Some observations on the assessment of preventive technologies

The articles in this issue of the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care (IJTAHC) have explored the assessment of preventive health technologies. When considered together, these technologies provide an interesting contrast with the health care technologies that are usually evaluated on these pages. Disease prevention and its twin, health promotion, are usually practiced on a well population. Thus, many persons have the technology applied to them but only a fraction of these would have acquired the condition being prevented. Often the intervention is applied to populations rather than to individuals. The unit cost for preventive technologies is usually far less than that of diagnostic or therapeutic technologies. However, when multiplied by the larger population to be involved in the prevention program, the total costs can be considerable. In concluding this section on prevention, we would like to examine some of the larger areas of difference between preventive and other health technologies illustrated by the papers assembled her

Global visibility for global health: Is it time for a new descriptor in Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) of MEDLINE/PubMed?

Despite a large body of research in global health (almost 9000 articles published in PubMed until 2012), the term “global health” is not included in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) of the NLM – its controlled vocabulary thesaurus which NLM uses to index articles in MEDL INE. There are only 6 journals currently covered by PubMed which specialize in global health, including Journal of Global Health

IANPHI - Komentar

U siječnju 2006, lideri Nacionalnih Instituta za Javno Zdravstvo (IANPHI) iz cijelog svijeta su se okupili u Rio de Janeiru, u Brazili, da bi održali svoju treću konferenciju nakon Belaggia 2002 i Helsinkija 2004. Na ovom sastanku   je pokrenuto dotadašnje neformalno okupljanje u službenu organizaciju i održano povijesni prvi Generalni sastanak IANPHI. Rasprava i povezivanje je omogućeno izuzetnom gostoljubivošću Dr Paula Bussa, Direktora FIOCRUZa, Nacionalnog zavoda za zdravlje Brazila, i njegovih suradnika i provedeno je u tradiciji, specifičnosti i šarmu samog Instituta, jednog od najstarijih, najvećih i naj raznolikijeg od naših IANPHI članova. Tokom vrlo intenzivna tri dana, učesnici su izradili nacrt Statuta, izabrali Izvršni odbor i vodstvo i odobrili plan djelovanja za iduću godinu. Također smo imali sreću da su sudjelovali i visoki predstavnici Svjetske banke i našeg partnera u financiranju., Bill i Melinda Gates fondacije. Nakon sastanka u Rio 14 novih članova se pridružilo IANPHIu i sada imamo 39 članova-osnivača. Popis država i Instituta članica se nalazi na našem Webu

IANPHI - Komentar

U siječnju 2006, lideri Nacionalnih Instituta za Javno Zdravstvo (IANPHI) iz cijelog svijeta su se okupili u Rio de Janeiru, u Brazili, da bi održali svoju treću konferenciju nakon Belaggia 2002 i Helsinkija 2004. Na ovom sastanku   je pokrenuto dotadašnje neformalno okupljanje u službenu organizaciju i održano povijesni prvi Generalni sastanak IANPHI. Rasprava i povezivanje je omogućeno izuzetnom gostoljubivošću Dr Paula Bussa, Direktora FIOCRUZa, Nacionalnog zavoda za zdravlje Brazila, i njegovih suradnika i provedeno je u tradiciji, specifičnosti i šarmu samog Instituta, jednog od najstarijih, najvećih i naj raznolikijeg od naših IANPHI članova. Tokom vrlo intenzivna tri dana, učesnici su izradili nacrt Statuta, izabrali Izvršni odbor i vodstvo i odobrili plan djelovanja za iduću godinu. Također smo imali sreću da su sudjelovali i visoki predstavnici Svjetske banke i našeg partnera u financiranju., Bill i Melinda Gates fondacije. Nakon sastanka u Rio 14 novih članova se pridružilo IANPHIu i sada imamo 39 članova-osnivača. Popis država i Instituta članica se nalazi na našem Webu

Universal Masking in the United States: The Role of Mandates, Health Education, and the CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends cloth face coverings in public settings to prevent spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Face coverings decrease the amount of infectious virus exhaled into the environment, reducing the risk an exposed person will become infected.1 Although many states and localities have ordered mask use, considerable variability and inconsistencies exist. Would a national mandate be an effective COVID-19 prevention strategy, and would it be lawful? Given the patchwork of state pandemic responses, should the CDC have enhanced funding and powers to forge a nationally coordinated response to COVID-19 and to future health emergencies

The role of cities in reducing smoking in China

China is the epicenter of the global tobacco epidemic. China grows more tobacco, produces more cigarettes, makes more profits from tobacco and has more smokers than any other nation in the world. Approximately one million smokers in China die annually from diseases caused by smoking, and this estimate is expected to reach over two million by 2020. China cities have a unique opportunity and role to play in leading the tobacco control charge from the “bottom up”. The Emory Global Health Institute—China Tobacco Control Partnership supported 17 cities to establish tobacco control programs aimed at changing social norms for tobacco use. Program assessments showed the Tobacco Free Cities grantees’ progress in establishing tobacco control policies and raising public awareness through policies, programs and education activities have varied from modest to substantial. Lessons learned included the need for training and tailored technical support to build staff capacity and the importance of government and organizational support for tobacco control. Tobacco control, particularly in China, is complex, but the potential for significant public health impact is unparalleled. Cities have a critical role to play in changing social norms of tobacco use, and may be the driving force for social norm change related to tobacco use in China