Public Health Matters Research Articles

Beyond Private? Dementia, Family Caregiving and Public Health

The World Economic Forum has called dementia one of the biggest global health crises of the 21st century. In this paper, I make the case that unpaid caregiving by family or close others of persons living with dementia should be a matter of public health. Shaji and Reddy proposed this in 2012 in the context of dementia care in India. They explicitly acknowledge the influence of Talley and Crews’ 2007 article on caregiving as an emerging public health concern. However, they narrow their proposal to caregiving for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), which I take to be an important first step in building an argument for putting caregiving more firmly on a public health agenda. In order to support my claim, first, I establish that caregiving is a social determinant of health. Second, I counter objections to the addition of caregiving for persons living with ADRD to a public health agenda, as it would lead to public health mission creep. I then argue that a broad understanding of public health can be inclusive of this type caregiving and is preferable as it highlights an issue of health equity, the gendered nature of caregiving. Finally, I make the case that a definition of public health inclusive of the social determinants of health and caregiving is more adequately suited to address the health consequences of the current changing demographic patterns. My argument adds support to writings on migration calling for broadening the scope of public health.

The Anti-Vaxxer as a Moral Equal

In this article, I argue that in portending potentially fatal harm to immunocompromised others, certain vaccine-hesitant views create a paradox for democratic deliberation on public health matters. In this paradox, either vaccine-hesitant views entailing potential harm to others are entertained as legitimate public health policy, or these views are disallowed, excluding discussion of competing harms from the deliberative process. In either case, the result is a deliberative process in which some group is not treated with the consideration owed to free and equal persons as required by the terms of democratic membership. I argue for capitalizing on and refining certain epistemic traits exhibited by anti-vaxxers to address vaccine-hesitant views and minimize this paradox. However, I make the case that this paradox cannot be completely resolved, so we should focus on certain demands of justice to protect the most vulnerable.

Receptor model-based sources and risks appraisal of potentially toxic elements in the urban soils of Bangladesh.

Rapid urbanization and industrial development have prompted potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in urban soil in Bangladesh, which is a great concern for ecological and public health matters. The present study explored the receptor-based sources, probable human health and ecological risks of PTEs (As, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, and Cu) in the urban soil of the Jashore district, Bangladesh. The USEPA modified method 3050B and atomic absorption spectrophotometers were used to digest and evaluate the PTEs concentration in 71 soil samples collected from eleven different land use areas, respectively. The concentration ranges of As, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, and Cu in the studied soils were 1.8-18.09, 0.1-3.58, 0.4-113.26, 0.9-72.09, 2.1-68.23, and 3.82-212.57mg/kg, respectively. The contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), and enrichment factor (EF) were applied to evaluate the ecological risk posed by PTEs in soils. Soil quality evaluation indices showed that Cd was a great contributor to soil pollution. The PLI values range was 0.48-2.82, indicating base levels to continuous soil degradation. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model showed that As (50.3 %), Cd (38.8 %), Cu (64.7 %), Pb (81.8 %) and Ni (47.2 %) were derived from industrial sources and mixed anthropogenic sources, while Cr (78.1 %) from natural sources. The highest contamination was found in the metal workshop, followed by the industrial area, and brick filed site. Soil from all land use types revealed moderate to high ecological risk after evaluating probable ecological risks, and the descending order of single metal potential ecological risk was Cd >As >Pb >Cu >Ni >Cr. Ingestion was the primary route of exposure to potentially toxic elements for both adults and children from the study area soil. The overall non-cancer risk to human health is caused by PTEs for children (HI=0.65±0.1) and adults (HI=0.09±0.03) under USEPA safe limit (HI>1), while the cancer risks from exclusively ingesting As through soil were 2.10E-03 and 2.74E-04 for children and adults, respectively, exceeding the USEPA acceptable standard (>1E-04).

Coming together in a digital age: Community twitter responses in the wake of a campus shooting.

