{"title":"The impact of COVID-19 and anti-immigration policy on an undocumented student in the United States: a qualitative case study","authors":"Chulwoo Park, Shannon Shimada, Patricia Angelica","doi":"10.29392/001c.75168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.75168","url":null,"abstract":"Background The change of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has significantly impacted DACA students’ mental health in the United States. The study aimed to conduct a qualitative case study for understanding the effects of DACA program on one undocumented college student’s life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We conducted a two-component qualitative case study, the online survey and the subsequent in-depth interview, with a DACA college student, Leah (pseudonym), in California who was in an ongoing fear of deportation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) in the online survey to measure her level of depression and anxiety. QSR NVivo was used to analyze the verbatim transcription. Results Leah’s anxiety and depression level just before the Supreme Court’s decision to the DACA termination in June 2020 was higher than during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Leah’s concern still remained due to the uncertain legal status in the United States even after the presidential election. Conclusions During 2020-2022, the anti-immigration policy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the presidential election has impacted a DACA student’s mental health status. However, because of the unstable legal status and fear of deportation in the United States, our participant’s anxiety and depression level maintained high. From our participant’s standpoint, more policy support is needed to sustain her legal status, financial stability, and mental health during the pandemic.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134912036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Time to rethink medical disinfection from a planetary health perspective","authors":"Kate M Homyer, Felicity V Mehendale","doi":"10.29392/001c.87862","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.87862","url":null,"abstract":"Disinfection products can have substantial environmental impacts which include associated manufacturing emissions, toxicity to marine life and potential adverse health outcomes. Despite this, disinfection is under-represented in sustainability approaches. Disinfection is a key part of healthcare provision and as such should be reflected in healthcare sustainability strategies. The adverse environmental effects of several common disinfectants are highlighted here. Sustainable alternatives should be considered. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) is a potential alternative disinfectant that could be used in sustainability strategies, carrying a minimal toxicity profile compared to hypochlorite (bleach) and the unique ability to be made on site. Better clarity is needed regarding the environmental impact of disinfectants used in the healthcare setting and healthcare providers should move to seek sustainable alternatives such as hypochlorous acid.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":"144 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134912613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Willingness to pay (WTP) for HIV and AIDS services in Africa: a descriptive thematic systematic review","authors":"J. Byabagambi, M. Limmer, B. Hollingsworth","doi":"10.29392/001c.85122","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.85122","url":null,"abstract":"The African continent has the highest burden of HIV and AIDS, with its response to HIV and AIDS largely donor supported. However, in the face of declining donor support, alternative ways to sustainably support HIV and AIDS responses in Africa are paramount. This systematic review explores the willingness to pay (WTP) for HIV services in Africa as a potentially more sustainable HIV and AIDS service cost recovery approach. A comprehensive systematic search for literature was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and CINAHL and websites of HIV and AIDS organisations for studies published until 30 June 2023. Studies were included if they were about WTP, HIV and AIDS services, were conducted in Africa and were published in English. Studies were excluded if they used methods other than WTP and were not about an HIV service. JBI critical appraisal tools were used to assess for quality and risk of bias. Information on the HIV service, the study methods, and factors influencing WTP were extracted. A descriptive thematic analysis was undertaken to synthesise evidence. The findings are summarised in tables and graphs. 5,141 records were identified and screened for eligibility from the initial search. After title and abstract screening and removing duplicates, twenty-three articles from 10 countries with 20,780 study participants were included in the final review. There is an uneven distribution of WTP studies across different types of HIV services and across countries. There is evidence of a willingness to pay for HIV services, with the proportion of people reported in individual studies that are willing to pay ranging from 34.3% to 97.1%. However, in most studies (77.3%, 17/22), the amount people are willing to pay cannot cover the full-service cost in an open market. Factors associated with WTP include socio-economic status, beliefs, and knowledge about HIV services. This systematic review presents evidence of cost recovery from HIV programs. The main finding is that other resources, beyond out-of-pocket payments, are needed to meet the total cost of any service. This has implications for providing (non-donor-funded) services on a sustainable level in the long term. In interpreting the findings of this study, limitations such as excluding papers not published in English need to be considered. Registration: PROSPERO, CRD42021275215.