A Risk-Based Approach to Health Criteria for Radon Indoors - Report on a WHO Initiative

1994 ◽  
Vol 56 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 355-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Steinhäusler
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Indoor Radon ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Radon Exposure ◽  
Related Risk

Abstract The World Health Organisation (WHO), Regional Office for Europe, organised a meeting of a working group on indoor air quality in Eilat, Israel, from 28 March to 4 April 1993. The aim was to develop a risk-based approach to health criteria for radon indoors. The group reviewed the latest epidemiological data from occupational and non-occupational radon exposure, animal experiments and dosimetry. The Group issued 14 conclusions and 23 recommendations on radon related risk to health, on risk management and risk communication. In summary, radon was confirmed as a human carcinogen. Indoor radon exposures resulting in individual risk exceeding 10-3 per year are to be considered as severe and risk reduction programmes implemented. Guidance on risk management and communication is offered to national authorities.

scholarly journals CURRENT ISSUES OF THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH IN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES. LITERATURE REVIEW

2019 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
pp. 473-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina A. Pogonysheva ◽  
D. A. Pogonyshev
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
World Health ◽  
European Region ◽  
Disease Rate ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Environment And Health ◽  
Environmental Causes

EU countries have accumulated a considerable amount of scientific research demonstrating the influence of a number of environmental factors on human health. The paper reviews European research on the relation between the environment and human health. The authors present a review of normative and non-governmental initiatives in the field of environmental control and human health in the European region, major environmental causes of human health deterioration and initiatives aiming at preventing ecology-dependant health issues. In 1989 World Health Organisation (WHO) held the First Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health that kickstarted the process uniting the healthcare field and the field of environmental protection. The main objective of the “Environment and Health” Process is to mitigate major environmental risks for human health. The objective is to be achieved through regular Ministerial Conferences held every five years by the World Health Organisation Regional Office. According to the policy stated in “Health-2020”, ecology is an important factor for maintaining good human health and establishment of sustainable communities and favorable environment should be prioritized in the European region of WHO. According to the research presented by WHO, major environmental causes of increased disease rate are atmospheric pollutants, accumulation of heavy metal leads and other harmful chemicals in the environment, climate change, noise pollution, low quality of drinking water and poor hygienic conditions. The review presents a consideration of recommendations given in “Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement”, Scopus, Web of Science, eLIBRARY.RU, CyberLeninka, and other scientific databases were used for this review.

scholarly journals The legitimacy and safety of using alternative diets in cancer

2020 ◽  
pp. 241-250
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
International Agency ◽  
Anticancer Efficacy ◽  
The World

Alternative diets are used by cancer patients, especially among those who are not treated with conventional methods. Due to worrying data published by the World Health Organisation and its Agenda, the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the International Cancer Union, as well as epidemiological data from all over the world, it has been concluded that cancer will be the main cause of death in the world and that, therefore, the popularity of alternative diets among cancer patients may increase. The paper reviews the scientific literature and assesses the legitimacy and safety of selected alternative diets, as well as the description of research in terms of assumed anticancer efficacy in the following diets: ketogenic, Dr. Budwig and macrobiotic. The article also contains a summary of the analyzed scientific research and conclusions concerning the legitimacy of their use by cancer patiets.

scholarly journals Developing a customised approach for strengthening tuberculosis laboratory quality management systems toward accreditation

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Albert ◽  
Andre Trollip ◽  
Donatelle Erni ◽  
Kekeletso Kao
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Quality Management System ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Laboratory Management ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Quality Improvement Process ◽  
Early Implementation ◽  
Training Of Trainers

