930 research outputs found
Cities and population health.
A majority of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2007 and cities are exerting growing influence on the health of both urban and non-urban residents. Although there long has been substantial interest in the associations between city living and health, relatively little work has tried to understand how and why cities affect population health. This reflects both the number and complexity of determinants and of the absence of a unified framework that integrates the multiple factors that influence the health of urban populations. This paper presents a conceptual framework for studying how urban living affects population health. The framework rests on the assumption that urban populations are defined by size, density, diversity, and complexity, and that health in urban populations is a function of living conditions that are in turn shaped by municipal determinants and global and national trends. The framework builds on previous urban health research and incorporates multiple determinants at different levels. It is intended to serve as a model to guide public health research and intervention
Reforming and Strengthening the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Five Key Reforms to Renew the Agencyâs Stature and Effectiveness
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the worldâs leading public health agency, so admired that whole regions and countries have borrowed its nameâin Africa, Europe, even China. In past epidemics, CDCâs expertise was transformative, such as in AIDS, Ebola, Zika, and Influenza H1N1. If there ever were a moment for the CDC to show leadership domestically and globally, it was the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the CDCâs stature was diminishedânot enhancedâin an administration that not only eschewed science and politically pressured the CDC, but also gave notice of withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), where CDC staff were firmly embedded. Recognizing where the CDC fell short in 2020 can inform the Biden Administration how to reform and strengthen the nationâs public health agency. Deep structural reform should occur in at least five critical areas
Disasters and the Health of Urban Populations
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40356/2/Galea_Disasters and the Health of Urban_2005.pd
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The health of Arab-Americans living in the United States: a systematic review of the literature
Background: Despite substantial attention paid to Arab-Americans (AAs) in the media and in public discourse, there is limited research about the health of AAs in the United States (US) in the public health literature. This review aims to synthesize the extant peer-reviewed literature concerned with the health of AAs living in the US. Methods: We summarize existing research on the prevalence, relative burden compared to other ethnic and racial groups, and determinants of diseases within each morbidity cluster among AAs living in the US. Results: Available evidence suggests that the health of AAs may differ from that of other ethnic and racial groups in the US, and that exposures specific to this ethnic group, such as immigration, acculturation, and discrimination may be important in the etiology of several diseases among AAs. Conclusion: Given the growth of this ethnic group and its marginalization in the current sociopolitical climate, more research about the health of AAs in the US seems warranted. We summarize relevant methodological concerns and suggest avenues for future research
Health Have, Health Have Nots in a Time of COVID-19
In this brief, my goal is to talk about something which has animated a lot of my thinking and writing in the past decade. It is how our health is fundamentally socially patterned and reflects the world around us. This has been true for decades in this country, and one could also argue, globally, however this brief will focus on this topic at the national level. As you will see, I will talk mostly of health haves and health have nots in general, but as we progress, show how COVID-19 has made this evermore apparent
On the diversity of ideas in academic spaces
Universities and other academic spaces are social institutions that exist primarily for ideasâto generate, curate, and transmit ideas to students and to the world. Academic spaces cannot carry out that function without supporting a diversity of perspectives. At the same time, universities must reckonâas must all social institutionsâwith changing norms around how to engage with ideas that challenge, provoke, even anger members of the communities dedicated to their discussion. It is on these institutions to listen to and learn from these ideas, consistent with their core function, while engaging pragmatically with the challenges and controversies that can arise whenever ideas are regularly and freely aired. While there should indeed be limits to the range of tolerable expression within universities, the imposition of these limits should happen rarely, with caution and humility. It is important that academic institutions recognize that while contemporary preoccupations that influence our engagement with speech may change, the secret to universitiesâ durability over the centuries is that our core purposeâthe generation and exploration of ideasâdoes, and should, not. This inherent value for societies is worth preserving, even, and particularly, in the face of societal pressure and change
Understanding the health of populations and of individuals
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58773/1/galea_understanding the health of populations_2008.pd
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Changes in Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Prescription Rates Following a Terrorist Attack
Differences in the determinants of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression after a mass traumatic event
Background: Hurricane Ike struck the Galveston Bay area of Texas on September 13, 2008, leaving substantial destruction and a number of deaths in its wake. We assessed differences in the determinants of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression after this event, including the particular hurricane experiences, including postevent nontraumatic stressors, that were associated with these pathologies. Methods: 658 adults who had been living in Galveston and Chambers counties, TX in the month before Hurricane Ike were interviewed 2â5 months after the hurricane. We collected information on experiences during and after Hurricane Ike, PTSD and depressive symptoms in the month before the interview, and socioâdemographic characteristics. Results: The prevalence of past month hurricaneârelated PTSD and depression was 6.1 and 4.9%, respectively. Hurricane experiences, but not socioâdemographic characteristics, were associated with Ikeârelated PTSD. By contrast, lower education and household income, and more lifetime stressors were associated with depression, as were hurricane exposures and hurricaneârelated stressors. When looking at specific hurricaneârelated stressors, loss or damage of sentimental possessions was associated with both PTSD and depression; however, health problems related to Ike were associated only with PTSD, whereas financial loss as a result of the hurricane was associated only with depression. Conclusions: PTSD is indeed a disorder of event exposure, whereas risk of depression is more clearly driven by personal vulnerability and exposure to stressors. The role of nontraumatic stressors in shaping risk of both pathologies suggests that alleviating stressors after disasters has clear potential to mitigate the psychological sequelae of these events. Depression and Anxiety, 2011. © 2011 WileyâLiss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87144/1/20838_ftp.pd
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