Campus mass shootings have become a pressing policy and public health matter. Twitter is a platform used for processing events among interested community members. Examining the responses of invested community members to a mass shooting on a college campus provides evidence for how this type of violence affects the immediate community and the larger public. These responses may reflect either content (e.g. context-specific) or emotions (e.g. humor). Aims Using Twitter data, we analyzed the emotional responses as well as the nature of non-affective short-term reactions, in response to the April 2019 shooting at UNC Charlotte. Methods Drawn from a pool of tweets between 4/30/19-5/7/19, we analyzed 16,749 tweets using keywords related to the mass shooting (e.g. "shooting," "gun violence," "UNC Charlotte"). A coding team manually coded the tweets using content and sentiment analyses. Results Overall, 7,148 (42.67%) tweets contained negative emotions (e.g. anger, sadness, disgust, anxiety), 5,088 (30.38%) contained positive emotions (e.g. humor, hope, appreciation), 14,892 (88.91%) were communal responses to the shooting (e.g. prayers, healing, victim remembrance), 8,329 (49.73%) were action-oriented (e.g. action taken, policy advocacy), and 15,498 (92.53%) included information (e.g. death/injury, news). All tweets except positive emotions peaked one day following the incident. Conclusions Our findings point to peaks in most emotions in the 24 hours following the event, with the exception of positive emotions which peaked one day later. Social media responses to a campus shooting suggest college preparedness for immediate deployment of supportive responses in the case of campus violence is needed.

Fermented Cerasus humilis fruits protect against high-fat diet induced hyperlipidemia which is associated with alteration of gut microbiota.

Hyperlipidemia is regarded as a public health matter, and its effective prevention and treatment are urgently required. However, the treatment of hyperlipidemia is still relatively scarce. Fermented Cerasus humilis fruit (FCHF) had higher total flavonoid, total phenolic, procyanidin, and organic and free amino acid content, and lower total sugar content, than non-fermented C.humilis fruit (NFCHF). Both FCHF and NFCHF treatment significantly prevent putting on weight. Furthermore, FCHF administration ameliorated hyperlipidemia and cholesterol over-accumulation. In addition, FCHF administration activated the antioxidase system and decreased the malondialdehyde content to relieve oxidative stress, and showed more efficaciously than NFCHF administration. FCHF treatments significantly reverse the fat deposition in high-fat diet rat liver. FCHF supplementation can relieve the dysbacteriosis induced by hyperlipidemia, and regulate the composition of rat gut microbiota by increasing the abundance of Prevotella and norank_f_Muribaculaceae. Lactobacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation enhanced the antihyperlipidemic property of C. humilis fruits by promoting gut microbiota regulation. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Health in Chile's Recent Constitutional Process: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis of Civil Proposals.

(1) Background: In response to the recent political crisis in Chile, the "Agreement for Social Peace and the New Constitution'' was approved. We aimed to analyze the health-related civil proposals uploaded to the official website for popular participation in the new constitution in Chile. (2) Methods: We carried out a qualitative thematic analysis of 126 health-related valid proposals. Moreover, we analyzed their link to the Health Goals 2030, established by the Ministry of Health of Chile and to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). (3) Results: Sixteen main categories were reached. In all, they were organized into four main areas: (i) the right to health and the establishment of a universal health system; (ii) effective access to selected healthcare services; (iii) improving health outcomes for all and for the relevant subgroups; and (iv) the social determinants of health, health in all the policies, and community health. We found that these four areas were strongly linked to the Health Goals 2030 for Chile and to the SDGs. (4) Conclusions: Despite the fact that the new constitutional proposal was rejected in September 2022, the civil health-related proposals and the areas of health and healthcare were of interest to the citizens as the request showed a strong demand from the population for participation in matters of health, healthcare, and public health.

COMPUTE DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AMONG STUDENTS IN PAKISTAN, USING MACHINE LEARNING

The worldwide mechanical advancement in medical services digitizes the copious information, empowering the guide of the different types of human science all the more precisely than conventional estimating strategies. AI (ML) has been certified as a productive approach for dissecting the enormous measure of information in the medical services area. ML strategies are being used in emotional well-being to anticipate the probabilities of mental problems and, subsequently, execute potential treatment results.
 In the speedy present-day world, mental medical problems like depression and anxiety have become exceptionally normal among the majority. In this paper, forecasts of depression and anxieties were made utilizing AI calculations. Depression and anxiety have become emergent hindrances in the lives of human beings. It not only disturbs their daily decorum but has also become a prominent cause for their downfall in health. All around the world people are getting affected by this mental disorder yet the majority of such cases lie between ages 18-25 making university-going students a prime target for such mental diseases.
 Though the mental health of university students is known globally as a momentous public health matter. Academicals, social depression, and anxieties are playing quite a negative role in university student’s life, especially in forms of mental illness like depression and anxiety. These mental health issues are becoming a major constraint on their studies and career. Hence, this research is being conducted to develop a technological solution for mentally distorted students.
 This paper analyzes depression and anxiety amongst university students by effectively utilizing the k-nn algorithm (a conspicuous technique for detecting and analyzing mental depression and anxiety) and providing a technical solution for this mental hindrance. The experimental results show up to 76.5% accuracy in results after using k-nn without PCA while the accuracy was increased up to 76.6% when the results were generated with PCA.

