Most of my work is concerned with non-communicable disease (NCD) in low and middle income countries, so I’ve got to know a fair bit about the subject. But yesterday I spent an afternoon at Imperial College listening to a series of short presentations on NCD in low middle income countries (LMIC), and I learnt a […]
As I queued in the rain to get through security I pondered life in a non-governmental organisation (NGO) rather than a Ministry of Health. It rarely makes the headlines in the press but every year the World Health Organization (WHO) has its general assembly in Geneva. It brings together government delegations from member countries from […]
The Flying Doctors Service of East Africa sounds like an echo from a romantic, and bygone age. But its formation in 1957 was the first step in the creation of a major African health development organisation that has been given the World Federation of Public Health Associations’ Institutional Award at the 13th World Congress of […]
This is a tough time for public health internationally. The global financial crisis has had a deleterious effect on the social determinants of health as some governments have pursued austerity programmes differentially, which has had the greatest effect on some of the least well off in society. Organisations of public health professionals have suffered as […]
This month we published a report on risk of type two diabetes in East London, with an accompanying paper in BMJ Open, and underpinned by a previous systematic review in BMJ. We took a risk scoring algorithm, the QDScore, and used it on just over half a million electronic records to identify high risk groups. […]
The 1920s and 1930s was an era of social and political revolution, and a switch of attitude on public health was indicative of the changing approach to public policy. The Wellcome Collection currently has an exhibition of cinematic work released by Bermondsey Borough Council’s public health department, which showcases the changed ideology on health provision […]
The Lancet, the leading journal for global health, has mentioned feminism only twice in its 189 years . The BMJ hasn’t mentioned it at all. So that looks like some evidence that feminism has had no impact on global health, but all three speakers at a meeting at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical […]
What have marketing public health messages and marketing for alcohol and fast food corporations, such as KFC and Diageo got in common? The answer in the UK is Freud PR— a “strategic marketing and communications consultancy for consumer brands, public sector bodies and global corporations.” The £1million a year contract from the Department of Health […]
Last month we drew attention to three critical pieces of data that painted a picture of the piece by piece dismantling of the public health specialist workforce. Consultant appointment processes have dropped considerably in the last three years, registrars at end of training are failing to get substantive full time consultant posts, and academic public […]
Wide gaps in life expectancy in the UK by social background have been widely recognised in recent years. With the current state of the economy, the scaling back of public services, and risks caused by fragmentation of the NHS, the elusive solutions to these complex problems may seem even harder to find. Under the previous […]