Environmental Public Health Commons^™

Data From: Tobacco Smoke Exposure Is An Independent Predictor Of Vitamin D Deficiency In Us Children, Benjamin U. Nwosu, Philip Kum-Nji

Benjamin U. Nwosu

Manuscript abstract:

IMPORTANCE:

The role of tobacco-smoke exposure on serum vitamin D concentration in US pediatric population is not known. We hypothesized that tobacco smoke exposure would increase the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in US children.

METHODS:

Representative national data were accessed from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010 databank on 2,263 subjects of ages 3 to 17 years. Subjects were categorized into two groups based on their age: children, if <10 >years; and youth if 10 to 17 years. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the effect of serum cotinine-verified tobacco smoke …

Impact Of Water And Sanitation And Health Education Interventions On Health And Hygiene Behaviors: A Study From A Northern Pakistani Village, Aysha Zahidie, Fauziah Rabbani

Fauziah Rabbani

Introduction: Water and sanitation interventions were delivered in the northern areas of Pakistan as a joint venture of the Aga Khan University and the Aga Khan Health Systems Oshikhandass Diarrhea and Dysentery Project (1989-96) followed by the Aga Khan Water, Sanitation, Health and Hygiene Studies Program (WSHHSP). Through these interventions water treatment plants, new pit latrines along with a component of health education were introduced. Objectives: To explore perceptions, knowledge and practices of inhabitants of Oshikhandass village in Gilgit related to water quality, latrine use and hand washing following the intervention. Methods: Through a cross-sectional study during June-July 2012, six …

Better Engaging Communities: Moving Beyond Cardinal Rules, Anna G. Hoover

Anna G. Hoover

“Cardinal rules” and best practice approaches have guided governmental risk communication efforts at chronic risk sites for more than two decades, playing an important role in how those most affected by contamination make sense of risk. In addition to providing information, however, communication approaches themselves can affect community perceptions indirectly, through stakeholder interpretations of the processes by which risk information is shared. It is increasingly necessary to evaluate not only whether risk communication approaches have been effective for increasing knowledge but if, in fact, the ways in which information is shared has had unintended consequences that change how stakeholders perceive …

Creating Healthy Community In The Postindustrial City, Brian A. Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

Anatomia Da Privatização Neoliberal Do Sistema Único De Saúde: O Papel Das Organizações Sociais De Saúde, Fabiano Tonaco Borges, Suzely Abas Saliba Moimaz, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Cléa Abas Saliba Garbin

C. Eduardo Siqueira

O objetivo da elaboração desta obra foi dissecar as partes

que compõem o processo de privatização do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Para isto, utilizou-se, metaforicamente, o termo anatomia para descrever as estruturas do corpo chamado privatização do SUS. Importante ressaltar que o termo público se

sobressai em todo o texto numa referência ao povo, termo mais apropriado do que estatal na contraposição à coisa particular, de domínio privado.

Partiu-se do princípio que a dependência externa dos países em desenvolvimento propicia condições para a exportação do modelo privado de saúde a partir dos países desenvolvidos, em particular, os Estados Unidos. …

Vocational Health Schools (Etsus) In Brazil: Regulation Of The Integration Of Teaching-Service-Administrative Sustainability Of Etsus, Fabiano Tonaco Borges, Cléa Ada Saliba Garbin, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Artênio Jósé Crispin Garbin, Najara Barbosa Da Rocha, Luíz Fernando Lolli, Suzely Adas Saliba Moimaz

C. Eduardo Siqueira

The scope of this study was to discuss the administrative sustainability of Brazil’s Vo- cational Health Schools (ETSUS) based on the principle of teaching and service integration, which brings a new dimension to healthcare work as yet unregulated by Brazilian public adminis- tration. It was a qualitative study using case study methodology. The research involved a semi-struc- tured questionnaire given to ETSUS managers addressing institutional, administrative, and work management aspects. The sample was composed of 6 ETSUS that belong to the Network of Vocational Health Schools (RET-SUS). The ETSUS showed centralized planning and management, and decentralized implementation of their core …

Community-University Research Partnerships For Workers' And Environmental Health In Campinas Brazil, Maria Inês Monteiro, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Heleno Rodrigues Correa-Filho

C. Eduardo Siqueira

Three partnerships between the University of Campinas, community, and pubLic health care services are discussed in this article. A theoretical framework underpins the critical reviews of their accomplishments following criteria proposed by scholars of community-university partnerships and community-based participatory research. The article concludes that despite the significant achievements, there still remain important barriers for their development due to performance criteria that do not value research that partner with communities, health care services, or labor unions.

The Vida Verde Women's Coop:Brazilian Immigrants Organizing To Promote Environmental And Social Justice, David Gute, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Julia S. Goldberg, Heloisa Galvão, Monica Chianelli, Alex Pirie

C. Eduardo Siqueira

We reviewed the key steps in the launch of the Vida Verde Women’s Co-Op among Brazilian immigrant housecleaners in Somerville, MA. The co-op provides green housecleaning prod- ucts, encourages healthy work practices, and promotes a sense of community among its members. We conducted in-depth inter- views with 8 of the first co-op members, who reported a reduc- tion in symptoms associated with the use of traditional clean- ing agents and a new sense of mutual support. Critical to the co-op’s success have been the supportive roles of its academic partners (Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts, Lowell), effective media …

Project Cobweb Report, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira

C. Eduardo Siqueira

Project COBWEB (Collaboration for a Better Work Environment for Brazilians) or Parceria in Portuguese began in 2003 with the combined efforts of the Work Environment Department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell), the Brazilian Immigrant Center (BIC) – a non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1995 for Brazilian immigrant workers in Boston – the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH), a NGO that fights for the rights of workers in the state, and from two health care centers: the Lowell Community Health Center and the Massachusetts General Chelsea Health Center. This last partner withdrew from the project …

The Observatory Of The Americas As A Network In Environmental And Worker Health In The Americas, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Fernando Martins Carvalho

C. Eduardo Siqueira

This article reviews the scope of several Observatories found by a search in the Internet through the Google search engine. After examining these observatories, it describes the aims and initial accomplishments of the Observatory of the Americas as a network of professionals and activists from different countries in the Americas. The article concludes with a discussion of the pattern identified among these observatories: they may be clearinghouses or networks, or both.

Dependent Convergence: The Importation Of Technological Hazards By Semiperipheral Countries, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira

C. Eduardo Siqueira

This article complements the substantial body of literature produced over the last three decades on the export of hazards from developed countries to developing countries. After reviewing the central arguments proposed by this literature, the authors add to the debate by focusing on the role of national actors in the importation of these hazards, based on the experience of late 1970s’ developments in the petrochemical industry in Brazil. The Brazilian case indicates that social struggles and/or interactions among actors in devel- oping and developed nations determine to what extent hazardous technol- ogies are imported without environmental controls and to what …