Naming and Blaming: Civic Shame and Slum Journalism in Late Nineteenth-Century and Early Twentieth-Century Manchester and Birmingham

This study analyzes slum journalism in the British provincial press and reveals that it continued to be a major theme until well into the twentieth century. Instead of the rather moralizing reporting of the earlier nineteenth century, this journalism used the device of civic shame to pressurize local government into taking action on slums as a matter of public health. It examines the discourses that resulted from civic shame in two newspapers—the Manchester Guardian and the Birmingham Daily Gazette—and challenges the idea that interest in reporting local political matters decreased during this period. Civic shame is shown to work in two ways—offering detailed vignettes of aspects of slum life based on personal observation and showing (some) slum-dwellers as worthy of better living conditions, and blaming the local authority directly for failing to address the problem. In this way, later slum writing sought to appeal directly to the reader not just to impart facts but to stimulate empathy and to develop a desire for action. Such in-depth studies of a particular social issue sought to address the local authorities directly, to apportion blame and to use slum writing as a tool for social action.

Facets of Public Health in Early Twentieth-Century Bombay by Mridula Ramanna

Reviewed by: Facets of Public Health in Early Twentieth-Century Bombay by Mridula Ramanna Mrunmayee Satam Facets of Public Health in Early Twentieth-Century Bombay. By Mridula Ramanna. Delhi: Primus Books, 2020. Mridula Ramanna is one of the earliest contributors to the field of social history of health and healthcare in colonial India and her work has offered a valuable regional illustration of provisions of public health and medicine in Bombay Presidency. The book under review is a product of the postdoctoral research undertaken by the author and it attempts to uncover areas which were left unexplored in her earlier work titled, Health Care in Bombay Presidency, 1896-1930, published by Primus Books in 2012. Some of the new facets that the author sets out to explore include the study of advertisements of medical products published in the leading English newspapers and journals, the health of mill workers, private voluntary efforts in healthcare and observations made by the officials of the Rockefeller Foundation on medical education in Bombay Presidency. The book opens by briefly tracing the history of health in the Presidency and underscores that colonial public health policy was characterised by intrinsic racial biases, ad hoc medical interventions and coercive public health measures. At the turn of the twentieth century, following the "popular resistance to anti-plague measures," the colonial state focused more on preventive measures than on curative ones in addressing public health matters (4). In chapter one, Ramanna shines a spotlight on the advertisements of medical products promoted in the local English print media. The medical products include western medicines and Ayurvedic preparations, curatives and preventives for specific complaints, commodities for maternal and infant use, toiletries, tonics, medication to increase sexual potency and birth control products. There is little doubt that advertisements are an important primary source for historical study. However, the author lists down the various types of advertisements without offering any analysis about their intent or the social and cultural context of their creation. It would have been insightful if the author analysed the advertisements in the regional newspapers in comparison with the English print media. Chapter two and three focus on the health of textile mill labourers in urban centres with reference to diseases, working conditions, the diet of the mill workers, maternal and infant health and welfare facilities provided by the capitalist class. Ramanna presents a detailed note on the reports published by agencies such as the Indian Factory Labour Commission, the International Congress of Hygiene and Demography, and the Bombay Legislative Council. In addition, the author illuminates the work undertaken by voluntary organisations such as the Anti-Tuberculosis League and Social Service League in the provision of healthcare and medical relief to the mill workers. These two chapters would have significantly benefitted from engaging with Priyanka Srivastava's 2018 work, The Wellbeing of the Labor Force in Bombay, which makes a crucial contribution to labour health histories. Srivastava highlights the failure on the part of government agencies and industrialists to address issues related to workers' health and sanitation, and meticulously argues that the voluntary organisations often reflected "contemporary biases" and "paternalistic tendencies" that existed in society.1 Furthermore, while addressing the questions of the diet and housing of mill workers in Bombay city, the author has largely relied on statistical information provided in the Bombay Labour Gazette. Some of the relevant contemporary works, such as that of A.R. Burnett Hurst titled, Labour and housing in Bombay: A study in the economic conditions of the wage-earning classes in Bombay (1925) and that of G.R. Pradhan titled, Untouchable Workers of Bombay City (1938), find no mention in the study. These two publications are essential for understanding the relationship between the caste status of mill workers and access to decent housing and diet. Chapter four, "Voluntary Initiatives in Health Care," examines the work of semi-official and voluntary societies in the field of public health. Ramanna divides the chapter into two major themes—first, the issue of maternal and infant health and second, the "disadvantaged" sections of society, such as widows, rescued children, juvenile offenders and the visually challenged (9). The section on schemes promoting self-reliance among women and widows by...

