Background: Re-emergence in 2003 of human cases of avian H5N1 and the resultant spread of the disease highlighted the need to improve the capacity of countries to detect and contain novel viruses. To assess development in this capacity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) produced a tool for assessing a country's capability in 12 critical areas related to pandemic preparedness, including monitoring and identifying novel influenza viruses.
Objectives: Capabilities the CDC tool assesses range from how well a country has planned and is prepared for an outbreak to how prepared a country is to respond when a pandemic occurs. Included in this assessment tool are questions to determine whether a country has a detailed preparedness plan and the laboratory capacity to identify various strains of influenza quickly and accurately.
Methods: The tool was used first in 2008 when 40 countries in collaboration with CDC calculated baseline scores and used a second time in 2010 by 36 of the original 40 countries to determine whether they had improved their preparedness. Using basic mathematical comparison and statistical analyses, we compared data at the aggregate capability level as well as at the indicator and country levels. Additionally, we examined the comments of respondents to the assessment questionnaire for reasons (positive and negative) that would explain changes in scores from 2008 to 2010.
Results: Analysis of results of two assessments in 36 countries shows statistically significant improvement in all 12 capabilities on an aggregate level and 47 of 50 indicators.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/irv.12214 | DOI Listing |
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier (Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro), Montpellier 34000, France.
Collaborative management partnerships (CMPs) between state wildlife authorities and nonprofit conservation organizations to manage protected areas (PAs) have been used increasingly across Sub-Saharan Africa since the 2000s. They aim to attract funding, build capacity, and increase the environmental effectiveness of PAs. Our study documents the rise of CMPs, examines their current extent, and measures their effectiveness in protecting habitats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Internet Res
January 2025
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States.
Health care is undergoing a "revolution," where patients are becoming consumers and armed with apps, consumer review scores, and, in some countries, high out-of-pocket costs. Although economic analyses and health technology assessment (HTA) have come a long way in their evaluation of the clinical, economic, ethical, legal, and societal perspectives that may be impacted by new technologies and procedures, these approaches do not reflect underlying patient preferences that may be important in the assessment of "value" in the current value-based health care transition. The major challenges that come with the transformation to a value-based health care system lead to questions such as "How are economic analyses, often the basis for policy and reimbursement decisions, going to switch from a societal to an individual perspective?" and "How do we then assess (economic) value, considering individual preference heterogeneity, as well as varying heuristics and decision rules?" These challenges, related to including the individual perspective in cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), have been widely debated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJMIR Hum Factors
January 2025
New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL, United States.
Background: Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, are 2 densely populated South Asian neighboring regions with many socioeconomic and cultural similarities. In dealing with breast cancer (BC)-related issues, statistics show that people from these regions are having similar problems and fates. According to the Global Cancer Statistics 2020 and 2012 reports, for BC (particularly female BC), the age-standardized incidence rate is approximately 22 to 25 per 100,000 people, and the age-standardized mortality rate is approximately 11 to 13 per 100,000 for these areas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adherence to self-care behaviors can prevent or delay adverse outcomes associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Sex and socioculturally constructed gender might impact individuals' ability to adhere to healthy lifestyles.
Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically identify, evaluate, and synthesize the literature on the influence of sex and gender on adherence to self-care behaviors for CVD risk management in the global context.
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