Health Pioneer Research Articles

Paul Farmer: A Pioneer of Global Health, Health Equity, and Health Advocacy.

Paul Farmer, a distinguished physician and anthropologist known by many as a pioneer in global health endeavors, made a profound impact on the landscape of healthcare. Through his innovative approaches to healthcare delivery and his unwavering commitment to social justice and health equity, he changed the landscape of healthcare on a global scale. He was a Kolokotrones University Professor, Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda, and Chief Strategist and Co-founder of Partners In Health (PIH). PIH is an international non-profit organization that embarked on research and healthcare advocacy initiatives, providing direct healthcare services for those in resource-limited communities worldwide. Farmer, through his development of innovative and heartfelt approaches to healthcare delivery and social justice medicine, exemplified how integrating community engagement and social determinants of health can lead to transformative healthcare solutions and ultimately improve patient experiences. This vignette explores Farmer's early life, educational journey, and major contributions to medicine and social justice in healthcare, emphasizing the enduring impact of his work on public health and future generations of medical professionals.

The Public's Perception of Florence Nightingale's Legacy in the Digital Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis.

This study critically examines the public's perception of Florence Nightingale's legacy through a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of digital media, specifically podcasts and YouTube. Nightingale, who is often remembered as "The Lady with the Lamp", holds a complex identity within modern narratives that is celebrated for her pioneering contributions to nursing and public health, even if there are some disagreements about her, given the colonialist setting that may have shaped some of her opinions and decisions. This research employed CDA to analyze 25 podcasts and 18 YouTube videos, which were systematically included according to a priori inclusion criteria. The study synthesized how these media products portray Nightingale and, by extension, shape public discourse about the nursing profession. The findings reveal five thematic representations of Nightingale: as a legendary figure, a modern feminist, a dedicated statistician, a pioneer in public health, and a pivotal STEM contributor. These portrayals challenge traditional nursing stereotypes by emphasizing Nightingale's role as a rigorous scientist and reformer, suggesting broader perceptions of nurses that encompass leadership, analytical skills, and strategic thinking. The study supports the hypothesis that digital narratives significantly influence the public's understanding and appreciation of nursing, advocating for a more nuanced professional identity that integrates traditional caregiving roles with critical and analytical capabilities.

Elizabeth Bagshaw: Pioneer of Canadian Women's Health.

Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw, an esteemed figure among Canada's female physicians, devoted over seven decades to advancing obstetrics and reproductive health. She defied conventional norms by pursuing medical education and graduating from the Ontario Medical College for Women in 1905. Throughout her illustrious career, Bagshaw demonstrated exceptional perseverance, navigating familial obligations following her father's untimely passing during her academic pursuits. Establishing her practice in Hamilton, Ontario, Bagshaw delivered over 3,000 neonates, frequently offering pro bono care to immigrant populations. Notably in 1932, Bagshaw assumed the role of Medical Director of Canada's first birth control clinic, challenging restrictive legislation and paving the way for the legalization of contraception in 1969. Bagshaw's efforts provided women with vital reproductive health services and information, significantly impacting public attitudes and legislation. Beyond her medical practice, Bagshaw also played a pivotal role in mitigating public health crises, including the Spanish flu, and ventured into politics with a city council campaign in 1934, supported by The Women's Civic Club. Her extensive contributions earned her numerous accolades, including posthumous induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2007. Bagshaw's enduring legacy is reflected in the Elizabeth Bagshaw Clinic, which continues to offer reproductive and abortion care in a confidential and supportive setting. Bagshaw's pioneering work significantly advances health equity and women's reproductive rights, leaving a lasting impact on healthcare worldwide. Her life and achievements underscore her role as a tireless advocate for women's health and a transformative influence in medical history.

Annotation from the chair. Takeichi Tsugawa of Tsugaru as a community health pioneer in Japan and the ideological environment in his young days; Tokyo Imperial University Yanagishima Settlement and Minzoku-Eisei Magazine

Annotation from the chair. Takeichi Tsugawa of Tsugaru as a community health pioneer in Japan and the ideological environment in his young days; Tokyo Imperial University Yanagishima Settlement and Minzoku-Eisei Magazine

Elizabeth Murray: GP and pioneer in digital health and medical education

Elizabeth Murray: GP and pioneer in digital health and medical education

The statue of Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865-1915): A pioneer of Native American public health.

The statue of Susan La Flesche Picotte (1865-1915): A pioneer of Native American public health.

Technology Implementation for Mental Health End Users: A Model to Guide Digital Transformation for Inpatient Mental Health Professionals.

