International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2021
Abstract Climate-related disasters are increasing across the globe, but their adverse health impa... more Abstract Climate-related disasters are increasing across the globe, but their adverse health impacts are unevenly distributed. The people most severely affected tend to be from socio-economically disadvantaged, vulnerable populations, who have high exposure to risk conditions and insufficient adaptive capacity. Despite the increasing health impacts of climate change and disaster risks felt in Asian countries such as China, Indonesia and Vietnam, there are few attempts to access and translate literature and evidence on climate-related disasters and adaptation activities from non-English speaking countries. Conducted by a multi-country project team, this review aims to better understand the current literature and to study gaps in these three countries through an extensive search of literature, in English, Chinese, Indonesian and Vietnamese. Through a systematic review process a total of 298 studies out of 10,139 were included in this study. Key findings confirm that all three countries have experienced increasing climate-related disasters with their associated health impacts, and that adaptation strategies are urgently needed to reduce the risk and vulnerability of the most affected populations. Future studies should consider conducting vulnerability assessments to inform translational research on developing effective adaptation strategies. Authors commented that a common challenge they found was the shortterm nature of disaster response mechanisms, and the lack of long-term investment and policy support for capacity building and multi-sectoral collaborative research that address the needs of populations vulnerable to climate-related disasters. Thus, to better prepare for future disasters, it is vital that governments and international agencies prioritize funding policies to fill this gap.
In recent years, Indonesia has experienced rapid increases in severe climate-related disasters ha... more In recent years, Indonesia has experienced rapid increases in severe climate-related disasters have dramatically impacted populations unevenly; the poor and the vulnerable populations are most affected, and adaptive measures are urgently needed to protect and mitigate the impact on their health. However, very little is known about the existing measures addressing climate-related disasters and health impacts among vulnerable groups. WHO established a Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management framework to urge governments and relevant actors to systematically collect evidence to develop science-based feasible adaptive strategies for priority groups. This study used scoping review methods to identify the action areas of Health-EDRM in policy documents in Indonesia, its content, and any potential gaps that require further study. The results from the documents’ review were then reported and discussed at a national stakeholder consultation meeting. This study has identified several ac...
Background To analysis the death and disease burden caused by high sugar-sweetened beverages inta... more Background To analysis the death and disease burden caused by high sugar-sweetened beverages intake in China from 1990 to 2019. Methods Data were obtained from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study. We analyzed the death cases caused by high sugar-sweetened beverages intake in China and provinces from 1990 to 2019, as well as the disease burden (including disability-adjusted of life year), years of life lost and years lived with disability, and compared the changes of death in 1990 and 2019. Results In 2019, the number of deaths attributed to sugar-sweetened beverages in China reached 46 633 with an increase of 95% compared with 1990. The proportion of deaths caused by excessive consumption of carbon-containing beverages increased from 0.34% in 1990 to 0.46% in 2019, an increase of 35%. In 2019, the top five provinces in China with more deaths caused by excessive intake of sugary beverages were Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Hunan and Guangdong, with the number of death cases 4337, 3881,...
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries brought the world significant technologi... more The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries brought the world significant technological and economic development, but also increasing energy consumption and pollution. The new factories around the world have become major users of both energy and virgin materials and producers of large amounts of hazardous waste and pollution. Although many countries have taken steps to address their environmental impacts through pollution prevention, cleaner production, and environmental management measures, industries at large still have not systematically addressed environmental issues either in the long term or in a comprehensive way. The concepts and philosophy of eco-industrial development (EID) have emerged as a useful approach to effectively manage pollution prevention and control towards sustainable development. To realise EID, the Eco-Industrial Park (EIP), is a promising strategy to promote sustainable industrial development and to improve the industries' environmental per...
Cervical cancer, which is caused by sexually-acquired persistent infection with high risk human p... more Cervical cancer, which is caused by sexually-acquired persistent infection with high risk human papillomavirus (HPV), continues to be a public health problem in the world, it being the second most common type of cancer among women. Nearly 87% of cervical cancer deaths occur in women living in developing countries, and China, because of its large population, carries a heavy burden of cervical cancer. Since the 1990s, there has been an increasing incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer in China, which currently accounts for 12% of new cases of cervical cancer in the world. Vaccinating girls before sexual debut and screening women for precancerous lesions can prevent cervical cancer. However, owing to the current high cost of HPV vaccinations, this is not an affordable or available option for many developing and low-income countries, including China. Moreover, the HPV vaccination is only effective for girls and young women before exposure to infection and only protects against ...
