Amy Lockwood

I wrote a new piece, it's about how we can change the structure of time to get a better understanding of public health concepts. https://lnkd.in/e_tY8kec

7

You have to admit that the headline "Digital health resilience leads to brilliance" by Rock Health is a bit cheesy but when you look at the amount raised and number of deals, the future sounds more optimistic in H1 of 2024 than in the H1 of 2023. If you look at the Leading Value Propositions and Clinical Indications table you can see a #1 Treatment of disease at $1.1B. In the Clinical Indications the top 4 investments are in #mentalhealth, #cardiovascular, #oncology and #weightmanagement & #obesity. The upcoming trend of Food-as-Medicine or Food Care shows strength with $200M investment in Foodsmart. "The digital health sector continues to demonstrate resilience and adaptability. Funding momentum (especially at the early stage) and the tapering of transition measures like unlabeled rounds hint that we might be returning to more “normal,” sustainable venture patterns." Read the whole report by clicking on the link below. #digitalhealth #mentalhealth #obesity #weightmanagement #AI #foodasmedicine https://lnkd.in/gPmX8dFn

4

How can we use investment strategies to improve social determinants of health for children? Join a webinar this Thursday, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to find out! Experts will discuss the epidemiological and economic importance of a healthy childhood, child-centric urban planning, and child-focused investing, sharing ideas from around the world for advancing health. Register today! https://lnkd.in/eiYP_w49

11

Great article by Eric Coles, DrPH -- wholeheartedly agree with his call to de-medicalizing #publichealth. I would add/offer that for public health to achieve its intended mission, we also need to: 1) Align public health and healthcare metrics. At present, while public health aims to generate population health, the #healthcare system (esp. America's profit-oriented system) requires a constant flow of sick people. If both disciplines reorient towards wellness and #flourishing metrics, perhaps they can work synergistically towards collective health and wellbeing. 2) Add #systemsthinking to core public health curricula. It is crazy to me that this isn't required -- what is public health if not a giant exercise in complex systems thinking?

7

1 Comment

📣 I and a few colleagues Saira Nawaz PATH and Kyle Moon Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health just published a commentary about the importance of making social health insurance (SHI) schemes work for people and communities in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).     #Universalhealthcoverage is a global health priority, one that requires financing strategies that ensure all can access health services without the threat of financial catastrophe. SHI schemes may be common but evidence suggests that the people in LMICs are often excluded from such schemes.       In this piece, we offer three recommendations for re-envisioning SHI schemes and making them work for those who need them most.   🌍 Adopt participatory approaches that inform the design of #SHI schemes  🔗 Link SHI schemes to other economic empowerment programs 🤝 Integrate public feedback to ensure community preferences are built into policy design Kimberly Green Kammerle Schneider Nikolaj Gilbert Nanthalile Mugala Heather Ignatius Katharine Shelley

58

3 Comments

Egypt’s #MinistryOfHealth Unveils #PublicPrivatePartnership Plans, But #Doctors Raise Concerns #Egypt's healthcare sector is poised for a shakeup with the government's plan to grant private entities #ConcessionContracts to manage #PublicHospitals. This public-private partnership (#PPP) initiative aims to improve the #LegislativeFramework for #HealthCareInvestment. While some hail this move as a step forward, the #GeneralSyndicateOfDoctors in Egypt has expressed concerns. The Syndicate argues the government should incentivize building new hospitals, not outsourcing management of existing ones. They also question safeguards for worker rights, selection criteria for PPP hospitals, and potential foreign investor influence. The Syndicate proposes #CapacityBuilding and #InfrastructureInvestment to address shortcomings, while advocating for government #Oversight and #FairTreatment of #HealthCareWorkers. They believe a balanced approach will attract private investment in new facilities while preserving #Quality care in existing #Hospitals. #egypt #healthcare #publicprivatepartnership #doctors #investment To learn more, read the article from #TheHieroglyphsOfHealth

9

3 Comments

At its inaugural, Margaret Chan, then D.G WHO, called " Universal Health Coverage is the single most important concept that public health has to offer." Yet a decade later there has been no progress on financial protection and almost none on service coverage and outcomes. And these problems precede and continue after the Covid Pandemic. In this conversation we look beyond implementation issues to more basic questions about UHC as strategy and as a discourse.

