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Objective To obtain insights into reducing the shortfall in financing for pandemic preparedness and response measures, and reducing the risk of another pandemic with social and economic costs comparable to those of the coronavirus disease. Methods We conducted a systematic scoping review using the databases ScienceDirect, Scopus, JSTOR, PubMed[R] and EconLit. We included articles published in any language until 1 August 2023, and excluded grey literature and publications on epidemics. We categorized eligible studies according to the elements of a framework proposed by the World Health Organization Council on the Economy of Health for All: (i) root/structural causes; (ii) social position/foundations; (iii) infrastructure and systems; and (iv) communities, households and individuals Findings Of the 188 initially identified articles, we included 60 in our review. Most (53/60) were published after 2020, when academic interest had shifted towards global financing mechanisms. Most (37/60) addressed two or more of the council framework elements. The most frequently addressed element was infrastructure and systems (54/60), discussing topics such as health systems, financial markets and innovation ecosystems. The roots/structural causes were discussed in 25 articles; communities, households and individuals in 22 articles; and social positions/foundations in 11. Conclusion Our review identified three important gaps: a formal definition of pandemic preparedness and response, impeding the accurate quantification of the financing shortfall; research on the extent to which financing for pandemic preparedness and response has been targeted at the most vulnerable households; and an analysis of specific financial instruments and an evaluation of the feasibility of their implementation. [phrase omitted] Objectif Mieux comprendre comment lutter contre le manque de moyens alloues aux mesures de preparation et de riposte aux pandemies, et comment reduire le risque d'une nouvelle pandemie aux couts economiques et sociaux comparables a ceux engendres par la maladie a coronavirus. Methodes Nous avons effectue une revue systematique exploratoire dans les bases de donnees ScienceDirect, Scopus, JSTOR, PubMed[R] et EconLit. Nous avons inclus les articles rediges dans toutes les langues et publies avant le 1er aout 2023, mais ecarte la litterature grise et les publications relatives aux epidemies. Nous avons classe les etudes retenues en fonction des elements d'un cadre soumis par le Conseil de l'Organisation mondiale de la Sante sur l'economie de la sante pour tous: (i) causes profondes/structurelles; (ii) positions/fondements sociaux; (iii) infrastructures et systemes; et enfin, (iv) communautes, menages et individus. Resultats Sur les 188 articles identifies initialement, nous en avons selectionne 60 pour notre revue. La plupart (53/60) ont ete publies apres 2020, quand l'interet academique s'est tourne vers les mecanismes de financement mondiaux. Une grande partie (37/60) des articles mentionnaient au moins deux elements du cadre du Conseil. Lelement le plus souvent aborde etait celui des infrastructures et systemes (54/60), avec des themes tels que les systemes de sante, les marches financiers et les ecosystemes d'innovation. Les causes profondes/structurelles etaient evoquees dans 25 articles; les communautes, menages et individus dans 22 articles; et les positions/fondements sociaux dans 11 articles. Conclusion Notre revue a permis d'identifier trois grands absents: la definition officielle pour la preparation et la riposte aux pandemies, ce qui empeche de quantifier le manque de moyens avec precision; les recherches pour determiner dans quelle mesure le financement de la preparation et de la riposte aux pandemies a cible les menages les plus vulnerables; et pour terminer, une analyse des instruments financiers specifiques et une evaluation consacree a la faisabilite de leur mise en reuvre. [phrase omitted] Objetivo Comprender mejor como combatir la falta de recursos asignados a las medidas de preparacion y respuesta ante una pandemia, y como reducir el riesgo de una nueva pandemia con costes economicos y sociales comparables a los que causo el coronavirus. Metodos Se realizo una revision sistematica de alcance mediante las bases de datos ScienceDirect, Scopus, JSTOR, PubMed[R] y EconLit. Se incluyeron articulos publicados en cualquier idioma hasta el 1 de agosto de 2023, y se excluyo la literatura gris y las publicaciones sobre epidemias. Se categorizaron los estudios elegibles segun los elementos de un marco propuesto por el Consejo sobre la Economia de la Salud para Todos de la Organizacion Mundial de la Salud: (i) causas fundamentales/ estructurales; (ii) posiciones/fundamentos sociales; (iii) infraestructura y sistemas; y (iv) comunidades, hogares e individuos. Resultados De los 188 articulos identificados en un principio, se incluyeron 60 en la revision. La mayoria (53/60) se publicaron despues de 2020, cuando el interes academico se habia orientado hacia los mecanismos de financiacion mundial. La mayoria (37/60) abordaban dos o mas de los elementos del marco del Consejo. El elemento abordado con mas frecuencia fue la infraestructura y el sistema (54/60), en los que se trataban temas como los sistemas sanitarios, los mercados financieros y los ecosistemas de innovacion. Las causas fundamentales/estructurales se trataron en 25 articulos; las comunidades, hogares e individuos en 22 articulos; y las posiciones/fundamentos sociales en 11. Conclusion La revision identifico tres deficiencias importantes: una definicion formal de preparacion y respuesta ante una pandemia, lo que impide cuantificar con precision el deficit de financiacion; una investigacion sobre el grado en que la financiacion de la preparacion y respuesta ante una pandemia se ha dirigido a los hogares mas vulnerables; y un analisis de los instrumentos financieros especificos y una evaluacion de la viabilidad de su implementacion., Introduction The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been one of the deadliest emergencies in modern history, with a global death toll exceeding 14.9 million people. (1) Beyond the tragic [...]