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42530167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Manjulaa Narasimhan, C. Logie, J. Hargreaves, W. Janssens, Mandip Aujla, P. Steyn, Erica van der Sijpt, A. Hardon
{"title":"Self-care interventions for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights – implementation considerations","authors":"Manjulaa Narasimhan, C. Logie, J. Hargreaves, W. Janssens, Mandip Aujla, P. Steyn, Erica van der Sijpt, A. Hardon","doi":"10.29392/001c.84086","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.84086","url":null,"abstract":"Self-care refers to the ability of people to promote their own health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability, with or without the support of a health or care worker. Self-care interventions are tools that support self-care as additional options to facility-based care. Recognizing laypersons as active agents in their own health care, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s global normative guideline on self-care interventions recommends people-centred, holistic approaches to health and well-being for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Examples of such interventions include pregnancy self-testing, self-monitoring of blood glucose and/or blood pressure during pregnancy and self-administration of injectable contraception. Building on previous studies and aligning with the WHO classification for self-care, we discuss nine key implementation considerations: agency, information, availability, utilization, social support, accessibility, acceptability, affordability, and quality. The implementation considerations form the foundation of a model implementation framework that was developed using an ecological health systems approach to support sustainable changes in health care delivery.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43276415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Why should we invest in health? Evidence from the lens of second-order benefits of health","authors":"D. Francis, Neha Dumka, A. Kotwal, Dutta Pk","doi":"10.29392/001c.85124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.85124","url":null,"abstract":"Life expectancy and access to health care have both increased globally in recent decades, and these innovations have significantly improved well-being. As a result, health reforms are increasingly becoming a top concern in all countries in order to address/increase accessibility, affordability, and availability of quality services, as well as improve spending efficiencies. There are many evidenced benefits which are secondary to the health benefits of those programmes. However, second-order benefits of health schemes have received little attention and are rarely discussed in mainstream policy and practice. The paper intends to contribute to broader initiatives to recognise health schemes as vital in achieving equitable and inclusive development that benefits the entire community. The logical framework technique was used to analyse the health schemes’ second-order benefits. The primary and secondary objectives, methods, outcomes, and impacts were compared. Apart from the health programmes’ own objectives, the analysis revealed extensive benefits such as employment opportunities, local partnerships with communities, decreased inequalities and population-level impacts on socio-economic development, women empowerment, increase in literacy and school completion rates, and decrease in out-of-pocket expenditure. The economic impact of investing in health systems by creating high-quality jobs and purchasing goods and services from local businesses is highlighted by the second-order health advantages, which are in relation to the primary benefits. Not only do healthcare systems play an important role in the economies of the nation, but also in the social lives of these communities.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44510031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Access to medicines in the Indian Public Health System – what works and what does not? A review of the National Health Mission Common Review Mission Reports (2007-2021)","authors":"E. Hannah, Nisha Basheer, Neha Dumka, A. Kotwal","doi":"10.29392/001c.84486","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.84486","url":null,"abstract":"Since the inception of India’s flagship “National Health Mission” (formerly known as the National Rural Health Mission), considerable efforts have been made to ensure access to quality and affordable healthcare, including medicines. Over time, there has been a differential, yet noticeable improvement in the availability and access to medicines across states. This underscores the need to review and analyse various state-specific practices in India supported or