121

For #NIAW 2024: Remembering the Spectacular Science of IVF ca. 2001 From PBS' Nova: 18 Ways to Make a Baby ICSI's success would push forward a new frontier of reproductive biology. If a fragile human egg could be penetrated without harm, perhaps a human embryo might be manipulated in any number of ways. These new techniques would open up uncharted territory for another couple, Anne and Michael, as conventional treatments failed them. ANNE: People who are faced with infertility don't have the same decisions as people that aren't. If I could make a choice, I would like it if my husband and I could get pregnant on our own DAVID SABLE (Saint Barnabas Medical Center): She'd been trying for over four years. And she had done several treatments. She'd done some of the more...kind of low-key treatments, you know? Medication by itself, medication with insemination using her husband's sperm. She had had the full battery of diagnostic tests, none of which really revealed a smoking-gun cause as to why she was having difficulty. And she was climbing the ladder from least aggressive to most aggressive treatment. NARRATOR: During Anne's first IVF cycle, her doctors retrieved 35 eggs—an astounding number. Yet once the eggs were fertilized in the lab and began dividing, embryologist Jacques Cohen noticed fragments, little pieces of cells that are left behind when embryos divide inefficiently. JACQUES COHEN (Saint Barnabas Medical Center): And normally they're not really a hindrance to further development and pregnancy, because they occur in about 85 percent of all embryos. But when you have a lot of them, it interferes with normal development. The cells then cannot interact. And that's what happened in their case. There were so many of them that you couldn't even count the number of cells. Let's say you had a four-cell embryo or an eight-cell embryo. You couldn't make a count, which you normally can. ANNE: So on the one hand, I have an answer which is finally...after like three years...I finally have an answer of why I'm not getting pregnant. Then, on the other hand I have this news that I don't know if this is going to be fixable. This may be a permanent problem that we could never fix. NARRATOR: For decades, no one dared to invade the inner sanctum of an embryo for fear of harming it. But in 1990, Cohen began piercing the shells of fertilized eggs that appeared brittle to help them hatch. DAVID SABLE: To be honest, in the beginning I don't think we were sure whether we were just making the embryos look better, or whether we were actually helping them to develop. And then when we put the data together, it turned out that, yes, indeed there's a window of accumulation of fragments from about 15 to about 30 percent of the embryo. Previously, that embryo didn't have much of a chance of implanting and turning into a pregnancy. But if you removed those fragments, they had a very good chance of turning into a pregnancy. https://lnkd.in/eQuyP-mX

6

1 Comment

Climate change is (not so slowly) killing us. We must do all that we can to ensure our proven public health and climate adaptation interventions are (1) appropriately funded, (2) sufficiently promoted through the global financial architecture, and (3) structured around a growing evidence base. Check out this piece that I co-wrote with Estelle Willie, MPH in Council on Foreign Relations' Think Global Health. https://lnkd.in/eZxpewyk

75

5 Comments

It's a busy #WHA77 week in Geneva where the global health community is uniting to address critical issues like a pandemic treaty, climate change's health impact, and better funding for WHO. Recent global health equity progress is at risk due to COVID, conflict, climate change, and debt crises. In a new op-ed, PATH Chief Scientific Officer Melanie Saville discusses in the World Economic Forum how health innovation, especially in AI, the mRNA platform, and local/regional manufacturing, is crucial for closing equity gaps. Dive into the 5 key steps here: https://lnkd.in/d-nTvtBj

39

2 Comments

An important message for health professionals:

4

Patients should have meaningful engagement with policy experts to create more patient-centered, people-centered, and person-centered health policies, health system designs, and healthcare service delivery. We are the ones on the ground and on the receiving end, so we know where the gaps are. Let us help you fill those gaps. ⏱ ⏳ 🤝 🌉 📣 Check out the commentary published yesterday announcing a new Commission on People Centered Care for Universal Health Coverage - including all the details on how to apply, what we are looking for, and how selections will be made - transparently and equitably. https://lnkd.in/g638Sjks #peoplecenteredcare #patientcenteredcare #personcenteredcare

