Displaying publications 201 - 220 of 664 in total

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  1. Ng S, Sacks G, Kelly B, Yeatman H, Robinson E, Swinburn B, et al.
    Global Health, 2020 04 17;16(1):35.
    PMID: 32303243 DOI: 10.1186/s12992-020-00560-9
    BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the commitments of food companies in Malaysia to improving population nutrition using the Business Impact Assessment on population nutrition and obesity (BIA-Obesity) tool and process, and proposing recommendations for industry action in line with government priorities and international norms.

    METHODS: BIA-Obesity good practice indicators for food industry commitments across a range of domains (n = 6) were adapted to the Malaysian context. Euromonitor market share data was used to identify major food and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturers (n = 22), quick service restaurants (5), and retailers (6) for inclusion in the assessment. Evidence of commitments, including from national and international entities, were compiled from publicly available information for each company published between 2014 and 2017. Companies were invited to review their gathered evidence and provide further information wherever available. A qualified Expert Panel (≥5 members for each domain) assessed commitments and disclosures collected against the BIA-Obesity scoring criteria. Weighted scores across domains were added and the derived percentage was used to rank companies. A Review Panel, comprising of the Expert Panel and additional government officials (n = 13), then formulated recommendations.

    RESULTS: Of the 33 selected companies, 6 participating companies agreed to provide more information. The median overall BIA-Obesity score was 11% across food industry sectors with only 8/33 companies achieving a score of > 25%. Participating (p 

    Matched MeSH terms: Nutrition Policy/legislation & jurisprudence*; Nutrition Policy/trends
  2. Usman S, Abdull Razis AF, Shaari K, Amal MNA, Saad MZ, Mat Isa N, et al.
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 Dec 21;17(24).
    PMID: 33371479 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17249591
    Technological advances, coupled with increasing demands by consumers, have led to a drastic increase in plastic production. After serving their purposes, these plastics reach our water bodies as their destination and become ingested by aquatic organisms. This ubiquitous phenomenon has exposed humans to microplastics mostly through the consumption of sea food. This has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to make an urgent call for the assessment of environmental pollution due to microplastics and its effect on human health. This review summarizes studies between 1999 and 2020 in relation to microplastics in aquatic ecosystems and human food products, their potential toxic effects as elicited in animal studies, and policies on their use and disposal. There is a paucity of information on the toxicity mechanisms of microplastics in animal studies, and despite their documented presence in food products, no policy has been in place so far, to monitor and regulates microplastics in commercial foods meant for human consumption. Although there are policies and regulations with respect to plastics, these are only in a few countries and in most instances are not fully implemented due to socioeconomic reasons, so they do not address the problem across the entire life cycle of plastics from production to disposal. More animal research to elucidate pathways and early biomarkers of microplastic toxicity that can easily be detected in humans is needed. This is to create awareness and influence policies that will address this neglected threat to food safety and security.
    Matched MeSH terms: Policy; Environmental Policy*
  3. Ng S, Kelly B, Yeatman H, Swinburn B, Karupaiah T
    Nutrients, 2021 Jan 29;13(2).
    PMID: 33573100 DOI: 10.3390/nu13020457
    Mandatory nutrition labelling, introduced in Malaysia in 2003, received a "medium implementation" rating from public health experts when previously benchmarked against international best practices by our group. The rating prompted this qualitative case study to explore barriers and facilitators during the policy process. Methods incorporated semi-structured interviews supplemented with cited documents and historical mapping of local and international directions up to 2017. Case participants held senior positions in the Federal government (n = 6), food industry (n = 3) and civil society representations (n = 3). Historical mapping revealed that international directions stimulated policy processes in Malaysia but policy inertia caused implementation gaps. Barriers hindering policy processes included lack of resources, governance complexity, lack of monitoring, technical challenges, policy characteristics linked to costing, lack of sustained efforts in policy advocacy, implementer characteristics and/or industry resistance, including corporate political activities (e.g., lobbying, policy substitution). Facilitators to the policy processes were resource maximization, leadership, stakeholder partnerships or support, policy windows and industry engagement or support. Progressing policy implementation required stronger leadership, resources, inter-ministerial coordination, advocacy partnerships and an accountability monitoring system. This study provides insights for national and global policy entrepreneurs when formulating strategies towards fostering healthy food environments.
    Matched MeSH terms: Policy Making; Nutrition Policy/legislation & jurisprudence*
  4. Barraclough S
    Int J Health Serv, 1997;27(4):643-59.
    PMID: 9399111
    The rapid growth of corporate investment in the Malaysian private hospital sector has had a considerable impact on the health care system. Sustained economic growth, the development of new urban areas, an enlarged middle class, and the inclusion of hospital insurance in salary packages have all contributed to a financially lucrative investment environment for hospital entrepreneurs. Many of Malaysia's most technologically advanced hospitals employing leading specialists are owned and operated as corporate business ventures. Corporate hospital investment has been actively encouraged by the government, which regards an expanded private sector as a vital complement to the public hospital system. Yet this rapid growth of corporately owned private hospitals has posed serious contradictions for health care policy in terms of issues such as equity, cost and quality, the effect on the wider health system, and the very role of the state in health care provision. This article describes the growth of corporate investment in Malaysia's private hospital sector and explores some of the attendant policy contradictions.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Policy/economics; Health Policy/trends*
  5. David AM, Mercado SP, Klein JD, Kaundan MSK, Koong HN, Garcia E
    Child Care Health Dev, 2017 09;43(5):774-778.
    PMID: 28480578 DOI: 10.1111/cch.12472
    BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are generally considered diseases of adulthood, but NCD risk factors like tobacco use often are taken up during childhood and adolescence, and second-hand smoke exposure affects child survival and development.

