-
Social Science & Medicine (1982) Aug 2021Existing research has identified numerous barriers to the adoption of public health policies for alcohol, including the cross-cutting nature of the policy problem and...
Existing research has identified numerous barriers to the adoption of public health policies for alcohol, including the cross-cutting nature of the policy problem and industry influence. Recent developments in Ireland suggest that while formidable, such barriers can be overcome. Ireland's 2018 alcohol legislation adopts key evidence-based measures, introducing pricing, availability and marketing regulations that are world-leading in public health terms. Drawing primarily on the Multiple Streams Approach (MSA), this study investigates the adoption of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018. We draw data from 20 semi-structured interviews with politicians, government advisors, public health experts, and advocates, as well as from relevant primary documents, newspaper articles, and other material in the public domain. We find that increased public attention to alcohol-related harms in Ireland (problem stream), developments within the institutional location of policymaking (the policy stream), and the political pressure exerted by politicians and advocates (the political stream) all combined to open a policy window. Unlike previous alcohol policy reform efforts in Ireland, several personally committed and well-positioned leaders championed policy change. This study suggests that political leadership might be important in understanding why public health approaches to alcohol have been embraced in some contexts but not in others.
Topics: Health Policy; Humans; Ireland; Leadership; Policy Making; Public Health; Public Policy
PubMed: 34192619
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114116 -
PLoS Biology Dec 2017After 40 years, the 1976 US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was revised under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. Its original goals of... (Review)
Review
After 40 years, the 1976 US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was revised under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. Its original goals of protecting the public from hazardous chemicals were hindered by complex and cumbersome administrative burdens, data limitations, vulnerabilities in risk assessments, and recurring corporate lawsuits. As a result, countless chemicals were entered into commercial use without toxicological information. Few chemicals of the many identified as potential public health threats were regulated or banned. This paper explores the factors that have worked against a comprehensive and rational policy for regulating toxic chemicals and discusses whether the TSCA revisions offer greater public protection against existing and new chemicals.
Topics: Animals; Chemical Safety; Environmental Pollutants; Environmental Pollution; Hazardous Substances; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Legislation, Drug; Public Policy; Risk Assessment; Social Responsibility; United States; United States Environmental Protection Agency
PubMed: 29252997
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2002404 -
Global Health Action Dec 2023Advocacy is one of the core functions of public health and is a key tool for achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Public health associations play a key role in...
BACKGROUND
Advocacy is one of the core functions of public health and is a key tool for achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Public health associations play a key role in advocating for the development and implementation of strategies to prevent diseases and promote health and well-being.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to map out the focus of public health advocacy carried out by selected national public health associations over 4 years, between 2018 and 2021, in order to identify gaps and strengths and support associations and professionals in their advocacy efforts.
METHODS
Twelve national public health associations participated in the study. Official policy documents produced between 2018 and 2021 were collected and analysed. The title and summary of the policy documents were examined line by line and coded into the main subject categories and themes. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. Policies were assessed from global and regional perspectives.
RESULTS
A total of 220 policy documents were analysed. Overall, the largest number of policy documents came from high-income countries and dealt with environmental health and communicable diseases, including COVID-19, with, however, important differences among regions. In the African region, public health advocacy focused mainly on strengthening health systems; Europe and South America were mostly concerned with communicable diseases and pandemic management; and North America and the Western Pacific regions focused primarily on climate change. Limited attention was paid to international health and health as a human right in all regions.
CONCLUSION
Our study showed that, especially in high-income countries, public health associations actively engage in advocacy; however, more effort needs to be devoted to implementing a more international and intersectoral approach at the global level, anchored in health as a human right and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Topics: Humans; Health Promotion; Public Health; COVID-19; Public Policy; Health Policy
PubMed: 36856722
DOI: 10.1080/16549716.2023.2183596 -
PloS One 2020In this work, we present a diagnostic analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the current state of Bioinformatics in Mexico. We conducted...
In this work, we present a diagnostic analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the current state of Bioinformatics in Mexico. We conducted semi-structured interviews among researchers and academics with key expertise in this field, identified by bibliometric analyses and qualitative sampling techniques. Additionally, an online survey was conducted reaching a higher number of respondents. Among the relevant findings of our study, the lack of specialized human resources and technological infrastructure stood out, along with deficiencies in the number and quality of academic programs, scarce public investment and a weak relationship between public and private institutions. However, there are great opportunities for developing a national Bioinformatics to support different economic sectors. In our opinion, this work could be useful to favor a comprehensive network among Mexican researchers, in order to lay the foundations of a national strategy towards a well designed public policy.
Topics: Computational Biology; Delivery of Health Care; Humans; Mexico; Public Policy; Qualitative Research; Stakeholder Participation
PubMed: 33320879
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243531 -
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 1986
Topics: Family Planning Services; Health Education; Humans; Norway; Public Policy; Smoking Prevention; United Kingdom; Workforce
PubMed: 3783557
DOI: No ID Found -
Social Science & Medicine (1982) Dec 2022Epidemiology is increasingly asking questions about the use of policies to address structural inequities and intervene on health disparities and public health...
