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International Journal of Environmental... Jul 2022Ethiopia passed a law prohibiting tobacco smoking in all public places in 2019. We conducted a scoping review to identify gaps in the existing literature on second-hand... (Review)
Review
Ethiopia passed a law prohibiting tobacco smoking in all public places in 2019. We conducted a scoping review to identify gaps in the existing literature on second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure and smoke-free environments in Ethiopia that need to be prioritised for future research to support policy and practice. We conducted systematic searches in January 2022 in the following databases: Medline, EMBASE, and PsycInfo. Two reviewers independently screened the identified study reports for eligibility and extracted data from the eligible studies. The extracted data was descriptively analysed, and research recommendations were drawn. A stakeholder consultation workshop was held to identify research topics on SHS exposure and smoke-free environments in Ethiopia that they perceived to be priorities for primary research. Of the 388 research reports identified, only nine were included in the scoping review. The topics explored includes prevalence of SHS exposure (six studies); knowledge on SHS exposure (three studies); compliance to smoke-free environments legislation (two studies); and exposure to anti-smoking messages (one study). The stakeholders prioritised further research addressing compliance monitoring and enforcement of the smoke free laws in Ethiopia. There is a need for studies that test new methods for compliance monitoring and enforcement, evaluate strategies to increase knowledge on the harms of SHS exposure and the smoke-free legislation, and evaluate the current smoke-free legislation in Ethiopia.
Topics: Ethiopia; Narration; Prevalence; Smoke-Free Policy; Tobacco Smoke Pollution
PubMed: 35886256
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19148404 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Dec 2020Green consumption can facilitate sustainable industrial development and improve the overall efficiency of resource utilization. In response to rapid economic development... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Green consumption can facilitate sustainable industrial development and improve the overall efficiency of resource utilization. In response to rapid economic development and increasing environmental emissions, it is critical to promote green consumption so that the whole society can move toward sustainable development. This study aims to systematically review studies on green consumption by means of meta-analysis, bibliometric analysis, and social network analysis. The results show that green consumption is an interdisciplinary research field, involving environmental science, social science, medical science, economics, and other disciplines. Most productive countries, institutions, authors are identified so that the new researchers in this field can find their research partners. Keywords analysis results help identify the research hotpots in this field. It is suggested that future green consumption research should focus on behavior mechanism, stakeholder coordination, and policy evaluation. In general, the results obtained from this study provide valuable information for researchers and practitioners to promote green consumption research.
Topics: Bibliometrics; Efficiency; Knowledge; Sustainable Development
PubMed: 33001398
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-11029-y -
Health Research Policy and Systems May 2021Various interventions have been undertaken in Iran to promote evidence-informed health policy-making (EIHP). Identifying the challenges in EIHP is the first step toward...
BACKGROUND
Various interventions have been undertaken in Iran to promote evidence-informed health policy-making (EIHP). Identifying the challenges in EIHP is the first step toward strengthening EIHP in each country through the design of tailored interventions. Therefore, the current study was conducted to synthesize the results of earlier studies and to finalize the list of barriers to EIHP in Iran.
METHODS
To identify the barriers to EIHP in Iran, two steps were taken: a systematic review and policy dialogue. To conduct the systematic review, three Iranian databases and PubMed, Health Systems Evidence (HSE), Embase, and Scopus were searched. The reference lists of included papers and documentation from some local organizations were hand-searched. Upon conducting the systematic review, given the significance of stakeholders in clarifying the problem of EIHP, policy dialogue was used to complete the list previously extracted and to do advocacy. Selection criteria for the stakeholders included influential and informed individuals from knowledge-producing, knowledge-utilizing, and knowledge-brokering organizations. Semi-structured interviews were held with three important absent stakeholders.
RESULTS
Challenges specific to Iran that were identified included the lack of integration of the health ministry and the medical universities, lack of ties between health knowledge utilization organizations, failure to establish long-term research plans, neglect of national research needs at the time of recruiting human resources in knowledge-producing organizations, and duplication and lack of coordination in routine data obtained from surveillance systems, disease registration systems, and censuses. It seems that some challenges are common across countries, including neglecting the importance of inter- and intra-disciplinary studies, the capacity of policy-makers and managers to utilize evidence, the criteria for evaluating the performance of policy-makers, managers, and academic members, the absence of long-term programmes in knowledge-utilizing organizations, the rapid replacement of policy-makers and managers, and lack of use of evaluation studies.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, we tried to identify the challenges regarding EIHP in Iran using a systematic review and policy dialogue approach. This is the first step toward determining the best interventions to improve evidence-informed policy-making in each country, because these challenges are contextual and need to be investigated contextually.
