Context: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted health systems worldwide. Studies to date have largely focused on the health care system with less attention to the impact on public health systems and practice.
Objective: To describe the early impacts of COVID-19 on public health systems and practice in 3 Canadian provinces from the perspective of public health system leaders and synthesize lessons learned.
Design: A qualitative study using semistructured virtual interviews with public health leaders between October 2020 and April 2021. The World Health Organization's essential public health operations framework guided data collection and analysis.
Setting: This study involved the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, and Québec. These provinces were chosen for their large populations, relatively high COVID-19 burden, and variation in public health systems.
Participants: Public health leaders from Alberta (n = 21), Ontario (n = 18), and Québec (n = 19) in organizations with a primary mandate of stewardship and/or administration of essential public health operations (total n = 58).
Results: We found that the COVID-19 pandemic led to intensified collaboration in public health systems and a change in workforce capacity to respond to the pandemic. This came with opportunities but also challenges of burnout and disruption of non-COVID-19 services. Information systems and digital technologies were increasingly used and there was greater proximity between public health leaders and other health system leaders. A renewed recognition for public health work was also highlighted.
Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted several aspects of public health systems in the provinces studied. Our findings can help public health leaders and policy makers identify areas for further investment (eg, intersectoral collaboration, information systems) and develop plans to address challenges (eg, disrupted services, workforce burnout) that have surfaced.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9528938 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000001596 | DOI Listing |
Pharmazie
December 2024
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a prevalent and debilitating mental disorder that has been linked to hyperhomocysteinemia and folate deficiency. These conditions are influenced by the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase () gene, which plays a crucial role in converting homocysteine to methionine and is essential for folate metabolism and neurotransmitter synthesis, including serotonin. : This study explored the association between and polymorphisms among Saudi MDD patients attending the Erada Complex for Mental Health and Erada Services outpatient clinic in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Assist Reprod Genet
January 2025
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Institute for Bioethics and Health Humanities, School of Public and Population Health, Galveston, TX, USA.
Egg donation is a procedure that is powerfully advertised as a beneficial experience with limited mention of the associated risks. Egg donor recruitment advertisements target young and financially insecure women and can serve as a catalyst for interest in egg donation. In the absence of explicit egg donation advertisement regulations and without counterbalancing information from other sources, potential donors may not be able to recognize how advertisements can be misleading.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Sex Behav
January 2025
Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (INI-Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Perceived risk for HIV acquisition among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) may not align with their actual sexual HIV exposure. Factors associated with low/moderate perceived risk among GBMSM eligible for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) (based on their high estimated HIV exposure) have been poorly described in Latin America. This is a secondary analysis of a 2018 web-based cross-sectional survey in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) is a biomarker for the early diagnosis of AKI.
Objectives: To evaluate uNGAL in dogs with non-associative immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) and to evaluate whether uNGAL correlates with disease severity markers, negative prognostic indicators and outcome.
Animals: Twenty-two dogs with non-associative IMHA and 14 healthy dogs.
Brain Imaging Behav
January 2025
Macquarie Medical School, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently used to monitor disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aims to systematically evaluate the correlation between MRI measures and histopathological changes, including demyelination, axonal loss, and gliosis, in the central nervous system of MS patients. We systematically reviewed post-mortem histological studies evaluating myelin density, axonal loss, and gliosis using quantitative imaging in MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!