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Fulltext Global health and human rights for a postpandemic world

Khosla R, Allotey P, Gruskin S

BMJ Glob Health, 2020 08;5(8).
PMID: 32819918 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003548
Matched MeSH terms: Health Policy
Fulltext The Impact of the COVID-19 Self-Isolation Policy on the Occupations of Vulnerable Groups

Amirudin A, Urbański M, Saputra J, Johansyah MD, Latip L, Tarmizi A, et al.

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 Jun 15;18(12).
PMID: 34203631 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18126452

Today, the spread of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact on world public health and bring about considerable human suffering partly due to government policies on reducing the spread. COVID-19 has significantly affected human health and it has impacted on the occupation of vulnerable groups such as tour guides, drivers and shop assistants. Of these, the present study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 self-isolation policy on the occupation of vulnerable groups in Semarang City, Indonesia. To achieve this objective, this study uses a qualitative method with an ethnography approach considering a rational or non-rational thinking model. The binary opposition thinking pattern pioneered by Lévi-Strauss was used in the interview process with 25 informants in Semarang City, Indonesia. The data analyzed the response pattern of informants through the taxonomy analysis. Three levels of vulnerability among groups relating to occupation were identified; jobs lost, income decreased, and delayed salary. The result of the analysis found that the group who obeyed self-isolation was categorized as a rational thinking; these groups stay at home, do not go to work, and have no income. Besides that, the group who ignored self-isolation is categorized as non-rational thinking; they work, as usual, get their salary, and believe that the COVID-19 pandemic is a disaster and they pray for their safety to God. In conclusion, COVID-19 brings a significant impact on occupation in the forms of postponing, declining, and missing income besides the health effects among vulnerable groups in Semarang city, Indonesia. In avoiding COVID-19 infection, the circumstances of vulnerable groups are worse when self-isolation is required. Thus, this study suggests that the government needs to assist vulnerable groups by focusing on strategic policies, such as strategies for survival, providing access to basic needs, including health, and offering livelihood plans by providing access to medical services and other source of income.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Fulltext Empirically derived guidance for social scientists to influence environmental policy

Marshall N, Adger N, Attwood S, Brown K, Crissman C, Cvitanovic C, et al.

PLoS One, 2017;12(3):e0171950.
PMID: 28278238 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171950

Failure to stem trends of ecological disruption and associated loss of ecosystem services worldwide is partly due to the inadequate integration of the human dimension into environmental decision-making. Decision-makers need knowledge of the human dimension of resource systems and of the social consequences of decision-making if environmental management is to be effective and adaptive. Social scientists have a central role to play, but little guidance exists to help them influence decision-making processes. We distil 348 years of cumulative experience shared by 31 environmental experts across three continents into advice for social scientists seeking to increase their influence in the environmental policy arena. Results focus on the importance of process, engagement, empathy and acumen and reveal the importance of understanding and actively participating in policy processes through co-producing knowledge and building trust. The insights gained during this research might empower a science-driven cultural change in science-policy relations for the routine integration of the human dimension in environmental decision making; ultimately for an improved outlook for earth's ecosystems and the billions of people that depend on them.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy Making*; Environmental Policy*
Fulltext Making the third science policy work

Omar, A.R.

ASM Science Journal, 2011;5(1):71-72.
MyJurnal

The government’s science and technology (S&T) apparatus is now in active consultation to formulate the third national S&T policy (NSTP3) and I have been involved in some of these meetings and have benefitted from them. In an earlier article (New Straits Times, 9 July 2011, p. 18) I had briefly described the two previous policies and given some thought on what the essentials of the NSTP3 should be. I am now offering some further thoughts on the subject. (Copied from article).

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Fulltext Transmission of tuberculosis (tb) in malaysia: practice of prevention and mechanism control in educational institutions

Mohd Faiz bin Mohd Yaakob, Jamal@Nordin bin Yunus

Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia, 2017;15(1):131-134.
MyJurnal

Tuberculosis or TB is a major issue in Malaysia as the dramatic emerge of infection. In Mac 2016 (Until 15 April 2016)
3049 cases were reported and total cases were reported 7717 cases which increasing 902 (13.0%) cases at same month
2015 (6815 cases). Meanwhile, prevention and diagnosis should be started from children. Educational planning with
the collaboration from Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Health (MOH) should be intensive to ensure the
prevention and mechanism control of this disease can be cure at the beginning. The focus of the study was given on the
(1) transmission of tuberculosis (TB) in Malaysia (2) practice of prevention of TB (3) mechanism control in educational
institutions and (4) promotion health programmes in schools. The conclusion of this study is drawn on the premise of
providing plausible suggestion that will promote good governance for the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of
Health (MOH) to strengthening the current policy for a better future implementation.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Fulltext Crowdsourcing for ideas: A review of motivational factors and challenges in open innovation communities

