Health Equity: August 2011

Friday, August 26, 2011

[EQ] Changing the future of obesity: science, policy, and action

Changing the future of obesity: science, policy, and action

The Lancet, Volume 378, Issue 9793, Pages 838 - 847, 27 August 2011

Available online at: http://bit.ly/o3UA8Y

“……The global obesity epidemic has been escalating for four decades, yet sustained prevention efforts have barely begun. An emerging science that uses quantitative models has provided key insights into the dynamics of this epidemic, and enabled researchers to combine evidence and to calculate the effect of behaviours, interventions, and policies at several levels—from individual to population. Forecasts suggest that high rates of obesity will affect future population health and economics.

Energy gap models have quantified the association of changes in energy intake and expenditure with weight change, and have documented the effect of higher intake on obesity prevalence. Empirical evidence that shows interventions are effective is limited but expanding. We identify several cost-effective policies that governments should prioritise for implementation. Systems science provides a framework for organising the complexity of forces driving the obesity epidemic and has important implications for policy makers.

Many parties (such as governments, international organisations, the private sector, and civil society) need to contribute complementary actions in a coordinated approach. Priority actions include policies to improve the food and built environments, cross-cutting actions (such as leadership, healthy public policies, and monitoring), and much greater funding for prevention programmes. Increased investment in population obesity monitoring would improve the accuracy of forecasts and evaluations.

The integration of actions within existing systems into both health and non-health sectors (trade, agriculture, transport, urban planning, and development) can greatly increase the influence and sustainability of policies. We call for a sustained worldwide effort to monitor, prevent, and control obesity………”

Authors:
Prof Steven L Gortmaker a , Prof Boyd A Swinburn b, Prof David Levy d, Prof Rob Carter c, Patricia L Mabry e, Prof Diane T Finegood f, Prof Terry Huang g, Tim Marsh h, Marjory L Moodie c
a Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
b WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
c Deakin Health Economics, Deakin Population Health, Deakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
d Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, and Department of Economics, University of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA
e Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
f Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada
g Department of Health Promotion, Social and Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
h National Heart Forum, London, UK

Series Comments

The future challenge of obesity

David King

Full Text |

Reversing the tide of obesity

William H Dietz

Full Text |

Where next for obesity

Harry Rutter

Full Text |

Series Papers

The global obesity pandemic: shaped by global drivers and local environments

Boyd A Swinburn, Gary Sacks, Kevin D Hall, Klim McPherson, Diane T Finegood, Marjory L Moodie, Steven L Gortmaker

Summary |

Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK

Y Claire Wang, Klim McPherson, Tim Marsh, Steven L Gortmaker, Martin Brown

Summary |

Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight

Kevin D Hall, Gary Sacks, Dhruva Chandramohan, Carson C Chow, Y Claire Wang, Steven L Gortmaker, Boyd A Swinburn

Summary |

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[EQ] Data Systems and Social Determinants of Health - Public Health Reports Special Issue

Data Systems and Social Determinants of Health

Public Health Reports Volume 126 Supplement 3: 2011

Available online at: http://bit.ly/qyxHXD

“This special supplement to Public Health Reports focuses on data systems and their use in addressing social determinants of health (SDH)—the underlying economic and social conditions that influence the health of individuals and communities as a whole.

This supplement brings attention to the increasing burden and inequities in some health outcomes, as well as the use of data to expand the knowledge base on SDH.

In his special commentary, "The Ultimate Measures of Health," Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard K. Koh discusses the need for a broad "health in all policies" approach to public health for the 21st century. Similarly, in their guest editorial, Drs. Kathleen McDavid Harrison and Hazel D. Dean of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe the need for a holistic approach to disease prevention that involves addressing not only individual, social, structural, and environmental determinants, but also working with a wide array of government and private sector organizations, including health, education, justice, environment, and labor. In turn, this holistic approach requires using diverse kinds of data such as surveillance, legal, land use, marketing, workforce, education, and financial.