    METHODS: At a regional meeting of the Asia Pacific Child and Family Health Alliance for Tobacco Control, members reviewed existing good practices of child-focused tobacco control approaches using health promotion strategies. These interventions were implemented nationally in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.

    RESULTS: Three good practice national examples were identified that focused on creating supportive tobacco-free environments and upgrading cessation skills among paediatricians. These country examples highlight strategic areas to protect children and families from the harms of tobacco, as part of NCD prevention and control. Training paediatricians in brief cessation advice has enabled them to address tobacco-using parents. Fully enforcing smoke-free public areas has led to an increase in smoke-free homes. The Tobacco Free Generation is a tobacco control 'endgame' strategy that taps into a social movement to deglamorize tobacco use and empower youth born in and after year 2000 to reject tobacco and nicotine addiction.

    CONCLUSION: Tobacco control is pivotal in the fight against NCDs; health promotion strategies to protect children and youth from tobacco have a critical role to play in NCD prevention and control. Frontline health workers, including primary care paediatricians, need to step up and actively advocate for full implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, including tobacco tax increases and smoke-free areas, while monitoring patients and their parents for tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure, preventing adolescent smoking uptake, and offering cessation support. A life-course approach incorporating child-focused efforts to prevent initiation of smoking and second-hand smoke exposure with measures promoting cessation among parents will offer the greatest chance of overcoming future tobacco-related NCD burden.

