linkert scale question-whether it is very good, good, bad and very bad. The 38 housing components contained in this data are computed in to an index with the use of the multiple correspondence analysis and a housing quality normalized score constituted as the dependent variable. The Analytical tool used for objective one is the simple Multiple Regression Analysis. The results indicate that most of the housing components have a significant negative impact on housing quality. This is an indication of poor housing of most low-income earners in Cameroon. Objective two Results of the ordered logistic regression technique indicate that an improvement in the housing quality of household members will create a likelihood of their health having a 1% significant change from a lower health category to a higher health category by 27%. In other words, high standard housing condition guarantees protection against communicable diseases, protection against injury, poisoning, and chronic diseases, and reduce psychological and social stress to a minimum. This study recommends that the local governments should provide a variety of housing alternatives with regards to tenancy and payment, such as short-term rental, long-term lease, cohousing, and financed purchase. This will help remedy the problem of availability and affordability thus curbing the problem of housing inequality in Cameroon. Secondly, the government could ensure a free access to medical facilities. If the majority of the population have sponsored health expenses from the government, this will curb even the health inequalities among the poor and non-poor. Keywords: Housing quality, Environmental housing components, Internal housing Components, Physical Housing indicators, Self-Reported Health Status DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-10-02 Publication date: May 31 st 2021

Ecological countermeasures for preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks: when ecological restoration is a human health imperative.

Ecological restoration should be regarded as a public health service. Unfortunately, the lack of quantitative linkages between environmental and human health has limited recognition of this principle. The advent of the COVID‐19 pandemic provides the impetus for further discussion. We propose ecological countermeasures as highly targeted, landscape‐based interventions to arrest the drivers of land use‐induced zoonotic spillover. We provide examples of ecological restoration activities that reduce zoonotic disease risk and a five‐point action plan at the human‐ecosystem health nexus. In conclusion, we make the case that ecological countermeasures are a tenet of restoration ecology with human health goals.

Perceptions, priorities, and project delivery problems in women's and environmental health in Peru: a qualitative study

BackgroundWomen living in low-income and-middle-income countries experience increased exposure and worse effects of environmental threats and climate change. Peru is especially susceptible to a range of environmental exposures, including high levels of pollutants, contamination associated with extractive industries, and flooding exacerbated by the ongoing climate emergency. International policies and movements are increasingly calling for a gendered approach to planetary health. However, little research has been done explicitly examining environmental threats to women's health in Peru. We aimed to understand the current Peruvian research, advocacy, and policy landscape at the environment-gender health nexus. MethodsWe did in-depth semi-structured interviews in Spanish via online Zoom video conferencing (audio only) with key informants from the Peruvian Government, academia, and non-governmental organisations to explore their perception of environmental health threats and priorities, population vulnerability factors, awareness of projects and collaborations on these topics, and the role of gender in their work. We used thematic analysis to compare priorities, gender sensitivity, and barriers and facilitators to delivering successful women's environmental health projects in the country. FindingsSince July 14, 2020, we have interviewed 16 people, with four further interviews planned to take place before the end of May, 2021. Several interviewees mentioned the detrimental role of weak institutions, multilevel corruption, and the absence of interdisciplinarity and intersectorality across programmes and research. Barriers to successful collaboration across organisations and sectors were clearly identified, including funding scandals related to extractive economies, high staff turnovers impairing long-term programme implementation, and machismo culture in both organisations and communities. By contrast, some interviewees highlighted that successful collaborations were instead built on direct relationships, reputation, trust, and transparency. Women's empowerment was also described as important for successful programme delivery, especially in female-led associations. Some interviewees emphasised the so-called invisibilisation of vulnerable groups, such as girls, teenagers, pregnant women, victims of gender-based violence, and LGBTQI people. Existing health inequalities varied by setting and cultural context and were deeply and silently exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. InterpretationThese qualitative findings highlight the multiple and inter-related contextual issues faced by environmentally threatened communities in Peru, and how macrostructural barriers contribute to a paucity of sustainable, gender-oriented, environmental health projects. FundingPartially funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council.

Comparative Analysis of Health and Economic Growth Nexus: A Case Study of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan

Health is one of the key factor that determines the growth of an economy. It is the improved health of the labor that can translate into increased output levels, higher level of productivity and efficient utilization of resources. For the study, Pooled OLS regression over the period from 1980-2017 is applied on panel data to find the results of health and economic growth nexus for three lower middle income countries that are Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. For Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, their statistics provides further support to existing literature showing a significant and positive relationship of health with economic growth. Comparing their results, it is found that India’s better health facilities are contributing more towards economic growth as compared to Pakistan and Bangladesh. Therefore, their focus too should be on improvement of health indicators in order to achieve higher economic growth levels.

Land Tenure Security and Health Nexus: A Conceptual Framework for Navigating the Connections between Land Tenure Security and Health

The rise of urban populations has rendered cities in both developed and developing countries vulnerable to poor health and diseases that are associated with urban living conditions and environments. Therefore, there is a growing consensus that while personal factors are critical in determining health, the urban environment exacerbates or mitigates health outcomes, and as such the solution for improving health outcomes in urban settings can be found in addressing socio-environmental factors that shape urban environments. Land tenure security is a social environmental factor of health that has been understudied by urban geographers despite its obvious role in shaping urban environments, housing conditions, and health. We interpret literature and infer possible pathways through which land tenure security connects to health and propose a land tenure security and health nexus conceptual framework for modeling and investigating the extent of this connection. Based on a narrative review of literature, this inter-disciplinary paper shows that land tenure security can influence health outcomes via four pathways—infrastructure access, environmental justice, psycho-ontological security, and social cohesion. Going forward, a subsequent investigation can focus on developing an index of land tenure security health insults, based on which an empirical investigation of the relationship between land tenure security and health disease is possible.