Background: Quality-assured tuberculosis laboratory services are critical to achieve global and national goals for tuberculosis prevention and care. Implementation of a quality management system (QMS) in laboratories leads to improved quality of diagnostic tests and better patient care. The Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) programme has led to measurable improvements in the QMS of clinical laboratories. However, progress in tuberculosis laboratories has been slower, which may be attributed to the need for a structured tuberculosis-specific approach to implementing QMS. We describe the development and early implementation of the Strengthening Tuberculosis Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (TB SLMTA) programme.Development: The TB SLMTA curriculum was developed by customizing the SLMTA curriculum to include specific tools, job aids and supplementary materials specific to the tuberculosis laboratory. The TB SLMTA Harmonized Checklist was developed from the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation checklist, and incorporated tuberculosis-specific requirements from the Global Laboratory Initiative Stepwise Process Towards Tuberculosis Laboratory Accreditation online tool.Implementation: Four regional training-of-trainers workshops have been conducted since 2013. The TB SLMTA programme has been rolled out in 37 tuberculosis laboratories in 10 countries using the Workshop approach in 32 laboratories in five countries and the Facility based approach in five tuberculosis laboratories in five countries.Conclusion: Lessons learnt from early implementation of TB SLMTA suggest that a structured training and mentoring programme can build a foundation towards further quality improvement in tuberculosis laboratories. Structured mentoring, and institutionalisation of QMS into country programmes, is needed to support tuberculosis laboratories to achieve accreditation.

scholarly journals Preventing congenital rubella infection in the European Region of WHO: 2010 target

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Spika ◽  
F X Hanon ◽  
S Wassilak ◽  
R G Pebody ◽  
N Emiroglu
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Congenital Rubella Syndrome ◽  
World Health ◽  
Measles Vaccine ◽  
Mmr Vaccine ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Rubella Infection ◽  
Congenital Rubella

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has recently published a strategic plan and surveillance guidelines for measles and congenital rubella infection. The strategy prioritises measles control activities but encourages the introduction of rubella vaccine when measles vaccine coverage has reached >90 %; although, many western European countries with suboptimal measles vaccine coverage are already using the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Women in these countries may have an especially high risk of having an infant with congenital rubella syndrome. WHO is seeking to improve the surveillance for rubella and congenital rubella syndrome as a means to obtain better information on the burden of these diseases and engage policy decision makers in the need to support the WHO European Region's strategies for rubella.

scholarly journals A holistic risk management framework to address the global noise-induced hearing loss pandemic

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riaan Dirkse van Schalkwyk ◽  
Rigard J. Steenkamp
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
World Health ◽  
Noise Induced Hearing Loss ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
Risk Management Framework

The paper presents a holistic risk management framework based on the core corporate governance principles and best-practice technology for addressing the global NIHL (noise-induced hearing loss) pandemic. While some await the announcement of a pharmaceutical drug therapy for hearing loss treatment and prevention, the challenges of noise control continue. Although preventable, the scenario remains tragic in terms of the statistics provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO). NIHL is among the most critical global health risks in terms of productivity, compensation statistics and noise-related deaths every year. Prevention of hearing loss remains the biggest challenge regardless of the availability of modern technology and best practice hearing conservation programmes (HCPs). An explorative research methodology was used to indicate a framework combining best practice with a diligent (bold) corporate and holistic approach to the NIHL problem. In essence, the paper therefore provides a thorough background to the global NIHL pandemic and presents a holistic risk management framework to address the problem

scholarly journals Marketing of Foods to Children through Food Packaging Is Almost Exclusively Linked to Unhealthy Foods

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Živa Lavriša ◽  
Igor Pravst
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
World Health ◽  
Regional Office ◽  
Product Packaging ◽  
Nutrient Profile ◽  
Public Health Strategies

The nutritional composition of foods marketed to children is important, as it can significantly influence children’s preferences. The objective of this research was to evaluate the presence of child-oriented food products in the food supply and to investigate their nutritional composition. The sample included 8191 prepacked foods in the Slovenian food supply available in the market in 2015. The nutrient profile (World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe nutrient profile model) of the products with child-targeted promotions was compared to the nutrient profile of those without child-targeted promotions. Food categories with the highest proportion of products with child-focused promotions were “Breakfast Cereals” (17%), “Chocolate and Sugar Confectionery” (15%) and “Edible Ices” (13%). Altogether, 93% of all products with child-focused promotions and 73% of products without such promotions were classified as “not permitted”. The proportion of “not permitted” foods was significantly higher in products with child-targeted promotions, compared with products without child-targeted promotions (p < 0.0001), and this trend was observed in a majority of food categories. To protect children from exposure to the marketing of foods with less favourable nutritional compositions, public health strategies should be focused also towards limiting promotions of unhealthy foods to children on product packaging, not only in media.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document