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Policy*; Policy Making
  6. Brodie JF, Paxton M, Nagulendran K, Balamurugan G, Clements GR, Reynolds G, et al.
    Conserv Biol, 2016 10;30(5):950-61.
    PMID: 26648510 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12667
    We examined the links between the science and policy of habitat corridors to better understand how corridors can be implemented effectively. As a case study, we focused on a suite of landscape-scale connectivity plans in tropical and subtropical Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, and Bhutan). The process of corridor designation may be more efficient if the scientific determination of optimal corridor locations and arrangement is synchronized in time with political buy-in and establishment of policies to create corridors. Land tenure and the intactness of existing habitat in the region are also important to consider because optimal connectivity strategies may be very different if there are few, versus many, political jurisdictions (including commercial and traditional land tenures) and intact versus degraded habitat between patches. Novel financing mechanisms for corridors include bed taxes, payments for ecosystem services, and strategic forest certifications. Gaps in knowledge of effective corridor design include an understanding of how corridors, particularly those managed by local communities, can be protected from degradation and unsustainable hunting. There is a critical need for quantitative, data-driven models that can be used to prioritize potential corridors or multicorridor networks based on their relative contributions to long-term metacommunity persistence.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  7. Fahrni ML, Franklin BD, Rawaf S, Majeed A
    JRSM Open, 2014 Feb;5(2):2042533313515475.
    PMID: 25057369 DOI: 10.1177/2042533313515475
    In the UK, there are policy and regulatory concerns regarding the governance of care homes and healthcare provision within these homes. From a public health perspective, these issues can pose significant challenges to the provision of safe and quality medication use services to care home residents. The objective of this paper is to highlight an important and neglected issue for the growing population of institutionalized older adults. We reviewed relevant literature for the years 2000 to present and identified recent efforts undertaken to improve medication safety standards in UK care homes. We consider the limitations and reasons for the National Health Service's restricted role and lack of leadership in providing medical services for this institutionalized population. The efforts taken by the Department of Health and other healthcare authorities targeting medication safety in care homes are also highlighted. In order to improve the quality of healthcare, specifically in areas related to medication safety and quality use of medicines, interventions need to be taken by the national government and similarly by local authorities and NHS commissioners.
    Matched MeSH terms: Policy
  8. Zablotska IB, Whittaker B, de Wit J, Kamarulzaman A, Ananworanich J, Wright E, et al.
    Sex Health, 2014 Jul;11(2):97-100.
    PMID: 25017549 DOI: 10.1071/SH14071
    This editorial to the special issue of Sexual Health on antiretroviral-based prevention of HIV infection is dedicated to showcasing research and practice in this area. It aims to promote debate regarding the potential of new antiretroviral-based prevention approaches and the challenges encountered in moving prevention innovations into the community. This special issue covers the breadth of innovative HIV prevention research, including that undertaken in the fields of epidemiology, clinical research, social and behavioural science, public health and policy analysis, and with special emphasis on Asia and the Pacific region. Most importantly, it provides an indication of how the region is progressing towards embracing new prevention approaches to combat HIV epidemics across the region.
    Matched MeSH terms: Policy Making
  9. Sidique SF, Lupi F, Joshi SV
    J Environ Manage, 2013 Sep 30;127:339-46.
    PMID: 23810167 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.05.001
    Drop-off recycling is one of the most widely adopted recycling programs in the United States. Despite its wide implementation, relatively little literature addresses the demand for drop-off recycling. This study examines the demand for drop-off recycling sites as a function of travel costs and various site characteristics using the random utility model (RUM). The findings of this study indicate that increased travel costs significantly reduce the frequency of visits to drop-off sites implying that the usage pattern of a site is influenced by its location relative to where people live. This study also demonstrates that site specific characteristics such as hours of operation, the number of recyclables accepted, acceptance of commingled recyclables, and acceptance of yard-waste affect the frequency of visits to drop-off sites.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
  10. Fisinin VI, Papazyan TT, Surai PF
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2009;29(1):18-28.
    PMID: 19514900 DOI: 10.1080/07388550802658030
