Handwashing: harnessing the yuck factor to improve public health
The recent E. coli O104:H4 outbreak has set us thinking about handwashing again. (We've tackled it before in Now wash your hands) It’s very difficult to change people’s behaviour and to prove my point, just watch this video“Do Shocking Images Change Hygiene Behavior”. The video refers to a study from University of Denver "Using a…
Germany scores own goal…its not Spanish cucumbers!
It's not cucumbers, it might be beansprouts? E. coli O104 has killed 22 people so far, made over1400 ill and reached 11 countries. It has had a significant effect on two countries- damaging Spain’s economy and damaging the credibility of the German public health system. The fallout is broader still: the EU – and that…
Epigenetics: epi what?
Pity the poor editor on BBC’s news programme “Breakfast” (11 jan 2011) subtitling, as Professor Robert Winston and others discussed the possibility of gender selection to "complete your family in the way you desire" i.e. to finally achieve that longed for girl or boy. Throughout the discussion the text editor had kept up admirably, coping…
Biofuels: a public health hazard?
Jatropha curcas, image courtesy of Biofuels Information Exchange It has come to my attention that Jatropha curcas (physic nut or purging nut) is being pushed in India as a biofuel crop (for oil) and that there is now an emerging public health problem there due to accidental poisoning of children. An Indian member of the…
Xmas camels, tobacco and kids
Copyright: W.Norris My daughter decided to make this camel for the annual school Xmas tree competition. To her, at age 11, camels are “cuddly” and linked to the Three Wise Men, part of the Christmas Story. To me, whilst overseeing her sewing efforts, I’d made the link to the 2 empty packets sitting on my…
Not much fun being Roma
copyright: Adam Jones PhD It's always struck me as ironic that a number of Hollywood film stars are happy to be credited with being 1/4 (1/8, 1/16th…) Native American but its not so positive to be more full-blooded Native American, in terms of your social status, health or life opportunities in the US. And…
Mushrooms, delicious or deadly?
Yunnan sudden death syndrome occurs in remote mountainous villages of the Yunnan province of China in the rainy season, at an altitude of 1800-2400 m: people just drop dead from heart failure. You might think its linked to the season…some waterborne or insect-carried disease, or maybe the altitude & a genetic quirk, but it turns…
Health inequality, health disparity, health equity: what’s the difference?
Well if you are at the bottom of the social heap, striving to find enough money to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head…not much. But if you want to understand how a government or a researcher or development worker thinks and works to improve your lot (& public health…
If I get sick, will she know what to do?
Copyright: John & Penny Hubley This blog is contributed by Dr Neil Pakenham-Walsh, Coordinator of HIFA2015 , the global campaign and email forum focussed on informed healthcare provision in developing countries. We in richer countries take for granted that our healthcare providers have access to the information they need to make informed decisions... Every…
Helping yourself (GlobalHealthTrials.org)
In 2004, a couple of years after I started work for CABI, I heard a talk by Paul Chinnock, then part of the Cochrane Collaboration, (conduct systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare) and now editor of Tropika.net. Essentially this talk outlined the need for evidence-based interventions for developing countries: amongst other suggestions, it called…