On Healthcare Research for Disease Prevention
Critical Knowledge Gaps in European Public Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56226/ihr.v1i1.6Keywords:
healthcare research needs, European heath systems, European healthcare, knowledge gaps, public healthAbstract
The last couple of years have shown the world that there's really no individual health without public health, proving the fundamental importance of cross-sectoral health policies, a constant eye on disease prevention and a baseline preoccupation with tackling inequalities. Amongst the many important topics of research for developing and improving health systems there are seem most compelling in the current world.
Antimicrobial resistance has been identified as a global health threat since 2013, potentially leading to the ineffectiveness of current antibiotic treatments. The Covid-19 pandemic has slowed antimicrobial drug research and development, while exacerbating the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, one of the leading causes of antimicrobial resistance. The World Health Organization has stressed an accent on the need to further understand the genetics and environmental dimension of antimicrobial resistant bacteria, especially gram-negative carbapenem resistant bacteria. According to Larsson et al (2018), research is urgently needed on the role of the environment, especially man-made environment, in the evolution of resistance. This topic only strengthens the long-requested need for assessing, monitoring and acting upon the environmental (natural and man-made) dimensions of societal health and wellbeing, a call for action that still remains largely unanswered in health promotion policies and the climate change debate.
Speaking of man-made environments and the need to consider health in all policies, an area where research is slowly starting to build up, but is still much needed, is that health impacts assessment for transportation and mobility policies and urban planning. In line with Lozzi (2021), although the link between mobility and health policies has been clarified and the benefits established, there is still a need for an evidence-base of research capturing the multi-level effects of urban planning and mobility on health.
References
Larsson DGJ, Andremont A, Bengtsson-Palme J, Brandt KK, de Roda Husman AM, Fagerstedt P, Fick J, Flach CF, Gaze WH, Kuroda M, Kvint K, Laxminarayan R, Manaia CM, Nielsen KM, Plant L, Ploy MC, Segovia C, Simonet P, Smalla K, Snape J, Topp E, van Hengel AJ, Verner-Jeffreys DW, Virta MPJ, Wellington EM, Wernersson AS. Critical knowledge gaps and research needs related to the environmental dimensions of antibiotic resistance. Environ Int. 2018 Aug;117:132-138. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.04.041. Epub 2018 May 7. PMID: 29747082.
Giacomo Lozzi, Michelle Sara Monachino, Health considerations in active travel policies: A policy analysis at the EU level and of four member countries, Research in Transportation Economics, Volume 86,2021.

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