Topics: Administrative Personnel; Government Programs; Health Policy; Humans; Iran; Policy Making
PubMed: 33947402
DOI: 10.1186/s12961-021-00717-x -
Public Health Nutrition Jan 2024The objective of this systematic review is to synthesise the evidence on public policy interventions and their ability to reduce household food insecurity (HFI) in... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this systematic review is to synthesise the evidence on public policy interventions and their ability to reduce household food insecurity (HFI) in Canada.
DESIGN
Four databases were searched up to October 2023. Only studies that reported on public policy interventions that might reduce HFI were included, regardless of whether that was the primary purpose of the study. Title and abstract screening, full-text screening, data extraction, risk of bias and certainty of the evidence assessments were conducted by two reviewers.
RESULTS
Seventeen relevant studies covering three intervention categories were included: income supplementation, housing assistance programmes and food retailer subsidies. Income supplementation had a positive effect on reducing HFI with a moderate to high level of certainty. Housing assistance programmes and food retailer studies may have little to no effect on HFI; however, there is low certainty in the evidence that could change as evidence emerges.
CONCLUSION
The evidence suggests that income supplementation likely reduces HFI for low-income Canadians. Many questions remain in terms of how to optimise this intervention and additional high-quality studies are still needed.
Topics: Humans; Canada; Food Insecurity; Food Supply; Income; North American People; Poverty
PubMed: 38224084
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980024000120 -
Public Health Nutrition Aug 2016Poor dietary intake is the most important behavioural risk factor affecting health globally. Despite this, there has been little investment in public health nutrition... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
Poor dietary intake is the most important behavioural risk factor affecting health globally. Despite this, there has been little investment in public health nutrition policy actions. Policy process theories from the field of political science can aid understanding why policy decisions have occurred and identify how to influence ongoing or future initiatives. The present review aims to examine public health nutrition policy literature and identify whether a policy process theory has been used to analyse the process.
DESIGN
Electronic databases were searched systematically for studies examining policy making in public health nutrition in high-income, democratic countries.
SETTING
International, national, state and local government jurisdictions within high-income, democratic countries.
SUBJECTS
Individuals and organisations involved in the nutrition policy-making process.
RESULTS
Sixty-three studies met the eligibility criteria, most were conducted in the USA and a majority focused on obesity. The analysis demonstrates an accelerating trend in the number of nutrition policy papers published annually and an increase in the diversity of nutrition topics examined. The use of policy process theory was observed from 2003; however, it was utilised by only 14 % of the reviewed papers.
CONCLUSIONS
There is limited research into the nutrition policy process in high-income countries. While there has been a small increase in the use of policy process theory from 2003, an opportunity to expand its use is evident. We suggest that nutrition policy making would benefit from a pragmatic approach that ensures those trying to influence or understand the policy-making process are equipped with basic knowledge around these theories.
Topics: Humans; Nutrition Policy; Nutritional Status; Policy Making; Politics; Public Health
PubMed: 26443533
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980015002712 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Jul 2023The minimum data set (MDS) is a collection of data elements to be grouped using a standard approach to allow the use of data for clinical and research purposes. Health... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The minimum data set (MDS) is a collection of data elements to be grouped using a standard approach to allow the use of data for clinical and research purposes. Health data are typically voluminous, complex, and sometimes too ambiguous to generate indicators that can provide knowledge and information on health. This complexity extends further to the rare disease (RD) domain. MDSs are essential for health surveillance as they help provide services and generate recommended population indicators. There is a bottleneck in international literature that reveals a global problem with data collection, recording, and structuring in RD.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to identify and analyze the MDSs used for RD in health care networks worldwide and compare them with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
METHODS
The population, concept, and context methodology proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute was used to define the research question of this systematic review. A total of 4 databases were reviewed, and all the processes were reported using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology. The data elements were analyzed, extracted, and organized into 10 categories according to WHO digital health guidelines. The quality assessment used the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) checklist.
