Health-related Technology Research Articles

The Challenge and Place of International Human Rights in Public Health

Human rights workers and practitioners of public health share common concerns for the well-being of people, the alleviation of suffering and want, and the promotion of social justice. The potential for cooperation between these 2 committed groups has advanced considerably over the past decade or so as scholars, practitioners, administrators, and activists grapple with the differences in disciplinary language and with limited opportunities for contact. It is the intention of the American Public Health Association (APHA) to join others in bridging these differences, so that the combined efforts of these groups can be focused on the shared goal of bettering the human condition around the world. To advance the dialogue among public health and human rights professionals, there is a growing literature, including several books,1–3 a peer-reviewed academic journal (Health and Human Rights. An International Journal, published by the Francois Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights), regular features of this Journal and of The Lancet, and occasional articles in other leading medical journals, such as the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine. A chapter on the topic will appear in the fourth edition of The Oxford Textbook on Public Health.4 The movement has been further advanced through several major conferences, such as those organized by the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights in Cambridge, Mass, in 1994 and 1996, and more recently by the University of Iowa5 and Temple University,6 as well as by coalitions and networks such as the Consortium on Health and Human Rights, the International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organizations, and the International Student Association for Health and Human Rights. (For a fairly complete list of organizations and networks involved in the field, see the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library.7) As we confront the issues of public health in the 21st century—including the worldwide spread of HIV/AIDS and other infections, the aging of our populations, and the questions raised by burgeoning health-related technology in the face of gross disparities in access to basic health care—human rights and public health professionals are challenged to forge powerful partnerships to help us attain our mutual aims.

The quest for natural communication: technology, language and deafness

This paper examines the ‘natural/artificial’ dichotomy in the context of health-related technology, illustrated here by the issue of communication with deaf people. Since representation and technology form an intrinsic part of human ‘nature’ and human lives, the distinction between the ‘natural’ and the ‘artificial’ is problematic if intended as a reference to specific characteristics of human bodies, capabilities or activities (e.g. the use of prostheses or sign language for communication). Instead, this dichotomy serves as a linguistic device employed in order to justify preferred (‘natural/ normal/healthy’) forms of life. The diverse ways in which the concept ‘natural’ has been linked with spoken and sign language and the use of auditory aids can hence be shown to be equivocal and contradictory; for example, promotion of spoken language as more ‘natural’ than sign language is associated paradoxically with the implantation in deaf children of electronic aural prostheses.

Teamwork in Health Care in the U.S.: A Sociological Perspective

Reactions to teamwork, whether in health care, science and research, or in other areas, are seldom neutral. While some see in it a panacea that will help solve many stubborn organizational problems, others condemn it on a variety of grounds. Impetus to the development of team approaches to the delivery of health care and concern over their performance have been tied to a number of trends: a marked increase in specialization and division of labor as a result of expansion in health-related knowledge and technology, a corresponding emphasis upon coordination, a broadening concept of health and an increase in the types of activities included under its rubric, and a manpower shortage especially in the highly trained professions. This paper reviews current studies, important findings, and points out neglected dimensions. Themes prominent in the literature include: (a) status, power, authority, and influence; (b) roles and professional domains; and (c) decision making and communication. A number of important dimensions seem to be neglected, such as the effectiveness of teams as an approach to the delivery of services, the modes of organization and the dilemma of gate-keeping decisions, and the relations of team approaches to the manpower problems.

Computers in Medicine

Although the computer is not new to medicine, its growing popularity within the medical community at large certainly is. Currently, computer technology is being developed and applied to the health industry at an unprecedented rate, and health-related computer technology has become a popular topic at major medical conferences and symposia. A number of professional organizations, some of international dimensions, have been formed to further the use of computer technology within the health complex. In addition, the potential commercial value of computer technology has been recognized by many organizations eager to provide services to the health industry. Perhaps the most common tasks to which computers have been applied to date in the health field are billing and accounting, particularly for ambulatory patients. At present, for example, a variety of computer-oriented billing and associated practice-management systems are used at the office level of care. Some immediate advantages in the use of these