World Health Day 2021

April 7th of each year marks the celebration of World Health Day. From its inception at the First Health Assembly in 1948 and since taking effect in 1950, the celebration has aimed to create awareness of a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World Health Organization.

Over the past 50 years this has brought to light important health issues such as mental health, maternal and child care, and climate change. The celebration is marked by activities which extend beyond the day itself and serves as an opportunity to focus worldwide attention on these important aspects of global health.

In recent years, countries in the Western Pacific have experienced rapid economic growth, migration and urbanization. This created opportunities for better lives for many, but left others behind. The COVID-19 pandemic has undercut recent health gains, pushed more people into poverty and food insecurity, and amplified gender, social and health inequities.

This World Health Day, we’re calling for action to eliminate health inequities, as part of a year-long global campaign to bring people together to build a fairer, healthier world. The campaign highlights WHO’s constitutional principle that “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”

To mark World Health Day 2021, Elsevier presents a curated list of free access journal articles and book chapters in support of this year's theme - building a fairer, healthier world for everyone.

Elsevier, Blood, Volume 137, 28 January 2021
Social determinants of health, including poverty, contribute significantly to health outcomes in the United States; however, their impact on pediatric hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) outcomes is poorly understood. We aimed to identify the association between neighborhood poverty and HCT outcomes for pediatric allogeneic HCT recipients in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database.
Elsevier,

Design for Health, 2020, Pages 323-340

This chapter advances SDG 3 by exploring the current state of design as applied to global health, models of how it is carried out, and some of the questions that arise for practitioners.
Elsevier,

Psychology and Climate Change, 2018, Pages 95-124

This book chapter advances SDGs 10 and 13 by explaining how current psychological perspectives on social identity, identity-based motivation, and belonging help shape public engagement and identify key social psychological processes that may contribute to persistent and substantial disparities in the environmental sector.
Elsevier,

Social Ecology in the Digital Age, 2018, Pages 137-179

This chapter advances SDGs 3 and 11 by addressing the challenges of promoting personal and population health from the different vantage points of biomedical, biopsychosocial, and social ecological models.
Elsevier,

Social Ecology in the Digital Age, 2018, Pages 265-317

This chapter advances SDGs 3 and 11 by identifying strategies for improving the design and sustainability of built environments. Resilience and sustainability are viewed at different scales as they apply to buildings, neighborhoods, communities, regional, and global ecosystems.
Elsevier,

The Developing Microbiome, 2020, Pages 21-41

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by explaining how the acquisition of microbial communities during early life is closely intertwined with children’s immune and metabolic development. Environmental influences like prenatal maternal factors, delivery mode, peripartum antibiotic administration, nutrition, and the indoor microbiome in the hospital and home play a part during this critical early window.
Elsevier,

Clinical and Translational Perspectives on Wilson Disease, 2019, Pages 354-353

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by explaining that is is generally believed that Wilson's Disease is more common in Chinese populations than the average worldwide prevalence of 1:30,000, but it has been reported among ethnic minorities in mainland China.
Elsevier,

Effects of Lifestyle on Men's Health, 2019, Pages 149-168

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by explaining how obesity is a significant health problem, especially among the people living in developed countries, which also has detrimental effects on the male urogenital system.
Elsevier,

Chronic Kidney Disease in Disadvantaged Populations, 2017, Pages 209-217

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by providing a summary of recent studies of the relation of poverty to chronic kidney disease and related outcomes.
Elsevier,

Chronic Kidney Disease in Disadvantaged Populations, 2017, Pages 273-289

This book chapter advances SDGs 3 and 10 by ensuring equitable access to medications, technologies and clinical care are central to service delivery for effective screening, prevention and kidney disease management.

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