Digital transformation is the adoption of digital technologies by an entity in an effort to increase operational efficiency. In mental health care, digital transformation entails technology implementation to improve the quality of care and mental health outcomes. Most psychiatric hospitals rely heavily on "high-touch" interventions or those that require in-person, face-to-face interaction with the patient. Those that are exploring digital mental health care interventions, particularly for outpatient care, often copiously commit to the "high-tech" model, losing the crucial human element. The process of digital transformation, especially within acute psychiatric treatment settings, is in its infancy. Existing implementation models outline the development of patient-facing treatment interventions within the primary care system; however, to our knowledge, there is no proposed or established model for implementing a new provider-facing ministration tool within an acute inpatient psychiatric setting. Solving the complex challenges within mental health care demands that new mental health technology is developed in concert with a use protocol by and for the inpatient mental health professional (IMHP; the end user), allowing the "high-touch" to inform the "high-tech" and vice versa. Therefore, in this viewpoint article, we propose the Technology Implementation for Mental-Health End-Users framework, which outlines the process for developing a prototype of an IMHP-facing digital intervention tool in parallel with a protocol for the IMHP end user to deliver the intervention. By balancing the design of the digital mental health care intervention tool with IMHP end user resource development, we can significantly improve mental health outcomes and pioneer digital transformation nationwide.

Geroscience and Public Health's Plastic "Ecology of Ideas".

In his 1910 JAMA address, the physician and pathologist Christian Herter (1865-1910) emphasized the importance of plasticity in science. Herter's insight is significant for understanding how public health's "ecology of ideas" must evolve and change as the health challenges facing populations alter through the different stages of "epidemiologic transition". The foundational moral aspiration (ie, disease control) and intellectual suppositions (eg, that public health is "purchasable") of the early twentieth-century public health pioneers C.-E.A Winslow (1877-1957) and his mentor Hermann Biggs (1859-1923) were shaped by sanitation science and were deployed to mitigate the risks of early-life mortality. But to meet the health challenges of today's aging world, public health's "ecology of ideas" must be plastic, and thus open to revision and refinement in terms of both its foundational moral aspirations and the intellectual suppositions concerning how to best improve population health. More medical research is needed in rate (of aging) control versus disease control.

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health.

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health.

International Health and Global Health: Reconfigurations of a Disputed Field

International health is an interdisciplinary field of knowledge, research, and action that deals with the health of populations beyond their national borders. Latin America established itself as a pioneer in international health during the 20th century, inducing an unprecedented dynamic in the field. In this sense, a process of analysis, reflection, and interpretation from a Latin American perspective is required to overcome its image as a mere replica of European health development. This article has the double objective of analyzing the historical development of the field of International Health and, secondly, reflecting on the concepts of International Health and Global Health, in the new regional and global geopolitics. Through a historical journey that begins in 1851, this analysis accounts for the disputes, tensions, and rivalries that have shaped the field of international health and some of its main organizations. Particularly, the World Health Organization -with the supremacy of neoliberalism- has been impacted by mercantilist interests of new non-health actors, such as the World Bank, the pharmaceutical industry, and philanthropic organizations. In this context, the passage/transition from the field of International Health to the denomination of Global Health represents - much more than a simple linguistic shift - a political-ideological shift. In Latin America, on the other hand, the influence of critical Latin American thought has pushed toward an understanding of International Health based on human rights and regional health sovereignty, implemented through more horizontal cooperation and emancipatory policies. The advent of the pandemic has shown that health is an unquestionable international issue, demanding coordinated and comprehensive policies. Instead, it occurs in a world fragmented by disputes and interests and, particularly in Latin America -with the dissolution of UNASUR- it arrives in a context of savage/wild health system reforms and at a time of marked weakness in some of its processes of integration. Consequently, there is an urgent need to discuss the architecture of global and regional health, its agenda, and to rethink international cooperation as an epidemiological policy that effectively addresses global inequities and responds to the urgent and persistent needs of our people.

Nursing: a voice to lead in the 2020s.

Nursing: a voice to lead in the 2020s.

Paul Farmer (1959-2022).

Humanitarian and public health pioneer.

Helen Milroy: pioneer in Indigenous and child mental health

In 1983, Helen Milroy became Australia's first Indigenous doctor to qualify medicine—a pivotal moment in the country's history. She never envisioned being a trailblazer, but her list of firsts in Australia includes being the first Indigenous psychiatrist and the first Indigenous Commissioner to the Australian Football League. Reflecting today as the Stan Perron Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Perth Children's Hospital and the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Co-Director of Embrace at Telethon Kids Institute, she says: “My passion is to make sure we get the best wellbeing and mental health outcomes for our kids right across Australia.” Pat Dudgeon, Professor of Indigenous Psychology at UWA, recognises her contribution to strengthening support services for children's mental health, and comments: “Helen has created a bridge between Aboriginal and mainstream mental health and understandings. Her pioneering work developing cultural models of care and healing, using art and narratives alongside psychiatric concepts, has enabled her to combine Aboriginal and western knowledge systems to train and educate mental health workers all over the world.”

Subjective experiences of dissociative and conversion disorders among adolescents in India.

