Global Health World Research Articles

Community priorities in a landscape of environmental lead contamination: Intersectionality of poverty, well-being, and environmental contamination

Kabwe, Zambia, is known in the global health world for its high concentrations of environmental lead and associated high blood lead levels in children, and thus it is a key region for exploring the intersections of human health and well-being (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, SGD #3) and environmental health (SGD #12 and #15). Despite multiple efforts to remediate lead from the landscape, lead contamination remains pervasive in some Kabwe neighborhoods. Our study examined to what extent lead remediation was also a priority for community members. Using open-ended oral surveys with 49 household heads as well as ethnographic observational notes, we found that while lead is a concern, it is just one of many concerns. Indeed, economic concerns outweighed other concerns (SGD #1 and #6). Because community buy-in is vital to any global health intervention, these results suggest that externally defined intervention goals, such as lead remediation to address environmental toxicity, may be more successful if interventions also incorporate locally salient concerns. We conclude by arguing that social scientific studies of community members’ perspectives and concerns should be prerequisite to global health interventions. In the context of Kabwe, intervention efforts that incorporate solutions to address local concerns about poverty (SDG #1) and economic opportunity (SDG #6) may result in improved community cooperation with environmental remediation efforts, and thereby improved likelihood of sustainable environmental remediation.

Decolonizing study-abroad programs in nursing in low- and middle-income countries

BackgroundStudy abroad programs expose scholars, including nursing faculty and students, to different settings and cultures. However, the world of global health is rooted in colonial practices that have the potential to cause harm to communities. PurposeIn this reflection, we provide lessons we have learned through study abroad that guide strategies for decolonizing our practice while working toward cultural safety and humility. MethodsWe utilized a qualitative case study method. The authors discussed and reviewed study abroad programs through a series of virtual discussions. FindingsDiscussions showed that study abroad programs present opportunities for students and faculty to grow and learn. However, unacknowledged privileges among visiting students and faculty, and lack of understanding of the impacts of colonialism, may lead to harm in communities and inequitable relationships with local providers. DiscussionUnderstanding the privileges that we hold as scholars is important in advancing positive and equitable experiences in study abroad programs.

HUBUNGAN ANTARA GAYA HIDUP, OBESITAS, RIWAYAT KELUARGA DENGAN KEJADIAN HIPERTENSI DI WILAYAH KERJA PUSKESMAS TOMIA KECAMATAN TOMIA KABUPATEN WAKATOBI

One of the non-communicable disease that are currently a priority in the world of global health is hypertension. Hypertension is an increase in sytolic blood pressure of more than 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure of more than 90 mmHg. Based on data obtained from the Tomia health center, hypertension data in the last 3 years in 2020 was 240, in 2021 as many as 2022 it decreased by 111. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between lifestyle, obesity, familiy history and the incidence of hypertension in the region. Tomia Public Health Center, Tomia Distric, Wakatobi Regency. The research method is quantitative with a cross sectional study approach. The number of sample in this study was conducted by simple random sampling method. The source of data in this study is primary data and secondary data. The data analysis used in this research is univruate analysis and bivariate analysis. Using α 0,05 square test. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21. The research results show that there is no relationship between physical activity lifestyle (p-value = 0.206> 0.05), diet (p-value = 0.119> 0.05), there is a relationship betwee smoking habits (p-value = 0.005< 0.05), there is no relationship between obesity (p-value = 0.066> 0.05), and there is no relationship betwwen familiy history (p-value = 0.075> 0.05 ) with the incidence of hypertension in the working area of the Tomia health center. The conclusion of this study is that there is a relationship between smoking habits and no relationship between physical activity, eating patterns, obesity and family history with the incidence of hypertension in the working area of the Tomia Public Health Center. Suggestions in this study are that people should do early blood pressure checks because hypertension increases with age.

Laporan Kasus: Terapi Covid-19 pada Pasien dengan Komorbid Hipertensi

Corona Virus Desease 2019 (COVID-19), is a disease caused by corona virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 is a tragedy in the world of global health. The main clinical manifestations are cough, fever, shortness of breath and in some cases can cause multiple organ failure, septic shock and metabolic acidosis which is difficult to correct. Where people who are elderly and have chronic disease generally have a poor prognosis. Prompt and appropriate therapy is expected to save patients. Until now, scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness and safety of these therapies is still very little. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 therapy in COVID-19 patients with comorbid hypertension. The therapy used in this patient was azithromicin, ceftriaxone, levofloxacin and meropenem; Antiviral therapy was given hydroxychloroquine; symptomatic therapy for fever was given paracetamol; hypertension therapy was given amlodipine; Support therapy was given salbutamol and dexamethasone; Additional therapy was given vitamin C 1000 mg / 24 hours, and zinc. There was no worsening effect on the patient after receiving this therapy. Patients get treatment at RSUP Dr. Sardjito then was discharged after treatment without any complaints and with PCR swabs were negative results.
 Keywords: Therapy, COVID-19, Comorbid, Hypertensi

Aplikasi Monitoring dan Screening Covid-19 Menggunakan Metode Certainty Factor dan Forward Chaining

Coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 caused by SARS CoV 2 is a tragedy in the world of global health. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the corona virus outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) or an international public health emergency. Not only has an impact on health but this virus outbreak also has a major impact in various sectors such as disruption of the country's economy, obstruction of the teaching and learning process and so on. This impact is caused by the rapid spread of the virus. Therefore, the authors designed a monitoring and screening application for COVID-19 using certainty factor and forward chaining methods which aim to make it easier for people to monitor the spread of the COVID-19 virus in real time and be able to carry out early screening for COVID-19. Both of these methods produce a system diagnosis with the same results, that is, someone is indicated as SUSPECT COVID-19.

