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1 – 10 of 108Muniva Islam, Mohammed Ziaul Haider and Sk. Faijan Bin Halim
This study examines mosquito-borne diseases and health hazard of using mosquito repellents in Bangladesh. This study also targets to explore the use of different mosquito…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines mosquito-borne diseases and health hazard of using mosquito repellents in Bangladesh. This study also targets to explore the use of different mosquito repellents and associated health hazard between slum and residential people.
Design/methodology/approach
This study has applied a stratified systematic sampling technique taking 120 adult individuals from residential and slum areas covering users and non-users of mosquito repellents of Khulna city, Bangladesh. A structured questionnaire has been used to collect data from respondents.
Findings
Econometric techniques are exercised to examine the occurrence, severity and duration of different respiratory diseases. Results exhibit that poor and less-educated slum people are more prone to face respiratory diseases compared to residential people. The health cost of slum and residential people is estimated US$ 134 and US$ 9, respectively.
Practical implications
Relevant stakeholders under public health programs should spread awareness among people regarding the negative health effect of using mosquito repellent, encourage them to limit the use of harmful repellent and instead use herbal product (neem coil), avoid using repellent in living room rather use outside of room and close window and use proper bed net at night.
Originality/value
This study underpins arranging public health programs and taking averting actions as an impetus to raise consciousness toward the negative health effect of using mosquito repellents.
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This chapter reviews factors responsible for climate change, impacts of the change on animal health, zoonotic diseases, and their linkage with One-Health program.
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter reviews factors responsible for climate change, impacts of the change on animal health, zoonotic diseases, and their linkage with One-Health program.
Design/methodology/approach
This chapter is based on the available literature related to climate change and its effect on animal health and production from different points. The causes and change forcers of climate change, direct and indirect effects of the change on animal health management, host–pathogen–vector interaction, and zoonotic diseases are included. Inter-linkage between climate change and One-Health program are also assessed.
Findings
Beside natural causes of climatic change, greenhouse gases are increasing due to human activities, causing global climate changes which have direct and indirect animal health and production performance impacts. The direct impacts are increased ambient temperature, floods, and droughts, while the indirect are reduced availability of water and food. The change and effect also promote diseases spread, increase survival and availability of the pathogen and its intermediate vector host, responsible for distribution and prevalence of tremendous zoonotic, infectious, and vector-borne diseases. The adverse effect on the biodiversity, distribution of animals and micro flora, genetic makeup of microbials which may lead to emerging and re-emerging disease and their outbreaks make the strong linkage between climate change and One-Health.
Practical implications
Global climate change is receiving increasing international attention where international organizations are increasing their focus on tackling the health impacts. Thus, there is a need for parallel mitigation of climate change and animal diseases in a global form.
Originality/value
Most research on climate change is limited to environmental protection, however this chapter provides a nexus between climate change, animal health, livestock production, and the One-Health program for better livelihood.
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Evangelia Tsagaki-Rekleitou, Vasiliki Oikonomou, Archonto-Dimitra Boukouvala, Maria Tsatsou, Theodora Skreka and Constantina Skanavis
There is no doubt that global climate change poses a threat to human health in a number of ways. Globally, 23% of all deaths in 2012 were attributed to the environment and an…
Abstract
There is no doubt that global climate change poses a threat to human health in a number of ways. Globally, 23% of all deaths in 2012 were attributed to the environment and an additional 250,000 potential deaths per year from 2030 to 2050 due to the effects of climate change. Heat waves, storms, droughts and floods pose an immediate risk of infectious diseases in humans. Temperature affects the survival rates of pathogens. Some populations and some areas are more vulnerable to infectious diseases due to their lack of ability to respond effectively to the stresses of high temperatures. Excessive rainfall could cause sewage to overflow and promote the onset and spread of infectious diseases ranging in severity from mild gastroenteritis to life-threatening illnesses such as cholera, dysentery and other diseases. Infectious diseases are a category of health problems that are particularly affected by climate change. Infections that occur are air-borne, water-borne and zoonotic. They are affected by the increase of the temperature, but also by the increase of the viral load in the water due to changes in the rainfall. Transmission can also take place through the migration of environmental refugees. Such an important topic could be the subject for students learning English. The purpose of this study will be to highlight the association of climate change with infectious-communicable diseases in order to take action and to create the structure by which students could learn English by studying these definitions.