The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been surrounded by controversy regarding drug sa... more The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been surrounded by controversy regarding drug safety and to what extent it meets the health needs of menopausal women. HRT became the prevailing treatment in Western medicine for women with menopause-associated complaints, but a huge worldwide reduction in use began in July, 2002, following the release of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) reports warning of its risks. The implications of this large reduction on the health needs of menopausal women have not been fully appraised, particularly from the perspective of the women affected. This brings into question whether HRT use actually meets the health needs of menopausal women, and, indeed, what their health needs are. This study investigates the use of HRT by middle-aged women in Taiwan and their menopausal health needs in order to identify these and recommend comprehensive strategies to promote women's health and well-being. A broad and in-depth exploration of Taiwanese men...
In the 1980s, Bangladesh entered the global market by establishing export-oriented industries, th... more In the 1980s, Bangladesh entered the global market by establishing export-oriented industries, the largest of which was the ready-made garment (RMG) industry. This industry has recruited a mainly female workforce consisting of millions of poor women with little formal education. Coming from mainly rural areas, they are drawn to the cities to work in the RMG factories there. This group of women has normally assumed the traditional roles of stay-at home wife, mother or daughter, hence their engagement in paid work as migrant labourers presents a new challenge in the form of their having to fulfill 'dual roles'. Combined with workplace health and safety issues associated with the RMG industry, this can have significant implications for their physical health and mental wellbeing. Yet, it was not until the 2013 Rana Plaza incident, which killed over a thousand workers, that the world's attention focused on the issues of health and safety of female garment workers in Banglades...
Over the past few decades, climate change has emerged as a significant global problem. The Interg... more Over the past few decades, climate change has emerged as a significant global problem. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) concluded that warming of the climate system is unequivocal and that warming will continue throughout this century and beyond 2100 (IPCC, 2013). Changes in climate have presented a considerable risk for environment and health on all continents (IPCC, 2014f; Kirch et al., 2005; Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). The impacts of climate change are most evident from recent climate-related extremes, such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and cyclones (IPCC, 2013). These extreme weather events have significant impacts upon ecosystems, communities and human health, including disruption of food production and water supply, damage to infrastructure and settlements, morbidity and mortality, and consequences for mental health and human well-being (McGeehin & Mirabelli, 2001).The Guangxi government has developed its own action plan ...
Many large-scaled pandemics and disease outbreaks have been recorded in human history, causing en... more Many large-scaled pandemics and disease outbreaks have been recorded in human history, causing enormous negative impacts on health, economies, and even affecting international security in the world. Recent years have seen many rapidly spreading outbreaks such as the Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, SARS, H5N1 influenza, H1N1 influenza, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Ebola and the Zika virus. Not all of these diseases are new, but population movements have increased in both scale and speed, so there are greater risks that infectious diseases will spread rapidly to multiple countries. Pandemic crises have had serious consequences on health, tourism, travel, trade and have even caused significant political and social disruptions. Thus, effective public health emergency management to prevent and control pandemics is very important. For effective emergency management of pandemics, which are inherently unpredictable and widespread, preparedness, timely decision-making and comprehe...
In a world of globalisation and massive health inequalities, international cooperation is a power... more In a world of globalisation and massive health inequalities, international cooperation is a powerful tool for the management of global health. Moreover, because of the need for global health security, international cooperation for health can be seen as an important aspect of foreign policy. A major threat to global health security is infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, which have become significant threats to the development and the economic and social stability of developing countries. These diseases need global partnerships for international cooperation. The response to the challenges such as HIV/AIDS depends on partnerships that lead to effective cooperation of various sectors – international organisations, government, non-government organisations, and business enterprises. No single sector has either the resources or the capacity to work effectively to address complex health problems. Partnerships have many benefits, such as providing opportunities to share workloads and reso...
