Climate change and infectious disease surveillance in Nepal: qualitative study exploring social, cultural, political and institutional factors influencing disease surveillance.

Background: To explore the impacts of contextual issues encompassing social, cultural, political and institutional elements, on the operation of public health surveillance systems in Nepal concerning the monitoring of infectious diseases in the face of a changing climate.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews (n = 16) were conducted amongst key informants from the Department of Health Services, Health Information Management System, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, World Health Organization, and experts working on infectious disease and climate change in Nepal, and data were analysed using thematic analysis technique.

Results: Analysis explicates how climate change is constructed as a contingent risk for infectious diseases transmission and public health systems, and treated less seriously than other 'salient' public health risks, having implications for how resources are allocated.

Older Adults' Perspectives of Smart Technologies to Support Aging at Home: Insights from Five World Café Forums.

Globally, there is an urgent need for solutions that can support our aging populations to live well and reduce the associated economic, social and health burdens. Implementing smart technologies within homes and communities may assist people to live well and 'age in place'. To date, there has been little consultation with older Australians addressing either the perceived benefits, or the potential social and ethical challenges associated with smart technology use.

Non-linear effect of temperature variation on childhood rotavirus infection: A time series study from Kathmandu, Nepal.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the effects of temperature variability on rotavirus infections among children under 5 years of age in Kathmandu, Nepal. Findings may inform infection control planning, especially in relation to the role of environmental factors in the transmission of rotavirus infection.

Methods: Generalized linear Poisson regression equations with distributed lag non-linear model were fitted to estimate the effect of temperature (maximum, mean and minimum) variation on weekly counts of rotavirus infections among children under 5 years of age living in Kathmandu, Nepal, over the study period (2013 to 2016).

Determinants of heat-related injuries in Australian workplaces: Perceptions of health and safety professionals.

Introduction: Hot workplace environments can lead to adverse health effects and contribute to a range of injuries. However, there is limited contextual understanding of heat-related injury occurrence. Gaining the perspectives of occupational health and safety professionals (HSPs) may elucidate the issue and inform targeted interventions.

Using a Qualitative Phenomenological Approach to Inform the Etiology and Prevention of Occupational Heat-Related Injuries in Australia.

Epidemiological evidence has shown an association between exposure to high temperatures and occupational injuries, an issue gaining importance with environmental change. The aim of this study was to better understand contributing risk factors and preventive actions based on personal experiences. Interviews were conducted with 21 workers from five Australian states using a critical phenomenological approach to capture the lived experiences of participants, whilst exploring contextual factors that surround these experiences.

Climate change and infectious disease research in Nepal: Are the available prerequisites supportive enough to researchers?

Although Nepal has been identified as a country highly vulnerable to adverse health and socioeconomic impacts arising from climate change, extant research on climate sensitive infectious diseases has yet to develop the evidence base to adequately address these threats. In this opinion paper we identify and characterise basic requirements that are hindering the progress of climate change and infectious disease research in Nepal. Our opinion is that immediate attention should be given to strengthening Nepal's public health surveillance system, promoting inter-sectoral collaboration, improving public health capacity, and enhancing community engagement in disease surveillance.

Assessing the effect of climate factors on childhood diarrhoea burden in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Introduction: This study was undertaken to assess the effect of climate variability on diarrhoeal disease burden among children under 5 years of age living in Kathmandu, Nepal. The researchers sought to predict future risk of childhood diarrhoea under different climate change scenarios to advance the evidence base available to public health decision-makers, and the Nepalese infection control division, in planning for climate impacts.

Methods: A time series study was conducted using the monthly case count of diarrhoeal disease (2003-2013) among children under 5 years of age living in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Geographical variation in risk of work-related injuries and illnesses associated with ambient temperatures: A multi-city case-crossover study in Australia, 2005-2016.

Background: The thermal working environment can have direct and in-direct effects on health and safety. Ambient temperatures have been associated with an increased risk of occupational injuries but it is unknown how the relationship can vary by weather, location and climate.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between ambient temperatures and work-related injury and illness compensation claims in three Australian cities: Melbourne and Perth (temperate climate) and Brisbane (subtropical climate) in order to determine how hot and cold weather influences the risk of occupational injury in Australia.

Public health professionals' perceptions of the capacity of China's CDCs to address emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

Background: China's capacity to control and prevent emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases is critical to the nation's population health. This study aimed to explore the capacity of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) in China to deal with infectious diseases now and in the future.

Methods: A survey was conducted in 2015 among 973 public health professionals at CDCs in Beijing and four provinces, to assess their capacity to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

Characterising the impact of heatwaves on work-related injuries and illnesses in three Australian cities using a standard heatwave definition- Excess Heat Factor (EHF).

Background And Aims: Heatwaves have potential health and safety implications for many workers, and heatwaves are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity with climate change. There is currently a lack of comparative evidence for the effects of heatwaves on workers' health and safety in different climates (sub-tropical and temperate). This study examined the relationship between heatwave severity (as defined by the Excess Heat Factor) and workers' compensation claims, to define impacts and identify workers at higher risk.

Dengue control in the context of climate change: Views from health professionals in different geographic regions of China.

Background: Dengue is a significant climate-sensitive disease. Public health professionals play an important role in prevention and control of the disease. This study aimed to explore dengue control and prevention in the context of climate change in China.

The effects of ambient temperatures on the risk of work-related injuries and illnesses: Evidence from Adelaide, Australia 2003-2013.

Background: The thermal environment can directly affect workers' occupational health and safety, and act as a contributing factor to injury or illness. However, the literature addressing risks posed by varying temperatures on work-related injuries and illnesses is limited.