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by Bordetella pertussis. The introduction of the whole-cell vaccine (WCV) successfully decreased the incidence of pertussis. Although vaccination has been successful, [...]

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change and stop responding to medication, is one of the top 10 health [...]

Exposure to cold temperatures can have negative health impacts that lead to cold-related illness or death. We explored the case definition for cold-related illness that was developed and piloted by the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using their case definition, we assessed the burden of cold-related illness and death in Minnesota. We analyzed the results by season, demographics, and chronic disease. Overall,, Introduction Cold-related illness and death are common and occur across different U.S. regions. The National Center for Health Statistics within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that [...]

Mpox is a zoonotic disease caused by monkeypox virus (MPXV) and previously found primarily in forested areas of Central and West Africa (2,2). In May 2022, a multicountry outbreak of [...]

The present study adds to the existing literature by grouping countries in sub-Saharan Africa into two broad health systems (public and private). A country's health system is classified as predominantly public if the average share of public health expenditure for the period under study is greater than the average share of private health expenditure; it is classified as predominantly private if the reverse is the case. The aim is to derive the income elasticities of health expenditure in other to unravel countries in the sub region where health provision is likely to be a necessary good. To capture the dynamic nature of the relationship, the study's methodology relies on several econometric procedures (pooled mean group, mean group, and common correlated error mean group estimators). Other variables included in the model are official development assistance, the price level, population above 65 and migrant remittances. The unit root test performed showed that most of the variables in the study are not stationary at level; however, they are cointegrated in the long run, justifying the choice of the estimation techniques. The empirical results reveals that the short run income elasticity of health expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa is 0.36 and in the long run, the value becomes 1.18 with a speed of adjustment of 0.41. This suggest that 41% of the short run disequilibrium is dissipated in the current period. Other variables that were included in the model as controls were not statistically significant. In the reduced model that has only income as regressor, the short run and long run income elasticities in the overall sample continues to remain significant, however, the income elasticity in the predominantly public health system is greater than the elasticity in the predominantly private health system. This suggests that health is more of a development issue in a predominantly private health system in sub--Saharan Africa. An implication of the present study is that citizens of sub-Saharan African countries that rely more on private financing of health expenditure are likely to be exposed to catastrophic health financing. Hence, policymakers can avert this by encouraging more public financing of healthcare provision. JEL Classifications: G22; C23 Keywords: Sub Saharan Africa, Panel Data, Health Expenditure, INTRODUCTION The literature is replete with studies that have highlighted the pivotal role health expenditure plays in the population health status of people living in sub-Saharan Africa (1) . This, [...]

Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that affects populations of livestock and humans, as well as their respective economies, throughout the world (1-4). Three of the Brucella species are highly virulent [...]