Ahmad, R., Virgiyanti, W., Mahmod, M., Habbal, A., Chit, S.C.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2017;25(110):69-78.
MyJurnal

Crowdsourcing introduces new perspectives in innovation, allowing for new products and services to shift away from the traditional manufacture-centric model to a more user-centric one. In order for businesses to reap the benefits of open innovation, it is necessary to understand the factors that motivate ideators to contribute valuable ideas. Equally, there is an urgency to identify the challenges faced by ideators in crowdsourcing for open innovation to retain the participants of crowdsourcing communities. This paper presents a structured review to address the aforementioned issues. Our findings reveal that the intrinsic factors that drive participation in open innovation are related to the learning experience that results from sharing ideas. Extrinsic factors like social motivation are frequently mentioned in different studies. This study also highlights the need for organisations to develop strategies for interacting with their contributors in order to sustain their participation and idea contribution. In conclusion, this paper can serve as a guideline for practitioners to improve crowdsourcing platforms with the inclusion of important motivational features. It can also serve as reference for organisations for formulating policies to regulate idea contribution.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Fulltext Malaysian government initiative of information communication technology to disabled people

Nur Ajrun Khalid, Rohana Yusof

Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2017;2(3):9-15.
MyJurnal

Information Communication Technology (ICT) is important to measure the development of the nation
and the people. Malaysia as a democratic nation has to deliver equal services to the people without any
boundaries and discrimination. Nowadays, knowledge of Information Communication Technology is
crucial and become one of the measurement tools to maximize work and task. Failure to catch up ICT
movement will cause digital divide, which is the phenomenon of gap exists between people who have
access to ICT and who did not have access. This paper aims to determine the government initiative in
terms of policy, law and regulations, infrastructure, support organization and training, whether it is
appropriate or inappropriate with the needs of disabled people.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
The Malaysian tobacco industry, globalisation and public health: New opportunities for tobacco control

Barraclough S

Public policy, culture and the impact of globalisation in Malaysia, 2004.

Barraclough S. The Malaysian tobacco industry, globalisation and public health: New opportunities for tobacco control. Public policy, culture and the impact of globalisation in Malaysia. Selangor, Malaysia: Malaysian Social Science Association; 2004. p. 112-27

Matched MeSH terms: Health Policy
Trends in sustainable logistics in major cities in China

Lan S, Tseng ML, Yang C, Huisingh D

Sci Total Environ, 2020 Apr 10;712:136381.
PMID: 31940512 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136381

"Smart cities" have become the development direction pursued by city leaders to address challenges related to rapid growth in urban areas. The sustainable development of the logistics sector has important practical significance for the evolution of smart cities. This study assessed the inefficiency rate and total factor productivity (TFP) of logistics in 36 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2015. The directional distance function (DDF) and Luenberger productivity index analytical approaches were used to assess the relevant parameters. The results revealed that the logistics system inefficiency rate of the eastern region was much higher than that of the central and western regions, while that of the western region was slightly higher than that of the central region. This study identified the main constraints of the logistics TFP in different regions in China. This finding is used to promote policy-making and investment planning to improve China's competitive advantage. The results documented that the central region of China needs to accelerate logistics reforms and use its location advantage of its location to form an organic connection with the eastern and western regions. Countries can use such metrics to take actions to improve their logistics performance, as such an improvement has a causal relationship with economic development.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy Making
Emerging and re-emerging diseases: The migrant factor. [Abstract]

Khairul Anuar A

JUMMEC, 2002;7:14-14.

Many nation states, including Malaysia are undergoing development and modernization while modernization brings tremendous achievements related to social and economic wellbeing, on the other hand, it also brings along with it the various untoward effects on the nation. One of the main factors which have an impact on modernization seems to be the rapid changes in the demographic pattern. In the initial stage of modernization, mass migration of rural populations to the urban areas, has been on going in Malaysia since the seventies. In the early nineties, the robust economic development in Malaysia necessitated the import of foreign labour from the neighbouring countries in order to provide cheap labour in the labour intensive industries. This demographic changes, internal and foreign migration, parallels the economic progress of the host countries. According to the latest report from the Immigration Department, there are more than 1.2 million registered foreign workers (up to January 1998) in Malaysia. This figure may exceed 2 million if we take into consideration the illegal immigrants and this is a big proportion (about 10%) of foreign workers in which has Malaysia's population of approxiamtely 20 million. The presence of such a big number of foreign workers during less than a decade is not merely an immigration issue, but it is a major concern for the nation especially with respect to health care, housing and education. As the immigrant community is highly dynamic, the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are a great concern for Malaysia especially in formulating health policies for Malaysia currently and in the future.

