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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an immense impact on psychic health. Children and adolescents are considered especially vulnerable which is why health promotion and prevention programs are important and should be designed in a motivating way to be attractive to this age group. The aim of this work is to investigate whether young people can be reached with the help of innovative digital formats for health promotion. Methods: An app-based training to promote self-regulation was offered to adolescents in lower secondary education in autumn 2020. Data were collected using an app. The types of motivation to participate in the training were analyzed. In addition, the students were able to rate the attractiveness of the training with the help of a self-designed evaluation sheet. Results: Of the 91 registered participants, 39.56% completed the study. In all, 40.91% of the students stated that the training was "very" helpful and 36.36% rated it as "quite" helpful. Although 50% of the respondents found the app-based training "modern and motivating", the other half would have preferred more personal support. Conclusion: The results confirm previous study results with health apps in children and adolescents. This age group is interested in digital formats, but health apps are not used continuously in this age group unless obligatory.
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Relevance: The global consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic emphasize today the importance of the concept of "One Health" for the health system, which provides for the use of a coordinated, joint, interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach to eliminate potential or existing risks arising at the interface of the "environment-animal-human-ecosystem". The aim of the work is to study the experience of countries in implementing the concept of "One Health". Search strategy: comparative analysis of publications on the research topic, sources indexed in the databases of the electronic library e-Library, Google Academy, Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus. 26 countries from the European Union, South America and Africa were subject to analysis. The criteria defined are: institutional framework;mechanisms of intersectoral interaction and programs/tools for the implementation of the concept of "One Health". Results: The literature review provides a comparative analysis of the experience of implementing the concept of "One Health" in 26 countries. Realizing the importance of "One Health" in the general concept of public safety, countries have launched an active policy to promote it in the last decade. Characteristic features of country policies are the intersectoral approach with appropriate support from the government of the country, the activity of all participants in promoting the initiative and their investment.
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BACKGROUND: A common secondary effect after SARS-CoV-2 immunization is an increased in size of the axillary lymph nodes ipsilateral to the vaccinated site. Eventually, an increased in size of the axillary lymph nodes may lead to a misinterpretation of the breast screening mammogram, performed in asymptomatic women between the age 50 to 69 years old for early breast cancer diagnosis. The aim of our research was to evaluate the impact of the vaccination for SARS-CoV-2 in the breast screening programmes in terms of recall rates and number of false positive results. As a secondary purpose we would analysed the protocols adopted by different breast screening units around the world after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. METHODS: Observational and retrospective study analysing breast screening mammograms from a single Breast Cancer Screening Unit in Madrid. The mammograms of previously vaccinated women were analysed, reviewing the axillary lymph nodes and the re-call rate secondary to axillary lymphadenopathies. RESULTS: Four hundred and twenty three screening mammograms were performed in May 2021 in the University Hospital Ramon y Cajal in Madrid, which is part of the Breast Screening Programme in Madrid, Spain. None of the women previously vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 were recalled for complementary studies due to an increased in the axillary lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: The protocol stablished by the Spanish Society of Breast Image that stands up for a routine breast screening mammogram after SARS-CoV-2 immunization, has no increase in the recall rate or increase in number of false positives.
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BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 infection was an unprecedented pandemic with unprecedented global health and socio-economic impact. More than 13 million cases had been confirmed in Spain by August 2022, and diagnostic testing to detect cases of infection in the country has helped to partially mitigate the spread of the virus. In 2021, the first self-testing antigen tests were marketed for dispensing in community pharmacies, and over-the-counter dispensing was allowed from July of that year. The network of community pharmacies played a key role, not only in the informed dispensing of these tests, but also in actively participating in the performance, supervision and reporting of results to the health authorities, and even in the issuing of digital certificates. A compilation has been made of all the available data on the subject, with a deadline of 13 February 2022, which is considered to be the end of the sixth wave of the epidemic in Spain. The results of the action taken by community pharmacies in twelve Autonomous Communities, which somehow participated in these initiatives by carrying out or supervising a total of 1,043,800 tests, from which 109,570 positive cases (10.5% of the total) were detected and reported to the National Health System, are presented in this article. Although the results are provisional, because many of the programmes are still ongoing, they are a clear demonstration of the potential that community pharmacies can play in Public Health work.
