1,721,012 research outputs found
Violence Against Healthcare: A Public Health Issue beyond Conflict Settings
No full textA 3-year analysis released in August 2021 by the WHO indicated that more than 700 healthcare workers and patients have died (2,000 injured) as a result of attacks against health facilities since 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the risks even worse for doctors, nurses, and support staff, unfortunately. According to the latest figures from the International Committee of the Red Cross, 848 COVID-19-related violent incidents were recorded in 2020, and this is likely an underrepresentation of a much more widespread phenomenon. In response to rises in COVID-19-related attacks against healthcare, some countries have taken action. In Algeria, for instance, the penal code was amended to increase protection for healthcare workers against attacks and to punish individuals who damage health facilities. In the United Kingdom, the police, crime, sentencing, and courts bill proposed increased the maximum penalty from 12 months to 2 years in prison for anyone who assaults an emergency worker. Measures taken by countries represent a good practical way to counteract this crisis within COVID-19. However, we stress the importance of primary prevention with the use of communication: social media and other communication channels are fundamentally important to combat violence against health professionals, both to inform the population with quality data and to disseminate campaigns to prevent these acts
Artificial Intelligence and Public Health Data in Emergencies: A Critical Issue in the Middle East
No full textABSTRACT. Timely access to reliable public health data is a critical determinant of effective response to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, climate-related health shocks, and humanitarian crises. Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been promoted for its potential to enhance outbreak prediction, situational awareness, and resource allocation, its effectiveness depends on the speed, quality, and accessibility of underlying data systems. Inequities in digital infrastructure, particularly in low- and middle-income settings, undermine prompt public health data management and in turn weaken emergency response capacity. With examples from epidemics, climate-related health emergencies, and conflict-affected settings in and beyond the Middle East, we examine how delays arise across public health data transmissions that include reliance on paper-based data collection, fragmented and incompatible databases, linguistic barriers in non-English data processing, dependence on externally hosted cloud infrastructure, and vulnerability to telecommunications shutdowns. Geographical concentration of data centers in high-income regions compounds these challenges by introducing latency into time-critical data processing and limiting local control over surveillance and analytics. Case studies from Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, and regional refugee responses illustrate how such delays erode surveillance data operational value, rendering early warning systems reactive rather than anticipatory. In contrast, settings with locally hosted, interoperable, and resilient digital infrastructure demonstrate the capacity for nearly immediate analysis and faster public health action. AI should be understood not as a standalone solution but as a downstream tool within a broader public health data ecosystem. Strengthening local digital infrastructure and governance is thus essential for timely, equitable, and effective public health emergency management
Migrant health during public health emergencies: The Ebola crisis in Uganda
No full textThe Ebola virus diseases (EVD) declared in Uganda in September 22, 2022, has spread to seven districts by early November, with a total of 131 confirmed cases and 48 deaths. Public health emergency response in Uganda deserves a specific and tailored approach due to the current population composition, which accounts to around 1.4 million refugees and asylum seekers. Indeed, Uganda is a potential example of how increased international connectivity has resulted in forced migration with profound impacts on global health. In consideration of the vulnerability of refugees and migrants due to poor living, housing, and working conditions, inclusive policies are even more critical during public health emergencies. Inclusivity lessons learned from COVID-19 in several settings, such as access to treatment and vaccination for all individuals regardless of nationality, residence, and legal status, would be critical to ensure wellbeing of migrants, refugees and host communities
200 years from the first documented outbreak: Dying of cholera in the Near East during 2022 (recent data analysis)
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The impact of underuse of modern methods of contraception among adolescents with unintended pregnancies in 12 low- and middle-income countries
Full text linkBackground In spite of the last decade increase in availability of contraception, around half of the annual 21 million pregnancies notified in
low- and middle-income countries in individuals aged 15-19 years are
unintended. We sought to explore the contribution of the underuse of
modern methods of contraception (MMC) to the annual incidence of unintended pregnancies among adolescent women.
Methods We used Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 12
low- and middle-income countries. The pooled analysis exploring the
risk of unintended pregnancy included 7268 adolescent women with
a current unintended pregnancy and 121894 currently not pregnant
15- to 19-year-old sexually active women who did not desire pregnancy. For each country and the pooled analysis, the odds ratio of unintended pregnancy was calculated in relation to the type of contraception
(MMC, Traditional Methods, and No Contraception). Expected unintended pregnancies and population attributable fraction (PAF) of unintended pregnancies attributable to not using MMC were calculated for
each country.
Results The use of traditional methods was associated with a 3.4 (95%
confidence interval (CI)=2.1-4.7) time increased odds of having an undesired pregnancy compared with the use of MMC of contraception while
not using any method of contraception was associated with a 4.6 (95%
CI=2.6-6.6) times increased odds. The population attributable fraction
(PAF) of not using MMC accounted for 86.8% of the estimated unintended pregnancies (9464654 in total in the 12 countries) in the pooled
analysis. PAF ranged from 65.8% (1022154) for Bangladesh to 95.1%
(540176) for Niger and the estimated number of unintended pregnancies because of the use of traditional methods or non-use of contraception ranged from 18638 in Namibia to 4303872 in India.
Conclusions Eight million out of 9.5 million unintended pregnancies
occurring annually in twelve countries could have been prevented with
the optimal use of MMC of contraception. MMC need to be further supported in order to further prevent unintended pregnancies globally
Iron deficiency anemia and low Body Mass Index among adolescent girls in India, the transition from 2005 to 2015
No full textThis study explored changes of trend in anemia and body mass index (BMI) among currently pregnant nullipara adolescent women against socio-economic determinants in India from 2005 through 2015. It also explored the association between anemia in currently pregnant nullipara adolescent women versus currently pregnant nullipara older women of reproductive age
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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