Factors related to compliance with the COVID-19 health regulations among young people

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all facets of our lives and all ages and social strata worldwide.Measures have been taken to protect against the spread of the virus,such as more rigorous hand hygiene,the use of face masks and social distancing.However,the focus has often been on young people,who have been seen as a group lacking sufficient respect for government-imposed measures.This review outlines the preventive measures that have been taken in different countries and discusses their specific impact on young people and adolescents,taking into account the developmental stage and concrete needs of this age group.It summarizes those studies that have provided information on compliance with preventive measures by young people and adolescents,concluding that although compliance levels among this age group are lower than among older adults,the general view of youths as non-compliant is not consistent with real,objective data.The review also summarizes different views regarding the possible reasons for this lower level of compliance,taking into account both social(gender and age)and personal factors(personality,empathy,prosociality,self-control,cognitive styles and motivations),and discusses the practical implications of these findings for the future.

The synergies between international health regulations and One Health in safeguarding global health security

The World Health Organization established International Health Regulations(IHRs)to give nations a legal framework for preventing,identifying,and responding to public health threats of international concern.On the other hand,One Health advocates for integrated approaches to health risks,acknowledging the interdependence of human,animal,and ecosystem health.By integrating these frameworks,stakeholders can leverage their respective strengths to enhance surveillance,early detection,and response mechanisms,as well as promote sustainable development and resilience against emerging health threats.This article explores the shared objectives,interconnectedness of health systems,collaborative mechanisms,and capacity-building initiatives that indicate the synergistic effects of IHRs and One Health in safeguarding global health security.

Assessment and regulation of ocean health based on ecosystem services: Case study in the Laizhou Bay, China

The ecosystem-based management of nearshore waters requires integrated assessment of ocean health and scientific guidance on artificial regulations to promote sustainable development. Quantitative approaches were developed in this paper to assess present and near-term ocean health based on ecosystem services. Results of the case study in the Laizhou Bay of China showed that the index score of ocean health was 0.785 6 out of 1.0 at present and was expected to range from 0.555 1 to 0.804 1 in the near-term future depending on different intensities of artificial regulation of negative pressures. Specifically, the results of ocean health at present mainly indicated that cultural services and provisioning services performed essentially perfectly while supporting services and regulating services functioned less well. It can be concluded that this nearshore ecosystem would partially lose supporting and regulating services in the near-term future if the increasing pressures were not wellregulated but that all of these categories of ecosystem services could be slightly improved if the negative pressures were fully controlled. Additionally, it is recommended that publicity and education on ecosystem services especially on cultural services and regulating services should be further strengthened. The analytical process and resulting quantification provide flexible tools to guide future development of regulations so as to facilitate ecosystem-based management in the coastal zone.

Qatar steps up to Global Health security:a reflection on the joint external evaluation,2016

Since the commencement of the International Health Regulations in 2007,global public health security has been faced with numerous emerging and ongoing events.Moreover,the Joint External Evaluation is a voluntary tool developed in compliance with the Global Health Security Agenda that represents the high responsibility of international health community towards the increased incidence of emerging and re-emerging diseases.Against this background,between 29th May and 2nd June 2016,a team of World Health Organization consultants arrived to the State of Qatar to assess,in collaboration with national experts,the country’s capacity to prevent,detect,and rapidly respond to threats of public health aspect.They identified areas of strength,weakness,and recommendations for improving national health security of Qatar in anticipation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup event.Qatar has demonstrated a leading role in the region through its commitment to International Health Regulations(2005)and population health.Similarly,the Qatar was the first Arab state and seventh volunteering country globally to undergo the Joint External evaluation process.In this review,we highlighted Qatar’s achievements and shortcomings of International Health Regulations’core capacities to inform healthcare professionals and the scientific community about the country’s contribution toward global health security.

Exploring health workforce regulation practices and gaps in Ethiopia:a national cross-sectional study

