Global road safety leadership course 2024: Baltimore Global road safety leadership course 2024: Baltimore Content Editor: Dr. Soundhar June 25, 2024 John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Road safety, Public health course From May 12-24, 2024, the Global Road Safety Leadership Course (GRSLC) took place in Baltimore, hosted by the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) and the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP). This initiative, supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), brought together 61 participants from 20 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America to engage in a comprehensive program focused on enhancing road safety. The course engaged in the Safe Systems approach, focusing on data systems, enforcement, and sustainable mobility. Highlights included insights from former Fortaleza Mayor Roberto Cláudio Bezerra and a car crash test at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Participants praised the course for its inspirational sessions and networking opportunities, promising to bring innovative road safety solutions to their home countries. Click here to read more.

Red flag on safety of eyedrops Content Editor: Dr Urmimala Maiti November 22, 2023 at 12:30:00 PM Drug safety, FDA The US Food and Drug Administration released a corporate announcement by Kilitch Healthcare India Limited on November 15, 2023. The announcement states that the company is voluntarily recalling adverse events reported by patients who have used any of its 26 different eye drops nationwide. The company has notified its distributors, wholesalers, and retailers to report any adverse events following the use of the eye drops, which have an expiration date of November 2023 to September 2025. As per the report, there has been an issue regarding sterilization during the manufacture of the products. Due to inadequate and ineffective sterilization, they carry the risk of spreading potential infections. Previous Next

“Aditi”: Narayana health unveils affordable surgical insurance “Aditi”: Narayana health unveils affordable surgical insurance Content Editor: Dr. Mohammed Kashif July 9, 2024 Social trends Health insurance, Universal health coverage, Unmet needs Addressing the unmet needs in India's healthcare , where 70 million surgeries are required but only 20 million are performed due to financial barriers, Dr. Devi Shetty, chairman of Narayana Health, launched the health insurance product 'Aditi' on July 1. The basic plan, with a premium of Rs 10,000 per year, covers a family of four where the eldest is 45 years old, offering Rs 5 lakh in treatment and Rs 1 crore in surgeries . The premium will vary based on the patient’s age and/or comorbidities. Unlike traditional insurance, the “Aditi" plan will initially cover elective procedures only within their hospital chain but can be used anywhere for emergencies. The focus is on providing managed care with minimal administrative hurdles, ensuring a smooth and efficient experience within the Narayana Health network. Dr. Shetty emphasized that no one will be denied coverage, regardless of their medical conditions.

Report on progress to end female genital mutilation Content Editor: Dr. Niharika March 26, 2024 at 3:04:53 PM Human Rights, Women Health, International Health News FGM assaults girls’ and women’s human rights , having lasting physical, psychosocial, and social consequences. On this International Women’s Day , a report released by WHO revealed that progress toward ending FGM remains slow to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal to eliminate the practice. According to the report, more than 230 million girls and women have undergone FGM. It is most prevalent in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The most challenging aspect of eliminating this practice is that more and more girls undergoing FGM are under the age of 5 years , leaving little time for intervention. 4 in 10 of all the survivors of FGM are from conflict-affected areas- where population growth is fast, and education and health services are disrupted, making it more challenging to tackle FGM due to diversion of resources towards crises. However, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Egypt provide a ray of hope, with declining rates of FGM, and changing attitudes towards FGM. The report concluded that greater investment in services for girls and also a provision of laws and policies to safeguard their rights should be put in place to eliminate such practices . Way ahead : the eradication of FGM requires leaders and communities to make focused efforts to end gender-based discrimination, greater investment in services for girls and laws and policies to safeguard their rights and better track the prevalence of FGM through better quality data. Previous Next

A path analysis of mental health, socioeconomic position and oral health Content Editor: Dr. Soundhar October 26, 2024 at 7:44:11 PM Health Analysis, Integrated health, oral health Study sample consisted of 5682 adults, evaluated relationships between SocioEconomic status, dental health seeking behavior, oral health and mental health and how these are associated with oral health status. It was found that Socio-Economic status is directly associated with mental health and indirectly associated with self rated oral health status . Oral health behavior modified the relationship between Socio Economic Position and self rated oral health . It was also found that Socio Economic Position is linked to both mental health and oral health sharing common social determinants of health. It demonstrated a well fitting model that demonstrated association between SEP and mental health, oral health behaviors and dental treatment seeking were in turn associated with oral health. This provides evidence that oral health is a part of overall health and oral health and mental health are connected in multifaceted ways. Click here to read more. Previous Next

WHO issues first global guidelines to prevent catheter-related infections and reduce sepsis Content Editor: Dr. Sangya June 3, 2024 at 12:30:00 PM New updates, International guidelines, Antimicrobial Resistance The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued its first global guidelines aimed at preventing bloodstream infections caused by catheters placed in minor blood vessels during medical procedures. Poor insertion, maintenance, and removal practices carry a serious risk of causing local infections or sepsis. Catheter-related infections are a significant risk for up to 70% of inpatients, particularly those who are severely ill or have low immunity. Between 2000 and 2018, the average mortality from healthcare-associated sepsis was 24.4% , rising to 52.3% in ICU patients. Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are a major cause of these infections, contributing to millions of deaths annually. The new WHO guidelines include 14 good practice statements and 23 recommendations on health worker education, asepsis techniques, hand hygiene, and catheter management. WHO emphasizes implementing these practices to enhance healthcare quality and safety, aiming to reduce preventable infections and associated suffering globally Click here to read more. Previous Next

