Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Relation Between Health-Related Quality of Life and Sleep Quality With Adjustment for Comorbidity Among the Korean Elderly: Mixed-Effects Model With a 6-Year Follow-up Study
It is an important public health problem to identify risk factors of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among the elderly. We recruited subjects from Ansan, Korea, as a subset of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES), which is an ongoing population study, and followed up their sleep quality for 6 years. Mixed effect models were used to estimate the association between sleep quality and HRQoL, and we found that overall HRQoL was significantly lower to the elderly having poor sleep quality with adjustment for significant covariates although sleep quality showed a significant interaction effect with time for th...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Kwon, A. M., Shin, C. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Estimating Suicide Rates in Developing Nations: A Low-Cost Newspaper Capture-Recapture Approach in Cambodia
This study tested a low-cost method for estimating suicide rates in developing nations that lack adequate statistics. Data comprised reported suicides from Cambodia’s 2 largest newspapers. Capture-recapture modeling estimated a suicide rate of 3.8/100 000 (95% CI = 2.5-6.7) for 2012. That compares to World Health Organization estimates of 1.3 to 9.4/100 000 and a Cambodian government estimate of 3.5/100 000. Suicide rates of males were twice that of females, and rates of those <40 years were twice that of those ≥40 years. Capture-recapture modeling with newspaper reports proved a reasonable method for estimatin...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Harris, K. M., Thandrayen, J., Samphoas, C., Se, P., Lewchalermwongse, B., Ratanashevorn, R., Perry, M. L., Britts, C. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

The Effects of Social Reforms on Mental Disability in China: Population-Based Study
Few studies have explored how mental disabilities have changed with the waves of Chinese social reforms that occurred between 1912 and 2006. The present study evaluated population-based data from the Second China National Sample Survey on Disability to investigate these trends and their effects on mental disabilities. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the association between social reforms and mental disabilities. The confounding variables considered were as follows: survey age, gender, residence in 2006, ethnicity, and living arrangements in 2006. The highest risks of mental disabilities were observe...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Wang, Z., Zhang, L., Li, N., Guo, C., Chen, G., Zheng, X. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

"Back to Basics" Approach for Improving Maternal Health Care Services Utilization in Lao PDR
This study explores maternal service utilization in Lao PDR by interviewing women, families, health service providers, and community members in Xiengkhuang province. In general, women’s attitude and acceptance of maternal health care were positive, with many expressing appreciation and need for maternal health services. Nevertheless, utilization of maternal health services remained poor largely due to dissatisfaction with services: inaccessibility, irregular services, fund shortage, poor facilities, and problems dealing with male health service providers. It appears that utilization of maternal health care services i...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Ngan, D. K., Kang, M., Lee, C., Vanphanom, S. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Wave Upon Wave: Fijis Experiments in Decentralizing Its Health Care System
This study describes Fiji’s 2 attempts at decentralizing its health sector and examines the implications they have had for the functions of planning, financing, and delivery of health services. The first wave attempted a major restructure by devolving Fiji’s health system. Political instability, along with a lack of acceptance, stalled its implementation resulting in a delegated system. While the functions of planning and financing remained centralized, the function of delivery was delegated to geographic regions. The second wave was a more focused effort that targeted the deconcentration of outpatient services...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Mohammed, J., Ashton, T., North, N. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Welfare States, Labor Markets, Political Dynamics, and Population Health: A Time-Series Cross-Sectional Analysis Among East and Southeast Asian Nations
This study provides new evidence on the value of considering politics, welfare states, and labor markets within the same conceptual framework. (Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Ng, E., Muntaner, C., Chung, H. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

The Association Between Built Environment Attributes and Physical Activity in East Asian Adolescents: A Systematic Review
Asian adolescents living in Australia and England were found to be less active than their Western peers. We aimed to systematically examine evidence of the associations between attributes of the built environment and physical activity in adolescents dwelling in East Asian countries. A total of 10 electronic databases for relevant observational studies without time limit were searched. Five studies met the eligibility criteria, which involved a total of 43 817 schoolchildren aged 11 to 17 years. The majority of the built environment attributes measured was significantly associated with reported physical activity. Difficult ...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Lee, L.-L., Kuo, Y.-L., Chan, E. S.-Y. Tags: Review Source Type: research

