Geography and culture matter for malnutrition in Bolivia

The prevalence of health problems and malnutrition in Bolivia is exceptionally high, even in comparison to other underdeveloped countries. This study analyzes the relationship between a two measures of child health--height-for-age and weight-for-age z-scores--and a set of physical and cultural determinants of child nutrition, including mother's characteristics, household assets and access to public services. The ultimate aim is to identify the most important determinants of child health and to measure the relative impact of each factor on the height and weight z-scores. A sequential strategy was adopted in order to estimate a two-equation linear model with correlated error terms. A major finding points to geographical and cultural variables as main causes of nutritional status and highlights the role of mother's anthropometrical characteristics. This study uses data on over 3000 children gathered from a Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).     

Barriers and errors in the implementation of community psychiatry in Slovenia

Background Slovenian psychiatry is predominantly hospital based. A programme for the development of general community psychiatric services was proposed to improve access to and quality and comprehensiveness of psychiatric care according to the modern standards of delivery of psychiatric services.Aim The aim of the paper is to present the programme for developing community services that was proposed to the Slovenian government, and to describe the barriers to its implementation that were encountered, as well as the errors made by the programme authors, that contributed to the rejection of the programme last year.Conclusions There are historical, political, professional and service organisation characteristics that impede the development of community psychiatry in Slovenia. These are to be addressed through coordinated action involving primary care professionals, non-government organisations with service users and carers, the Health Insurance Agency and politicians involved in the planning of health services.     

HEALTH AS FREEDOM: ADDRESSING SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF GLOBAL HEALTH INEQUITIES THROUGH THE HUMAN RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

In spite of vast global improvements in living standards, health, and well-being, the persistence of absolute poverty and its attendant maladies remains an unsettling fact of life for billions around the world and constitutes the primary cause for the failure of developing states to improve the health of their peoples. While economic development in developing countries is necessary to provide for underlying determinants of health – most prominently, poverty reduction and the building of comprehensive primary health systems – inequalities in power within the international economic order and the spread of neoliberal development policy limit the ability of developing states to develop economically and realize public goods for health. With neoliberal development policies impacting entire societies, the collective right to development, as compared with an individual rights-based approach to development, offers a framework by which to restructure this system to realize social determinants of health. The right to development, working through a vector of rights, can address social determinants of health, obligating states and the international community to support public health systems while reducing inequities in health through poverty-reducing economic growth. At an international level, where the ability of states to develop economically and to realize public goods through public health systems is constrained by international financial institutions, the implementation of the right to development enables a restructuring of international institutions and foreign-aid programs, allowing states to enter development debates with a right to cooperation from other states, not simply a cry for charity.     

Designing and scaling up integrated youth mental health care

Mental ill‐health represents the main threat to the health, survival and future potential of young people around the world. There are indications that this is a rising tide of vulnerability and need for care, a trend that has been augmented by the COVID‐19 pandemic. It represents a global public health crisis, which not only demands a deep and sophisticated understanding of possible targets for prevention, but also urgent reform and investment in the provision of developmentally appropriate clinical care. Despite having the greatest level of need, and potential to benefit, adolescents and emerging adults have the worst access to timely and quality mental health care. How is this global crisis to be addressed? Since the start of the century, a range of co‐designed youth mental health strategies and innovations have emerged. These range from digital platforms, through to new models of primary care to new services for potentially severe mental illness, which must be locally adapted according to the availability of resources, workforce, cultural factors and health financing patterns. The fulcrum of this progress is the advent of broad‐spectrum, integrated primary youth mental health care services. They represent a blueprint and beach‐head for an overdue global system reform. While resources will vary across settings, the mental health needs of young people are largely universal, and underpin a set of fundamental principles and design features. These include establishing an accessible, “soft entry” youth primary care platform with digital support, where young people are valued and essential partners in the design, operation, management and evaluation of the service. Global progress achieved to date in implementing integrated youth mental health care has highlighted that these services are being accessed by young people with genuine and substantial mental health needs, that they are benefiting from them, and that both these young people and their families are highly satisfied with the services they receive. However, we are still at base camp and these primary care platforms need to be scaled up across the globe, complemented by prevention, digital platforms and, crucially, more specialized care for complex and persistent conditions, aligned to this transitional age range (from approximately 12 to 25 years). The rising tide of mental ill‐health in young people globally demands that this focus be elevated to a top priority in global health.     

Phytotechnologies – Preventing Exposures,Improving Public Health

Phytotechnologies have potential to reduce the amount or toxicity of deleterious chemicals and agents, and thereby, can reduce human exposures to hazardous substances. As such, phytotechnologies are tools for primary prevention in public health. Recent research demonstrates phytotechnologies can be uniquely tailored for effective exposure prevention in a variety of applications. In addition to exposure prevention, plants can be used as sensors to identify environmental contamination and potential exposures. In this paper, we have presented applications and research developments in a framework to illustrate how phytotechnologies can meet basic public health needs for access to clean water, air, and food. Because communities can often integrate plant-based technologies at minimal cost and with low infrastructure needs, the use of these technologies can be applied broadly to minimize potential contaminant exposure and improve environmental quality. These natural treatment systems also provide valuable ecosystem services to communities and society. In the future, integrating and coordinating phytotechnology activities with public health research will allow technology development focused on prevention of environmental exposures to toxic compounds. Hence, phytotechnologies may provide sustainable solutions to environmental exposure challenges, improving public health and potentially reducing the burden of disease.     

儿童保健对早产儿生长和智力发育的影响及相关性研究

为了探究正常的儿童保健对早产儿生长和智力发育的影响,并明确早产儿的生长和智力发育分别与儿童保健的影响,本研究选取40例早产儿,随机分为对照组和观察组,每组20例。对照组进行常规育儿管理,观察组采用儿童保健管理。统计分析两组早产儿在0.5岁、1岁、1.5岁和2岁的生长(头围,体重和身高)和智力(智力和心理活动)发育情况及相关性。研究发现,儿童保健可明显促进早产儿的生长和智力发育,且正规儿童保健与早产儿的生长和智力发育呈正相关关系,均具有显著性差异。本研究结果说明,儿童保健可明显促进早产儿的生长和智力发育,具有重要的临床应用价值。     

我国人口与健康状况简析

随着经济全球化格局的逐步形成,环境、生态、资源等与人类社会自身发展密切相关的因素已成为超越国界的共性课题。进入新世纪后,我国医药卫生事业面临着人口结构和疾病谱系迅速改变、公共卫生和医疗保健需求剧增、环境污染和食品安全保障等巨大挑战。在计划生育及生殖健康领域,在公共卫生与医疗网络领域,在医学研究与健康促进领域,以及在高新技术与健康产业领域,坚持科学的发展观,以最先进的科学技术研究成果为主导,推动关键技术的相互渗透及综合集成,提倡合理的生活方式已成为我国经济发展和社会进步的重要历史任务。