America's silent mental health crisis America's silent mental health crisis Content Editor: Dr. M Swathi Shenoy September 8, 2023 Centre for Disease Control Mental Health, Non communicable diseases The CDC recently released a report on provisional estimates of suicide in the United States for the year 2022. The findings of the report are as follows: In 2022, an estimated 49,449 deaths were by suicide, an increase of 2.6% from 2021. Previously, in 2019 and 2020, the rates had decreased. However, since 2021, the rates of suicide have increased in the United States. However, in two ethnic groups, namely, American Indian and Alaska Native, the rates have decreased since the previous years. The CDC’s Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program (CSP) is designed to implement and evaluate a comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention, focusing on those disproportionately affected. The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline suggest five steps to help safeguard people from the risk of suicide and support them when in crisis: Ask for help Help keep them safe by reducing their access to lethal objects. Be there and support them. Help them connect to professionals who can help them Follow up

Highlights of Post- Budget Webinar on Health & Medical research Highlights of Post- Budget Webinar on Health & Medical research Content Editor : Dr. Ranjitha R March 10, 2023 Press Information Bureau Digital Health, Health Budget On March 6th, 2023, a Post- Budget webinar by Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized using digital innovations in healthcare and medical research. Advised to learn from the pandemic’s impact on the supply chain for life-saving drugs - Comparison of the healthcare- pre & post-pandemic period. Affordable medical care- Ayushman Bharat scheme saved Rs. 80,000 crores & Jan Aushadhi scheme saved Rs. 20,000 crores for patients. Strengthening health infrastructures : 260 new medical colleges, doubling the number of medical seats in graduate and PG courses compared to 2014, and opening 157 nursing colleges. Strengthen the digital health initiatives for health care & medical research. Increase the opportunities for startups in the healthcare sector, to use indigenous digital technology to support the healthcare system. Encouraged the pharma sector to expand its market size.

A population-based prospective cohort study was conducted from 8 May 2009 to 26 December 2019 on individuals aged 60 years or older with the objective of identifying an optimal lifestyle profile to protect against memory loss in older individuals recently got published in BMJ. The study shows . . . Public Health News Analysis Healthy Lifestyles impedes Decline in Memory – Findings from a ten years Prospective Cohort Study in BMJ Image Credits : Getty Images Content Editor : Dr Urmimala Maiti Updated on : February 22, 2023 BMJ, Clinical Research Findings The study reinforces the effect of a healthier lifestyle on slowing the rate of memory decline and necessitates public health initiatives to prevent or slow down an important cause of morbidity among the elderly. Memory is a fundamental function of living, which continuously declines at varying degrees with growing age. Age-related memory loss is more prevalent than dementia and is all the more mutable. This is because of numerous factors associated with memory performance in the elderly, like (1)age; (2)education level; (3) long-term illness; (4)smoking; (5)alcohol consumption in the present or past; (6)non-alcoholic daily fluid intake; and (7)engagement in sport and physical activities. (1) A population-based prospective cohort study was conducted from 8 May 2009 to 26 December 2019 on individuals aged 60 years or older with the objective of identifying an optimal lifestyle profile to protect against memory loss in older individuals. Individuals were recruited in three phases : Phase 1- inclusion of >60 years aged individuals willing to participate. Phase 2- those with mild cognitive impairment and dementia were excluded Phase 3- APOE genotyping was done at baseline on cognitively normal individuals. This was followed by four rounds of follow-up. Study population: 29072 participants from areas representative of the north, south, and west of China were recruited from among the (the China Cognition and Ageing Study; COAST). Six healthy lifestyle factors were identified : ● A healthy diet (daily intake of 12 food items: fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, dairy products, salt, oil, eggs, cereals, legumes, nuts, and tea) ● Regular physical exercise (at least 150 min of moderate or 75 min of vigorous activity per week)2 ● Active social contact (participation in meetings or attending parties, visiting friends or relatives, travelling, and chatting online) ● Active cognitive activity (writing, reading, playing cards, mahjong, and other games) ● Never or former smoking (participants who had smoked <100 cigarettes in their lifetime or participants who had quit smoking at least three years before) ● Never drinking The association of each single lifestyle factor with memory function was studied by categorising participants into three groups: ● Favourable (4-6 healthy factors) ● Average (2-3) ● Unfavourable (0-1) Stratification for the APOE genotype was also done. Memory function was measured at baseline and each follow-up using the World Health Organization/University of California-Los Angeles Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). The trends in global cognition and memory function with respect to a healthy lifestyle and APOE ε 4 status were analysed. Findings of the study (3) Figure 1, showing Longitudinal change in memory among favourable, average, and unfavourable groups in the APOE ε 4 stratified population. Figure 2, showing differences in the decline in memory function in favourable and average groups as compared to the unfavourable group. ● Diet had the strongest association with memory, followed by cognitive activity, physical exercise, and social contact. ● Participants who maintained more healthy lifestyle factors had a significantly slower memory decline than those with fewer healthy lifestyle factors. ● Positive effect of a healthy lifestyle on memory was shown in both carriers of APOE ε4 and non-carriers. Conclusion This study reinforces the effect of a healthier lifestyle on slowing the rate of memory decline and necessitates public health initiatives to prevent or slow down an important cause of morbidity among the elderly. References M, Jandova T, Dadova K, Holmerova I, Vitulli P, Pierdomenico SD, et al. Demographic and Lifestyle Factors and Memory in European Older People. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2019;16:4727. Piercy KL, Troiano RP, Ballard RM, Carlson SA, Fulton JE, Galuska DA, George SM, Olson RD. The physical activity guidelines for Americans. Jama. 2018 Nov 20;320(19):2020-8. Jia J, Zhao T, Liu Z, Liang Y, Li F, Li Y et al. Association between healthy lifestyle and memory decline in older adults: 10 year, population based, prospective cohort study BMJ 2023; 380 :e072691 comments debug Comments Rated 0 out of 5 stars. No ratings yet Rate the Article* Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. Join the team Public Health Chronicle! APPLY NOW