Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES; n = 186) participated in a mail survey on advocacy and public policy. Over half of participants reported that they had contacted a public official or provided policy-related information to consumers or other professionals. Participants identified barriers and benefits to influencing public policy. The greatest benefit was identified as improving the health or welfare of the public while the greatest barrier was that they were busy with other priorities. Participants also described their level of involvement, knowledge, training in advocacy, and their self-efficacy in performing various advocacy activities. Most MCHES reported voting and other basic advocacy functions while far fewer had participated in more advanced advocacy activities. Although nearly 73% had formal training on advocacy and policy, only 26% received it through college coursework. Factors predictive of advocacy and policy involvement were determined through a stepwise regression analysis. Five independent variables predicted the total number of advocacy activities and when combined accounted for nearly 61% of the variance. Government-level health educators' misconception that they cannot participate in advocacy and public policy issues should be dispelled. Health education specialists with the MCHES credential need coursework and additional training on how to effectively influence public health policy.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1524839916676463 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, 399 Wanyuan Rd, Minhang District, Shanghai, 201102, China.
China has adhered to policies of zero-COVID for almost three years since the outbreak of COVID-19, which has remarkably affected the circulation of respiratory pathogens. However, China has begun to end the zero-COVID policies in late 2022. Here, we reported a resurgence of common respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae with unique epidemiological characteristics among children after ending the zero-COVID policy in Shanghai, China, 2023.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Public Health
January 2025
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Background: Despite potential protective and mitigating effects of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) on poor health outcomes, limited research has identified relevant PCEs and examined their individual and cumulative associations with weight status, or their mitigating effects on the associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and obesity in children. This study aims to develop an exploratory PCEs Index with the potential to protect against or mitigate the association between ACEs and unhealthy weight status.
Methods: Data came from the Growing Up in New Zealand study.
Int J Equity Health
January 2025
Center for Health Equity in Latin America, Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, Louisiana, USA.
Background: Ethnic and racial discrimination in maternal health care has been overlooked in academic literature and yet it is critical for achieving universal health coverage (UHC). There is a lack of empirical evidence on its impact on the effective coverage of maternal health interventions (ECMH) for Indigenous women in Mexico. Documenting progress in reducing maternal health inequities, particularly given the disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on ethnic minorities, is essential to improving equity in health systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Prev Alzheimers Dis
January 2025
Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Centre for Medical Evidence, Decision Integrity and Clinical Impact, London, ON, Canada; WHO Collaborating Centre for Knowledge Translation and Health Technology Assessment in Health Equity, Ottawa, Canada; Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address:
Aim: Neurological disorders account for the largest proportion of disability-adjusted life years globally, with dementia being the third leading cause. Hypertension has been identified as a priority, targetable risk factor for dementia. This study aimed to systematically review economic studies that examine the impact of hypertension prevention and control on the costs and outcomes of dementia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
January 2025
Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Introduction: The link between parent-child separation through child welfare systems and negative health and social outcomes is well documented. In contrast, despite the over-representation of Indigenous children and youth in child welfare systems, the relationship between child welfare system involvement and health and social outcomes among Indigenous populations has not been systematically reviewed. Our objective is to assess whether Indigenous People who have been exposed to a child welfare system personally or intergenerationally (ie, parents and/or grandparents) within Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA (CANZUS countries) and the circumpolar region are at an increased risk for negative health and social outcomes compared with other exposed and non-exposed groups.
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