Technical Note
Recently, the approach to hazardous events has undergone a considerable shift, away from reactive activities focused on managing and responding to events and towards a more proactive process of emergency and disaster risk management ...(DRM). The ultimate goal of this shift in focus is to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks, a process known as disaster risk reduction (DRR), while strengthening individual, community, societal and global resilience.
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DHS Working Papers No. 110 | Zimbabwe Working Papers No. 11
Desta et al. Int J Ment Health Syst (2018) 12:38 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-018-0217-z
International Journal of Infectious Diseases 80 (2019) 10–15
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijid
2nd edition. The purpose of the WHO human health risk assessment toolkit: chemical hazards is to provide its users with guidance to identify, acquire and use the information needed to assess chemica...l hazards, exposures and the corresponding health risks in their given health risk assessment contexts at local and/or national levels.
The Toolkit provides road maps for conducting a human health risk assessment, identifies information that must be gathered to complete an assessment and provides electronic links to international resources from which the user can obtain information and methods essential for conducting the human health risk assessment
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Interim guidance 19 March 2020
This publication seeks to describe the best treatments and practices based on the scientific evidence available at the time of writing as evaluated by the authors and may change as a result of new research. Readers need to apply this knowledge to patients in accordance with the guidelines and laws o...f their country of practice. Some medications may not be available in some countries and readers should consult the specific drug information since not all the unwanted effects of medications are mentioned.
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Background
Asthma remains highly prevalent, with more severe symptoms in low-income to middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with high-income countries. Identifying risk factors for severe asth...ma symptoms can assist with improving outcomes. We aimed to determine the prevalence, severity and risk factors for asthma in adolescents in an LMIC.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey using the Global Asthma Network written and video questionnaires was conducted in adolescents aged 13 and 14 from randomly selected schools in Durban, South Africa, between May 2019 and June 2021.
Results
A total of 3957 adolescents (51.9% female) were included. The prevalence of lifetime, current and severe asthma was 24.6%, 13.7% and 9.1%, respectively. Of those with current and severe asthma symptoms; 38.9% (n=211/543) and 40.7% (n=147/361) had doctor-diagnosed asthma; of these, 72.0% (n=152/211) and 70.7% (n=104/147), respectively, reported using inhaled medication in the last 12 months. Short-acting beta agonists (80.4%) were more commonly used than inhaled corticosteroids (13.7%). Severe asthma was associated with: fee-paying school quintile (adjusted OR (CI)): 1.78 (1.27 to 2.48), overweight (1.60 (1.15 to 2.22)), exposure to traffic pollution (1.42 (1.11 to 1.82)), tobacco smoking (2.06 (1.15 to 3.68)), rhinoconjunctivitis (3.62 (2.80 to 4.67)) and eczema (2.24 (1.59 to 3.14)), all p<0.01.
Conclusion
Asthma prevalence in this population (13.7%) is higher than the global average (10.4%). Although common, severe asthma symptoms are underdiagnosed and associated with atopy, environmental and lifestyle factors. Equitable access to affordable essential controller inhaled medicines addressing the disproportionate burden of asthma is needed in this setting.
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DHS Working Papers No. 123
The Strategic Tool for Assessing Risks (STAR) offers a comprehensive, easy-to-use toolkit and approach to enable national and subnational governments to rapidly conduct a strategic and evidence-based assessment of public health risks for planning an...d prioritization of health emergency preparedness and disaster risk management activities. This guidance describes the principles and methodology of STAR to enhance its adaptation and use at the national or subnational levels.
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The guidance aspires
• To emphasize the 'need' to mainstream disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the health sector initiatives.
• To identify key approaches for mainstreaming DRR in the <...span class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health sector in Myanmar, particularly in rural areas, based on the good practices, innovative approaches and lessons learned of Government, UN agencies, NGOs and others involved in the Cyclone Nargis recovery.
• Identify key ‘vulnerabilities and opportunities’ for creating a ‘safer health system’ in Myanmar.
No publication year indicated.
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This guidance note is intended primarily for health actors working in emergency and disaster risk management (hereafter 'emergency risk...> management') at the local, national or international level, and in governmental or nongovernmental agencies. People with disabilities, those working in the disability sector and those working in other sectors that contribute to improved health outcomes related to emergency risk management, may also find this guidance note useful.
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