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In 2017, the French National Health Authority (HAS) reassessed its human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening strategy and in 2018, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) set the goal of screening 95% of people living with HIV by 2030. The HAS recommends an approach based on target population and gives the general practitioner (GP) a key role in its implementation. It is therefore important to facilitate HIV testing by GPs and to reduce missed opportunities. To this end, a pilot study was conducted on a panel of 2,000 GPs over a 10-month period in 2020 in order to evaluate the impact of a pop-up displayed within prescription assistance software reminding about the frequency of targeted screening recommended by the HAS. The pop-up was displayed for patients with a history of sexually transmitted infection and/or hepatitis C and/or tuberculosis in the previous 12 months and without a known HIV serology or diagnosis. The impact was measured by comparing the prospective follow-up of consultations made during the "pilot" in 2020 with the retrospective follow-up of consultations made during the "pre-pilot" period in 2019. The results showed a significant increase in HIV serology prescriptions during the pilot study, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Difficulties in objectively identifying target patient profiles and in organizing regular follow-ups to HIV testing were also revealed. This pop-up tool represents an additional means of facilitating the prescription of HIV testing by GPs.
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Recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of increase in the ability of public health workforce to detect and respond to the public health threats. For timely implementation of an adequate response and mitigation measure, the standardized and sustainable capacity building programme for frontline public health workforce is the need of hour. National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in partnership with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), developed a three-month in-service Basic Epidemiology Training programme. This is a tailor-made programme for frontline public health workforce to strengthen epidemiological skills. This training was a practical interactive approach to field epidemiology for three months on the job training for frontline public health workforce that addressed the critical skills needed to conduct surveillance effectively at the local level while focusing on improving disease detection, reporting and feedback. The training also demonstrated the role of learning model in form of interaction between the mentor and the mentees. The importance of handhold support given by the mentors to the mentees in quality outbreak investigations and documentation.
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Background: The rapidly expanding COVID-19 pandemic created an immediate demand for the Department of Health in Hillsborough County (DOH-Hillsborough) Epidemiology Program to supplement its contact tracing workforce;and, because of the long duration of the response, a sustained workforce was needed. The DOH-Hillsborough Epidemiology Program's COVID-19 response, broadly referred to as "contact tracing", included case investigations, outbreaks, and identification and notifications to exposed individuals. To meet contact tracing staffing needs, several staffing options were utilized, including Core Epidemiology Staff, Reassigned DOH-Hillsborough staff (Reassigned Staff), Contracted staffing agency hires (Contract Staff), State of Florida hires (State Level Hires), County hires (DOH-Hillsborough Hires), and college and university faculty and students (University Partners). Purpose: To understand the differences in work output and efficiency across staffing groups (quantitative analysis) and to understand Core Epidemiology Staff recommendations when hiring temporary staff as contact tracers (qualitative analysis). Methods: A mixed-methods approached was used to assess each staffing group hired in Hillsborough County. Quantitative data was analyzed from 3/1/2020 through 1/31/2021, and included data from the state's personnel management system and the state's reportable disease database to represent work output. Qualitative interviews with DOH-Hillsborough Core Epidemiology Staff were conducted and analyzed to understand Core Epidemiology Staff recommendations when hiring surge staffing in the future. Results: During the evaluation period, 199 staff across the staffing groups worked a collective 132,252.50 hours. The number of hours worked per case and contact ranged from 10.16 in Core Epidemiology Staff to 0.67 in University Partners. During qualitative interviews with the Core Epidemiology Staff, five common themes emerged as ideal characteristics for temporary contact tracing staff. These included: communication skills, professionalism, public health knowledge, following official guidance, and flexibility. Two groups who emerged as the "best hires" for their seamless transition into their roles included University Partners and the State Level hires. Discussion: These mixed methods data can be used to develop best practices to inform future surge staffing needs.
