Category: Output

13 March 2019, Φ UN GEO6: “Human health in dire straits if urgent actions are not made to protect the environment”

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13.3.2019, UN GEO6: “Human health in dire straits if urgent actions are not made to protect the environment”

The sixth UN Global Environment Outlook 6 (GEO6) was published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) today: UN Environment (2019): Global Environment Outlook – GEO-6: Healthy Planet, Healthy People. UNEP, Nairobi. DOI 10.1017/9781108627146, xxxiii + 708 pp., www.unenvironment.org/resources/global-environment-outlook-6

Press release (Nairobi, Kenya): Human health in dire straits if urgent actions are not made to protect the environment, warns landmark UN report. www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/human-health-dire-straits-if-urgent-actions-are-not-made-protect: The most comprehensive and rigorous assessment on the state of the environment completed by the UN in the last five years … highlights the fact that the world has the science, technology and finance it needs to move towards a more sustainable development pathway, although sufficient support is still missing from the public, business and political leaders who are clinging to outdated production and development models … At present the world is not on track to meet the SDGs by 2030 or 2050 … While urbanization is happening at an unprecedented level globally, the report says it can present an opportunity to increase citizens’ well-being while decreasing their environmental footprint through improved governance, land-use planning and green infrastructure … Policy interventions that address entire systems – such as energy, food, and waste – rather than individual issues … can be much more effective, according to the authors …

Report chapter 4: Cross-cutting issues [incl. human health]

Executive summary (emphases removed):

  • Environmental pollution is still a major source of damage to the health of the planet (well established), human health (well established), equity (well established) and economic sustainability (established but incomplete) …
  • The number of people affected by both slow and suddenonset environmental disasters is increasing due to compounding effects of multiple and interacting drivers (well established) …
  • Gender equality and women’s empowerment are multipliers of sustainability (well established) …
  • …
  • Urban footprints have transboundary ramifications (well established) …
  • Climate change is one of the most pressing issues affecting natural (well established) and human systems (established but incomplete) (SDG 13).
  • …
  • The food system is increasing local to global pressures on ecosystems and the climate (well established) …

p.78

4.2 People and livelihoods

4.2.1 Health

… two long-established ways of reflecting the complex web of relationships between healthy planet and healthy people … One way is to define human health inclusively as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (… WHO … 1948) … The second way focuses on the determinants of health: it recognizes that human health is mediated by multiple factors in the natural, social and built environments, including our senses of equity and safety as well as equitable access to environmental resources and human contact with nature (WHO 2008) … Buse et al. (2018) identify six frameworks developed from late 20th century onward to show and deal with this complexity: political ecology of health, environmental justice, Ecohealth, One Health, Ecological Public Health, and Planetary Health. These frameworks represent a shift towards a more sophisticated understanding of the implicit, complex and systemic links between human health and well-being and the natural environment …

p.79

… Solutions to the degradation of natural systems, including the management of environmental pollution at its sources, should take account of the complex interactions between planet and … and consider environment-health as a complex system, seeking co-benefits … , and … avoiding trade-offs or win-lose situations or unintended adverse consequences … There are now many examples of health co-benefits … For example, the … transition to cleaner energy improves air quality and slows climate change effects, each of which greatly benefits health and well-being … Active travel, such as walking and bicycling, can have multiple benefits for health and well-being … Reducing red meat intake … where there is high consumption … will improve human health … , while reducing pressure on biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions … The benefits to human health and well-being of access to safe and biodiverse natural environments, green and blue spaces, are being recognized … Rigorous … integration of human health considerations within health-determining sectoral plans (e.g. agriculture, water, disaster management, urban design) can support responses that address human health impacts … Initiatives to reduce environmental risks, focusing on benefits across sectors, are consistent with the World Health Organization’s … call for Health in All Policies (WHO 2014) and the development of tools for integrated environmental and health assessment (Fehr et al. 2016). The health sector must rapidly strengthen the way that it articulates messages on human health …

[Selected reference: Fehr R, Mekle, O, Hurley F, Mackenbach J (2016): Health impact assessment – a survey on quantifying tools. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 57 (February), pp.178–186, doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2016.01.001. See https://rfehr.eu/2016/01/27/14-jan-2016-paper-impact-quantification-accepted/ for paper and web appendices]

Global Environment Outlook (GEO), www.unenvironment.org/global-environment-outlook: often referred to as UN Environment’s flagship environmental assessment … first publication … in 1997 … fulfills the core functions of the organization, which date back to the UN General Assembly resolution that established the UN Environment Programme in 1972 … GEO … is a consultative and participatory process … also builds capacity for conducting integrated environmental assessments and reporting on the state, trends and outlooks of the environment … aims to facilitate the interaction between science and policy.

Based on GEO5 (2012) – UNEP & ICLEI (2012): GEO-5 For Local Government, www.unenvironment.org/resources/geo-5-local-government: … shows that pressures on the global environment affect the local level. Conversely, local decisions and responses can not only improve local conditions, but also significantly contribute to improving the state of the global environment … aims to make the findings … more relevant for local governance … highlights the role that local authorities can play in meeting internationally agreed goals and targets and in addressing local, regional and global environmental challenges.

