Education ; Health Education ; Global Health

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Global health highlights the transnational determinants, issues, and possible solutions for improving health outcomes. Addressing global health issues requires population-based approaches coupled with individualized healthcare across settings, including strategies for achieving health equity. Designing and implementing global health solutions requires competent nurse leaders who can facilitate multi-disciplinary collaborations, engage in policy development, and lead advocacies that support the global health agenda. Thus, this paper examined the stakeholder perspectives that informed the development of a leadership program on global health for nurse leaders in the Western Pacific Region (WPR).

The study used a descriptive qualitative approach to generate key recommendations for a context-appropriate, multi-country capacity-building program for nurse leaders on global health. The Analysis Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model and reflexive approach were employed to guide the development of the training design. Twenty-five nurse leaders from World Health Organization Collaborating Centers (WHO-CC) in the Western Pacific participated. Qualitative data were collected from participant feedback and post-activity sessions throughout program implementation.

Thematic analysis of stakeholder data revealed that the program (1) capitalized on equipping nurse leaders with the concepts related to global health and developing competencies in leadership, policy engagement, and advocacy; (2) ensured learning strategies by having participants from varied contexts and experiences; and (3) reflected on the strengths and limitations of the use of the online platform.

This paper contributed to the growing literature on global health and programs that support addressing global health issues. The findings underscored the urgent need to capacitate nurses in leadership positions who contribute to addressing emerging issues in global health. The paper recommended improvements in the design and implementation of the Global Health Nursing Leadership Program to engage more nurse leaders across the region and enhance content and delivery.

Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a highly infectious disease and can result in permanent flaccid paralysis of the limbs. Singapore was certified polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 29 October 2000, together with 36 other countries in the Western Pacific Region. The last imported case of polio in Singapore was in 2006. Fortunately, polio is vaccine-preventable-the world saw the global eradication of wild poliovirus types 2 and 3 achieved in 2015 and 2019, respectively. However, in late 2022, a resurgence of paralytic polio cases from vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) was detected in countries like Israel and the US (specifically, New York); VDPV was also detected during routine sewage water surveillance with no paralysis cases in London, UK. Without global eradication, there is a risk of re-infection from importation and spread of wild poliovirus or VDPV, or new emergence and circulation of VDPV. During the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide routine childhood vaccination coverage fell by 5% to 81% in 2020-2021. Fortunately, Singapore has maintained a constantly high vaccination coverage of 96% among 1-year-old children as recorded in 2021. All countries must ensure high poliovirus vaccination coverage in their population to eradicate poliovirus globally, and appropriate interventions must be taken to rectify this if the coverage falters. In 2020, WHO approved the emergency use listing of a novel oral polio vaccine type 2 for countries experiencing circulating VDPV type 2 outbreaks. Environmental and wastewater surveillance should be implemented to allow early detection of "silent" poliovirus transmission in the population, instead of relying on clinical surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis based on case definition alone.
Child ; Humans ; Infant ; Public Health Surveillance ; Pandemics ; Wastewater ; Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Poliomyelitis/prevention & control* ; Poliovirus ; Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral ; Vaccination ; Global Health

Humans ; Thyroid Neoplasms/pathology* ; Carcinoma, Papillary/pathology* ; World Health Organization ; Adenocarcinoma, Follicular/pathology*

Humans ; Meningioma/pathology* ; Central Nervous System/pathology* ; Meningeal Neoplasms/pathology* ; World Health Organization ; Central Nervous System Neoplasms/pathology*

Humans ; Child ; Glioma/pathology* ; Brain Neoplasms/pathology* ; Central Nervous System/pathology* ; World Health Organization ; Central Nervous System Neoplasms/pathology* ; Mutation

Objective: To investigate the applicability of the 2021 WHO classification of thoracic tumors' new grading system for invasive pulmonary adenocarcinoma (IPA) with different clinical stages and its correlation with the characteristics of targeted genes' variation. Methods: A total of 2 467 patients with surgically resected primary IPA in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Shanghai, China from September to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Eligible cases were graded using the new grading system of IPA of the 2021 WHO classification of thoracic tumors. The clinicopathological data and targeted-gene abnormality were collected. The utility of new grading system of IPA in different clinical stages was investigated. The correlation of clinicopathological features and targeted-gene abnormality in different grades of IPA were compared. Results: All 2 311 cases of IPA were included. There were 2 046 cases of stage Ⅰ IPA (88.5%), 169 cases of stage Ⅱ (7.3%), and 96 cases of stage Ⅲ (4.2%). According to the new classification system of IPA, 186 cases (9.1%), 1 413 cases (69.1%) and 447 cases (21.8%) of stage-Ⅰ adenocarcinoma were classified as Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3, respectively. However, there were no Grade 1 adenocarcinomas in stages Ⅱ and Ⅲ cases. Among stage-Ⅱ and Ⅲ IPA cases, there were 38 Grade 2 cases (22.5%) and 131 Grade 3 cases (77.5%), and 3 Grade 2 cases (3.1%) and 93 Grade 3 cases (96.9%), respectively. In stage-Ⅰ cases, no tumor cells spreading through airspace (STAS), vascular invasion or pleural invasion was found in Grade 1 of IPA, while the positive rates of STAS in Grade 2 and 3 IPA cases were 11.3% (159/1 413) and 73.2% (327/447), respectively. There was a significant difference among the three grades (P<0.01). Similarly, the rates of vascular and pleural invasion in Grade 3 IPA cases were 21.3% (95/447) and 75.8% (339/447), respectively, which were significantly higher than those of 1.3% (19/1 413) and 3.0% (42/1 413) in Grade 2 (P<0.01). EGFR mutational rates in Grades 1, 2 and 3 IPA were 65.7% (94/143), 76.4% (984/1 288) and 51.3% (216/421), respectively. The differences among the three grades were statistically significant (P<0.01). No fusion genes were detected in Grade 1 IPA, while the positive rates of ROS1 and ALK fusion genes in Grade 3 were 2.4% (10/421) and 8.3% (35/421), respectively, which were significantly higher than that of 0.5% (7/1 288) and 1.6% (20/1 288) in Grade 2 (P<0.01). In stage-Ⅱ cases, only EGFR mutation rate in Grade 2 adenocarcinoma (31/37, 83.8%) was higher than that in Grade 3 adenocarcinoma (71/123, 57.7%; P<0.01). However, the correlation between the new grade system of IPA and the distribution characteristics of targeted-gene variation cannot be evaluated in stage Ⅲ cases. Conclusions: The new grading system for IPA is mainly applicable to clinical stage-Ⅰ patients. Tumor grades of IPA are strongly correlated with the high-risk factors of prognosis and the distribution features of therapeutic targets. It is of great significance and clinical value to manage postoperative patients with early-stage IPA.
Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/genetics* ; Retrospective Studies ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins/genetics* ; China ; Adenocarcinoma of Lung/pathology* ; Adenocarcinoma/pathology* ; Prognosis ; ErbB Receptors/genetics* ; World Health Organization ; Neoplasm Staging