Matched MeSH terms: Health Policy
Fulltext Evaluation of the Policy Effect of China's Environmental Interview System for Effective Air Quality Governance

Jin X, Sumaila UR, Yin K, Qi Z

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 08 26;18(17).
PMID: 34501589 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18179006

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China formally proposed an environmental interview system in May 2014, which applies pressure on local governments to fulfill their responsibility toward environmental protection by conducting face-to-face public interviews with their officials. In this paper, 48 cities that were publicly interviewed from 2014-2020 were considered the experimental group and 48 cities surrounding them were the control group. First, the dynamic panel model is applied to initially determine the effect of the policy. Then, a regression discontinuity method (Sharp RD) is used to analyze the short-term and long-term effects and compare the reasons for the differences observed among the estimates of various types of samples. Finally, a series of robustness tests were also conducted. The results show that the environmental interview system can improve air quality. However, because an emergency short-term local governance system exists at present, the governance effect is not long-term and, therefore, not sustainable. Therefore, it suggests that the government should continue to improve the environmental interview system, establish an optimal environmental protection incentive mechanism, and encourage local governments to implement environmental protection policies effectively in the long term. The results of the research are of great significance to the environmental impact assessment system of the world, especially in countries with similar economic systems, which are facing a trade-off between economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
Working after cancer: in-depth perspectives from a setting with limited employment protection policies

Kong YC, Rauf N, Subramaniam S, Bustamam RS, Wong LP, Ho GF, et al.

J Cancer Surviv, 2021 10;15(5):706-712.
PMID: 33094415 DOI: 10.1007/s11764-020-00962-z

PURPOSE: A considerable proportion of individuals who are diagnosed with cancer are at a working age. We aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges, and arising needs related to working after cancer in a setting with limited employment protection policies.
METHODS: Focus group discussions were conducted with cancer patients who were diagnosed at least 1 year prior to recruitment, and either had paid work, were self-employed, currently unemployed, or currently retired (N = 66).
RESULTS: Three main themes were identified: (1) loss of income: While some participants were entitled for a 1-year cancer-specific sick leave, many other participants recounted having insufficient paid sick leave, forcing them to take prolonged unpaid leave to complete treatment; (2) dealing with side effects of cancer and its treatment: The need for workplace accommodations was highlighted including flexible working hours, lighter workloads, and dedicated rest areas to enable patients to cope better; (3) Discrimination and stigma at workplace: Some participants mentioned being passed over on a promotion, getting demoted, or being forced to resign once their cancer diagnosis was disclosed, highlighting an urgent need to destigmatize cancer in the workplace.
CONCLUSION: In settings with limited employment protection policies, a cancer diagnosis severely impacts the working experiences of patients, leading to financial loss. Urgent interventions and legislative reforms are needed in these settings to address the unmet employment needs of cancer survivors.
IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: This study may facilitate planning of local solutions to fulfill the unmet employment needs following cancer, such as return-to-work navigation services.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Fulltext Methodological guidance for incorporating equity when informing rapid-policy and guideline development

Dewidar O, Kawala BA, Antequera A, Tricco AC, Tovey D, Straus S, et al.

J Clin Epidemiol, 2022 Oct;150:142-153.
PMID: 35863618 DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2022.07.007

OBJECTIVES: We provide guidance for considering equity in rapid reviews through examples of published COVID-19 rapid reviews.
STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: This guidance was developed based on a series of methodological meetings, review of internationally renowned guidance such as the Cochrane Handbook and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis for equity-focused systematic reviews (PRISMA-Equity) guideline. We identified Exemplar rapid reviews by searching COVID-19 databases and requesting examples from our team.
RESULTS: We proposed the following key steps: 1. involve relevant stakeholders with lived experience in the conduct and design of the review; 2. reflect on equity, inclusion and privilege in team values and composition; 3. develop research question to assess health inequities; 4. conduct searches in relevant disciplinary databases; 5. collect data and critically appraise recruitment, retention and attrition for populations experiencing inequities; 6. analyse evidence on equity; 7. evaluate the applicability of findings to populations experiencing inequities; and 8. adhere to reporting guidelines for communicating review findings. We illustrated these methods through rapid review examples.
CONCLUSION: Implementing this guidance could contribute to improving equity considerations in rapid reviews produced in public health emergencies, and help policymakers better understand the distributional impact of diseases on the population.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Fulltext Watershed Horizontal Ecological Compensation Policy and Green Ecological City Development: Spatial and Mechanism Assessment

