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Shibuya F, Hattori-Uchima M, Dacanay P, Peter F, Ngirmang TT, Dacanay R, Takeuchi R, de Los Reyes C, Kobayashi J. Multi-country case study on school health policy and its implementation in relation to COVID-19 control in Micronesia Small Islands Developing States. Trop Med Health 2024; 52:27. [PMID: 38553741 PMCID: PMC10979614 DOI: 10.1186/s41182-024-00590-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic caused school closures and rises in mental illness and non-communicable disease among school children worldwide. The Pacific Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) were also affected, but school health activities, which can effectively reduce negative effects of COVID-19, were not widely implemented compared to other Asia-Pacific countries. This study examined current school health implementation and related policies at national, local, and school levels in the Micronesia SIDS according to phases of COVID-19 control. METHODS Multi-country case study targeted the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and Republic of Palau (ROP). These studies focused on school health implementation periods according to the PPR (Prevention, Preparedness, and Response) concept: Phase #1: prevention/preparedness, #2: early phase response, and #3: chronic phase response/recovery phase. Data were collected through policy document reviews that identified school health policies related to COVID-19 controls in the three phases and key informant interviews (KIIs) with 44 key informants (FSM, n = 14; RMI, n = 18; ROP, n = 12) whose work related to school health. The collected data were analyzed using content analysis methods according to the conceptual framework in this study. RESULTS This study identified three factors of school health implementation related to COVID-19 controls: promotion of decentralized education (FSM), implementation of COVID-19 controls in the school community (RMI), and disaster management for the protection of students including response to infectious disease (ROP). In Phase #1, no country had established a school health policy. In Phase #2, three enablers were identified in FSM and ROP, as reflected in COVID-19 controls by the education and health sectors. In Phase #3, RMI implemented COVID-19 controls in the school community. Documents on youth policy and disaster management in ROP were updated to reflect the chronic phase response and response to future public health crises. CONCLUSIONS A decentralized education was instrumental in immediately implementing COVID-19 control measures in schools at national and local levels for coordination between education and health sectors. Despite each county's multi-sectoral approach to engage COVID-19 controls in schools, local government organization requires strengthening and implementation of the formulated school health policy. In preparation for the next public health crisis, school health should be promoted that is integrated into both infection control and disaster management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fumiko Shibuya
- Department of Global Health, Graduate School of Health Sciences, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0215, Japan.
- Japanese Consortium for Global School Health Research, Nishihara, Japan.
| | | | - Paul Dacanay
- Division of Health Sciences, College of Micronesia-FSM, Palikir, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia
| | - Florence Peter
- Women United Together Marshall Islands, Majuro, Marshall Islands
| | | | - Rudelyn Dacanay
- Division of Health Sciences, College of Micronesia-FSM, Palikir, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia
| | - Rie Takeuchi
- Department of Global Health, Graduate School of Health Sciences, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0215, Japan
- Japanese Consortium for Global School Health Research, Nishihara, Japan
- Faculty of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare, Narita, Japan
| | - Calvin de Los Reyes
- Department of Global Health, Graduate School of Health Sciences, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0215, Japan
- College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines
| | - Jun Kobayashi
- Department of Global Health, Graduate School of Health Sciences, University of the Ryukyus, 207 Uehara, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0215, Japan
- Japanese Consortium for Global School Health Research, Nishihara, Japan
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Milano A, Robbiati C, Declich S, Calistri P, Pediconi O, Amato L, Paronyan L, Avetisyan L, Manucharyan A, Avetisyan G, Yesayan T, Gevorgyan A, Markosyan T, Dente MG. Assessing the Adoption of One Health Approaches in National Plans to Combat Health Threats: The Pilot of a One Health Conceptual Framework in Armenia. Trop Med Infect Dis 2024; 9:22. [PMID: 38251220 PMCID: PMC10819525 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed9010022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Due to several factors, such as environmental and climate changes, the risk of health threats originating at the human-animal-environment interface, including vector-borne diseases (VBDs) and zoonoses, is increasing. Low-resource settings struggle to counter these multidimensional risks due to their already-strained health systems and are therefore disproportionally affected by the impact caused by these changes. Systemic approaches like One Health (OH) are sought to strengthen prevention and preparedness strategies by addressing the drivers of potential threats with a multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach, considering