Health Equity: 02/21/12

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

[EQ] Summer Program on Global Health Law and Governance

Summer Program on Global Health Law and Governance

June 18-22, 2012 at Washington DC USA

O’Neill Institute’s inaugural Summer Program on Global Health Law and Governance will include practitioners, policymakers, advocates and leading academics in global health to learn the foundations of global health law and governance

To apply, please visit the following website: http://bit.ly/wDUfI0 .

Over a five-day period, the Summer Program will bring together practitioners, policymakers, advocates and leading academics in global health to learn the foundations of global health law and governance. Georgetown Law and is open to all (lawyers and non-lawyers).

Participants will explore such cutting-edge issues as:

- International trade and health

- The International Health Regulations

- The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

- Health and human rights

- Non-communicable diseases

The Summer Program is co-directed by Professors Lawrence Gostin and Allyn Taylor.
The faculty of the Summer Program consists of other leading global health law experts from the O'Neill Institute, international institutions, such as the World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, academia, and legal practice

To apply for the O’Neill Institute Summer Program applicants should complete and submit the application form by May 1, 2012.

Limited tuition assistance is available and may be awarded based on financial need and demonstrated potential for excellence within the field of global health.

If you would like to be considered for tuition assistance, please complete the additional essay portion of the application

Tuition waiver applications will be considered through March 30, 2012

* * *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues. [DD/ KMC Area]
Washington DC USA

“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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Thank you.

[EQ] Social and Economic Costs of Violence

Social and Economic Costs of Violence: Workshop Summary

Deepali M. Patel and Rachel M. Taylor, Rapporteurs; Forum on Global

Violence Prevention; Institute of Medicine

US National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Health and Human Services – 2012

Available online at: http://bit.ly/z9pi6x

“…….The costs of violence are borne by all segments of society, but their measurement and impact are difficult to quantify. Traditional approaches, consisting mostly of measuring the direct economic effects of healthcare utilization and productivity loss, vastly underestimate the additional social and developmental costs of both morbidity and mortality.

Beyond the measurable costs, violence causes pain and suffering, can lead to chronic trauma, affects child development, and can increase the risk of chronic health outcomes later in life (Repetti et al., 2002). As well, violence affects communities and societies, leading to losses in business sectors, financial divestment, and increased burden on the healthcare and justice systems. Although some methodologies exist for estimating such social or indirect costs, many are confounded by uncertainties in definitions and lack of rigorous evidence of causative factors.

Nevertheless, even initial and crude estimates of both the cost of violence and the cost of prevention show the financial benefits of early intervention. In most cases, the cost of implementing successful preventive interventions is less than the cost to individuals and society of inaction.

To engage in multisectoral, multidirectional dialogue that explores crosscutting public health approaches to violence prevention. To that end, the workshop was designed to examine these approaches from multiple perspectives and at multiple levels of society. In particular, was focused on exploring the successes and challenges.

…….Three major reasons for accurately measuring costs:

1. To determine the true impact of violence beyond morbidity and mortality,

2. To place violence in the context of and make comparisons to other public health issues, and

3. To compare the cost of violence to the cost of preventing violence, and determine the cost-effectiveness of intervention programs…..”

Content:

1 Introduction

Part I: Workshop Overview

2 Approaches to Measurement and Costing Methodology

3 Challenges in Calculating Costs

4 Toward a Bigger Picture of the Costs of Violence

5 The Promise of Investing in Violence Prevention

Part II: Papers and Commentary from Workshop Speakers

6 Papers on Direct and Indirect Costs of Violence

The Costs of Interpersonal Violence—An International Review

Consequences of Elder Abuse: The Needs for Social Justice and Policy Implications

Costs of Firearm Violence: How You Measure Things Matters

The Contagion of Violence: The Extent, the Processes, and the Outcomes

How Persistent Fear and Anxiety Can Affect Young Children’s Learning, Behavior, and Health

7 Papers on Context and Place

Social Contexts and Violence

The Impact of War on Child Development and Mental Health: A Longitudinal Study of Risk and Resilience Among Former Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: High Costs to Households and Communities

Youth Violence in Kingston, Jamaica

8 Papers on Investing in Prevention

The Value of Prevention

Communities That Care: Bridging Science and Community

Practice to Prevent Adolescent Health and Behavior Problems Including Violence

* * *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues. [DD/ KMC Area]
Washington DC USA

Thank you.

