Public Health Commons^™

Narrative Synthesis Systematic Review Of Pakistani Women's Health Outcomes From Primary Care Interventions, Sara Rizvi Jafree, Qaisar Khalid Mahmood, Sohail Mujahid, Muhammad Asim, Jane Barlow

Community Health Sciences

Objective: Women living in Pakistan have complex health problems including infectious and non-communicable diseases, accident and injuries, and mental health problems. While a majority of these women rely on primary healthcare services for all of their healthcare needs, there has to date been no overview of the extent of their effectiveness. The objective of this review was to (1) synthesise the available evidence regarding the effectiveness of primary care based interventions aimed at improving women's mental and physical health and (2) identify the factors that promote effectiveness for women's health outcomes.
Methods: Five academic databases were searched, including PubMed, BMC …

The Influence Of The Urban Food Environment On Diet, Nutrition And Health Outcomes In Low-Income And Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review, Susannah Westbury, Iman Ghosh, Helen Margaret Jones, Daniel Mensah, Folake Samuel, Ana Irache, Nida Azhar, Lena Al-Khudairy, Romaina Iqbal, Oyinlola Oyebode

Community Health Sciences

Introduction: Diet and nutrition are leading causes of global morbidity and mortality. Our study aimed to identify and synthesise evidence on the association between food environment characteristics and diet, nutrition and health outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), relevant to urban settings, to support development and implementation of appropriate interventions.
Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of 9 databases from 1 January 2000 to 16 September 2020 with no language restrictions. We included original peer-reviewed observational studies, intervention studies or natural experiments conducted in at least one urban LMIC setting and reporting a quantitative association between a characteristic of …

Adolescent Health In The Sustainable Development Goal Era: Are We Aligned For Multisectoral Action?, Asha George, Tanya Jacobs, Rajani Ved, Troy Jacobs, Kumanan Rasanathan, Shehla Zaidi

Community Health Sciences

Adolescents are an increasing proportion of low and middle-income country populations. Their coming of age is foundational for health behaviour, as well as social and productive citizenship. We mapped intervention areas for adolescent sexual and reproductive health, including HIV, mental health and violence prevention to sectors responsible for them using a framework that highlights settings, roles and alignment. Out of 11 intervention areas, health is the lead actor for one, and a possible lead actor for two other interventions depending on the implementation context. All other interventions take place outside of the health sector, with the health sector playing a …

Global Strategies And Local Implementation Of Health And Health-Related Sdgs: Lessons From Consultation In Countries Across Five Regions, Sameen Siddiqi, Wafa Aftab, Fahad Javaid Siddiqui, Luis Huicho, Roman Mogilevskii, Peter Friberg, Johanna Lindgren-Garcia, Sara Causevic, Anil Khamis, Mashal Murad Shah, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Community Health Sciences

Evidence on early achievements, challenges and opportunities would help low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) accelerate implementation of health and health-related sustainable development goals (HHSDGs). A series of country-specific and multicountry consultative meetings were conducted during 2018-2019 that involved 15 countries across five regions to determine the status of implementation of HHSDGs. Almost 120 representatives from health and non-health sectors participated. The assessment relied on a multidomain analytical framework drawing on existing public health policy frameworks. During the first 5 years of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) era, participating LMICs from South and Central Asia, East Africa and Latin America demonstrated …

Impact Of The Societal Response To Covid-19 On Access To Healthcare For Non-Covid-19 Health Issues In Slum Communities Of Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria And Pakistan: Results Of Pre-Covid And Covid-19 Lockdown Stakeholder Engagements, Syed A K Shifat Ahmed, Motunrayo Ajisola, Kehkashan Azeem, Pauline Bakibinga, Yen-Fu Chen, Narjis Rizvi, Syed Iqbal Azam, Romaina Iqbal, Ahsana Nazish, Komal Tabani

Community Health Sciences

Introduction: With COVID-19, there is urgency for policymakers to understand and respond to the health needs of slum communities. Lockdowns for pandemic control have health, social and economic consequences. We consider access to healthcare before and during COVID-19 with those working and living in slum communities.
Methods: In seven slums in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan, we explored stakeholder perspectives and experiences of healthcare access for non-COVID-19 conditions in two periods: pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Results: Between March 2018 and May 2020, we engaged with 860 community leaders, residents, health workers and local authority representatives. Perceived common illnesses in …

Polio: From Eradication To Systematic, Sustained Control, Oliver Razum, Devi Sridhar, Albrecht Jahn, Shehla Zaidi, Gorik Ooms, Olaf Müller

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Economic Burden Of Mental Illnesses In Pakistan., Ashar Muhammad Malik, Murad Moosa Khan

Community Health Sciences

BACKGROUND:

The economic consequences of mental illnesses are much more than health consequences. In Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC) the economic impact of mental illnesses is rarely analyzed. This paper attempts to fill the gap in research on economics of mental health in LMIC. We provide economic burden of mental illness in Pakistan that can serve as an argument for reorienting health policy, resource allocation and priority settings.

AIM:

To estimate economic burden of mental illnesses in Pakistan.

METHODS:

The study used prevalence based cost of illnesses approach using bottom-up costing methodology. We used Aga Khan University Hospital, Psychiatry …

Stewardship In Health Policy And Its Relevance To Pakistan, Asaad Ahmed Nafees, Parvez Nayani

Community Health Sciences

Since the concept of stewardship in health care first appeared in World Health Report 2000 there has been very limited discussion in the academia about its implications. In the present paper we revisit this concept and review the literature that has been written about it. We have particularly focused on the role of stewardship in health policy of Pakistan. We also highlight the improvement that stewardship can bring about in the health policy of Pakistan and the possible constraints that might be faced during its implementation phase. The literature available is on the concept of stewardship in health policy. The …

National Health Accounts: Lessons For Pakistan., Ashar Muhammad Malik

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.