Communication and marketing as tools to cultivate the public's health: a proposed "people and places" framework

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Communication and marketing are rapidly becoming recognized as core functions, or core competencies, in the field of public health. Although these disciplines have fostered considerable academic inquiry, a coherent sense of precisely how these disciplines can inform the practice of public health has been slower to emerge.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>In this article we propose a framework – based on contemporary ecological models of health – to explain how communication and marketing can be used to advance public health objectives. The framework identifies the attributes of people (as individuals, as social networks, and as communities or populations) and places that influence health behaviors and health. Communication, i.e., the provision of information, can be used in a variety of ways to foster beneficial change among both people (e.g., activating social support for smoking cessation among peers) and places (e.g., convincing city officials to ban smoking in public venues). Similarly, marketing, i.e., the development, distribution and promotion of products and services, can be used to foster beneficial change among both people (e.g., by making nicotine replacement therapy more accessible and affordable) and places (e.g., by providing city officials with model anti-tobacco legislation that can be adapted for use in their jurisdiction).</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>Public health agencies that use their communication and marketing resources effectively to support people in making healthful decisions and to foster health-promoting environments have considerable opportunity to advance the public's health, even within the constraints of their current resource base.</p

Pine heartwood and glass surfaces: easy method to test the fate of bacterial contamination

Wooden surfaces in interior use hold potential for improving human health and wellbeing. The antibacterial properties of wood might reduce the possibility of cross-contamination from surfaces. In order to be able to control the hygienic quality of the wooden surface, the antibacterial effect should be better understood. The main aim of this thesis was to identify and evaluate the antibacterial properties of wood and its components.  Different methods were developed and used to study the antibacterial properties of Scots pine and Norway spruce, heartwood and sapwood. The solid wood surface showed clear antibacterial properties, even when the extractives had been removed with acetone. Studies with the extracts showed several human pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, to be susceptible to pine heartwood and sapwood in particular, and also, to some extent, spruce. Besides extractives, lignin was the only separate wood component showing antibacterial properties. Wood volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which were studied in gaseous form, showed an antibacterial effect against various human pathogens.  Several antibacterial compounds were found in all the extracts, however, they did not always explain the order of antibacterial activity between wood species. No single compound could alone explain the effect, hence the antibacterial effect derives either from different mechanisms in different species or from a synergistic effect. α-pinene and limonene could partly explain the antibacterial effect of the VOCs, but other components were also found to have an influence.  Wood was found to have various antibacterial parts and a diverse range of bacterial pathogens that were sensitive to it. These results offer a good ground for the exploitation of the hygienic properties of wood and a good starting point for enhancing them further. Additionally, the extracts showed promising qualities and they should be studied further in regard to resistant pathogens.Puupinnat sisätiloissa vaikuttavat positiivisesti ihmisten terveyteen ja hyvinvointiin. Puun antibakteeriset ominaisuudet saattavat vähentää pintojen kautta tapahtuvan kontaminaation todennäköisyyttä. Antibakteeristen ominaisuuksien parempi ymmärrys mahdollistaa puupintojen hygieenisen laadun paremman hallinnan. Tämän väitöskirjan päätavoite oli selvittää puun ja sen komponenttien antibakteerisia ominaisuuksia.  Männyn ja kuusen sydän- ja pintapuun antibakteerisuuden tutkimiseen käytettiin osin tätä työtä varten kehitettyjä menetelmiä. Puupinnan todettiin olevan antibakteerinen myös silloin, kun puun uuteaineet oli poistettu asetonilla. Uutteiden tarkempi tutkimus osoitti erityisesti männyn sydän- ja pintapuun, mutta jonkin verran myös kuusen uutteiden ehkäisevän useiden tautia aiheuttavien bakteereiden mm. metisilliinille resistentin Staphylococcus aureuksen (MRSA) kasvua. Uutteiden lisäksi ligniini oli ainoa erillinen komponentti, jolla todettiin antibakteerisia ominaisuuksia. Puusta haihtuvilla orgaanisilla yhdisteillä (VOC) todettiin antibakteerisia ominaisuuksia useita tautia aiheuttavia bakteerikantoja kohtaan.  Kaikissa uutteissa todettiin useita antibakteerisia yhdisteitä, mutta niiden määrä ei aina selittänyt eri puulajien antibakteerisuutta suhteessa toisiin puulajeihin. Mikään yksittäinen yhdiste ei yksin selittänyt antibakteerista vaikutusta, joten ilmiö johtuu joko eri puulajeilla eri mekanismeista tai synergisistä vaikutuksista. α-pineeni ja limoneeni selittivät osin VOCien antibakteerisia ominaisuuksia, mutta myös muilla yhdisteillä todettiin olevan vaikutusta.  Puun antibakteerisuuden todettiin johtuvan useista eri aineista ja tehoavan useisiin eri bakteereihin. Nämä tulokset tarjoavat hyvän lähtökohdan puun hygieenisten ominaisuuksien hyödyntämiseen ja niiden kehittämiseen. Uutteet osoittautuivat myös tehokkaiksi ja niiden ominaisuuksia erityisesti suhteessa resistentteihin bakteereihin kannattaisi tutkia lisää