Lin X, Baskaran A, Zhang Y

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2023 Feb 02;20(3).
PMID: 36768047 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20032679

Green ecological development has become an inevitable choice to achieve sustainable urban development and carbon neutrality. This paper evaluates the level of green ecological city development in the Xin'an watershed as measured by green total factor productivity (GTFP), analyzes the direct and spatial effects of the Watershed Horizontal Ecological Compensation policy on GTFP, and further examines the moderating effect of the Research and Development (R&D) incentives, industrial structure, and income gap. This paper conducts difference-in-differences (DID) and spatial regression analysis on 27 cities from 2007 to 2019. The results show that GTFP progresses to varying degrees across cities over time, especially in the pilot cities. Crucially, the Watershed Horizontal Ecological Compensation policy significantly improved GTFP, although the effect was slight. Interestingly, the increase in GTFP in pilot cities that implemented the policy spatially suppressed the increase in GTFP in cities that did not implement the policy. Our evidence also shows that the positive effect of the policy is higher in regions with higher R&D incentives and industrial structure upgrading, which indicates that R&D incentives and industrial upgrading are crucial. In comparison, the income gap has not made the expected negative adjustment effect under the Chinese government's poverty alleviation policy. However, the positive policy effect is heterogeneous in the downstream and upstream pilot cities. The "forcing effect" of the policy on the downstream cities is more favorable than the "compensating effect" on the upstream cities. Therefore, policymakers should pay more attention to ensuring the effectiveness of the Watershed Horizontal Ecological Compensation policy in enhancing GTFP as a long-term strategy to guarantee the sustainability of green ecological development in Chinese cities.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Fulltext Bibliometric Analysis of the Research on the Impact of Environmental Regulation on Green Technology Innovation Based on CiteSpace

Li M, Wang X, Wang Z, Maqbool B, Hussain A, Khan WA

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022 Oct 14;19(20).
PMID: 36293848 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192013273

With increasing environmental regulation (ER), the requirements for green technology innovation (GTI) in enterprises are also rising. However, there are relatively few systematic summaries of the themes of ER-affecting GTI. Adopting the method of bibliometrics and visual analysis, this research discusses the status of research and development trends of ER-affecting GTI and summarizes the research in this field. The paper takes 738 papers from 2001 to 2021 in the core database of Web of Science as the research sample. Based on CiteSpace, this paper makes a visual analysis of the number of published papers, institutions, authors, keywords, countries (regions) and journals. The study found that to some extent, favorable collaboration between authors and institutions in this field needs to be strengthened. Research hotspots in this field include innovation, technology, performance, policy and environmental regulation. Renewable energy consumption, the pollution haven hypothesis, sustainable development, carbon dioxide emission, energy technology and environmental Kuznets curve are the current research frontiers in this field. In terms of the number of published papers, research in this field has been conducted in a national (regional) layout with China as the core force, and Italy, America, Britain, Germany and other European countries as important forces. This field covers three main research areas: enterprise performance, policy instruments and research methods, going through the start-up phase (2001-2011), the growth phase (2012-2018) and the development phase (2019-2021). Future research can further incorporate the digital economy and synergy of multiple environmental regulation policies into this field, which will continuously enrich the theoretical research system in this field. The content, methods and conclusions of research in this field are becoming increasingly diverse.

Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Policy
Moving towards sustainability: how do natural resources, financial development, and economic growth interact with the ecological footprint in Malaysia? A dynamic ARDL approach

Khan MK, Abbas F, Godil DI, Sharif A, Ahmed Z, Anser MK

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2021 Oct;28(39):55579-55591.
PMID: 34138439 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-14686-9

Without enhancing the quality of the environment, the goals of sustainable development remain unachievable. In order to minimize the damage to the planet, sustainable practices need to be considered. This study is conducted to identify some of the drivers behind the increasing sustainability issues and tried to investigate the impact of natural resources, financial development, and economic growth on the ecological footprint in Malaysia from the year 1980-2019 by utilizing the dynamic simulated autoregressive distribution lag approach. It was identified that financial development, economic growth, and natural resources are the determinants behind the upsurge of the ecological footprint as all three show a positive and significant effect on ecological footprint. However, in the long run, the presence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis was also validated in Malaysia. Therefore, it is recommended to increase awareness among the public regarding the adoption of sustainable practices in everyday life and to use green technologies that offer maximum efficiency and minimum damage to the environment in commercial and domestic activities. Finally, based on the research results, a comprehensive policy framework was proposed which could allow the Malaysian economy to attain the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 7, 8, and 13.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Decomposing the trade-environment nexus for Malaysia: what do the technique, scale, composition, and comparative advantage effect indicate?