recommended by the NHM, to identify key enablers and barriers. Consequently, a review of NHM’s Common Review Mission (CRM) reports between 2007 and 2021 was undertaken. All findings relevant to medicines were identified, retrieved and analysed. Core themes pertaining to medicines included: mechanisms adopted by states for procurement and supply chain management, health system factors influencing the supply chain, the convergence of national health programs, the rollout of the Free Drugs Service Initiative and Comprehensive Primary Health Care, and awareness among the healthcare providers and community. The article further expounds on these themes in the Indian context, highlighting the determinants of access to medicines as well as their interlinkages. In conclusion, it underscores the need to strengthen the overall health system to accelerate universal access to free essential medicines at public health facilities.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44979926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Fonkwo, Micheal Besong, Justin Ngong, Alexander Glazier, Drusilla A. Talawa, A. Alio
{"title":"The effect of the anglophone crisis on youth sexual and reproductive health in the Northwest region of Cameroon: a qualitative study","authors":"J. Fonkwo, Micheal Besong, Justin Ngong, Alexander Glazier, Drusilla A. Talawa, A. Alio","doi":"10.29392/001c.84239","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.84239","url":null,"abstract":"The ongoing armed conflict in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon, named the “Anglophone crisis”, has had a deleterious impact on the health and wellbeing of the populations inhabiting these regions, especially adolescents and youth, but there is sparse evidence on the effect of the crisis on adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (SRH). This study aimed to describe the effects of the crisis on adolescent SRH and identify stakeholder recommendations for strategies to address the SRH of youth in their crisis-impacted communities. This was a secondary analysis of qualitative data collected during discussion forums with 316 community stakeholders, including parents (n=63), youths (n=81), religious leaders (29), neighborhood leaders (n=23), secondary school teachers (n=28), health professionals (n=37), pharmacists (n=5), local drug vendors (n=13), media representatives (n=12), and non-governmental organization representatives (n=29), in Bamenda, northwest region, Cameroon. A total of 12 homogenous discussion groups of 5 to 41 participants in each were conducted between May and July 2020. Session recordings were transcribed and then analyzed using Dedoose qualitative data management software and a text analysis approach. The results indicate that the crisis led to internal displacements and idleness among adolescent and youth, which increased their social and economic vulnerabilities, including to sexual violence and transactional sex. Resulting SRH effects were unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted Infections, unsafe abortions, maternal mortality, and psychosocial distress. Community stakeholders recommended that strategies to improve adolescent and youth SRH outcomes in these conflict-hit regions focus on spreading information about SRH, providing SRH services, and addressing issues of idleness. The armed conflict in the Northwest region of Cameroon has had consequences on adolescent and youth’s adverse SRH outcomes, such as unintended pregnancies, transactional sex, rapes, unsafe abortions, and maternal death. The findings of this study highlight the importance of raising awareness on SRH risks of adolescents and youth and the necessity of adopting a community approach in developing interventions and policies to improve adolescent and youth SRH in regions affected by armed conflicts.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45827437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Mehendale, G. Clayton, Kate M Homyer, D. Reynolds
{"title":"HOCl vs OCl−: clarification on chlorine-based disinfectants used within clinical settings","authors":"F. Mehendale, G. Clayton, Kate M Homyer, D. Reynolds","doi":"10.29392/001c.84488","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.84488","url":null,"abstract":"Disinfection is a mainstay of infection prevention, the importance of which was highlighted throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. There is frequent misuse of terminology surrounding chlorine solutions in the literature. This leads not only to confusion but has potentially dangerous outcomes, as inappropriate mixing of chlorine solutions with other disinfectants or cleaning solutions can lead to the release of chlorine gas. This article provides a resource for accurate terminology surrounding chlorine-based disinfection and clarifies some of the key inaccuracies, including the pH-dependent nature of chlorine species distribution of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) (neutral/acidic chlorine solution) and hypochlorite (OCl-) (alkaline chlorine solution). Misuse and misunderstanding of chlorine solutions and the terminology used can be harmful therefore this is an essential resource for those utilising chlorine as a disinfectant.