Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Commonhealth: Mass. A National Leader In Overdose Prevention, Leo Beletsky, Alexander Walley

Leo Beletsky

In this interview on Radio Boston, Leo Beletsky and Alexander Walley discuss their viewpoint piece, “Prevention of Fatal Opioid Overdose,” which appeared in the Nov. 14, 2012 issue of the Journal of the Medical American Association.

Prevention Of Fatal Opioid Overdose, Leo Beletsky

Leo Beletsky

Opioid overdose is a burgeoning public health crisis, accounting for at least 16,000 deaths annually in the United States. Opioid overdose occurs across sex, ethnic, age, and geographic strata and involves both medical and nonmedical opioid use. To date, federal government response has focused primarily on monitoring and securing the drug supply. This Viewpoint suggests various steps necessary to support a more comprehensive approach.

A Profile Of Nonurgent Emergency Department Use In An Urban Pediatric Hospital, Katrina Kubicek, Deborah Liu, Christy Beaudin, Jocelyn Supan, George Weiss, Yang Lu, Michele Kipke

Yang Lu

Objectives: This study was designed to develop a descriptive profile of parents and caregivers who bring their children to the emergency department (ED) for nonurgent issues and to explore the reasons for presenting to an urban hospital pediatric ED for nonurgent conditions. Such work is necessary to develop effective interventions.

Methods: A total of 106 parents/caregivers whose child was triaged with a nonemergent/urgent condition completed a 15- to 20-minute computerized survey (English and Spanish) in an urban pediatric ED.

Results: Most respondents described themselves as Latino (76%) and foreign born (62%). About one half (49%) reported having an annual income …

Nonpunctuated And Sweeping Policy Change: Bhutan Tobacco Policy Making From 1991 To 2009, Michael S. Givel

Michael S. Givel

This paper examines policy outputs associated with the 2004 Bhutan antitobacco law, including 2009 amendments, to determine if the law is congruent with punctuated equilibrium or social policy realism theories of policy change. There was no direct and sudden tobacco policy output change in Bhutan due to a shock to the policy system contrary to what punctuated equilibrium theory would predict. Rather, policy change was sweeping but nonpunctuated. This paper reconfirms prior findings of social policy realism theory that various and complex policy output patterns occur due to a mixture of contingent and complex factors. Under social policy realism, a …

Social Determinants Of Health In Canada: Are Healthy Living Initiatives There Yet? A Policy Analysis, Dana Gore, Anita Kothari

Anita Kothari

Introduction: Preventative strategies that focus on addressing the social determinants of health to improve healthy eating and physical activity have become an important strategy in British Columbia and Ontario for combating chronic diseases. What has not yet been examined is the extent to which healthy living initiatives implemented under these new policy frameworks successfully engage with and change the social determinants of health. Methods: Initiatives active between January 1, 2006 and September 1, 2011 were found using provincial policy documents, web searches, health organization and government websites, and databases of initiatives that attempted to influence to nutrition and physical activity …

Verbal Autopsy Tool For Infant Mortality, Vijay Kumar Chattu

Vijay Kumar Chattu

Information on causes of death is extremely important for policy-making, planning, monitoring and evaluation of health programs as well as for field research, comparisons and epidemic awareness.The Millennium Development Goal for India is to reduce infant mortality rate to 35 per 1000 & under-five mortality to 45 per 1000 live births by 2015.The incorporation of Verbal Autopsy (VA) in the existing Registration Systems is necessary in order to fulfil its ultimate goal of improving the information on causes of infant deaths in areas where Civil Registration and Death Certification are weak. VA provides information for local action by health authorities …

Bureaucratic Advocacy And Ethics A State-Level Case Of Public Agency Rulemaking And Tobacco Control Policy, Michael S. Givel, Andrew Spivak

Michael S. Givel

Before 2001, the Oklahoma Department of Health achieved little to protect the public from the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke. In an ongoing effort between 2000 and 2003, the department joined with health groups to lobby for stronger requirements, resulting in a new Oklahoma administrative rule in 2002 and legislation in 2003 regulating secondhand tobacco smoke. This action was congruent with the American Society of Public Administration's Code of Ethics for interactive democratic policymaking, in which administrators are required to serve the public interest with compassion, benevolence, fairness, and optimism.

Bureaucratic Advocacy And Ethics: A State-Level Case Of Public Agency Rulemaking And Tobacco Control Policy, Michael S. Givel

Michael S. Givel

Before 2001, the Oklahoma Department of Health achieved little to protect the public from the dangers of secondhand tobacco smoke. In an ongoing effort between 2000 and 2003, the department joined with health groups to lobby for stronger requirements, resulting in a new Oklahoma administrative rule in 2002 and legislation in 2003 regulating secondhand tobacco smoke. This action was congruent with the American Society of Public Administration's Code of Ethics for interactive democratic policymaking, in which administrators are required to serve the public interest with compassion, benevolence, fairness, and optimism.

Inadequate Feeding Of Infant And Young Children In India: Lack Of Nutritional Information Or Food Affordability?, Nisha Malhotra

Nisha Malhotra

Why does child malnutrition persist in India? Amongst the fastest growing economies over the last two decades, India has struggled to make progress in the health of its children. In this article the author argues that the reason malnutrition persists is not limited to poverty or inadequate access to food; but that a lack of nutritional knowledge amongst families plays a very important role.

Scientific Abstract Objective: Despite a rapidly growing economy and rising income levels in India, improvements in child malnutrition have lagged. Data from the most recent National Family Health Survey reveal that the infant and young child …