03 de gener 2016

Public health for the world

Readings in Global Health Essential reviews from the New England Journal of Medicine

The book starts with this statement:
“Global Health” is a relatively recent construct, largely replacing and extending concepts embedded in prior terms such as “Tropical Medicine” and “International Health.” We have adopted a working definition of Global Health as “Public Health for the world”. In this view, everyone in the world is the relevant population, and Global Health seeks to prevent and treat the diseases that compromise good health anywhere in the world. A brief review of the origin and evolution of the concept of Global Health may cast light on some of the institutions and impulses still intrinsic to the study of Public Health for the world.
That's it. A selections of 18 articles from NEJM (plus intro and conclusions) is presented  in the book in order to understand the current change of paradigm:
1. Harvey V. Fineberg and David J. Hunter: A Global View of Health-An Unfolding Series
Part I: Global Disease Patterns and Predictions
2. Christopher J.L. Murray and Alan D. Lopez: Measuring the Global Burden of Disease
3. Anthony J. McMichael: Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health
Part II: Infectious Diseases
4. Anthony S. Fauci and David M. Morens: The Perpetual Challenge of Infectious Diseases
5. Peter Piot and Thomas C. Quinn: Response to the AIDS Pandemic-A Global Health Model
6. Harvey V. Fineberg: Pandemic Preparedness and Response-Lessons from the H1N1 Influenza of 2009
7. Rupa Kanapathipillai, Armand G Sprecher, and Lindsey R Baden: Ebola Virus Disease: Past and Present
8. Gary J. Nabel: Designing Tomorrow's Vaccines
9. Donald R. Hopkins: Disease Eradication
Part III: Non-Communicable Diseases
10. Majid Ezzati and Elio Riboli: Behavioral and Dietary Risk Factors for Noncommunicable Diseases
11. Prabhat Jha and Richard Peto: Global Effects of Smoking, of Quitting, and of Taxing Tobacco
12. David J. Hunter and K. Srinath Reddy: Noncommunicable Diseases
13. Anne E. Becker and Arthur Kleinman: Mental Health and the Global Agenda
14. Robyn Norton and Olive Kobusingye: Injuries
Part IV: Health System Responses
15. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta and Robert E. Black: Global Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health-So Near and Yet So Far
16. Anne Mills: Health Care Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
17. Jennifer Leaning and Debarati Guha-Sapir: Natural Disasters, Armed Conflict, and Public Health
Part V: Global Institutional Responses
18. Julio Frenk and Suerie Moon: Governance Challenges in Global Health
19. Lawrence O. Gostin and Devi Sridhar: Global Health Law
20. Nigel Crisp and Lincoln Chen: Global Supply of Health Professionals
21. David J. Hunter and Harvey V. Fineberg: Convergence to Common Purpose in Global Health
The book is specially appropriate for any health professional and politician. Clearly written and concrete messages, allows the reader to undestand that public health requires a deeper global coordination.