[EQ] Cities and Flooding - A Guide to Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management for the 21st Century

Cities and Flooding
- A Guide to Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management for the 21st Century

Abhas K Jha | Robin Bloch Jessica Lamond
2012 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Available online PDF file [638p.] at; http://bit.ly/zaECtp

Website: http://bit.ly/yagjW7

“…….The occurrence of floods is the most frequent among all natural disasters. In the past twenty years in particular, the number of reported flood events has been increasing significantly. The numbers of people affected by floods and financial, economic and insured damages have all increased too. In 2010 alone, 178 million people were affected by floods. The total losses in exceptional years such as 1998 and 2010 exceeded $40 billion…..”

Urban flooding is a serious and growing development challenge. It is a global phenomenon which causes widespread devastation, economic damages and loss of human lives.

“…The guide provides forward-looking operational assistance to policy makers and technical specialists in the rapidly expanding cities and towns of the developing world on how best to manage the risk of floods. It takes a strategic approach, in which appropriate risk management measures are assessed, selected and integrated in a process that both informs and involves the full range of stakeholders….”

“…..The guide: Describe the causes, probabilities and impacts of floods– Propose a strategic, innovative, integrated approach to managing flood risk accomplished by selecting and combining structural, hard engineered measures and non-structural management measures

– Discuss the means by which these measures can be financed and implemented while engaging with and drawing on the capacities and resources of all involved stakeholders
---Specify the procedures by which progress with implementation can be monitored and evaluated….”

Content:

A Summary for Policy Makers

Chapter 1 Understanding Flood Hazard

Chapter 2 Understanding Flood Impacts

Chapter 3 Integrated Flood Risk Management: Structural Measures

Chapter 4. Integrated Flood Risk Management: Non-Structural Measures

Chapter 5. Evaluating Alternative Flood Risk Management

Options: Tools for Decision Makers

Chapter 6. Implementing Integrated Flood Risk Management

Chapter 7. Conclusion: Promoting Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management

Thank you.

[EQ] Environmental health inequalities in Europe

Environmental health inequalities in Europe
Assessment report

WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, Bonn Office
WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2012

Available online PDF [212p.] at: http://bit.ly/xA9tmV

“…..Recent debate on the social determinants of health has indicated that the unequal distribution of health and well-being in national populations is a major challenge for public health governance. This is equally true for environmental health conditions and for exposure to environmental risk, which varies strongly by a range of sociodemographic determinants and thus causes inequalities in exposure to – and potentially in disease resulting from – environmental conditions.

Interventions tackling such environmental health inequalities need to be based on an assessment of their magnitude and on the identification of population groups that are most exposed or most vulnerable to environmental risks. However, data to quantify the environmental health inequality situation are not abundant, making comprehensive assessments difficult at both national and international levels.

WHO Regional Office for Europe has carried out a baseline assessment of the magnitude of environmental health inequality in the European Region based on a core set of 14 inequality indicators. The main findings of the assessment report indicate that socioeconomic and demographic inequalities in risk exposure are present in all countries and need to be tackled throughout the Region. However, the report also demonstrates that each country has a specific portfolio of inequalities, documenting the need for country-specific inequality assessments and tailored interventions on the national priorities….”

CONTENT

Executive summary

Introduction

Chapter 1. The concept of environmental health inequalities

A historic perspective

Inequality and inequity

Identification and assessment of inequalities and inequities

Environmental health inequality: hazard and risk

Sociodemographic factors, exposure and vulnerability

The psychosocial dimension in environmental health inequality

Framing the problem

Chapter 2. Housing-related inequalities

Data and methods

Inequalities in inadequate water supply

Inequalities in lack of a flush toilet in the dwelling

Inequalities in lack of a bath or shower in the dwelling

Inequalities in overcrowding

Inequalities in dampness in the home

Inequalities in keeping the home adequately warm

Inequalities in keeping the home adequately cool

Chapter 3. Injury-related inequalities

Inequalities in work-related injuries

Inequalities in fatal road traffic injuries (RTIs)

Inequalities in fatal poisoning

Inequalities in fatal falls

Chapter 4. Environment-related inequalities

Inequalities in noise exposure at home

Inequalities in lack of access to recreational or green areas

Inequalities in second-hand smoke exposure at home

Inequalities in second-hand smoke exposure at work

Chapter 5. Gaps in evidence and restrictions on assessing environmental health inequalities

Missing data

Limited stratification by sociodemographic determinants

Data quality

Consistency and comparability

Access to data

Cumulative and multiple exposures

Country priorities

Data gaps and relevance for public health

Chapter 6. Priorities for action on environmental health inequalities

Suggested subregional priorities for action

Suggested priorities for national action

Conclusion

Annex 1. National environmental health inequality fact sheets

Annex 2. Examples of national practices in analysis and presentation of environmental health inequalities

Annex 3. Assessment of priority areas for national action

Thank you.