Global health action
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Global health action · Jan 2014
Obesogenic television food advertising to children in Malaysia: sociocultural variations.
Food advertising on television (TV) is well known to influence children's purchasing requests and models negative food habits in Western countries. Advertising of unhealthy foods is a contributor to the obesogenic environment that is a key driver of rising rates of childhood obesity. Children in developing countries are more at risk of being targeted by such advertising, as there is a huge potential for market growth of unhealthy foods concomitant with poor regulatory infrastructure. Further, in developing countries with multi-ethnic societies, information is scarce on the nature of TV advertising targeting children. ⋯ This study highlights non-core food advertising, and predominantly sugary drinks are commonly screened on Malaysian TV channels. The majority of these sugary drinks were advertised by multinational companies, and this observation warrants regulatory attention.
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Global health action · Jan 2014
Medicalization of global health 1: has the global health agenda become too medicalized?
Medicalization analyses have roots in sociology and have critical usefulness for understanding contemporary health issues including the 'post-2015 global health agenda'. Medicalization is more complex than just 'disease mongering'--it is a process and not only an outcome; has both positive and negative elements; can be partial rather than complete; and is often sought or challenged by patients or others in the health field. ⋯ In subsequent articles, three case studies are explored, which critically examine predominant issues on the global health agenda: global mental health, non-communicable disease, and universal health coverage. A medicalization lens helps uncover areas where the global health agenda and its framing of problems are shifted toward medical and technical solutions, neglecting necessary social, community, or political action.
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Global mental health (GMH) advocates for access to and the equitable provision of mental health care. Although the treatment gap is a useful construct to measure access and equitability of care, it fails to communicate the real-life consequences of the treatment gap and the urgent need to address care disparities. ⋯ GMH has a key role to play in addressing the treatment gap, which improves the life of people with mental disorders, their families, and their communities. However, national-level policy support and coordination are essential for any realistic improvement in treatment coverage. The reflections offered through the case examples may have utility in similar low-income settings.
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Global health action · Jan 2014
The association between insurance status and in-hospital mortality on the public medical wards of a Kenyan referral hospital.
Observational data in the United States suggests that those without health insurance have a higher mortality and worse health outcomes. A linkage between insurance coverage and outcomes in hospitalized patients has yet to be demonstrated in resource-poor settings. ⋯ Among adult patients hospitalized in a public referral hospital in Kenya, insurance coverage was associated with decreased in-hospital mortality. This association was comparable to the relationship between HIV and mortality. Extension of insurance coverage may yield substantial benefits for population health.
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Global health action · Jan 2014
ReviewClosing the mental health treatment gap in South Africa: a review of costs and cost-effectiveness.
Nearly one in three South Africans will suffer from a mental disorder in his or her lifetime, a higher prevalence than many low- and middle-income countries. Understanding the economic costs and consequences of prevention and packages of care is essential, particularly as South Africa considers scaling-up mental health services and works towards universal health coverage. Economic evaluations can inform how priorities are set in system or spending changes. ⋯ Reviewed studies indicate that integrating mental health care into existing health systems may be the most effective and cost-efficient approach to increase access to mental health services in South Africa. Integration would also direct treatment, prevention, and screening to people with HIV and other chronic health conditions who are at high risk for mental disorders. We identify four major knowledge gaps: 1) accurate and thorough assessment of the health burdens of MNS disorders, 2) design and assessment of interventions that integrate mental health screening and treatment into existing health systems, 3) information on the use and costs of traditional medicines, and 4) cost-effectiveness evaluation of a range of specific interventions or packages of interventions that are tailored to the national context.