The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has foregrounded ... more The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has foregrounded disability as a human rights and equity issue, elevating it to a priority global research area. Academics from Western universities are likely to play an increasing role in disability health research in develop- ing countries. In such con- texts, there is a need to bridge the gap between procedural ethics and the realities of disability research in cross-cultural contexts. We provide guidance on engaging in ethical disability health research that intersects with and upholds the CRPD. We highlight challenges and tensions in doing so, under- scoring the need to be sensitive to the sociocultural and political context of disability that determines how ethical research should proceed. We conclude with 5 recommendations. (Am J Public Health. 2014;104:2037–2043. doi:10. 2105/AJPH.2014.302006)
BMC International Health and Human Rights , Feb 24, 2014
The present Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and their next iteration is no... more The present Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and their next iteration is now being discussed within the international community. With regards to health, the World Health Organization proposes universal health coverage as a ‘single overarching health goal’ for the next iteration of the Millennium Development Goals.
The present Millennium Development Goals have been criticised for being ‘duplicative’ or even ‘competing alternatives’ to international human rights law. The question then arises, if universal health coverage would indeed become the single overarching health goal, replacing the present health-related Millennium Development Goals, would that be more consistent with the right to health? The World Health Organization seems to have anticipated the question, as it labels universal health coverage as “by definition, a practical expression of the concern for health equity and the right to health”.
Rather than waiting for the negotiations to unfold, we thought it would be useful to verify this contention, using a comparative normative analysis. We found that – to be a practical expression of the right to health – at least one element is missing in present authoritative definitions of universal health coverage: a straightforward confirmation that international assistance is essential, not optional.
But universal health coverage is a ‘work in progress’. A recent proposal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network proposed universal health coverage with a set of targets, including a target for international assistance, which would turn universal health coverage into a practical expression of the right to health care.
Reliable mortality data becomes necessary to realise the full functioning of national health syst... more Reliable mortality data becomes necessary to realise the full functioning of national health systems. Verbal autopsy (VA) is a viable tool to identify cause-of-death in Vietnam and has already utilised in a number of studies. This qualitative study (in-depth interviews and focus group discussions) had been done with the aim to examine the views of six ethnic groups in Vietnam on the suitable timing for implementing VA after a death. Recommendations on what were the suitable timing varied significantly between minorities ethnic groups, reflecting their particular cultural beliefs and burial practice. For the dominant Kinh people, the suitable timing for VA was around 49-100 days after the funeral. By providing better understanding of the best timing for VA interview, our study enables researchers to optimally use VA methods, producing more reliable data for mortality rates and cause of death in the lack of a complete vital registration in Vietnam.
In two years, the uncompleted tasks of the Millennium Development Goals will be merged with the a... more In two years, the uncompleted tasks of the Millennium Development Goals will be merged with the agenda articulated in the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. This process will seek to integrate economic development (including the elimination of extreme poverty), social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and good governance into a combined sustainable development agenda. The first phase of consultation for the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals reached completion in the May 2013 report to the Secretary-General of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Health did well out of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) process, but the global context and framing of the new agenda is substantially different, and health advocates cannot automatically assume the same prominence. This paper argues that to remain central to continuing negotiations and the future implementation, four strategic shifts are urgently required. Adv...
... Claire E. Brolan. School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of ... more ... Claire E. Brolan. School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Herston Queensland, Australia. Correspondence: Claire E. Brolan, School of Population ... The author would like to thank Dr Ignacio Correa Velez for reviewing the manuscript. ...
ABSTRACT This qualitative study investigated the use of folk medicine by families for people with... more ABSTRACT This qualitative study investigated the use of folk medicine by families for people with intellectual disability in the Philippines. Workers from Negros Occidental who support people with intellectual disability participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings show families seek the intervention of a folk healer before seeking primary healthcare support and a prosperous cultural use of folk medicine exists across the Philippines. Intellectual impairment is perceived by some Filipinos to be caused by supernatural forces. Socio-cultural constructs of intellectual disability probably influence health outcomes for this populace. If primary healthcare tools and resources for people with intellectual disability that are developed in higher-income nations are to have the potential to be transferred into other settings, understanding of attitudes towards alternative medicine is needed.
