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 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
Accounting for health in climate change policies: a case study of Fiji.
Climate change is expected to affect the health of most populations in the coming decades, having the greatest impact on the poorest and most disadvantaged people in the world. The Pacific islands, including Fiji, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. ⋯ The projected health impacts of climate change should be considered as part of reviewing the Fiji National Climate Change Policy and National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, and the Public Health Act. In the interest of public health, this should include strategies for combating dengue fever, malnutrition, and water-borne disease. Related sectoral policies in water and agriculture should also be revised to consider climate change and its impact on human health. Approaches to include health aspects of climate change within sectoral and climate change specific policies should be encouraged, via a number of mechanisms, such as the Health in All Policies approach. Future research could support the Fiji health sector in developing climate change and health programmes.
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Global health action · Jan 2014
Cause of death during 2009-2012, using a probabilistic model (InterVA-4): an experience from Ballabgarh Health and Demographic Surveillance System in India.
The present study aimed to estimate the age and cause-specific mortality in Ballabgarh Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) site for the years 2009 to 2012, using a probabilistic model (InterVA-4). ⋯ Overall, non-communicable diseases constituted the largest proportion of mortality, whereas trauma was the most common COD among adults at Ballabgarh HDSS. Policy-makers ought to focus on prevention of premature CODs, especially prevention of infectious diseases in children, and intentional self-harm and road traffic accidents in the adult population.