Several articles within the supplement describe novel ways to use surveillance data from both national and state-level data collection systems, while others demonstrate innovative ways of linking labor, housing, and policy data with public health data to assess health outcomes. Additionally, experts provide specific viewpoints on gender equity as a social determinant, the use of public health law research to address SDH, and psychosocial factors affecting health.”

Content: Article Title
Use of Data Systems to Address Social Determinants of Health: A Need to Do More
Kathleen McDavid Harrison , / Hazel D. Dean , \| Deputy Director \| National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention \| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Data Systems Linking Social Determinants of Health with Health Outcomes: Advancing Public Goods to Support Research and Evidence-Based Policy and Programs
Ritu Sadana , / Sam Harper ,

The Ultimate Measures of Health
Howard K. Koh ,

Including Gender in Public Health Research
Susan P. Phillips ,

Law in a Social Determinants Strategy: A Public Health Law Research Perspective
Scott Burris ,

Accumulating Knowledge on the Social Determinants of Health and Infectious Disease
Paula A. Braveman ,

The NCHHSTP 2010–2015 Strategic Plan and the Pursuit of Health Equity: A Catalyst for Change and A Step in the Right Direction
Johnnie (Chip) Allen , / Robert Jennings , / Robyn S. Taylor / Michele Shipp ,

Reflections from the CDC 2010 Health Equity Symposium
Sha Juan J. Colbert , / Kathleen McDavid Harrison ,

Collection of Social Determinant of Health Measures in U.S. National Surveillance Systems for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB
Victoria M. Beltran / Kathleen McDavid Harrison , / H. Irene Hall , Hazel D. Dean ,

Incorporating Geospatial Capacity within Clinical Data Systems to Address Social Determinants of Health
Karen Frederickson Comer , / Shaun Grannis , / Brian E. Dixon , / David J. Bodenhamer , Sarah E. Wiehe ,

Promoting Health and Safety in San Francisco’s Chinatown Restaurants: Findings and Lessons Learned from a Pilot Observational Checklist
Laura M. Gaydos , Rajiv Bhatia / Alvaro Morales , / Pam Tau Lee , / Shaw San Liu , Charlotte Chang , / Alicia L. Salvatore , / Niklas Krause / Meredith Minkler

Identifying the Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Disease Rates Using Correlation Analysis of Area-Based Summary Information
Ruiguang Song , H. Irene Hall , / Kathleen McDavid Harrison / Tanya Telfair Sharpe / Lillian S. Lin , / Hazel D. Dean ,

Changing Disparities in Invasive Pneumococcal Disease by Socioeconomic Status and Race/Ethnicity in Connecticut, 1998–2008
Kristen Soto / Susan Petit , / James L. Hadler ,

Use of Medicaid Data to Explore Community Characteristics Associated with HIV Prevalence Among Beneficiaries with Schizophrenia
James Walkup , Ayse Akincigil , Donald R. Hoover , Michele J. Siegel , Shahla Amin Stephen Crystal ,

Institutional Racism and Pregnancy Health: Using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data to Develop an Index for Mortgage Discrimination at the Community Level
Dara D. Mendez , / Vijaya Hogan Jennifer F. Culhane ,

Spatial Visualization of Multivariate Datasets: An Analysis of STD and HIV/AIDS Diagnosis Rates and Socioeconomic Context Using Ring Maps
Ana Lòpez-De Fede , John E. Stewart , / James W. Hardin , / Kathy Mayfield-Smith / Dawn Sudduth , Med

Creating and Using New Data Sources to Analyze the Relationship Between Social Policy and Global Health: The Case of Maternal Leave
Jody Heymann , Amy Raub / Alison Earle ,

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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

[EQ] International Course on Epidemiological Methods. Lima, Peru - May 7-18, 2012

IEA 4th International Course on Epidemiological Methods

Lima Peru - May 7-18, 2011

Hosted by Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia

Application Deadline: November 1, 2011

Website: http://bit.ly/pVbJK1

The IEA is offering an intermediate level residential course on epidemiological methods, which will include lectures, computer-based analyses, exercises, discussion sessions, and practical experience in the design of a research proposal. The course will be of interest to epidemiologists, public health professionals, statisticians, and clinicians.