Objectives: To examine the occupational injury and illness risk profiles for hot and cold conditions.

"We Were Totally Supportive, of Course": How People Talk About Supporting a Significant Other to Stop or Reduce Their Drinking.

Despite the strong influence our significant others have on health behaviors such as alcohol consumption, little is known about when they are willing to provide support for changing such behaviors. We conducted interviews with 13 Australian adults who had a partner, friend, or family member who stopped or significantly reduced their alcohol consumption within the past 2 years, to understand how these significant others accounted for providing support for this behavior change as reasonable. Through thematic discourse analysis, we identified three types of accounts: (a) deontological, referring to duty or obligation to support others; (b) consequentialist, where costs for providing support were minimized or balanced; and (c) relational, attending to the importance of maintaining relationships.

Heatwave and work-related injuries and illnesses in Adelaide, Australia: a case-crossover analysis using the Excess Heat Factor (EHF) as a universal heatwave index.

Purpose: Heatwaves, or extended periods of extreme heat, are predicted to increase in frequency, intensity and duration with climate change, but their impact on occupational injury has not been extensively studied. We examined the relationship between heatwaves of varying severity and work-related injuries and illnesses. We used a newly proposed metric of heatwave severity, the Excess Heat Factor (EHF), which accounts for local climate characteristics and acclimatization and compared it with heatwaves defined by daily maximum temperature.

Impact of meteorological factors on hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in 19 cities in China, 2005-2014.

This study aims to investigate the associations between meteorological factors and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in 19 cities selected from HFRS high risk areas across different climate zones in three Provinces of China. De-identified daily reports of HFRS in Anhui, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning Provinces for 2005-2014 were obtained from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Daily weather data from each study location were obtained from the China meteorological Data Sharing Service System.

China's capacity of hospitals to deal with infectious diseases in the context of climate change.

Objectives: Infectious diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in China. The capacity of hospitals to deal with the challenge from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases due to climate change is of great importance to population health. This study aimed to explore the capacity of hospitals in China to deal with such challenges.

Heroic journeys through sobriety: How temporary alcohol abstinence campaigns portray participant experiences.

Background: In Australia, recent years have seen a rise in the popularity of temporary abstinence campaigns, in which people pledge to abstain from alcohol for a month while raising funds for charity. In addition to their fundraising aims, such initiatives have been viewed as tools for broader behavioural and cultural change around alcohol, encouraging participants to reflect on their drinking and make longer-term changes to their behaviour. The extent to which these initiatives promote enduring change may depend on how they portray the experience of temporarily abstaining from alcohol, and how they position participants.

What Can We Learn about Workplace Heat Stress Management from a Safety Regulator Complaints Database?

Heat exposure can be a health hazard for many Australian workers in both outdoor and indoor situations. With many heat-related incidents left unreported, it is often difficult to determine the underlying causal factors. This study aims to provide insights into perceptions of potentially unsafe or uncomfortably hot working conditions that can affect occupational health and safety using information provided by the public and workers to the safety regulator in South Australia (SafeWork SA).

Developing Health-Related Indicators of Climate Change: Australian Stakeholder Perspectives.

Climate-related health indicators are potentially useful for tracking and predicting the adverse public health effects of climate change, identifying vulnerable populations, and monitoring interventions. However, there is a need to understand stakeholders' perspectives on the identification, development, and utility of such indicators. A qualitative approach was used, comprising semi-structured interviews with key informants and service providers from government and non-government stakeholder organizations in South Australia.

Perceptions of malaria control and prevention in an era of climate change: a cross-sectional survey among CDC staff in China.

Background: Though there was the significant decrease in the incidence of malaria in central and southwest China during the 1980s and 1990s, there has been a re-emergence of malaria since 2000.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst the staff of eleven Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China to gauge their perceptions regarding the impacts of climate change on malaria transmission and its control and prevention. Descriptive analysis was performed to study CDC staff's knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and suggestions for malaria control in the face of climate change.

How have people who have stopped or reduced their alcohol consumption incorporated this into their social rituals?

Objective: Limiting alcohol consumption is beneficial for health, but can be challenging given the role alcohol plays in the rituals of many social occasions. We examined how people who stopped or reduced their alcohol consumption incorporated this change within their social rituals.

Design: We conducted 16 semi-structured one-on-one interviews with adults aged 25-65 years, who lived in Australia and had stopped or significantly reduced their alcohol consumption in the previous year.

Association between dengue fever incidence and meteorological factors in Guangzhou, China, 2005-2014.

This study aims to (1) investigate the associations between climatic factors and dengue; and (2) identify the susceptible subgroups. De-identified daily dengue cases in Guangzhou for 2005-2014 were obtained from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Weather data were downloaded from the China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System.

Perceptions of capacity for infectious disease control and prevention to meet the challenges of dengue fever in the face of climate change: A survey among CDC staff in Guangdong Province, China.

Background: Dengue fever is an important climate-sensitive mosquito-borne viral disease that poses a risk to half the world's population. The disease is a major public health issue in China where in 2014 a major outbreak occurred in Guangdong Province. This study aims to gauge health professionals' perceptions about the capacity of infectious disease control and prevention to meet the challenge of dengue fever in the face of climate change in Guangdong Province, China.

Infectious Diseases, Urbanization and Climate Change: Challenges in Future China.

China is one of the largest countries in the world with nearly 20% of the world's population. There have been significant improvements in economy, education and technology over the last three decades. Due to substantial investments from all levels of government, the public health system in China has been improved since the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak.