Health Summit Research Articles

Offline: What is the World Health Summit for?

The second regional meeting of the World Health Summit convenes this week at the Medical School of the University of São Paulo (April 6–8). It follows a successful regional conference held in Singapore a year ago. In 2015, the Summit will move to Kyoto, Japan. The Brazilian hosts at this year's meeting are celebrating Latin American learning in five areas—healthy life expectancy, urban health, universal health coverage, health education, and research capacity. Region-focused global health events are rare. They matter because they provide an opportunity for global lessons to be drawn from local experiences. The Lancet is one of several “media partners” to the World Health Summit (Sabine Kleinert and I also sit on the Summit's Council). We have been strong supporters of the idea of a World Health Summit since its inception in 2009. But, as a critical friend, one must question its current value and direction. There is a sense among some partners that the Summit is drifting (and indeed diminishing) from year-to-year without evident achievement or advantage. Does the world need a World Health Summit? What is the World Health Summit for?We thank Richard Horton for his thoughtful critique (April 5, p 1195)1 of the World Health Summit and the M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers, Universities, and National Academies. As a supporter of both activities since their earliest days, The Lancet's input is especially important to us. Full-Text PDF

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Perspective: Global challenges for public health: dilemmas for leadership

Public health concerns have moved up global and national agendas as the challenges of ageing populations, the epidemic of lifestyle-related disease and the recognition of the importance of the environment, including climate change, gain prominence in the public consciousness. Concerns about affordability of health care, provision of integrated services and creating sustainable environments occupy more media space and policy discussion, putting public health leaders under pressure. Questions about how they can respond effectively and what strategies they need to use take up pages of eminent text and the leadership pressures become more acute. Take, for example, the challenge of obesity. Across the world the rates of overweight and obesity continue to shock. The IASO/IOTF analysis estimates that approximately 1.0 billion adults are currently overweight (BMI 25–29.9 kg/m), and a further 475 million are obese. When Asian-specific cut-off points for the definition of obesity (body mass index >28 kg/m) are taken into account, the number of adults considered obese globally is over 600 million (International Obesity Taskforce). Globally, IASO/IOTF estimate that up to 200 million school-aged children are either overweight or obese; of those, 40–50 million are classified as obese. The consequence of obesity is reflected in the growing incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCD) which are now the commonest cause not only of mortality but also of morbidity – a growing burden in lowand middle-income countries – not just in affluent societies. Salty, sugary, low-fibre foods are consumed in large quantities, and at the same time, populations are becoming less physically active, more cars are polluting the atmosphere and work becomes more stressful. Whilst the burden on health services grows with escalating numbers of people diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension or heart disease, economies start to suffer from loss of productivity and higher numbers of days off work. The problem is now so apparent that it is recognised not only by the World Health Organisation but also by the secular United Nations. At a summit in 2012, called as only the second specific health summit, the first being on HIV/AIDS, national leaders committed

Contributions from the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) to the National Mental Health Action Plan

<p>The national Mental Health Action Plan (MHAP) flowed from the Ekurhuleni Declaration, adopted at the National Mental Health Summit (NMHS) in April 2012. The final draft of the MHAP included eight national objectives, with key activities which were believed to be ‘catalytic.’ These objectives include: district-based mental health service; institutional capacity; surveillance, research and innovation; infrastructure and capacity; mental health technology, equipment and medicines; inter-sectoral collaboration; human resources; and advocacy, mental health promotion and prevention of illness. A representative group of regional State Employed Special Interest Group (SESIG) delegates met during April 2013, to: operationalise the 12 South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP)/SESIG position statements of the previous year; review SASOP’s position statements in the context of the proposed national MHAP; and to identify SASOP’s role and responsibilities accordingly. This paper describes the contextual events in the drafting of the MHAP, as well as the appraisal of the MHAP during the 2013 SASOP/SESIG meeting, and SASOP’S envisaged role and responsibilities according to the national MHAP. </p>

Contributions from the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) to the National Mental Health Action Plan

The national Mental Health Action Plan (MHAP) flowed from the Ekurhuleni Declaration, adopted at the National Mental Health Summit (NMHS) in April 2012. The final draft of the MHAP included eight national objectives, with key activities which were believed to be ‘catalytic.’ These objectives include: district-based mental health service; institutional capacity; surveillance, research and innovation; infrastructure and capacity; mental health technology, equipment and medicines; inter-sectoral collaboration; human resources; and advocacy, mental health promotion and prevention of illness. A representative group of regional State Employed Special Interest Group (SESIG) delegates met during April 2013, to: operationalise the 12 South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP)/SESIG position statements of the previous year; review SASOP’s position statements in the context of the proposed national MHAP; and to identify SASOP’s role and responsibilities accordingly. This paper describes the contextual events in the drafting of the MHAP, as well as the appraisal of the MHAP during the 2013 SASOP/SESIG meeting, and SASOP’S envisaged role and responsibilities according to the national MHAP.

