Journal of public health policy
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J Public Health Policy · May 2012
Decision to evacuate a hospital during an emergency: the safe way or the leader's way?
Hospitals have frequently been evacuated because of natural or man-made disasters. In this article, we identify elements to be considered when confronted with the possibility of hospital evacuation. Hospital evacuation may have a significant impact on the surrounding community and the overall population. ⋯ Such a decision is not likely to be criticized. We present various considerations. The effect of evacuation on patients, hospital staff, family members, the community, and even the nation as a whole, as well as repercussions affecting potential patients should be integral to the decision-making process and parallel to the risk assessment.
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J Public Health Policy · Feb 2012
ReviewNigeria's costly complacency and the global tobacco epidemic.
Although smoking prevalence rates remain far lower in Nigeria than in Europe, they are rising, particularly as multinational tobacco companies target youth and work to regain the revenues they are losing in Europe and north America. This article recounts 25 years of Nigeria's tobacco control policy and presents every bit of evidence available about smoking prevalence rates and trends that show troubling increases, especially among youth. It concludes with recommendations for urgent and comprehensive action in Nigeria and by the World Health Organization (WHO) organized largely on a framework provided by the WHO.
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J Public Health Policy · Feb 2012
ReviewAdvanced policy options to regulate sugar-sweetened beverages to support public health.
Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has increased worldwide. As public health studies expose the detrimental impact of SSBs, consumer protection and public health advocates have called for increased government control. ⋯ We review policy options available to governments, including mandatory factual disclosures, earmarked taxation, and regulating sales, including placement within retail and food service establishments, and schools. Our review describes recent international initiatives and classifies options available in the United States by jurisdiction (federal, state, and local) based on legal viability.
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J Public Health Policy · Feb 2012
Gun utopias? Firearm access and ownership in Israel and Switzerland.
The 2011 attempted assassination of a US representative renewed the national gun control debate. Gun advocates claim mass-casualty events are mitigated and deterred with three policies: (a) permissive gun laws, (b) widespread gun ownership, (c) and encouragement of armed civilians who can intercept shooters. They cite Switzerland and Israel as exemplars. ⋯ Switzerland and Israel curtail off-duty soldiers' firearm access to prevent firearm deaths. Suicide among soldiers decreased by 40 per cent after the Israeli army's 2006 reforms. Compared with the United States, Switzerland and Israel have lower gun ownership and stricter gun laws, and their policies discourage personal gun ownership.
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J Public Health Policy · Feb 2012
Lessons from SARS and H1N1/A: employing a WHO-WTO forum to promote optimal economic-public health pandemic response.
No formal system exists to review trade restrictions imposed during international public health emergencies rapidly. Failure to put one in place creates disincentives for surveillance and reporting, thereby undermining protection efforts. ⋯ Yet they failed to allow for management of public health emergencies in a way that balanced threats to health and those to economies and trade. Establishment of a joint WHO-WTO committee to adjudicate these conflicts might better achieve that balance.