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Selected Topics - Prevention
 The WWW Virtual Library: Public Health
Categories
Events
Global policies and related documents
Reports, guidelines and projects
- Alcohol-use disorders: Preventing the development of hazardous and harmful drinking
"The guidance is for government, industry and commerce, the NHS and all those whose actions affect the population’s attitude to – and use of – alcohol. This includes commissioners, managers and practitioners working in local authorities, education and the wider public, private, voluntary and community sectors. In addition, it may be of interest to members of the public." [UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), June 2010 – NICE public health guidance 24]
- Demand and Pricing of Preventative Healthcare
This study introduces a theoretical framework for the economics of preventative healthcare. Mathematical models are used to explain how the price and utilization of prevention change depending on demand, as well as factors such as the price of a cure, the probability of illness, the efficacy of treatment, the probability of illness and cost functions. Different models are developed depending on the presence and level of health insurance and competition in preventative healthcare markets. Findings show the effect of various factors on the price of preventative healthcare, reveal the marginal effects of a change in the parameters on prices and suggest that under certain circumstances prevention is not the optimal choice. [author abstract] [Working Paper No. 23/2011, LSE Health - The London School of Economics and Political Science, May 2011]
- Coverage of Cervical Cancer Screening in 57 Countries: Low Average Levels and Large Inequalities
"Effective coverage rates for cervical cancer screening services are very low outside of developed countries, and women at the highest risk of developing cervical cancer are among the least likely to be screened. Coverage rates decline with advancing age, when cervical cancer incidence rates are the highest. Poor women, who likely have higher exposure to known cervical cancer biological risk factors such as smoking and unsafe sex, also show much lower coverage rates. Improving the effective coverage of cervical cancer screening or developing alternative ways to decrease cervical cancer mortality worldwide would have a considerable impact on decreasing the disease's burden as well as overall health inequalities. No one strategy will work everywhere, making it important to consider multiple strategies across — and likely within — countries." [PLoS Med June 2008 - 5(6): e132]
- Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit not Fat – Executive summary
Obesity has risen to the top of the public health policy agenda worldwide. Before 1980, rates were generally well below 10%. They have since doubled or tripled in many countries, and in almost half of the OECD, 50% or more of the population is overweight. A key risk factor for numerous chronic diseases, obesity is a major public health concern. There is a popular perception that explanations for the obesity epidemic are simple and solutions within reach. But the data reveal a more complicated picture, one in which even finding objective evidence on the phenomenon is difficult. Policy makers, health professionals and academics all face challenges in understanding the epidemic and devising effective counter strategies. This book contributes to evidence-based policy making by exploring multiple dimensions of the obesity problem. It examines the scale and characteristics of the epidemic, the respective roles and influence of market forces and governments, and the impact of interventions. It outlines an economic approach to the prevention of chronic diseases that provides novel insights relative to a more traditional public health approach. The analysis was undertaken by the OECD, partly in collaboration with the World Health Organization. [publisher overview] [OECD and World Health Organization. WHO – 2010]
- Primary Prevention of Chronic Diseases: The Role of Nutrition
This Public Health Nutrition Background Paper of July 2003 contains information for health professionals about nutrition as a determinant of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
- The concept of prevention: a good idea gone astray?
In this paper by B Starfield, J Hyde, J Gérvas and I Heath, the authors argue that,"over time, the definition of prevention has expanded so that its meaning in the context of health services is now unclear. As risk factors are increasingly considered to be the equivalent of 'diseases' for purposes of intervention, the concept of prevention has lost all practical meaning. This paper reviews the inconsistencies in its utility, and suggests principles that it should follow in the future: a population orientation with explicit consideration of attributable risk, the setting of priorities based on reduction in illness and avoidance of adverse effects, and the imperative to reduce inequities in health."
- The prevention of lifestyle-related chronic diseases: An economic framework
This March 2008 paper by Franco Sassi and Jeremy Hurst for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD Health Working Paper No. 32) "provides an economic perspective on the prevention of chronic diseases, focusing in particular on diseases linked to lifestyle choices. The proposed economic framework is centred on the hypothesis that the prevention of chronic diseases may provide the means for increasing social welfare, enhancing health equity, or both, relative to a situation in which chronic diseases are simply treated once they emerge."