When considering the delivery of primary health care in the community, some populations remain vi... more When considering the delivery of primary health care in the community, some populations remain virtually invisible. While people with intellectual disability might seem to share few characteristics with refugees and humanitarian entrants, there are a number of difficulties that both groups share when accessing and receiving primary health care. Commonalities include communication barriers, difficulties accessing past medical records and the complexity of health needs that confront the practitioner providing health care. These issues and additional systemic barriers that prevent the delivery of optimal health care to both groups are explored. Integrated multidisciplinary care is often required for the delivery of best practice care; however, such care can be difficult for each group to access. In May 2010, the specific Medicare Health Assessment Item numbers for both of these groups were incorporated into a group of more generic Item numbers. This has resulted in a lost opportunity to enhance the evidence surrounding health care delivery to these vulnerable populations. This paper recognises the importance of health policy in leading affirmative action to ensure these populations become visible in the implementation of the National Primary Health Care Strategy.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has foregrounded ... more The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has foregrounded disability as a human rights and equity issue, elevating it to a priority global research area. Academics from Western universities are likely to play an increasing role in disability health research in develop- ing countries. In such con- texts, there is a need to bridge the gap between procedural ethics and the realities of disability research in cross-cultural contexts. We provide guidance on engaging in ethical disability health research that intersects with and upholds the CRPD. We highlight challenges and tensions in doing so, under- scoring the need to be sensitive to the sociocultural and political context of disability that determines how ethical research should proceed. We conclude with 5 recommendations. (Am J Public Health. 2014;104:2037–2043. doi:10. 2105/AJPH.2014.302006)
BMC International Health and Human Rights , Feb 24, 2014
The present Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and their next iteration is no... more The present Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and their next iteration is now being discussed within the international community. With regards to health, the World Health Organization proposes universal health coverage as a ‘single overarching health goal’ for the next iteration of the Millennium Development Goals.
The present Millennium Development Goals have been criticised for being ‘duplicative’ or even ‘competing alternatives’ to international human rights law. The question then arises, if universal health coverage would indeed become the single overarching health goal, replacing the present health-related Millennium Development Goals, would that be more consistent with the right to health? The World Health Organization seems to have anticipated the question, as it labels universal health coverage as “by definition, a practical expression of the concern for health equity and the right to health”.
Rather than waiting for the negotiations to unfold, we thought it would be useful to verify this contention, using a comparative normative analysis. We found that – to be a practical expression of the right to health – at least one element is missing in present authoritative definitions of universal health coverage: a straightforward confirmation that international assistance is essential, not optional.
But universal health coverage is a ‘work in progress’. A recent proposal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network proposed universal health coverage with a set of targets, including a target for international assistance, which would turn universal health coverage into a practical expression of the right to health care.
Reliable mortality data becomes necessary to realise the full functioning of national health syst... more Reliable mortality data becomes necessary to realise the full functioning of national health systems. Verbal autopsy (VA) is a viable tool to identify cause-of-death in Vietnam and has already utilised in a number of studies. This qualitative study (in-depth interviews and focus group discussions) had been done with the aim to examine the views of six ethnic groups in Vietnam on the suitable timing for implementing VA after a death. Recommendations on what were the suitable timing varied significantly between minorities ethnic groups, reflecting their particular cultural beliefs and burial practice. For the dominant Kinh people, the suitable timing for VA was around 49-100 days after the funeral. By providing better understanding of the best timing for VA interview, our study enables researchers to optimally use VA methods, producing more reliable data for mortality rates and cause of death in the lack of a complete vital registration in Vietnam.
In two years, the uncompleted tasks of the Millennium Development Goals will be merged with the a... more In two years, the uncompleted tasks of the Millennium Development Goals will be merged with the agenda articulated in the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. This process will seek to integrate economic development (including the elimination of extreme poverty), social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and good governance into a combined sustainable development agenda. The first phase of consultation for the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals reached completion in the May 2013 report to the Secretary-General of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Health did well out of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) process, but the global context and framing of the new agenda is substantially different, and health advocates cannot automatically assume the same prominence. This paper argues that to remain central to continuing negotiations and the future implementation, four strategic shifts are urgently required. Adv...
... Claire E. Brolan. School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of ... more ... Claire E. Brolan. School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Queensland, Herston Queensland, Australia. Correspondence: Claire E. Brolan, School of Population ... The author would like to thank Dr Ignacio Correa Velez for reviewing the manuscript. ...