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Ameema Mahroof and Saflain Haider
The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. According to WHO, 3.9 billion people are at risk of infection with dengue viruses with 70% of the actual…
Abstract
The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. According to WHO, 3.9 billion people are at risk of infection with dengue viruses with 70% of the actual burden is in Asia. In Pakistan, Punjab faced the major dengue outbreak with 21,685 confirmed cases and 350 deaths, mainly due to DENV-2. Dengue is a major health care problem that affecting countries worldwide. Dengue epidemic have a devastating impact on health care systems. All four characteristics of VUCA are true of the challenges we face due to the dengue epidemic. That called for a need to have integrated disease and surveillance (IDSR) framework for the management, prevention, and control of dengue. The IDSR framework for dengue includes hospital readiness, patient reporting system, surveillance, evidence-based decision making, awareness, citizen engagement, and availability of insecticides along with third party validation on top of it to keep a close check on containment efforts. A comprehensive patient portal was developed for all public and private health care facilities to report dengue cases i.e. suspected, probable, and confirmed as per the Dengue GCP guidelines. For surveillance, smartphone-based application was developed for field users to report larvicidal activities i.e. indoor residual spray in real-time, case response, and hotspots (areas at risk). As per established Standard Operating Procedures, hotspot regime was setup to sweep out breeding spots or larvae population at regular intervals in a week. For the purpose of evaluation and monitoring, third party validation application is designed to check activities that are performed as per prescribed standards or not. Dashboards and reports are available for various stakeholders to facilitate evidence-based decision making. These reports analyze field-based activities and rank performance of district and town. System also generates alerts i.e. Breteau (the number of positive containers per 100 houses inspected) and Container (percentage of water-holding containers infested with larvae or pupae) Indices, in real-time, enabling the administration to take decisions in a timely manner. Looking at the magnitude of dengue-related morbidity and mortality, all departments were involved in dengue prevention and control activities. This approach has proven effective in curtailing this mosquito-borne disease. The impact of these interventions can be clearly seen in regard to confirmed patient and death reported in recent year.
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Zeeshan Tariq, Fatima Izhar, Mumtaz Hasan Malik, Muhammad Oneeb, Faiza Anwar, Mudassar Abbas and Asfandyar Khan
The efforts of researchers in the 21st century have been devoted to developing novel approaches to leave planet earth green for future generations. This study aims to report the…
Abstract
Purpose
The efforts of researchers in the 21st century have been devoted to developing novel approaches to leave planet earth green for future generations. This study aims to report the synthesis of microcapsules from natural essential peppermint oil and their application to a bleached polyester and cotton (PC) blended fabric.
Design/methodology/approach
Microcapsules were prepared by a complex coacervation process and applied through the conventional pad-dry-cure method. The liquid suspension of the microcapsules was examined by optical microscopy to investigate the surface morphology of the microcapsules. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the surface morphology of the fabric after the application of the microcapsules. The finished fabric was checked for its mosquito repellent activity at the lab scale using a standard test protocol (cage test) by inserting a human arm and hand enfolded with microcapsules treated fabric.
Findings
PC fabric treated with 6% microencapsulated peppermint oil at zero wash showed 95.3% repellency against mosquitoes, and after 30 washes, the repellency was 85.8% which confirmed the durability of the developed finished fabric. The finished samples exhibited excellent air permeabilities and absorbencies.
Originality/value
This study successfully developed peppermint oil microencapsulated fabric with excellent efficacy against three mosquito species.
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Walter Leal Filho, Linda Ternova, Muhammad Muddassir Fayyaz, Ismaila Rimi Abubakar, Marina Kovaleva, Felix Kwabena Donkor, Samuel Weniga Anuga, Abraham R. Matamanda, Ilija Djekic, Ibrahim Abatcha Umar, Felicia Motunrayo Olooto, Maria Meirelles, Gustavo J. Nagy, Julia May, Marta May, Eromose Ebhuoma and Halima Begum
The interconnections between climate change and health are well studied. However, there is a perceived need for studies that examine how responses to health hazards (e.g…
Abstract
Purpose
The interconnections between climate change and health are well studied. However, there is a perceived need for studies that examine how responses to health hazards (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, ozone layer effects, allergens, mental health and vector-borne diseases) may assist in reducing their impacts. The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence on health responses to climate hazards and list some measures to address them.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed literature review, bibliometric analysis and an original online survey were undertaken on 140 participants from 55 countries spread across all geographical regions.
Findings
The bibliometric analysis identified that most climate-related health hazards are associated with extreme weather events. However, only one-third of the investigated papers specifically analysed the connections between climate change and health hazards, revealing a thematic gap. Also, although Africa is highly affected by climate change, only 5% of the assessed studies focused on this continent. Many respondents to the survey indicated “heat distress” as a significant vulnerability. The survey also identified social determinants relevant to climate-induced health vulnerabilities, such as socioeconomic and environmental factors, infrastructure and pre-existing health conditions. Most respondents agree that policies and regulations are the most effective adaptation tools to address the public health hazards triggered by climate change. This paper presents some suggestions for optimising public health responses to health hazards associated with climate change, such as the inclusion of climate-related components in public health policies, setting up monitoring systems to assess the extent to which specific climate events may pose a health threat, establishing plans to cope with the health implications of heatwaves, increased measures to protect vulnerable groups and education and awareness-raising initiatives to reduce the overall vulnerability of the population to climate-related health hazards. These measures may assist the ongoing global efforts to understand better – and cope with – the impacts of climate change on health.
Originality/value
The combination of a literature review, bibliometric analysis and an original world survey identified and presented a wide range of responses.
