Global Pulse Blog

The following infographic from USAID graphically illustrates the ways in which investments in females have wide-reaching and significant impacts.

In what ways do you think that investments in females can have an impact?

According to a recent study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Indonesian children who were exposed to Jalan Sesama over a 14-week period had significantly improved literacy, mathematics, early cognitive skills, safety knowledge and social awareness than those children with no or lesser exposure to the Indonesian Sesame Street program. The study appears in the International Journal of Behavioral Development’s OnlineFirst collection for December 5, 2010 in anticipation of its upcoming print publication.

Jalan Sesama, Indonesia’s version of Sesame Street, is funded via the United States Agency for International Developmental via the Sesame Workshop. The television program employs live action, puppetry and animation to teach lessons on mathematics, literacy, culture, safety, environment and more in a culturally-sensitive manner utilizing visuals and characters which children can find in their local environment. Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago and fourth most populous country in the world. Its 17,508 islands are strewn across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, straddling the Australian and Asian continents. This unique geographical situation has often presented a challenge to the creation of a common national voice. The creation of Jalan Sesama,which translates to “Togetherness Street” reflects this mentality as does the country’s national motto,“Bhinneka tunggal ika,” which translates loosely to “unity in diversity,” and more literally to “Although in pieces, yet one.”

Photographs from the Sesame Workshop Website

The authors of the current study, Dina L.G. Borzekowski, EdD, associate professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health, Behavior and Society and Holly K. Henry, a current doctoral student at the school, carried out a randomized research study examining the effect of a 14-week intervention on 160 children ages 3 to 6 years in the Pandeglang District of Indonesia’s Banten Province. The children were questioned regarding their skills and knowledge at the start and conclusion of the 14-week intervention. The authors found that the children with the greatest exposure to the television program performed better than those with less exposure when evaluating their literacy, early cognitive and mathematics skills even after adjusting for baseline scores, age, gender, parents’ education and exposure to other media.

This study’s lead author, Dr. Borzekowski, previously carried out a similar study which was published in July 2010 investigating the Tanzanian version of Sesame Street, Kilimani Sesame. Similar to the current study in Indonesia, this study concluded that Tanzanian children with the greatest exposure to the Sesame Street inspired television program showed the greatest gains in social, cognitive and health outcomes.

This past week an excellent discussion of important global health challenges and developments, including those related to the Millennium Development Goals, took place at the TEDx Change Meeting, “The Future We Make”. TEDx is a new program enabling local communities and organizations to organize, design and host their own independent events to discuss innovative and important ideas.

Check out the webcast from the recent “The Future We Make” meeting on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation website for an engaging and insightful discussion of issues related to the Millennium Development Goals such as child mortality rates, birth rates, literacy, HIV/AIDS and more on a global level.

TEDxChange Webcast

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Program for Ethnicity, Culture, and Health Outcomes (ECHO) 16th Annual Summer Public Health Research Institute and Videoconference on Minority Health is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8, 1:30-4:00pm EDT.  The videoconference entitled “What Will Health Care Reform Mean for Minority Health Disparities?” will feature Mayra Alvarez, M.H.A., Legislative Assistant, U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin (Illinois); Ralph Forquera, M.P.H., Executive Director, Seattle Indian Health Board and Clinical Assistant Professor with the School of Public Health, Department of Health Sciences at the University of Washington and Tony L. Whitehead, Ph.D., M.S.Hyg., Professor of Medical Anthropology and founding Director, Cultural Systems Analysis Group (CuSAG), Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland. This interactive session will be broadcast with a live audience in the Tate-Turner-Kuralt auditorium at the UNC School of Social Work and can be viewed over the Internet (webcast). Questions will be taken from broadcast participants by email and toll-free telephone.

Check out their website to register and access related materials.

Many news articles have been written recently on the increase in the prevalence in chronic diseases across the globe.  Rapid economic development is seen as one possible cause of the swift spread of chronic diseases in the developing world.

Let’s take the increase in the prevalence of Diabetes Type II for example. China has nearly 250 million and India has about 50 million people with Diabetes and prediabetes.  It is estimated that by 2030, 366 million or 6% or the world’s population will have Diabetes. This condition has two different modes of contraction, one for the wealthy, mainly being obesity resulting from over-nutrition, and another for the poor via changes in the amount of exercise and diet that once consisted mainly of vegetables but now has switched to foods that are high in sugar, salt and fat.    The change of diet is a direct result of the increase in the numbers of people moving from villages to cities in search of work.  A study found that the influence of urbanization and change of living habits have a greater influence than genetic predisposition for  determining whether a person develops Diabetes Type II, these migrants were twice more likely to have hypertension and to have higher blood sugar than villagers.

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Global Health Watch 3
Examining the World’s Health from an Alternative Perspective
Call for Case Studies and Testimonies
Contribute to the Alternative World Health Report

The Global Health Watch provides a platform for activists  to share experiences and inform each other with practical examples and theoretical analyses  to strengthen local, national, regional and global campaigns towards  Health for All!

This is a great way to get involved with the People’s Health Movement from a research/academic standpoint.

How you can voice your views:

The Global Health Watch is putting out a call for the submission of country or region specific case studies and testimonies. These case studies and testimonies will form part of the electronic platform of the alternative world health and selected case studies shall also be incorporated into the final document of Global Health Watch 3 – scheduled for publication in 2011.

Some suggestions: Read the rest of this entry →

This is a guest post by Vanessa Coleman, coordinator of the International Women’s Health Leadership Institute and the International Women’s Health Working Group.

This New Year as you set down and make resolutions, we at AMSA urge you to make another one. Ghandi once said “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Imagine how much of a difference we could make in our practices, medical schools and in our communities if each of us 30,000 AMSA members made this resolution? Apply for AMSA’s inaugural International Women’s Leadership Institute and BE THE CHANGE.

Read on for details. Read the rest of this entry →

Part four of this series introduces telemedicine technology and one application of such technology, teledermatology.

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In the second part of this series I hope to introduce the healthcare system of Botswana.

Botswana has two parallel health systems—the public system and private system—each with its own hospitals, clinics, and physicians. Care in the public sector, including laboratory testing, hospitalization and medications, is free for all Batswana (citizens of Botswana are known as Batswana). Read the rest of this entry →