Malaria is one of the key research concerns in climate change-health relationships. Numerous risk... more Malaria is one of the key research concerns in climate change-health relationships. Numerous risk assessments and modelling studies providing evidence that the transmission range of malaria will expand with rising temperatures resulting in adverse impacts on vulnerable communities. This risk is significant in East Africa whereby current research shows an expansion of malaria into the highland areas due to changes in temperature and rainfall. While there exist multiple lines of evidence for the influence of climate change on malaria and the risk posed to vulnerable communities, there is insufficient understanding of the complexity of factors influencing the spread of the disease at the community level. This paper considers assessment of risk of malaria infection due to climate change, from systems perspective. Drawing upon published literature, we apply systems approach to propose a detailed conceptual model that illustrates causal relationships between the multiple drivers of malaria transmission in line with the current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendations for risk and vulnerability assessments. We suggest that this framework can be applied at a community level using both quantitative and qualitative methods with stakeholder engagement and in conjunction with Bayesian Belief Network to models to: explore how policy and management interventions can reduce the risk of malaria infection and; provide targeted adaptation strategies that incorporates both the scientific and the community perspectives.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has emerged as a majo... more Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has emerged as a major global health threat in the last three decades (UNAIDS and WHO, 2013). Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV increases the risk of HIV being transmitted from high risk populations to the general population, taking a heavy toll on children’s health (UNICEF, 2013). Prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) measures have effectively reduced the risk of MTCT in many developed countries; however difficulties in service delivery and various access issues impede implementation of PMTCT in resource limited countries (UNICEF and WHO, 2013), including China. Hence, it is imperative that we investigate better ways to implement PMTCT to reduce the risk of MTCT of HIV. A priority strategy to reduce MTCT of HIV promoted by WHO is the integration of HIV prevention and treatment services with maternal and child health services (WHO, 2011b). This requires a shift in the management model from providing stand-alon...
The 6th GOHNET Newsletter treats the topic of workplace health promotion (WHP). WHP has a history... more The 6th GOHNET Newsletter treats the topic of workplace health promotion (WHP). WHP has a history of a few decades. In the 1970s the concept focused on changing a single lifestyle habit or behaviour of the individual. The 1980s were dominated by more comprehensive wellness programmes at work, but still focused on the individual. The 1990s brought an interdisciplinary approach involving for the first time workers and management collectively trying to create a health-promoting workplace. The scope of work issues addressed cover environmental, social, ergonomic, and organisational work issues, as well as individual, family and community health issues. The trend is to view the worker in a holistic manner and not in a purely medical way as is the case in most occupational health services today.
Australia’s population is ageing rapidly with growing demands for health and aged care services. ... more Australia’s population is ageing rapidly with growing demands for health and aged care services. Providing these ageing populations with adequate, affordable and sustainable healthcare poses significant challenges for the government. It is even more challenging to plan for the upcoming large number of ageing and retiring baby boomers born between 1946 to 1964, who are the first generation to face the new ‘third’ age: a decade or two of longer life after retirement. Current aged care planning is largely based on data collected from previous generations with little focus on this bulging baby boomer generation, whose experiences and expectations greatly differ from those of the previous generations. Among the Australian baby boomer cohort are the growing culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations. Previous studies demonstrate that Australia’s CALD migrants’ social circumstances, language and cultural issues result in programs delivered failing to meet their needs. But few...
Practice, Progress, and Proficiency in Sustainability, 2021
Sustainable food systems can contribute to addressing food security, poverty alleviation, and eco... more Sustainable food systems can contribute to addressing food security, poverty alleviation, and economic growth. With 870 million people around the world being undernourished, and food shortages exacerbated by climate change, the United Nations, in 2013, made food security a priority. This study aimed to develop a food waste reduction program model to assist with designing and delivering effective responses in relevant institutions. This study conducted desktop review of literature, detailing proven practices in food waste management systems and synthesised key success factors. Three cases, from San Francisco, Taiwan, and South Korea, were chosen for further analysis because they have a proven track record of success. The study also proposes a program for designing, implementing, and evaluating future food waste management programs. The findings have identified significant policy opportunities for food waste management strategies and have provided an opportunity to develop food waste ...
