Journal of Public Health

Academic institutions privilege norms of continuous productivity and uninterrupted availability, creating conformity pressures that systematically disadvantage those who deviate from an implicit template of the ideal academic. This study explores how doctoral students and faculty in the health sciences perceive the reproduction of social homogeneity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants at a German university hospital. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic anal...

Suicide is one of the worlds leading public health problems, with more than 720,000 deaths annually. Suicide has traditionally been studied from an individual perspective. However, research has increasingly highlighted the influence of community-level factors on suicide risk. This study aimed to (1) analyse the spatial distribution of suicide mortality at the provincial level in Spain (2018-2022); (2) perform stratified analyses by sex and age group; and (3) compare suicide risk across differen...

Introduction Heat waves are increasingly frequent and linked to higher mortality risks in Hong Kong. However, estimates of total excess mortality associated with heat waves remain unavailable. This study quantifies excess deaths associated with heat waves in Hong Kong from 2014 to 2023. Methods Daily age- and sex-specific mortality rates and population data were obtained from the Hong Kong Life Tables and Census and Statistics Department. Temperature data came from the Hong Kong Observatory, and...

Background: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival depends on timely bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and quick defibrillation via automated external defibrillator (AED). However, access to CPR education and willingness to intervene are not equitably distributed. Within the Muslim community, intersecting religious identity, language, immigration-related concerns, and other social determinants of health may affect CPR/AED education, bystander response, and ultimately OHCA out...

BackgroundHelmet use is a proven safety measure that reduces the risk of head injury among cyclists and e-scooter riders. Despite legal requirements for pedal bikes and e-bikes in Australia, compliance varies, particularly among users of electric vehicles. The growing popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters in urban areas presents new public health challenges, yet observational data on helmet use, behavioural determinants, and the effectiveness of safety interventions remain limited. AimPhase 3 of...

BackgroundHelmet use is a proven safety measure that reduces the risk of head injury among cyclists and e-scooter riders. Despite legal requirements for pedal bikes and e-bikes in Australia, compliance varies, particularly among users of electric vehicles. The growing popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters in urban areas presents new public health challenges, yet observational data on helmet use, behavioural determinants, and the effectiveness of safety interventions remain limited. AimPhase 4 of...

Background The Hump-nosed pit viper is a recognized but neglected medically significant species causing morbidity and mortality, with non-availability of a specific antivenom. There are many gaps in our understanding of its envenomation, including burden, clinical syndrome, complications and management. Methodology The study is a retrospective sub analysis of the Prospective VENOMS registry and hospital records of Hump Nosed Pit Viper envenomation from a single tertiary care center in coastal Ka...

BackgroundHelmet use is a proven safety measure that reduces the risk of head injury among cyclists and e-scooter riders. Despite legal requirements for pedal bikes and e-bikes in Australia, compliance varies, particularly among users of electric vehicles. The growing popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters in urban areas presents new public health challenges, yet observational data on helmet use, behavioural determinants, and the effectiveness of safety interventions remain limited. AimPhases 1 a...

Background. Although health mediation is widely studied in the U.S. through community health worker programs, evidence on their effectiveness in promoting cancer screening in Europe is limited. Since 2022, the "13 en Sante" program has implemented a multicomponent health mediation intervention -combining educational activities, outreach strategies, and navigation support- in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Marseille, France. This study evaluates the effectiveness of this progra...

We developed and validated a self-administered clinical vignette platform powered by a large language model (LLM), deployed through a SurveyCTO web survey, to measure primary health care provider competencies in Vietnam. In a pilot focus group, nine physicians rated LLM-simulated patient interactions as realistic (mean 3.78/5) and user-friendly. In the validation phase, 22 providers completed 132 vignette interactions across ten clinical scenarios in Vietnamese. Essential diagnostic checklist sc...

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a growing challenge in low- and middle-income countries, where health systems face major capacity gaps. Participatory learning and action (PLA) has shown effectiveness in preventing type 2 diabetes in Bangladesh, but little is known about its use in other LMICs for diabetes. The EMPOWER-D (Engagement of community through Participatory learning and action for cOntrol and prevention of type 2 diabetes) trial is testing PLA for diabetes prevention in communities in Pa...

Background: workforce innovative solutions are warranted to respond to the critical global lack of healthcare professionals and sustain delivery of quality patient care. The Patient Care Technician program was one of the strategies implemented to address this challenge by developing a timely pool of workforce who can take non-complex tasks, alleviating workload on other professionals such as registered nurses. However, since this strategy was recently introduced, its implementation and impact on...

Background: In low- and middle-income countries, the burden of hypertension is increasing. Medication adherence is a critical component of reducing hypertension-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and death. There are many barriers to hypertension medication adherence, including challenges with access to and possession of medication. To address these challenges, we aim to implement a strategy in rural western Kenya that combines peer delivery of medications and health information technolog...

BackgroundZero-dose children, defined as those who have not received a first dose of a diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT)-containing vaccine, represent one of the sharpest manifestations of inequity in immunisation systems. Nigeria remains one of the largest contributors to the global zero-dose burden, with North-East Nigeria facing intersecting crises of conflict, population displacement, governance fragility, and weakened primary health care. Existing research has largely focused on structural...

Objective To test the effectiveness of a postpartum behavioural intervention delivered by automated text messaging in reducing weight. Design Two parallel group, multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Setting Recruitment from five areas across the United Kingdom (Belfast, Bradford, Stirling, London and Cardiff) through healthcare and community pathways, including social media. Participants A diverse sample of 892 women between 6 weeks and 24 months postpartum, aged 18 years or more and with a...

BackgroundUniversal Free School Meals (UFSM) were introduced by the Welsh Government in 2022 to provide every primary school child (aged 4-11) with a free meal at lunch time by 2024, aiming to improve nutrition and reduce inequality. While evidence suggests UFSM can support dietary quality and social inclusion; uptake remains inconsistent, and concerns have been raised regarding meal quality and portion sizes. Aims/ObjectivesThis study explored the perceptions of children and parents regarding ...

Background Persistent inequities in immunisation coverage, particularly among zero-dose and under-immunised children, continue to challenge Pakistan's Expanded Programme on Immunization. Weak feedback loop, inconsistent data quality, and limited real-time monitoring impede effective decision-making. This Implementation Research was conducted under the MAINSTREAM Initiative funded by Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) and supported by the Aga Khan Community Health Services De...

BackgroundText messages are a low-cost digital health solution that can provide information directly to mothers. We aimed to evaluate a text message program, called Essential Coaching for Every Mother Tanzania (ECEM-TZ), designed to improve maternal access to essential newborn care education during the immediate 6-week postnatal period. MethodsA randomized controlled trial was conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. ECEM-TZ consists of standardized text messages from birth to 6 weeks postpartum t...

Background: Nursing interns are at high risk of psychological distress due to academic and clinical stressors. While poor sleep quality is linked to anxiety and depression, the buffering role of social support remains underexplored in this population. Aims: To explore the role of social support in regulating the relationship between sleep and mental health among nursing interns. Methods: A total of 396 nursing interns completed self-administered questionnaires including the Pittsburgh Sleep Qual...

Students who frequently miss school are at greater risk for academic difficulty. High levels of absenteeism as early as kindergarten have been associated with long-term consequences, such as low reading proficiency in Grade 3 and low academic achievement in Grade 5, both of which have been associated with lower rates of high school graduation and enrollment in post-secondary education. The prevalence of school absenteeism has increased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic and there have bee...