    The role of selenium (Se) in human health and diseases has been discussed in detail in several recent reviews, with the main conclusion being that selenium deficiency is recognised as a global problem which urgently needs resolution. Since selenium content in plant-based food depends on its availability from soil, the level of this element in food and feeds varies among regions. In general, eggs and meat are considered to be good sources of selenium in human diet. When considering ways to improve human selenium intake, there are several potential options. These include direct supplementation, soil fertilisation and supplementation of food staples such as flour, and production of functional foods. Analysing recent publications related to functional food production, it is evident that selenium-enriched eggs can be used as an important delivery system of this trace mineral for humans. In particular, developments and commercialisation of organic forms of selenium have initiated a new era in the availability of selenium-enriched products. It has been shown that egg selenium content can easily be manipulated to give increased levels, especially when organic selenium is included in hens' diet at levels that provide 0.3-0.5 mg/kg selenium in the feed. As a result, technology for the production of eggs delivering approximately 50% (30-35 microg) of the human selenium RDA have been developed and successfully tested. Currently companies all over the world market selenium-enriched eggs including the UK, Ireland, Mexico, Columbia, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Turkey, Russia and the Ukraine. Prices for enriched eggs vary from country to country, typically being similar to free-range eggs. Selenium-enriched chicken, pork and beef can also be produced when using organic selenium in the diet of poultry and farm animals. The scientific, technological and other advantages and limitations of producing designer/modified eggs as functional foods are discussed in this review.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nutrition Policy
  11. Said AM, Ahmadun FR, Abdul Kadir R, Daud M
    Disasters, 2009 Apr;33(2):308-28.
    PMID: 18771531 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7717.2008.01076.x
    Most democratic countries hold inquiries into disasters. One of their key functions is to establish the cause of an event and to learn lessons in order to prevent a recurrence. In addition, they offer an opportunity for communal catharsis, permitting the public to vent anger, distress and frustration and to exert pressure for policy changes. Malaysia has experienced six landmark socio-technical disasters since 1968, which resulted in the proposal or amendment of various safety/emergency acts and regulations. The authors used a grounded theory approach utilising a constant comparative method to analyse the recommendations made by the inquiries into these events. Data indicate that social and technical recommendations comprise 85 and 15 per cent, respectively, of the total recommendations made by the inquiry committees. This paper offers suggestions for improving the management of inquiry tribunals, as they will remain a valuable source of information for society and corporations to learn from past incidents.
    Matched MeSH terms: Policy Making
  12. Sharifi M, Ayat M, Jahanbakhsh M, Tavakoli N, Mokhtari H, Wan Ismail WK
    Telemed J E Health, 2013 Feb;19(2):122-8.
    PMID: 23374035 DOI: 10.1089/tmj.2012.0071
    E-health encompasses a wide scope and has excellent potential to grow in the future. Growing numbers of experts believe that e-health will fuel the next breakthroughs in health system improvements throughout the world. There is frequent evidence that largely indicates failures or unsustainable e-health implementations in different countries for different reasons. Iran is also a developing country that is presently applying this promising technology for its traditional healthcare delivery.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Policy
  13. Onwude DI, Abdulstter R, Gomes C, Hashim N
    J Sci Food Agric, 2016 Mar 4.
    PMID: 26940194 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.7699
    Mechanisation of large scale agricultural fields often requires the application of modern technologies such as mechanical power, automation, control and robotics. These technologies are generally associated with relatively well developed economies. The application of these technologies in some developing countries in Africa and Asia is limited by factors such as technology compatibility with the environment, availability of resources to facilitate the technology adoption, cost of technology purchase, government policies, adequacy of technology and appropriateness in addressing the needs of the population. As a result, many of the available resources have been used inadequately by farmers, who continue to rely mostly on conventional means of agricultural production, using traditional tools and equipment in most cases. This has led to low productivity and high cost of production amongst others. Thus, this paper attempts to evaluate the application of present day technology and its limitations to the advancement of large scale mechanisation in developing countries of Africa and Asia. Particular emphasis is given to a general understanding of the various levels of mechanization, present day technology, its management and application to large scale agricultural fields. This review also focuses on/ gives emphasis to future outlook that will enable a gradual, evolutionary, and sustainable technological change. The study concludes that large scale-agricultural farm mechanisation for sustainable food production in Africa and Asia must be anchored on a coherent strategy based on the actual needs and priorities of the large- scale farmers.
    Matched MeSH terms: Policy
  14. Vlassopoulos A, Masset G, Charles VR, Hoover C, Chesneau-Guillemont C, Leroy F, et al.
    Eur J Nutr, 2017 Apr;56(3):1105-1122.
    PMID: 26879847 DOI: 10.1007/s00394-016-1161-9
    PURPOSE: To describe the Nestlé Nutritional Profiling System (NNPS) developed to guide the reformulation of Nestlé products, and the results of its application in the USA and France.