Dissociative/conversion disorders affect almost 31% of children and adolescents in a clinical setting. These children experience significant impairments in their academics, and daily functioning, with high chances of developing other psychiatric comorbidities such as anxiety and depression. However, there are no studies that explore the experiences of suffering from dissociative/conversion disorders from perspective of the sufferer. Therefore, the paper has aimed at exploring the subjective experiences of dissociative and conversion disorders among adolescents in the Indian context by examining their understanding about the illness and the reason they ascribe to the cause of their illness. The study used a qualitative semi-structured interview to understand their illness. In total, 10 adolescents of age group between 12 and 16 years participated. Eight out of the 10 participants were female and the mean age was 12 years. All of them were in-patients in the department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NIMHANS, which is the tertiary mental health care Institute India and pioneer Institute of mental health in Asia. All participants have had at least one or more consultation history either with a traditional healer or/and physician. Thematic analysis identified vital themes such as (1) Adolescents' attributing factors of the illness, (2) Cognitive and emotional appraisal of stressful situation/s, (3) Adolescents' appraisal of different explanatory model, (4) Living with the Impact of the illness. This analysis about dissociative/conversion disorders from adolescents' perspective has a major contribution in enhancing the clinical knowledge and practice in planning and managing children/adolescents diagnosed with dissociative/conversion disorders.

한국 공중보건학의 선구자 김창세의 삶과 죽음 - 80여 년 만에 빛을 본 회고록을 중심으로

본고는 한국의 공중보건학의 선구자인 김창세의 삶과 죽음을 그의 사후 80여 년 만에 발견된 회고록을 중심으로 발전시킨 전기적 연구이다. 김창세는 도산 안창호의 손아래 동서로 세브란스의학 전문학교(현 연세대학교 의학대학)출신의 한국재림교회(안식일교회) 배경의 의사이다. 그는 미국 존스홉킨스대학교 보건대학원에서 1925년 한국 최초의 보건학박사 학위를 취득했다. 조국의 독립을 위해 의술을 펼치고자 그는 한국, 중국 및 미국을 떠돌 수밖에 없었던 불우한 삶을 살다가 국공합작의 결렬로 인한 중국의 극심한 혼란과 미국의 경제대공항 파고 앞에 뉴욕에서 자살로 생을 마감했다. 그는 독립유공자로서 일제강점기에 공중보건학을 비롯한 세균학 및 위생학 등의 씨앗을 뿌린 한국 의학계의 선구자 중의 한 사람이다. 그는 한국과 중국 및 미국에서 인정받던 의사였지만, 개인적 안일보다는 의술을 통한 독립이라는 공익적 가치에 삶을 헌신했다.

H Jack Geiger: a doctor takes on poverty, racism, and nuclear war

Photo shows H Jack Geiger and John Hatch during the construction of the Tufts-Delta Health Center In the 1960s, H Jack Geiger, working at a clinic in the impoverished “Deep...

Florence Nightingale’s Lasting Legacy for Health Care

Florence Nightingale is appropriately remembered as the person who, more than any other, establish nursing as a respected profession. Less well remembered are her roles as architect of the modern hospital, public health pioneer, and advocate for the health care of soldiers and veterans. As we celebrate the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, we should also remember how Florence’s legacy touches almost every other aspect of the modern health care system. Florence Nightingale is appropriately remembered as the person who, more than any other, establish nursing as a respected profession. Less well remembered are her roles as architect of the modern hospital, public health pioneer, and advocate for the health care of soldiers and veterans. As we celebrate the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, we should also remember how Florence’s legacy touches almost every other aspect of the modern health care system. Joe Tye, MHA, MBA, is chief executive officer and head coach of Values Coach Inc in Solon, Iowa and is Adjunct Assistant Professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. He is the author or coauthor of 15 books and dozens of articles on personal success and organizational effectiveness. He can be reached at [email protected]

Supporting Fundamental Chemical Toxicology Research To Inform Medical Countermeasure Developments: The National Institutes of Health Chemical Countermeasures Research Program.

A high-consequence chemical emergency is a major public health concern. In the United States, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases within the National Institutes of Health pioneers discovery and early development of critical medical countermeasures against chemical threats.

The The Socialization of Yam Noodles Making Without Food Preservatives At The Health Pioneer In Nganjuk District

The training and community service activities about the Unborax healthy food were carried out at Nganjuk District Training Center, which was attended by the pioneer of health. The objective of the program is to introduce the health pioneers of Nganjuk district about the importance of healthy food and dangers from the use of food additives such as borax and formaldehydewhich is often circulated freely, to motivate people be able to make their own food without using harmful food additives. The making of Unborax noodles introduced to the community with yam fortification is also used to motivate people to love the local food that is functional value. The method used is a social mentality approach and provides guidance and direct participatory practice of direct participative to the target of the health pioneer in Nganjuk that can be delivered to the community in each village. This training and counseling program is conducted by providing education that provides knowledge about local food, recommended food additives and prohibited by the government. Then continue to practice making wet noodles fortification from yam. Hopefully the community is more conscious with healthy food and local resources. In addition, it can also be processed in the form of other products ready to consume. The achievement gained after the training in making wet noodle without borax is all participants are able to understand the importance of healthy food without any preservatives prohibited. In addition, this training is able to awaken the community initiative to serve healthy food it self and sell it so that it can increase the income in the family.
 Key words: yam, wet noodles, fortification, healthy food, borax and formalin.

Book Review: Such a time of it they had: Global health pioneers in Africa

No abstract available.