Jordan reported [approximately equal to] 1.1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and [approximately equal to] 12,500 deaths by the end of December 2021 (1), accounting for [approximately equal to] 6.0% of [...]

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be transmitted perinatally (1). Rates of acute HCV infection have increased recently (2), but few children perinatally exposed to HCV are tested and referred to [...]

The present study adds to the existing literature by grouping countries in sub-Saharan Africa into two broad health systems (public and private). A country's health system is classified as predominantly public if the average share of public health expenditure for the period under study is greater than the average share of private health expenditure; it is classified as predominantly private if the reverse is the case. The aim is to derive the income elasticities of health expenditure in other to unravel countries in the sub-region where health provision is likely to be a necessary good. To capture the dynamic nature of the relationship, the study's methodology relies on several econometric procedures (pooled mean group, mean group, and common correlated error mean group estimators). Other variables included in the model are official development assistance, the price level, population above 65 and migrant remittances. The unit root test performed showed that most of the variables in the study are not stationary at level; however, they are cointegrated in the long run, justifying the choice of the estimation techniques. The empirical results reveal that the short-run income elasticity of health expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa is 0.36 and in the long run, the value becomes 1.18 with a speed of adjustment of 0.41. This suggests that 41% of the short-run disequilibrium is dissipated in the current period. Other variables that were included in the model as controls were not statistically significant. In the reduced model that has only income as a regressor, the short-run and long-run income elasticities in the overall sample continue to remain significant, however, the income elasticity in the predominantly public health system is greater than the elasticity in the predominantly private health system. This suggests that health is more of a development issue in a predominantly private health system in sub--Saharan Africa. An implication of the present study is that citizens of sub-Saharan African countries that rely more on private financing of health expenditure are likely to be exposed to catastrophic health financing. Hence, policymakers can avert this by encouraging more public financing of healthcare provisions. JEL Classifications: G22; C23 Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Panel Data, Health Expenditure Contact author's email address: imoh.ekpenyong@fuoye.edu.ng, INTRODUCTION The literature is replete with studies that have highlighted the pivotal role health expenditure plays in the population health status of people living in sub-Saharan Africa (1). This, and [...]

Building on the health belief model (HBM), this research tests, over six months, how the exposure to COVID-related information in the media affects fear, which in turn conditions beliefs about the severity of the virus, susceptibility of getting the virus, and benefits of safety measures. These health beliefs ultimately lead to social distancing and panic buying. As a first contribution, we find that fear is not directly triggered by the objective severity of a crisis, but rather formed over time by the way individuals are exposed to media. Second, we show that fear affects behaviors through the components of the HBM which relate to the risks/benefits of a situation. Last, we find that critical thinking about media content amplifies the 'adaptive' responses of our model (e.g., health beliefs, social distancing) and reduces its 'maladaptive' responses (e.g., panic buying). Interestingly, we note that the beneficial effect of critical thinking about media content disappears as the level of fear increases over time. The implications of these findings for policymakers, media companies, and theory are further discussed., Author(s): Marie Louise Radanielina Hita [sup.1] , Yany Grégoire [sup.2] , Bruno Lussier [sup.2] , Simon Boissonneault [sup.2] , Christian Vandenberghe [sup.2] , Sylvain Sénécal [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.256696.8, [...]

The present study adds to the existing literature by grouping countries in sub-Saharan Africa into two broad health systems (public and private). A country's health system is classified as predominantly public if the average share of public health expenditure for the period under study is greater than the average share of private health expenditure; it is classified as predominantly private if the reverse is the case. The aim is to derive the income elasticities of health expenditure in other to unravel countries in the sub-region where health provision is likely to be a necessary good. To capture the dynamic nature of the relationship, the study's methodology relies on several econometric procedures (pooled mean group, mean group, and common correlated error mean group estimators). Other variables included in the model are official development assistance, the price level, population above 65 and migrant remittances. The unit root test performed showed that most of the variables in the study are not stationary at level; however, they are cointegrated in the long run, justifying the choice of the estimation techniques. The empirical results reveal that the short-run income elasticity of health expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa is 0.36 and in the long run, the value becomes 1.18 with a speed of adjustment of 0.41. This suggests that 41% of the short-run disequilibrium is dissipated in the current period. Other variables that were included in the model as controls were not statistically significant. In the reduced model that has only income as a regressor, the short-run and long-run income elasticities in the overall sample continue to remain significant, however, the income elasticity in the predominantly public health system is greater than the elasticity in the predominantly private health system. This suggests that health is more of a development issue in a predominantly private health system in sub--Saharan Africa. An implication of the present study is that citizens of sub-Saharan African countries that rely more on private financing of health expenditure are likely to be exposed to catastrophic health financing. Hence, policymakers can avert this by encouraging more public financing of healthcare provisions. JEL Classifications: G22; C23 Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Panel Data, Health Expenditure, INTRODUCTION The literature is replete with studies that have highlighted the pivotal role health expenditure plays in the population health status of people living in sub-Saharan Africa (1). This, and [...]