Environmental Challenges Facing Public Health in 2016
(Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Binns, C., Low, W. Y. Tags: Editorial Source Type: research

Emergency Response to and Preparedness for Extreme Weather Events and Environmental Changes in China
China has achieved impressive rapid economic growth over the past 30 years but accompanied by significant extreme weather events and environmental changes caused by global change and overfast urbanization. Using the absolute hazards index (AHI), we assessed the spatial distribution patterns and related health effects of 4 major extreme natural disasters, including drought, floods (landslides, mudslides), hails, and typhoons from 2000 to 2011 at the provincial level in China. The results showed that (1) central and south China were the most affected by the 4 natural disasters, and north China suffered less; (2) the province...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Wang, L., Liao, Y., Yang, L., Li, H., Ye, B., Wang, W. Tags: Global Environmental Change and Human Health Source Type: research

Review of Climate Change and Water-Related Diseases in Cambodia and Findings From Stakeholder Knowledge Assessments
This project aims to increase the resilience of Cambodian communities to the health risks posed by climate change–related impacts on water-related diseases. There are a number of water-related diseases that are present in Cambodia and are likely to be susceptible to climate change. These include diarrheal diseases, typhoid fever, leptospirosis, melioidosis, viral hepatitis, and schistosomiasis. Certain subsectors of Cambodia’s population may be more vulnerable than others with respect to climate change impacts on water and health, including agricultural workers and residents of flood-and drought-prone areas. Th...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: McIver, L. J., Chan, V. S., Bowen, K. J., Iddings, S. N., Hero, K., Raingsey, P. P. Tags: Global Environmental Change and Human Health Source Type: research

Impact of Climate Change on Air Quality and Public Health in Urban Areas
This review discusses how climate undergo changes and the effect of climate change on air quality as well as public health. It also covers the inter relationship between climate and air quality. The air quality discussed here are in relation to the 5 criteria pollutants; ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM). Urban air pollution is the main concern due to higher anthropogenic activities in urban areas. The implications on health are also discussed. Mitigating measures are presented with the final conclusion. (Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Hassan, N. A., Hashim, Z., Hashim, J. H. Tags: Global Environmental Change and Human Health Source Type: research

Impact of Climate Conditions on Occupational Health and Related Economic Losses: A New Feature of Global and Urban Health in the Context of Climate Change
One feature of climate change is the increasing heat exposure in many workplaces where efficient cooling systems cannot be applied. Excessive heat exposure is a particular problem for working people because of the internal heat production when muscle work is carried out. The physiological basis for severe heat stroke, other clinical effects, and heat exhaustion is well known. One feature of this health effect of excessive workplace heat exposure is reduced work capacity, and new research has started to quantify this effect in the context of climate change. Current climate conditions in tropical and subtropical parts of the...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Kjellstrom, T. Tags: Global Environmental Change and Human Health Source Type: research

Urbanization, Extreme Events, and Health: The Case for Systems Approaches in Mitigation, Management, and Response
Extreme events, both natural and anthropogenic, increasingly affect cities in terms of economic losses and impacts on health and well-being. Most people now live in cities, and Asian cities, in particular, are experiencing growth on unprecedented scales. Meanwhile, the economic and health consequences of climate-related events are worsening, a trend projected to continue. Urbanization, climate change and other geophysical and social forces interact with urban systems in ways that give rise to complex and in many cases synergistic relationships. Such effects may be mediated by location, scale, density, or connectivity, and ...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Siri, J. G., Newell, B., Proust, K., Capon, A. Tags: Global Environmental Change and Human Health Source Type: research

Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, and Human Health Implications in the Asia Pacific Region
The Asia Pacific region is regarded as the most disaster-prone area of the world. Since 2000, 1.2 billion people have been exposed to hydrometeorological hazards alone through 1215 disaster events. The impacts of climate change on meteorological phenomena and environmental consequences are well documented. However, the impacts on health are more elusive. Nevertheless, climate change is believed to alter weather patterns on the regional scale, giving rise to extreme weather events. The impacts from extreme weather events are definitely more acute and traumatic in nature, leading to deaths and injuries, as well as debilitati...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Hashim, J. H., Hashim, Z. Tags: Global Environmental Change and Human Health Source Type: research

Global Environmental Change and Human Health
(Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Hashim, J. H., Siri, J. G. Tags: Guest Editorial Source Type: research