RESULTS
We included 20 studies in our review, 70% (n=14) of which focused on a specific health domain and 30% (n=6) of which referred to RD in general. WHO recommends that health systems and networks use standard terminology to exchange data, information, knowledge, and intelligence in health. However, there was a lack of terminological standardization of the concepts in MDSs. Moreover, the selected studies did not follow the same standard structure for classifying the data from their MDSs. All studies presented MDSs with limitations or restrictions because they covered only a specific RD, or their scope of application was restricted to a specific context or geographic region. Data science methods and clinical experience were used to design, structure, and recommend a fundamental global MDS for RD patient records in health care networks.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study highlights the difficulties in standardizing and categorizing findings from MDSs for RD because of the varying structures used in different studies. The fundamental RD MDS designed in this study comprehensively covers the data needs in the clinical and management sectors. These results can help public policy makers support other aspects of their policies. We highlight the potential of our results to help strategic decisions related to RD.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
PROSPERO CRD42021221593; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=221593.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)
RR2-10.1016/j.procs.2021.12.034.
Topics: Humans; Rare Diseases; Administrative Personnel; Checklist; Data Science; Public Policy
PubMed: 37498666
DOI: 10.2196/44641 -
Preventing Chronic Disease Apr 2015Residents of rural communities in the United States are at higher risk for obesity than their urban and suburban counterparts. Policy and environmental-change strategies... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Residents of rural communities in the United States are at higher risk for obesity than their urban and suburban counterparts. Policy and environmental-change strategies supporting healthier dietary intake can prevent obesity and promote health equity. Evidence in support of these strategies is based largely on urban and suburban studies; little is known about use of these strategies in rural communities. The purpose of this review was to synthesize available evidence on the adaptation, implementation, and effectiveness of policy and environmental obesity-prevention strategies in rural settings.
METHODS
The review was guided by a list of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States, commonly known as the "COCOMO" strategies. We searched PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Public Affairs Information Service, and Cochrane databases for articles published from 2002 through 2013 that reported findings from research on nutrition-related policy and environmental strategies in rural communities in the United States and Canada. Two researchers independently abstracted data from each article, and resolved discrepancies by consensus.
RESULTS
Of the 663 articles retrieved, 33 met inclusion criteria. The interventions most commonly focused on increasing access to more nutritious foods and beverages or decreasing access to less nutritious options. Rural adaptations included accommodating distance to food sources, tailoring to local food cultures, and building community partnerships.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings from this literature review provide guidance on adapting and implementing policy and environmental strategies in rural communities.
Topics: Beverages; Canada; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; Community Health Services; Community-Institutional Relations; Environment Design; Food Supply; Health Behavior; Health Plan Implementation; Health Promotion; Humans; Nutrition Policy; Obesity; Organizational Innovation; Residence Characteristics; Rural Population; United States
PubMed: 25927605
DOI: 10.5888/pcd12.140540 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2021Black women in the United States experience maternal mortality three to four times more often than white women (1, 2). States vary in degree of disparity, partially due...
Black women in the United States experience maternal mortality three to four times more often than white women (1, 2). States vary in degree of disparity, partially due to programs and policies available to pregnant people. In Massachusetts, Black women were approximately twice as likely as white women to experience pregnancy-associated mortality, with a large percentage of these deaths reported to be preventable (3). Using Massachusetts as a state-level comparison to national policies, we searched the US Congress and Massachusetts legislative databases for maternal health policies from 2010 to 2020. We screened 1,421 national and 360 Massachusetts bills, following set inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data analysis included (1) assessment of bill characteristics, (2) thematic analysis, and a (3) quality appraisal following an adapted model of the analytical framework for evaluating public health policy proposed by the National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy. Additionally, our data analysis identified the level of racism (internalized, interpersonal or institutional) that each policy addressed. From 2010 to 2020, 31 national and 16 state-level policies were proposed that address maternal health and racial disparities. The majority of policies addressed racism at the institutional level alone (National: = 19, 61.3%, Massachusetts: = 14, 87.5%). Two national and two Massachusetts-level policies became law, while two national policies passed only the House of Representatives. Our critical appraisal revealed that the majority of unintended effects would be neutral or positive, however, some potential negative unintended effects were identified. The appraisal also identified 54.8% ( = 17) of national policies and 68.8% ( = 11) of Massachusetts with positive impact on health equity. There has been an increase in policies proposed addressing racial disparities and health equity in maternal health over the last 10 years. Although half of national policies proposed showed positive impact on health equity, shedding light on the work the U.S. is doing on a federal level to confront the Black maternal health crisis, only two policies made it to law, only one of which addressed racial disparities directly and had a positive impact on health equity.