We investigated the mediator roles of risk factors (intolerance of uncertainty, negative metacognition, and negative prospections) and protective factors (positive prospections and psychological resilience) together on the link between COVID-19-related feelings and behaviors, thoughts, and precautions taken and psychological symptoms with an integrative approach in Turkey. The online sample consisted of Turkish adults. The results of path analyses indicated that feelings and behaviors related to COVID-19, thoughts about COVID-19, and precautions taken related to COVID-19 are significantly associated with intolerance of uncertainty. Intolerance of uncertainty is significantly associated with negative metacognition, negative and positive prospections, psychological symptoms, and psychological resilience. Negative metacognition, negative and positive prospections, and psychological resilience are significantly associated with psychological symptoms. Mediation analysis demonstrated that intolerance of uncertainty significantly mediated the relationship between feelings and behaviors related to COVID-19, thoughts about COVID-19, and precautions taken related to COVID-19 and negative metacognition, psychological resilience, positive and negative prospections, and psychological symptoms. Lastly, negative metacognition, psychological resilience, positive and negative prospections significantly mediated the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and psychological symptoms. Implications for mental health providers are discussed., Author(s): Aysegül Durak Batigün [sup.1] , Ipek Senkal Ertürk [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.7256.6, 0000000109409118, Faculty of Languages History and Geography, Department of Psychology, Ankara University, , PC: 06100, Sihhiye, [...]

This article considers the optimal structure of institutions that respond to existential threats such as climate change and pandemics. While science must play a central role in guiding policy responses, there are many values at stake that ought to be reflected in institutional design. There is a distinction between risk assessment, a science-driven analysis in these contexts, and risk management, in which trade-offs are considered in responding to the threats. Moreover, the nature of these threats depends on complex, uncertain and fluid scientific knowledge that requires institutions to be sensitive to communication challenges. Finally, institutions should consider collective action problems and defer or delegate to jurisdictions and institutions whose scope of mandate is appropriate. We assess the Canadian response to the COVID-19 pandemic from an institutional perspective and conclude that, amongst other things, it was insufficiently multidisciplinary, which risked marginalizing the non-public health costs of policy responses to the pandemic. Cet article examine la structure optimale des institutions qui reagissent aux menaces existentielles comme le changement climatique et les pandemies. Alors que la science doit jouer un role primordial dans l'orientation des reponses politiques, de nombreuses valeurs en jeu doivent etre refletees dans la conception institutionnelle. Il existe une distinction entre l'evaluation des risques--une analyse fondee sur la science dans ces contextes--et la gestion des risques, dans laquelle les compromis sont pris en compte pour repondre aux dangers. En outre, la nature de ces menaces depend de connaissances scientifiques complexes, incertaines et variables exigeant que les institutions soient sensibles aux defis de communication. Enfin, les institutions doivent tenir compte des problemes d'action collective, et s'en remettre ou deleguer aux juridictions et aux institutions dont la portee du mandat est adequate. Apres avoir evalue la reponse canadienne a la pandemie de COVID-19 d'un point de vue institutionnel, nous concluons, entre autres, qu'elle etait insuffisamment multidisciplinaire, ce qui a risque de marginaliser les couts sanitaires non publics des reponses politiques a la pandemie., THE SCIENCE-POLITICS INTERFACE Large bodies of contemporary scientific research reflect a broad scientific consensus that the COVID-19 pandemic (and future possible variants thereof) and climate change both present existential threats [...]

