Functional disability, health care access, and mental health in Ukrainians displaced by the 2022 Russian invasion.

Armed conflict has negative mental health impacts on internally displaced people and refugees, however, much less is known of its effects on the mental health of displaced people and refugees with disabilities. We use pan-European data (N = 9,676), collected via an internet health needs survey across April-July 2022, to examine the mental health impacts of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine on the mental health of displaced people with disabilities during the first months of the war. Regression models separately examined associations between functional impairment (vision, walking, existing mental health condition), access to healthcare, welfare payments, and anxiety and sleep quality, controlling for sociodemographic variables.

Infant and child mortality in Afghanistan: A scoping review.

Background And Aims: Since 1990, global child and infant mortality rates have typically stabilized or decreased due to improved healthcare, vaccination rollouts, and international funding. However, Afghanistan continues to face the highest child and infant mortality rates globally, with 43 deaths per 1000 live births. This study aims to examine the factors contributing to this high mortality rate and propose interventions to address the issue.

Effects of blast exposure on anxiety and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among displaced Ukrainian populations.

Generalized anxiety and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common among individuals forcibly displaced during war and conflict. Blast exposure may be one important contributor of such symptoms. The aims of this study were to provide data on blast-related experiences of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and to assess the influence of blast exposure on generalized anxiety, and PTSD flashbacks and nightmares.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and conspiracy beliefs in Togo: Findings from two cross-sectional surveys.

Togo is a low-income country in West Africa. Estimates from Our World in Data suggest that only 25% of the Togolese population have received at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine by June 2023. Whilst the early phase of the pandemic vaccine rollout across 2021 was dominated by higher-income countries taking much of the available supply, there have long been sufficient supplies for all nations.

Global trends in psycho-oncology research investments 2016-2020: A content analysis.

Objective: An estimated one-third of cancer patients experience a clinically significant psychological disorder, however it is unclear to what extent this is reflected in research funding. To address this a systematic analysis the allocation of psycho-oncology research funding globally between 2016 and 2020 was conducted.

Methods: A global dataset of 66,388 cancer research awards, from 2016 to 2020 inclusive and totalling $24.

Infectious diseases in Afghanistan: Strategies for health system improvement.

Background And Aim: Afghanistan is grappling with a severe health crisis marked by a high prevalence of infectious diseases, particularly tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, and the added strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation's healthcare system, already fragile, faces formidable challenges. Socioeconomic constraints, including limited resources and financial barriers, hinder healthcare accessibility, leading to delayed or inadequate care.

Scabies outbreak management in refugee/migrant camps in Europe 2014-2017: a retrospective qualitative interview study of healthcare staff experiences and perspectives.

Objectives: Provide insights into the experiences and perspectives of healthcare staff who treated scabies or managed outbreaks in formal and informal refugee/migrant camps in Europe 2014-2017.

Design: Retrospective qualitative study using semistructured telephone interviews and framework analysis. Recruitment was done primarily through online networks of healthcare staff involved in medical care in refugee/migrant settings.

Health service needs and perspectives of a rainforest conserving community in Papua New Guinea's Ramu lowlands: a combined clinical and rapid anthropological assessment with parallel treatment of urgent cases.

Objectives: Determine community needs and perspectives as part of planning health service incorporation into Wanang Conservation Area, in support of locally driven sustainable development.

Design: Clinical and rapid anthropological assessment (individual primary care assessments, key informant (KI) interviews, focus groups (FGs), ethnography) with treatment of urgent cases.

Setting: Wanang (pop.

Better understanding extrapulmonary tuberculosis: A scoping review of public health impact in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh.

Background And Aims: South Asian countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh, have a high prevalence of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB). This prevalence is influenced by various risk factors such as ethnicity, nutrition, socioeconomic disparities, high out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, and specific Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (TB) lineages. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely hindered access to healthcare and led to under-reporting of EPTB cases nationally and internationally.

Global funding for cancer research between 2016 and 2020: a content analysis of public and philanthropic investments.

Background: Cancer is a leading cause of disease burden globally, with more than 19·3 million cases and 10 million deaths recorded in 2020. Research is crucial to understanding the determinants of cancer and the effects of interventions, and to improving outcomes. We aimed to analyse global patterns of public and philanthropic investment in cancer research.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and confidence in the Philippines and Malaysia: A cross-sectional study of sociodemographic factors and digital health literacy.

With the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, large-scale vaccination coverage is crucial to the national and global pandemic response, especially in populous Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia where new information is often received digitally. The main aims of this research were to determine levels of hesitancy and confidence in COVID-19 vaccines among general adults in the Philippines and Malaysia, and to identify individual, behavioural, or environmental predictors significantly associated with these outcomes. Data from an internet-based cross-sectional survey of 2558 participants from the Philippines (N = 1002) and Malaysia (N = 1556) were analysed.

Prevalence of skin Neglected Tropical Diseases and superficial fungal infections in two peri-urban schools and one rural community setting in Togo.

Introduction: Skin neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), are endemic and under-diagnosed in many lower-income communities. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of skin NTDs and fungal infections in two primary schools and a community setting in rural Togo.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study that took place between June-October 2021.

Digital health literacy for COVID-19 vaccination and intention to be immunized: A cross sectional multi-country study among the general adult population.

Introduction: It is clear that medical science has advanced much in the past few decades with the development of vaccines and this is even true for the novel coronavirus outbreak. By late 2020, COVID-19 vaccines were starting to be approved by national and global regulators, and across 2021, there was a global rollout of several vaccines. Despite rolling out vaccination programs successfully, there has been a cause of concern regarding uptake of vaccine due to vaccine hesitancy.

Adapted digital health literacy and health information seeking behavior among lower income groups in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Misinformation has had a negative impact upon the global COVID-19 vaccination program. High-income and middle-income earners typically have better access to technology and health facilities than those in lower-income groups. This creates a rich-poor divide in Digital Health Literacy (DHL), where low-income earners have low DHL resulting in higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Infodemic and the fear of monkeypox: call for action.

Monkeypox (MPX) was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), as of July 23, 2022. Fake news spread on social media has already surfaced and contributed to worsening of this concerning situation, making it difficult for the health care experts' voices to be heard. Therefore, we recommend some solutions to overcome this situation, including raising public awareness and preventing stigma through sharing engagement with civil society organizations, and better cooperation between policymakers, the medical community, and social media platforms regarding providing accurate official news about MPX.

Examining enablers of vaccine hesitancy toward routine childhood and adolescent vaccination in Malawi.

Background: The contribution of vaccination to global public health and community wellbeing has been described as one of the greatest success stories of modern medicine. However, 13.5 million children still miss at least one of their routine vaccinations, and this contributes to about 1.

Lessons from the field: COVID-19 outbreak investigations in Kpone-Katamanso, Greater Accra, Ghana: a Global South approach to disease control and contact tracing.

In the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality (Greater Accra, Ghana), as part of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response, public health teams implemented and carried out enhanced contact tracing and surveillance from March 2020 to March 2021. There were 725 confirmed COVID-19 cases during this time period, most of which were detected as part of the enhanced surveillance. This is resource intensive, but beneficial in the early detection of cases, thus reducing further community transmission and, in effect, stopping larger outbreaks at the source.