Topics: Black or African American; Female; Health Policy; Humans; Massachusetts; Maternal Health; Maternal Mortality; Pregnancy; United States
PubMed: 34746071
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.664659 -
BMJ Open Mar 2016To thematically synthesise primary qualitative studies of the barriers, motivators and enablers of smoke-free homes (SFHs). (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To thematically synthesise primary qualitative studies of the barriers, motivators and enablers of smoke-free homes (SFHs).
DESIGN
Systematic review and thematic synthesis.
DATA SOURCES
Searches of MEDLINE, EBM Reviews (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews), PsycINFO, Global Health, CINAHL, Web of Science, Informit and EMBASE, combining terms for families, households and vulnerable populations; SFH and secondhand smoke; and qualitative research, were supplemented by searches of PhD theses, key authors, specialist journals and reference lists.
STUDY SELECTION
We included 22 articles, reporting on 18 studies, involving 646 participants.
INCLUSION CRITERIA
peer-reviewed; English language; published from 1990 onwards (to week 3 of April 2014); used qualitative data collection methods; explored participants' perspectives of home smoking behaviours; and the barriers, motivators and enablers to initiating and/or maintaining a SFH.
DATA EXTRACTION
1 of 3 authors extracted data with checking by a second.
DATA SYNTHESIS
A thematic synthesis was performed to develop 7 core analytic themes: (1) knowledge, awareness and risk perception; (2) agency and personal skills/attributes; (3) wider community norms and personal moral responsibilities; (4) social relationships and influence of others; (5) perceived benefits, preferences and priorities; (6) addiction and habit; (7) practicalities.
CONCLUSIONS
This synthesis highlights the complexity faced by many households in having a SFH, the practical, social, cultural and personal issues that need to be addressed and balanced by households, and that while some of these are common across study settings, specific social and cultural factors play a critical role in shaping household smoking behaviours. The findings can inform policy and practice and the development of interventions aimed at increasing SFHs.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
CRD42014014115.
Topics: Housing; Humans; Motivation; Qualitative Research; Smoke-Free Policy; Smoking; Tobacco Smoke Pollution; Vulnerable Populations
PubMed: 26988351
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010260 -
Malaria Journal Dec 2016Reliable and comprehensive information on the burden of malaria is critical for guiding national and international efforts in malaria control. The purpose of this review... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Reliable and comprehensive information on the burden of malaria is critical for guiding national and international efforts in malaria control. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of published data and available information on malaria resulting from field studies/investigations conducted in the Republic of Congo (RoC) from 1992 to 2015, as baseline for assisting public health authorities and researchers to define future research priorities as well as interventions.
METHODS
This review considers data from peer-reviewed articles and information from the National Malaria Control Programme reports, based on field investigations or samples collected from 1992 to 2015. Peer-reviewed papers were searched throughout online bibliographic databases PubMed, HINARI and Google Scholar using the following terms: "malaria", "Congo", "Brazzaville", "prevalence", "antimalarial", "efficacy", "falciparum", "genetic", "diversity". Original articles and reviews were included and selection of relevant papers was made.
RESULTS
Twenty-eight published articles were included in this review and two additional records from the National Malaria Control Programme were also considered. The majority of studies were conducted in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.
CONCLUSION
The present systematic review reveals that number of studies have been conducted in the RoC with regard to malaria. However, their results cannot formally be generalized at the country level. This suggests a need for implementing regular multisite investigations and surveys that may be representative of the country, calling for the support and lead of the Ministry of Health.
Topics: Biomedical Research; Congo; Disease Transmission, Infectious; Health Policy; Humans; Malaria; Research
PubMed: 28010728
DOI: 10.1186/s12936-016-1617-7