    DESIGN: The NNPS is a category-specific system that calculates nutrient targets per serving as consumed, based on age-adjusted dietary guidelines. Products are aggregated into 32 food categories. The NNPS ensures that excessive amounts of nutrients to limit cannot be compensated for by adding nutrients to encourage. A study was conducted to measure changes in nutrient profiles of the most widely purchased Nestlé products from eight food categories (n = 99) in the USA and France. A comparison was made between the 2009-2010 and 2014-2015 products.

    RESULTS: The application of the NNPS between 2009-2010 and 2014-2015 was associated with an overall downwards trend for all nutrients to limit. Sodium and total sugars contents were reduced by up to 22 and 31 %, respectively. Saturated Fatty Acids and total fat reductions were less homogeneous across categories, with children products having larger reductions. Energy per serving was reduced by <10 % in most categories, while serving sizes remained unchanged.

    CONCLUSIONS: The NNPS sets feasible and yet challenging targets for public health-oriented reformulation of a varied product portfolio; its application was associated with improved nutrient density in eight major food categories in the USA and France. Confirmatory analyses are needed in other countries and food categories; the impact of such a large-scale reformulation on dietary intake and health remains to be investigated.

    Matched MeSH terms: Nutrition Policy
  15. Australian Academy of Sciences, Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts, Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Royal Society of Canada, Caribbean Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, et al.
    Science, 2001 May 18;292(5520):1261.
    PMID: 11360966
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Policy
  16. Lim VK
    Med J Malaysia, 1999 Jun;54(2):287-91; quiz 292.
    PMID: 10972048 MyJurnal
    An emerging infection is defined as an infection which has newly appeared in a population while a re-emerging infection is one which has existed in the past but its incidence is rapidly increasing. The reasons for the emergence and re-emergence of infections are not well understood but appear to be associated with factors that involve the pathogen, the host and the environment. These factors are often inter-related and act together in a complex manner to bring about changes in patterns of infection. Pathogens are extremely resourceful and possess mechanisms to adapt to new hosts and environments as well as to acquire new virulence traits. Host factors include herd immunity, social behaviour and demographics. Environmental factors like the climate, deforestation and new technologies have an impact on the emergence of infections. The challenge is to contain an infection when it emerges but more importantly to prevent its emergence in the first place. As the emergence of an infection is complex and multifactorial, a multidisciplinary approach is required. Health based strategies alone are insufficient. Social, economic and environmental measures and the political will to implement appropriate policies are equally important.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Policy
  17. Chan NW
    Disasters, 1997 Sep;21(3):206-22.
    PMID: 9301137
    Institutional aspects of flood hazards significantly affect their outcomes in Malaysia. Institutional arrangements to deal with floods include: legislative activity, organisational structures, attitudes and sub-culture, and policies and instruments. When assessed in terms of four specific criteria, institutional aspects of flood hazards are found to be largely inadequate. Disaster reduction programmes are over-dependent on a reactive approach based largely on technology and not even aimed at floods specifically. Structural flood reduction measures are the predominant management tool and, although the importance of non-structural measures is recognised, thus far they have been under-employed. Current laws and regulations with regard to flood management are also insufficient and both the financial and human resources of flood hazard organisations are generally found to be wanting. Finally, economic efficiency, equity and public accountability issues are not adequately addressed by institutional arrangements for flood hazards.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Policy
  18. Leete R
    PMID: 12285439
    PIP:
