Health Equity: 02/07/12

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

[EQ] Urban Physical Environments and Health Inequalities: A Scoping Review of Interventions

Urban Physical Environments and Health Inequalities:
A Scoping Review of Interventions

Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI)

February 7, 2012

Available online PDF [89p.] at: http://bit.ly/ziWWvP

“……The first section of the report showcases a range of interventions and their respective characteristics, with a particular emphasis on the state of evaluation of the interventions found during our scoping efforts. In the second section, we introduce a framework that clarifies the components of an equity lens and look at how the concept of equity has been integrated into various interventions.

This framework will be useful to those who want to enrich their understanding of equity as a concept and to those who are interested in building equity into activities intended to improve health and urban physical environments……..”

“…..To distinguish among the ways that equity can be integrated, the report characterizes intervention activities according to five equity dimensions. Overall, results indicate that identifying and working with at-risk groups were the most common strategies for incorporating equity into urban physical environment interventions. Interventions that integrated equity considerations were most often related to communicating messages about health hazards in the physical environment and targeted at-risk groups through tailored programs and campaigns.

Fewer actions were related to addressing the determinants of health that influence capacity to act on information or to assessing equity outcomes and unintended consequences. In addition to describing intervention activities that address inequalities, the framework clarifies elements of an equity lens and can perhaps provide guidance for incorporating equity into future intervention planning and scoping reviews…..”

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Introduction

Scoping Method and Approach

Report Breakdown

How Can This Report Be Used?

Section 1: Describing the Terrain

Identifying the Research Questions

Identifying and Selecting Interventions

Reporting the Findings

Evaluation and Outcome Measurement

Themes

Intervention Typology

Jurisdiction

Describing the Terrain: A Summary

Section 2: Applying an Equity Lens

Initial Findings: Equity and Populations of Interest

Refining the Lens

Refined Findings: Exploring Equity-Oriented Components

Addressing Determinants

At-Risk Groups

Equity Outcomes

Unintended Consequences

Community Engagement

Applying an Equity Lens: A Summary

Conclusions

Appendix A: Detailed Methodology and Process

Appendix B: Detailed Table of Intervention Sample

Appendix C: Detailed Table of Evaluated Interventions

References

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[EQ] Call fo papers: Networked regions and cities in times of fragmentation: Developing smart, sustainable and inclusive places

Regional Studies Association European Conference 2012

Sunday 13th - Wednesday 16th May 2012 - Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands

Networked regions and cities in times of fragmentation:
Developing smart, sustainable and inclusive places

Call for papers

Deadline for Abstract submission: 10th February 2012

Website: http://bit.ly/zcU381

Session Organiser: - Erio Ziglio, Head of the WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development

“…..Regions and cities are increasingly interdependent; economically, socially and environmentally. They are, for example, becoming more reliant on interregional flows of trade, labour and resources. Patterns of interactions between regions are experiencing rapid changes as a result of dramatic shifts in production and consumption patterns, advances in communication technologies and the development of transport infrastructure.

These changes pose many challenges for the analysis and management of regions. They are also leading to new patterns of activities and relationships and new forms of clustering and networking between regions. At the same time, regions are becoming increasingly fragmented in many ways; economically, socially, environmentally and also politically. Classic forms of government based on clear cut arrangements between administrative levels, policy sectors and the public and private domain are no longer sufficient.

The governance of regions faces multi-level, multi-actor and multi-sectoral challenges. New spatial interactions at new scales demand new approaches for consultation and coordination. More flexible (‘softer’) forms of governance are beginning to emerge which seek to work around traditional governmental arrangements. The result is a complex pattern of overlapping governance and fuzzy boundaries, not just in a territorial sense but also in terms of the role of both public and private actors.

These new arrangements pose many as yet unresolved dilemmas concerning the transparency, accountability and legitimacy of decision-making.
The 2012 RSA conference in Delft provides a timely opportunity for participants to come together and reflect on the various strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities of networked cities and regions within these different contexts of fragmentation.

Papers that consider these issues in relation to the development of smart, sustainable and inclusive places (the three dimensions of the Europe 2020 Strategy) are particularly encouraged. …”

Gateway Themes

A. EU Regional policy and practice

B. Climate change, energy and sustainability

C. Migration, housing and labour markets

D. Social and environmental justice and inclusive places

E. Rural and peripheral challenges

F. Territorial cohesion and cooperation

G. City-regions, networks and urban systems

H. Spatial analysis and regional economies

I. Borders, border regions and cross-border learning

J. Industries, entrepreneurship, and regional competitiveness

K. Innovation and knowledge economies

L. Creativity, identities and branding

M. Territorial governance: planning policy and practice

N. Infrastructure and development

O. Local and regional economic development

Academic organisers: Wil Zonneveld:, Evert Meijers:, Dominic Stead: RSA Organiser: Elizabeth Mitchell: elizabeth.mitchell@regionalstudies.org

Speakers:

Karl Peter Schön - Head of the European Spatial and Urban Development Section at the German Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning.

Danuta Hübner- Polish economist
Andreas Faludi chair in Spatial Policy Systems
Javier Sanchez Reaza, Economist at the OECD’s Regional Competitiveness and Governance Division
Catherine L. Ross -Georgia Tech's College of Architecture - Director Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD).
Peter Hall Professor of Planning and Regeneration at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, University College London

Bas Verkerk - Knowledge and Innovation of the Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan area

Joan Fitzgerald Director of the Law and Public Policy Program at Northeastern University
Liesbet Hooghe - Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Maarten Hajer professor of Public Policy at the University of Amsterdam. Director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency

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[EQ] Legal frameworks for eHealth

Legal frameworks for eHealth

Based on the findings of the second global survey on eHealth

WHO World Health Organization
GOe - Global Observatory for eHealth Series, v. 5, 2012

Available online PDF [89p.] at: http://bit.ly/xu0VNC

“…….Given that privacy of the doctor-patient relationship is at the heart of good health care, and that the electronic health record (EHR) is at the heart of good eHealth practice, the question arises: Is privacy legislation at the heart of the EHR?