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45208533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rapid response mechanism in conflict-affected settings of Cameroon: lessons learned from a multisector intervention for internally displaced persons","authors":"Lundi-Anne Omam, Alain Metuge","doi":"10.29392/001c.85011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.85011","url":null,"abstract":"The Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon have experienced armed conflict over the last seven years, characterized by mass displacement and limited access to health care and social amenities. In response, an emergency intervention programme called “rapid response mechanism” (RRM) was initiated to provide lifesaving services to internally displaced persons. The intervention was multisectoral and included a health component, nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, and child protection. RRM served communities of Ekondo Titi district, marked with high levels of insecurity, poor telecommunication networks and limited geographical access. Although the RRM was designed to provide rapid and lifesaving interventions to the affected populations; the RRM, in this case, was only initiated one year after the conflict escalated. Key benefits of the RRM included: (i) increased access to health care services through its integrated community case management approach, (ii) development of full displacement map within the health district, further strengthening the health system by establishing a community-based surveillance and response system through community health workers, and (iii) assisting the health district team in mass vaccination campaigns in seven of the nine health areas, which were otherwise completely inaccessible. The RRM model was largely primary health care focused compared to other RRMs in conflict-affected countries. It is important for RRM benefit packages to be harmonized to enable better preparedness and responses in conflicts. There is also a need for better coordination among sectoral partners to ensure improved response in crises.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44779190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Kaninjing, K. Adeniji, A. Gachii, P. Jibrin, J. Obafunwa, C. Ogo, Mohammed Faruk, A. Popoola, O. Fatiregun, O. Oluwole, W. Aiken, M. Jackson, Robin Roberts, Shravana Kumar Jyoti, C. Dial, M. Jalloh, L. Niang, M. Ndoye, Jason A White, Balasubramanyam Karanam, Damian Francis, Denise Gibbs, Kathryn R Brignole, C. Yates, C. Ragin, F. Odedina, Damali N Martin
{"title":"Utility of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded prostate biospecimens from low-resource settings for use in next-generation sequencing studies in African-descent populations","authors":"E. Kaninjing, K. Adeniji, A. Gachii, P. Jibrin, J. Obafunwa, C. Ogo, Mohammed Faruk, A. Popoola, O. Fatiregun, O. Oluwole, W. Aiken, M. Jackson, Robin Roberts, Shravana Kumar Jyoti, C. Dial, M. Jalloh, L. Niang, M. Ndoye, Jason A White, Balasubramanyam Karanam, Damian Francis, Denise Gibbs, Kathryn R Brignole, C. Yates, C. Ragin, F. Odedina, Damali N Martin","doi":"10.29392/001c.84541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.84541","url":null,"abstract":"Men of African ancestry experience higher burden from prostate cancer compared to men of other ancestral backgrounds. Limitations in the availability of high-quality biospecimens hinder the inclusion of this population in genetic studies of prostate cancer. The use of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues represent a potential rich source of genetic material particularly in some international settings, where fresh frozen tissue is difficult to obtain. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using FFPE biospecimens acquired from various international sites for utility in next-generation sequencing. A total of 976 FFPE blocks were collected between 2002 and 2017 from six international sites in Africa and the Caribbean representing three consortia: Prostate Cancer Transatlantic Consortium; African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium; and Men of African Descent and Carcinoma of the Prostate. Genomic DNA was checked for quality and quantity. Differences in mean quality control (QC) for pre-and-post pathology training were assessed using t-test. Pearson chi-square with trend analysis examined association between time-category and QC success status. Association of continuous DNA quality (Q129/Q41 ratio) and time of specimen collection was estimated with linear regression. Samples with a DNA quantity >0.2µg and a Q129/Q41 ratio >0.00225 were submitted for whole exome sequencing (WES). There was a positive relative percentage change in DNA quantity from 2002 to 2017 for Jamaica, Kenya and Senegal. There was a decline in DNA quantity over the same time period for Nigeria. There was a statistically significant improvement in quality of samples from Kenya (P=0.032), Nigeria (P<.001) and Senegal (P=0.043). There was a significant improvement in the collected DNA sample quality over time with an R2 of 0.12. FFPE samples from low-resource settings could potentially provide sufficient DNA for WES. Improvements in biospecimen collection processing and storage for research are needed in some of these settings.","PeriodicalId":73759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of global health reports","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47159259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}