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Christoph Ernst, Andreas Mladenow and Christine Strauss
Emergency managers face coordinative challenges that require a high degree of mobility, flexibility and the ability to interpret heterogeneous, location-dependent information of…
Abstract
Purpose
Emergency managers face coordinative challenges that require a high degree of mobility, flexibility and the ability to interpret heterogeneous, location-dependent information of various sources and quality. Recent information and communication technology-driven developments like crowdsourcing or social networks have opened up new organizational possibilities for emergency managers. To make quick but solid decisions, and improve the coordination of activities performed by crowdsourcees during disaster response, the authors suggest the use of collaborative features from crowdsourcing and inherent availability of resources from social network effects. In this paper, the idea of considering collaboration and crowdsourcing as drivers for flexibility in the design of business processes in the context of emergency management is prepared, the meaning of location-dependent tasks for volunteers is investigated, and the added value of social network effects is substantiated.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is part of an ongoing research project in the field of crowdsourcing. It represents conceptual work that builds on relevant literature.
Findings
In terms of emergency management, the paper sheds light on what emergency managers may consider when coordinating activities performed by volunteers and how they may benefit from social network effects. Furthermore, it is shown how they can exploit information using collaboration-based and tournament-like crowdsourcing, how they can benefit from invoking additional resources using weak ties from social networks, and how visualization of information may support decision-making.
Practical implications
Exemplary applications to exploit crowdsourcing and social network effects to support improvisation and to respond flexibly in disaster response are given.
Originality/value
This paper suggests novel collaborative approaches to support emergency managers in their decision-making. Based on social network analysis, the value of weak ties is elaborated, and based on a taxonomy from crowdsourcing, distinct collaborative alternatives are developed and proposed for application in emergency management.
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Suda Hanklang, Paul Ratanasiripong and Suleegorn Sivasan
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention program for dengue fever prevention among people in rural communities.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention program for dengue fever prevention among people in rural communities.
Design/methodology/approach
A quasi-experimental study was designed for two groups. The intervention group received five weeks of dengue hemorrhagic prevention program consisted of knowledge broadcast, campaign, model house contest and group education. The control group received only the usual care of health promoting hospitals. The primary expected outcomes were changes in knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefit, perceived barriers and preventive action from baseline data, post-intervention and three-month follow-up, along with a comparison between the two groups. The secondary expected outcomes were changes in house index (HI) from baseline to post-intervention and three-month follow-up, along with a comparison between the two groups.
Findings
From the total of 64 participants, 32 were randomly assigned to the control group and 32 were randomly assigned to the intervention group. There were significant differences in knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefit, perceived barriers, preventive action and HI in the intervention group after received the five-week intervention program and at three-month follow-up (p<0.05).
Originality/value
Dengue hemorrhagic prevention program based on the Health Belief Model was effective in lowering HI and improving knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefit, perceived barriers and preventive action among people in rural communities. The intervention program may be beneficial in primary care in such a rural community.
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David Eley Borges, Steven Ramage, David Green, Christina Justice, Catherine Nakalembe, Alyssa Whitcraft, Brian Barker, Inbal Becker-Reshef, Charles Balagizi, Stefano Salvi, Vincent Ambrosia, Jesus San-Miguel-Ayanz, Luigi Boschetti, Robert Field, Louis Giglio, Laila Kuhle, Fabian Low, Albert Kettner, Guy Schumann, G. Robert Brakenridge, Robert Adler, Haris Kontoes, Helene De Boissezon, Andrew Eddy, Dalia Kirschbaum, Robert Emberson, Savannah Cooley, Simone Lloyd, Cecille Blake and Kelsey Reichenbach
As stated in the United Nations Global Assessment Report 2022 Concept Note, decision-makers everywhere need data and statistics that are accurate, timely, sufficiently…
Abstract
Purpose
As stated in the United Nations Global Assessment Report 2022 Concept Note, decision-makers everywhere need data and statistics that are accurate, timely, sufficiently disaggregated, relevant, accessible and easy to use. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate scalable and replicable methods to advance and integrate the use of earth observation (EO), specifically ongoing efforts within the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Work Programme and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Work Plan, to support risk-informed decision-making, based on documented national and subnational needs and requirements.
Design/methodology/approach
Promotion of open data sharing and geospatial technology solutions at national and subnational scales encourages the accelerated implementation of successful EO applications. These solutions may also be linked to specific Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) 2015–2030 Global Targets that provide trusted answers to risk-oriented decision frameworks, as well as critical synergies between the Sendai Framework and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This paper provides examples of these efforts in the form of platforms and knowledge hubs that leverage latest developments in analysis ready data and support evidence-based DRR measures.
Findings
The climate crisis is forcing countries to face unprecedented frequency and severity of disasters. At the same time, there are growing demands to respond to policy at the national and international level. EOs offer insights and intelligence for evidence-based policy development and decision-making to support key aspects of the Sendai Framework. The GEO DRR Working Group and CEOS Working Group Disasters are ideally placed to help national government agencies, particularly national Sendai focal points to learn more about EOs and understand their role in supporting DRR.
Originality/value
The unique perspective of EOs provide unrealized value to decision-makers addressing DRR. This paper highlights tangible methods and practices that leverage free and open source EO insights that can benefit all DRR practitioners.
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