Objective: More than 35 million people in coastal Bangladesh are vulnerable to increasing freshwa... more Objective: More than 35 million people in coastal Bangladesh are vulnerable to increasing freshwater salinization. This will continue to affect more people and to a greater extent as climate change projections are realised in this area. However the evidence for health effects of consuming high salinity potable water is limited. This research examined the association between high salinity potable water and blood pressure in young adults in coastal Bangladesh. Design and Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study during May-June 2014 in a rural coastal sub-district of Bangladesh. Data on BP and salinity of potable water sources was collected from 251 participants aged 19–25 years. A linear regression method was used to examine the association between water salinity exposure categories and systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) level. Results: Mean salinity concentration in drinking water was 817 mg/L, which was above the Bangladesh standard for salinity in drinking water. Multivariable linear regression analyses identified that compared to the low water salinity exposure category (< 600 mg/L), those in the high water salinity category (> 600 mg/L), had statistically significantly higher SBP (B 3.35, 95% CI 0.66, 6.05; p = 0.015) and DBP (B 2.85, 95% CI 0.40, 5.30; p = 0.023). Conclusions: Our research shows that elevated salinity in drinking water is associated with an increase in BP in young coastal populations. Blood pressure is an important biomarker of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Given the extent of salinization of freshwater in many low-lying countries including in Bangladesh, and the likely exacerbation related to climate change-induced sea level rise, implementation of preventative strategies through dietary interventions along with promotion of low saline drinking water must be a priority in these settings.
The Mekong Delta Region (MDR) in Vietnam is highly vulnerable to extreme weather related to clima... more The Mekong Delta Region (MDR) in Vietnam is highly vulnerable to extreme weather related to climate change. However there have been hardly any studies on temperature-hospitalization relationships. The objectives of this study were to examine temperature-hospitalization relationship and to evaluate the effects of socio-economic factors on the risk of hospitalizations due to high temperature in the MDR. The Generalized Linear and Distributed Lag Models were used to examine hospitalizations for extreme temperature for each of the 13 provinces in the MDR. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the pooled risk for all causes, and for infectious, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases sorted by sex and age groups. Random-effects meta-regression was used to evaluate the effect of socio-economic factors on the temperature-hospitalization association. For 1°C increase in average temperature, the risk of hospital admissions increased by 1.3% (95% CI, 0.9-1.8) for all causes, 2....
International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2021
Abstract Climate-related disasters are increasing across the globe, but their adverse health impa... more Abstract Climate-related disasters are increasing across the globe, but their adverse health impacts are unevenly distributed. The people most severely affected tend to be from socio-economically disadvantaged, vulnerable populations, who have high exposure to risk conditions and insufficient adaptive capacity. Despite the increasing health impacts of climate change and disaster risks felt in Asian countries such as China, Indonesia and Vietnam, there are few attempts to access and translate literature and evidence on climate-related disasters and adaptation activities from non-English speaking countries. Conducted by a multi-country project team, this review aims to better understand the current literature and to study gaps in these three countries through an extensive search of literature, in English, Chinese, Indonesian and Vietnamese. Through a systematic review process a total of 298 studies out of 10,139 were included in this study. Key findings confirm that all three countries have experienced increasing climate-related disasters with their associated health impacts, and that adaptation strategies are urgently needed to reduce the risk and vulnerability of the most affected populations. Future studies should consider conducting vulnerability assessments to inform translational research on developing effective adaptation strategies. Authors commented that a common challenge they found was the shortterm nature of disaster response mechanisms, and the lack of long-term investment and policy support for capacity building and multi-sectoral collaborative research that address the needs of populations vulnerable to climate-related disasters. Thus, to better prepare for future disasters, it is vital that governments and international agencies prioritize funding policies to fill this gap.
In recent years, Indonesia has experienced rapid increases in severe climate-related disasters ha... more In recent years, Indonesia has experienced rapid increases in severe climate-related disasters have dramatically impacted populations unevenly; the poor and the vulnerable populations are most affected, and adaptive measures are urgently needed to protect and mitigate the impact on their health. However, very little is known about the existing measures addressing climate-related disasters and health impacts among vulnerable groups. WHO established a Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management framework to urge governments and relevant actors to systematically collect evidence to develop science-based feasible adaptive strategies for priority groups. This study used scoping review methods to identify the action areas of Health-EDRM in policy documents in Indonesia, its content, and any potential gaps that require further study. The results from the documents’ review were then reported and discussed at a national stakeholder consultation meeting. This study has identified several ac...