The World Health Organization (WHO) Council on the Economics of Health for All offers a powerful narrative on the relationship between economies and health. The council argues that to build [...]

The World Health Organization recognizes rehabilitation as an essential component of universal health coverage (UHC). In many countries, UHC builds on a standard benefits package of services that is informed by the country's essential medicines list, standard treatment guidelines and primary health care essential laboratory list. In South Africa, primary health care is largely provided and managed by primary health-care nurses and medical officers in accordance with primary health care standard treatment guidelines. However, rehabilitation is mostly excluded from these guidelines. This paper describes the 10-year process that led to rehabilitation referral recommendations being considered for inclusion in South Africa's primary health care standard treatment guidelines. There were five key events: (i) a breakthrough moment; (ii) producing a scientific evidence synthesis and formulating recommendations; (iii) presenting recommendations to the national essential medicines list committee; (iv) mapping rehabilitation recommendations onto relevant treatment guideline sections; and (v) submitting revised recommendations to the committee for final consideration. The main lesson learnt is that, by working together, rehabilitation professionals can be of sufficient number to make a difference, improve service delivery and increase referrals to rehabilitation from primary health care. A remaining challenge is the lack of a rehabilitation representative on the national essential medicines list committee, which could hamper understanding of rehabilitation and of the complexities of the supporting evidence. L'Organisation mondiale de la Sante considere la readaptation comme un element indispensable de la couverture sanitaire universelle (CSU). Dans de nombreux pays, la CSU repose sur un modele de prestations de services qui tient compte de la liste nationale de medicaments essentiels, des directives therapeutiques normalisees et d'une liste des analyses en laboratoire essentielles dans le cadre des soins primaires. En Afrique du Sud, les soins primaires sont majoritairement assures et geres par du personnel infirmier et medical, conformement aux directives therapeutiques normalisees en la matiere. En revanche, la readaptation n'y figure generalement pas. Le present document decrit les dix annees de processus qui ont permis d'emettre des recommandations de reference relatives a la readaptation, que l'Afrique du Sud envisage d'inscrire dans ses directives therapeutiques normalisees de soins primaires. Cinq evenements cles ont ete retenus: (i) un moment charniere; (ii) la realisation d'une synthese des preuves scientifiques et la formulation de recommandations; (iii) la presentation de ces recommandations au comite responsable de la liste nationale de medicaments essentiels; (iv) l'integration des recommandations en matiere de readaptation dans les rubriques correspondantes des directives therapeutiques; et enfin, (v) la soumission des recommandations revisees au comite pour examen final. Le principal enseignement tire est qu'en collaborant, les professionnels de la readaptation peuvent etre suffisamment nombreux pour faire la difference, ameliorer la qualite des services et augmenter les transferts depuis les soins primaires vers les structures de readaptation. Un defi subsiste: l'absence de representants du secteur au sein du comite responsable de la liste nationale de medicaments essentiels, ce qui pourrait nuire a la comprehension de la readaptation et du degre de complexite des faits qui l'etayent. La Organizacion Mundial de la Salud reconoce que la rehabilitacion es un componente esencial de la cobertura sanitaria universal (CSU). En muchos paises, la cobertura sanitaria universal depende de un paquete estandar de servicios que se basa en la lista de medicamentos esenciales del pais, las directrices de tratamiento estandar y la lista de laboratorios esenciales de atencion primaria. En Sudafrica, la atencion primaria la prestan y gestionan en gran medida el personal de enfermeria y los medicos de atencion primaria, de conformidad con las directrices de tratamiento estandar de la atencion primaria. Sin embargo, la rehabilitacion queda excluida en su mayor parte de estas directrices. Este articulo describe el proceso de 10 anos que llevo a que se contemplara la posibilidad de incluir las recomendaciones de derivacion a rehabilitacion en las directrices de tratamiento estandar de la atencion primaria en Sudafrica. Hubo cinco acontecimientos clave: (i) un momento decisivo; (ii) la elaboracion de una sintesis de datos cientificos y la formulacion de recomendaciones; (iii) la presentacion de las recomendaciones al comite de la lista nacional de medicamentos esenciales; (iv) la adaptacion de las recomendaciones de rehabilitacion a las secciones pertinentes de las directrices de tratamiento; y (v) la presentacion de las recomendaciones revisadas al comite para su estudio final. La principal leccion aprendida es que, trabajando juntos, los profesionales de la rehabilitacion pueden ser lo bastante numerosos como para marcar la diferencia, mejorar la prestacion de servicios y aumentar las derivaciones a la rehabilitacion desde la atencion primaria. Un desafio que aun persiste es que no hay un representante de la rehabilitacion en el comite de la lista nacional de medicamentos esenciales, lo que podria dificultar la comprension de la rehabilitacion y de las complejidades de las pruebas que la sustentan., Introduction In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a call for action on rehabilitation that urged coordinated, concerted global efforts to strengthen the place of rehabilitation in health systems. [...]

