From homeland to home: Widening Participation through the LEAP Macquarie Mentoring (Refugee Mentoring) Program

Mentoring is often conceptualised as a one-to-one interaction between peers, or as an academic to student interaction, with the aim of developing self-esteem, connectedness, identity, and academic attitudes within one party. While various researchers have provided support for effectiveness of mentoring in fostering the aforementioned qualities, limited studies have looked at the impacts of outreach mentoring programs. This article examines the impact of the LEAP-Macquarie Mentoring (Refugee Mentoring) program on high school students from refugee backgrounds who are mentees on the program and on the university students who are mentors on the program. A qualitative study was completed involving five focus groups, individual and semi structured interviews with 54 mentees and diary analysis of 45 mentors. Transcripts of interview and focus groups were analysed using a grounded approach. Key findings highlighted that the LEAP-Macquarie Mentoring (Refugee Mentoring) program supported both mentors and mentees in making a smooth personal, social, and academic transition from high school to university, helped them develop leadership potential, and provided them with a connection to community

The Macro-Micro Nexus in Scaling-Up Aid: The Case of HIV and AIDS Control in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia

About 33 million people currently live with HIV. The disease has reduced life expectancy by about 20 years. Nearly 12 million children are orphaned. It is now well established that the epidemic demands an immediate increase in resources. The main questions that arise are where the resources will come from, and whether they can be fully spent and absorbed. One major source of financing for HIV and AIDS control is external aid. A recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) computed the macroeconomic implications of scaling-up aid as promised by the G-8 at Gleneagles. The assessments for Benin, Niger and Togo indicate that scaling-up aid will put moderate to sizable pressure on inflation and exchange rates (IMF, 2008).The Macro-Micro Nexus in Scaling-Up Aid: The Case of HIV and AIDS Control in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia

Book review of "The Ethics of Coercion in Mass Casualty Medicine" by Griffin Trotter MD, PhD

Public health ethics is neither taught widely in medical schools or schools of public health in the US or around the world. It is not surprising that health care professionals are particularly challenged when faced with ethical questions which extend beyond safeguarding the interests of their individual patients to matters that affect overall public good. The perceived threat of terror after September 11 2007, the anthrax attacks and the Katrina debacle are recent circumstances which may result in coercion. These have piqued the interest of medical professionals and the general public on public health ethics. The Ethics of Coercion in Mass Casualty Medicine written by Griffin Trotter MD, PhD attempts to fill a timely void in this area by examining the ethics of coercion in times of public health disasters

Providing antiretroviral care in conflict settings.

There has been an historic expectation that delivering combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) to populations affected by violent conflict is untenable due to population movement and separation of drug supplies. There is now emerging evidence that cART provision can be successful in these populations. Using examples from Médecins Sans Frontières experience in a variety of African settings and also local nongovernmental organizations' experiences in northern Uganda, we examine novel approaches that have ensured retention in programs and adequate adherence. Emerging guidelines from United Nations bodies now support the expansion of cART in settings of conflict

An overview of the benefits and drawbacks of inhaled corticosteroids in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Sonal Singh1, Yoon K Loke21Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; 2School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich, EnglandBackground: The benefit harm profile of inhaled corticosteroids, and their effect on patient oriented outcomes and comorbid pneumonia, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease remain uncertain.Methods: An overview of the evidence on the risks and benefits of inhaled corticosteroids (fluticasone and budesonide) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from recent randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews. Observational studies on adverse effects were also evaluated.Results: Evidence from recent meta-analysis suggests a modest benefit from inhaled corticosteroid long-acting beta-agonist combination inhalers on the frequency of exacerbations, (rate ratio [RR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.78 to 0.88), in improvements in quality of life measures, and forced expiratory volume in one second when compared to long-acting beta-agonists alone. On the outcome of pneumonia, our updated meta-analysis of trials (n = 24 trials; RR, 1.56; 95% CI: 1.40–1.74, P < 0.0001) and observational studies (n = 4 studies; RR, 1.44; 95% CI: 1.20–1.75, P = 0.0001) shows a significant increase in the risk of pneumonia with the inhaled corticosteroids currently available (fluticasone and budesonide). Evidence for any intraclass differences in the risk of pneumonia between currently available formulations is inconclusive due to the absence of head to head trials. Inhaled corticosteroids have no cardiovascular effects.Conclusions: Among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, clinicians should carefully balance these long-term risks of inhaled corticosteroid against their symptomatic benefits.Keywords: inhaled corticosteroids, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, cardiovascular event

O Nexo Macro-micro no Incremento da Ajuda: o caso do Controle de HIV eAIDS no Quênia, Maláui e Zâmbia

O Nexo Macro-micro no Incremento da Ajuda: o caso do Controle de HIV eAIDS no Quênia, Maláui e Zâmbia

Health, human rights, and the conduct of clinical research within oppressed populations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Clinical trials evaluating interventions for infectious diseases require enrolling participants that are vulnerable to infection. As clinical trials are conducted in increasingly vulnerable populations, issues of protection of these populations become challenging. In settings where populations are forseeably oppressed, the conduct of research requires considerations that go beyond common ethical concerns and into issues of international human rights law.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Using examples of HIV prevention trials in Thailand, hepatitis-E prevention trials in Nepal and malaria therapeutic trials in Burma (Myanmar), we address the inadequacies of current ethical guidelines when conducting research within oppressed populations. We review existing legislature in the United States and United Kingdom that may be used against foreign investigators if trial hardships exist. We conclude by making considerations for research conducted within oppressed populations.</p

El Nexo Macro y Microeconómico en el Aumento de la Asistencia: El Caso del Control del VIH y el SIDA en Kenia, Malaui y Zambia

El Nexo Macro y Microeconómico en el Aumento de la Asistencia: El Caso del Control del VIH y el SIDA en Kenia, Malaui y Zambia

Case Study: Pacific Green Industries (Fiji) Limited: Pacific Palmwood Furnitures Green Approach

Pacific Green is a green furniture company producing up-market furniture made from senile coconut trees. This paper explores the unique characteristics of this company and its success in world markets. Originally operating only in Fiji, the company now sources finished wood from Fiji and carries out its manufacturing assembly operations in China. It has showrooms across the world. The paper also highlights issues which need to be further explored, including concerns from the fast growing coconut oil skin care industry in Fiji about continued availability of high quality coconut oil, since senile trees still produce at a reduced but reasonable rate and no formal replanting program is in place. Coconut oil is also being considered as a viable source of biofuel, placing further pressure on future coconut availability