7 Mar 2019, Φ Deutschlandfunk: Was macht eine Stadt gesund?

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7.3.19, 20:50 Uhr, Deutschlandfunk, Studiozeit „Aus Kultur und Sozialwissenschaften“

Beitrag: „Regionale Gesundheitsversorgung – Was macht eine Stadt zur gesunden Stadt?“

„Was macht eine Stadt zur gesunden Stadt, fragten Wissenschaftler auf einem Hamburger Symposium.“

Autorin: Ursula Storost. Länge: 10:44 min. Mit Sprechbeiträgen von Ernst Effenberger (1980), Matthias Augustin, Jobst Augustin, Philipp Osten, Alf Trojan, Rainer Fehr, Philine Gaffron (2019).

Als Hörbeitrag und Text in der Mediathek des DLF, www.deutschlandfunk.de/regionale-gesundheitsversorgung-was-macht-eine-stadt-zur.1148.de.html?dram:article_id=442858.

28 Feb 2019, Φ 4. HH Symposium zur regionalen Gesundheitsversorgung – Was macht eine Stadt zur gesunden Stadt?

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Hierzu:

  • Deutschlandfunk, Studiozeit „Aus Kultur und Sozialwissenschaften“, 7.3.19: Beitrag: „Regionale Gesundheitsversorgung – Was macht eine Stadt zur gesunden Stadt?“ (U. Storost), mit Sprechbeiträgen von E. Effenberger (1980), M. Augustin, J. Augustin, P. Osten, A. Trojan, R. Fehr, P. Gaffron (2019), siehe 7.3.19
  • Bericht im Schleswig-Holsteinischen Ärzteblatt (H. Kreussler): “Geringe Priorität für Gesundheit in der Stadt – Viertes Hamburger Symposium zur regionalen Gesundheitsversorgung. Die Auswirkungen von Verkehrslärm werden unterschätzt.” www.aeksh.de/aerzteblatt/2019/04 -> p. 29

Viertes Hamburger Symposium zur regionalen Gesundheitsversorgung – „Was macht eine Stadt zur gesunden Stadt?“

28.2.2019, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, Esplanade 36, 20354 Hamburg, www.hamburg-symposium.com (cf. 16.1.19)

Wissenschaftliche Leitung: Prof. Dr. Matthias Augustin (UKE, U HH), Prof. Dr. Heinke Schlünzen (Meteorologisches Institut, U HH), Prof. Dr. Jürgen Ossenbrügge (Institut für Geographie, U HH). Koordination, Kontakt: Dr. Jobst Augustin, Silja Zeidler

Program in a nutshell / Programm kompakt:

  • Einstieg: Nachhaltige StadtGesundheit als Integrationsansatz (Fehr) Abstract
         Slides
  • Stadtgesundheit aus historischer Perspektive – was können wir lernen? (Osten)
  • Understanding health outcomes in deprived UK cities – a Scottish case study (Walsh)
  • Lebensqualität und Gesundheit in urbanen Räumen – was macht eine Stadt zur gesunden Stadt? (Hornberg)
  • Gesundheit in der Planung unter besondere Berücksichtigung der öffentlichen Freiräume (Claßen)
  • Verkehrslärm und Gesundheit in urbanen Räumen (Guski)
  • Luft und Lärm – wie steht es um Hamburg? (Quante; Gaffron)
  • Zukunft Hamburg – Ziele und Strategien der Stadtentwicklung für mehr Lebensqualität (Metz)
  • Integrierte Stadtentwicklung und Gesundheit in Hamburg (Trojan)
  • Podiumsdiskussion: Was macht eine Stadt zur gesunden Stadt? (Fehr, Guski, Hornberg, Metz, Stender)

22 Feb 2019, Φ Population Health Monitoring (book) – Relating it to other types of health assessment (chapter)

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New book (2019): Population Health Monitoring – Climbing the Information Pyramid (Marieke Verschuuren, Hans von Oers, eds.). Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Cham (CH)

“… an in-depth tour of population health monitoring – what it is, what it does, and why it has become increasingly important to health information systems across Europe”, www.springer.com/de/book/9783319765617; https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-76562-4#toc

Selection of chapter headlines:

  • Ch. 2 Health information systems
  • Ch. 3 Structuring health information: frameworks, models, and indicators
  • Ch. 6 Population health reporting
  • Ch. 7 Knowledge translation: key concepts, terms, and activities
  • Ch. 8 Health Inequality Monitoring: A Practical Application of Population Health Monitoring
  • Ch. 9 Relating Population Health Monitoring to other Types of Health Assessment [see below]
  • Ch. 10 Population health monitoring: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

Chapters 7 and 8 are available open access under a CC BY 3.0 IGO license at link.springer.com.

