Global health action
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Global health action · Jan 2015
Intentional injury and violence in Cape Town, South Africa: an epidemiological analysis of trauma admissions data.
Injury is a truly global health issue that has enormous societal and economic consequences in all countries. Interpersonal violence is now widely recognized as important global public health issues that can be addressed through evidence-based interventions. In South Africa, as in many low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), a lack of ongoing, systematic injury surveillance has limited the ability to characterize the burden of violence-related injury and to develop prevention programmes. ⋯ This study provides the basis for evidence-based interventions to reduce the burden of intentional injury. Furthermore, it demonstrates the value of locally appropriate, ongoing, systematic public health surveillance in LMIC.
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Global health action · Jan 2015
Implementation of 5S management method for lean healthcare at a health center in Senegal: a qualitative study of staff perception.
5S is a lean method for workplace organization; it is an abbreviation representing five Japanese words that can be translated as sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain. The 5S management method has been recognized recently as a potential solution for improving the quality of government healthcare services in low- and middle-income countries. ⋯ The pilot intervention of the 5S management method was perceived to have improved the quality of healthcare services and staff motivation in a resource-poor healthcare facility with a disorderly work environment in Senegal. Quantitative and qualitative research based on a larger-scale intervention would be needed to elaborate and validate these findings and to identify the cost-effectiveness of such intervention in low- and middle-income countries.
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Global health action · Jan 2015
Historical ArticleFood security and nutrition in the Russian Federation - a health policy analysis.
In the Russian Federation (Russia), an elevated burden of premature mortality attributable to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has been observed since the country's economic transition. NCDs are largely related to preventable risk factors such as unhealthy diets. ⋯ Policy and economic reforms in Russia were not accompanied by a food security crisis or macronutrient deprivation of the population. Yet, unhealthy diets in contemporary Russia contribute to the burden of NCDs and related avoidable mortality. Food and nutrition policies in Russia need to specifically address nutritional shortcomings and food-insecure vulnerable populations. Appropriate, evidence-informed food and nutrition policies might help address Russia's burden of NCDs on a population level.
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Global health action · Jan 2015
Poverty-related and neglected diseases - an economic and epidemiological analysis of poverty relatedness and neglect in research and development.
Economic growth in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) has raised interest in how disease burden patterns are related to economic development. Meanwhile, poverty-related diseases are considered to be neglected in terms of research and development (R&D). ⋯ The IRF is an intuitive and meaningful metric to highlight shifts in global disease burden patterns. A large shortfall exists in global R&D spending for poverty-related and neglected diseases, with strong variations between diseases.
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Global health action · Jan 2015
Observational StudyGlobal surgery in a postconflict setting--5-year results of implementation in the Russian North Caucasus.
Collaborations for global surgery face many challenges to achieve fair and safe patient care and to build sustainable capacity. The 2004 terrorist attack on a school in Beslan in North Ossetia in the Russian North Caucasus left many victims with complex otologic barotrauma. In response, we implemented a global surgery partnership between the Vladikavkaz Children's Hospital, international surgical teams, the North Ossetian Health Ministry, and civil society organizations. This study's aim was to describe the implementation and 5-year results of capacity building for complex surgery in a postconflict, mid-income setting. ⋯ In mid-income, postconflict settings, complex surgery can be safely implemented and achieve patient outcomes comparable to global standards. Capacity building can build on existing resources, such as operation room management, nursing, and anesthesia services. In postconflict environments, substantial surgical burden is not directly attributable to conflict-related injury and disease, but to health systems weakened by conflicts. Extending training and safe surgical care to include specialized interventions such as microsurgery are integral components to strengthen local capacity and ownership. Our experience identified strategies for fair patient selection and might provide a model for potentially sustainable surgical system building in postconflict environments.