The second global survey on eHealth conducted by the Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe) set out to answer that question by investigating the extent to which the legal frameworks in the Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) address the need to protect patient privacy in EHRs as health care systems move towards leveraging the power of EHRs to deliver safer, more efficient, and more accessible health care.

The survey began with a question on the existence of generic privacy legislation followed by questions to establish if specific rules had been adopted to address privacy in EHRs. A series of questions followed pertaining to the way in which privacy is addressed in transmittable EHRs and patients’ rights to access, correct, and control the use of the EHR.

The investigation ended by broaching the issue of privacy protection in secondary uses of data contained in EHRs, such as for international research purposes. In the present report the analysis of the survey responses is preceded by an overview of the ethical and legal roots of privacy protection. Focusing on the ethical concepts of autonomy, beneficence, and justice, the report reminds the reader of the early recognition of the duty of privacy in the Hippocratic Oath and goes on to consider how that is reflected in international binding legislation such as the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights and the European Union Data Protection Directive, as well as non-binding international codes of practice…..”

Table of contents

Executive summary

1. Introduction

1.1 Is privacy a culturally dependant concept?

1.2 Is respect for privacy important in the uptake of eHealth?

1.3 Privacy or confidentiality of electronic health record EHRs - a note on terminology

2. The ethical and legal aspects of privacy in health care: a literature review

2.1 Privacy of health related information as an ethical concept

2.2 The protection of privacy of health related information through law

2.3 Binding international law on privacy of health related information

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights

European Union Directive on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data

2.4 International non-binding agreements

Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data
Council of Europe Recommendation No. R (97) 5 on the protection of medical data

WHO: A Declaration on the Promotion of Patients' Rights in Europe

2.5 National law on privacy of health related information .

Use of EHRs in Brazil

Legislative responses to EHRs in the USA

3. Analysis of survey results

3.1. General privacy legislation

3.2 EHR privacy legislation

3.3 Legislation to regulate the sharing of health related data for patient care

3.4 Legislation on patient access and the control of EHRs

3.5 EHRs for research

4. Conclusions

4.1 Building trust

4.2 Making data work: expanding the uses of EHRs

5. References

6. Appendix 1. Methodology of the second global survey on eHealth

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[EQ] Seminar Series towards Rio+20 - Public Health Challenges and Sustainable Development

SDE Seminar Series towards Rio+20
Sustainable Development and Environmental Health – SDE - PAHO/WHO

"Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development.
They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature" - Principle 1 of the Rio…..”Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992.

The Rio Declaration of 1992 recognizes that healthy populations are central to human progress and sustainable development, and remains equally true today. However, the economic pillar has been prioritized at the expense of the social and environmental pillars of sustainable development over the last few decades, becoming itself a source of volatility and destabilization.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development - UNCSD Rio+20 now offers an opportunity to re-examine the relationship between health and sustainable development. The proposed SDE Seminar series towards Rio+20 aim at contributing to this important debate by bringing different themes of relevance to sustainable development and health to inform all areas of the Pan American Organization about the themes under discussion in the Rio Conference, but also to inform public health stakeholders and other decision makers in the health sector, to better take part in the debate.

In the “Zero draft document of the Conference” [ http://bit.ly/zDNKbR ] under discussion, health is very poorly mentioned. With these debates we hope to provide an overview of some of the various and different aspects of health in the context of sustainable development.

The SDE Seminar series will happen every Wednesday from 12 to 1pm (Washington time), from February 8 to June 13th.

All Seminars will be life-streamed, and opened for participation in person at the PAHO/WHO HQ, or via Elluminate, or via telephone line.
Some of the Seminars will be in English, others in Spanish.

For those who cannot follow the seminar alive, they will be available later at
PAHO Rio+20 Toolkit at: http://bit.ly/oxoRdS

The information on dates, themes and names of the speakers will be periodically updated on our Rio+20 Toolkit and on all other media of our networks.

The first Seminar is planned as follows:

February 8, 2012

Public Health Challenges and Sustainable Development

– A Global Perspective - Dr Maria Purificacion Neira, Director Protection Human Environment

– A Regional Perspective, Dr Luis Augusto Galvao, Manager Sustainable Development and Environmental Health PAHO/WHO

– Brasil in the Route to Rio+20 - Dr. Paulo Buss – Director Global health Center FIOCRUZ Brazil - TBC

-- PAHO/WHO Rio+20 toolkit. Ana Lucia Ruggiero – Sandra Raiher - Knowledge Translation Specialists PAHO/WHO

Comments: Dr. Carlos Santos Burgoa, Regional Advisor Sustainable Development and Environmental Health PAHO/WHO

Moderator: Dr. Agnes Soares, Regional Advisor Sustainable Development and Environmental Health PAHO/WHO

In person:
PAHO/WHO
525 23^rd ST NW
Washington DC, 20037 Room B – 12h to 13h Eastern Time (WDC)

Online:

Elluminate link: www.paho.org/virtual/SeminariosSDE

Phone number for those without access to Elluminate:

Telephone +12029743075

Meeting ID 4545

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