Preventing COVID-19 and Its Sequela: "There Is No Magic Bullet... It's Just Behaviors"

The best way to prevent the potential tsunami of chronic complications and the associated increased healthcare costs of COVID-19 is by halting its transmission. The only evidence-based preventive strategy currently available to do this is population-wide behavior change. This AJPM Current Issue paper is a “Call to Action” to improve pandemic behavioral and social science research. Better behavioral intervention methods could contribute to suppressing further community transmission of the COVID-19 virus and thus prevent infection and sequela

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Global developments in competencies & certification

Determining standards for a competent workforce is an involved process which can be affected by societal changes and policy systems of the country or geographic area. In the U.S., the voluntary Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) credential as conferred by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC) has been in existence since 1989 and an advanced-level certification, the Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES) was added in 2011. Since 2010, the South Korean government endorsed a certification examination, the Korean Certified Health Education Specialist Association examination. In the UK, the UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH) has recently completed an extensive two year review of the specialty training curriculum for public health in the UK, completion of which leads to inclusion on one of the specialist registers for public health in the UK and eligibility to apply for senior public health posts. The Australian Health Promotion Association has currently set up a working sub-committee to develop guidelines on accreditation for Australia. The sub-committee is currently investigating international accreditation standards and the implementation of these in the Australian context. Collectively, the lessons learned from various competency development, certification and accreditation approaches across the globe can influence future efforts to ensure a competent global health education/promotion workforce

Toward international collaboration on credentialing in health promotion and health education: the galway consensus conference

The interest in competencies, standards, and quality assurance in the professional preparation of public health professionals whose work involves health promotion and health education dates back several decades. In Australia, Europe, and North America, where the interest in credentialing has gained momentum, there have been rapidly evolving efforts to codify competencies and standards of practice as well as the processes by which quality and accountability can be ensured in academic professional preparation programs. The Galway Consensus Conference was conceived as a first step in an effort to explore the development of an international consensus regarding the core competencies of health education specialists and professionals in health promotion and the commonalities and differences in establishing uniform standards for the accreditation of academic professional preparation programs around the world. This article describes the purposes, objectives, and process of the Galway Consensus Conference and the background to the meeting that was convened