In addition to epidemiological study design and analyses, special one-day modules will cover social epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, causal inference, meta-analyses and how to write and publish scientific articles.

The course directors are Cesar Victora (Brazil), Neil Pearce (UK), Luis Huicho (Peru) and Jaime Miranda (Peru).
The faculty also includes Patricia Buffler (USA), George Davey-Smith (UK), Bianca de Stavola (UK), Shah Ebrahim (India), and Matthias Egger (Switzerland).

Overview of the Course

• Descriptive epidemiology

• Study design options (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, intervention studies)

• Study design issues (confounding, selection bias, information bias, effect modification)

• Data analysis (stratified analysis, multivariable analysis)

• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses

• Social epidemiology

• Genetic epidemiology

• Causal inference

• Writing and publishing epidemiological research (conducted by the editorial team of the International Journal of Epidemiology

Planning Secretariat:

Ms. Carole Laflamme

607 Notre-Dame Saint-Lambert, QC J4P 2K8 Canada

E-mail: carole@iseventsolutions.com

Phone: +1-450-550-3488 ext. 114 Fax: +1-514-227-5083

The working language of the course will be English, and participants will be expected to have sufficient knowledge of spoken and written English
to participate actively in discussions

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[EQ] Chronic Emergency: Why NCDs Matter

Chronic Emergency: Why NCDs Matter

Irina A. Nikolic; Anderson E. Stanciole; Mikhail Zaydman

Health, Nutrition, and Population, Human Development Network, The World Bank

July 2011

Available online PDF [34p.] at:http://bit.ly/nFHaAR

"………….�Chronic Emergency: Why NCDs Matter- examines the magnitude of the challenge posed by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in middle- and low-income countries, and makes the case for elevating the challenge as a priority item to address on the agenda of decision-makers.

NCDs are on the rise in all middle- and low-income country regions. By 2030, NCDs are expected to account for three quarters of the disease burden in middle-income countries, up from two-thirds today and approaching the level of high-income countries. In low income countries, the NCD share of the disease burden will increase even more quickly and will approach the levels currently found in middle-income countries. At the same time, many low-income countries will continue to contend with substantial communicable disease burdens, thus facing a �double burden of disease.

Further, compared to their higher-income counterparts, many developing countries will face elevated NCD levels at earlier stages of economic development and with a much compressed timeline to address the challenge.

The overall economic and social cost of NCDs vastly exceeds their direct medical costs. NCDs affect economies, health systems, and households and individuals through a range of drivers such as reduced labor productivity, higher medical treatment costs, and lost savings. These drivers aggregate into significant socioeconomic impacts, including in the areas of: country productivity and competitiveness; fiscal pressures; health outcomes; and poverty, inequity and opportunity loss.

Despite the magnitude of the NCD challenge, there is considerable space for action. While most countries will not be able to �treat their way out‖ of the NCD challenge because of the immense costs such a strategy requires, they can target NCD risk factors and promote healthier lifestyles through focused prevention efforts while also facilitating strategic adaptation measures to mitigate the impact of NCDs on economies, health systems, and households and individuals…."

Content:

Preface

I � The Mounting Challenge of NCDs

Rising NCD challenge in middle-income and low-income countries

Healthy years of life lost

Increased NCD burdens at lower levels of economic development

II � Beyond Health Alone: the Socioeconomic Impact of NCDs

Economies

Health systems

Households and individuals

Key impact areas

III � Addressing The NCD Challenge: the Scope for Action

The need for a multisectoral response

Abatement through targeted prevention

Strategic adaptation to mitigate the impact of NCDs

Country-tailored responses and the role of the international community

References

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"Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members".
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