A Systems Understanding Underpins Actions at the Climate and Health Nexus.

Multiple sectors—health and non-health—can determine the health and well-being of people and the condition of the socio-ecological environment on which it depends. At the climate and human health nexus, a systems-based understanding of climate change and health should inform all stages of the policy process from problem conceptualization to design, implementation, and evaluation. Such an understanding should guide countries, their partners, and donors to incorporate health in strategic climate actions based on how health is affected by, and plays a role in, the dynamic interactions across economic, environmental, and societal domains. A systems-based approach to sustainable development has been widely promoted but operationalizing it for project level and policy development and implementation has not been well articulated. Such an approach is especially valuable for informing how to address climate change and health together through policy actions which can achieve multiple, mutually reinforcing goals. This commentary article describes strategic steps including the complementary use of health impact assessment, quantification of health impacts, and linking climate and health actions to national and global policy processes to apply a systems-based approach for developing climate mitigation and adaptation actions with human health benefits.

Urban health nexus with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preparedness and response in Africa: Rapid scoping review of the early evidence.

Introduction:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 also called coronavirus disease 2019 was first reported in the African continent on 14 February 2020 in Egypt. As at 18 December 2020, the continent reported 2,449,754 confirmed cases, 57,817 deaths and 2,073,214 recoveries. Urban cities in Africa have particularly suffered the brunt of coronavirus disease 2019 coupled with criticisms that the response strategies have largely been a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. This article reviewed early evidence on urban health nexus with coronavirus disease 2019 preparedness and response in Africa.Methods:A rapid scoping review of empirical and grey literature was done using data sources such as ScienceDirect, GoogleScholar, PubMed, HINARI and official websites of World Health Organization and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. A total of 26 full articles (empirical studies, reviews and commentaries) were synthesised and analysed qualitatively based on predefined inclusion criteria on publication relevance and quality.Results:Over 70% of the 26 articles reported on coronavirus disease 2019 response strategies across Africa; 27% of the articles reported on preparedness towards coronavirus disease 2019, while 38% reported on urbanisation nexus with coronavirus disease 2019; 40% of the publications were full-text empirical studies, while the remaining 60% were either commentaries, reviews or editorials. It was found that urban cities remain epicentres of coronavirus disease 2019 in Africa. Even though some successes have been recorded in Africa regarding coronavirus disease 2019 fight, the continent’s response strategies were largely found to be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Consequently, adoption of ‘Western elitist’ mitigating measures for coronavirus disease 2019 containment resulted in excesses and spillover effects on individuals, families and economies in Africa.Conclusion:Africa needs to increase commitment to health systems strengthening through context-specific interventions and prioritisation of pandemic preparedness over response. Likewise, improved economic resilience and proper urban planning will help African countries to respond better to future public health emergencies, as coronavirus disease 2019 cases continue to surge on the continent.

Does population health influence FDI inflows into Ghana?

PurposeGhana is one of the countries instituting several measures toward attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows. This is because, FDI is largely viewed as essential to socioeconomic development. However, while population health can influence FDI inflows, it has received very little attention. This study, therefore, investigates empirically, as to focusing on population health could be a useful tool in Ghana’s attempt to attract more FDI inflows.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses time series data on Ghana from 1980 to 2018 to achieve its objective. Life expectancy, death rate, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate and incidence of malaria are used as proxies for population health, while the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and the Instrumental Variable Two-Stage Least Square (IV2SLS) regressions are employed as empirical estimation techniques.FindingsUsing the OLS regression, except the incidence of malaria, the study finds all the other population health indicators to significantly influence FDI inflows. However, after controlling for endogeneity using the IV2SLS regression, all population health indicators are found to be significant as regards their effects on FDI inflows.Practical implicationsPaying attention to population health could be an effective strategy that can be employed by policymakers in the quest to get more FDI inflows into Ghana.Originality/valueThis study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first study solely devoted to Ghana, which doing so helps in devising country-specific policies with regard to the effect of population health on FDI inflows. Further, this study becomes the first to use death rate, infant mortality rate and under-five mortality rate in examining the effect of population health on FDI inflows. Thus, since there are various causes of deaths, using indicators that capture deaths from all factors helps in giving a much broader picture with regard to the FDI population health nexus. Also, this study is the first to use up to five different population health indicators in examining the effect of population health on FDI inflows, which aids in revealing whether FDI is sensitive to the population health indicator used.

Energy, drinking water and health nexus in India and its effects on environment and economy

Abstract This paper examines energy, drinking water and health nexus in India, and its consequences for the environment and economy. To establish this nexus, K-means cluster analysis and Davies–Bouldin validation index are employed to group 32 Indian states and union territories. The classification was performed based on 16 criteria, and the number of optimal clusters arrived at is 8. The nexus between energy, drinking water and health must be cautiously dealt with to ensure the social and economic growth of the nation. The criterion analysis of the states within these clusters indicates that states and union territories facing energy crises are usually deficient in safe drinking water services; consequently, people of those regions suffer from ill-health, which increases the economic burden on people through the loss of work productivity. With a deficient cash reserve, the communities are incapable of fulfilling the demand for energy and safe drinking water. However, while installing desalination plants to fulfil the need for safe drinking water, their environmental impact must be taken into account, as these systems have high energy consumption and significant environmental impact.