    Fertility trends and prospects for east and southeast Asian countries including cities in China, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Viet Nam are described. Additional discussion focuses on family planning methods, marriage patterns, fertility prospects, theories of fertility change, and policy implications for the labor supply, labor migrants, increased female participation in the labor force (LFP), human resource development, and social policy measures. Figures provide graphic descriptions of total fertility rates (TFRS) for 12 countries/areas for selected years between 1960-90, TFR for selected Chinese cities between 1955-90, the % of currently married women 15-44 years using contraception by main method for selected years and for 10 countries, actual and projected TFR and annual growth rates between 1990-2020 for Korea and Indonesia. It is noted that the 1st southeast Asian country to experience a revolution in reproductive behavior was Japan with below replacement level fertility by 1960. This was accomplished by massive postponement in age at marriage and rapid reduction in marital fertility. Fertility was controlled primarily through abortion. Thereafter every southeast Asian country experienced fertility declines. Hong Kong, Penang, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taipei and declining fertility before the major thrust of family planning (FP). Chinese fertility declines were reflected in the 1970s to the early 1980s and paralleled the longer, later, fewer campaign and policy which set ambitious targets which were strictly enforced at all levels of administration. Korea and Taiwan's declines were a result of individual decision making to restrict fertility which was encouraged by private and government programs to provide FP information and subsidized services. The context was social and economic change. Indonesia's almost replacement level fertility was achieved dramatically through the 1970s and 1980s by institutional change in ideas about families and schooling and material welfare, changes in the structure of governance, and changes in state ideology. Thailand's decline began in the 1960s and is attributed to social change, change in cultural setting, demand, and FP efforts. Modest declines characterize Malaysia and the Philippines, which have been surpassed by Myanmar and Viet Nam. The policy implications are that there are shortages in labor supply which can be remedied with labor migration, pronatalist policy, more capital intensive industries, and preparation for a changing economy.
    Matched MeSH terms: Policy Making*; Public Policy*
  19. Wohlschlagl H
    Demogr Inf, 1991;?:17-34, 153.
    PMID: 12343122
    PIP: The population explosion has been abating since the 2nd half of the 1960s. The birth rate of the 3rd World dropped from 45/1000 during 1950-55 to 31/1000 during 1985-90. From the 1st half of the 1960s to the 1st half of the 1980s the total fertility of such countries dropped from 6.1 to 4.2 children/woman. In Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Malaysia living standards improved as a result of industrialization, and fertility decreased significantly. In Sri Lanka, China, North Vietnam, and Thailand the drop of fertility is explained by cultural and religious factors. In 1982 about 78% of the population of developing countries lived in 39 states that followed an official policy aimed at reducing the population. Another 16% lived in countries supporting the concept of a desired family size. However, World Bank data showed that in the mid-1980s in 27 developing countries no state family planning (FP) programs existed. India adopted an official FP program in 1952, Pakistan followed suit in 1960, South Korea in 1961, and China in 1962. In Latin America a split policy manifested itself: in Brazil birth control was rejected, only Colombia had a FP policy. In 1986 the governments of 68 of 131 developing countries representing 3.1 billion people considered the number of children per woman too high. 31 of these countries followed concrete population control policies. On the other hand, in 1986 24 countries of Africa with 40% of the continent's population took no measures to influence population growth. In Latin America and the Caribbean 18 of 33 countries were idle, except for Mexico that had a massive state FP program. These programs also improve maternal and child health with birth spacing of at least 2 years, and the prevention of pregnancies of too young women or those over 40. The evaluation of rapidly spreading FP programs in the 1970s was carried out by the World Fertility Survey in 41 countries. The impact of FP programs was more substantial than socioeconomic factors. Contraceptive use increased in Mexico from 13% in 1973 to 41% in 1978 among women of fertile age. According to 1984 and 1988 UN data modern methods of contraception were used by 70% of women in China, 60-65% in Southeast Asia, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico. In contrast, less than 5% used them in most countries of Africa, 15-20% in West Asia, 25-30% in South Asia, and 40% in Latin America. The pill was the most popular method. From the early 1980s in South and East Asia 1/5 of women got sterilized after attaining the desired family size. Less than 10% of women used IUDs in developing countries. FP programs have benefited from higher education levels and economic incentives and sanctions and exemplified in Singapore, China, South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Policy*; Family Planning Policy*
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