5

Choices for Universal Health Coverage: A Closer Look at WHO's Cube A blog from #thehieroglyphsofhealth Countries on the journey to #UniversalHealthCoverage (UHC) face tough decisions. The World Health Organization (WHO) offers a helpful framework - the WHO Cube - to guide these choices. The Cube highlights 3 key areas for achieving UHC: #ExpandingEssentialHealthServices: Countries must prioritize services based on factors like cost-effectiveness and population needs. #IncludingEveryone: Governments need to address barriers and prioritize coverage for the most marginalized groups. #ReducingOutOfPocketPayments: Shifting to prepayment systems like taxes ensures affordability for all. #Fairness and #Equity are crucial. Governments, along with stakeholders, must collaborate to ensure health resources are distributed justly. WHO's Cube empowers informed decision-making for achieving UHC and better health for all citizens. #healthcare #UHC #publichealth #WHO To learn more, read the full article https://lnkd.in/eVdxGVgE

35

1 Comment

🔍 Are Diagnostics Driving Up the Cost of Public Health Interventions?🔍 As we navigate the complexities of healthcare, one burning question remains: do diagnostics increase the costs of public health interventions? The answer isn't as straightforward as you might think. 🔹 Initial Investments - High-tech diagnostic tools like PCR machines come with hefty price tags for development, manufacturing, training and use. Do long-term benefits offset this initial cost? 🔹 Operational Costs - From training healthcare professionals to maintaining equipment, the ongoing costs can add up. How do these compare to the cost savings from early disease detection? 🔹 Infrastructure Needs - The backbone of effective diagnostics includes robust IT systems and physical spaces. Are we investing enough? 🔹 Benefits of Early Detection - Early identification of diseases can lead to more effective and less costly treatments. Can these savings justify the upfront costs? 🔹 Improved Public Health Surveillance - Diagnostics are crucial for monitoring and quickly responding to health threats. Is the investment worth the payoff in terms of community health resilience? In essence, while the initial and maintenance costs of diagnostics are undeniable, the potential for cost savings through effective disease management and prevention is significant. We must weigh these aspects carefully to make informed healthcare funding and policy decisions. 📊 How do you see the role of diagnostics in shaping cost-effective public health strategies? #PrecisionPublicHealth #HealthcareInnovation #Diagnostics

47

24 Comments

🌟Honoring AAPI Heritage Month: lifting up health equity solutions from Asia As a multiracial woman with plenty of confusion about my identity, it is only in the past few years that I've personally connected with AAPI Heritage Month. I wasn't sure I was Asian enough. Like so many others who are part of the diaspora, I am not 100% fluent in an Asian language or cultural norms. But I have come to realize that is not necessary to feel emotionally and culturally connected to the places of our ancestors. I am proud to say I belong to this community and continue to be in awe of the richness in art, culture, and social justice traditions across the AAPI community. I wanted to share a few amazing examples of solutions to health equity challenges coming out of Asian nations that are driven by communities and advance health equity. 🏘️Japan’s Intergenerational, Mixed-Use Housing Complex: in response to a growing population, Kashiwa City-based housing developers have created a housing complex that led to thousands of affordable homes and offers key resources for residents of all generations. From children centers to assisted living spaces, the Toyoshikidai complex fosters healthy living and connection.  ✏️Caregiving training in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal: with growing needs for care work in these nations, Noora Health, created a program for family members who provide care for their loved ones to receive training, education, and virtual support on caregiving. By extending the net of people with the necessary knowledge to perform care work, Noora Health is working to improve access to necessary care. 🪴Urban Agriculture in Singapore: with global events impacting food and nutrition security in their country, communities across Singapore are finding innovative solutions to grow produce and herbs within the limited space they have available. Using land inside buildings, on rooftops, and creating vertical gardens on walls, they are working to increase access to the healthy foods their families and neighbors need to thrive. Learn more about each of these examples, and explore some others, here: https://rwjf.ws/3vNWO3H  #AAPIHeritageMonth #HealthEquity #GlobalIdeas

4