Sarah de Guia’s Post

'Typically, healthcare only accounts for about 10 per cent of population health and well-being... The biggest determinants are socioeconomic factors such as having a decent home, a good job, and strong relationships with people and your community... people of colour are less likely to have all of these “protective factors” due to the impact of structural discrimination and racism.' Short article about #publichealth and #discrimination - well worth a read.

We all have a lot of choices when it comes to how we get information. For our public health connections, here's one online option to consider: a monthly e-newsletter, Public Health Matters. It features recent stories in public health, curated especially for an audience interested in communicable diseases, including HIV and STIs; monthly dates of interest (such as HPV Awareness Day and National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in March); upcoming learning opportunities, both in-person and online; Luther Consulting's own updates; and more. The advantage to this source of news? There are at least a few. First of all, the content is curated, meaning we do the work of going through recent headlines to select a few noteworthy pieces each month to help keep you up-to-date. Second, you can get the newsletter delivered straight to your inbox, so you don't have to track down a website, or sift through a social media feed to get these convenient links. Third, we're very interested in your feedback, your ideas for future content, etc. You have the chance, then, to shape the newsletter into a helpful resource that you can look forward to getting each month ... and who doesn't need more of *that* kind of message in their inbox? So, please, take a look. If you're interested, subscribe. And don't forget to let us know your ideas when you have them! For the March issue of Public Health Matters, see https://zc.vg/TZhHi?m=0. To subscribe, go to https://zc.vg/Ftqer. #publichealth #publichealthmatters #newsletter

🌍 My Journey in Public Health: From Clinical Practice to Community Impact 🏥 Since my days as a medical student, I've always felt this connection to the broader realm of public health. Engaging in outreaches and volunteer work, I witnessed firsthand how individual care intertwines with community well-being. This realization ignited my passion for creating lasting change. During my tenure as a medical house officer at Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesha, Osun State, I encountered patients whose health challenges stemmed from systemic issues – from healthcare access gaps to socio-economic barriers. These experiences fueled my drive to tackle root causes on a larger scale. Transitioning to public health, I joined Heartland Alliance LTD/GTE on the KP CARE 1 Project, focusing on HIV services for key populations. Beyond treatment and prevention, we addressed social determinants impacting vulnerable communities. Seeing the direct impact of our efforts was incredibly fulfilling. In my journey, I've led quality improvement initiatives to enhance healthcare accessibility and patient-centered care. Collaboration with diverse teams of healthcare professionals, community leaders, and policymakers underscored the power of multidisciplinary approaches in overcoming public health challenges. Moving forward, my commitment remains unwavering: bridging the gap between clinical practice and community health for healthier lives. Each lesson and experience shapes my approach to healthcare, driving impactful outcomes. #PublicHealth #HealthcareImpact #CommunityWellbeing #HealthEquity #GlobalHealth #HealthcareLeadership

Public Health Matters Video: The Significance of Language, Cultural Competency in Health Care: Tune into this episode of "Public Health Matters" to learn about the importance of cultural competence when addressing health care disparities and promoting health equity in diverse communities as well as special guest Dr. Jose Cucalon Calderon's advocacy work. #finance #pharmacy #lifesciences

To date, our CoVaRR-Net team has published three papers analyzing provincial/territorial COVID-19 policies: Analyzing the impact of proof-of-vaccination policies on vaccine uptake: https://lnkd.in/gWp6PHxe Comparing provincial vaccination campaign rollouts: https://lnkd.in/gzQEHmJz Comparing various countermeasures across regions of Canada: https://lnkd.in/gc36V4V3

Public health needs to improve communication at all levels, not just when we are in a crisis. Public health is a partner in the health of all, and we need to convey that message on a daily basis. Perhaps then, communications during a crisis will be more effective and trusted.

"As a collection of clinicians, researchers, health policy experts, NIH RECOVER PIs, journalists, patient and disability organizations, community organizations, and research organizations, we write to urge you to address the crisis of Long COVID and other infection-associated chronic conditions1 as you establish priorities in the FY25 budget. #longcovid is an infection-associated chronic condition (IACC) that can develop following a #covid19 infection, and has devastating impacts - on people’s individual health and quality of life, on caregivers and families, and on communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 5.3% of American adults were experiencing Long COVID as of October 2023 and at least 1.3% of American children ever had Long COVID as of 2022.2 While Long COVID can affect anyone (including people who are vaccinated against COVID), transgender people, women, Hispanics/Latinos, and people with a pre-existing disability are disproportionately impacted. Recovery rates are dismal: of patients sick at 2 months, only 15% were recovered at one year, and of those, one-third subsequently relapsed. Estimates place the disease burden of Long COVID higher than that of heart disease and cancer, and there are significant impacts to people’s ability to work, with Brookings estimating in January 2022 that the disease could account for upwards of 15% of unfilled jobs. Harvard economist David Cutler and others have estimated that the economic cost of Long COVID approaches $3.7 trillion in the first five years alone in terms of diminished quality of life, lost earnings, and medical care costs, which is equivalent to 17% of prepandemic US GDP. Meanwhile, the de Beaumont Foundation reports that while the vast (1 Infection-associated chronic conditions (IACCs) are conditions that develop following an infection, and include Long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (#MECFS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (#pots ) and other forms of #dysautonomia , chronic Lyme disease, and mast cell activation disorders. 2 These prevalence rates of Long COVID underestimate the true number of people impacted due to survey respondent bias, lack of public knowledge about Long COVID, inaccuracy of testing, and lack of access to healthcare and testing, particularly amongst Black and Indigenous communities who are underrepresented or not included in the Household Pulse Survey. Of note, meta-analyses show that about 25% of children who have COVID develop Long COVID.) majority of physicians understand that Long COVID is a problem, only 7% are very confident diagnosing it and 4% are very confident treating it. This follows the historical neglect and underfunding of other infection-associated chronic conditions, like myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and other forms of dysautonomia, chronic Lyme disease, and #mcas"

🌟 Headed back from the first-of-its kind "Syndemic Solutions Summit in Kansas City, MO! 🌟 We spent the last 2 days considering the challenges of five interwoven epidemics – HIV, STIs, Viral Hepatitis, Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health, and Reproductive and Sexual Health. 🤝 With minds from federal and state government, health departments, researchers, community organizations, and individuals with lived experiences, the opportunities for collaboration and sharing of ideas was definitely present. 💡 During the conference, 1 thing became clear to me – by addressing the interconnectedness of these epidemics, we have the potential to unlock solutions that will leave a lasting impact on public health. 🔄 It's time to break down silos and build bridges of understanding between these critical health challenges. 🌍 A core principle that emerges so often (and this summit was no exception) was HEALTH EQUITY. It's so important that we all become or remain laser-focused on ensuring that solutions reach ALL populations and communities, especially those who bear the heaviest burdens. Progress is only meaningful when it reaches the most vulnerable among us. As I "clock in" tomorrow, to my daily work, I'm inspired and armed with fresh insights. I'm grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a brighter, healthier future for our communities. 🙏 Lastly, check out the piece the local Kansas City news station recently aired: https://lnkd.in/gs-2ZF33 #SyndemicSolutions #Collaboration #HealthEquity

The same applies to interoperability, standardization, integration, collaboaration and similar areas in digital health, easier to preach than practice.

What may help or hinder #PrEP being made available via pharmacies to improve #HIV prevention and reduce inequity of PrEP access? Take a look the preprint of our scoping review of research https://lnkd.in/eAesVs4U First output from our project examining PrEP pharmacy deliver. More info on our project here - https://lnkd.in/erTMUVMG