Adverse Child Events (ACES) and their Negative, Long-Term

Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is violent, stressful, or traumatic experiences undergone in childhood. It is estimated that about 16 % of adults in the U.S. have had four or more types of adverse childhood experiences, which are significantly associated with poorer health outcomes, health risk behaviors, and socioeconomic challenges. Research has found a relationship between exposure to ACEs and morbidity and mortality later in life. The high prevalence of ACES, along with their effect on health, social, and medical costs has led this issue to be a matter of public health globally. This paper discusses the impact of ACES, how ACES are measured, and the linkages ACES have to different health outcomes. Future research is needed to better understand adverse childhood events, specifically how to assess, address and prevent these experiences in children.

Rodents in agriculture and public health in Malawi: Farmers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices

Given that rodents are responsible for nearly 280 million cases of undernutrition worldwide and that about 400 million people are affected by rodent-associated zoonoses annually, management of rodent populations that are agricultural pests and/or reservoirs of pathogens is a major food security and public health matter. In sub-Saharan Africa, the median crop loss due to rodents is about 16% in the field and around 8% during storage. The impact on public health is not well-established, albeit over 60 zoonotic diseases can be spread to humans via rodents. Therefore, focusing on rodent-related community knowledge, attitudes, and practices is crucial to establishing robust baseline information as a springboard for future targeted studies. The study was conducted in September 2020 in Lilongwe and Nkhata Bay districts in Central and Northern Malawi, respectively. A semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, and interviews with key informants were used. Farmers reported rodents were a major problem for staple crops (maize, rice, and cassava) and the main species responsible were the Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis), silver mole-rat (Heliophobius argenteocinereus), and house mouse (Mus musculus domesticus). Awareness of rodent-associated health risks is very low, as exemplified by reports of rodent–human bites, eating rodent-contaminated food, and processing and consumption of wild rodents in poor hygienic conditions, and these practices were flourishing when Malawi was a bubonic plague endemic country. Rodent management is less practiced, and when practiced, it is symptomatic. It is considered a matter of individual households and typically relies on the use of rodenticides and insecticides without proper dosage and user instructions. We recommend rigorous campaigns to create better awareness among the public regarding the impacts of rodents on agriculture and community health and the need for community engagement for effective rodent management. A paradigm shift is needed by adapting and adopting practices of ecologically-based rodent management and reducing dependence on synthetic chemical rodenticides.

10.H. Round table: Access, equity and the relevance of the Pandemic Treaty: lessons from the COVID-19 response

Abstract Access to medicines, equity and fair pricing have been intensely debated in the context of EU policies and global health priorities for many years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. To this effect, there have been efforts to develop mechanisms to jointly assess health technologies (HTA Regulation) and to establish cross-border partnerships for price negotiation and procurement. Although TFEU (art.168) is limiting the scope of activities and decisions to be taken at the EU level for public health matters, the Commission has also played an active part in global health discussions in the G20 and in the G7 since 2010, and there is explicit commitment to SDGs, and in particular UHC (SDG3.8) ‘leaving no one behind’ (2019). Indeed, according to its commitments “the EU advocates equitable, universal and high-quality healthcare coverage and promotes fair, effective financing of research to benefit the health of all [and] it is working to ensure that new products are safe, effective, accessible and affordable.” In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU came together in solidarity within and beyond its borders, including through joint procurement of countermeasures. At the same time, different instruments were developed to combat the pandemic globally, such ACT-Accelerator deploying the diagnostic and medicinal products, including, vaccines, and its COVAX Global Vaccines Facility to scale up production and establish consensus on the international allocation of these products. In this transitional phase, issues that arise are: What is the role of the EU in shaping European public health and global health? What are the fundamental principles enshrined in legislative and non-legislative instruments determining EU policies and actions of global health impact? Is such EU policymaking informed by evidence? Are the necessary interdisciplinary and intersectoral partnerships in place to generate the necessary evidence? Which instruments and mechanisms have been the most efficient and effective in combating the COVID-19 pandemic? Are they relevant for future pandemics and for increasing preparedness and resilience? What has been the role and contribution of the EU in these initiatives? What are the values and fundamental principles determining EU action and policy, and to what degree are EU policies evidence-informed? Will the EU's efforts be determined by G20 decision-making, interests and priorities? Each panel member will briefly (5 min) present work conducted to inform European public health and global health policies. The panel will then discuss EU public health and global health policies, assessing the extent to which they are evidence-informed and the degree to which they reflect the fundamental principles of the Union. There will be two rounds of questions/statements, the first elucidating the role of the EU, the second examining it in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics, incl. in the context of the development of the Pandemic Treaty. Key messages • Sound governance, transparency and implementation monitoring is required for all instruments and mechanisms to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and ones, with due consideration to sustainability and UHC. • The EU’s role in global health needs to be strengthened via interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration for evidence-informed policies, and in a manner consistent with EU fundamental principles. Speakers/Panellists Dimitra Lingri National Organization for Health Care Services Provision, Athens, Greece Rosa Castro European Public Health Alliance, Brussels, Belgium Tom Buis Wemos, Amsterdam, Netherlands Aurelie Mahalatchimy UMR DICE CERIC & EAHL Interest Group on Supranational Biolaw, Aix-en-Provence, France

