Healthy city: global systematic scoping review of city initiatives to improve health with policy recommendations.

BACKGROUND: Global health will increasingly be determined by cities. Currently over half of the world's population, over 4 billion people, live in cities. This systematic scoping review has been conducted to understand what cities are doing to improve health and healthcare for their populations. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search to identify literature on city-wide initiatives to improve health. The study was conducted in accordance with PRISMA and the protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020166210). RESULTS: The search identified 42,137 original citations, yielding 1,614 papers across 227 cities meeting the inclusion criteria. The results show that the majority of initiatives were targeted at non-communicable diseases. City health departments are making an increasing contribution; however the role of mayors appears to be limited. CONCLUSION: The collective body of evidence identified in this review, built up over the last 130 years, has hitherto been poorly documented and characterised. Cities are a meta-system with population health dictated by multiple interactions and multidirectional feedback loops. Improving health in cities requires multiple actions, by multiple actors, at every level. The authors use the term 'The Vital 5'. They are the five most important health risk factors; tobacco use; harmful alcohol use; physical-inactivity, unhealthy diet and planetary health. These 'Vital 5' are most concentrated in deprived areas and show the greatest increase in low and middle income countries. Every city should develop a comprehensive strategy and action plan to address these 'Vital 5'.

Population health: transformation will happen at the speed of trust.

The societal shocks at the beginning of the 2020s have yet again brought into focus fundamental issues of inequality and distrust. These two corrosive and inter-related factors are the root cause of what inhibits our progress on issues such as improving population health and sustainable healthcare. Based on evidence, the authors provide their perspective to suggests three policy proposals; create a new power social movement for better health and equality; delegation of `old power' to City Mayors; handing over power and privilege to communities. This is the only way we will break the cycle of decreasing trust and increasing inequality and build a happier, healthier, and more resilient society.

Measuring more than just economic growth to improve well-being.

It's official: The UK is in a recession. The economy has suffered its biggest slump on record with a drop in gross domestic product (GDP) of 20.4%. 1 This is going to have a significant impact on our health and well-being. It risks creating a spiralling decay as we know good health is not only a consequence, but also a condition for sustained and sustainable economic development. 2 In this way, the health of a nation creates a virtuous circle of improved health and improved economic prosperity. How we measure prosperity is therefore important and needs to be considered.

COVID-19 vaccinations among Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups: Learning the lessons from influenza.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 vaccination roll-out continues to grow at significant pace around the world. There is, however, growing concern regarding vaccine hesitancy amongst Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) populations. Such inequalities have the potential for exposing, an already at-risk population, further. Whilst the COVID-19 vaccination programme is in its infancy, influenza programmes have been undertaken for over 50 years, and may provide invaluable insights. In this commentary, we aim to examine the lessons from influenza vaccinations, and how this can help reduce inequalities with COVID-19 vaccinations. MAIN TEXT: Several factors have been associated with both seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine hesitancy amongst BAME groups. One of the most prevalent barriers in both types of immunisation programmes is the mistrust of medical organisations. This is often a multi-faceted issue, with previous negative healthcare discrimination, and historical unethical practices contributing towards this scepticism. This mistrust, however, is predominantly aimed towards healthcare systems, as opposed to individual physicians. In fact, physician endorsement is often a strong driver to vaccination, with Black patients who receive this support 8 times more likely to receive seasonal influenza vaccination. On the other hand, with H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccination, social norms or community influence, was an important determinant. In both seasonal and pandemic immunisation programmes, a significant amount of concern regarding side-effects, including misinformation, was reported amongst BAME groups. CONCLUSIONS: The use of community-based approaches, with local advocacy, has the potential to counteract misinformation, and concerns regarding side-effects. Moreover, using consistent physician endorsement not only in media campaigns but also through messaging would potentially help to address longstanding healthcare mistrust amongst minority ethnic groups. Close attention regarding how the vaccination programme, and the health policies introduced as a consequence, affect BAME communities in order to prevent widening inequalities in the future.

Systematic review into city interventions to address obesity.

BACKGROUND: Obesity threatens to undo the improvements that have been made in life expectancy over the last two centuries. It disproportionately affects lower socioeconomic and ethnic minority groups and has become one of the most important global health challenges of the 21stcentury. Whilst obesity is not confined to city populations, cities are home to more than half of the world's population with concentrated groups at high risk of obesity. Cities have also long been the forefront of social and technological change that has led to our current obesogenic environment. The aim of this study was to systematically identify city-wide interventions to address obesity, from which recommendations for policy makers, health system leaders and political leaders in cities could be made. METHODS: Systematic review, conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, examining Embase, Ovid Medline, Central, Scopus, Campbell Library, CINALH, Health Business Elite; Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC), PyschINFO and Prospero. No restrictions on article type, date range or geographic location were applied. Along with classic academic sources, books and policy white papers were sought and reviewed. Studies that described a city-wide intervention to reduce obesity were included, irrespective of study design or perceived methodological quality. Only studies in English language were included. The primary outcome indicators that were sought and extracted were: reduction in obesity, reduction in weight and/or reduction in BMI. Where a primary outcome indicator was not stated, any other secondary impact measure was identified and recorded. This manuscript represents thematic analysis of a sub-set of data from the Prospero study, registration number: CRD42020166210. FINDINGS: Our search yielded 42,137 original citations of which 1614 met the inclusion criteria and 96 were coded as relating to obesity. The 96 citations, ranging in year of publication 1997 to 2019, were conducted in 36 cities, with 13 citations either not stating a city or covering multiple cities, across 5 continents. The highest proportion of publications were from North America (59 / 96) and in particular the USA (56/96) and New York City (23/96). Primary outcome indicators were only stated in one quarter of the identified studies (24/96). Overall, there was heterogeneity of study design, descriptive methodologies and publication types, with a majority being descriptive texts using qualitative instruments of assessment. INTERPRETATION: Multi-level and multi-component interventions, at the individual, community and city level, done in concert, are needed to address obesity. A composite of interventions that cities can utilise to address obesity is provided. These interventions will also be beneficial to the environment and make the case that personal health and planetary health are inextricably linked and should be considered as one. FUNDING: None.

Economic interventions to ameliorate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and health: an international comparison.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge governments and policymakers worldwide. They have rightfully prioritised reducing the spread of the virus through social distancing interventions. However, shuttered business and widespread restrictions on travel and mobility have led to an economic collapse with increasing uncertainty of how quickly recovery will be achieved. METHODS: The authors carried out a review of publicly available information on the economic intervention's countries have put in place to ameliorate the impact of COVID-19. RESULTS: The strategies and scale of economic interventions have been broad, ranging from 2.5% to a reported 50% of Gross Domestic Product. CONCLUSIONS: Numerous countries are beginning to ease lockdown restrictions and restart economies in different ways. There is therefore evolving, real-world data that should be used dynamically by governments and policymakers. The strategies on restarting the economy must be balanced against the uncertainty of a possible second wave of COVID-19. A nuanced approach to easing restrictions needs to take into account not only immediate risk to life but longer-term risks of widening inequalities and falling life expectancy.