Background To analysis the death and disease burden caused by high sugar-sweetened beverages inta... more Background To analysis the death and disease burden caused by high sugar-sweetened beverages intake in China from 1990 to 2019. Methods Data were obtained from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study. We analyzed the death cases caused by high sugar-sweetened beverages intake in China and provinces from 1990 to 2019, as well as the disease burden (including disability-adjusted of life year), years of life lost and years lived with disability, and compared the changes of death in 1990 and 2019. Results In 2019, the number of deaths attributed to sugar-sweetened beverages in China reached 46 633 with an increase of 95% compared with 1990. The proportion of deaths caused by excessive consumption of carbon-containing beverages increased from 0.34% in 1990 to 0.46% in 2019, an increase of 35%. In 2019, the top five provinces in China with more deaths caused by excessive intake of sugary beverages were Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Hunan and Guangdong, with the number of death cases 4337, 3881,...
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries brought the world significant technologi... more The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries brought the world significant technological and economic development, but also increasing energy consumption and pollution. The new factories around the world have become major users of both energy and virgin materials and producers of large amounts of hazardous waste and pollution. Although many countries have taken steps to address their environmental impacts through pollution prevention, cleaner production, and environmental management measures, industries at large still have not systematically addressed environmental issues either in the long term or in a comprehensive way. The concepts and philosophy of eco-industrial development (EID) have emerged as a useful approach to effectively manage pollution prevention and control towards sustainable development. To realise EID, the Eco-Industrial Park (EIP), is a promising strategy to promote sustainable industrial development and to improve the industries' environmental per...
Cervical cancer, which is caused by sexually-acquired persistent infection with high risk human p... more Cervical cancer, which is caused by sexually-acquired persistent infection with high risk human papillomavirus (HPV), continues to be a public health problem in the world, it being the second most common type of cancer among women. Nearly 87% of cervical cancer deaths occur in women living in developing countries, and China, because of its large population, carries a heavy burden of cervical cancer. Since the 1990s, there has been an increasing incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer in China, which currently accounts for 12% of new cases of cervical cancer in the world. Vaccinating girls before sexual debut and screening women for precancerous lesions can prevent cervical cancer. However, owing to the current high cost of HPV vaccinations, this is not an affordable or available option for many developing and low-income countries, including China. Moreover, the HPV vaccination is only effective for girls and young women before exposure to infection and only protects against ...
The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been surrounded by controversy regarding drug sa... more The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been surrounded by controversy regarding drug safety and to what extent it meets the health needs of menopausal women. HRT became the prevailing treatment in Western medicine for women with menopause-associated complaints, but a huge worldwide reduction in use began in July, 2002, following the release of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) reports warning of its risks. The implications of this large reduction on the health needs of menopausal women have not been fully appraised, particularly from the perspective of the women affected. This brings into question whether HRT use actually meets the health needs of menopausal women, and, indeed, what their health needs are. This study investigates the use of HRT by middle-aged women in Taiwan and their menopausal health needs in order to identify these and recommend comprehensive strategies to promote women's health and well-being. A broad and in-depth exploration of Taiwanese men...
In the 1980s, Bangladesh entered the global market by establishing export-oriented industries, th... more In the 1980s, Bangladesh entered the global market by establishing export-oriented industries, the largest of which was the ready-made garment (RMG) industry. This industry has recruited a mainly female workforce consisting of millions of poor women with little formal education. Coming from mainly rural areas, they are drawn to the cities to work in the RMG factories there. This group of women has normally assumed the traditional roles of stay-at home wife, mother or daughter, hence their engagement in paid work as migrant labourers presents a new challenge in the form of their having to fulfill 'dual roles'. Combined with workplace health and safety issues associated with the RMG industry, this can have significant implications for their physical health and mental wellbeing. Yet, it was not until the 2013 Rana Plaza incident, which killed over a thousand workers, that the world's attention focused on the issues of health and safety of female garment workers in Banglades...