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate spatiotemporal variations of global heat-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden from 1990 to 2019. METHODS: Data on the burden of heat-related CVD were derived from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were used to quantify heat-induced CVD burden. We calculated the age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and DALY rate (ASDR) per 100,000 population to compare this burden across regions. Generalized linear models were applied to evaluate estimated annual percentage changes (EAPC) for temporal trends from 1990 to 2019. The correlation between the socio-demographic index (SDI) and age-standardized rate was measured using the Spearman rank test. RESULTS: Heat-induced CVD caused approximately 90 thousand deaths worldwide in 2019. Global ASMR and ASDR of heat-related CVD in 2019 were 1.17 [95% confidence interval ( CI): 0.13-1.98] and 25.59 (95% CI: 2.07-44.17) per 100,000 population, respectively. The burden was significantly increased in middle and low-SDI regions and slightly decreased in high-SDI regions from 1990 to 2019. ASMR showed an upward trend, with the most considerable increase in low-latitude countries. We observed a negative correlation between SDI and EAPC in ASMR ( r _s = -0.57, P < 0.01) and ASDR ( r _s = -0.59, P < 0.01) among 204 countries. CONCLUSION Heat-attributable CVD burden substantially increased in most developing countries and tropical regions.
Humans ; Quality-Adjusted Life Years ; Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology* ; Hot Temperature ; Temperature ; Global Health ; Global Burden of Disease

Allergic diseases can notably affect a patient's quality of life. World Health Organization (WHO) has identified these diseases as one of the key areas for research and prevention in the 21st century. Currently, allergen-specific immunotherapy is viewed as a potential treatment approach that could modify the natural progression of allergic diseases, thus being recognized as a crucial tactic in their prevention and treatment. Nonetheless, the broad implementation of allergen-specific immunotherapy in clinical settings continues to confront challenges. One significant issue is the absence of standardized centers for subcutaneous allergen-specific immunotherapy. This article presents several perspectives and recommendations for establishing a standardized subcutaneous allergen-specific immunotherapy center.
Humans ; Allergens/therapeutic use* ; Quality of Life ; Immunotherapy ; World Health Organization

Objective: The direction and intensity of population aging on the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in China from 1990 to 2019 were analyzed, and the burden of NCDs in 2050 was predicted. Methods: The disease-specific disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost (YLLs), and years lived with disability (YLDs) in the Chinese population from 1990 to 2019 were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study.The differences in indicators from 1990 to 2019 were attributed to the contribution of age structure, population size, and all other causes. The Bayesian age-time-cohort models were used to predict DALYs from NCDs to 2050. Results: The absolute level of DALYs caused by NCDs increased by 7.460 million from 1990 to 2019, and the age structure contributed 186.0% (95% Uncertainty Intervals (UIs): 178.4%-193.6%), population size contributed 77.0% (95% UIs: 69.5%-80.8%), all other causes contributed -163.0% (95% UIs:-163.1%- -159.3%). DALYs caused by NCDs consist of 2.527 million YLLs and 4.934 million YLDs, in which the contribution of age structure to YLLs and YLDs was 414.6% (95% UIs: 396.2%-432.5%) and 69.1% (95% UIs: 66.7%-71.4%), respectively. From 2019 to 2050, the diseases with increased DALYs due to changes in age structure are cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, chronic respiratory diseases, neurological disorders, sense organ diseases, diabetes and kidney diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, digestive diseases, mental disorders, and skin and subcutaneous diseases in descending order. Conclusions: From 1990 to 2019, except for skin and subcutaneous diseases, the burden of other NCDs attributable to population aging increased, mainly due to disability. By 2050, the burden of NCDsattributable to population aging will continue to rise.
Humans ; Life Expectancy ; Quality-Adjusted Life Years ; Noncommunicable Diseases/epidemiology* ; Bayes Theorem ; Global Health ; China/epidemiology* ; Aging ; Global Burden of Disease