- Towards Reducing Health Inequities: A Health System Approach to Chronic Disease Prevention: A Discussion Paper
"The increasing prevalence of chronic health conditions among British Columbians has been identified as a key threat to the sustainability of the health care system. Evidence shows ‘at-risk’ or ‘vulnerable’ groups have a higher rate of chronic disease due to their social and economic circumstances; however, the impacts of chronic diseases can be significantly reduced through chronic disease prevention and management efforts. While in the past, many chronic disease prevention strategies have focused on interventions aimed at modifying individual lifestyle and behavioural risk factors associated with increased risk of chronic disease (such as smoking, diet, and physical activity), there is growing evidence that such approaches will have limited success. Research shows that community- and systems-level approaches that target the social, economic, and environmental root causes of poor health can be more effective at preventing chronic disease and can greatly improve the overall health of the population. Although British Columbians in general rank among the healthiest in the world, health is not evenly distributed across British Columbia’s population. There are a significant number of British Columbians who have poorer health than others in the province, including: Children and families living in poverty; People with mental health and substance use issues; Aboriginal people; Immigrants; and Refugees." [Population & Public Health, Provincial Health Services Authority, Vancouver, Canada (2011)]
- WHO MONICA Project
Established in the early 1980s in many Centres around the world to MONItor trends in CArdiovascular diseases (CHD event registration is obligatory, stroke optional), and to relate these to risk factor changes in the population over a ten year period. It was set up to explain the diverse trends in cardiovascular disease mortality which were observed from the 1970s onwards. There are total of 32 MONICA Collaborating Centres in 21 countries. The total population age 25-64 years being monitored is ten million men and women.
Educational resources
- Cancer Links
An excellent, multi-lingual meta-site on cancer prevention and education - probably the best site available on the net
- Comprehensive Health Education Foundation (USA)
"Committed to what health education can do for individuals and communities", this organisation covers a wide area of topics related to prevention and health education.
- Handbook of Injury and Violence Prevention
"This comprehensive manual [edited by Doll, Bonzo, Mercy, Sleet and Haas] details injury and violence interventions that have proven to work effectively with vulnerable populations across all stages of life. It will benefit practitioners who manage, implement, or evaluate injury or violence prevention programs; policymakers who influence injury or violence prevention through legislation and other policies; university faculty who teach coursework in injury and violence prevention; and graduate students preparing to work in or with injury or violence prevention programs. The Handbook on Injury and Violence Prevention is a must read for all who strive to make our world safer and healthier."
- Prevention Yellow Pages
A huge collection of links to prevention programs and resources, well-structured web-site
- Suicide Prevention: The Public Health Approach (USA)
"The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention advocates a public health approach to suicide prevention. Public health is the science and art of promoting health, preventing disease, and prolonging life through the organized efforts of society. The public health approach is widely regarded as the approach that is mostly likely to produce significant and sustained reductions in suicide. It uses five basic evidence-based steps in a systematic way. These steps are applicable to any health problem that threatens substantial portions of a group or population."
- The Canadian Best Practices Portal for Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention
The primary goals of the Canadian Best Practices Portal are to: 1) Develop and disseminate best practices information for chronic disease prevention and control interventions; 2) Provide decision makers with a comprehensive and standardized resource about best practices for chronic disease prevention and control; and 3) Create awareness of the overall Canadian Best Practices System through communication and marketing activities targeted to key audience: decision makers in practice, decision makers in policy development, decision makers in research
Organisations and Networks
UN and multinational
Government
Non Government
Academic Institutions with particular focus in this area
Key Conferences, conference and workshop reports
Coming conferences
Conference reports
Journals, Newsletters, Forums
- The Journal of Primary Prevention - A bimonthly journal, published 6 times per year, it “promotes understanding of primary prevention theory, practice and research. The journal publishes social/behavioral science articles on a variety of topics, including the promotion of mental health and social/emotional functioning, and the prevention of negative outcomes such as school failure, substance use/abuse, and violence. Research includes evaluations of school- and community-based programs, cross-cultural comparisons, curriculum/program and measure development, and meta-analyses.”
Bibliographies, Libraries
Public health bookshops
Original website founded Lucien E. Schlosser and Eberhard Wenzel, 1997.
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