Over the past few decades, climate change has emerged as a significant global problem. The Interg... more Over the past few decades, climate change has emerged as a significant global problem. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) concluded that warming of the climate system is unequivocal and that warming will continue throughout this century and beyond 2100 (IPCC, 2013). Changes in climate have presented a considerable risk for environment and health on all continents (IPCC, 2014f; Kirch et al., 2005; Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). The impacts of climate change are most evident from recent climate-related extremes, such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and cyclones (IPCC, 2013). These extreme weather events have significant impacts upon ecosystems, communities and human health, including disruption of food production and water supply, damage to infrastructure and settlements, morbidity and mortality, and consequences for mental health and human well-being (McGeehin & Mirabelli, 2001).The Guangxi government has developed its own action plan ...
Many large-scaled pandemics and disease outbreaks have been recorded in human history, causing en... more Many large-scaled pandemics and disease outbreaks have been recorded in human history, causing enormous negative impacts on health, economies, and even affecting international security in the world. Recent years have seen many rapidly spreading outbreaks such as the Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, SARS, H5N1 influenza, H1N1 influenza, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Ebola and the Zika virus. Not all of these diseases are new, but population movements have increased in both scale and speed, so there are greater risks that infectious diseases will spread rapidly to multiple countries. Pandemic crises have had serious consequences on health, tourism, travel, trade and have even caused significant political and social disruptions. Thus, effective public health emergency management to prevent and control pandemics is very important. For effective emergency management of pandemics, which are inherently unpredictable and widespread, preparedness, timely decision-making and comprehe...
In a world of globalisation and massive health inequalities, international cooperation is a power... more In a world of globalisation and massive health inequalities, international cooperation is a powerful tool for the management of global health. Moreover, because of the need for global health security, international cooperation for health can be seen as an important aspect of foreign policy. A major threat to global health security is infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, which have become significant threats to the development and the economic and social stability of developing countries. These diseases need global partnerships for international cooperation. The response to the challenges such as HIV/AIDS depends on partnerships that lead to effective cooperation of various sectors – international organisations, government, non-government organisations, and business enterprises. No single sector has either the resources or the capacity to work effectively to address complex health problems. Partnerships have many benefits, such as providing opportunities to share workloads and reso...
Malaria is one of the key research concerns in climate change-health relationships. Numerous risk... more Malaria is one of the key research concerns in climate change-health relationships. Numerous risk assessments and modelling studies providing evidence that the transmission range of malaria will expand with rising temperatures resulting in adverse impacts on vulnerable communities. This risk is significant in East Africa whereby current research shows an expansion of malaria into the highland areas due to changes in temperature and rainfall. While there exist multiple lines of evidence for the influence of climate change on malaria and the risk posed to vulnerable communities, there is insufficient understanding of the complexity of factors influencing the spread of the disease at the community level. This paper considers assessment of risk of malaria infection due to climate change, from systems perspective. Drawing upon published literature, we apply systems approach to propose a detailed conceptual model that illustrates causal relationships between the multiple drivers of malaria transmission in line with the current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendations for risk and vulnerability assessments. We suggest that this framework can be applied at a community level using both quantitative and qualitative methods with stakeholder engagement and in conjunction with Bayesian Belief Network to models to: explore how policy and management interventions can reduce the risk of malaria infection and; provide targeted adaptation strategies that incorporates both the scientific and the community perspectives.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has emerged as a majo... more Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has emerged as a major global health threat in the last three decades (UNAIDS and WHO, 2013). Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV increases the risk of HIV being transmitted from high risk populations to the general population, taking a heavy toll on children’s health (UNICEF, 2013). Prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) measures have effectively reduced the risk of MTCT in many developed countries; however difficulties in service delivery and various access issues impede implementation of PMTCT in resource limited countries (UNICEF and WHO, 2013), including China. Hence, it is imperative that we investigate better ways to implement PMTCT to reduce the risk of MTCT of HIV. A priority strategy to reduce MTCT of HIV promoted by WHO is the integration of HIV prevention and treatment services with maternal and child health services (WHO, 2011b). This requires a shift in the management model from providing stand-alon...
The 6th GOHNET Newsletter treats the topic of workplace health promotion (WHP). WHP has a history... more The 6th GOHNET Newsletter treats the topic of workplace health promotion (WHP). WHP has a history of a few decades. In the 1970s the concept focused on changing a single lifestyle habit or behaviour of the individual. The 1980s were dominated by more comprehensive wellness programmes at work, but still focused on the individual. The 1990s brought an interdisciplinary approach involving for the first time workers and management collectively trying to create a health-promoting workplace. The scope of work issues addressed cover environmental, social, ergonomic, and organisational work issues, as well as individual, family and community health issues. The trend is to view the worker in a holistic manner and not in a purely medical way as is the case in most occupational health services today.