New Voices in Global Health

The World Health Summit, held in Berlin, celebrates its fi fth anniversary this year. It has survived all the dangers of early childhood. Indeed, earlier this year the fi rst regional meeting of the World Health Summit took place in Singapore. During this gathering, the University of Makerere, Uganda, became the fi rst member of the M8 Alliance from sub-Saharan Africa. The M8 Alliance is a collaboration between academic health centres, universities, and national academies. Its vision is to harness academic excellence to improve global health. Following a successful fi rst event in 2012, The Lancet, together with the M8 Alliance, issued a further call for abstracts to fi nd the most inspiring “New Voices in Global Health”. Young researchers from 39 countries have submitted 122 abstracts. Five outstanding abstracts for oral presentation and 13 abstracts for poster presentation at the Summit have been chosen through careful peer review. This booklet contains those 18 abstracts. This year’s topics range from short message services to improve infant feeding practices in China, to a global economic and epidemiological analysis of investments in cholera vaccines; from research on universal health coverage in the Palestinian territory, to a key question for all of us: can we change research to change health? Research is also the focus of WHO’s World Health Report 2013, which will be presented and discussed at the Summit. Choosing the theme of “Research for Universal Health Coverage” is timely, since the UN is moving towards the fi nal stages of devising a post-2015 framework. The report of the HighLevel Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda proved that the global health community still needs to do considerably more work to ensure that health is fi rmly anchored in life after the Millennium Development Goals. This year, the Summit welcomes the contribution of Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. In his message, Barroso notes that “there is no better indicator of the true wealth of a society than the state of its health systems, their eff ectiveness and inclusiveness”. The World Health Summit 2013 will focus on this interplay between health and prosperity, development and inequality, research and education, and on the role of health in all aspects of foreign policy. The voices we showcase here will send out strong signals that a new generation of scientists has already embraced and responded to this urgent call.

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Foundation Activities To Improve Health Around The World

Foundation Activities To Improve Health Around The World

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From the Editor

Editor-in-Chief Steven J. Keteyian, Ph.D., FACSM, highlights ACSM’s Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition along with this issue’s articles.

SUMMIT SPEAKERS

In Brief Preceding Editor in Chief Edward T. Howley, Ph.D., FACSM, sat down recently with 2013 keynote speakers Andrew Baldwin, M.D., and James M. Rippe, M.D. Both will be addressing the attendees at ACSM’s 17th Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition in Las Vegas, NV, this March. Check out this question-and-answer–style feature and get some tips on how to confront health and fitness challenges, hear their suggestions for facilitating interactions between physicians and fitness professionals to get patients more active, and much more!

Science: a new generation

Science: a new generation

Nominate Colleagues for 2013 Awards

Nominate Colleagues for 2013 Awards, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, ASHA Appoints Committee to Follow Up on Health Summit Recommendations, Call for Committee Volunteers, Access Audiology Spotlights Changes to the Profession

New Editors Join ASHA Journals

Nominate Colleagues for 2013 Awards, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, ASHA Appoints Committee to Follow Up on Health Summit Recommendations, Call for Committee Volunteers, Access Audiology Spotlights Changes to the Profession

ASHA Appoints Committee to Follow Up on Health Summit Recommendations

Nominate Colleagues for 2013 Awards, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, ASHA Appoints Committee to Follow Up on Health Summit Recommendations, Call for Committee Volunteers, Access Audiology Spotlights Changes to the Profession

Access Audiology Spotlights Changes to the Profession

Nominate Colleagues for 2013 Awards, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, ASHA Appoints Committee to Follow Up on Health Summit Recommendations, Call for Committee Volunteers, Access Audiology Spotlights Changes to the Profession

Call for Committee Volunteers

Nominate Colleagues for 2013 Awards, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, New Editors Join ASHA Journals, ASHA Appoints Committee to Follow Up on Health Summit Recommendations, Call for Committee Volunteers, Access Audiology Spotlights Changes to the Profession

Psychiatry and mental health research in South Africa: National priorities in a low and middle income context

The recent National Mental Health Summit included discussion of research priorities for South Africa. This paper reviews some of the background literature that is relevant to this key issue. It draws attention to one contested question, the extent to which research in low and middle income countries should address questions about fundamental mechanisms and clinical treatments versus focusing on questions about implementation and systems research? In addressing this question, the paper argues that the boundary between good clinical practice and good academic scholarship is not nearly as distinct as is often assumed (the "research fallacy"); prospective rigorous assessments, retrospective clinical audits, evidence-based medicine, and useful information systems all point to the mutual interdependence of good practice and good scholarship. Finally, some general conclusions that the majority of summit delegates participating in the discussion on research agreed to, are presented.