Concomitant with the rise in the number of people who inject drugs has been an increase in unsafely discarded needles and injection debris. While the scholarly literature indicates that harm reduction programs reduce needle debris, the news media often report otherwise. Using geographic information systems (GIS) software ArcGIS Desktop 10.8 (Esri 2020), we analyzed geospatial data pertaining to needle debris in Calgary (Canada), correlating debris with available needle dropboxes, outreach education, overdoses, and changes over the COVID pandemic. Needle debris was most dense in two central neighbourhoods: Beltline and Downtown Commercial Core. The city's central neighbourhoods contributed to 83% of all needle discards, which accounted for 73% of discrete locations. Additionally, 51% of discarded needles were collected from the Beltline (40%) and Downtown Commercial Core (11%) neighbourhoods, accounting for 85% of clusters and 71% of hotspots. Overdoses were positively correlated with needle debris. COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were linked to a spike in the number of discards. Needle debris is a complex social, environmental and public health issue that requires a multifaceted approach. GIS mapping is a powerful tool that can locate hotspots so that resources can be deployed. Keywords: public injection, overdose, substance misuse, improperly discarded needles, homelessness, supervised consumption services (SCS), geographic information systems, COVID-19 Parallèlement à l'augmentation du nombre de personnes qui s'injectent des drogues, il y a eu une augmentation des aiguilles et des débris d'injection mis au rebut de manière non sécuritaire. Alors que la littérature scientifique indique que les programmes de réduction de risques réduisent les débris d'aiguilles, les médias rapportent souvent le contraire. ?€ l'aide du logiciel de système d'information géographique (SIG), nous avons analysé les données géo-spatiales relatives aux débris d'aiguilles à Calgary (Canada), en corrélant les débris avec les boîtes de dépôt d'aiguilles disponibles, programme de sensibilisation et d'éducation, les surdoses et les changements au cours de la pandémie de COVID. Les débris d'aiguilles étaient les plus denses dans deux quartiers centraux : Beltline et Downtown Commercial Core. Les quartiers centraux de la ville ont contribué à 83% de tous les rejets d'aiguilles, qui représentent 73% des emplacements discrets. De plus, 51% des aiguilles jetées ont été recueillies dans les quartiers Beltline (40%) et les quartiers de Downtown Commercial Core (11%), représentant 85% des grappes et 71% des points chauds. Les surdoses étaient positivement corrélées avec les débris d'aiguilles. Les restrictions liées à la pandémie de COVID-19 étaient liées à une augmentation du nombre de rejets d'aiguilles. Les débris d'aiguilles sont un problème social, environnemental et de santé publique complexe qui nécessite une approche multidimensionnelle. La cartographie SIG est un outil puissant qui peut localiser les points chauds afin que les ressources puissent être déployées. Mots-clés : injection publique, surdose, abus de substances, aiguilles au rebut de manière non sécuritaire, sans-abris, services de consommation supervisée (SCS), systèmes d'information géographique, COVID-19, Introduction Many cities are observing an increase in unsafely discarded needles and injection debris. Using geographic information systems (GIS) software, we analyzed one western Canadian city's geospatial data pertaining to [...]