Australia’s population is ageing rapidly with growing demands for health and aged care services. ... more Australia’s population is ageing rapidly with growing demands for health and aged care services. Providing these ageing populations with adequate, affordable and sustainable healthcare poses significant challenges for the government. It is even more challenging to plan for the upcoming large number of ageing and retiring baby boomers born between 1946 to 1964, who are the first generation to face the new ‘third’ age: a decade or two of longer life after retirement. Current aged care planning is largely based on data collected from previous generations with little focus on this bulging baby boomer generation, whose experiences and expectations greatly differ from those of the previous generations. Among the Australian baby boomer cohort are the growing culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations. Previous studies demonstrate that Australia’s CALD migrants’ social circumstances, language and cultural issues result in programs delivered failing to meet their needs. But few...
Practice, Progress, and Proficiency in Sustainability, 2021
Sustainable food systems can contribute to addressing food security, poverty alleviation, and eco... more Sustainable food systems can contribute to addressing food security, poverty alleviation, and economic growth. With 870 million people around the world being undernourished, and food shortages exacerbated by climate change, the United Nations, in 2013, made food security a priority. This study aimed to develop a food waste reduction program model to assist with designing and delivering effective responses in relevant institutions. This study conducted desktop review of literature, detailing proven practices in food waste management systems and synthesised key success factors. Three cases, from San Francisco, Taiwan, and South Korea, were chosen for further analysis because they have a proven track record of success. The study also proposes a program for designing, implementing, and evaluating future food waste management programs. The findings have identified significant policy opportunities for food waste management strategies and have provided an opportunity to develop food waste ...
Objective: More than 35 million people in coastal Bangladesh are vulnerable to increasing freshwa... more Objective: More than 35 million people in coastal Bangladesh are vulnerable to increasing freshwater salinization. This will continue to affect more people and to a greater extent as climate change projections are realised in this area. However the evidence for health effects of consuming high salinity potable water is limited. This research examined the association between high salinity potable water and blood pressure in young adults in coastal Bangladesh. Design and Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study during May-June 2014 in a rural coastal sub-district of Bangladesh. Data on BP and salinity of potable water sources was collected from 251 participants aged 19–25 years. A linear regression method was used to examine the association between water salinity exposure categories and systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) level. Results: Mean salinity concentration in drinking water was 817 mg/L, which was above the Bangladesh standard for salinity in drinking water. Multivariable linear regression analyses identified that compared to the low water salinity exposure category (< 600 mg/L), those in the high water salinity category (> 600 mg/L), had statistically significantly higher SBP (B 3.35, 95% CI 0.66, 6.05; p = 0.015) and DBP (B 2.85, 95% CI 0.40, 5.30; p = 0.023). Conclusions: Our research shows that elevated salinity in drinking water is associated with an increase in BP in young coastal populations. Blood pressure is an important biomarker of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Given the extent of salinization of freshwater in many low-lying countries including in Bangladesh, and the likely exacerbation related to climate change-induced sea level rise, implementation of preventative strategies through dietary interventions along with promotion of low saline drinking water must be a priority in these settings.
The Mekong Delta Region (MDR) in Vietnam is highly vulnerable to extreme weather related to clima... more The Mekong Delta Region (MDR) in Vietnam is highly vulnerable to extreme weather related to climate change. However there have been hardly any studies on temperature-hospitalization relationships. The objectives of this study were to examine temperature-hospitalization relationship and to evaluate the effects of socio-economic factors on the risk of hospitalizations due to high temperature in the MDR. The Generalized Linear and Distributed Lag Models were used to examine hospitalizations for extreme temperature for each of the 13 provinces in the MDR. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the pooled risk for all causes, and for infectious, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases sorted by sex and age groups. Random-effects meta-regression was used to evaluate the effect of socio-economic factors on the temperature-hospitalization association. For 1°C increase in average temperature, the risk of hospital admissions increased by 1.3% (95% CI, 0.9-1.8) for all causes, 2....
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