Global health action
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Global health action · Jan 2014
Is enough attention given to climate change in health service planning? An Australian perspective.
Within an Australian context, the medium to long-term health impacts of climate change are likely to be wide, varied and amplify many existing disorders and health inequities. How the health system responds to these challenges will be best considered in the context of existing health facilities and services. This paper provides a snapshot of the understanding that Australian health planners have of the potential health impacts of climate change. ⋯ With the best available evidence pointing towards there being significant health impacts as a result of climate change, now is the time to undertake proactive service planning that address market failures within the health system. If considered planning is not undertaken then Australian health system can only deal with climate change in an expensive ad hoc, crisis management manner. Without meeting the challenges of climate change to the health system head on, Australia will remain unprepared for the health impacts of climate change with negative consequences for the health of the Australian population.
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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.