the whole system at the human-animal-environment interface. The integration of OH in national plans can be challenging due to the lack of effective coordination and collaboration among different sectors. To support the process of knowledge coproduction about the level of OH integration in prevention and preparedness strategies against health threats in Armenia, a situation analysis was performed on Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever/virus and anthrax (identified by local stakeholders as priorities to be addressed with the OH approach), and actions to strengthen the national OH system were identified with the support of a OH conceptual framework. The study highlighted that multidisciplinary and multisectoral efforts towards prevention and preparedness against VBDs and zoonoses threats need to be strengthened in Armenia, and priority actions to integrate the OH approach were identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Milano
- National Center for Global Health, Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità), 00161 Rome, Italy
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia Robbiati
- National Center for Global Health, Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità), 00161 Rome, Italy
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Declich
- National Center for Global Health, Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità), 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Calistri
- National Reference Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology, Programming, Information and Risk Analysis (COVEPI), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise ‘G. Caporale’, 64100 Teramo, Italy
| | - Ombretta Pediconi
- Training and Project Management Unit, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise ‘G. Caporale’, 64100 Teramo, Italy
| | - Laura Amato
- National Reference Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology, Programming, Information and Risk Analysis (COVEPI), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise ‘G. Caporale’, 64100 Teramo, Italy
| | - Lusine Paronyan
- Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases Epidemiology Department, National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Yerevan 0096, Armenia
| | - Lilit Avetisyan
- National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Yerevan 0096, Armenia
| | - Arsen Manucharyan
- Reference Laboratory Center Reference Laboratory of Episootology, Ectoparasitology and Entomology, National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Yerevan 0096, Armenia
| | - Georgi Avetisyan
- Veterinary Inspectorate, Food Safety Inspection Body, MoE, Yerevan 0010, Armenia
| | - Tigran Yesayan
- Veterinary Inspectorate, Food Safety Inspection Body, MoE, Yerevan 0010, Armenia
| | - Arman Gevorgyan
- Veterinary Inspectorate, Food Safety Inspection Body, MoE, Yerevan 0010, Armenia
| | | | - Maria Grazia Dente
- National Center for Global Health, Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità), 00161 Rome, Italy
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Hegewisch-Taylor J, Dreser A, Aragón-Gama AC, Moreno-Reynosa MA, Ramos Garcia C, Ruckert A, Labonté R. Analyzing One Health governance and implementation challenges in Mexico. Glob Public Health 2024; 19:2377259. [PMID: 39052951 DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2024.2377259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
Establishing a robust One Health (OH) governance is essential for ensuring effective coordination and collaboration among human, animal, and environmental health sectors to prevent and address complex health challenges like zoonoses or antimicrobial resistance. This study conducted a mixed-methods environmental scan to assess to what extent Mexico displays a OH governance and identify opportunities for improvement. Through documentary analysis, the study mapped OH national-level governance elements: infrastructure, multi-level regulations, leadership, multi-coordination mechanisms (MCMs), and financial and OH-trained human resources. Key informant interviews provided insights into enablers, barriers, and recommendations to enhance a OH governance. Findings reveal that Mexico has sector-specific governance elements: institutions, surveillance systems and laboratories, laws, and policies. However, the absence of a OH governmental body poses a challenge. Identified barriers include implementation challenges, non-harmonised legal frameworks, and limited intersectoral information exchange. Enablers include formal and ad hoc MCMs, OH-oriented policies, and educational initiatives. Like other middle-income countries in the region, institutionalising a OH governance in Mexico, may require a OH-specific framework and governing body, infrastructure rearrangements, and policy harmonisation. Strengthening coordination mechanisms, training OH professionals, and ensuring data-sharing surveillance systems are essential steps toward successful implementation, with adequate funding being a relevant factor.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anahí Dreser
- Center for Health Systems Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | | | - María Antonieta Moreno-Reynosa
- National Laboratory of Sustainability Sciences, Institute of Ecology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Celso Ramos Garcia
- Center for Infectious Diseases Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Arne Ruckert
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Ronald Labonté
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
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