Ling CH, Ahmed K, Binti Muhamad R, Shahbaz M

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2015 Dec;22(24):20131-42.
PMID: 26300360 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-5217-9

This paper investigates the impact of trade openness on CO2 emissions using time series data over the period of 1970QI-2011QIV for Malaysia. We disintegrate the trade effect into scale, technique, composition, and comparative advantage effects to check the environmental consequence of trade at four different transition points. To achieve the purpose, we have employed augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) unit root tests in order to examine the stationary properties of the variables. Later, the long-run association among the variables is examined by applying autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration. Our results confirm the presence of cointegration. Further, we find that scale effect has positive and technique effect has negative impact on CO2 emissions after threshold income level and form inverted U-shaped relationship-hence validates the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Energy consumption adds in CO2 emissions. Trade openness and composite effect improve environmental quality by lowering CO2 emissions. The comparative advantage effect increases CO2 emissions and impairs environmental quality. The results provide the innovative approach to see the impact of trade openness in four sub-dimensions of trade liberalization. Hence, this study attributes more comprehensive policy tool for trade economists to better design environmentally sustainable trade rules and agreements.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Determinants of economic growth and environmental sustainability in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation: evidence from panel ARDL

Khan SAR, Yu Z, Sharif A, Golpîra H

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2020 Dec;27(36):45675-45687.
PMID: 32803598 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-10410-1

Considering the importance of green economic growth and environmental sustainability in the discussion, it is crucial to understand its critical contributing factors and to draw results implications for the green policy. This research used the data of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries for a period from 2005 to 2017. It adopted the panel autoregressive distributed lag technique to examine the hypotheses. The findings revealed that environmental sustainability is strongly and positively associated with national scale-level green practices, including renewable energy, regulatory pressure, and eco-friendly policies, and sustainable use of natural resources. Conversely, in our model, the "regulatory pressure" has an insignificant effect on economic growth. A necessary contribution of the present study is that a positive effect of green practices on national scale economic and environmental variables, particularly in the scenario of SAARC member states, can be noticed. At the end of the present study, we have provided policy implications for regulatory authorities and discussed potential areas for future research.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Non-linear relationship between tourism, economic growth, urbanization, and environmental degradation: evidence from smooth transition models

Raza SA, Qureshi MA, Ahmed M, Qaiser S, Ali R, Ahmed F

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2021 Jan;28(2):1426-1442.
PMID: 32840747 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-10179-3

The study aims to analyze two objectives: first is to explore the non-linear relationship between tourism development, economic growth, urbanization, and environmental degradation, and also to analyze the threshold level of the contribution of tourism development on environmental degradation in top tourist arrival destinations. We applied the newly proposed econometric method panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) framework with two regimes on yearly panel data from 1995 to 2017. Findings suggest that the relationship between tourism development and environmental degradation is non-linear and regime dependent. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the relationship above the threshold level is negative and significant, while below the threshold, tourism development is positive and significant effect on environmental degradation. Tourism development and environmental degradation also exhibit the inverted U-shape relationship meaning that at a particular point, increase in tourism development increases in environmental degradation but after a particular point, increase in tourism development decreases the environmental degradation. The economic growth and urbanization also portray a non-linear and regime-dependent relationship with environmental degradation. The study assists policies and empirical information.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy
Fulltext Evidence-based public policy making for medicines across countries: findings and implications for the future

Godman B, Fadare J, Kwon HY, Dias CZ, Kurdi A, Dias Godói IP, et al.

J Comp Eff Res, 2021 Aug;10(12):1019-1052.
PMID: 34241546 DOI: 10.2217/cer-2020-0273

Aim: Global expenditure on medicines is rising up to 6% per year driven by increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and new premium priced medicines for cancer, orphan diseases and other complex areas. This is difficult to sustain without reforms. Methods: Extensive narrative review of published papers and contextualizing the findings to provide future guidance. Results: New models are being introduced to improve the managed entry of new medicines including managed entry agreements, fair pricing approaches and monitoring prescribing against agreed guidance. Multiple measures have also successfully been introduced to improve the prescribing of established medicines. This includes encouraging greater prescribing of generics and biosimilars versus originators and patented medicines in a class to conserve resources without compromising care. In addition, reducing inappropriate antibiotic utilization. Typically, multiple measures are the most effective. Conclusion: Multiple measures will be needed to attain and retain universal healthcare.

Matched MeSH terms: Policy Making

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