ABSTRACT This qualitative study investigated the use of folk medicine by families for people with... more ABSTRACT This qualitative study investigated the use of folk medicine by families for people with intellectual disability in the Philippines. Workers from Negros Occidental who support people with intellectual disability participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings show families seek the intervention of a folk healer before seeking primary healthcare support and a prosperous cultural use of folk medicine exists across the Philippines. Intellectual impairment is perceived by some Filipinos to be caused by supernatural forces. Socio-cultural constructs of intellectual disability probably influence health outcomes for this populace. If primary healthcare tools and resources for people with intellectual disability that are developed in higher-income nations are to have the potential to be transferred into other settings, understanding of attitudes towards alternative medicine is needed.
When considering the delivery of primary health care in the community, some populations remain vi... more When considering the delivery of primary health care in the community, some populations remain virtually invisible. While people with intellectual disability might seem to share few characteristics with refugees and humanitarian entrants, there are a number of difficulties that both groups share when accessing and receiving primary health care. Commonalities include communication barriers, difficulties accessing past medical records and the complexity of health needs that confront the practitioner providing health care. These issues and additional systemic barriers that prevent the delivery of optimal health care to both groups are explored. Integrated multidisciplinary care is often required for the delivery of best practice care; however, such care can be difficult for each group to access. In May 2010, the specific Medicare Health Assessment Item numbers for both of these groups were incorporated into a group of more generic Item numbers. This has resulted in a lost opportunity to enhance the evidence surrounding health care delivery to these vulnerable populations. This paper recognises the importance of health policy in leading affirmative action to ensure these populations become visible in the implementation of the National Primary Health Care Strategy.
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Academics from Western universities are likely to play an increasing role in disability health research in develop- ing countries. In such con- texts, there is a need to bridge the gap between procedural ethics and the realities of disability research in cross-cultural contexts.
We provide guidance on engaging in ethical disability health research that intersects with and upholds the CRPD. We highlight challenges and tensions in doing so, under- scoring the need to be sensitive to the sociocultural and political context of disability that determines how ethical research should proceed. We conclude with 5 recommendations. (Am J Public Health. 2014;104:2037–2043. doi:10. 2105/AJPH.2014.302006)
The present Millennium Development Goals have been criticised for being ‘duplicative’ or even ‘competing alternatives’ to international human rights law. The question then arises, if universal health coverage would indeed become the single overarching health goal, replacing the present health-related Millennium Development Goals, would that be more consistent with the right to health? The World Health Organization seems to have anticipated the question, as it labels universal health coverage as “by definition, a practical expression of the concern for health equity and the right to health”.
Rather than waiting for the negotiations to unfold, we thought it would be useful to verify this contention, using a comparative normative analysis. We found that – to be a practical expression of the right to health – at least one element is missing in present authoritative definitions of universal health coverage: a straightforward confirmation that international assistance is essential, not optional.
But universal health coverage is a ‘work in progress’. A recent proposal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network proposed universal health coverage with a set of targets, including a target for international assistance, which would turn universal health coverage into a practical expression of the right to health care.
Academics from Western universities are likely to play an increasing role in disability health research in develop- ing countries. In such con- texts, there is a need to bridge the gap between procedural ethics and the realities of disability research in cross-cultural contexts.
We provide guidance on engaging in ethical disability health research that intersects with and upholds the CRPD. We highlight challenges and tensions in doing so, under- scoring the need to be sensitive to the sociocultural and political context of disability that determines how ethical research should proceed. We conclude with 5 recommendations. (Am J Public Health. 2014;104:2037–2043. doi:10. 2105/AJPH.2014.302006)
The present Millennium Development Goals have been criticised for being ‘duplicative’ or even ‘competing alternatives’ to international human rights law. The question then arises, if universal health coverage would indeed become the single overarching health goal, replacing the present health-related Millennium Development Goals, would that be more consistent with the right to health? The World Health Organization seems to have anticipated the question, as it labels universal health coverage as “by definition, a practical expression of the concern for health equity and the right to health”.
Rather than waiting for the negotiations to unfold, we thought it would be useful to verify this contention, using a comparative normative analysis. We found that – to be a practical expression of the right to health – at least one element is missing in present authoritative definitions of universal health coverage: a straightforward confirmation that international assistance is essential, not optional.
But universal health coverage is a ‘work in progress’. A recent proposal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network proposed universal health coverage with a set of targets, including a target for international assistance, which would turn universal health coverage into a practical expression of the right to health care.