Background:Health workforce regulation plays key roles in ensuring the availability of competent health workers and improving performance of the health system.In 2010,Ethiopia established a national authority aiming to ensure competence and ethics of health professionals.Subsequently,subnational regulators were established and regulatory frameworks were developed.Although there were anecdotal reports of implementation gaps,there was lack of empirical evidence to corroborate the reports.We conducted a national study to explore health professional regulation practices and gaps focusing on registration,licensing,ethics,scope of practice,and continuing professional development.Methods:We conducted a mixed methods cross-sectional survey using structured interview with a national representative sample of health professionals and key informant interviews with health regulators and managers.We used two stage stratified cluster sampling to select health professionals.The quantitative data were subjected to descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analysis.We conducted thematic analysis of the qualitative data.Results:We interviewed 554 health professionals in the quantitative survey.And 31 key informants participated in the qualitative part.Nearly one third of the respondents(32.5%)were not registered.Many of them(72.8%)did not renew their licenses.About one fifth of them(19.7%)did nothing against ethical breaches encountered during their clinical practices.Significant of them ever practiced beyond their scope limits(22.0%);and didn’t engage in CPD in the past 1 year(40.8%).Majority of them(97.8%)never identified their own CPD needs.Health regulators and managers stressed that regulatory bodies had shortage of skilled staff,budget and infrastructure to enforce regulation.Regulatory frameworks were not fully implemented.Conclusions:Health professionals were not regulated well due to limited capacity of regulators.This might have affected quality of patient care.To ensure effective implementation of health professional regulation,legislations should be translated into actions.Draft guidelines,directives and tools should be finalized and endorsed.Capacity of the regulators and health facilities needs to be built.Reinstituting health professionals’council and regulation enforcement strategies require attention.Future studies are recommended for assessing effects and costs of weak regulation.

An automated management system for the community health service in China

Objective:To explore a useful tool for health administrative departments to manage the com-munity health service(CHS).Methods:On the basis of existing health laws and regulations in China,we describe the design of an automated management system for the CHS with a supervision system and an evaluation system using computer technology and corresponding design software.Results:Four changes to the management of the CHS were made:repetitive work became automated,complicated work became simplified,nonregular services decreased,and obscure in-structions became clear and specific.Conclusion:The automated management system will promote the development of CHS man-agement.

Sustainable strategies for Ebola virus disease outbreak preparedness in Africa:a case study on lessons learnt in countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Background: From May 2018 to September 2022, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) experienced seven Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks within its borders. During the 10th EVD outbreak (2018–2020), the largest experienced in the DRC and the second largest and most prolonged EVD outbreak recorded globally, a WHO risk assessment identified nine countries bordering the DRC as moderate to high risk from cross border importation. These countries implemented varying levels of Ebola virus disease preparedness interventions. This case study highlights the gains and shortfalls with the Ebola virus disease preparedness interventions within the various contexts of these countries against the background of a renewed and growing commitment for global epidemic preparedness highlighted during recent World Health Assembly events.Main text: Several positive impacts from preparedness support to countries bordering the affected provinces in the DRC were identified, including development of sustained capacities which were leveraged upon to respond to the subsequent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Shortfalls such as lost opportunities for operationalizing cross-border regional preparedness collaboration and better integration of multidisciplinary perspectives, vertical approaches to response pillars such as surveillance, over dependence on external support and duplication of efforts especially in areas of capacity building were also identified. A recurrent theme that emerged from this case study is the propensity towards implementing short-term interventions during active Ebola virus disease outbreaks for preparedness rather than sustainable investment into strengthening systems for improved health security in alignment with IHR obligations, the Sustainable Development Goals and advocating global policy for addressing the larger structural determinants underscoring these outbreaks.Conclusions: Despite several international frameworks established at the global level for emergency preparedness, a shortfall exists between global policy and practice in countries at high risk of cross border transmission from persistent Ebola virus disease outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With renewed global health commitment for country emergency preparedness resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and cumulating in a resolution for a pandemic preparedness treaty, the time to review and address these gaps and provide recommendations for more sustainable and integrative approaches to emergency preparedness towards achieving global health security is now.

Fighting against the common enemy of COVID-19: a practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has caused more than 80813 confirmed cases in all provinces of China,and 21110 cases reported in 93 countries of six continents as of 7 March 2020 since middle December 2019.Due to biological nature of the novel coronavirus,named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)with faster spreading and unknown transmission pattern,it makes us in a difficulty position to contain the disease transmission globally.To date,we have found it is one of the greatest challenges to human beings in fighting against COVID-19 in the history,because SARS-CoV-2 is different from SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV in terms of biological features and transmissibility,and also found the containment strategies including the non-pharmaceutical public health measures implemented in China are effective and successful.In order to prevent a potential pandemic-level outbreak of COVID-19,we,as a community of shared future for mankind,recommend for all international leaders to support preparedness in low and middle income countries especially,take strong global interventions by using old approaches or new tools,mobilize global resources to equip hospital facilities and supplies to protect noisome infections and to provide personal protective tools such as facemask to general population,and quickly initiate research projects on drug and vaccine development.We also recommend for the international community to develop better coordination,cooperation,and strong solidarity in the joint efforts of fighting against COVID-19 spreading recommended by the joint mission report of the WHO-China experts,against violating the International Health Regulation(WHO,2005),and against stigmatization,in order to eventually win the battle against our common enemy—COVID-19.