Book keywords: population health, health information systems, health systems, public health indicators, public health data, public health reporting, knowledge transfer, knowledge translation, knowledge synthesis, evidence-based policy, evidence-informed policy, public health policy making, foresights, health assessments, public health surveillance, health monitoring, data forecasts, hybrid open access.

Book chapter 9 (pp. 175-196): Relating Population Health Monitoring to other Types of Health Assessment (Rainer Fehr and the EUPHA Sections working group on Health Assessments). [16-02] https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-76562-4_9

Working group members: Kristina Alexanderson, Carlo Favaretti, Rainer Fehr, Judith de Jong, Giuseppe La Torre, Tek-Ang Lim, Piedad Martín-Olmedo, Odile C.L. Mekel, Kai Michelsen, Nicole Rosenkötter, Marieke Verschuuren, Chiara de Waure and Dineke Zeegers Paget. EUPHA sections involved: Health Impact Assessment, Health Services Research, Health Technology Assessment, Public Health Economics, Public Health Epidemiology, Public Health Monitoring & Reporting, Public Health Practice and Policy.

Incl.:

  • 9.2 Setting the Scene
  • 9.3 Main Types of Health Assessments Beyond Population Health Monitoring and Their Characteristics
  • 9.4 Procedures, Methods, and Practice Examples
  • 9.5 Relationship of Population Health Monitoring with Other Health Assessments
  • 9.6 Current and Future Developments.

From the abstract: While population health monitoring, as presented in this book, qualifies as one key approach to using information and evidence for health policy-making, additional organized approaches are frequently used at the interface of (health) science and (health) governance … In order to support decision-making, different kinds of policy questions are being asked here; and different health assessment approaches to answer such questions are being pursued. This chapter aims to provoke fruitful and inspiring comparisons between population health monitoring and other types of assessments. It covers definitions, goals, procedures, and methods of such assessments, in a comparative way. It outlines practical examples, describes how various assessment types relate to population health monitoring, and sketches current and future developments. The chapter is based on collaborative work carried out within the EUPHA Initiative on Health Assessments (Fehr et al. 2017).

Chapter keywords: Science-governance interface, Health needs assessment, Health impact assessment, Health technology assessment, Health systems performance assessment, Programme evaluation, Economic assessment.

7 Feb 2019, Φ “Sustainable Urban Health” suggested to Patriotic Society Hamburg

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7.2.2019, Themenvorschlag Nachhaltige StadtGesundheit für Patriotische Gesellschaft Hamburg / „Sustainable Urban Health“ suggested as a topic to the Patriotic Society Hamburg

2019_02_07 Patriotische Gesellschaft von 1765: Gebäude an der Trostbrücke
2019_02_07 Patriotische Gesellschaft von 1765: Gebäude an der Trostbrücke

Die Patriotische Gesellschaft von 1765 (Untertitel: Hamburgische Gesellschaft zur Beförderung der Künste und nützlichen Gewerbe) ist eine weltoffene Vereinigung, die laut eigenem Verständnis dafür eintritt, „einen aufgeklärten Dialog zwischen Stadtgesellschaft, Politik und Wirtschaft auf Augenhöhe zu führen. Wir stehen für eine zukunftsorientierte Gestaltung der Stadt, die das vermeintliche Gegeneinander von Stadt und Ökologie, … von Wirtschaftseffizienz und sozialer Gerechtigkeit überwindet. Als Impulsgeber öffentlichen Handelns stoßen wir kritische Diskurse und neue Kooperationen … an und setzen die gemeinsam entwickelten Visionen in praktische Schritte zur Stärkung unseres Gemeinwesens um“, www.patriotische-gesellschaft.de/de/ueber-uns/ziele-und-selbstverstaendnis/mission-statement.html / The Patriotic Society Hamburg of 1765 (subtitle: Hamburg Society for the Promotion of the Arts and Useful Crafts) is a cosmopolitan association which, in their own words, advocates the enlightened dialogue among urban society, politics and economy, at eye level. [Translated from German original: We represent sustainable urban design and arrangements, overcoming the alleged conflict of city and ecology, … of economic efficiency and social justice. Being a driving force for public action, we initiate critical debates and innovative co-operations, and we implement jointly developed visions as practical steps towards strengthening our polity.]

In Zusammenarbeit mit Alf Trojan und auf der Grundlage unseres in 2018 gemeinsam herausgegebenen Bandes „Nachhaltige StadtGesundheit Hamburg“ (www.oekom.de/nc/buecher/gesamtprogramm/buch/nachhaltige-stadtgesundheit-hamburg.html) wurde der Patriotischen Gesellschaft heute der Vorschlag unterbreitet, sich dieses Themas anzunehmen / In cooperation with Alf Trojan and based on our book „Sustainable Urban Health Hamburg“ (jointly produced in 2018, in German), a proposal was submitted to the Patriotic Society to embrace this topic.

Siehe 1 Jul 2019 für weitere Entwicklung / See 1 Jul 2019 for subsequent development.