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In this paper, we explore the strategies utilized by civil society organizations to improve access to medicines during the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 health crises. In particular, we seek to illuminate why some of the successful approaches for increasing access to antiretrovirals for HIV/AIDS in the early 2000s failed in creating equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines. While civil society has historically mobilized human rights to facilitate greater access to essential medicines, we argue that earlier strategies were not always sustainable and that civil society is now mobilizing human rights in radically different ways than previously. Instead of focusing chiefly on securing an intellectual property waiver to the TRIPS Agreement, civil society organizations are now challenging vaccine injustice, rejecting the "charity discourse" that fuels Global South dependency on Global North actors in favor of scaling up manufacture in low- and middle-income countries, and moving to embed the right to access medicines in a new World Health Organization pandemic treaty with civil society organization participation and meaningful representation from low- and middle-income countries. Such approaches, we contend, will lead to more sustainable solutions in order to avert further health care disasters, like those seen with two distinct but related struggles-the fights for equitable access to essential medicines for HIV/AIDS and for COVID-19.
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According to the most recent national census on blindness, nearly 100,000 persons in Sri Lanka over the age of 40 are thought to be blind from untreated cataracts. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic and the fact that more than 80% of the population lives in rural areas, access to eye care is currently limited. The Association of Community Ophthalmologists of Sri Lanka (SLACO) has been providing free outreach eye care visits on a regular basis in rural regions for the past five to six years in an effort to solve the issue. These visits primarily serve to provide patients with free reading glasses and referrals for complimentary cataract surgery. SLACO members volunteer their services without payment. After registration, individuals had their eyes tested and their distance and near visual acuity were measured. As walk-in patients were accepted, the community ophthalmologist from SLACO assessed 143 patients and gave 120 of them near-vision glasses. 43 patients with operable cataracts had pre-operative evaluations (ECG, fasting blood sugar, and blood pressure check) that day. Because there was a two-year waiting list for the three closest government eye units, SLACO arranged for them to be sent to a charity eye hospital in Colombo.
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This conference proceeding contain 55 articles that discuss various topics, which include multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, use of text messaging and social support to increase adherence to medication, race and income in relation to prostate cancer, public opinion of ethnic groups on clinical research, colon resection, COVID-19, cell-free DNA analysis, clinical trials and research in emergency medicine, paediatric trauma during pandemic, plant-based diet for diabetes, knowledge and perception regarding HIV and PrEP, infant mortality rates, representation, medicine and social media, tobacco control and cessation programmes, vaccines, climate change, equity and transgender peoples, community action, health inequality and vaccination, burn care, pregnancy complications and race, sickle cell disease, racism, inflammatory bowel disease, vaccine regulation and safety, among others.
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The World Health Organization European Region (WHO Europe) has seen a wide spectrum of efforts and accomplishments in 2021, with COVID-19 touching almost all of the WHO's work. The Regional Office has started to advance in other areas of health through the European Programme of Work, most notably by establishing the Pan-European Mental Health Coalition and the Immunization Agenda 2030. The WHO has released a timeline infographic that recaps some significant events from the previous year, showcasing regional accomplishments as well as certain national projects.
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In recent weeks, many Ukrainian refugees have crossed into Hungary, Poland, Moldova, and Romania. The WHO works with these and other nations to increase disease surveillance and provide immunization programs according to their schedules and policies. This article provides a summary of the recommendations provided by WHO to all countries in the region. According to the guidelines, countries must continue to make efforts to ensure that their resident populations, including refugee populations, are fully vaccinated against polio, measles, rubella, COVID-19, and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccination against polio, measles, and rubella must be offered as a priority to incoming refugee children under the age of six who have missed any routine vaccinations Vaccine doses must be recorded and made available to vaccinated individuals.
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This article discusses three reports: (1) this focuses on learning to date about factors which affect vaccine uptake, including booking methods and delivery models. Although there has been a high uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in Scotland overall, uptake levels have not been equal across all population groups, as well as includes recommendations to support maximal and equitable access to vaccinations, both for the COVID-19 and other vaccination programmes. (2) details interim findings on delivery models used for vaccine rollout, methods for maximising uptake in different population groups, factors affecting vaccine uptake, lessons learned about programme implementation and recommendations for the programme, and (3) features interviews with health board vaccination leads about their experience of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, including learning on delivery models, engagement and communication, inclusion and outreach activity, what helped and hindered vaccine roll out, and recommendations for the programme.