The Unprecedented Complexity of Malnutrition, COVID-19, and Orofacial Cleft Care in Low- and Middle- Income Countries: An Opportunity for Change

COVID-19 has created an unprecedented set of challenges across the global health world. In this commentary, the authors highlight a subset of patients that have been and will continue to be greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but are unlikely to be part of the larger global health conversation. Due to the rising rates of food insecurity and malnutrition, the proportion of orofacial cleft patients in low- and middle- income countries that will require nutritional intervention prior to or in order to be eligible for surgery is rising at an unprecedented rate. NGOs, such as Operation Smile, will need to alter their program offerings and services to effectively serve their patient population- specifically a greater focus on nutrition. This piece covers both the problem at hand and Operation Smile’s initial actions into changing its programs to prepare for the growing nutritional needs of OFC patients.

Barbara Stoll: China Medical Board's charismatic new President

“Taking on a new adventure” is how Barbara Stoll views her recent appointment as President of the China Medical Board (CMB), a US-based philanthropic foundation for health development in China and southeast Asia. “I'm incredibly lucky to be given this opportunity, and will try my best to fill the large shoes of outgoing CMB President Lincoln Chen, who has done an extraordinary job over the past 14 years, building partnerships and extending CMB's reach”, she says. It was Chen who helped open Stoll's eyes to the wider world of global health, encouraging her to pursue research opportunities in Bangladesh early in her career.

Worlds in a bottle

In this article, I call for an object-centered ethnography to illuminate the ontological multiplicity that marks the worlds of health and healing that people inhabit. Focusing on a sports-drink bottle filled with a remedy from a faith healer in rural South Africa, I explore the ‘partial connections’ that link the world of global health and the world of traditional healing through objects and bodies. Drawing on medical anthropology focused on global health and medical pluralism as well as scholarship from the ontological turn, I argue that global health programs are limited by their failure to recognize the ontological multiplicity their target populations inhabit.

Reflections on Norheim (2018), Disease Control Priorities Third Edition Is Published Comment on "Disease Control Priorities Third Edition Is Published: A Theory of Change Is Needed for Translating Evidence to Health Policy".

The publication of Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition (DCP3) is a major milestone in the global health world. DCP3 reviews and summarizes high quality health intervention effectiveness and cost-effectiveness evidence relevant to low- and middle-income countries and is freely available to users. This Commentary summarizes Norheim’s (2018) assessment of DCP3’s role in country health priority-setting and offers reflections on what DCP3 can continue to offer countries seeking to improve their purchasing of health.

Research training for medical students in a global health world.

Research training for medical students in a global health world.

Back to the Future: The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Its Journal and the Continuing Commitment to Global Health

These are exciting and challenging times in the world of global health. The burden of major infectious diseases that disproportionately affect the health of women and children in low- and middle-income countries can, in some circumstances, be reduced substantially by implementing scientifically validated and evidence-based public health interventions, e.g., vaccination for diarrheal disease caused by rotavirus infection, insecticide-treated bed nets for malaria. Global efforts have been implemented that in the foreseeable future have as their stated goal local geographic elimination and ultimately, worldwide eradication of pathogens that historically have caused great suffering and socioeconomic loss in low- and middle-income countries. The paper by Linehan and colleagues 1 in this issue of the AJTMH demonstrating the feasibility of an integrated approach to the elimination or control of five “Neglected Tropical Diseases,” lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases, and blinding trachoma, is an outstanding example of how years of basic and clinical research can be translated into locally led national programs that make a real difference in the lives of people in developing countries. At the same time that these ambitious programs are unfolding, the underlying causes and demographics of ill health in the world are changing. Obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, once uncommon (or unrecognized) among poor people in developing countries, are increasingly common, especially in the megacities of Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Building on the prominence of “Global Health” at the November 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Society’s Journal will address global health education, research, and advocacy throughout the 2011 issues. Each month a global health article will be highlighted in the AJTMH . We welcome and will solicit perspectives and research papers on topics that pertain to global health advocacy, the metrics of competence in specific areas of global health education, health economics, collaborations that bridge infectious and chronic disease, and model public–private partnerships in developing countries. 2

All for universal health coverage

All for universal health coverage

Making Sure Public Health Policies Work

I trust it was with tongue in cheek that Jon Cohen, in his article on the new world of global health, referred to “an obscure 1978 health conference in the USSR” (“The new world of global health,” News Focus, 13 Jan., p. [162][1]). That “obscure conference” was the World Health

The New World of Global Health

An array of well-heeled new players has dramatically reshaped how wealthy countries tackle infectious diseases of the poor. But increasingly, these ambitious efforts are confronting their own limitations. (Read more.)