Monthly Archives: September 2017

World Heart Day quiz

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In honor of World Heart Day, the world’s biggest intervention against cardiovascular diseases (CVD), we’ve put together this quiz. Find out how much you know about CVD and maintaining a healthy heart.

Contraception and at risk populations

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Major health disparities occur in at risk groups of women who do not have access to reliable and affordable contraception. In this World Contraception Day blog, Dr. Alicia Christy and Dr. Carolyn Sufrin highlight these at risk groups and discuss the barriers that need to be eliminated in order to reduce unintended pregnancies and improve health.

We must acknowledge adolescents as sexual beings

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As a teenager, Dr. Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli experienced shame and was often denied access when he tried to purchase condoms. Forty years later, adolescents around the world still face barriers to contraceptive access. In this blog, Dr. Chandra-Mouli discusses those barriers and how they can be overcome.

Improving sanitation through WASH in remote rural villages

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A lack of safe drinking water and sanitation are primary causes of diarrhea: highly prevalent in developing countries, it lead to a staggering 9.2% of child deaths in 2013. In an article recently published in Infectious Diseases of Poverty researchers set out an ambitious longitudinal study that will explore the effectiveness of a WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) project in Idiofa, Bandundu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The study will gather much needed evidence on ways to improve sanitation and decrease health risks.

Challenging health system inequity by practicing everyday governance

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Governance of health systems is critical to their operation and performance, but the everyday realities and practice of governance in LMICs is rarely considered in academic inquiry – yet, influences their capacity to promote equity. A new thematic series from the International Journal for Equity in Health provides an empirical and embedded research perspective on governance and equity in health systems. Here to discuss this and highlight the importance of the series is the Guest Editor, Lucy Gilson.

Improving infant health: What’s the role for social policy?

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In 2015, 193 UN Member States adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which have the potential to significantly benefit maternal and child health. A review published today in Public Health Reviews analyses literature on the impact of paid parental leave on maternal and infant health. Here to tell us why this particular policy can help meet SDGs’ commitments are authors of the paper Dr. Jody Heymann and Aleta Sprague.