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The study on environmental sustainability and perception of safety of vaccination in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has been relevant for a long time and has been caused by people's concerns and fears about the consequences of the vaccination procedure. This paper provides a detailed analysis of approaches to determining environmental sustainability and emphasises the urgent need to maintain human health in a pandemic. Thus, the purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the readiness for vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of environmental sustainability. The subject of the study is the environmental factors of readiness for vaccination against COVID-19. A set of methods and techniques were used to achieve this purpose, namely theoretical research methods, surveys, associative method, content analysis, methods of mathematical statistics using SPSS 23.0 and ArcGis. The paper presents the results of an empirical study of environmental sustainability and perception of safety of vaccination during pandemic, such as a comparative analysis of the sense of security of supporters and opponents of vaccination. The results of an empirical study of environmental sustainability and perception of safety of vaccination in a pandemic is provided. It was established that there are age and gender differences between proponents and opponents of vaccination. It was determined that subjects who were wary of vaccination did not consider COVID-19 to be a source of personal threat. The results of associations for the word-stimulus "danger" were analysed. There were differences in deep subconscious beliefs of danger in those who plan to be vaccinated and those who question vaccination. It was determined that the proponents of vaccination consider the general unavoidable external circumstances as a danger, and its opponents consider the very COVID-19 vaccination as such. Statistically significant differences were found between the sense of security in different areas of life in those who consider COVID-19 a danger and those for whom COVID-19 is not a source of concern. A prognostic portrait of a resident of Ukraine who is ready and willing to be vaccinated is presented. The obtained empirical results are of scientific value for researching the psychological characteristics of individual attitudes towards safe environmental sustainability and can be used in the development and implementation of programmes to work with people suffering from internal feelings of danger for their health caused by external circumstances.
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This report describes the progress towards WHA milestones and measles elimination objectives during 2000-2020 and updates a previous report. During 2000-2010, estimated MCV first dose (MCV1)coverage increased globally from 72% to 84%, peaked at 86% in 2019, and declined to 84% in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. All countries conducted measlesurveillance, although fewer than one third achieved the sensitivity indicator target of 2 discarded cases per 100,000 population in 2020. From 2000 to 2016, annual reported measles incidence fell 88%, from 145 to 18 cases per 1 million population, before rebounding to 120 in 2019 and falling to 22 in 2020. During 2000-2020, the annual number of estimated measles deaths decreased by 94%, from 1,072,800 to 60,700, averting an estimated 31.7 million measles deaths. To reach regional measles eradication goals, more work needs to be done to make sure all children get two MCV doses, to have strong surveillance, and to find and close immunity gaps.
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This article provides a brief overview of the 31st meeting of the International TaskForce for Disease Eradication (ITFDE) that was convened at The Carter Center in Atlanta, GA, USA on 20-21 October 2020 to discuss "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eradication and elimination programmes and the way forward." It highlights the results of 7 eradication programmes, with specific conclusions and recommendations for each: Guinea Worm Eradication Programme(dracunculiasis;GWEP);Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI);elimination programmes for measles and rubella (MR), malaria, river blindness (onchocerciasis;RB), and lymphatic filariasis (LF);and the program for the Global Elimination of Trachoma.
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This article describes the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF), which aims to stop the spread of infection by mass drug administration (MDA) and ease the suffering of patients through morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP). In 2020, LFMDA treated 21.6 million 2-4-year-olds and 98.5 million 5-14-year-olds. Given the impact of LF MDA on soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, WHO advises adding STH infection assessment into transmission assessment surveys (TAS) to increase NTD intervention efficiency. Once preTAS and TAS standards are met, an IU's population no longer needs MDA. 692 million people didn't need MDA. This 49% decline in LF cases is a huge step toward meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Thirteen countries and 171 IUs performed TASs in 2020. A total of 4316 TAS have been conducted in EUs, which are greater or smaller than IUs. 100% of EUs passed a TAS, according to 2020 reports (the proportion of children who tested positive for LF infection was below the threshold for considering transmission unsustainable). Several 2020 TAS were postponed because to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Despite a global epidemic, GPELF achieved progress in 2020, demonstrating the resolve and inventiveness of national LFprogrammes to end this illness.