Enteric Pathogen Testing Importance for Children with Acute Gastroenteritis: a Modified Delphi Study.

ABSTRACTThe application of clinical diagnostics for gastroenteritis in children has implications for a broad collection of stakeholders, impacting clinical care, communicable disease control, and laboratory utilization. To support diagnostic stewardship as gastroenteritis testing options continue to advance, it is critical to understand which enteropathogens constitute priorities for testing across stakeholder groups. Using a modified Delphi technique, we elicited opinions of subject matter experts to determine clinical and public health testing priorities. There was a high level of overall agreement (≥80%) among stakeholders (final round n = 15) that testing was important for Campylobacter, Escherichia coli O157 and other Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, Yersinia, norovirus, and rotavirus. Immunocompromised children were identified as a special population that warranted the additional testing of three to four bacterial and parasitic targets. To support these clinical and public health testing priorities, diagnostic stewardship strategies can be employed, such as educating clinicians, developing new decision support tools, and using multiplex testing in concert with selective result reporting and annotation.IMPORTANCE Children with diarrhea and vomiting who seek care can be infected with a wide variety of infectious agents. This study reports findings from a survey of clinical, public health, and laboratory subject matter experts on the infectious agents that are most important to test for. The majority agreed on the importance of testing children likely infected with several bacterial agents, as well as two common viruses. Although confirming a child is positive for a viral agent is unlikely to change clinical care, participants noted the importance of monitoring these viruses for public health purposes. To avoid over-testing children, however, these results should be used to support diagnostic stewardship strategies and design new decision support tools.

Does Democracy Matter for Public Health?

This study examines the effect of democracy on public health by using panel data of 188 countries over the period 1972-2019. We use various regression methods, such as pooled ordinary least squares, fixed effects, dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM), a split-sample method, and a quadratic model to address econometric issues. The pooled regression supports the positive effect on health, but it does not exist in low-income countries, which can be explained by the threshold effect. The fixed effects regression confirms the positive impact on infant mortality but not on life expectancy, which illustrates the historical and cumulative effect of democracy on life expectancy. The non-linear regression finds a U-shaped relationship between democracy and infant mortality, which is consistent with the fixed effects regression result of the positive effect on mortality in the low-income group. The dynamic GMM regression shows the expected strong relationship between previous health and current health status. Overall, the regression analysis supports the positive effect of democracy on public health.

Quantifying the RSV immunity debt following COVID-19: a public health matter

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infection in children younger than 5 years. In 2019, a meta-analysis estimated that RSV was associated with 33 million acute lower respiratory infection episodes and 3·6 million hospitalisations for acute lower respiratory infection annually.1 In England alone, an average of 33 561 annual RSV-associated hospitalisations were observed between 2007 and 2012.2 Before the COVID-19 pandemic, RSV was highly seasonal in temperate countries like England.

College Presidents’ Public Messaging During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Published Opinion Pieces as Crisis Communications

During the Spring and Summer of 2020, college presidents across the United States undertook the difficult task of determining how best to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. An important aspect of leading through a crisis is messaging—that is, communicating about how the crisis is impacting one’s organization and how the needs of organizational constituents are being addressed. The purpose of this study was to analyze short opinion articles (op-eds) published by college presidents regarding higher education and the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how those publications functioned as public crisis communications. This study involved a content analysis of 40 op-eds that were authored or coauthored by college presidents between March and August 2020. Findings indicate that college presidents discussed their organizations’ implementation of public health matters, the importance of togetherness in a crisis, and how their institutions were helping the community during the public health emergency. College leaders’ desire to attain much-needed resources was also evident in many op-eds. This study illuminates how college presidents used public messaging via opinion pieces to communicate publicly during the early months of the pandemic and to attempt to secure resources for their organizations.

Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence in Children Aged 6 Months to 8 Years: Factors Associated with Mothers' Awareness of Children's Exposure to This Violence

Early childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (EIPV) is a serious social and public health matter. Parents underestimate EIPV in comparison to their own victimization of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, few studies have attempted to compare the differences between the child's EIPV and the IPV victimization from the mothers' perspective and document the associated explanatory factors. Consequently, this study was conducted on a representative sample of 2046 children aged 6 months to 8 years in Quebec (Canada) to estimate the prevalence of EIPV and mother's awareness of EIPV over the past 12 months and to investigate factors that are associated with mother's awareness of EIPV. Findings revealed that 11.1% of young children were exposed to at least one form of IPV. However, that proportion decreases to 5.9% when the mother is asked whether the child is aware or a witness of the violence. Regression analyses revealed that child's younger age, mother's depressive symptoms, being a single parent, and the presence of adults' violent behaviors toward children were significantly associated with the mother's higher perceived awareness of EIPV. While some of these findings are consistent with previous studies, others such as living in a single-parent family open the door to different interpretations, including the presence of increased postseparation violence. As EIPV is increasingly recognized as affecting children regardless of their awareness of violent events, further studies are needed to better understand the context facilitating parental recognition of this exposure.

Aedes aegypti in Georgia, USA.

Aedes aegypti, commonly known as the yellow fever mosquito, is closely linked to the human environment and directly influenced by the availability of water-holding containers for oviposition and larval development. The discovery of an active population of Ae. aegypti in Columbus, GA, was deemed an important public health matter, and extensive surveillance was initiated to monitor, delineate, and suppress this population.

Assessment of Self-medication Practices among Nonteaching Faculty in a Private Dental College - A Cross-sectional Study.

Background:Self-medication is the use of nonprescription drugs to treat a disease by an individual. Amid the looming COVID-19 scenario in our country, wherein universal access to health care is not yet fully established, self-medication can lead to serious effects like antimicrobial resistance and is a matter of public health concern.Aim:The aim of the present study was to assess the self-medication practices among the nonteaching faculty in a private dental college in Mangaluru, India.Materials and Methods:The cross-sectional study was conducted for a duration of 6 months. All the nonteaching faculty employed in AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences were included in the study employing the total enumeration sampling technique. A total of 57 participants were included in the study. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethical Committee. The participants not providing consent were excluded from the study. The data were obtained using a validated pretested self-administered questionnaire in Kannada language. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 for descriptive and inferential statistics.Results:Around 50.8% of the participants often or regularly self-medicated. Males were found to practice self-medication higher than females, and this difference was found to be statistically significant (χ2 = 11.088, P = 0.001). The most common reason cited for self-medication was that it was less costly (37, 64.9%). Doctors at the workplace (35, 61%) were the most common source of information. The most frequent symptoms provoking self-medication were aches in any body parts (32, 56.1%). The drugs most frequently consumed were analgesics (33, 57.9%), and 28 (49.1%) participants disagreed that self-medication was a safe practice.Conclusion:Our findings suggest that the prevalence of self-medication was high among the study participants and it is an alarming situation. A holistic approach must be initiated at the grassroots level which would involve health promotion initiatives such as awareness campaigns and regulatory policies to tackle the implications of self-medication.

Controle judicial de políticas públicas em cenário pandêmico: uma análise da ADI nº 6.341/DF

The phenomenon of judicial activism, when manifesting itself on the judicial review of public policies aimed at realizing fundamental social rights, materializes the dilemma between universal access to the right and justice in the concrete case. In a pandemic context, this dilemma is added to the conflict between federative autonomy and separation of Powers, crystallized in ADI n. 6341/DF. Despite the constitutional clarity regarding the governing principles of Brazil’s Unified Health System, the scenario of serious health crisis revealed the misalignment between judicial decisions implementing microjustice and administrative guidelines in matters of public health.