Epidemiology is increasingly asking questions about the use of policies to address structural inequities and intervene on health disparities and public health challenges. However, there has been limited explicit consideration of governance structures in the design of epidemiologic policy analysis. To advance empirical and theoretical inquiry in this space, we propose a model of governance analysis in which public health researchers consider at what level 1) decision-making authority for policy sits, 2) policy is implemented, 3) and accountability for policy effects appear. We follow with examples of how these considerations might improve the evaluation of the policy drivers of population health. Consideration and integration of multiple levels of governance, as well as interactions between levels, can help epidemiologists design studies including new opportunities for quasi-experimental designs and stronger counterfactuals, better quantify the policy drivers of inequities, and aid research evidence and policy development work in targeting multiple levels of governance, ultimately supporting evidence-based policy making.
Topics: Humans; Public Policy; Policy Making; Public Health; Health Policy
PubMed: 36274459
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115444 -
Gaceta Sanitaria 2021To summarize public health policy models reported in studies published between 2002-2017. (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
To summarize public health policy models reported in studies published between 2002-2017.
METHOD
Using MesH vocabulary, we systematically searched articles in English, Spanish and Portuguese in the PubMed, Scielo, Jstor, ProQuest and Google Scholar data-bases. The quality of the articles was assessed using the tool for understanding a qualitative study by CASPe.
RESULTS
A higher proportion of scientific studies were conducted in the African continent. The policies relating to health care were most frequently investigated. Walt and Gilson's model and Kingdon's multiple streams framework were more frequently reported.
CONCLUSIONS
The articles set out the public policy analysis model, but not the approach to guide it. A more robust theoretical body needs to be built to enable discussion about the approaches and models for the analysis of public policies. Its distinction is relevant, since it can order methodological proposals for the study of policies.
Topics: Health Policy; Humans; Policy Making; Public Health; Public Policy; Qualitative Research
PubMed: 31982213
DOI: 10.1016/j.gaceta.2019.11.007 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2022The design and implementation of public health policy may shape state innovation capacity with governance effectiveness, political stability, and government integrity....
The design and implementation of public health policy may shape state innovation capacity with governance effectiveness, political stability, and government integrity. Previous studies, however, failed to incorporate these relationships simultaneously. This study aims to combine two distinct scholarships to examine whether the quality of policies in the public health sector contributes to state innovation capacity. We extracted data from the WHO international health regulatory dataset covering the WHO Member States between 2010 and 2017 to investigate the relationship ( = 145). Our fixed-effects models and regression discontinuity design (RDD) suggest a positive impact of public health policy quality on state innovation capacity. There are several contributions to the study of the relationship between public health and innovation in this study. Firstly, it fills a theoretical void concerning the relationship between policy development and implementation in the public health sector and country-specific innovations. Second, it provides an empirical quantitative analysis of policy quality in the public health sector. Third, this study contributes evidence that public health plays an important role in fostering state innovation beyond urbanization, investment in science and technology, and foreign trade. Furthermore, our quasi-experimental evidence found that this mechanism may be significant only between the more politically stable countries and the most politically stable countries. These contributions have empirical implications for governments across the world that seek to balance public health and innovation capacity in the context of the post-pandemic era.
Topics: Public Policy; Government; Public Health; Investments; Health Policy
PubMed: 36438285
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.952842 -
Journal of Nutrition Education and... 2009
Topics: Health Promotion; Humans; Nutrition Disorders; Nutrition Policy; Nutritional Sciences; Preventive Medicine; Public Policy; United States
PubMed: 19508927
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2009.05.002 -
International Journal For Equity in... Dec 2023Cancer causes a major disease burden worldwide. This is increasingly being realised in low and middle-income countries, which account disproportionately for preventable... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Cancer causes a major disease burden worldwide. This is increasingly being realised in low and middle-income countries, which account disproportionately for preventable cancer deaths. Despite the World Health Organization calling for governments to develop policies to address this and alleviate cancer inequality, numerous challenges in executing effective cancer policies remain, which require consideration of the country-specific context. As this has not yet been considered in Ghana, the aim of this review was to bring together and critique the social-environmental, health policy and system factors to identifying opportunities for future health policies to reduce cancer burden in the Ghanian context. A critical policy-focused review was conducted to bring together and critique the current health systems context relating to cancer in Ghana, considering the unmet policy need, health system and social factors contributing to the burden and policy advances related to cancer.
CONCLUSION
The findings highlight the changing burden of cancer in Ghana and the contextual factors within the socio-ecosystem that contribute to this. Policies around expanding access to and coverage of services, as well as the harmonization with medical pluralism have potential to improve outcomes and increase equity but their implementation and robust data to monitor their impact pose significant barriers.
Topics: Humans; Ghana; Health Policy; Neoplasms; Public Policy
PubMed: 38066530
DOI: 10.1186/s12939-023-02067-2