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BACKGROUND: Influenza accounts for a substantial number of deaths and hospitalisations annually in South Africa. To address this disease burden, the South African National Department of Health introduced a trivalent inactivated influenza vaccination programme in 2010. METHODS: We adapted and populated the WHO Seasonal Influenza Immunization Costing Tool (WHO SIICT) with country-specific data to estimate the cost of the influenza vaccination programme in South Africa. Data were obtained through key-informant interviews at different levels of the health system and through a review of existing secondary data sources. Costs were estimated from a public provider perspective and expressed in 2018 prices. We conducted scenario analyses to assess the impact of different levels of programme expansion and the use of quadrivalent vaccines on total programme costs. RESULTS: Total financial and economic costs were estimated at approximately USD 2.93 million and USD 7.91 million, respectively, while financial and economic cost per person immunised was estimated at USD 3.29 and USD 8.88, respectively. Expanding the programme by 5% and 10% increased economic cost per person immunised to USD 9.36 and USD 9.52 in the two scenarios, respectively. Finally, replacing trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) with quadrivalent vaccine increased financial and economic costs to USD 4.89 and USD 10.48 per person immunised, respectively. CONCLUSION: We adapted the WHO SIICT and provide estimates of the total costs of the seasonal influenza vaccination programme in South Africa. These estimates provide a basis for planning future programme expansion and may serve as inputs for cost-effectiveness analyses of seasonal influenza vaccination programmes.
Subject(s)
Influenza Vaccines , Influenza, Human , Cost-Benefit Analysis , Humans , Influenza, Human/prevention & control , Seasons , South Africa , VaccinationABSTRACT
On the whole, poor countries in Africa and elsewhere seem to have weathered the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19) pandemic better than wealthier countries with superior healthcare systems. Using the Ghanaian case, this paper draws on newspaper articles, policy statements, and other secondary sources to explain how the country's competitive clientelist political settlement mediated the public health outcomes of the pandemic. It argues that while it lacks overall state capacity, Ghana was able to surmount the limitations of its weak and underresourced public health system by leveraging 'residual capacity' from previous public health programmes and a strong proactive response from the continental and subregional organizations. The government's strong early response enabled it to gain control of the situation in the crucial first few months of the outbreak. However, with an upcoming election later in the year and unwilling to bear the political costs of sustaining its initial efforts, the government subsequently wavered in its response. The country's infection and death rates spiked and dipped in response to these waves of enforcement. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the limits of 'residual capacity' in public service delivery.
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BACKGROUND: South Africa's National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), the only clinical laboratory service in the country's public health sector, is an important resource for monitoring public health programmes. OBJECTIVES: We describe NHLS data quality, particularly patient demographics among infants, and the effect this has on linking multiple test results to a single patient. METHODS: Retrospective descriptive analysis of NHLS data from 1st January 2017-1st September 2020 was performed. A validated probabilistic record-linking algorithm linked multiple results to individual patients in lieu of a unique patient identifier. Paediatric HIV PCR data was used to illustrate the effect on monitoring and evaluating a public health programme. Descriptive statistics including medians, proportions and inter quartile ranges are reported, with Chi-square univariate tests for independence used to determine association between variables. RESULTS: During the period analysed, 485 300 007 tests, 98 217 642 encounters and 35 771 846 patients met criteria for analysis. Overall, 15.80% (n = 15 515 380) of all encounters had a registered national identity (ID) number, 2.11% (n = 2 069 785) were registered without a given name, 63.15% (n = 62 020 107) were registered to women and 32.89% (n = 32 304 329) of all folder numbers were listed as either the patient's date of birth or unknown. For infants tested at < 7 days of age (n = 2 565 329), 0.099% (n = 2 534) had an associated ID number and 48.87% (n = 1 253 620) were registered without a given name. Encounters with a given name were linked to a subsequent encounter 40.78% (n = 14 180 409 of 34 775 617) of the time, significantly more often than the 21.85% (n = 217 660 of 996 229) of encounters registered with a baby-derivative name (p-value < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Unavailability and poor capturing of patient demographics, especially among infants and children, affects the ability to accurately monitor routine health programmes. A unique national patient identifier, other than the national ID number, is urgently required and must be available at birth if South Africa is to accurately monitor programmes such as the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV.